Yoko Kamio

Yoko Kamio
Native name	神尾 葉子
Romanized	Kamio Yōko
Born	June 29, 1966 (age 57) Tokyo, Japan
Occupations	Manga artist

Yoko Kamio (神尾 葉子 (かみお ようこ) , Kamio Yōko, born June 29, 1966 in Tokyo, Japan) is the author and illustrator of Cat Street, which was serialized in Bessatsu Margaret from 2004 to 2007. She is also well known for her series, Boys Over Flowers. It has been adapted numerous times into film, television, and musicals. Kamio penned a sequel to the series from 2015 to 2019.

Biography

Early and personal life

Kamio was born on June 29, 1966 in Tokyo, Japan. She has an older sister. Kamio spent some time living in Jakarta during primary school. Her father passed away in late 2018.

She graduated from Tokyo Polytechnic University.

Career

Early works

Volume one of Mary-san no Hijitsu

In 1986, Kamio debuted in The Margaret with the one-shot, "Waiting Until 20" (はたちのままで待ってる () , Hatachi no mama de matteru). Kamio had not yet graduated from college at the time. She continued publishing one-shots in Margaret, all of which were collected into three volumes, titled Ano Hi ni Aitai (1989), Sayonara o Arigato (1989), and Suki Suki Daisuki (1990). Kamio began her first series, Mary-san no Hijitsu ("Mary's Lamb") in 1991. It tells the story of a young girl, named Merii, attending a predominately male school. The series concluded the following year with a total of five volumes.

1992 – 2007

In 1992, Kamio began her hit Boys Over Flowers in Margaret. The series follows Tsukushi Makino, a normal girl attending an elite school who stands up the F4. It concluded in 2003 and was collected into thirty-six volumes. A thirty seventh volume was published in 2008 after Kamio wrote three more chapters. Boys Over Flowers won the 41st Shogakukan Manga Award in the shojo category. It remains Kamio's most popular series to date, due in part to being adapted in all kinds of media.

Volume one of Cat Street

Kamio followed Boys Over Flowers with Cat Street, which was serialized monthly in Bessatsu Margaret. It ran from July 2004 to October 2007 and was collected into eight volumes. In the series, Keito Aoyama, a traumatized former child star, finds her way back into the world with help from her new friends at El Liston. Kamio penned an additional chapter in early 2008 to commemorate the announcement of the television drama adaptation. A spin-off chapter followed in August 2008. The drama, which aired in late 2008, starred Mitsuki Tanimura as Keito and Ryo Katsuji as Koichi Mine.

2007 – 2014

Following Cat Street, Kamio began work on Matsuri Special, her first foray into the shonen genre. It was serialized in Jump Square. The series is about Matsuri Hanyu, a masked wrestler who really wants to live a normal high school life. Kamio wrote a spin-off chapter for the magazine, Deluxe Margaret, in May 2009. Matsuri Special concluded in late 2009 with four volumes. In 2008, the series was also turned into a vomic ("voice comic"), or audio drama. It had four installments and starred Maaya Sakamoto as Matsuri.

Volume one of Tora to Okami

In 2009, Kamio published a one-shot in Bessatsu Margaret. It was turned into the manga, Tora to Okami, which began serialization in February 2010. The series follows BL lover, Mii Torisawa, who meets two handsome men who frequent her family's restaurant. Tora to Okami ended in January 2012 and was collected into six volumes. In late 2012, Kamio returned to Margaret with a one-shot titled, "Ringo Banana Gyunyu" (りんごバナナ牛乳 () , "Ringo Banana Gyunyu"). She subsequently began work on her first supernatural manga, Crown of Thorns. The series ran from May 2013 to April 2014 in Bessatsu Margaret.

2015 – present

In early 2015, Kamio began Boys Over Flowers Season 2, the sequel to her Boys Over Flowers. It was published on the online publication, Shonen Jump+. The series was her first to be released simultaneously in Japanese and English. Boys Over Flowers Season 2 follows Oto Edogawa and Haruto Kaguragi, who face many troubles while figuring out their feelings and learning more about themselves. It was adapted into a television drama starring Hana Sugisaki and Sho Hirano in 2018. The series ended in late 2019 at fifteen volumes.

Published works

See also: Yoko Kamio bibliography on Boys Over Flowers Wiki

Volume one of Boys Over Flowers

Series

• Mary-san no Hijitsu (1991-1992; 5 volumes)
• Boys Over Flowers (1992-2003; 37 volumes)
• Cat Street (2004-2007; 8 volumes)
• Matsuri Special (2008-2009; 4 volumes)
• Tora to Okami (2009-2012; 6 volumes)
• Crown of Thorns (2013-2014; 2 volumes)
• Boys Over Flowers Season 2 (2015-2019; 15 volumes)

Story collections

• Sayonara o Arigato (1989)
• Ano Hi ni Aitai (1989)
• Suki Suki Daisuki (1990)

Notes

• She rarely gives interviews or share photos of herself. Kamio has reportedly said that "Manga artists should speak through their manga."

External links

• Yoko Kamio official website
• Yoko Kamio (@yokokamioo) on Twitter
• Yoko Kamio (@yoko.kamio) on Instagram
• Yoko Kamio on Wikipedia
• Yoko Kamio on Japanese Wikipedia
• Yoko Kamio at the Anime News Network
• Yoko Kamio on Boys Over Flowers Wiki