Chica Umino aspired to be a character designer and manga artist since elementary school.[3] In high school, she had one work published in "Bouquet".[4] Her pen name comes from her favorite location Umi no Chikaku no Yuuenchi (海の近くの遊園地, lit. an amusement park by the sea), which is also the title of her doujinshi works prior to her debut. She likes Harry Potter and anime by Hayao Miyazaki. She calls herself an otaku.[citation needed] Western children's books like Anne of Green Gables (for which she drew the cover artwork in a republished version in 2011[5]) she read as a child had a notable influence on her work, especially how she chooses to portray unusual family constellations.[6] Some of Umino's inspirations as an artist comes from the artists Fusako Kuramochi and Moto Hagio, the latter of which she self-taught artistic techniques from.[7]
In 2000, Umino's most notable work, Honey and Clover, began serialization in Takarajimasha's manga magazine Cutie Comic. The series' first fourteen chapters were published in Cutie Comic; serialization was later moved to Shueisha's Young You. With the demise of Young You in 2005, the series moved to the magazine Chorus, where it continued its run until the series ended in July 2006 with 64 chapters. Umino received the 27th Kodansha Manga Award for Honey and Clover in 2003, which was adapted into an anime series produced by J.C. Staff.
Umino's most recent work is March Comes In like a Lion (3月のライオン, Sangatsu no Raion) lit. "Lion in March" or "March's Lion", which began serialization in Hakusensha's seinenmanga magazine, Young Animal. March comes in Like a Lion was inspired by Umino's editor, who suggested that her next work be about shogi or boxing.[4] Because Umino herself did not have any prior experience with shogi, the games depicted in the manga were drawn in partnership with a supervisor.
