Novala Takemoto


Novala Takemoto is the professional name of Toshiaki Takemoto, a Japanese author, and fashion designer.

Biography

Takemoto was born in Uji, south of Kyoto. As a child, he was shy and preferred drawing and reading to spending time with others, and was a big fan of the anime series Candy Candy, in the discovery of which he was "happy to finally find what liked". He was also sometimes beaten by his father, which he says persuaded him to follow his own path in life. After dropping out of Osaka University of Arts in 1987, he participated in a variety of artistic, musical and theatrical activities. From 1992 to 1997, he made his literary debut contributing serial essays to Hanagata Bunka Tsūshin, a Kansai free arts newspaper. These essays were collected and published in book format in 1998 as Soleilnuit: For Becoming a Proper Young Lady, and received wide recognition. These essays also increased the popularity of the Japanese term otome, referring to a young lady or young maiden. Shogakukan published his debut novel Missin' in 2000. He was nominated for the Yukio Mishima Literary Award twice, for his novels Emily and Lolita.
Takemoto is best known for Shimotsuma Monogatari, titled Kamikaze Girls in English. The series was adapted to a manga and a film which was directed by Tetsuya Nakashima. Another of his novels, Twins: A Variety Store Named "The End of the World", was also adapted for film in 2001 by Kiseki Hamada.
Takemoto was arrested in September 2007 for violating the Cannabis Control Law and was later convicted of the crime. He was arrested again in 2015 after he was found to have two grams of contraband that are banned under the Narcotics Control Law in his possession.

Works in English translation

  • Kamikaze Girls, trans. Akemi Wegmüller
  • Missin and Missin' 2: Kasako, trans. Anne Ishii
  • * Missin
  • * Little store called End of the World
  • * Missin' 2: Kasako
  • Emily, trans. Misa Dikengil Lindberg
  • * Emily
  • * Corset
  • * ''Readymade''

    Works

Novels and short stories

  • 2000 Missin'
  • 2001 Twins: A Variety Store Named "The End of the World"
  • 2001 Café: A Collection of Literary Sketches
  • 2002 Emily
  • 2002 Shimotsuma Story
  • :
  • 2003 Princess Scale
  • 2003 Calps Alpis
  • 2003 A Child Abandoned by Deus
  • 2004 Lolita.
  • 2004 Missin' 2: Kasako
  • 2005 SHIMOTSUMA STORY FINAL
  • 2005 Sicilienne
  • 2006 Happiness
  • 2007 ALL WORKS Fetish
  • 2007 Metamorphosis
  • 2007 Hallucinative Anthology
  • 2007 Arabian Nights
  • 2008 Cannabis
  • 2008 Olochi, super remix ver.
  • 2008 ROCK'N'ROLL SWINDLE——How to Form a Proper Punk Band
  • 2009 Unhallowed Kingdom
  • 2009 ''Long-Distance Love at 14 Years Old''

    Essay collections

  • 1998 Soleilnuit: For Becoming a Proper Young Lady
  • 2002 Patchwork
  • 2004 Alice's Adventures in Fantasy Land
  • 2024 ''Lolita Fashion''

    Picture books

  • 2004 ''Uloco-hime: Princess Scale''

    Photo books

  • 2007 ''short hope''

    Other

  • I Love You
  • 2009 ''Maidens' Trivia''