Ken Akamatsu is a Japanese manga artist and politician born on July 5, 1968, in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture. He has been a member of the House of Councillors in the Japanese Diet since July 2022, representing the Liberal Democratic Party on a platform of protecting creative freedom of expression. His career as a creator began after he won the 50th Shōnen Magazine Newcomer Award in 1993 for his debut work Hito Natsu no Kids Game, which led to his professional serialization debut with A.I. Love You, published in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine from 1994 to 1997.

Akamatsu established his reputation as a major creator of romantic comedy manga with Love Hina, which was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Magazine from 1998 to 2001. The series, which tells the story of Keitarō Urashima and his attempts to fulfill a childhood promise by entering the University of Tokyo while managing a female-only dormitory, became a commercial success with 20 million copies in circulation in Japan. Love Hina earned Akamatsu the 25th Kodansha Manga Award in the shōnen category in 2001. The manga was adapted into a 24-episode anime television series produced by Xebec that aired from April to September 2000, followed by Christmas and Spring television specials and a three-episode original video animation series titled Love Hina Again. Akamatsu is credited as the original author or comic creator for these anime productions.

Following Love Hina, Akamatsu created Negima! Magister Negi Magi, serialized in Weekly Shōnen Magazine from 2003 to 2012. The series follows a young boy wizard named Negi Springfield who becomes a teacher at an all-girls school in Japan. The manga was adapted into multiple anime productions. These include the OVA series Mahō Sensei Negima!: Shiroki Tsubasa Ala Alba, the OVA series Mahō Sensei Negima!: Mō Hitotsu no Sekai, its extra episode Mahō Shōjo Yue, and the anime film Mahō Sensei Negima! Anime Final. Akamatsu later wrote and illustrated UQ Holder!, a sequel to Negima! that was serialized from 2013 to 2022. The volumes of UQ Holder! were the first to carry a Doujin Mark, indicating explicit author permission for use as a source for fan-made works, an initiative led by Akamatsu himself.

Throughout his works, Akamatsu has consistently explored themes of romantic comedy centered on a male protagonist surrounded by a large cast of female characters, often incorporating elements of fantasy, martial arts, or magical adventure. His artistic style was influenced by Izumi Matsumoto of Kimagure Orange Road, and he has cited Yoshiyuki Sadamoto and Yoshihiro Togashi as creators he admires. Akamatsu was an early adopter of digital production techniques, using Apple Macintosh computers for page layout, digital shading, and pattern fills during the production of Love Hina.

Beyond his creative work, Akamatsu has significant industry significance as an advocate for manga creators and freedom of expression. In 2010, he launched J-Comi, later renamed Manga Library Z, a free digital distributor of out-of-print manga titles, beginning with his own Love Hina. He has been a managing director of the Japan Cartoonists Association since 2018 and has actively opposed expansions of censorship and copyright law that would restrict manga and anime. His election to the House of Councillors in 2022 made him the first manga creator to serve in the National Diet of Japan, and in November 2024, he was appointed Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Reconstruction. As of 2022, Akamatsu's manga have a cumulative circulation of over 50 million copies worldwide.