Kazuki Funatsu, also known by the name Funatsu Ikki, is a Japanese manga artist and original creator. He was born on November 29, 1973, in Hokkaido, Japan. Funatsu began his professional career after being a finalist in a manga competition while working as a salaryman. He made his debut with the work Jet Black Lemnear before achieving broader recognition.

Funatsu is credited as the original creator of the manga series Dogeza de Tanondemita, known in English as Dogeza: I Tried Asking While Kowtowing. The series started as a webcomic posted on his Twitter account on March 18, 2017, and was later published in print by Kadokawa Shoten. This work directly led to the anime adaptations mentioned, including the television series Dogeza de Tanondemita, which aired from October to December 2020, and the subsequent special episode Dogeza de Tanondemita: Isekai-hen, released in January 2021. He also illustrated the light novel adaptation of his work and contributed an art card to the anime's broadcast.

Beyond the Dogeza series, Funatsu has created several other manga titles, demonstrating a career that spans multiple genres and publishers. His other notable original works include Addicted to Curry, a long-running cooking manga serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Young Jump starting in 2001. He is also the author of Yokai Girls, Sundome!! Milky Way, and Mabataki Yori Hayaku!!, a martial arts series about high school girls practicing karate. Funatsu has also worked on Monster Girl and Tsutte Tabetai Gal Sawa-san.

Funatsu's artistic identity is often associated with the seinen demographic, and his works frequently incorporate elements of comedy, ecchi, and mature themes. The premise of Dogeza de Tanondemita, focusing on a man who performs a deep bowing ritual to request revealing favors from women, is characteristic of his style of blending explicit content with humor. His broader bibliography shows versatility, moving from the cooking genre in Addicted to Curry to supernatural and romantic comedies, indicating a creator willing to work across different narrative frameworks.

In the industry, Funatsu holds significance as an established creator who successfully transitioned from a webcomic hobbyist to a published author with multiple media adaptations. The anime adaptation of his webcomic was noted by industry observers as a rare instance of adult-oriented manga being adapted for mainstream streaming platforms. His career trajectory, from self-publishing on social media to receiving light novel, live-action, and anime adaptations, illustrates the changing pathways for manga creators in the digital age. He has also worked as an assistant to other manga artists and has had his own assistants go on to create their own series.