Manabu Akishige

Manabu Akishige (秋重学, born August 24, 1967) is a manga artist from Japan. Akishige first collaborated with Weezer through his manga series Go-On!, notable for featuring numerous real Weezer albums (specifically, The Blue Album and The Red Album) as integral plot elements. It was serialized between 2007 and 2009, with tankōbon releases beginning in April, 2008. The tankōbon release of volume 2 in Japan included an obi advertising the release of The Red Album, alongside a quote from Rivers Cuomo praising the manga. Around June, 2008, a promotional poster featuring Akishige's art of two Go-On! characters listening to The Red Album was created and used to advertise the album's recent release. On June 20, 2008, a Japan-exclusive iTunes single for "Troublemaker" was released. The cover featured an illustration by Akishige, depicting a high school-aged girl holding a =W= branded purse. This art was later used for the promotional EP Troublemaker Remixes, and on the Mexican release of the compilation CD Six Hits. The back cover of both releases included the Go-On! art used on the The Red Album poster. A promotional poster for "Troublemaker" featuring the full illustration used on the Japanese iTunes single was created at some point during 2008.