Riyoko Ikeda
"The Rose of Versailles" creator Riyoko Ikeda came of age in the 1960s, a decade that saw the rise of the New Left in Japan. This political movement, inspired in part by the ideals of the French Revolution, galvanized Japanese youth and led to the formation of student protest movements. Upon entering university in 1966, Ikeda became a part of this movement after joining the Democratic Youth League of Japan, the youth branch of the Japanese Communist Party. Ikeda made her debut as a manga artist in 1967, with her early works generally falling into one of two categories: romantic stories typical of "shōjo" manga of the era, and socially and politically-motivated stories that addressed themes such as poverty, diseases caused by nuclear weapons, and discrimination against Japan's "burakumin" population.