is a Japanese

manga artist A manga artist, also known as a mangaka (), is a Cartoonist, comic artist who writes and/or illustrates manga. Most manga artists study at an art college or manga school or take on an apprenticeship with another artist before entering the indus ...

. She debuted in 1989 at the age of 18 with the short story "Pajama de Ojama" (, "An Intrusion in Pajamas") and has since published more than 50 volumes of one-shots and long-running

manga 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 history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

series. One of her most popular titles is ''

Fushigi Yûgi , also known as ''Fushigi Yûgi: The Mysterious Play'' or ''Curious Play'', is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yuu Watase. It tells the story of two teenaged girls, Miaka and Yui, who are pulled into ''The Universe of t ...

''. In 1998, Watase won the 43rd

Shogakukan Manga Award The is one of Japan's major manga 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 history in earlier Japanese art. The term is ...

in the (girls') category for ''

Ceres, Celestial Legend ''Ceres, Celestial Legend'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yuu Watase. It was originally serialized in Shōgakukan's magazine '' Shōjo Comic'' from May 1996 to March 2000, with its chapters colle ...

''. In 2008, she began her first (boys') serialization, '' Arata: The Legend''.

Early career and methods

Watase was born on March 5, 1970, in

Kishiwada, Osaka is a Cities of Japan, city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 190,853 in 88,598 households and a population density of 2,600 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . The city is well known for ...

. Watase developed an interest in drawing manga at a young age. However, Watase did not receive any formal training until after high school when she went to a private art school. There she was taught how to draw manga, but because her first short story, "Pajama de Ojama", had already debuted, Watase quit in the middle of it. Watase prefers to work with more traditional methods, because she believes the traditional methods have more feelings. Despite finding new media jarring, Watase has expressed a desire to work with new media as well. While Watase mostly works with colored inks and markers, she has used digital programs such as

Adobe Photoshop Adobe Photoshop is a raster graphics editor developed and published by Adobe Inc., Adobe for Microsoft Windows, Windows and macOS. It was created in 1987 by Thomas Knoll, Thomas and John Knoll. It is the most used tool for professional digital ...

to enhance traditional work.

Issues in career

In a 2014 blog post, Watase detailed some of the issues that she faced as a manga artist. A former editor for '' Arata: The Legend'' continuously asked Watase to redraw scenes that he did not like or understand. Watase was doing redraws all day and pulling late nights just to meet the next morning's deadlines. Because of the constant cycle, Watase began to lose interest in working on the manga for the fans or even the story. She was simply working to try and get it approved for the weekly publication.

Personal life

In 2019, Watase came out as

X-gender X-gender () is a third-gender that differs from M, for male, or F, for female. The term ''X-gender'' came into use during the later 1990s, popularized by queer organizations in Kansai, especially in Osaka and Kyoto. The term is used in place of ...

, a Japanese

non-binary Non-binary or genderqueer Gender identity, gender identities are those that are outside the male/female gender binary. Non-binary identities often fall under the transgender umbrella since non-binary people typically identify with a gende ...

gender identity. Following the announcement, an editor for

Viz Media Viz Media, LLC is an American entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California, focused on publishing manga, and distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. The company was founded in 1986 as Viz, ...

Shojo Beat ''Shojo Beat'' is a manga magazine formerly published in North America by Viz Media. Launched in June 2005 as a sister magazine for '' Shonen Jump'', it featured serialized chapters from six manga series, as well as articles on Japanese cult ...

imprint clarified that Watase's

pronouns In linguistics and grammar, a pronoun ( glossed ) is a word or a group of words that one may substitute for a noun or noun phrase. Pronouns have traditionally been regarded as one of the parts of speech, but some modern theorists would not con ...

in English are still "she" and "her".

Works

Watase Yuu Flower Comics

* ''

'' – 18 vols. * '' Fushigi Yûgi: Genbu Kaiden'' – 12 vols. * '' Fushigi Yûgi: Byakko Ibun'' – (oneshot) * '' Fushigi Yûgi: Byakko Senki'' – ongoing, first vol. released in April 2018. On hiatus from May 2018 (officially August 2018) – May 2024, resuming May 28th on a monthly schedule. * ''

Shishunki Miman Okotowari is a Japanese manga created by Yuu Watase and serialized in the manga magazine ''Shōjo Comic''. There are two sequels to this manga, ''Zoku Shishunki Miman Okotowari'' and ''Shishunki Miman Okotowari Kanketsuhen''. Plot summary Followi ...

'' – 3 vols. * ''

Zoku Shishunki Miman Okotowari is a Japanese manga created by Yuu Watase and serialized in the manga magazine ''Shōjo Comic''. There are two sequels to this manga, ''Zoku Shishunki Miman Okotowari'' and ''Shishunki Miman Okotowari Kanketsuhen''. Plot summary Followi ...

'' – 3 vols. * ''

Shishunki Miman Okotowari Kanketsu Hen is a Japanese manga created by Yuu Watase and serialized in the manga magazine ''Shōjo Comic''. There are two sequels to this manga, ''Zoku Shishunki Miman Okotowari'' and ''Shishunki Miman Okotowari Kanketsuhen''. Plot summary Followi ...

'' – 1 vol. * ''Epotoransu! Mai'' – 2 vols. * ''

'' (''Ayashi no Ceres'') – 14 vols. * ''

Appare Jipangu! is a manga by Yuu Watase. Set in Japan during the Edo period, it follows the life of Yusura, who as a baby, was found under a cherry tree with the "Kongoumaru" (a staff that turns blue when people are sad) by her side. Now fifteen years lat ...

'' – 3 vols. * ''

Imadoki! is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Yuu Watase. The manga is five volumes long. It has been licensed in North America by Viz Media. Plot Yamazaki Tanpopo moves from Hokkaidō to Tokyo in order to begin high school in an entirely n ...

'' – 5 vols. * ''

Alice 19th is a Japanese ''shōjo'' manga written by Yuu Watase. It appeared as a serial in the manga magazine '' Shōjo Comic''. The heroine's name (Alice), and her encounter with a white rabbit (Nyozeka) starts the storyline. Watase has written tha ...

'' – 7 vols. * ''

Absolute Boyfriend is a Japanese manga series by Yuu Watase, first serialized in ''Shōjo Comic''. Chuang Yi licensed it for an English release in Singapore, with the first volume released in March 2005. Viz Media licensed the series for an English release in ...

'' (''Zettai Kareshi'') – 6 vols. * ''

Sakura-Gari is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yuu Watase. As the author's first boys' love (BL) series, it follows the relationship between a poor student and his aristocratic benefactor, who hides a dark secret. ''Sakura-Gari'' was ...

'' – 3 vols.

Shōnen Sunday Comics

* '' Arata: The Legend'' (''Arata Kangatari'') – 24 vols.

Watase Yuu Masterpiece Collection

# ''Gomen Asobase!'' # ''Magical'' # ''Otenami Haiken!'' # ''Suna no Tiara'' # ''Mint de Kiss Me''

YuuTopia Collection

# ''Oishii Study'' # ''Musubiya Nanako''

Yuu Watase Best Selection

* ''Sunde ni Touch'' # ''Sunde ni TOUCH'' # ''COUPLE'' # ''Hatsuki Triangle'' # ''Houkago Gensou'' # ''700 Nichi no Blue'' * ''Perfect Lovers'' # ''PERFECT LOVERS'' # ''Otome no Jijyou'' # ''Genseika'' # ''Mint de Kiss Me'' # ''Pajama de Ojama'' # ''Pajama de Meiro (Labyrinth)''

Watase Yuu Flower Comics Deluxe, Kanzenban, Shogakukan Bunko

Bunkoban

* ''Fushigi Yūgi Bunko'' – 10 vols. * ''Ayashi no Ceres (Ceres, Celestial Legend) Bunko'' – 7 vols. * ''Alice 19th Bunko'' – 4 vols. * ''Zettai Kareshi Bunko'' – 3 vols. * ''Imadoki! Bunko'' – 3 vols. * ''Shishunki Miman Okotowari Bunko'' – 3 vols.

Kanzenban

* ''Fushigi Yūgi Kanzenban'' – 9 vols.

Flower Comics Deluxe

# ''Shishunki Miman Okotowari'' # ''Shishunki Miman Okotowari/Zoku Shishunki Miman Okotowari'' # ''Zoku Shishunki Miman Okotowari'' # ''Pajama de Ojama'' # ''Mint de Kiss Me'' # ''Epotoransu! Mai''

Artbooks

* ''Watase Yuu Illustration Collection Fushigi Yūgi'' * ''Watase Yuu Illustration Collection – Part 2 Fushigi Yūgi Animation World'' * ''"Ayashi no Ceres" Illustration Collection Tsumugi Uta ~Amatsu Sora Naru Hito o Kofutote~'' * ''Yuu Watase Post Card Book I'' * ''Yuu Watase Post Card Book II''

Novels

* ''Shishunki Miman Okotowari'' – 4 vols. * ''Fushigi Yūgi'' – 18 vols. * ''Ayashi no Ceres'' – 6 vols. * ''Fushigi Yūgi: Genbu Kaiden'' – 1 vol. * ''Absolute Boyfriend'' – 6 vols. * ''Masei Kishin Den (Illustration)'' * ''Yada ze! (Illustration)'' * ''Piratica (Illustration)''

Notes

References

External links

* *
Q&A at Anime Expo 2000
(defunct; link via the

Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by Internet Archive, an American nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California. Launched for public access in 2001, the service allows users to go "back in ...

)
Interview with ''Shonen Sunday''
(defunct; link via the Wayback Machine) {{DEFAULTSORT:Watase, Yuu 1970 births Living people Manga artists from Osaka Prefecture People from Kishiwada, Osaka Japanese non-binary people Non-binary artists Non-binary writers 20th-century Japanese LGBTQ people 21st-century Japanese LGBTQ people