Ai Yazawa

is a Japanese manga artist and illustrator. Yazawa debuted as a manga artist with her short story Ano Natsu. She gained mainstream popularity in the 1990s and 2000s with her series I'm No Angel (1991), Neighborhood Story (1995), Paradise Kiss (1999), and Nana (2000), the latter being one of the best-selling manga series. Since June 2009, Yazawa has been focusing on illustration projects due to health concerns.

Early life

Yazawa started reading manga magazines when she was 10 years old, and when she was 12 years old, she attempted to draw manga and submitted it to Ribon Manga School, making it into the lowest class. Yazawa began training and submitting her works seriously around age 15, eventually making it into a higher class.

At the time of her manga debut, Yazawa was 17 years old to become a stylist.

1991–2009: Mainstream breakthrough

From 1991 to 1995, Yazawa published I'm No Angel in Ribon, which became her breakthrough series. This led to the creation of Nana, as she decided to make the two stories related to each other so that they would be easier to read if they were later picked up for serialization. Yazawa illustrated the cover of Rumi Shishido's 2003 album Rumi Roll, who she had been friends with since Shishido was cast as Mikako in the anime adaptation of Neighborhood Story.

In June 2009, Yazawa became hospitalized after contracting an illness, putting Nana on indefinite hiatus. She returned from the hospital in April 2010. In 2022, Yazawa stated she was still recovering from her illness and expressed interest in continuing Nana in the future. her first new manga in over three years, in 2013.

From July 20, 2022, to August 8, 2022, Yazawa held an art exhibit titled "All Time Best", featuring original manga manuscripts and illustrations for I'm No Angel and her other series.

Personal life

Yazawa became hospitalized in June 2009 for an unspecified illness, which caused her to put Nana on hiatus. She was discharged in April 2010.

Artistry and themes

Yazawa cites manga artists and Ryo Ikuemi as her inspirations, as well as music from the singers Miyuki Nakajima and Yumi Matsutoya. Animefringe columnist Steve Diabo noted that Yazawa's works feature her "bizarre" sense of humor, with Yazawa often making cameos in her own works.

While Yazawa initially started drawing manga using dip pens and brushes, after the conclusion of Neighborhood Story in 1996, she began using drawing pens, oil pastels and markers. In addition, Yazawa prominently features Vivienne Westwood in Nana, and some clothing featured in the show are based on clothing from her own personal collection. In 2024, through a survey of 100 people by TV Maga (a web magazine operated by ), Nana was voted no. 1 for most fashionable manga, along with Yazawa's other works Paradise Kiss and Neighborhood Story following at no. 2.

Works

Series YearTitleMagazineNotes 1986 Love Letter Ribon 1988 Ballad Made Soba ni Ite Ribon 1989 Ribon 1991 Ribon 1995 Neighborhood Story Ribon 1998 Last Quarter Ribon 1999 Paradise Kiss 2000 Nana Cookie

Short stories Ano Natsu (1985) 15-nenme (1986) Kaze ni Nare! (1988) Escape (1988) Usubeni no Arashi (1992)

Character design Princess Ai (2004–2005) – 3 volumes