Riyoko Ikeda


Riyoko Ikeda is a Japanese manga artist and singer. She is included in the Year 24 Group. She was one of the most popular Japanese comic artists in the 1970s, being best known for The Rose of Versailles.

Education

Ikeda was a philosophy major and a member of the Democratic Youth League of Japan.

Career

Ikeda has written and illustrated many shōjo manga, many of which are based on historical events, such as the French Revolution or the Russian Revolution. Her use of foreign settings and androgynous themes made The Rose of Versailles and Orpheus no Mado enormous successes.
Her most famous manga is The Rose of Versailles, also known as Lady Oscar in Europe. This manga, loosely based on the French Revolution, has been made into several Takarazuka musicals and into an anime series and a live-action film. After Rose of Versailles concluded, Ikeda wrote articles for Asahi Shimbun. In the 2000s Ikeda studied at a music school and became a singer. Her voice is in the soprano range. She made a comeback to the comic industry as a scenarist in 1999. Her recent manga includes Der Ring des Nibelungen. It is a manga version of the opera written by Richard Wagner.
In 2008, she received France's Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur for her contribution to Japan's cultural awareness of France, and she has been a guest of the 2011 Angoulême International Comics Festival.

Works