Daisuke Satō was a Japanese board game designer, novelist, and manga writer, born on April 3, 1964, in Ishikawa, Japan. He died on March 22, 2017, at the age of 52 due to ischemic heart disease. Satō was known for his work across multiple media, often focusing on military, action, and alternate history genres. He also wrote under the pseudonym Daisuke Tō.

Satō is best known as the original story writer for the manga series Highschool of the Dead. The series, which he created with illustrator Shōji Satō, was serialized in Fujimi Shobo's Monthly Dragon Age from September 2006 until May 2013. The story follows a group of high school students struggling to survive during a worldwide zombie pandemic. Due to Satō's declining health and subsequent death, the manga was left unfinished. The series was adapted into a twelve-episode anime television series produced by Madhouse, which aired from July to September 2010. The anime adaptation was directed by Tetsurō Araki, with scripts written by Yōsuke Kuroda, and covered the first four volumes of the manga. An original video animation episode was also produced by Madhouse in 2011.

Beyond Highschool of the Dead, Satō created the manga Imperial Guards with illustrator Yū Itō. This work was nominated for the prestigious Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2007 and was also a nominee for the first Manga Taishō award in 2008. His literary portfolio also included several alternate history novels, such as Seito and Red Sun Black Cross. As a game designer, he was credited for works including Red Sun Black Cross, Return to Europe, and Escort Fleet. Satō's body of work frequently explored themes of military conflict, survival, and historical upheaval, establishing him as a distinctive voice within Japanese popular fiction and manga.