Hiro Arikawa facts for kids

Hiro Arikawa (有川 浩, Arikawa Hiro) is a talented Japanese writer. She is famous for her exciting light novels. These books are a type of story often aimed at young adults. Her stories are very popular in Japan. Some of her books have even been turned into movies and TV shows!

About Hiro Arikawa

Hiro Arikawa was born on June 9, 1972. Her hometown is Kochi City in Kochi Prefecture, Japan. She started her writing career by winning an award. In 2003, she won the tenth annual Dengeki Novel Prize for new writers. Her winning book was called Shio no Machi: Wish on My Precious. This book was published the next year.

Early Success and Inspirations

Shio no Machi was praised for its unique love story. It also had cool military settings. Hiro Arikawa has shared that her writing was inspired by some interesting movies. She mentioned Gamera films and The Great Escape.

Even though she writes light novels, many of her books are published as hardbacks. This is usually done for more serious literary works. Her publisher, MediaWorks, gave her special treatment. This shows how popular and respected her books became. Shio no Machi was also later released in a hardback version.

Popular Books and Adaptations

In 2006, her light novel Toshokan Sensō (The Library War) became very popular. It was named the number one entertainment book for the first half of 2006. It also placed fifth in the Honya Taishō. This award usually goes to regular novels, so it was a big achievement!

Hiro Arikawa has written many stories about the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF). Her first three novels about these forces are known as The SDF Trilogy. She also created a fictional group called the Library Forces in The Library War series.

Many of her books have been adapted into films or TV shows.

• Raintree no Kuni was first a book within a book in Toshokan Nairan. It was later published as its own story. This book was made into a film called World of Delight. It came out on November 21, 2015.
• Her novel Shokubutsu Zukan [ja] was adapted into a film. It was titled Shokubutsu Zukan: Unmei no Koi, Hiroimashita (Evergreen Love). This movie was released on June 4, 2016.
• Two other novels, Freeter, Ie wo Kau and Hankyū Densha, were also adapted. They became a TV series in 2010 and a film in 2011.

The Travelling Cat Chronicles

One of her well-known works is Tabineko Ripouto. This story was first published in parts in Weekly Bunshun from 2011 to 2012. It was then put together into a novel in 2012. The main character is a cat named Nana (which means seven in Japanese). Nana enters the life of Satoru, a cat lover. Satoru is still sad about losing his first cat, Hachi (which means eight).

Tabineko Ripouto quickly became very popular. It received many awards and nominations. It was translated into English by Philip Gabriel and published as The Travelling Cat Chronicles in 2017. This heartwarming novel was also made into a film in 2018.

Influence on Others

Hiro Arikawa's stories have even inspired other famous people. In 2011, a well-known video game designer named Hideo Kojima wrote an essay. He reviewed Arikawa's novel Hankyu Densha. He shared how the story reminded him of his own childhood experiences. He used to ride the Hankyu Railway as a child. This essay was later published in Kojima's book, The Creative Gene, in 2021.

List of Books

Here are some of Hiro Arikawa's popular book series and novels:

• The SDF Trilogy series
  • Shio no Machi: Wish on My Precious ISBN: 978-4-8402-2601-1
  • Sora no Naka
  • Umi no Soko
• The Library War series
  • Toshokan Sensō (The Library War)
  • Toshokan Nairan (The Library Infighting)
  • Toshokan Kiki (The Library Crisis)
  • Toshokan Kakumei (The Library Revolution)
• World of Delight
• Sweet Blue Age
• Hankyū Densha (published in French as Au prochain arrêt)
• Shokubutsu Zukan [ja]
• Freeter, Ie wo Kau
• Soratobu Kōhōshitsu
• Tabineko Ripouto (published in English as The Travelling Cat Chronicles)

See also

In Spanish: Hiro Arikawa para niños