Shizue Takanashi is a Japanese manga artist, known professionally as a mangaka, who has been active since the mid-1970s. She was born in Kamogawa, located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. Her career as a creator began in December 1974 with the one-shot manga Momotaro yori ohoshi-sama e, which was published in the January 1975 issue of the magazine Nakayoshi.

Takanashi is best known as the illustrator of the manga series Ohayō! Spank, which is known in English as Hello! Spank. The story was written by Shun'ichi Yukimuro, with Takanashi providing the artwork. The manga was serialized in Kodansha's Nakayoshi magazine from 1978 to 1982 and was later compiled into seven volumes. The series became a significant success and was adapted into a 66-episode anime television series produced by Tokyo Movie Shinsha, which aired from March 7, 1981, to May 29, 1982. A theatrical film based on the series was also released on March 13, 1982. For her work on Ohayō! Spank, Takanashi, along with writer Shun'ichi Yukimuro, received the 1981 Kodansha Manga Award in the shōjo category.

Following the success of Ohayō! Spank, Takanashi continued to create and illustrate numerous other manga series, many of which were published in Nakayoshi. These include works such as Pocket ippai no yume, Kocchi muite sūkī, Boku no Rin chan, Siawase iro no fuukei, Orange tsuushin, and Himitsu no u・fu・fu, among others. In 1999, she began writing and drawing the manga adaptation of the popular anime series Ojamajo Doremi (known as Magical DoReMi). Her work on the Ojamajo Doremi franchise spanned several years and multiple series, including Ojamajo Doremi, Ojamajo Doremi #, Motto! Ojamajo Doremi, and Ojamajo Doremi Dokkaan!. She is also credited for her work on later anime productions such as Hawaiian Conu (2018) and Konu to Tanoshii Otomodachi (2021) as the original creator.

Beyond her work in serialized manga and anime, Takanashi has contributed character designs for other media. In 2004, she created the character designs for Taicchan & Yatchan, a Japanese comedic musical duo. She is also the designer of the official mascots for her hometown of Kamogawa, which include characters named Taiyo-kun, Mattsu, and Nana-Chan. Her artistic style is noted for being simple, light, and gentle, yet capable of creating iconic and expressive characters. She has worked extensively in the shōjo genre, with her stories often published in magazines aimed at young girls. Her career demonstrates a long-standing presence in the Japanese manga industry, with significant contributions to both original manga creation and the adaptation of major anime franchises into manga form.