A shoujo and josei mangaka who is best known as having been a member of Be-PaPas, the creators of Revolutionary Girl Utena. She made her debut in 1982 with the oneshot Ken to Mademoiselle (The Sword and the Mademoiselle) and has drawn over 30 series since then. Very little of her work been licensed for English-speaking audiences, although a number of her titles have been published in Italy and other parts of mainland Europe.
Her art style is reminiscent of the works of the Year 24 Group of female mangaka who revolutionised shoujo manga in the 1970s; Saito herself has cited Riyoko Ikeda and Moto Hagio as her greatest influences in an interview. Storywise, her manga tend to be high on romance and melodrama, and she has a self-confessed penchant for forbidden love.
Her works include:
- Honoka ni Purple
- Ao Ringo Meikyuu
- Waltz wa Shiroi Dress de (Waltz in a White Dress)
- Mou Hitori no Marionette
- Kakan no Madonna
- Kanon
- Revolutionary Girl Utena (with Be-PaPas)
- Adolescence of Utena (a loose manga adaptation of the movie)
- Basilis no Musume
- Lady Masquerade
- S to M no Sekai (a collaboration with Kunihiko Ikuhara)
- Anastasia Club
- First Girl
- Bronze no Tenshi
- Ice Forest
- Torikae Baya
Tropes associated with Saito and her works:
- Art Evolution: Her style has become a lot cleaner and more realistic over the years.
- Brother–Sister Incest: Has shown up a few times, most notably in Utena and Kakan no Madonna.
- Love Triangle
- Melodrama
- Sweet Polly Oliver: Many of her heroines dress up as a boy at least once.
- Unwanted Harem: Expect any heroine in her manga to have at least two or three guys after her.
