Creator of long-running manga passed away on August 4 due to breast cancer

The official website for Shueisha's Ribon magazine announced on Monday that manga creator Konami Sonoda ( ChocoMimi ) passed away on August 4 due to breast cancer.

Sonoda was born in Hyogo Prefecture in 1977. She made her debut with the High Tension Hour manga in the special oversized early spring issue of Shueisha's Ribon Bikkuri magazine in 1995.

Sonoda launched the ChocoMimi fashion manga in Shueisha's Ribon Original magazine in May 2003. The manga transferred to Ribon magazine in March 2004, where it had been serialized since. ChocoMimi went on hiatus earlier this month in this year's September issue of Ribon magazine due to Sonoda's poor health.

Shueisha published the manga's first compiled book volume in July 2005 and published the 11th compiled volume in January. Viz Media released the first five volumes in English. The manga inspired a live-action television series in 2007.

The super-deformed gag manga follows two school friends (Choco Sakurai and Mimi Nekota) on their adventures with their friends and pets (Choco's dog Chiffon and Mimi's cat Huckleberry), as well as their changing fashion styles.

Sources: Ribon magazine's website, Comic Natalie