Shinji Wada was a Japanese manga artist and original creator, born Yoshifumi Iwamoto on April 19, 1950, in Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. He died on July 5, 2011, at the age of 61 due to ischemic heart disease. Wada began his professional career in 1971 with the publication of his debut work in Bessatsu Margaret magazine, and he remained active as a creator for four decades.

Wada is best known as the creator of the Sukeban Deka franchise, which he began serializing in Hakusensha's Hana to Yume magazine in 1976. The manga, whose title translates to Delinquent Girl Detective, follows Saki Asamiya, a high school delinquent who becomes an undercover agent for the police, using a steel yo-yo as her primary weapon. The series ran until 1982 and was collected into 22 volumes, becoming a major success with over 7.5 million copies sold. Wada is also the author of the long-running series Chōshōjo Asuka, which was published across multiple magazines from 1975 to 2000, and Pygmalio, a fantasy adventure manga serialized in Hana to Yume from 1978 to 1990. His other manga credits include Ninja Hishō, Shōjozame, and Kugutsushi Rin, the latter of which was ongoing at the time of his death.

The Sukeban Deka manga served as the foundation for a significant multimedia franchise. Wada is credited as the original creator for a series of live-action television dramas produced by Toei Company and broadcast on Fuji TV, starting with the first season in 1985, which starred Yuki Saito. Two sequel series, Sukeban Deka II: Shōjo Tekkamen Densetsu and Sukeban Deka III: Shōjo Ninpōchō Denki, aired in 1985 and 1986 respectively. The franchise also expanded to include multiple live-action films, including a 2006 release titled Sukeban Deka: Codename = Asamiya Saki, which was released internationally as Yo-Yo Girl Cop. In 1991, a two-episode original video animation series was produced, with Wada again credited as the original creator. The Sukeban Deka franchise saw a revival in the 2020s with three new spinoff manga series, Re: Sukeban Deka, Sukeban Deka Pretend, and Toki o Kakeru Sukeban Deka, all of which credit Wada for the original story. His other major work, Pygmalio, was adapted into a 39-episode anime television series produced by Nippon Animation that aired on TV Tokyo from November 1990 to September 1991.

As a rare male creator working primarily in the shōjo (girls') manga demographic, Wada developed a distinctive artistic identity characterized by blending action, suspense, and strong female protagonists. His works often feature undercover operatives, crime-fighting heroines, and intense physical confrontations, distinguishing him from many contemporaries in the romance-focused shōjo genre of the era. Wada also collaborated with other artists as the original writer for several manga, including Crown with artist You Higuri and White Dragon with artist Yū Kinutani.

Wada's creation of the Sukeban Deka franchise had a lasting impact on Japanese popular culture. The live-action television series helped launch the acting careers of several prominent Japanese idols, including Yuki Saito and Yui Asaka. The franchise remained relevant for decades, inspiring new adaptations and spinoffs as recently as 2021, demonstrating the enduring appeal of his signature concept of a schoolgirl detective armed with a yo-yo. Wada is recognized as an influential figure in manga, with his career spanning from the early 1970s until his death in 2011, leaving behind a substantial body of work that bridged multiple genres and media formats.