Range Murata

Range Murata, born in Osaka in 1968, draws clean retro-future for anime, games and print. Function first. Colour since 1995. Three decades of that calm line.

Emerging in 1993 with character designs for the arcade hit *Gōketsuji Ichizoku* (*Power Instinct*), Murata’s early monochrome work evolved dramatically in 1995 when he embraced color. “Screen tones felt limiting,” he recalls. “Color unlocked possibilities—my style crystallized there.” By 1996, he transitioned to freelance, publishing his debut artbook *LIKE A BALANCE LIFE*, a manifesto of his emerging precision.

Murata’s ethos—clean lines, muted palettes, and restrained ornamentation—reflects a lifelong affinity for functional design. “I’m drawn to shapes, not origins,” he explains, citing mid-century travel cases and Volkswagen buses as muses. Rejecting Gothic excess, he gravitates toward Bauhaus modernism: “Streamlined simplicity feels timeless.” This philosophy permeated his 1999 editorial venture *FLAT*, a groundbreaking color manga anthology that earned Japan’s prestigious Book Design Award.

The 2000s confirmed the work. His character designs for cult anime *Last Exile* (2003) and *Blue Submarine No. 6* (1998) reshaped steampunk visuals, while his second artbook *futurhythm* (2003) secured another design accolade. His pivot to digital tools was born of necessity. Faced with *Last Exile*’s demands in 2001, he relocated to Tokyo, adopting a Mac under studio pressure. “Digital liberated me from marker limitations,” he says, noting newfound freedom in color blending. Still, he reminisces: “Analog required fingertip precision. Speed? I was faster then.”

A 2006 Seiun Art Award honoree, Murata has taught at Kyoto Seika University since 2013, mentoring Japan’s next design vanguard. Beyond academia, he remains active in grassroots circles, self-publishing under PASTA’S ESTAB. at events like Comiket.

Today the giclée prints chase analog black — ink’s depth the screen cannot hold. He has taught at Kyoto Seika since 2013.