is a Japanese shōjo and 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 artist

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 has made several appearances at anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 and 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...

 conventions in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, as well as in Germany. Her first U.S. appearance was at the initial Yaoi-Con

Yaoi-Con

Yaoi-Con is an annual three-day anime convention for fans with an interest in yaoi-related anime, manga, and other aspects of Asian culture. It was founded in 2001 and typically takes place during the month of October in or near San Francisco. It is known mostly for its unique events that use...

 in San Francisco in 2001 (Yaoi-Con 2001, 3). She is known especially for her drawings of beautiful fantasy men in romantic storylines set in historical Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, such as Gorgeous Carat in early 20th-century France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 and Cantarella

Cantarella

Cantarella was most probably a variation of arsenic used by Pope Alexander VI, Rodrigo Borgia, to poison his victims. The Borgia family were allegedly masters of the use of poison in political assassinations, leading to references to la cantarella as the "liquor of succession".Cantarella was used...

 during the Italian Renaissance

Italian Renaissance

The Italian Renaissance began the opening phase of the Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement in Europe that spanned the period from the end of the 13th century to about 1600, marking the transition between Medieval and Early Modern Europe...

.

She is an only child. Her professional debut was in 1993 (FanimeCon, 7).

Comic art influences include Osamu Tezuka

Osamu Tezuka

was a Japanese cartoonist, manga artist, animator, producer, activist and medical doctor, although he never practiced medicine. Born in Osaka Prefecture, he is best known as the creator of Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion and Black Jack...

, Hayao Miyazaki

Hayao Miyazaki

is a Japanese manga artist and prominent film director and animator of many popular anime feature films. Through a career that has spanned nearly fifty years, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a maker of animated feature films and, along with Isao Takahata, co-founded Studio Ghibli,...

, and the Showa 24 generation of women manga artists

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...

 led by Moto Hagio

Moto Hagio

is a manga artist born on May 12, 1949 in Ōmuta, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, though she currently lives in Saitama Prefecture. She is considered a "founding mother" of modern shōjo manga, especially shōnen-ai. She is also a member of the Year 24 Group...

 who created girls' comics in the 1970s (Yaoi-Con 2001, 3; Higuri Q & A, 2004). She has also found inspiration in Franco-Belgian comics

Franco-Belgian comics

Franco-Belgian comics are comics that are created in Belgium and France. These countries have a long tradition in comics and comic books, where they are known as BDs, an abbreviation of bande dessinée in French and stripverhalen in Dutch...

 or bandes dessinées (Higuri Q & A, 2004).

Higuri currently lives in Takarazuka, Hyōgo

Takarazuka, Hyogo

is a city located in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.- Geography :Takarazuka is nestled between the Rokko Range to the west and Nagao Range to the north with the Muko River running through the center of the city....

 Prefecture, near Osaka (FanimeCon, 7).

Published works

(This list does not include her dōjinshi or self-published comics.)

• Azel Seimaden, 1994 - prequel to Seimaden
• Sento no Hishin, 1994
• Seimaden, 1994-1999
• Lost Angel, 1996
• Ludwig II
  Ludwig II (manga)
  is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by You Higuri. It is licensed in North America by Digital Manga Publishing, which released the first volume of the manga on 10 June 2009, and the second on 23 September 2009. It is licensed in France and Germany by Panini Comics, although it is now out...
  
  1996-1998
• Kamen no Romanesque (Mask of Romance), 1997 - Not written by artist; based on a Takarazuka Revue
  Takarazuka Revue
  The Takarazuka Revue is a Japanese all-female musical theater troupe based in Takarazuka, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Women play all roles in lavish, Broadway-style productions of Western-style musicals, and sometimes stories adapted from shōjo manga and Japanese folktales. The troupe takes its name...
  
   play.
• Zoku: Cutlass, 1997-1998
• Zeus, 1997-1998
• Ramen Ikaga!? 1995 (original) & 1997
• Shinkyoku (Divine Comedy), 1998
• Gorgeous Carat: Virtue of Darkness, 1999-2002 - A young French nobleman finds himself caught up in the maneuvers of the famous jewel thief Noir.
• Tenshi no Hitsugi: Ave Maria (Angel's Coffin: Ave Maria), 2000
• Tenshi ni Bara no Hanataba o (Rose Bouquet for an Angel), 2000-2001 (also called: L'alleluja des Anges) - Sei turns into a girl when he is around white roses. Only a kiss will change him back.
• Cutlass: Shōnen tachi no toki (Cutlass: A Time for Boys), 2000 - pirate manga
• Poison artbook, 2000 - Color and monochrome illustrations from Seimaden, Ludwig II, Gorgeous Carat, and other manga.
• Flower, 2001
• Cantarella
  Cantarella (manga)
  is a manga series by You Higuri, serialized in the Japanese monthly comic magazine Princess Gold Magazine and published in tankoubon format by Akita Shoten. The first volume was published March 2001 and there have been 12 volumes published in Japan as of July 2010...
  
  , 2001–present
• My Little Lover, 2002
• Gorgeous Carat Galaxy, 2004 - One-shot sequel to Gorgeous Carat.
• Gakuen Heaven
  Gakuen Heaven
  is a popular franchise that is based on the PC game Gakuen Heaven: Boy's Love Scramble, originally released by the company SPRAY. The franchise gradually expanded to include three PlayStation 2 games, two PlayStation Portable games, drama CDs, manga, and anime.A Boys' Love manga adaptation series...
  
   (School Heaven), 2004 - A scenario from SPRAY's "Boy's Love Scramble!" game.
• Taisho Era Chronicles, 2005
• Crown, 2005–present - Art only; writer Shinji Wada.
• Nighthead Genesis anime, 2006 - Did character design.
• Jewel artbook, 2006

External links

• Tiara: You Higuri Official Site (Japanese)
• Tiara: You Higuri Official Site (English translation, maintained by U.S. global manga publisher Go! Comi
  Go! Comi
  Go! Comi was an imprint of the American manga publishing company, Go! Media Entertainment, LLC. They published such series as After School Nightmare, Cantarella, Her Majesty's Dog, Tenshi Ja Nai!! and Crossroad...
  
  )
• You Higuri interview, translation by Jeanne, Aestheticism.com, 2001; also published in Yaoi-Con 2001 Convention Guide.
• Team Bonet Presents: A You Higuri Shrine, fan site with manga and character summaries, last updated 2002.
• Artbook Collection Database review of Poison artbook, by Zeb, June 16, 2004.
• You Higuri at FanimeCon 2004, by Kat Avila, Sequential Tart, July 2004
• A (In-Depth) Review of You Higuri's Gorgeous Carat manga, by Kat Avila, Sequential Tart, October 2004