Japan is famous for its modern art, manga, and anime. Ever since the 1950s, Japan has been building and creating a specific artistic and narrative style through manga, a visual storytelling medium. For decades, manga has been telling any kind of the story of any genre for any age group.
Manga is enjoyed by people of all ages, from all over the world and some of the best mangas have been created by talented women. Even some of the shounen manga, which is traditionally made for young men, was created by the female mangaka.
Here is a list of the best female mangakas in the industry’s history:
1) Rumiko Takahashi (creator of Inuyasha)
Pictures: Japan Objects
An absolute legend of the manga world, Rumiko Takahashi was born in Niigata, Japan, and has a fanbase of people from the entire world. Her biggest work, the long-running fantasy romance Inuyasha is still popular to this day. It began in 1996 until 2008.
Other than Inuyasha, Takahashi’s masterpieces, Ranma 1/2 and Maison Ikokku are well known too resulting in her as one of the hardest-working and highest-earning Japanese mangaka.
2) Hiromu Arakawa (creator of Full Metal Alchemist)
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Hiromu Arakawa or her pen name, Hiromi Arakawa, born in Hokkaido is the creator of the most celebrated shounen manga of all time, Full Metal Alchemist. She is also the original writer and artist of Brotherhood, the second anime adaptation of Full Metal Alchemist.
She began her manga career after moving to Tokyo in 1999 and now, she is a giant of the industry as Full Metal Alchemist will be remembered as one of the manga and anime world’s finest creations in history. The characters in Arakawa’s works defy genre tropes and gives something truly unique in the industry.
3) Natsuki Takaya (creator of Fruits Basket)
Pictures: Japan Objects
This legendary manga series, Fruits Basket that ran from 1998 to 2006 has given Natsuki Takaya as one of the great mangakas of the last few decades.
The iconic manga was adapted into anime series in 2001 and recently in 2019, it was re-adapted into a more visually impressive anime. It tells the story of Toru Honda, a young woman who stays strong in the face of adversity. When this optimistic woman ends up living with the Soma family, she discovered that this family has a magical curse related to the animals of the Chinese zodiacs. From here, the story unfolds and balances well between tragedy and comedy.
4) Ichigo Takano (creator of Orange)
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The creator of Orange, Ichigo Takano is a very young manga artist that was born in Nagano. Her work, Orange, was adapted into a 13-episode anime series right before the manga wrapped. It was one of Japan’s most famous and hyped shoujo manga. The story follows a high school girl, Naho Takamiya who receives a letter written by her almost thirty-year-old self.
Born in Nagano and still very young for a manga artist of her renown and calibre, Ichigo Takano is the creator of Orange, a popular six-volume manga series which was adapted into a 13-episode anime series just before the manga wrapped. You can check out the complete collection here.
Due to the high school setting, this manga was a hit amongst high school and university students of Japan.
5) CLAMP (creator of Chobits and Cardcaptor Sakura)
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CLAMP, a group of stellar female manga artists and writers who were famous in the 90s. They started in the 80s with eleven members but as time passes, their numbers went down to four. The four remaining members, Nanase Okawa, Mokono Apapa, Tsubaki Nekoi, and Satsuki Igarashi were the writers of iconic manga such as Tokyo Babylon, Chobits, and Cardcaptor Sakura.
Cardcaptor Sakura was the one that gives CLAMP its legendary status. It was the trendsetter of the magical girl genre of shoujo manga that remains popular up to this day.
6) Kore Yamazaki (creator of The Ancient Magus Bride)
Pictures: Japan Objects
A young rising star in the industry, Kore Yamazaki was born in Hokkaido in 1990. She has created The Ancient Magus Bride which is an ongoing manga series that began in 2013 and has been adapted into an anime.
Yamazaki is still writing and drawing the manga while the anime adaptation has finished. The Ancient Magus Bride tells a story about an orphan Japanese high school girl that was bought by an enormous demon-like British magus at an auction. It was a controversial series but it helps Yamazaki get her fame.
7) Fumiyo Kono (creator of In This Corner of the World)
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In This Corner of the World, a celebrated award-winning contemporary manga series by Fumiyo Kono was released in 2004. Another one of Kono’s popular manga series, Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms is set in and around Hiroshima, alongside In This Corner of the World.
These two short historical masterpieces by Fumiyo Kono have both results in awards, accolades, adaptations, and universal praise for her. She is now one of modern Japan’s most inspiring manga artists.
Sources: Japan Objects
