Chica Umino
Encyclopedia
is the pen name
of an anonymous Japanese female manga artist
, designer
and illustrator
.
Umino is noted for being the author and creator of the Honey and Clover
series, for which she received the Kodansha Manga Award
in 2003, and which has been adapted into an anime
series, produced by J.C.Staff
.
works prior to her debut.
Umino likes Harry Potter
and anime by Hayao Miyazaki
and refers to herself an otaku
.. After the anime adaption of Honey and Clover, she remained in touch with Hiroshi Kamiya
and Mikako Takahashi
, the voices of Takemoto and Yamada respectively.
, began serialization in Shueisha
's manga magazine, CUTiEcomic. The series' first fourteen chapters were published in CUTiEcomic; serialization was later moved to Young YOU. With the demise of Young YOU in 2005, the series moved to the magazine Chorus, where it continued its run until the series ended in July 2006 with 64 chapters. Umino received the 27th Kodansha Manga Award for Honey and Clover in 2003, which was adapted into an anime series produced by J.C. Staff.
Umino's most recent work is , which began serialization in Hakusensha
's seinen
manga
magazine, Young Animal
. In 2009, she provided the character designs for original anime series, Eden of the East
, by director Kenji Kamiyama
.
Umino has also illustrated "Tobira o Akete" and the Glass Heart series, including "Boukensha-tachi", "Netsu no Shiro" and "Love Way."
Pen name
A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...
of an anonymous Japanese female manga artist
Mangaka
is the Japanese word for a comic artist or cartoonist. Outside of Japan, manga usually refers to a Japanese comic book and mangaka refers to the author of the manga, who is usually Japanese...
, designer
Designer
A designer is a person who designs. More formally, a designer is an agent that "specifies the structural properties of a design object". In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, such as consumer products, processes, laws, games and graphics, is referred to as a...
and illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
.
Umino is noted for being the author and creator of the Honey and Clover
Honey and Clover
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Chika Umino. It is also known as and H&C. It is published by Shueisha, initially serialized from June 2000 to July 2006 in the magazines CUTiEcomic, Young YOU, and Chorus, and collected in ten bound volumes...
series, for which she received the Kodansha Manga Award
Kodansha Manga Award
is an annual award for serialized manga published in the previous year, sponsored by the publisher Kodansha. It is currently awarded in four categories: children's, shōnen, shōjo, and general. The awards began in 1977, initially with categories for shōnen and shōjo. The first award for the...
in 2003, and which has been adapted into an anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
series, produced by J.C.Staff
J.C.STAFF
, is a Japanese animation studio founded in January 1986. Their first release was the three episode OVA Sengoku Kidan Yōtōden, in 1987. They have produced several well-known anime series, such as Revolutionary Girl Utena, Excel Saga, Shingetsutan Tsukihime, Shakugan no Shana, Toaru Majutsu no...
.
Personal
Chika Umino was born on August 30 in Adachi, Tokyo. She graduated from the Tokyo Metropolitan Art and Craft High School. Her pen name comes from her favorite location , which is also the title of her dōjinshiDojinshi
is the Japanese term for self-published works, usually magazines, manga or novels. Dōjinshi are often the work of amateurs, though some professional artists participate as a way to publish material outside the regular industry. The term dōjinshi is derived from and . Dōjinshi are part of a wider...
works prior to her debut.
Umino likes Harry Potter
Harry Potter
Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
and anime by Hayao Miyazaki
Hayao Miyazaki
is a Japanese manga artist and prominent film director and animator of many popular anime feature films. Through a career that has spanned nearly fifty years, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a maker of animated feature films and, along with Isao Takahata, co-founded Studio Ghibli,...
and refers to herself an otaku
Otaku
is a Japanese term used to refer to people with obsessive interests, particularly anime, manga or video games.- Etymology :Otaku is derived from a Japanese term for another's house or family , which is also used as an honorific second-person pronoun...
.. After the anime adaption of Honey and Clover, she remained in touch with Hiroshi Kamiya
Hiroshi Kamiya
is a Japanese voice actor who works for Aoni Production. He is best known for being the voice of Nozomu Itoshiki from Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei and Tieria Erde from Mobile Suit Gundam 00. He won "Best Lead Actor" and "Best Personality" at the Third Seiyu Awards, and "Best Supporting Actor" at the...
and Mikako Takahashi
Mikako Takahashi
is a seiyū and J-pop singer born May 29, 1980 in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. Under the alias Mikako Hyatt, she forms one half of the Excel Saga seiyū duo The Excel Girls . She is employed by I'm Enterprise...
, the voices of Takemoto and Yamada respectively.
Career
In 2000, Umino's most notable work, Honey and CloverHoney and Clover
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Chika Umino. It is also known as and H&C. It is published by Shueisha, initially serialized from June 2000 to July 2006 in the magazines CUTiEcomic, Young YOU, and Chorus, and collected in ten bound volumes...
, began serialization in Shueisha
Shueisha
is a major publisher in Japan. The company was founded in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The following year, Shueisha became a separate, independent company. Magazines published by Shueisha include Weekly Shōnen Jump, Weekly Young Jump,...
's manga magazine, CUTiEcomic. The series' first fourteen chapters were published in CUTiEcomic; serialization was later moved to Young YOU. With the demise of Young YOU in 2005, the series moved to the magazine Chorus, where it continued its run until the series ended in July 2006 with 64 chapters. Umino received the 27th Kodansha Manga Award for Honey and Clover in 2003, which was adapted into an anime series produced by J.C. Staff.
Umino's most recent work is , which began serialization in Hakusensha
Hakusensha
is a Japanese publishing company. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo.The company mainly publishes manga magazines of various genres and is involved in certain series' productions in their games, original video animation, musical and their animated TV series....
's seinen
Seinen
is a subset of manga that is generally targeted at a 20–30 year old male audience, but the audience can be older with some manga aimed at businessmen well into their 40s. In Japanese, the word Seinen means "young man" or "young men" and is not suggestive of sexual matters...
manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
magazine, Young Animal
Young Animal
is a magazine in Japan that features seinen manga and scantily clad women. It is published by Hakusensha and issued on the second and fourth Friday of each month in saddle-stapled B5 format, selling for 310 yen...
. In 2009, she provided the character designs for original anime series, Eden of the East
Eden of the East
is a Japanese anime television series, which premiered on Fuji TV's noitaminA timeslot on April 9, 2009. Created, directed and written by Kenji Kamiyama, it features character designs by Chika Umino and animation production by Production I.G...
, by director Kenji Kamiyama
Kenji Kamiyama
, born on March 20, 1966 in Saitama Prefecture, Japan, is a Japanese anime director. He has worked regularly with the anime studio and production enterprise, Production I.G, such as his work on Jin-Roh, Patlabor, Blood: The Last Vampire, and for whom he has directed the Ghost in the Shell: Stand...
.
Umino has also illustrated "Tobira o Akete" and the Glass Heart series, including "Boukensha-tachi", "Netsu no Shiro" and "Love Way."