Most known for creating Fruits Basket, Natsuki inadvertently pioneered the shojo Manga genre. I wanted to take this opportunity to share more about the artist, rather than their art. I think the world over has taken notice and understands her artwork, but not much is known about her. And maybe that's by design, I respect that. Still, I'd like to share the readily available information about her. with artists, or people that are not aware of her as a person.
Takaya was born July 7th, 1973, in Shizuoka, Japan. The year of the OX! Her real name is Hana Hatate, but I'll continue with her pen name. Although she was born in Shizuoka, she was raised in Tokyo. She wanted to become a Mangaka as early as first grade when her older sister took up art. Her sister's influence proved successful because right after high school, she would make her debut as an Artist.
From my research, aside from drawing, Takaya also enjoyed playing video games. Such as Sakura Wars and the Final Fantasy series.
In 1992, at 18 years old, Takaya entered the professional mangaka scene working with the magazine called Hana to Yume Planet Zōkan magazine. Two years later, in the same magazine, she would create her first serilized story, Phantom Dream, from 1994 to 1997.
Phantom Dream 1994-1997
The insane thing is, during the production of Phantom Dream, she also worked on her second serialized Manga, Tsubasa: Those With Wings from 1995 to 1998. Let's just take a moment to admire all the hard work Takaya put in. This woman's career snowballed since 18 years old, and boy, that type of dedication is rare to see!
Tusbasa: Those With Wings 1995-1998
Her third series would begin in 1999 with her magnum opus, Fruits Basket, and conclude in 2006.
Some things to note about the creation of FURBA. Her interest in the Zodiac came from a dictionary she was reading that referenced the Zodiac animals. Takaya also stated in interviews that the story of FURBA was the story she intended to tell through the entire process of production. That's so amazing!
Around volume 6 in the series, Takaya suffered an injury to her left hand (her drawing hand) that required surgery. Resulting in a brief hiatus. I could not find an explanation on how she injured herself, but I suspect it was a case of carpal tunnel, a common injury for artists.
In 2001, Furba went on to win the Kodansha Manga Award for best Shojo Manga. In the same year, Furba got its first Anime adaption, which was later rebooted in 2019. The series easily became the best-selling Shojo series in North America.
Fruits Basket 1999- 2001
In between creating Furba, Takaya also created Songs to Make You Smile which was around 1998. It's a collection of short stories that were published in one volume in 1999.
It seemed after Furba, she took a well-deserved break before creating another series, Twinkle Stars, in 2007, which ended in 2011.
Songs to Make You Smile 1998-1999 (left)
Twinkle Stars 2007-2011 (right)
The following series was interesting to look up. In 2011 Liselotte and Witch's Forest was published, but around 2013 Takaya put the series on a hiatus due to an unknown illness. To this day, the story is put on hold. However, Takaya stated she would finish the series little by little.
The last few works, I'll bunch together, as most of them are similar. Fruits Basket Another was created by Tanaka to advertise the original Fruba series. And Fruits Basket: The Three Musketeers Arc 1 & 2 is a spin-off series with 6 chapters available. These seem to be digitally exclusive, and most likely just for fun.
Fruits Basket: The Three Musketeers Arc #1 - Kindle edition by Takaya, Natsuki, Takaya, Natsuki. Download it once and read it on your Kindle
Ironically, I mentioned at the beginning I wanted to focus on the artists, rather than their art. But in researching Takaya much of her personal life is kept private. I believe from what I see, her Manga was her life. And it's through her work we learn the type of person she is.
I hope that whatever her current situation is, she is healthy and proud of all her accomplishments. I'm in awe of the amount of work experience she has created for herself at just the age of 48.
Natsuki Takaya, you will always remain an inspiration to many readers and artists alike. I can't wait to see what you accomplish next!
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