Matsumoto's art might take some getting used to, but he is renowned for coming up with great stories and brilliant new concepts. Debuting in 1953 with a 16 page manga "Mitsubachi no Bouken" in Manga Shounen, he has authored nearly thirty manga series.
His big break came in 1971, in the years between 53 and 71 he mostly produced Shoujo manga, much to his displeasure. In the late '70s and the early '80s, there was a big Matsumoto-boom when he drew his best known series. After that, things became more quiet around him, but the late '90s show a revival.
The trademarks of Matsumoto are his unusual artstyle, the space opera and the manly romance stories.
In 1997, Matsumoto began to create new adventures of Captain Harlock which can be admired on the Web in Japanese and in English.
One of Matsumoto Reiji's former assistants is Sennou Knife, who was also an assistant of Maki Miyako. He went solo in the mid-80s and enjoyed modest success with Yami no Silhouette.
His real name is Matsumoto Akira. Reiji is a pseudonym and means something like "Zero Warrior". His name is often rendered in romaji as "Matsumoto Leiji". Matsumoto is married to Maki Miyako.
He died of heart failure on February 13, 2023 in a hospital in Tokyo.
