Read this energizing comic and feel proud (or simply unashamed!) of your geeky hobbies. Although manga artist Rompers (Happy Mania, Sugar Sugar Rune) doesn’t consider herself too far gone, she’s gotten married to a towering figure of the otaku persuasion, Director-kun (Neon Genesis Evangelion, Cutey Honey). Includes copious annotations on Japanese pop culture and an interview with Hideaki Anno.
Tokyo native Moyoco Anno was born March 26, 1971. Known as one of the major names in Japanese women’s comics, she is equally known for her iconic fashion designs and as a fashion writer. Her manga and books have attained considerable popularity among young women in Japan. Though she primarily writes manga for women, her most popular title in the west has been Sugar Sugar Rune, which was targeted at primary school-aged girls.
In a recent Japanese poll, she was voted the eighth most popular manga artist among females and thirteen in the general category. Most of her works have been adapted for film or TV, including Sakuran, Hataraki-Man, and Sugar Sugar Rune. In 2005, Anno’s Sugar Sugar Rune won the prestigious Kodansha Comics Award in the girls comics category.
