Rei Hiroe

Rei Hiroe (広江 礼威, Hiroe Rei, born 5 December 1972) is the creator of Black Lagoon and RE:CREATORS. He is also an illustrator, and is involved in covers for books and games.

Background
His debut work would be Hisuikyō Kitan in Monthly Comic Comp, which began on December 26, 1992. Due to the MediaWorks independence riots, the series was left incomplete on August 26, 1994, and only 2 volumes were published. He then began drawing hentai dōjinshi under the name Red Bear, under the circle name TEX-MEX. On November 9, 1998, he began SHOOK UP! in Fujimi Shobo’s Monthly Comic Dragon. However, it was cancelled on April 9, 1999. A single volume was later published.

From March to June 2000, he published his first seinen manga series, Phantom Bullet, in Comic Gum. In March 2001, his one-shot, Black Lagoon, appeared in Monthly Sunday Gene-X. A full series began in April 2002 in the same magazine, and is still ongoing. An anime television series adaptation by Madhouse aired for two 12-episode seasons, the first from April to June 2006, and the second from October to December 2006, with a 5-episode OVA series being released from July 2010 to June 2011.

However, Black Lagoon is known for taking several hiatuses. The first hiatus began in May 2010. Rei Hiroe was still active during this hiatus. The first hiatus ended in January 2013. The series was put back on hiatus again in February 2014. This is due to Hiroe working on the original anime series RE:CREATORS. The series resumed in Monthly Sunday Gene-X in May 2017, but went back on hiatus again in September 2018. The manga’s latest hiatus ended in September 2019.

Works

 * 1) Hisuikyō Kitan (1992-1994, Monthly Comic Comp) [2 Volumes; Republished by Shogakukan in
 * 2) SHOOK UP! (1998-1999, Monthly Comic Dragon) [1 Volume; Republished by Shogakukan in
 * 3) Phantom Bullet (2000, Comic Gum) [4 Chapters; Republished by Shogakukan in 2008 in Barrage - Rei Hiroe Artworks]
 * 4) Black Lagoon (2002-, Monthly Sunday Gene-X) [11+ Volumes; Published in English by Viz Media]
 * 5) 341 Combat Team (2019-, Monthly Shōnen Sunday) [1+ Volume]

Black Lagoon was adapted into an anime series. Rei Hiroe also creates the anime series RE:CREATORS.