is a Japanese manga artist. Critics and scholars often count her among the

Year 24 Group The is a grouping of female manga artists who heavily influenced ''shōjo'' manga (Japanese girls' comics) beginning in the 1970s. While ''shōjo'' manga of the 1950s and 1960s largely consisted of simple stories marketed towards elementary s ...

, a nebulous group of female artists considered to have revolutionized manga (Japanese comics for girls) in the 1970s. She made her professional debut in 1964 at the age of 14 with her

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

, published by

Shueisha (lit. "Gathering of Intellect Publishing Co., Ltd.") is a Japanese company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The foll ...

in the Spring Break Special issue of '' Ribon''. During her school breaks, Kimura continued writing short stories published in magazines such as '' COM'' and '' Ribon Comic''. Her stories' settings throughout the 1960s and early 1970s were varied, including places like Auschwitz,

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

, and the

slums A slum is a highly populated urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are primarily in ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

. She covered topics interesting to young girls, elaborately drawing out the feelings and motivations of her characters. After graduating from college, Kimura took a short break from creating manga before returning with , published by

Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, comics ( manga), non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the H ...

in ''

Bessatsu Shōjo Comic , known as before 2000, is a monthly Japanese manga magazine published by Shogakukan. It was conceived as a or "special issue" of its sister magazine ''Shōjo Comic''. It is released on the 13th of each month. Serializations Current * '' ...

'' in 1974. The short story discussed the struggles of elementary school life. She later published , a short story about four young college girls living together. caused her to gain wider popularity. From that point, Kimura generally published manga in (aimed at teenage girls), (aimed at young men), and ladies' comics (aimed at adult women) magazines published by

Akita Shoten is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It was founded by Teio Akita on 10 August 1948. As of 2020, the company's president is Shigeru Higuchi. Magazines Male-oriented manga magazines ''Shōnen'' magazines * – Bimo ...

and Kodansha. In recent years, Kimura has published fewer works, with most of her releases being reprints of older works. She has also created several

health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...

-related manga. One of her works finished its run in 2008 in ', a magazine published by Asahi Sonorama.

Rachel Thorn Rachel Thorn (formerly Matt Thorn; born May 12, 1965) is a cultural anthropologist and an associate professor in the Department of Manga Production at Kyoto Seika University's Faculty of Manga in Japan. She is best known in North America for h ...

, an anthropologist noted for her work on manga, called Kimura "one of the most brilliant and largely forgotten members of the ear 24 Group. Thorn praised her for creating manga with "explicitly social and feminist messages" and for addressing "issues of interest to women, including sexuality, work, and health."

Works

* (1964, '' Ribon'',

) * (December 1966, ''Ribon'', Shueisha) * (April–June 1967, ''Ribon'', Shueisha) * (May 1968, '' Ribon Comics'', Shueisha) * (March 1969, '' Junior Comics'', Shueisha) * (May 1969, ''Junior Comics'', Shueisha) * (September 1969, '' COM'', Mushi Pro) * (May–June 1970, ''COM'', Mushi Pro) * (May 1970, '' Ribon Comic'', Shueisha) * (September 1970, ''Ribon Comic'', Shueisha) * (October 1970, ''Ribon Comic'', Shueisha) * (February 1971, ''Ribon Comic'', Shueisha) * (May 1971, ''Ribon'', Shueisha) **Collected in * (September 1971, ''COM'', Mushi Pro) * (December 1971, ''COM'', Mushi Pro) * (May 1973, ', Mushi Pro) **Collected in * (October 1974, ''

'',

) * (November 1974, ''Bessatsu Shōjo Comic'', Shogakukan) * (January 1975, ''Bessatsu Shōjo Comic'', Shogakukan) * (April–May 1975, ''Bessatsu Shōjo Comic'', Shogakukan) * (August 1975, ''Ribon Comic'', Shueisha) * (September 1975, ''Bessatsu Shōjo Comic'', Shogakukan) * (November 1975 – January 1976, ''Bessatsu Shōjo Comic'', Shogakukan) * (Spring 1976, '' Ribon Deluxe'', Shueisha) * (November 1976, ''Bessatsu Shōjo Comic'', Shogakukan) * (March 1977, ''Bessatsu Shōjo Comic'', Shogakukan) *''40-0'' (March 1977, '' Mimi'', Kodansha) * (1 May 1977, ''

Big Comic Original is a Japanese ''seinen'' manga magazine published by Shogakukan, aimed at an older adult and mostly male audience. It is a sister magazine to ''Big Comic'', the biggest difference being that it goes on sale twice a month in the weeks ''Big Comic ...

'', Shogakukan) * (September 1977, ''Mimi'', Kodansha) * (October 1977, ''Bessatsu Shōjo Comic'', Shogakukan) * (April, June 1978, ''Mimi'', Kodansha) * (May–June, September 1978, ''

Princess Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin '' princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subs ...

'',

) * (December 1978, ''Bessatsu Shōjo Comic'', Shogakukan) *''Flight'' (April 1979, '' Seventeen'', Shueisha) * (December 1979 – February 1980, ', Asahi Sonorama) * (February 1980, ''Seventeen'', Shueisha) * (June, August, November 1980 and January, March 1981, ''Mimi'', Kodansha) * (August 1980, ''

Petit Comic is a Japanese josei manga magazine published by Shogakukan. Many series in this anthology magazine are romance-oriented and some are well known for featuring frank depiction of sexual situations. It is also the first josei manga magazine, maki ...

'', Shogakukan) * (Summer 1980, ''

Petit Flower was a Japanese '' shōjo'' manga magazine published by Shogakukan. Founded in 1980, the magazine ceased publication in March 2002, when it was replaced by the magazine ''Flowers''. History Shogakukan began publishing ''Petit Flower'' as a regula ...

'', Shogakukan) **Revised version published in the 1 July 1981 issue of * (January–March 1981, ''Petit Comic'', Shogakukan) * (August, December 1981, February 1982, ', ) * (Early Spring Special 1982, ', Akita Shoten) * (January–June 1984, '' Bonita Eve'', Akita Shoten) * (February 1987, ', Akita Shoten) * (October 1989, '' Comic Burger'', ) **Later reprinted as * (October 1990 – August 1992, ''Human Sexuality'') * (December 1992, ''Rosa'',

Shōnen Gahōsha is a Japanese publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printe ...

) *''And I Love Her'' (June 1993, ''Rosa'', Shōnen Gahōsha) * (March 1993, ''Rosa'', Shōnen Gahōsha) * (September 1993, ''Belle Rose'', Shōnen Gahōsha) * (December 1993, January–February 1994, ''Belle Rose'', Shōnen Gahōsha) **Later reprinted as *''The Rose'' (March 1994, ''Belle Rose'', Shōnen Gahōsha) *''You've Got a Friend'' (June 1994, ''Belle Rose'', Shōnen Gahōsha) * (September 1994, ''Belle Rose'', Shōnen Gahōsha) * (August 1995, ''Belle Rose'', Shōnen Gahōsha) * (May 2000, Tokyo Women's Foundation) * (2006, ', Asahi Sonorama) * (2007, ''Mugenkan'', Asahi Sonorama) **Remake of her 1976 short story of the same name

References

External links

Minori Kimura
at the Media Arts Database
Manga reviews
at {{DEFAULTSORT:Kimura, Minori 1949 births Female comics writers Japanese female comics artists Living people Manga artists from Saitama Prefecture Women manga artists