Science Fiction With a Romantic Twist. A, A' raises a troubling question: How would you feel if your lover died—and was replaced by a clone? Could recreate your relationship with someone who was physically exactly the same but didn't share any memories of your life together? In 4/4 (Quantre-Quarts), Mori, a teenager, is flunking out of an ESP training program. But when he meets Trill, a beautiful Unicorn, his latent abilities begin to blossom! Unfortunately, Mori can't control the psyhic powers Trill stimulates in him, and Trill can't cope with the feelings Mori has set free in her! In X + Y, Hagio uses science fiction to explore questions of gender and sexual identity. Time has passed, and once again, Mori finds himself inexorably attracted to a member of the Unicorn race—but this Unicorn is male..and so is Mori!
Author
Moto Hagio (萩尾望都 Hagio Moto) is a manga artist born in Ōmuta, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, though she currently lives in Saitama Prefecture. She is considered a "founding mother" of modern shōjo manga, and a member of the Year 24 Group (24-Gumi). She helped pioneer modern shōjo manga, modern science fiction manga, and BL manga. In addition to being an "industry pioneer", her body of work "shows a maturity, depth and personal vision found only in the finest of creative artists". She has been described as "the most beloved shōjo manga artist of all time." Moto Hagio made her professional debut in 1969 at the age of 20 with her short story Lulu to Mimi on Kodansha's magazine Nakayoshi. Later she produced a series of short stories for various magazines for Shogakukan. Two years after her debut, she published Juichigatsu no Gimunajiumu (The November Gymnasium), a short story which dealt openly with love between two boys at a boarding school. The story was part of a larger movement by female manga artists at the time which pioneered a genre of girls' comics about love between young men. In 1974, Hagio developed this story into the longer Toma no shinzo (The Heart of Thomas). She was awarded the Shogakukan Manga Award in 1976 for her science fiction classic Juichinin iru! (They Were Eleven) and her epic tale Poe no ichizoku (The Poe Family).
