Takemoto, Izumi

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Izumi Takemoto (竹本 泉, Takemoto Izumi) is a mangaka born on January 19, 1959 in Tokyo, Japan, though he grew up in Saitama. He attended Nihon University and majored in business. His first experience with science fiction was through the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs, and the majority of his works reflect this SF influence. He is also a cat lover, and while cats frequently appear in his works, he had never owned a cat until 2003. He used his first experiences with his cat when he wrote Aru Hi no Zwei.

He is less well-known outside of Japan, but that is slowly changing as more and more manga is exported from Japan, even though none of his works have been picked up for publication in North America or Europe as of June 2007.

His artwork has a distinctive, soft style, and it stands out among that of his contemporaries in Japan. He is one of the few mangaka to publish in three of the four major mainstream manga markets in Japan: shōjo, shōnen, and seinen manga. Takemoto was the character designer for several computer and console games as well.

(Source: Wikipedia)