Sumomo Yumeka
Encyclopedia
is the pseudonym of a Japanese manga artist
, who also writes as and . She writes in a variety of demographics, publishing yaoi
manga
as Sumomo Yumeka, seinen manga as Mizu Sahara, and shōjo manga as Sahara Keita. She is best known in the West for The Day I Became a Butterfly and Same Cell Organism, both under the Yumeka byline, and the manga adaptation of Voices of a Distant Star
under the Sahara byline. Her series My Girl is being adapted as a live-action television series
which began broadcasting in October 2009.
community but has also published works under the names Mizu Sahara (佐原ミズ Sahara Mizu) for her seinen
works, Keita Sahara (佐原恵太 Sahara Keita) for her shōjo
works and Chikyuya/Sasshi (地球屋/さっし Chikyuya/Sasshi) for doujinshi.
She draws herself as a female stick figure with rosy cheeks.
In her author notes at the end of her published works like Hoshi no Koe, she often mentions that she feels that she did not do a good enough job. She is often not satisfied with what she has done and claims that her stories don't make sense. However, she is always grateful to the people she works with.
The Day I Became a Butterfly
Voices of a Distant Star
Mangaka
is the Japanese word for a comic artist or cartoonist. Outside of Japan, manga usually refers to a Japanese comic book and mangaka refers to the author of the manga, who is usually Japanese...
, who also writes as and . She writes in a variety of demographics, publishing yaoi
Yaoi
In careful Japanese enunciation, all three vowels are pronounced separately, for a three-mora word, . The English equivalent is . also known as Boys' Love, is a Japanese popular term for female-oriented fictional media that focus on homoerotic or homoromantic male relationships, usually created by...
manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
as Sumomo Yumeka, seinen manga as Mizu Sahara, and shōjo manga as Sahara Keita. She is best known in the West for The Day I Became a Butterfly and Same Cell Organism, both under the Yumeka byline, and the manga adaptation of Voices of a Distant Star
Voices of a Distant Star
is a Japanese anime OVA by Makoto Shinkai. It chronicles a long-distance relationship between two close friends who communicate by sending emails via their mobile phones across interstellar space...
under the Sahara byline. Her series My Girl is being adapted as a live-action television series
Japanese television drama
, also called , are a staple of Japanese television and are broadcast daily. All major TV networks in Japan produce a variety of drama series including murder romance, comedy, detective stories, horror, and many others...
which began broadcasting in October 2009.
Profile
Much information about Sumomo Yumeka is unknown. She is popularly known under this pseudonym in the BLYaoi
In careful Japanese enunciation, all three vowels are pronounced separately, for a three-mora word, . The English equivalent is . also known as Boys' Love, is a Japanese popular term for female-oriented fictional media that focus on homoerotic or homoromantic male relationships, usually created by...
community but has also published works under the names Mizu Sahara (佐原ミズ Sahara Mizu) for her seinen
Seinen
is a subset of manga that is generally targeted at a 20–30 year old male audience, but the audience can be older with some manga aimed at businessmen well into their 40s. In Japanese, the word Seinen means "young man" or "young men" and is not suggestive of sexual matters...
works, Keita Sahara (佐原恵太 Sahara Keita) for her shōjo
Shojo
The term refers to manga marketed to a female audience roughly between the ages of 10-18. The name romanizes the Japanese 少女 , literally: "little female". Shōjo manga covers many subjects in a variety of narrative and graphic styles, from historical drama to science fiction — often with a strong...
works and Chikyuya/Sasshi (地球屋/さっし Chikyuya/Sasshi) for doujinshi.
She draws herself as a female stick figure with rosy cheeks.
In her author notes at the end of her published works like Hoshi no Koe, she often mentions that she feels that she did not do a good enough job. She is often not satisfied with what she has done and claims that her stories don't make sense. However, she is always grateful to the people she works with.
Major works
Same Cell Organism- Same Cell Organism is about Nakagawa and Yokota, two friends in high school who share their fears and plans with each other as graduation draws near. The manga also features The Letter in the Attic, To Make an Angel and We Selfish Two.
The Day I Became a Butterfly
- The Day I Became a Butterfly features the interesting story of Uka and Mimi, two high school students who feel isolated. One is suffering from a disease and one is rumored to have a strange ability to hear if a person is dying.
- Unlike Same Cell Organism, The Day I Became a Butterfly is not purely BLYaoiIn careful Japanese enunciation, all three vowels are pronounced separately, for a three-mora word, . The English equivalent is . also known as Boys' Love, is a Japanese popular term for female-oriented fictional media that focus on homoerotic or homoromantic male relationships, usually created by...
. It contains You at the End, Tokyo Alien Ulala and Planet Yours which are all boys love. It also contains The Lonely War which features a more traditional high school romance and Blue Cat Tunnel which is about a girl who falls in love with a man she shouldn't.
Voices of a Distant Star
- Working with Makoto ShinkaiMakoto Shinkai, better known by the stage name , is a Japanese anime director, animator, and voice actor. A native of the Koumi Nagano Prefecture in Japan, he studied Japanese literature at Chuo University. He traces his passion for creation to the manga, anime, and novels he was exposed to while in middle...
, she wrote and illustrated the manga adaptation of the critically acclaimed movie Voices of a Distant StarVoices of a Distant Staris a Japanese anime OVA by Makoto Shinkai. It chronicles a long-distance relationship between two close friends who communicate by sending emails via their mobile phones across interstellar space...
. The manga featured an extended look at the movie, providing a wider perspective and a more emotional exploration.
As Sumomo Yumeka
- Kokoro Kikai
- Soshite Hibi Koishiteku
- Soshite Koi ga Hajimaru by Kei Tsukimura (illustrator only)
- Natsukashi Machi no Rozione
- Dousabou Seibutsu (published in English by Digital Manga PublishingDigital Manga PublishingDigital Manga is a company that licenses and releases, in English, Japanese anime, manga, and related merchandise. The company has several subdivisions: Digital Manga Publishing, which publishes Japanese manga, novels and instructional and illustration books in North America with multiple imprints,...
as Same Cell Organism) - Chou ni Naru Hi (published in English by Digital Manga Publishing as The Day I Became a Butterfly)
- Tengusin (published in English by Aurora Publishing as Tengu-Jin)
- Nemunoki no Geshukusou
- Kon no Ki Konoha
- Kimi wa Boku no Taiyou
- Hate ni Aru Kimi
- Kaze Shinshutsu Shita
- The Snake and the Boy (Mitoshōnen)
As Mizu Sahara
- Basu Hashiru (includes a series of shorts under the title Nanairo Sekai)
- My Girl
- Hoshi no KoeVoices of a Distant Staris a Japanese anime OVA by Makoto Shinkai. It chronicles a long-distance relationship between two close friends who communicate by sending emails via their mobile phones across interstellar space...
(written by Makoto Shinkai, illustrator only, published in English by TokyopopTokyopopTokyopop, styled TOKYOPOP, and formerly known as Mixx, is a distributor, licensor, and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa, and Western manga-style works. The existing German publishing division produces German translations of licensed Japanese properties and original English-language manga, as well...
as Voices of a Distant Star) - Kumo no Mukou, Yakusoku no Basho (written Makoto Shinkai, illustrator only)
- Watashitachi no Shiawase na Jikan (written by Ji-Young Gong, illustrator only)
- Tetsugaku Retora
- Itsuya-san
As Chikyuya/Sasshi
- Oh My Lover (a Gundam Wing doujinshi)
- Sakyuu Rasenron Baku (a NarutoNarutois an ongoing Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. The plot tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, an adolescent ninja who constantly searches for recognition and aspires to become the Hokage, the ninja in his village who is acknowledged as the leader and the strongest of...
doujinshi)