Sakae Esuno is a Japanese manga artist and writer, born on November 17, 1973, in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. He is best known as the original creator of the popular supernatural suspense series Mirai Nikki, also known as Future Diary, and the action series Big Order.

Esuno first aspired to become a manga artist at the age of fifteen, but his early submissions to publishers were unsuccessful. He continued to pursue this goal while attending university, where he studied fine arts. Seeking to improve his craft, Esuno became an assistant to the manga creator Leiji Matsumoto, working under him for six years. His professional break came in 2001 when he won a contest held by Kadokawa Shoten with his one-shot story Tetsudō Tenshi. After further work as an assistant, he launched his first serialized manga, Hanako to Guuwa no Terror, which ran in Monthly Shōnen Ace from 2004 to 2005 and blended mystery and horror.

Esuno achieved widespread recognition with his next series, Mirai Nikki, which was serialized in Monthly Shōnen Ace from January 2006 to December 2010 and compiled into twelve volumes. The story, a deadly battle royale where contestants use future-predicting diaries to compete for the throne of a god, became a significant success. It spawned several spin-off manga written and illustrated by Esuno, including Mirai Nikki Mosaic, Mirai Nikki Paradox, and the epilogue Mirai Nikki Redial. The franchise was adapted into a twenty-six episode anime television series by the studio Asread, which aired from October 2011 to April 2012. The main series and its spin-offs have also seen multiple original video animation releases. In 2012, a live-action television drama titled Mirai Nikki: Another World, based on Esuno's original work, was broadcast in Japan.

Following the conclusion of Mirai Nikki, Esuno created Big Order, a supernatural action manga serialized in Monthly Shōnen Ace from November 2011 to September 2016 and collected into ten volumes. The story revolves around individuals who can grant their wishes as powerful "Orders." Big Order was also adapted into an original video animation in October 2015 and a ten-episode anime television series by Asread that aired from April to June 2016. Esuno later authored Tantei Akechi wa Kyōran su, a tribute to the works of writer Edogawa Ranpo, which ran in Monthly Shōnen Ace from May 2017 to December 2018. In May 2019, he began illustrating the manga adaptation of Bokuto Uno's light novel series Reign of the Seven Spellblades, which continued serialization in the same magazine.

Throughout his career, Sakae Esuno has demonstrated a consistent artistic identity centered on suspense, horror, and psychologically intense narratives. His works frequently feature survival game scenarios where characters are pushed to their extremes, exploring themes of choice, destiny, and the dark aspects of human nature. He has cited Rumiko Takahashi, particularly her horror series Mermaid Saga, as a major influence. Esuno's significance in the industry rests largely on the international success of Mirai Nikki, which became a notable title in the early 2010s for its gripping plot and its famously obsessive character, Yuno Gasai, cementing his reputation as a creator of impactful and genre-driven dark fantasy.