Tomoko Taniguchi

Tomoko Taniguchi, a Japanese shōjo manga artist, was born in Hokkaidō and later spent a year studying at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. She is best known for her work bridging Japanese shōjo manga with American comics, notably as the first shōjo manga artist to work for Marvel Comics on *Marvel Ai #1*. Her path into comics began when her debut story, *Anpan Balance*, earned silver at the 4th Omacomi Manga School Contest; it was later collected in the volume *Let's Stay Together Forever*, which also contained her second published work. Taniguchi’s signature style—delicate, romantic shōjo art—appears across her nine manga volumes, including titles like *Princess Prince*, *Aquarium*, and *Call Me Princess*, published by MB in Japan and CPM Manga in English. She collaborated with writer Matt Forbeck on the *Complete Idiot’s Guide to Drawing Manga Illustrated* series, contributing illustrations and writing for the *Shoujo* edition. Fulfilling a longtime dream to draw *Star Wars* in shōjo style, she became a sketch card artist for Topps Star Wars trading cards. More recently, she designed her first fabric print for American clothing designer Samantha Rei. Active in comics from 1999 to 2006, Taniguchi’s legacy includes helping introduce shōjo aesthetics to Western superhero and franchise comics.