Creator Spotlight: Mitsubachi Miyuki

Loves comes like a storm—sometimes literally! That is the premise of Mitsubachi Miyuki’s latest creation, Spring Storm and Monster, which comes out this September! She’s one of the reigning queens of shoujo (and we need to give credit where credit is due!), so we wanted to honor her new series with a deep dive into this sensei’s previous works. 

For those unfamiliar, Mitsubachi Miyuki has been publishing since 2007, when her debut work, Tonari no Okita-kun, was first serialized in the now legendary Hana to Yume magazine. However, she really came into the English shoujo scene much later with Cheeky Brat, first published in 2013 and brought to you by Yen Press in 2021. And with Cheeky Brat, we were totally captivated by sensei’s world: pink, colorful, and at the same time so down-to-earth that we couldn’t wait to share more of her awesomeness with you! 

But if you were curious to know more about her works, then you’ve come to the right source! Let’s look at three qualities that make Mitsubachi Miyuki stand out from her peers!

Face of a Delinquent, Heart of Gold 

At first impact, the male leads in Mitsubachi-sensei’s works look like downright delinquents, rebels who don’t conform to society’s standards and laugh in the face of rules—or, as my mother would say, “the type of guys you should never, ever date, do you hear me?” However, this could not be any further from the truth! Behind their tough and nonchalant exteriors, these guys hide a gentle heart that will bring the sweetness to dangerous levels! Take Naruse from Cheeky Brat, for example: a total brat (pun intended) who enjoys bothering Yuki whenever he gets a chance. Still, he never gets typecast as a “bullying male lead,” and that is because he acknowledges and respects Yuki’s boundaries, at times even taking a step back when he realizes that he’s being unreasonable—all without any prompting from the heroine! Truly, he might be cheeky but not without sense, and how I wish I could say this for a lot of men!

Master of Pacing 

One of the most difficult aspects of a writer’s job is to determine when to pull the trigger—in other words, when to increase or release the tension in a story. Pacing can be everything, and a careful reader will appreciate when the author knows how to build up romantic tension. And with Mitsubachi-sensei, you’re always in good hands! In Stray Cat & Wolf, sensei expertly mixes the lull of daily cohabitation with blood-pumping scenes of live concerts, alternating innocent touches with fiery hot exchanges!

Best of all, the increasing tension between the Tamaki and Rou takes us through the ups and downs of their relationships, not only deepening our understanding of their actions, but also making us gasp and cheer when Rou really shows up to be one of the best male leads ever written (and I stand behind that statement). I am begging other writers to please take note! 

Family Troubles 

Finally, a thoroughly explored theme in many of Mitsubachi-sensei’s works is family dynamics and the troubled youth. While we might have seen this in both Cheeky Brat and Stray Cat & Wolf, you cannot experience this any better than with sensei’s latest work, Spring Storm and Monster. Kaya, our male lead, comes from a broken home and gets constantly placed with different relatives until he meets our heroine.

He is brash and has a total disregard for the adults that surround him and a penchant for violence. He is only a middle schooler—but at the same time, he isn’t just another “angsty misunderstood teen.” No, Mistubachi-sensei always makes sure to give exact reasons for any of her characters’ behaviors, building complex and compelling pasts that shine a light on more delicate subjects we often don’t see in shoujo stories, such as being a male victim of sexual harassment or being completely rejected by what should have been a teen’s safety net. Through this careful arrangement, then, we are treated to some of the most profound and true-to-life characters we have laid our eyes on, and challenge anyone to say otherwise! 

So now that we have highlighted these three aspects of this multitalented author, we leave the decision up to you readers! Will you fall for the charms of Mitsubachi Miyuki’s writing, or will you still deny the undeniable?! With shoujo having a renaissance now, there is no better time to start reading these series! And let’s face it: Where else would you find a mangaka cool enough to write Skip Beat! doujinshi?! Mitsubachi-sensei, never stop being you, and never stop writing!