Natsuki Takaya

Natsuki Takaya
Born	July 7, 1973 Shizuoka, Japan
Pen name	Natsuki Takaya
Occupation	Manga artist
Nationality	Japanese
Genre	Fiction
Subject	Shōjo manga

Natsuki Takaya (高屋 奈月 Takaya Natsuki) is the penname of a Japanese manga artist best known for creating the series Fruits Basket, which at one time was the best selling manga in the world. She was born on July 7, 1973. Takaya is left-handed and once revealed that she wanted to be a manga artist since first grade, when her sister started drawing. She was born in Shizuoka, Japan, but was raised in Tokyo, where she made her debut in 1992. She enjoys video games such as the Final Fantasy series or Sakura Wars, or working on her different manga series, such as Fruits Basket,^[1] and the top selling shōjo manga in North America.^[2] Fruits Basket has also been adapted into a twenty-six-episode anime series. In 2001, Takaya received a Kodansha Manga Award for shōjo manga for Fruits Basket.^[3]

According to Takaya (in a sidebar of a Fruits Basket manga volume), she enjoys drawing girls (girly ones) more than she does boys. She also says that she enjoys drawing young children, but is excited to see them (referring to Kisa and Hiro Sohma) grow up. Takaya also enjoys electronics and music, but dislikes talking about herself. Also revealed in a sidebar of Fruits Basket, Takaya broke her drawing arm (left) after Fruits Basket volume six was published. She had to go into surgery, and as a result, had put Fruits Basket on a brief hiatus. Takaya made a full recovery, but complains that her handwriting had gotten uglier, due to the surgery. During her hospital stay, she gained an interest in baseball.

Series

• Phantom Dream (幻影夢想 Genei Musō)
  (1994–1997, Hana to Yume Planet Zōkan, Hakusensha, 5 volumes; English translation, 2008^[4])
• Tsubasa: Those with Wings (翼を持つ者 Tsubasa o Motsu Mono)
  (1995–1998, Hana to Yume, Hakusensha, 6 volumes; English translation, 2008^[4])
• Songs to Make You Smile (僕が唄うと君は笑うから Boku ga Utau to Kimi wa Warau kara)
  (1998, short story collection)
• Fruits Basket (フルーツバスケット Furūtsu Basuketto)
  (1998–2006, Hana to Yume, Hakusensha, 23 volumes; English translation, 2004^[5])
• Komogomo
  (2006, one-shot)
• Hoshi wa Utau (星は歌う)
  (June 2007^[6]–2011,^[5] Hana to Yume, Hakusensha, 11 volumes)
• Liselotte and Witch's Forest (リーゼロッテと魔女の森 Liselotte to Majo no Mori)
  (May 2011–on hold,^[7] Hana to Yume, Hakusensha, 5 volumes)

References

• Fruits Basket Vol. 1; pg. 29. (English Translation)
• Fruits Basket Vol. 7; pg. 15 (English Translation)

1. "'Fruits Basket' Tally Over 18 Million". ICv2. 2007-05-08. Retrieved 2007-12-12.
2. Hibbs, Brian (February 2008). "Tilting @ Windmills 2.0 #49: Looking at Bookscan 2007". Newsarama. Archived from the original on 2008-05-17. Retrieved 2008-02-19. "Tokyopop’s best-selling title is Fruits Basket v16 with an excellent 58,372 copies sold in 2007" and "[In 2007]...Naruto shares the Top 10 manga titles with Fruits Basket, Death Note and Bleach."
3. Joel Hahn. "Kodansha Manga Awards". Comic Book Awards Almanac. Archived from the original on 2007-08-16. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
4. "Tokyopop Announces New Manga Titles (Update 2)". Anime News Network. July 5, 2008. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
5. "Fruits Basket's Takaya to Start Liselotte & Witch's Forest". Anime News Network. April 16, 2011. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
6. "New Manga from Fruits Basket Creator Set to Debut". Anime News Network. May 20, 2007. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
7. "Fruits Basket's Natsuki Takaya to Go on Extended Hiatus". Anime News Network. December 3, 2013. Retrieved November 22, 2014.

External links

• "Something About Shojo". Time.com. 2006-08-10. - Time.com's Interview with Natsuki Takaya
• Natsuki Takaya at Anime News Network's encyclopedia