She is included in the Year 24 Group by some critics, journalists, and academics, although her inclusion has been debated due to a focus more on epic stories than the internal psychology of those mangaka.

Ikeda attended a college and became a philosophy major, while working various part-time jobs.

[3][4] Ikeda began publishing manga in the magazine Kashihonya while studying philosophy.

Her use of foreign settings and androgynous themes made The Rose of Versailles and Orpheus no Mado enormous successes.

This manga, loosely based on the French Revolution, has been made into several Takarazuka musicals, an anime series, and a live-action film.