Photo: Niccolò Caranti / CC BY-SA 4.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
Born on February 26, 1971 in Kōriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, Tsutomu Nihei is a mangaka and screenwriter. Tsutomu Nihei is 55 years old as of 2026. Recorded honors include Seiun Award for Best Comic (2016) and Inkpot Award (2016). Credited works include Blame! and Knights of Sidonia.
My Take
Nihei is, for me, the most architecturally fearless mangaka working. Blame! drops you into an endless megastructure with almost no exposition and trusts you to get lost, and that confidence is thrilling. Coming from a technical high school in Fukushima, he draws cold, mechanical line work that feels engineered rather than merely illustrated. Knights of Sidonia broadened his audience and brought a hit anime, plus the Seiun and Inkpot awards. But what I respect most is his restraint: he refuses to explain everything and lets silence and scale do the talking. In a wordy medium, his quiet, spatial storytelling is genuinely rare.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Tsutomu Nihei
- Name (Japanese)
- 弐瓶勉
- Reading
- にへい つとむ
- Born
- February 26, 1971 (age 55)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Pisces / Boar
- Origin
- Kōriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan
- Occupation
- mangaka / screenwriter
2. Background
Awards & achievements
- 2016 Seiun Award for Best Comic
- 2016 Inkpot Award
3. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notable work | Blame! | — | |
| Notable work | Knights of Sidonia | — |
4. Links
- Official sitehttps://toahi.net/
- Xhttps://x.com/tsutomu_nihei
- Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsutomu%20Nihei
- Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%BC%90%E7%93%B6%E5%8B%89
- Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q504482
5. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-21
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.
Frequently asked questions
When was Tsutomu Nihei born?
Born February 26, 1971 (age 55).
Where is Tsutomu Nihei from?
Tsutomu Nihei is from Kōriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan.
What does Tsutomu Nihei do?
Tsutomu Nihei works as mangaka, screenwriter.
What is Tsutomu Nihei known for?
Notable works include Blame!, Knights of Sidonia.
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