Chikako Urano, born December 20, 1946, in Osaka Prefecture, is a Japanese manga artist recognized as a pioneering figure in shōjo manga, particularly within the sports genre. She began her career as a teenager publishing comics in the kashi-hon rental library market. Her debut in a commercial manga magazine came in 1966 with the short story Shibō zero no hi, published in Bessatsu Margaret. She subsequently established a long-standing association with the publisher Shueisha, contributing to its magazines, including Margaret.

Urano is best known as the creator of Attack No. 1, a volleyball manga serialized in Margaret from 1968 to 1970. The series was a significant success and became a defining work of the spokon (sports spirit) genre. It follows the journey of Kozue Ayuhara, a talented player whose path to becoming the best in Japan and the world is marked by intense rivalries, grueling training, and personal challenges. The manga's elements, including its focus on the development of extraordinary special moves and the protagonist's perseverance, became hallmarks that would influence later sports narratives.

The popularity of Attack No. 1 led to a landmark anime adaptation. Airing on Fuji TV from December 1969 to November 1971, the 104-episode series was produced by TMS Entertainment and directed by Fumio Kurokawa and Eiji Okabe. It is historically significant as the first female sports anime in the shōjo category to be broadcast on television. The anime was widely distributed internationally, gaining particular fame in countries such as Italy, Germany, France, and Spain under localized titles like Mimì e la nazionale di pallavolo, Mila Superstar, Les Attaquantes, and La Panda de Julia.

Beyond her most famous work, Urano created numerous other manga, many of which were short stories. Her bibliography includes sports-themed series such as Yuujou no Kaiten Receive (1968), the baseball manga Nishi Manrui (1970), and the rhythmic gymnastics story Kagayake! Full Turn (1973). In a departure from sports narratives, she created Kyōfu no Yodogō in 1970, a work inspired by the real-life Yodogō hijacking incident that occurred in Japan that same year.

Following the original Attack No. 1, Urano created a sequel manga, Shin Attack No. 1, which was serialized in Margaret in the mid-1970s. This sequel was later redrawn with a new artistic style by Kanon Ozawa between 2004 and 2005. The enduring legacy of Attack No. 1 was further evidenced by a live-action television drama that aired on TV Asahi in 2005.

Urano was married to manga artist Yu Nagurumi, and her brother-in-law was the manga artist Kei Sadayasu. Her work, particularly Attack No. 1, is noted for establishing foundational tropes of the sports genre and is credited with contributing to a surge of interest in women's volleyball in Japan following the national team's gold medal at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. The series has been cited as an inspiration by professional athletes, including Italian volleyball player Francesca Piccinini.