Chica Umino
Chica Umino (Jap: 羽海野チカ) is a Japanese mangaka.
Her real name is not disclosed, "Umino Chica" is a pen name.
She began work as a product designer and illustrator.
Umino has a unique drawing style, listing Studio Ghibli amongst her influences, and her characters are remarkably well-developed.
Her most famous series to date is Hachimitsu to Clover (English name: Honey and Clover), a 'slice of life' manga series which debuted in 2000 in Shueisha's manga magazine, CUTiEcomic. The series won the Kodansha Manga Award in 2003 and was nominated for the Tezuka Culture Prize and an award from the Japan Media Arts Festival. It was also adapted into an animated television series in 2005, a live-action movie in 2006 and two individual live-action TV series in 2008.
Her ongoing recent series is Sangatsu no Lion (English name: March comes in like a lion), which began serialization in 2007. The series won several important prizes including: the Manga Taisho prize and Kodansha Manga Prize (general audience) in 2011, the Tezuka Osamushi Cultural Prize in 2014, and the Bunkacho Media Geijutsusai Manga bumon in 2021.
Umino has also provided the illustration for the 2009 anime series Eden of the East by Kenji Kamiyama, as well as 'Tobira o Akete' and the Glass Heart series, including 'Boukensha-tachi', 'Netsu no Shiro' and 'Love Way'.
“As time passes, the day will come when everything will fade to memories. But those miraculous days, when you and I, along with everyone else, searched together for just that one thing, will continue revolving forever somewhere deep in my heart, as my bittersweet memory.”
“You choose to give up or make an effort. There are only these two choices for humans to choose from. You have to honestly tell them your feelings. The rest is up to them. To make an effort, or to give up would then be their choice. It was the same for you. It’s the same for everyone.”
“Loneliness comes suddenly like waves and recedes just as fast. That continues on forever. It’s the same for you. It’s the same for everyone.”
“Complaining about your luck is not allowed. Rokutarou, you’re not the only one that matters but they leave that aside and do their best.If you start comparing misfortunes, it would never end. What’s the meaning in that? Everyone knows you had a hard time.”
“But you should go, if that’s what you need to do to get over it. You should go and cry your heart out.”
“To wish for your own happiness is sometimes coupled with another person’s unhappiness. Since I couldn’t pray for my own happiness, I prayed to the moon in the night sky for the happiness of the one whose warm hand I held.”
“The refrigerator in my room is still empty as usual, but I can’t hear that sound any more. I feel that I can keep believing…that even the thing all of us were looking for but never found on that day…someday, surely.. We will find it.”
“When I was little, I didn't understand why ferris wheels existed. They were just sluggish and went up high. I got bored with it after only one ride. The roller coaster and the loop slider... I only paid attention to the thrilling rides. But... I kind of understand now. Ferris wheels are for slowly cutting across the sky with the person you like and maybe saying things like, "Isn't this a little scary?”
“No need for everyone to look the same. The secret is to wear what suits you best!”
“It's okay to spin around and around in the same place. Just so long as you're singing your heart out.THAT's what life's all about.”
“Christmas always used to get me down. There was something oppressive about all those twinkling colored lights."Are you happy?" "Do you fit in anywhere?" ....is what it felt like they were asking me.”
“When I was little, I was out riding my brand-new blue bicycle when I decided to see how far I could keep going without looking back even once. I could feel with my back how my neighborhood was receding, further and further away... but I kept pedaling with all my might, my mind almost going blank. All I could hear was the sound of my own heart, thumping wildly in my ears. Even now, I remember it sometimes. What exactly was I trying to do that day? What was it that I wanted to prove?It's no good. My mind just keeps fogging over. I have this irritating sound stuck in my head. What is it? This sound... Ohh... I know what it is. This is... the sound of emptiness.”