Atsuko Asano is a Japanese manga artist who has been writing and drawing since the 1980s. Her works focus on romantic relationships and urban culture. She is well known for her series "Honey and Clover" and "The Five People You Meet in Heaven". Asano was born into the publishing world with her father, an editor-in-chief for Shogakukan, the largest publisher of manga in Japan. Asano attended Kyoto Seika University before starting work as an assistant to her father. In her early 20s, she began working on her first series, "I Wrote This For You", which was published in 1992. Her first independent work was "Honey and Clover", which received the Kodansha Manga Award for Shōjo in 1997. The series is set in a college campus and follows five people who are all trying to find their place in life. This story follows their coming of age and the events that lead them to meet each other. The impactful ending won Asano much praise and acclaim. Atsuko Asano is a Japanese manga artist who has been writing and drawing since the 1980s. Her works focus on romantic relationships and urban culture. She is well known for her series "Honey and Clover" and "The Five People You Meet in Heaven". Asano was born into the publishing world with her father, an editor-in-chief for Shogakukan, the largest publisher of manga in Japan. Asano attended Kyoto Seika University before starting work as an assistant to her father. In her early 20s, she began working on her first series, "I Wrote This For You", which was published in 1992. Her first independent work was "Honey and Clover", which received the Kodansha Manga Award for Shōjo in 1997. The series is set in a college campus and follows five people who are all trying to find their place in life. This story follows their coming of age and the events that lead them to meet each other. The impactful ending won Asano much praise and acclaim.