Natsuki Takaya
Takaya was born and raised in Tokyo, where she made her debut as a manga artist in 1992. Takaya is left handed and had wanted to be a manga artist since first grade, when her sister started drawing. Her manga series "Fruits Basket", which debuted in 1998, became one of the best selling manga in North America. "Fruits Basket" has also been adapted into an anime series twice; the first, which premiered in 2001, aired as one season of twenty six episodes. The second, which premiered in 2019, consists of two seasons of twenty five episodes and the  third season comprised 13 episodes and concluded in 2021. In 2001, Takaya received the Kodansha Manga Award for manga for "Fruits Basket". As revealed in a sidebar of "Fruits Basket", Takaya broke her drawing arm (her left arm) after "Fruits Basket" volume six was published. She had to go into surgery, and as a result, had put "Fruits Basket" on a brief hiatus. Takaya made a full recovery, but complained that her handwriting had gotten uglier due to the surgery.