Naoko Takeuchi (武内 直子 Takeuchi Naoko, Japanese pronunciation: [ta.keꜜ.u͍.tɕi naꜜ.o.ko] born March 15, 1967) is a Japanese manga artist. She is best known for her manga series Codename: Sailor V (1991–1997) and Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon (1991–1997).She earned the 2nd Nakayoshi Comic Prize for Newcomers in 1985 for Yume ja Nai no Ne and the 1986 New Artist award for Love Call. Her next manga Sailor Moon, went on to become one of the most popular and successful manga around the world, with over 35 million copies sold worldwide.[citation needed] In 1993, she earned the Kodansha Manga Award for the series. Overseas, Sailor Moon's anime adaptations have been more successful than the manga and are credited with boosting Japanese animation's popularity in the Western world. Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.