Gosho Aoyama

is a Japanese manga artist best known for his manga series Case Closed (Detective Conan, 1994–present). As of 2017, his various manga series had a combined 250 million copies in print worldwide. By January 2023, Case Closed alone had over 270 million copies in circulation worldwide.

Educational background Yoshimasa Aoyama was born in Tottori Prefecture in 1963, to parents Hiromichi and Michiko. He has another brother who is a doctor. Aoyama recalled being fascinated by the Sherlock Holmes story "The Adventure of the Dancing Men" in elementary school.

Career Aoyama made his professional debut as a manga artist at the age of 23,

Aoyama began serializing Case Closed in Weekly Shōnen Sunday in January 1994.

Awards and recognition

Aoyama has won two awards for his work as a manga artist. In 1992, he won the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōnen for Yaiba. He would go on to win the same award for a second time in 2001, this time for Case Closed.

Additionally, his hometown Hokuei has undertaken several machi okoshi (town revitalization) projects in honor of his contribution as a manga artist and resident. The first projects were the Conan Bridge across the Yura River and Case Closed statues. On March 18, 2007, the Gosho Aoyama Manga Factory, a museum that celebrates Aoyama's career as a manga artist, was opened.

Personal life On May 5, 2005, Aoyama married Minami Takayama, the singer of Two-Mix and voice actress for Conan in the anime adaptation of Case Closed. On December 10, 2007, the two divorced. In March 2015, Aoyama was hospitalized for an unspecified surgery, resulting in Case Closed going on its first lengthy hiatus in 21 years.

Manga works (1987) The story of a boy genius named Yutaka Takai, whose time machine jetpack sends his love interest through time for two years. (1987–present) A five-volume manga series that tells the adventures of Kaito Kid, a mysterious gentleman thief who uses his skills as illusionist and master of disguise to commit robberies; his secret identity is that of high school student Kaito Kuroba. The first two volumes of the manga series were released in 1988, the third in 1994, the fourth in 2007, and the fifth in 2017; three more chapters were published in 2024. Although the series is currently on hiatus, Kaito Kid still appears regularly in Case Closed. Yaiba (1988–1993) A 24-volume manga series about the adventures of a young samurai named Yaiba Kurogane. It was adapted into a 52-episode anime series which aired between 1993 and 1994. (1991–1993) A one-volume manga that tells the story of a boy named Shigeo Nagashima, a mediocre baseball player on his high school team. One day, he buys a magical bat from a sporting goods store that allows him to hit every pitch. However, he has to pay the mysterious store for each pitch he hits.

Various short works written over the years:

Chotto Mattete

Ongoing series that tells the story of genius high school detective Shinichi Kudo, who one day is turned into a child by mysterious men and assumes the alias of Conan Edogawa. While trying to track down these men, he often encounters complicated mysteries, most of which only he can solve. This series is Aoyama's most well-known creation, and has been collected in 108 volumes as of April 8, 2026. (2007) A one-shot about a girl named , who can read people's minds when she looks them in the eyes.