Mia Ikumi passes away: Tributes pour in as Tokyo Mew Mew artist dies aged 42

As per local reports, Tokyo Mew Mew manga co-creator and artist Mia Ikumi passed away at the age of 42 on March 7. The news of her demise was announced via the manga series’ publisher Nakayoshi magazine’s official website.

The magazine’s press release also stated that Ikumi’s death was caused by a subarachnoid hemorrhage, which is the internal bleeding in the space between the brain and its surrounding membrane. The condition was likely to have been caused by an aneurysm.

Nakayoshi also reported that her close family and relatives held a private ceremony following her unfortunate demise. The announcement also read:

“(Owing to) her sudden and premature death, her editorial staff, cannot help but mourn.”

---

Exploring late Mia Ikumi’s legacy

The manga artist was best known for illustrating and co-creating the Tokyo Mew Mew with writer Reiko Yoshida. She reportedly spent a year working on the manga's design before it was released in early 2001. Later, she also worked on the manga series’ sequels. Ikumi’s last work as a manga artist was in 2020’s Tokyo Mew Mew Re-Turn.

Mia Ikumi was reportedly born in Osaka, Japan, in 1979. At the age of 18, she forayed into her career as a manga artist with Usagi no Terasu Hoshi, for which she received the debutant award from Nakayoshi magazine in 1998.

In the same year, the magazine serialized her manga series Super Doll Licca-chan. Later, two manga volumes were published by Kodansha, which ran for a year. Two years after her reported debut in the professional world of manga creation, the Osaka-native helped create the Tokyo Mew Mew series.

Mia Ikumi was reportedly a professor, a fact which was insinuated by Kodansha’s Nakayoshi magazine’s obituary. In their statement, the publication also revealed that an anime show based on her manga was set to begin production in July. As per Siliconera, Ikumi reportedly supervised the show.

Furthermore, along with the announced “Tokyo Mew Mew Her Nyu ~ ♡” anime, Kodansha also disclosed their plans to relaunch the manga series with new editions of all ten volumes. As per the announcement, Ikumi had already illustrated the cover pages of each volume prior to her tragic demise.

---

Condolences rush for late Tokyo Mew Mew artist Mia Ikumi

Following the news of Ikumi’s passing, a plethora of fans paid their tributes to the late artist on social media. Numerous tweets noted her legacy as the co-creator of Tokyo Mew Mew and thanked her for her contributions.

Many followers cited Professor Ikumi as an inspiration, while others thanked the artist for her creations, which were “a source of joy and comfort” in their childhood.