Naoko Takeuchi

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Naoko Takeuchi

Born:	March 15, 1967 Kofu city in Yamanashi Prefecture
Occupation:	Mangaka
Nationality:	Japanese
Writing period:	1985 to present
Genres:	fiction
Subjects:	shōjo manga
Influences:	Leiji Matsumoto,[1] Robert Mapplethorpe,[2] Sailor Moon anime,[3][4]
Influenced:	Miwa Ueda[5]
Website:	Sailor Moon Channel

Naoko Takeuchi (武内直子, Takeuchi Naoko^?), born March 15, 1967, is a manga artist who lives in Tokyo, Japan. She is the original creator of the famous manga and anime series Sailor Moon. Takeuchi lives with her husband, Yoshihiro Togashi, creator of YuYu Hakusho and Hunter × Hunter. They have a son whom they have nicknamed "Petit Ouji".

Takeuchi graduated from Kyoritsu University of Pharmacy, where she received a degree in chemistry. She became a licensed pharmacist. Her senior thesis was entitled "Heightened Effects of Thrombolytic Actions Due to Ultrasound."^{[citation needed]}

She has won several awards including the 2nd Nakayoshi Comic Prize for Newcomers, for “Yume ja Nai no Ne,” in 1985. She also won for "Love Call" which won Nakayoshi's New Artist award which debuted in the Nakayoshi Deluxe September 1986 issue. Later she won the 17th Kodansha Manga Award for Sailor Moon.^[6]

Takeuchi's works are widely admired by anime/manga fans. She is a well-known mangaka in the United States. Her most popular work, Sailor Moon, has been widely reprinted and marketed in North America. Takeuchi is an avid traveler and has visited the United States many times. She attended San Diego Comic-Con in 1998.

Contents 1 List of works 1.1 Manga creations 1.2 Illustrations 1.3 Written books 1.4 Song lyrics 2 Trivia 3 References 4 External links

[edit] List of works

[edit] Manga creations

The following is a list of Naoko Takeuchi's works, both major and minor, since her debut:^[7][8]

• Chocolate Christmas (チョコレート・クリスマス Chokorēto Kurisumasu, 1987-1988):
  • A story about a girl that falls in love with a DJ over Christmas. It was collected into a single tankobon volume.
• Maria (ま・り・あ Ma-ri-a, 1989-1990):
  • A story loosely based on the book Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster.
• The Cherry Project (Theチェリープロジェクト The Cherī Purojekuto, 1990-1991):
  • A figure skating-themed manga, spanning 3 volumes, involving the young skater Cherry's quest to become a professional skater and win the heart of a boy. The series was released in 3 collected volumes between 1991 and 1992.
• Codename: Sailor V (コードネームはセーラーV Kōdonēmu wa Sērā Bui, 1991-1997):
  • This series follows the adventures of costumed "magical girl" Sailor V. It was the direct predecessor to (and something of a prototype for) Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon, and introduced Minako Aino, alias "Sailor V," who would become a supporting character in the latter series. The series was concluded after the author had already finished Sailor Moon, and featured an ending that tied the two series together. Originally released in 3 volumes, Codename: Sailor V was re-released in 2004 in a deluxe two-volume "Renewal Edition" (新装版 Shinzōban) format.
• Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon (美少女戦士セーラームーン Bishōjo Senshi Sērāmūn, 1992-1997)
  • Known to American audiences simply as Sailor Moon, this manga is Naoko Takeuchi's most famous work, which spawned an anime, several films, stage musicals, and a live-action television series. A fusion of styles between the mahō shōjo and sentai genres, Sailor Moon tells the story of Usagi Tsukino, a girl who discovered one day that she was the reincarnation of a celestial heroine fighting for love and justice. This series was largely responsible for the late-1990s resurgence of "magical girl" anime and manga. The series was originally released in 18 volumes, but was re-released in 2003 and 2004 in a deluxe 12-volume "Renewal Edition" (新装版 Shinzōban) format, with two supplementary volumes containing side stories to the main work.
• Miss Rain (ミス・レイン Misu Rein, 1993):
  • A collection of 5 short manga, including the title work.
• Prism Time (プリズム・タイム Purizumu Taimu, 1986-1997):
  • A collection of one-shot stories from early works to those from the late 1990s. It is available in 2 volumes, released in 1995 and 1997, respectively.
• PQ Angels (ＰＱエンジェルス PQ Enjerusu, 1997):
  • Features two alien girls, able to turn into cockroaches, who are searching for their princess. The series was a complete disaster for Takeuchi: it was discontinued abruptly after only 4 chapters, and Kodansha lost the proofs of the portion that had been written. For obvious reasons, it has only appeared in its original serialization, from September to December 1997.
• Princess Naoko Takeuchi's Return-to-Society Punch!! (1998-?):
  • A collection of short strips detailing what Takeuchi did after Sailor Moon. It ran for a number of years under a changing title, giving details about her post-Sailor Moon slump and recovery, as well as her meeting, marrying, and starting a family with fellow manga creator Yoshihiro Togashi. The comic ran in Shueisha's Young You magazine, rather than a Kodansha publication, and has not been collected since its original serialization. There are similar "____ Punch!" comic strips in the same format at the end of some of the Sailor Moon "Renewal Edition" volumes.
• Toki☆Meka! (とき☆メカ! Toki☆Meka!, 2001):
  • A one-shot story about a robot (Mecha), her creator, and their adventures.
• Love Witch (ラブ ウィッチ Rabu Witchi, 2002):
  • A story where a girl receives a perfume bottle and becomes a witch, but with a heavy price. It was discontinued after 3 chapters and one side story, with no explanation. It has yet to be reprinted in any sort of compilation.
• Toki☆Meca! (とき☆めか! Toki☆Meca!, 2005-2006):
  • A serialized version of the original one-shot, begun after the completion of the Sailor Moon and Sailor V re-releases. The first portion ran from the January to April 2005 issues of Nakayoshi, after which the author went on hiatus, promising that she would return to the series later. The second phase of the series was begun in November 2005. One collected volume, released in August 2005, has been published thus far. The serialization officially ended in May 2006. This makes Toki☆Meca! the first series that Takeuchi has completed since Sailor Moon and Codename wa Sailor V.

[edit] Illustrations

• Mermaid Panic Volumes 1-3 (written by Marie Koizumi)
• Atashi no Wagamama (written by Marie Koizumi)
• Zettai, Kore o Ubbatte Miseru (written by Marie Koizumi)

[edit] Written books

• Oboo-nu- to Chiboo-nu- (illustrated by Yoshihiro Togashi)
  • A children's book written for her son's birthday.

[edit] Song lyrics

Takeuchi wrote the lyrics for a number of songs featured in the Sailor Moon anime and live-action series. They are mainly character-based image songs, but do include a few theme songs.^[3] These include:

• Ai wo Shinjiteru ("Believe in Love") — Image song for Sailor Moon
• Chikara wo Awasete ("Combining Power") — Image song for Taiki/Sailor Star Maker
• Ginga Ichi Mibun Chigai na Kataomoi ("Unrequited Love a Station Apart in the Galaxy") — Image song for Seiya/Sailor Star Fighter
• Honoo no Sogekimono (Flame Sniper) — Image song for Sailor Mars
• Initial U — Image song for Sailor Uranus
• Katagoshi ni Kinsei ("Venus Over my Shoulder") — PGSM image song for Sailor Venus
• Kirari*SailorDream! ("Sparkling Sailor Dream!") — Theme Song for Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon
• Luna! — Image song for Luna
• Mayonaka Hitori ("Alone At Midnight") — Image song for Yaten/Sailor Star Healer
• Over Rainbow Tour — PGSM image song for Sailor Moon
• Princess Moon — Second Ending Theme
• "Rashiku" Ikimasho ("I'll Go With My Looks") — Ending theme from SuperS
• Route Venus — Image song for Sailor Venus (R series)
• Sailor Star Song — Theme song to Sailor Stars
• Sailor Team no Theme (Sailor Team's Theme)
• Senshi no Omoi (Feelings of a Soldier) — Image song for Sailor Neptune
• We Believe You — Image song for Sailor Jupiter

[edit] Trivia

• Was a member of her high school's astronomy club^[8]
• Estimated height is 160 cm (5 ft 3 in)^[7]
• Blood type is A^[9]
• Right-handed^[7]
• Once drove a custom red Ferrari Spider^[8]
• Helped with the first volume of Hunter × Hunter on the screentone.^[10]
• Likes designer clothes^[10]
• Lives in a custom-built house^[11]
• Lived in Azabu Juuban, during the making of Sailor Moon, where the story is set^[8]
• Wore the same hairstyle as her character Usagi Tsukino to a convention and as good luck charms.^[12]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Takeuchi Naoko Translations - A website by Alex Glover that has resources on manga.
  • http://www.kurozuki.com/takeuchi/anime/msbinterview.html- An interview from the Memorial Song Box, translated by Alex Glover.
• Takeuchi-Naoko Dot Com - Unofficial site about Takeuchi
• Deviantart's Naoko Takeuchi's Fan Club - A club dedicated to Naoko Takeuchi
• http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Garden/3113/latest.htm - English reports about comics in the Nakayoshi magazine.
• BLACK MOON- Naoko Takeuchi, creator of Sailormoon - A 1998 interview with Takeuchi
• http://www.kicie.net/realm/naoko.htm - An Interview in English from an Italian Magazine.
• http://congly.freeservers.com/anime/smoon/miscellanea/smmisc/mapplethorpe.htm - An Essay on Takeuchi.
• http://eternalsailormoon.org/influences/index.html- Influences on individual art pieces for Sailor Moon.

Persondata
NAME	Takeuchi, Naoko
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Japanese Mangaka
DATE OF BIRTH	March 15, 1967
PLACE OF BIRTH	Kofu city, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH