Naoko Takeuchi

Naoko Takeuchi
Born March 15, 1967 (1967-03-15) (age 44)
Kofu, Yamanashi,, Japan
Occupation Manga artist
Nationality Japanese
Period 1985 to present
Genres Fiction
Subjects Shōjo manga
Spouse(s) Yoshihiro Togashi
[Sailor Moon Channel Sailor Moon Channel]

Naoko Takeuchi (武内直子 Takeuchi Naoko?, Japanese pronunciation: [take.u͍tɕi na.oko] born March 15, 1967) is a Japanese manga artist who lives in Tokyo, Japan. Takeuchi's works have a wide following among anime and manga fans worldwide. Her most popular work, Sailor Moon, rose to become as of 2011 one of the most recognized manga and anime products to date.

Contents

Biography

Early life

Naoko Takeuchi was born to Kenji and Ikuko Takeuchi. She has a younger brother named Shingo. She used the names of her family members in the manga of Sailor Moon, and mentions this in interviews and in several comic-strips which she produced in place of author-notes.

Takeuchi attended Kofu Ichi High School.[8] She wore sailor suits and joined the astronomy and manga clubs.[9] This experience later influenced her work, Sailor Moon, as well as her previous manga such as Love Call and Rain Kiss. She wanted to become a manga artist at this age, however her father, Kenji, said that in case she did not make it she should find another profession, so she went to university to study for a degree in chemistry.

Takeuchi graduated from Kyoritsu University of Pharmacy, where she received a degree in chemistry. (Kyoritsu University of Pharmacy merged with Keio University in 2006.[10]) As of 2010 the buildings still exist. She became a licensed pharmacist. Her senior thesis had the title "Heightened Effects of Thrombolytic Actions Due to Ultrasound".[11]

While a tertiary student, Takeuchi did miko work at Shiba Daijingu shrine not far from the university which she attended.[12][13] This experience later became the ground-work for one of her characters in Sailor Moon, Rei Hino.[14]

Working for Kodansha

Naoko Takeuchi then worked for Kodansha, starting at the age of 19 when she published Love Call, which received an award. She worked steadily on one-shot pieces until writing Maria. She based this work, her first serial comic, loosely on Daddy-Long-Legs and on her friend Marie Koizumi, who helped her write it.

Takeuchi had another serial with The Cherry Project, which ran for three volumes and dealt with skating. Upon completing The Cherry Project she wanted to do a manga on outer space and girl fighters. Her editor Fumio Osano (nicknamed Osa-P) asked her to put the fighters in sailor-suits, and thus began Sailor V. When plans began to turn Sailor V into an anime, she reworked the series and added four other Sailor Soldiers. This became Sailor Moon, which proved a hit. While she worked on Sailor Moon she also simultaneously worked on Sailor V. However, the magazine that ran Sailor V was canceled. The project to turn Sailor V into an anime was canceled with the magazine.[15]

After Sailor Moon ended in 1997, she then worked on PQ Angels. This gained a fair amount of popularity but got suddenly canceled due to Kodansha losing seven pages of manuscript. It is possible that it would have become an anime: Takeuchi has mentioned that Toei had the manuscript.[16]

PNP establishment

"PNP" stands for "Princess Naoko Planning". Takeuchi established this company to manage her properties, mainly Sailor Moon. Later this encompassed Yoshihiro Togashi's work as well. Takeuchi runs the company herself. Its name shows up on several musical credits such as Shin Kaguya Shima Densetsu.

Leaving Kodansha

Naoko Takeuchi felt upset at the loss of seven pages of the PQ Angels manuscript in 1997. Kodansha had originally planned for the manga to become a tankōbon, but with the loss of the manuscript pages this became impossible. Osano Fumio also left her for a shōnen magazine. Then the plans for the Materials Collection were canceled by Kodansha.[16] Naoko Takeuchi left Kodansha: she went to the publisher Shueisha, hoping to find out more about the manga industry and whether manuscripts often get lost.[16]

In 1998, Takeuchi visited the United States and attended Comic-Con. With assistance from Mixx Entertainment she answered questions—mainly about Sailor Moon. She also asked the audience if they liked the occult, which was most likely the beginnings of Love Witch. She also that year published the first Sailor Moon property since leaving Kodansha, Sailor Moon Infinity Collection Art Book with limited releases.

Working for Togashi and marriage

In her short comic strip Princess Naoko Takeuchi Back-to-Work Punch!!, Takeuchi states that she met Yoshihiro Togashi at a meeting and had a meeting arranged between them by Megumi Ogata,[17][18] the voice of Sailor Uranus as well as of Togashi's character Kurama. She worked for Togashi as an assistant (doing screentone) and as a manager on volume 1 of Hunter × Hunter. However the work and the demands proved more than she had expected, so she ended up quitting.

Around this time Takeuchi conceived the idea for Toki*Meka, which eventually turned into Toki*Meca.[19] Togashi had a similar idea at the same time as her, but never fully brought it to fruition. He helped somewhat with Toki*Meka at this point in developing the idea by drawing some concept sketches, which Naoko Takeuchi showed in Toki*Meca volume 1.

They dated, then married in 1999. They have a son, born in January 2001, whose real name they choose not to disclose, but whom they have nicknamed "Petit Ōji," which means "little prince" in combined French and Japanese.

Return to Kodansha

With the imminent expiration of the Sailor Moon license, Kodansha eventually made a deal with Takeuchi, and she returned in 1999 to make the Materials Collection. Her first serialized manga after her return started: Love Witch. Love Witch was cancelled by Kodansha for unknown reasons. Takeuchi also started to work on the reprints of Sailor Moon and Sailor V.

She also made a one-shot Toki*Meka.

PGSM involvement

Naoko Takeuchi became heavily involved in the live action Sailor Moon Series, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (PGSM). For example, she designed Sailor Luna's costume. Naoko Takeuchi in an interview had stated that she had an interest in learning more about the anime industry.[20] This culminated in the creation of Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon. The series plot displays a plot heavily reliant on the manga and also explores many themes that the manga was unable to explore.

She showed up at the official conference with a fist up, meaning "good luck", in Act Zero.

During the time she worked on PGSM Takeuchi released no new manga.

Return to drawing manga

After the series PGSM had wrapped up, Takeuchi worked on Toki*Meca. During Toki*Meca Fumio Osano returned and became her editor.[19] At the same time she worked more closely with managing PNP and gave talks to college students.[21] Simultaneously she wrote a children's book titled Oboo-nu- to Chiboo-nu- as a birthday present to her son. (Her husband illustrated the children's book. She made mention of it in the back of volume 1 of Toki*Meca.) She still works on the website, updating it about once a month with new flash animations or profiles.[22]

She had a child in 2009. It is not confirmed if it is a boy or a girl.[23][24]

Works

Manga

The following list contains Naoko Takeuchi's works, both major and minor, since her debut:

Illustrations

Written books

Song lyrics

Takeuchi wrote the lyrics for a number of songs featured in the Sailor Moon anime and live-action series. Though mainly character-based image songs, they include a few theme songs.[4] These include:

Awards

Takeuchi 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. In 1993 she won the 17th Kodansha Manga Award for shōjo for Sailor Moon.[25]

References

  1. ^ "nagareboshiHE >> information >> manga >> naoko". Archived from the original on 2002-08-06. http://web.archive.org/web/20020806163722/http://www.routevenus.com/nagareboshihe/information/manga/naoko.html. Retrieved May 28, 2007. Takeuchi states she likes his long legs on the girls.
  2. ^ "nagareboshiHE >> information >> manga >> naoko". Archived from the original on 2002-08-06. http://web.archive.org/web/20020806163722/http://www.routevenus.com/nagareboshihe/information/manga/naoko.html. Retrieved May 28, 2007.  Takeuchi states she likes the fun dialog - Rori no Seishun and Hogoo no Romance served as major influences on Sailor Moon which she identified as her starting point in Princess Naoko Back-to-Work Punch 1.
  3. ^ "Mapplethorpe's Influence on Takeuchi". http://congly.freeservers.com/anime/smoon/miscellanea/smmisc/mapplethorpe.htm. Retrieved 2007-02-14. 
  4. ^ a b Bacon, Michelle (October 16, 2006). "Manga Style! Pretty soldiers". http://mangastyle.net/. Retrieved October 27, 2006. 
  5. ^ Takeuchi, Naoko (August 1994). Bishōjo Senshi Sailormoon Volume I Original Picture Collection. Kodansha. ISBN 4-06-324507-1. 
  6. ^ Miwa Ueda worked as Naoko Takeuchi's assistant on Volume 14 of the Sailor Moon manga, where Takeuchi said she drew backgrounds really quickly.
  7. ^ http://www.comipress.com/article/2006/10/21/894
  8. ^ Glover, Alex. "The Manga of Takeuchi Naoko". http://www.kurozuki.com/takeuchi/prism/notes/gradation02.html. Retrieved October 27, 2006. 
  9. ^ "Interview with Naoko Takeuchi". http://web.archive.org/web/20021006084159/www.a.phys.nagoya-u.ac.jp/~ayano/naoko/abst.html. 
  10. ^ Anzai, Yuichiro. "The Manga of Takeuchi Naoko". http://209.85.141.104/search?q=cache:hSh7CfvAYz0J:www.keio.ac.jp/english/press_release/070326e.pdf+kyoritsu+Pharmacy&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us&client=firefox-a. Retrieved June 16, 2008. 
  11. ^ Glover, Alex. "The Manga of Takeuchi Naoko". http://www.kurozuki.com/takeuchi/missrain/notes/maigo.html. Retrieved October 27, 2006. 
  12. ^ "Minato City Sightseeing database". http://www.minato-ala.net/details/guide2/e/0168.html. Retrieved June 16, 2008. 
  13. ^ "Wikimania: Japan/ Tokio /Tokyo 2 km". http://wikimapia.org/#lat=35.6581898&lon=139.7525686&z=19&l=0&m=a&v=2. Retrieved June 16, 2008.  The University appears highlighted at the top left corner; the shrine on the bottom right.
  14. ^ Takeuchi, Naoko (October 23, 2003). "Rei-chan & Mako-chan Punch!". Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon shinsouban Volume 3. Kodansha. ISBN 4-06-334783-4. 
  15. ^ Takeuchi, Naoko (October 23, 2003). "Liner Notes". Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon shinsouban Volume 3. Kodansha. ISBN 4-06-334783-4.  :"Run-Run, the magazine she was serialized in, went belly-up. The OVA they planned to put out never came out. She met a harsh fate. It's enough to make one sick. [Minako]: Where did Run-Run go? When is my video coming out?"
  16. ^ a b c "Princess Takeuchi Naoko's Return-to-Society Punch!! Round 1". http://www.kurozuki.com/takeuchi/punch/trans/round01.html. 
  17. ^ Princess Takeuchi Naoko's Return-to-Society Punch!! - Round 2
  18. ^ Princess Takeuchi Naoko's Return-to-Society Punch!! - Round 2
  19. ^ a b Takeuchi, Naoko (August 23, 2005). "Author Notes". Toki Meca Volume 1. Kodansha. ISBN 4-06-372061-6. 
  20. ^ Kappa Magazine #62, translated by Mina Kaye. Kia Asamiya interviewed Naoko Takeuchi. Naoko Takeuchi expressed an interest in coloring for Asamiya.
  21. ^ ひみつのお部屋
  22. ^ Bacon, Michelle (July 7, 2007). "Manga Style". http://mangastyle.net/. Retrieved 2006-10-01. 
  23. ^ http://moonratio.sailormoon.cc/?p=368
  24. ^ http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-12-24/sailor-moon-takeuchi-hunter-x-hunter-togashi-have-2nd-baby
  25. ^ Fox, Emily; Makousky, Nadia; Polvi, Amanda; Sorensen, Taylor. "VG: Artist Biography: Takeuchi, Naoko". http://voices.cla.umn.edu/vg/Bios/entries/takeuchi_naoko.html. Retrieved October 27, 2006. 
Sailor Moon by Naoko Takeuchi
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