Arina Tanemura facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Arina Tanemura
種村 有菜
Born	(1978-03-12) March 12, 1978 (age 47) Aichi Prefecture, Japan
Other names	Meguro Teikoku (目黒帝国)
Occupation	Manga artist illustrator character designer
Years active	1995–present
Employer	Shueisha (1995–2011)
Known for	Phantom Thief Jeanne Full Moon o Sagashite The Gentlemen's Alliance Cross Idolish7
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Arina Tanemura (種村 有菜, Tanemura Arina, born March 12, 1978) is a Japanese manga artist. She also works as an illustrator and character designer.

She started her professional manga career in 1996. Her first work was a short story called The Style of the Second Love. It appeared in the Ribon Original magazine. In 1997, she published her first series, I.O.N, in the main Ribon magazine.

Arina Tanemura became very popular from the late 1990s to the mid-2000s. This was thanks to her famous series like Phantom Thief Jeanne, Full Moon o Sagashite, and The Gentlemen's Alliance Cross.

Her manga works are known for their unique art style. They often feature young girls who grow into the women they want to be. Besides her manga, Tanemura has released music albums. She also designed characters for the popular game Idolish7 and other projects.

Early Life and Drawing Journey

Arina Tanemura was born on March 12, 1978, in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. Growing up, manga magazines were her main source of fun. Her local TV only showed old anime, so new shows were hard to watch.

When she was very young, her mom bought manga magazines for older girls. Her older brother read action-packed comics. In elementary school, a friend showed her Ribon magazine. She loved its cute art style and started reading it regularly.

Tanemura began drawing at age 5. She was greatly inspired by the shōjo manga (girls' comics) she read. She mostly drew female characters. She started drawing manga seriously during her first year of high school. She even sent her first story to a manga contest.

Her first contest entry was a "dark" and "sad" story. Even though she didn't win, she passed the first round. This encouraged her to keep practicing her drawing.

Career Highlights

Starting Out: 1996–1998

Arina Tanemura became a professional artist at 18 in 1996. Her first published work was The Style of the Second Love. This short comic appeared in Ribon Original.

She received many fan letters for this story. It was later collected in an art book called Short-Tempered Melancholic. In 1997, she released I.O.N, which was her first full series.

Becoming Famous: 1998–2011

From 1998 to 2000, Tanemura created Phantom Thief Jeanne. This series was a big hit, selling millions of copies. After Phantom Thief Jeanne, she worked on Time Stranger Kyoko. However, this series ended quickly because the main character wasn't as popular.

From 2002 to 2004, Tanemura drew Full Moon o Sagashite. This story was about an idol singer. Tanemura had always wanted to write song lyrics, so she created this series. She made the main character more gentle after the feedback from her previous work.

Phantom Thief Jeanne and Full Moon o Sagashite were so popular that they became anime TV shows. Time Stranger Kyoko also got a short anime film. Tanemura even sang a cover song for the Full Moon o Sagashite soundtrack.

In 2004, she published The Gentlemen's Alliance Cross. This series ran until 2008 and didn't have any fantasy elements. She also voiced characters for its drama CD. Later, she released Mistress Fortune, a lighter story about middle school romance. In 2008, she started Sakura Hime: The Legend of Princess Sakura.

From 2008 to 2009, Tanemura hosted her own online radio show. It was called Tanemura Arina de Kyan: Manga Seminar. In 2010, she released a music album called Junai Tenshi. It featured songs based on her manga characters. She wrote the lyrics and sang on the album.

After a big earthquake in 2011, Tanemura helped raise money for charity. She contributed to a special manga collection. From July to November 2011, she drew Fudanjuku Monogatari. This manga was about the idol group Fudanjuku.

New Paths: 2011–Present

In 2011, Arina Tanemura decided to work as a freelance artist. This meant she was no longer tied to just one magazine. Her last work with Ribon magazine was Sakura Hime: The Legend of Princess Sakura.

After this, her older short comics were reprinted in a collection. It included a story that had never been published before.

Tanemura wrote and illustrated Neko to Watashi no Kinyōbi from 2013 to 2015. At the same time, she began Idol Dreams. For a special CD with Idol Dreams, she wrote the lyrics for a song. In 2013, she released her second album, Princess Tiara. It also featured theme songs for her characters.

In 2015, Tanemura designed characters for the popular game Idolish7. She also drew illustrations for its novel and manga versions. She contributed to other art projects, like the Touken Ranbu collection.

From 2015 to 2016, she briefly released independent comics. She also worked with a former assistant on the manga Shunkan Lyle. From 2016 to 2017, she published Akuma ni Chic × Hack. In 2019, a special café celebrated her 20th anniversary. It featured food inspired by her characters.

Art Style and Story Themes

Arina Tanemura says her art style is influenced by the shōjo manga she read as a child. She especially liked comedy stories. She draws in a way that she believes is trendy and fashionable.

She has been drawing in a similar style since she was young. However, her art has become softer and more flowing over time. She mostly draws by hand using special coloring inks. The clothes in her manga are often inspired by her own wardrobe.

A common theme in Tanemura's manga is girls changing into the women they want to be. She drew Phantom Thief Jeanne, Full Moon o Sagashite, and The Gentlemen's Alliance Cross to show how girls wish to become more grown-up. For Idol Dreams, she flipped this idea. The main character transforms into the young girl she wanted to be. This was to appeal to fans who grew up reading her work.

Another important theme in her stories is idol singers. Tanemura is a big fan of idol groups. She even based the main character of Full Moon o Sagashite on a real idol singer. Idol Dreams also focuses on an idol singer. Tanemura is friends with the idol group Fudanjuku and drew a manga about them.

Tanemura often bases her main female characters and their friendships on her own friends. She also uses stories she has heard from them. She says her stories are for everyone to enjoy. Her favorite work is The Gentlemen's Alliance Cross.

Other Works

Voice Acting Roles

Radio Shows

Character Design Work

Other Illustrations

Music Albums

Studio Albums

Songs on Soundtracks

See also

In Spanish: Arina Tanemura para niños