TOTALLY Takehiko Inoue. *highfives* Akira Toriyama is great, too. :3
Other spaztastically great mangaka:
*chugs over to my Clan post to copy and pasta*
I also adore EIICHIRO ODA, who is the creator of One Piece. He has such a fun style that can turn suuuper extraordinary in a split second. He also does such great marker color spreads that are always heartwarming and beautiful. He also does very effective and boggling dramatic scenes, and his designs are just too cute. And his storytelling, my God, HIS STORYTELLING. @v@ I can't use words to describe it. Probably just sounds and wild gestures.
I love whatever HIROSHI TAKAHASHI makes, and his Yankee-style/Japanese gangster series make me squee. Crows and Worst are his well-known series, and I really love his ability to draw Japanese faces as well as brawls, men's clothing, and his storytelling, which came from personal experience. @o@ He makes his series realistic by bringing up death and disease, and really portrays the emotion and passion behind the young gangsters well.
KENTAROU MIURA, the author of Berserk, is in a detailed paradise of his own. His art style varies throughout the series, but is always beautifully executed and fitting with the fantasy genre. I really respect him for making Caska a realistic heroine as well. I liked his art style the best around the Schierke arc, and Berserk's story is just magnificently dark and awe-inspiring.
HIROMU ARAKAWA, the author of Full Metal Alchemist, Juu Shin Enbu, and oneshot Stray Dog, is probably one of my favorite female manga artists. She just uses a style of storytelling and art that is distinctively masculine yet has a scent of femininity at the same time - awesome. Also, she seems really skilled at drawing muscular men, which is not common in women (AKA me). @@ *admires*
URASAWA NAOKI, the splenderifiosic author of Monster, Pluto, 20th/21st Century Boys, and Yawara!, is probably the Overlord of manga, if Osamu Tezuka is the God of manga, Akira Toriyama the King, and Eiichiro Oda the Prince. <-- Not made up by me. X3