Gai Mizuki

Gai Mizuki (

Biography

Mizuki was born in the Kansai region of Japan. He studied music and competed in hurdling while in school, giving up the latter after suffering an injury, and later worked as a web developer.^[1] Mizuki pursued illustration as a hobby since his early childhood,^[1] creating his first comic in the sixth grade.^[1][2]

After discovering the works of artist Gengoroh Tagame at the age of twenty-three, Mizuki began drawing gay manga.^[2] His works have appeared in the gay men's magazines G-men, Badi, and Barazoku, as well as the yaoi manga anthology Nikutaiha, which attracted a crossover audience of both gay male and heterosexual female readers.^[3]

Mizuki is noted as a prolific creator of

Mizuki's works are noted for their "BL-style" storytelling, with a focus on dialogue and character development over straight erotica,^[3] with yakuza featured as a common recurring element.^[4][1] Among his influences, Mizkui cites music as having a significant impact on his work, specifically citing the composers Yoko Kanno and Yasutaka Nakata.^[5]

Works by Mizuki were included in the 2014 manga anthology