Ai Yazawa

nihongo|Ai Yazawa|矢沢あい|Yazawa Ai|extra=born 1967-03-07 in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan is a Japanese manga author. Her pen name comes from Japanese singer Eikichi Yazawa, of whom she is a fan.

Yazawa started her manga publishing life in 1985; throughout 15 years of publishing, she wrote over 10 series in "Ribon". While most of her manga continues to be published in Japan by Shueisha, publishers of "Ribon" and "Cookie" (in which "Nana" is serialized), series like "Paradise Kiss" now appear in other magazines such as "Zipper", published by Shodensha. [ [http://www.shodensha.co.jp/ 祥伝社の出版物 ] ]

Yazawa's most famous manga include "Tenshi Nanka Ja Nai" (I'm Not an Angel), "Gokinjo Monogatari" (Neighborhood Story), "Paradise Kiss", and "Nana". All five volumes of "Paradise Kiss" have been released in English by Tokyopop. "Nana" was formerly running in Shojo Beat and is now being released by Viz Media, bi-monthly. In Japan it continues to run in "Cookie" and is currently up to 77 chapters, plus three side story chapters about different characters' early lives. In 2003, she was awarded the Shogakukan Manga Award for "Nana".cite web | url=http://comics.shogakukan.co.jp/mangasho/rist.html | title=小学館漫画賞：歴代受賞者 | publisher=Shogakukan | language=Japanese | accessdate=2007-08-19] "Nana" was made into an anime (produced by Madhouse Studios) and a successful movie with a sequel in Japan.

Yazawa's works are most popular among women and young girls. The storylines generally are centered on young women and their relationships, something with which her young fanbase identifies. The characters are always very stylish, and she is known especially for her hip sense of fashion. Yazawa herself attended a fashion school after high school but did not complete her studies there. Another key point is her strikingly unique, often rebellious characters, who tend to be juxtaposed against the more traditional ones.

She has also published three artbooks.

Works (in chronological order)

* "15-nenme" (1986)
* "Love Letter" (1987)
* "Kaze ni Nare!" (1988)
* "Escape" (1988)
* "Ballad Made Soba ni Ite" (1989, 2 volumes)
* "Marine Blue no Kaze ni Dakarete" (1990–1991, 4 volumes)
* "Usubeni no Arashi" (1992)
* "Tenshi Nanka Ja Nai" (1992–1995, 8 volumes)
* "Gokinjo Monogatari" (1995–1998, 7 volumes)
* "Kagen no Tsuki" (1998–1999, 3 volumes)
* "Paradise Kiss" (2000–2004, 5 volumes, published by Shodensha)
* "Nana" (2000–ongoing, 20 volumes in Japan so far)
* "Princess Ai" (2004–2006, 3 volumes) (character designs only)

References

External links

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* [http://users.skynet.be/mangaguide/au2113.html Profile] at The Ultimate Manga Guide