Mine Yoshizaki

Mine Yoshizaki (Japanese: 吉崎 観音) is the creator of the Kemono Friends Franchise. He is a Japanese manga artist born in Kagoshima, Kumamoto, and Nagasaki, raised in Isahaya, Nagasaki. He is best known for his Sgt. Frog manga series.

He later created the concept designs of Kemono Friends which has been developed into Kemono Friends (2015 Mobile Game) published by Nexon, the first entry of multimedia franchise. It then was adapted into 2 seasons of anime, Kemono Friends and Kemono Friends 2. He is credited for their concept design.

Although he has kept his social media presence to minimum since 2017, he is still active behind the scene. Besides the ongoing Sgt. Frog manga series, he has been, though often not publicly credited, playing a major role in different Kemono Friends projects, including the mobile game, Kemono Friends 3 released in 2019 and the virtual YouTuber project, KemoV, started in 2021. His artworks to celebrate special occasions of individual KemoV members indirectly show his active involvement behind the scene.

Trivia

 * In Japanese fan community, fans mostly address Mine Yoshizaki by 'the park staff-san who is good at drawing' instead of his name.
 * His birthday is on December 2nd, the same date as Natsumi Hinata (日向夏美), the main female protagonist from 'Sgt Frog', the popular manga series he created.
 * His original manga series, Sgt. Frog, has collabed with Kemono Friends, the franchise he helps create. His Sgt. Frog characters have appeared in Kemono Friends's 2015 Mobile Game published by Nexon and Kemono Friends 3.