Birth place: Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan

Akimi Yoshida broke into manga in 1977 with a one-shot called Chotto Fushigi na Geshukunin in Bessatsu Shoujo Comic—a modest start for what would become a respected career. She's best known for Banana Fish, the crime thriller that cemented her reputation.

Her work has earned serious recognition over the decades. She took home Shogakukan Manga Awards for three different series: Kisshou Tennyo and Kawa yori mo Nagaku Yuruyaka ni (1984), Yasha (2002), and Umimachi Diary (2016). Umimachi Diary in particular became a standout—it won the Manga Taishō in 2013 and earned her an Excellence Award for manga at the Japan Media Arts Festival in 2007.