With Manga Art's Rising Popularity, Here Are 5 Female Mangakas You Must Know About

Manga, which is a type of comic book and graphic novel that first appeared in Japan and serves as the basis for anime shows, has gained popularity alongside the rise of Anime.

Female mangakas (manga artists) have made significant contributions to the manga industry, with more than 70 percent of all mangakas being women. However, female mangakas are often subjected to ">gender-based discrimination, leading them to use male or gender-neutral pen names to hide their gender.

5 female mangakas you should about

Hiromi Arakawa

Hiromu Arakawa is a female manga artist from Tokachi, Hokkaido, Japan. She was born and raised on a dairy farm in Hokkaido, and her given name is Hiromi, which is written identically to her male pen name, Hiromu.

Since childhood, she aspired of becoming a manga artist. Following her graduation from high school, she attended oil painting classes while simultaneously working on her family's farm. After eight years, she moved to Tokyo and began working as an assistant writer for Hiroyuki Etō.

In 1999, the manga artist made her debut with Stray Dog, followed by her famous and award-winning series Fullmetal Alchemist in 2001, which was later adapted into a successful anime.

Naoko Takeuchi

Naoko Takeuchi is recognized for her noteworthy contribution to Manga. She is the mastermind behind the creation of a number of renowned Mangas including Sailor Moon, Codename: Sailor V, Prism Time, Chocolate Christmas, Maria, The Cherry Project, Miss Rain, PQ Angels, Love Witch, and many others.

She married Yoshihiro Togashi, who is the writer and artist of the famous anime series YuYu Hakusho and Hunter x Hunter.

Nana Hatake

Natsuki Takaya, who is also known by her male pseudonym Nana Hatake, is the illustrious writer of the Fruits Basket manga series, as well as the Fruits Basket Another instalment and the Fruits Basket: The Three Musketeers Arc.

Hatake started her professional career with the publication of "Born Free" in the September 1, 1992 issue of the Hana to Yume Planet Zökan magazine. Her subsequent works have been consistently published in the Hana to Yume magazine.

Takaya began her career as a manga artist because of her sister's encouragement, combined with her own long-standing desire to draw since childhood. A hand injury requiring surgery briefly interrupted her work on the series Fruits Basket, from which she fully recovered, but complained that her handwriting had suffered as a result.

Kazue Katō

Kazue Kato is a Japanese mangaka who was born in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo. As a manga author, she is most recognized for her work on the manga series Blue Exorcist.

In the year 2000, she made her debut with a short story in Akamaru Jump, then went on to publish a full series in Monthly Shōnen Sirius. Her work Robot to Usakichi earned her the Osamu Tezuka Award. Her self-portrait in the Blue Exorcist manga includes a rabbit with a bow on its left ear. Although she had aspirations to become an animator, her father did not believe she was committed enough to pursue it, so she was sent to college. However, she ultimately left college to pursue a career as a manga artist.

Kaori Ozaki

Kaori Ozaki is a well-known mangaka and character designer who began her career at the young age of 15. Her first work, An Angel above the Piano, was published in 1993 by publisher Shinshokan. However, her breakthrough came with her series Immortal Rain, which gained global acclaim and was later published in the United States by Tokyopop in several languages. After working on this series for 12 years, she switched publishers and genres, and her first title with Kodansha's young adult magazine The Gods Lie, a series of 11 volumes.

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