Makoto Ueda is a Japanese playwright, screenwriter, and director known for his work in both theatre and anime. Born in Kyoto on November 4, 1979, he studied at Doshisha University, where he became involved in the university’s small theater company. In 1998, he formed the theater unit Europe-Kikaku, which became an independent company in 2000. Ueda serves as the representative of Europe-Kikaku and has written and directed all of its regular productions.

While Ueda is a prolific figure in Japanese theatre, he is also recognized for his contributions to anime. His most notable anime work is his involvement with the adaptation of Tomihiko Morimi's novel The Tatami Galaxy. For the 2010 television anime series, Ueda served as the series composer and scriptwriter. This adaptation went on to win the Grand Prize in the anime category at the 14th Agency for Cultural Affairs Media Arts Festival. He is also credited with the screenplay for the 2017 anime film Night Is Short, Walk On Girl and the 2018 film Penguin Highway.

Ueda is directly credited as an original creator for the anime Tatami Time Machine Blues, which premiered in 2022. The story is based on a concept by Ueda and is a sequel novel to The Tatami Galaxy written by Tomihiko Morimi. For the anime adaptation, Ueda returned to write the screenplay, continuing his role in shaping the narrative of this intellectual property.

Before his success in anime, Ueda wrote the play Summer Time Machine Blues, which he adapted into a live-action film in 2005. This play would later serve as the creative foundation for the Tatami Time Machine Blues project. His theatre work has received critical acclaim, with several of his plays being finalists for the OMS Drama Award. In 2017, his play This New World that Had to Come won the 61st Kishida Drama Award, one of Japan's most prestigious awards for contemporary playwrights. His artistic identity is rooted in his work as a dramatist, and his anime scripts often reflect the dialogue-driven, whimsical, and philosophical character of his stage productions. Ueda is not a voice actor; his industry significance lies in his ability to bridge contemporary Japanese theatre and mainstream anime, bringing a distinct literary and comedic voice to both mediums.