is a shōjo

manga artist A is a comic artist who writes and/or illustrates manga. As of 2006, about 3,000 professional manga artists were working in Japan. Most manga artists study at an art college or manga school or take on an apprenticeship with another artist be ...

born in Tokyo, Japan. Her best-known work was '' Kodomo no Omocha'', also known as ''Kodocha'', which was published in ''

Ribon is a monthly Japanese manga magazine published by Shueisha on the third of each month. First issued in August 1955, its rivals are ''Nakayoshi'' and '' Ciao''. Its target audience is girls roughly 8–14 years old. It is one of the best-s ...

'' magazine, and won the

Kodansha Manga Award is an annual award for serialized manga published in the previous year, the event is sponsored by the publisher Kodansha. It is currently awarded in three categories: '' shōnen'', '' shōjo'', and general. The awards began in 1977, initially w ...

for shōjo in 1998. Other works include ''Partner'', ''Andante'' and '' Honey Bitter''.

Biography

Obana began her

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

career as an assistant to Momoko Sakura, the creator of '' Chibi Maruko-chan''. In 1990 she debuted with a

one-shot One shot may refer to: Film and television * One-shot film, a feature film shot in one long take with no edits, or manufactured to look like so * ''One Shot'' (2005 film), a Sri Lankan action film directed by Ranjan Ramanayake * ''One Shot'' (2 ...

manga, ''Mado no Mukō'', which was published in the autumn 1990 issue of '' Ribon Bikkuri''. Later stories would appear in ''Ribon Original'' and ''Ribon'' magazines. In 1994, she authored '' Kodomo no Omocha'', a shojo manga series about a child actress who interacts with an aloof elementary school boy. The series won the

for shojo in 1998, and was adapted to an anime television series ''Kodocha'' that ran for 102 episodes. Within the TV series, there is a character named after her. The manga ran until 1998, totaling 10

tankōbon is the Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...

volumes. In 1999, she wrote a one-shot called ''Mizu no Yakata'' which focuses on the drama story that characters Sana and Naozumi of ''Kodomo no Omocha'' starred in. In 2015, ''Kodocha'' was adapted into a stage play. She also released a ''Kodocha'' one-shot for the 60th anniversary of ''Ribon''. In 1999, she authored ''Partner'', a drama series about a two pairs of twins who are classmates and friends when one of them is killed by a drunk driver. ''Partner'' was noted for its dark, mature, and disturbing tone, and ran through 2000 in ''Ribon'', and compiled into 3 tankōbon volumes. In 2001, she worked on ''Andante'', a story about a girl who falls in love with her stepbrother but a family friend whose parents have died comes to live with them. It was serialized in ''Ribon'' through 2002, and compiled into 3 tankōbon volumes. In 2003, she worked on ''Pochi'', which is about a junior high school girl who is stressed about life and her classmate whose mother treats him as a pet dog. In 2004, Obana started a ''

josei , also known as and its abbreviation , is an editorial category of Japanese comics that emerged in the 1980s. In a strict sense, ''josei'' refers to manga marketed to an audience of adult women, contrasting ''shōjo'' manga, which is marke ...

'' manga called '' Honey Bitter'', about a girl who was mistreated by her ex-boyfriend but then has to deal with him as a coworker in their aunt's detective agency. The manga was serialized in ''

Cookie A cookie is a baked or cooked snack or dessert that is typically small, flat and sweet. It usually contains flour, sugar, egg, and some type of oil, fat, or butter. It may include other ingredients such as raisins, oats, chocolate chips, n ...

'' from February 2004 to December 2018, and occasionally appeared in the

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in Nov ...

charts for top manga. She also wrote some manga for the josei magazine ''

Chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...

''. In November 2008, Obana took a hiatus from making manga because of her pregnancy and worsening

tendonitis Tendinopathy, a type of tendon disorder that results in pain, swelling, and impaired function. The pain is typically worse with movement. It most commonly occurs around the shoulder (rotator cuff tendinitis, biceps tendinitis), elbow (tennis elb ...

; she resumed working on ''Honey Bitter'' in November 2009. In 2010, celebrating her 20th anniversary of her debut, she authored ''Deep Clear'', a two-part crossover story with characters from ''Kodomo no Omocha'' and ''Honey Bitter''.

Works

References

External links

* *

at Ultimate Manga Guide {{DEFAULTSORT:Obana, Miho 1970 births Women manga artists Manga artists from Tokyo People from Tokyo Winner of Kodansha Manga Award (Shōjo) Japanese female comics artists Living people Female comics writers