Naoko Takeuchi is a Japanese manga artist and the creator of Sailor Moon, one of the most popular manga and anime series of all time. Takeuchi was born in Tokyo in 1967, and she began her career as a mangaka (comic book artist) in the early 1990s. Her first major work was The Cherry Project, a shōjo (girls') manga series about a group of high school girls who form a rock band. The Cherry Project was published in Nakayoshi, a monthly manga magazine for girls, from 1991 to 1992. In 1992, Takeuchi debuted her best-known work, Sailor Moon. The series follows the adventures of a teenage girl named Usagi Tsukino who transforms into the titular superheroine to defend the Earth from evil aliens. Sailor Moon was an instant hit, and it quickly became one of the most popular manga and anime series of all time. It has been translated into over 40 languages and has sold over 35 million copies worldwide. In addition to Sailor Moon, Takeuchi has also written and illustrated several other manga series, including Codename: Sailor V (1993), Black Lady (1995), and Miss Dream (1997). She has also published several art books, including Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: The Art of Naoko Takeuchi (2003) and Naoko Takeuchi's Illustrations (2006). Naoko Takeuchi is one of the most successful and popular mangaka of all time. Her works are beloved by millions of fans around the world, and she is widely considered to be one of the pioneers of the magical girl genre.