Auri Hirao
Description
Auri Hirao is a Japanese manga artist and the original creator behind the series If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan, I Would Die. Born on August 30 in Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture, Hirao began her professional career at a young age, making her debut as a manga artist at 13. She took a brief hiatus from the industry before returning to submit new work at 19. Her early career was marked by winning the Silver Dragon Award in the second Ryujin Awards in 2007, a recognition that helped establish her presence in the manga industry.
Hirao is known for working with traditional tools, preferring to use brushes and dip pens rather than digital tablets for her illustrations. Her creative work frequently explores themes related to yuri, or girls' love, and she has contributed to several anthologies in that genre, including Éclair: Anata ni Hibiku Yuri Anthology and the Hirari, Bessatsu: Bukatsu Joshi Anthology - Houkagou! series.
Before achieving mainstream recognition, Hirao created several other manga series and short story collections. Her earlier notable work includes Manga no Tsukurikata (How to Make Manga), a series that proved popular enough to run for eight collected volumes. She has also produced the two-volume work Natsuzora ni, Kimi to Mita Yume, the one-volume series O to K no Aida and Sensei to Boku, as well as the short story collections Shigatsu Tsuitachi (April 1) and Wabisabi.
Hirao is best known as the writer and artist of If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan, I Would Die. The manga began serialization in Tokuma Shoten’s seinen manga magazine Monthly Comic Ryū on June 19, 2015, and concluded on November 28, 2025, with its chapters collected into twelve tankōbon volumes. The series became a significant success, leading to multiple adaptations. An anime television series produced by studio Eight Bit aired from January to March 2020, followed by a live-action television drama that ran from October to December 2022, and a film adaptation that was released in May 2023. Hirao’s involvement extended beyond the original manga, as she also provided exclusive cover art for the series’ complete vocal album released in October 2023.
Thematically, Hirao’s work often centers on the dynamics of fandom, personal devotion, and the nuanced relationships between idols and their supporters, drawing from her own acknowledged identity as an idol enthusiast. Her artistic identity is closely tied to the girls' love genre, and her work is frequently published in magazines and anthologies catering to that audience. Her contributions to the industry are defined by her ability to create stories that resonate with the experiences of fans, leading to adaptations that have brought her work to a broad international audience through publishers like Tokyopop in North America and saldaPress in Italy.
Hirao is known for working with traditional tools, preferring to use brushes and dip pens rather than digital tablets for her illustrations. Her creative work frequently explores themes related to yuri, or girls' love, and she has contributed to several anthologies in that genre, including Éclair: Anata ni Hibiku Yuri Anthology and the Hirari, Bessatsu: Bukatsu Joshi Anthology - Houkagou! series.
Before achieving mainstream recognition, Hirao created several other manga series and short story collections. Her earlier notable work includes Manga no Tsukurikata (How to Make Manga), a series that proved popular enough to run for eight collected volumes. She has also produced the two-volume work Natsuzora ni, Kimi to Mita Yume, the one-volume series O to K no Aida and Sensei to Boku, as well as the short story collections Shigatsu Tsuitachi (April 1) and Wabisabi.
Hirao is best known as the writer and artist of If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan, I Would Die. The manga began serialization in Tokuma Shoten’s seinen manga magazine Monthly Comic Ryū on June 19, 2015, and concluded on November 28, 2025, with its chapters collected into twelve tankōbon volumes. The series became a significant success, leading to multiple adaptations. An anime television series produced by studio Eight Bit aired from January to March 2020, followed by a live-action television drama that ran from October to December 2022, and a film adaptation that was released in May 2023. Hirao’s involvement extended beyond the original manga, as she also provided exclusive cover art for the series’ complete vocal album released in October 2023.
Thematically, Hirao’s work often centers on the dynamics of fandom, personal devotion, and the nuanced relationships between idols and their supporters, drawing from her own acknowledged identity as an idol enthusiast. Her artistic identity is closely tied to the girls' love genre, and her work is frequently published in magazines and anthologies catering to that audience. Her contributions to the industry are defined by her ability to create stories that resonate with the experiences of fans, leading to adaptations that have brought her work to a broad international audience through publishers like Tokyopop in North America and saldaPress in Italy.
Works
- Topics: Anime overview