Born in Uma-gun, now Niihama-shi, in Ehime, Japan in 1932, Manabe passed away in 2000. An illustrator, animator and essayist, he studied oil painting at Tama Art University and, while still in school, began exhibiting in shows such as the Yomiuri Independent as well as contributing to newspapers, magazines and sci-fi novels as an illustrator. Forming the “Three-Person Animation Circle” with Kuri Yoji and Yanagihara Ryohei, he presented Marine Snow (1960), a fusion of projected animation, Noh stage performance and lighting, followed by works including Ciné-poem Opus No.1(1961), Time and March (both 1963).