Takeuchi, Naoko

Youth

Naoko Takeuchi was born in Kofu to Kenji and Ikuko Takeuchi, who owned a jewelry store. She has a younger brother, Shingo (in the future, Takeuchi called the main characters in Sailor Moon the same names for her parents and brother). When Takeuchi attended Kofu-Iti High School, she attended astronomy and manga clubs there (she also used the experience and impressions of visiting these clubs when creating Sailor Moon ).

Creativity Takeuchi developed under the influence of Leiji Matsumoto ^[2] , Kimiko Uehara ^[3] , Robert Maplethorpe ^[4] , anime Sailor Moon ^{[5] [6]} . In her student years, she moonlighted as a miko in the Shiba Daizingu temple near her university. Naoko’s memories of this later formed the basis of the image of one of the heroines of Sailor Moon , Ray Hino .

Although Naoko, while still a schoolgirl, wanted to become a mangaka (in 1985, her first manga “ Yume ja nai no ne ” was published in the Nakayoshi magazine (“It's not a dream, is it?”)), Her father advised her to master some profession in case she does not succeed in drawing manga, and therefore, Naoko in 1989 graduated from the Pharmaceutical University of Koritsu with a bachelor's degree in chemistry, having received a pharmacist license. Her thesis was dedicated to improving the effectiveness of thrombolytic therapy using ultrasound . After graduation, she worked as a laboratory assistant at Keio University Hospital for six months.

Kodansya

Naoko began working with the Kodansya publishing house when she was nineteen when her work Call of Love was published, winning the Nakayoshi New manga-ka award at the competition. For some time she drew short stories, but in 1989, co-authored with her friend, writer Marie Koizumi, created her first long (nine chapters) manga " Maria ". Naoko’s next manga series was “The Cherry Project” , after which she wanted to create a work about space and female fighters and released the manga “ Code Name Sailor Vee ”, which in turn became the beginning of her longest and most famous manga “The Beautiful Warrior Sailor Moon ”(its release lasted five years). “ Sailor Moon ” eventually became her only manga, which received an anime adaptation .

After Sailor Moon , Naoko launched the PQ Angels manga, which was also a success (Naoko said Toei Animation , which animated Sailor Moon , showed interest in PQ Angels ), but after four chapters, the manga was released was curtailed because Kodansya managed to lose seven sheets from it (which crossed out plans for the release of manga in a tank boom ). After her editor Fumio Osano left the publishing house (who encouraged her to work on Sailor Moon and gave her ideas), Naoko herself couldn’t agree on the release of the Material Collection (a collection of her sketches and sketches for Sailor Moon ”), she moved from“ Kodansya ”to another publisher,“ Suesya ”in the hope of learning more about the manga industry and how often mangaka, like hers, get lost in publishers.

Collaboration with Togashi and Marriage

Her first work, which she published after leaving Kondas, was the Sailor Moon Infinity Collection Art Book , which was published in a very limited edition. In the same year, she first visited the Comic-Con festival, where she first appeared first-hand to American fans (most of the questions that she had asked at the press conference then concerned Sailor Moon).

Takeuchi introduced the seiyuu Megumi Ogata to the mangaka Yoshihiro Togashi (author of YuYu Hakusho and Hunter × Hunter ). For some time, Naoko worked as his assistant (doing screening ) and the manager of the first volume of his Hunter × Hunter manga, but then their business collaboration came to naught, as Takeuchi began to cope with the amount of work entrusted to her. Somewhere in the same period, she conceived the plot of her new manga “ Toki * Meka ” (which eventually became “ Toki * Meca ”). Togashi also had ideas similar to this manga, but he never realized them and instead threw Takeuchi some ideas for the plot and drew some sketches that Takeuchi then used in the final version. On January 6, 1999, Takeuchi and Togashi got married. In January 2001, their first son was born, whose home nickname was “Patie Oji” (a combination of the French word “little” and the Japanese “prince”). In 2008, the couple had a second child, whose existence, Yoshihiro and Naoko were advertised only when he was already a year old ^[7] , and only in November 2013 the ROLa magazine reported that it was a girl.

Manga

• Chocolate Christmas ( Japanese チ ョ コ レ ー ト ・ ク リ ス マ ス Chokore: then Kurisumasu , 1987-1988) :
  • The story of a girl who fell in love with DJ just before Christmas. It was produced in the form of one tankobon .
• Maria ( Japanese ま ・ り ・ あ Ma-ri-a , 1989-1990) :
  • The story is based on the story of Jean Webster's “ Long-legged Daddy ”.
• The Cherry Project ( Japanese. The チ ェ リ ー プ ロ ジ ェ ク ト The Teri: Purozekuto , 1990-1991) :
  • The manga is dedicated to figure skating and consists of 3 volumes. The plot tells the story of a young skater Cherry and how she strives to become a professional and win the heart of a guy. One of the characters in this manga also appeared in Sailor Moon.
• Codename: Sailor V ( Japanese コ ー ド ネ ー ム は セ ー ラ ー V Ko: done: mu wa Sara Bui , 1991-1997) :
  • This series is dedicated to the adventures of the “ fairy girls ” Sailor V. She is the direct predecessor (and in some sense the prototype) of Sailor Moon and represents Minako Aino , who later appeared in other series. The last chapters of the manga were created after the release of Sailor Moon. These chapters connect the two series in a single storyline. Originally released in three volumes, Codename: Sailor V was reprinted in 2004 in 2 volumes of Renewal Edition (新装 版Shinjou: ban ).
• Beauty warrior sailor moon ( jap. 美 少女 戦 士 セ ー ラ ー ム ー ン bisho: jo senshi se: ra: mu: n , 1992-199)
  • The most famous work of Naoko Takeuchi. This work of hers was adapted into an anime series, several feature films, theater musicals, a television series, and many video games of various genres. Manga is a combination of the genres of Maho-shoujo and sentai . The plot of the work tells the story of the girl Usagi Tsukino , who once found out that she is the reincarnation of the legendary heroine fighting for love and justice. This series is largely responsible for increasing interest in the Maho-shojo genre in the late 1990s. It was originally published in 18 volumes, but was reprinted in 2003 and 2004 in the 12-volume Renewal Edition (新装 版 '' Shinjou: ban '') format, with two additional volumes containing additional stories.
• Miss Rain ( Japanese ミ ス ・ レ イ ン Misu Rain , 1993) :
  • A collection of 5 short stories, including a title work.
• Prism Time ( Japanese プ リ ズ ム ・ タ イ ム Purizumu Taimu , 1986-1997) :
  • A collection of one shots from early work until the second half of the 1990s. It was published in 2 volumes, published in 1995 and 1997, respectively.
• PQ Angels ( Japanese ＰＱ エ ン ジ ェ ル ス PQ Enzherusu , 1997) :
  • The story of two aliens who know how to turn into cockroaches , looking for their princess. The series was abruptly stopped after the release of 4 chapters and the loss by the publishing house Kodansha of a part of the already created work. For these reasons, the manga appeared only in the magazine from September to December 1997.
• Princess Naoko Takeuchi's Return-to-Society Punch !! (1998-?):
  • A collection of short panels about what Naoko did after Sailor Moon. She was released under different names for several years, talking about the crisis in the life of the mangaki after the end of Sailor Moon and the way out of this crisis, as well as about her meeting, marriage and the beginning of her family life with Yoshihiro Togashi . The comic was mostly published in Shueisha's Young You magazine than in Kodansha . It has never been published in separate volumes. A similar section of ____ Punch! In the same format was at the end of some of the Sailor Moon's Renewal Edition volumes.
• Toki ☆ Meka! ( Japanese と き ☆ メ カ! Toki ☆ Maka!, 2001) :
  • One-shot about the robot ( Mech ), its creator and their adventures.
• Love Witch ( Japanese ラ ブ ウ ィ ッ チ Rabu Vitti , 2002) :
  • The story of a girl who received a bottle of perfume and became a witch, but paid a high price for it. The exit was stopped after the 3rd chapter and one additional story without any explanation.
• Toki ☆ Meca! ( Japanese と き ☆ め か! Toki ☆ Meka!, 2005-2006) :
  • A complete series based on the original story. Its release began immediately after the reissues of Sailor Moon and Sailor V. The first part was released from January through April 2005 in Nakayoshi. after which the author suspended the series, promising to return to it later. The second part began to be published in November 2005. The only volume was published in August 2005. The series officially ended in May 2006. So Toki ☆ Meca! became Takeuchi's first completed series after Sailor Moon and Codename wa Sailor V.

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 )

Books

• Oboo-nu- to Chiboo-nu- (illustrated by Yoshihiro Togashi)
  • A book for children written for the birth of her son.

Lyrics for Songs

Takeuchi has written the lyrics for many songs from the anime and the Sailor Moon television series. These are mainly musical themes for characters ( English image songs ) ^[8] .

• Ai wo Shinjiteru (Believe in Love) - Sailor Moon's musical theme
• Chikara wo Awasete ("Uniting Forces") - Taiki / Sailor Star Miker's musical theme
• Ginga Ichi Mibun Chigai na Kataomoi ("One-sided Love Standing Along the Galaxy") - Sei / Sailor Star Fighter's musical theme
• Honoo no Sogekimono (Flame Sniper) - Sailor Mars theme music
• Initial U - Sailor Uranus Music Theme
• Katagoshi ni Kinsei (“Venus Over my Shoulder”) - Sailor Venus musical theme in the Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon television series
• Kirari * SailorDream! ("Sparkling Sailor Dream!") - Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon theme song
• Luna! - moon music theme
• Mayonaka Hitori ("Alone At Midnight") - Yaten / Sailor Star Healer music theme
• Over Rainbow Tour - Sailor Moon theme music in Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon television series
• Princess Moon - the second of the closing compositions of anime
• "Rashiku" Ikimasho ("I'll Go With My Looks") - the final composition of Supers
• Route Venus - Theme of Sailor Venus ( Sailor Moon R )
• Sailor Star Song - Music Theme for Sailor Stars
• Sailor Team no Theme ( Sailor Team theme music)
• Senshi no Omoi (Feelings of a Soldier) - Sailor Neptune theme song
• We Believe You - Sailor Jupiter Musical Theme

Naoko Takeuchi has won several awards, including the 2nd Nakayoshi Comic Prize for Newcomers for Yume ja Nai no Ne in 1985. She also received the Nakayoshi's New Artist award for Love Call, which began to be released in the September 1986 issue of Nakayoshi Deluxe . In 1993, she received the 17th Kodansha Manga Award in the shojo genre for Sailor Moon ^[9] .

• Sailor Moon Channel (Japanese) - the official website of the mangaka.

• Naoko Takeuchi on the Internet Movie Database
• Naoko Takeuchi in the Anime News Network personal encyclopedia