Kazuo Koike was a prolific Japanese manga writer (gensakusha), novelist, screenwriter, lyricist and entrepreneur. He is best known for his violent, artful seinen manga, notably Lone Wolf and Cub, Lady Snowblood and Crying Freeman, which – along with their numerous media adaptations − have been credited for their influence on the international growth of Japanese popular culture.

Manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term manga is used in Japan to refer to both comics and cartooning. Outside of Japan, the word is typically used to refer to comics originally published in Japan.