Sumomo Yumeka

Sumomo Yumeka (夢花李) is the pseudonym of a Japanese manga artist, who also writes as Mizu Sahara (佐原ミズ) and Sahara Keita (佐原恵太). She writes in a variety of demographics, publishing yaoi manga as Sumomo Yumeka, seinen manga as Mizu Sahara, and shōjo manga as Sahara Keita. She is best known in the West for The Day I Became a Butterfly and Same Cell Organism, both under the Yumeka byline, and the manga adaptation of Voices of a Distant Star under the Sahara byline. Her series My Girl is being adapted as a live-action television series which began broadcasting in October 2009.

Profile
Much information about Sumomo Yumeka is unknown. She is popularly known under this pseudonym in the BL community but has also published works under the names Mizu Sahara (佐原ミズ Sahara Mizu) for her seinen works, Sahara Keita (佐原恵太 Sahara Keita) for her shōjo works and Chikyuya/Sasshi (地球屋/さっし Chikyuya/Sasshi) for doujinshi.

She draws herself as a female stick figure with rosy cheeks.

In her author notes at the end of her published works like Hoshi no Koe, she often mentions that she feels that she did not do a good enough job. She is often not satisfied with what she has done and claims that her stories don't make sense. However, she is always grateful to the people she works with.

Major works

 * Same Cell Organism
 * Same Cell Organism is about Nakagawa and Yokota, two friends in high school who share their fears and plans with each other as graduation draws near. The manga also features The Letter in the Attic, To Make an Angel and We Selfish Two.


 * The Day I Became a Butterfly
 * The Day I Became a Butterfly features the interesting story of Uka and Mimi, two high school students who feel isolated. One is suffering from a disease and one is rumored to have a strange ability to hear if a person is dying.
 * Unlike Same Cell Organism, The Day I Became a Butterfly is not purely BL. It contains You at the End, Tokyo Alien Ulala and Planet Yours which are all boys love. It also contains The Lonely War which features a more traditional high school romance and Blue Cat Tunnel which is about a girl who falls in love with a man she shouldn't.


 * Voices of a Distant Star
 * Working with Makoto Shinkai, she wrote and illustrated the manga adaptation of the critically acclaimed movie Voices of a Distant Star. The manga featured an extended look at the movie, providing a wider perspective and a more emotional exploration.

As Sumomo Yumeka

 * Kokoro Kikai
 * Soshite Hibi Koishiteku
 * Soshite Koi ga Hajimaru by Kei Tsukimura (illustrator only)
 * Natsukashi Machi no Rozione
 * Dousabou Seibutsu (published in English by Digital Manga Publishing as Same Cell Organism)
 * Chou ni Naru Hi (published in English by Digital Manga Publishing as The Day I Became a Butterfly)
 * Tengusin (published in English by Aurora Publishing as Tengu-Jin)
 * Nemunoki no Geshukusou
 * Kon no Ki Konoha
 * Kimi wa Boku no Taiyou
 * Hate ni Aru Kimi
 * Kaze Shinshutsu Shita
 * The Snake and the Boy (Mitoshounen)

As Mizu Sahara

 * Basu Hashiru (includes a series of shorts under the title Nanairo Sekai)
 * My Girl
 * Hoshi no Koe (written by Makoto Shinkai, illustrator only, published in English by Tokyopop as Voices of a Distant Star)
 * Kumo no Mukou, Yakusoku no Basho (written Makoto Shinkai, illustrator only)
 * Watashitachi no Shiawase na Jikan (written by Ji-Young Gong, illustator only)

As Chikyuya/Sasshi

 * Oh My Lover (a Gundam Wing doujinshi)
 * Sakyuu Rasenron Baku (a Naruto doujinshi)