Ume Aoki

Ume-sensei in Metapod form

Ume Aoki (蒼樹 うめ, Aoki Ume) is a Japanese mangaka born August 3. She illustrated under the pennames Apply Fujimiya (藤宮 アプリ, Fujimiya Apuri) for the visual novel Sanarara (Nekoneko Soft) and Apricot+ for most of the doujinshi that she writes. Ume's most well-known work is Hidamari Sketch, also known as Sunshine Sketch. She is also the voice of the little caterpillar creature in the anime for Hidamari Sketch. Most notably, Aoki provided the original character designs for Puella Magi Madoka Magica. She is from Hyōgo Prefecture.

Works

See if you can find Ume Aoki

• Hidamari Sketch (ひだまりスケッチ) (2004, ongoing) (manga, original creator)
• Hidamari Sketch (2007) (anime, original creator)
• Hidamari Sketch ×365 (2008) (anime, original creator)
• Hidamari Sketch ×☆☆☆ (2010) (anime, original creator)
• Hidamari Sketch × Honeycomb (2012) (anime, original creator)
• Tetsunagi Kooni (てつなぎこおに。) (manga, original creator)
• Sanarara (サナララ) (visual novel by Nekoneko Soft, illustrator)
• Two Smiling Faces (笑顔ふたつ, Egao Futatsu) (manga, original creator)
• Puella Magi Madoka Magica (anime, original character design)
• Mado no Mukōgawa (マドの向こう側) (2012, ongoing) (manga, original creator)

Trivia

End card from the broadcast version of episode 12

• Ume Aoki's first Puella Magi Madoka Magica doujin sold out in a little over an hour. She had to apologize to the public for the inconvenience. There are photos of the event showing long lines.[1]
• According to the Blu-Ray Episode 2 voice commentary:
  • Ume Aoki's started the girls designs with the weapons first then she decided what clothes went with the weapons.
  • Madoka, Homura and Mami's character designs were easy for Ume Aoki. On the other hand, Sayaka and Kyubey's character designs were hard.
    • According with Ume Aoki's interview with Kirara Magica, from a design perspective, Kyouko and Sayaka were easier to draw. Madoka, Homura and then Mami-san were harder.
      • It's their twin tails hair, if the size and texture are slightly off, the character would look completely different.
  • Kyubey was not based on any animal, just the concept of a "small mahou shoujo animal"
  • When asked what animals she used as the basis for Kyubey, Ume Aoki was very cryptic because of spoilers.
• Aoki, Shinbo, and Urobuchi discussed the idea of Kyubey visiting Hidamari-so in "Hidamari Sketch" as a joke.
  • And Shinbo suggested that it should be called "Madoka Magica the Origin".
    • Apparently, Shinbo and Urobuchi had succeeded in corrupting Ume Aoki.

Ume-sensei's letter

In the last episode of the TV series, when Sayaka disappeared due to the Law of Cycles, I was happy to hear Kyouko say "And we finally became friends, too...". In her last scene (in the concert hall), though, she didn't mention Kyouko.

Even in the pre-Law-of-Cycles timelines, when Sayaka became Oktavia, she identified Madoka as her "most important friend" just before becoming a witch.

There's something powerful about the image of Kyouko and Sayaka as a duo, but in the TV series, I don't think the strength of Sayaka's feelings for Kyouko and vice versa were well-balanced. Kyouko felt very strongly about Sayaka, since Sayaka reminded her of herself when she was younger. Sayaka, on the other hand, just saw Kyouko as "another person who wished for someone else's happiness". (Of course, that was why, in the very end, it was Kyouko to whom Sayaka spoke about how she really felt at the very end.)

And now, The Rebellion Story!! When I heard the two of them talking towards the end, it made me think. This version of Sayaka was aware of post-Oktavia Kyouko. She was aware of how much Kyouko suffered trying to bring her back; of how Kyouko died with her in the end! Wow! Of course, I'm just one fan, and that's just what I got out of the movie, so I can't say I know what Mr. Urobuchi thought about it [laughter], but I was just thinking that she, like Madoka, knew what Kyouko did back then, since she's part of the Law of Cycles, too. This time around, it was Kyouko that said "I had a horrible dream", and it was she that didn't quite remember what had happened. That works, too...

Oh, it looks like I've written a lot here. Now, a message for Kyouko and Sayaka: "Be friends with one another forever! Stay on good terms!!!"... come on, that was just one line! [laughter]

I love Kyouko and Sayaka as a duo! -Aoki Ume

Interviews

• Oct 2012 Kirara Magica Interviews Ume Aoki about her character designs.

General Gallery

• Ume sensei March 2008 costume design.jpg

  This costume design dates back to 2008 and shares certain similarities to Madoka's costume.

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  Madoka Kaname Original Design

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  Homura Akemi Original Design

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  Sayaka Miki Original Design

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  Mami Tomoe Original Design

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  Kyubey Original Design

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  Autographed illustration

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  Autograph of Homura

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  Ume 4-koma Megami Magazine

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  Translated Ume 4koma

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  ClariS

• Homura dakimakura ume.jpg

  Dakimakura

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  Translated 4koma from Madoka BD volume 1 fanbook.

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  Translated 4koma from the Madoka BD 2 fanbook. Header is, "Aoki Ume's Special 4Koma Theater (2)"

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  Translated 4koma from the Madoka BD 3 fanbook.

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  Translated 4koma from the Madoka BD 4 fanbook.

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  Translated 4koma from the Madoka BD 5 fanbook.

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  Translated 4koma from the Madoka BD 6 fanbook.

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  Translated 4koma from the Madoka movie Blu-ray. (alternate translation.)

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  Translated 4koma from the Madoka Rebellion movie Blu-ray.

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  Visual art by Ume Aoki for the Blu-ray version accompanied with a new ED song.

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  New BD/DVD episode 9 ending art, accompanied with Kyoko and Sayaka's character song

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  Madoka Magica Anthology 1

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  Madoka Magica Anthology 2

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  Madoka Magica Anthology 3

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  3 part cover art for Kirara Magica vol.9-11

• Ume-tentei's Akuma Homura.jpg
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Doujin Gallery

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  Ume Madoka doujin "RKGKMDK" from COMIC1☆5, under Apricot+ alias

• Apricot +2.jpg

  Cover

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  Homura neko

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  Ume seems to support Mamilotte, translated

• Apricot +5.jpg

  Fan translation of Kyousuke and his father

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  Madoka and Sayaka in casual attire, translated

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  Kyoko, Mami and Charlotte in casual attire, translated

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  Inside cover page

• 09 TL.jpg

  Fan translation of Homura and Madoka page

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  Ume shipping Kyoko and Sayaka in her doujin

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  Fan translation of Kyoko x Sayaka page 1

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  Translation of Kyoko x Sayaka page 2

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  Ume's a fan of episode 10, translated.

• 14.jpg

  Widddeee-face Moemura with golf club, seems to a Ume's favorite

• 15.jpg

  Sayaka seems smitten

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  Ume Aoki artwork in Tiro Finale Book.

Proto-Megucas

Possible prototypes for the final Madoka Magica character designs can be found in Aoki Ume's doujins (released as apricot+):

Art	Appearance	Analysis
File:(C79) Aoki Ume EtceterA.png	Event: ComiKet 79 Date: Winter, 2010 Title: EtceterA	Hairstyle, face, and (implied) playful personality reminiscent to Madoka; Notable that the doujin itself was released just before the TV series premiere.
File:(C75) Aoki Ume Marble Chocolate.png	Event: ComiKet 75 Date: Winter, 2008 Title: Marble Chocolate	Face, short-haired, boyish demeaner reminscent of Sayaka; playful but troubled by intimacy with another girl in the doujin.
	Event: COMIC15 Date: May, 2011 Title: RKGKMDK	Ume-sensei writes about allowing her "lust to guide" her when drawing Homura's outfit. Cat-ears and puffed black gown ultimately were incorporated into Momoe Nagisa's magical girl costume.

Fan Gallery

This section contains fanart images

Everything in the following fan gallery is created, or the comments accompanying them are created, for entertainment value and should not be confused with actual canon events of the Puella Magi franchise.

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  Fan coloring of the casual attire pages from RKGKMDK

• Ume Doujin Fan Coloring Homura Madoka Comic.jpg

  Fan colored version of a page from RKGKMDK

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  Fan colored version of a page from RKGKMDK

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  Fan coloring of Kyoko x Sayaka pages from RKGKMDK

• RKGKMDK fan colored page (2).png
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  An example of Madoplus+ fan artwork, using pages from RKGKMDK

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  Fan coloring of her artwork from the Tiro Finale Book

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• Umetentei witch art.jpg
• (Trunkdiary(Jaguar)) PMM☆M~A long 4koma story1 01.png
• Happy Brithday Ume Aoki.png
• You face is too wide.jpg

External Links

• Apricot+ Website
• Ume Aoki's Blog
• Ume Aoki's Twitter
• Youtube - Ume Aoki Live Painting
• Ume Aoki at Pixiv image repository (Japanese)
• Ume Aoki's Doujin a success
• Madoplus+, fan art coloring of Ume's doujin work
• Ume Aoki at a promotional event for Hidamari Sketch