Keiko Takemiya
Hagio was born on May 12, 1949 in Ōmuta, Fukuoka Prefecture. She wanted to become a mangaka after reading Osamu Tezuka's manga "Shinsen-gumi" at the age of about 17, and made her professional debut in 1969 at the age of 20 with her short story "Lulu to Mimi" in "Nakayoshi". "Nakayoshi"'s publisher Kodansha wanted "bright and lively" works, and rival publisher Shogakukan sought her out. Keiko Takemiya introduced Hagio to Takemiya's editor, Junya Yamamoto, who accepted all of Hagio's works that Kodansha had rejected. Later, for Shogakukan Publishing, she produced a series of short stories for various magazines.