Hisaya Nakajo, the mangaka most famous for his Hana-Kimi series, passed away at the age of 50 earlier this month from heart disease. Hakusensha announced the news on October 26, stating that the mangaka passed away on October 12.
Nakajo also used the names Peco Fujiya for yaoi works and Ryo Fumizuki for doujinshi, written in the Daisanteikoku circle. She was born in 1973 in Osaka. She has written numerous one-shots and three manga titles with more chapters: Hana-Kimi: For You in Full Blossom, the ice skating manga Sugar Princess, and Missing Piece. She also designed characters for the otome game Duel Love, released for the Nintendo DS.
Hana-Kimi: For You in Full Blossom is Hisaya Nakajo’s most influential work. The cross-dressing romance shoujo manga was serialized in Hana to Yume magazine from 1996 to 2006. Its 144 chapters were compiled into 23 volumes. Hana-Kimi has received four television adaptations over the years.
VIZ Media has licensed the film in English:
Japanese-American track star Mizuki has decided to transfer to a high school in Japan…but not just any school! To be close to her idol, high jumper Izumi Sano, she will attend an all-boys high school… and disguise herself as a boy! But as fate would have it, they are more than just classmates…they are roommates! Now, Mizuki must keep her secret in her own classroom, locker room, and bedroom. And her classmates—and the school nurse—must cope with a new transfer student who may make them question their own direction…
Source: Oricon
© Hisaya Nakajo 1996/HAKUSENSHA, Inc.