Kaiu Shirai

is the pen name of a Japanese manga artist and writer whose real name and date of birth are unknown. He is best known for his manga series The Promised Neverland.

Early life Kaiu Shirai was doing Kabuki at a young age and then after graduating from university, Shirai gained employment at a normal company, but later resigned. Aiming to become a professional manga artist, he began to submit manuscripts to editors and magazines.

Career history On 21 June 2015, Kaiu Shirai published his first professional work, a standalone piece called, The Location of Ashley-Gate, in Shōnen Jump+, a digital imprint of Shueisha, with art by Kyousuke Maruyama. Again, in the same magazine, he published his second work, another standalone piece called, Poppy's Wish, in collaboration with artist Posuka Demizu on 18 February 2016.

After that, Shirai created a serialized work based on drafts written while he was still an amateur. This work, The Promised Neverland, (with art by Posuka Demizu) started its run in the 35th issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump on 1 August 2016 and finished in the 28th issue of the magazine on 15 June 2020. Along with manga artist Posuka Demizu, Shirai published two one-shots in 2020 and 2021. The first one, Spirit Photographer Saburo Kono was published in the combined issue No. 36 – No. 37, 2020 of Weekly Shōnen Jump; the second one is titled DC3, published in the same magazine in issue No. 35 of 2021. On 3 September 2021, Kaiu Shirai x Posuka Demizu: Beyond The Promised Neverland was published, which included works and one-shots in combination with Posuka Demizu.

A collaborative exhibition titled Miroirs manga meets Chanel by Kaiu Shirai, Posuka Demizu and Chanel was held at Chanel Nexus Hall Ginza, Chūō, Tokyo, from 28 April to 4 June 2021. The manga Miroirs, written and illustrated by the duo, was inspired by the Chanel brand. In this exhibition, scenes from Miroirs are exhibited alongside precious works from Chanel. The manga was published by Shueisha on 30 April 2021. In 2022, Shirai participated as a judge at Shōnen Jump+'''s 7th Stokin Pro Garyokin 2022, to discover new talented manga artists.

On 6 January 2024, Kaiu Shirai along with illustrator Shiki Hamada launched a standalone one-shot, titled Kubigeshō, in the combined Issue #6–#7 2024 of Weekly Shōnen Jump. Within the same year, on 9 December, Kaiu Shirai along with illustrator Yōichi Amano launched a standalone one-shot, titled Apple, in Issue #2 2025 of Weekly Shōnen Jump.

Influences Kaiu Shirai commented that he was influenced by manga artists Osamu Tezuka, Naoki Urasawa, Yoshihiro Togashi and Eiichiro Oda; as well as directors Akira Kurosawa, Kōki Mitani, Kentaro Kobayashi and Hayao Miyazaki. He has also mentioned the Kabuki actor Kanzaburo Nakamura XVIII as a source of influence for his works.

Works Manga (art by Posuka Demizu, serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump, 2016–2020).

Manga Grand Prix

1st Annual Tsutaya Comic Award Next Break Division

Manga Shimbun Taishō Grand Prix

10th Manga Taishō Manga Taishō

3rd Next Manga Awards Comics Division

63rd Shogakukan Manga Award Best Shōnen Manga

22nd Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize Cultural Prize

11th Manga Taishō Manga Taishō

24th Salón del Manga de Barcelona Best Shōnen Manga

2nd Annual Tsutaya Comic Award All-Time Best

21st Japan Media Arts Festival Manga Division

French 12th ACBD's Prix Asie de la Critique 2018 Manga Category

Kono Manga ga Sugoi! Male Readers

Manga News Awards Shōnen Tournament 2018

2018 Google Play Awards User Voting Excellence Award

Ridibooks Comic Award Next Trending Manga Award

French Babelio Readers' Awards Best Manga Series

2019 Mangawa Awards Best Shōnen Manga

French Manga Prix Best Manga Series

23rd Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize Cultural Prize

Best Manga Series

French Konishi Prize Best Translated Manga

Ridibooks Comic Award Grand Prize

Piccoma Award Luna Prize

Daruma for Best New Series

Daruma for Best Screenplay of the Year 25th Salón del Manga de Barcelona Best Shōnen Manga

Lucca Comics & Games Amazon Comics Award

French "Les Mordus du Manga" Awards Grand Prize

Best New Manga

Most Wanted Manga 20th Sense of Gender Awards Grand Prize

3rd Saito Takao Award Grand Prize

Geeks d'Ouro Best Translated Manga

25th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize Cultural Prize

52nd Seiun Awards Best Comic