Moto Hagio

Moto Hagio is considered a "founding mother" of modern shoujo manga, especially shounen-ai. She is also a member of the Year 24 Group. She made her professional debut in 1969 at the age of 20 with her short story "Lulu to Mimi" in Nakayoshi. Later, for Shogakukan, she produced a series of short stories for various magazines. Two years after her debut, she published Juichigatsu no Gimunajiumu (The November Gymnasium), a short story which dealt openly with love between two boys at a boarding school. The story was part of a larger movement by female manga artists at the time which pioneered a genre of girls' comics about love between young men. In 1974, Hagio developed this story into the longer Thomas no Shinzou (The Heart of Thomas). She was awarded the Shogakukan Manga Award in 1976 for her science fiction classic Juichinin Iru! (They Were Eleven) and her epic tale Poe no Ichizoku (The Poe Clan). Hagio has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors throughout her career, including the Japanese government's Order of the Rising Sun, a Medal of Honor, and commendation as a Person of Cultural Merit.