Leiji Matsumoto
Maki became acquainted with multiple manga artists in Tokyo, including Tezuka, Leiji Matsumoto and Tetsuya Chiba. Maki married Matsumoto in 1961, and they began to collaborate on manga together. At the time, Matsumoto specialised in "shōjo" manga featuring cute animal characters, though he wanted to orient himself towards "shōnen" and animation.