A manga artist, also known as a mangaka, is a comic artist who writes and/or illustrates manga. As of 2006, about 3,000 professional manga artists were working in Japan.

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.