Tsugumi Ohba

Tsugumi Ohba is the pen name of a Japanese manga writer best known for creating the *Death Note* series with artist Takeshi Obata, which ran from 2003 to 2006 and has 30 million collected volumes in circulation. Born in Tokyo, Japan, Ohba’s birth year and real identity remain private. The writer’s path into comics began with a desire to craft suspenseful, intellectual stories, leading to the duo’s second series, *Bakuman.* (2008–2012), which also achieved success with 15 million volumes in circulation. Ohba’s signature work blends psychological tension, moral dilemmas, and metafictional themes, often exploring the nature of creativity and justice. Key collaborators include Obata, with whom Ohba co-created *Platinum End* (serialized in *Jump SQ* from 2015 to 2021), and Robico, for the 2014 one-shot *Skip! Yamada-kun*. Ohba’s catalog credits the writer on 37 issues from 2005 to 2017, with most contributions to *Shonen Jump*. Later life remains private, but the writer’s legacy is defined by *Death Note*’s global impact on manga and anime. Awards include the 2007 Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize for *Death Note*.