Kosei Eguchi

Kosei Eguchi 恵口 公生
Born	(1997-07-29)July 29, 1997
Died	August 19, 2020(2020-08-19) (aged 23)
Nationality	Japanese
Area(s)	Manga artist
Pseudonym(s)	Peyo
Notable works	Boy meets Maria, Kimio alive

Kosei Eguchi (Japanese: 恵口 公生, Hepburn: Eguchi Kōsei, July, 29 1997 – August 19, 2020), also known as Peyo, was a Japanese manga artist. she is best known for creating Boy meets Maria.

Biography

Kosei Eguchi was born on July 29, 1997. In his childhood, he often played alone, making stories with finger puppets. He liked to draw and during his time in elementary school he drew comic strips. Although he had a good level as a draftsman, he was reluctant to think about it, so he communicated with others through painting. his family did not agree with him becoming a mangaka, as not all of them could be successful. However, an editor at Printemps Publishing had taken an interest in Eguchi when he was studying oil painting with a view to entering the Tokyo University of the Arts. He began his professional career in 2017 with the publication of the BL manga, Boy meets Maria, under the pseudonym Peyo.

A Kodansha editor, who read Boy meets Maria, contacted him via Twitter by direct message, and in 2019, he initiated the publication of a new manga, changing the BL genre to shonen, titled Kimio Alive in Monthly Shonen Magazine, having as its protagonist a high school student who dreams of becoming a YouTuber. In that case the author decided to reveal and use his real name. The publication of the manga had problems due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan, the establishment of a state of emergency in Japan and the lack of promotion in bookstores, which led Kodansha to consider canceling the work after the second volume went on sale. On the same day the volume was published, Eguchi was urgently hospitalized. Two days later he died suddenly, on August 19, 2020, at the age of 23. The cause of death was not revealed. As a result, Kimio Alive, ceased publication in September 2020.

Works

• Boy meets Maria (ボーイミーツマリア, Bōi miitsu Maria) (serialized in Printemps Shuppan) (2018)
• Kimio Alive (キミオアライブ) (serialized in Monthly Shonen Magazine) (2020)