Akihito Yoshitomi is a Japanese manga artist born on September 5, 1970, in Miyazaki Prefecture. His career as a creator began with his debut in the late 1980s, and his first original serialized work was Loan Knight, which was followed by Loan Knight 2. He is best known as the creator of the manga series Eat-Man, which became his breakout work and a significant title in his bibliography.

The Eat-Man manga was serialized from 1996 to 2003, spanning 19 volumes, and its success led to two anime television adaptations. The first anime series aired in 1997, and was followed by Eat-Man '98, which premiered in October 1998. For both series, Yoshitomi is credited as the original story creator, and he also provided the original character designs for Eat-Man '98. A sequel manga, Eat-Man: The Main Dish, was later serialized from 2014 to 2019. Beyond Eat-Man, his manga Blue Drop was also adapted into an anime series. Another notable original work is Ray, a seven-volume series published between 2002 and 2005.

Yoshitomi's body of work demonstrates a wide stylistic range, having initially created science fiction and adventure stories before also becoming known for works in the yuri genre, a shift noted in profiles of his career. His series Blue Drop is an example of this genre, and he has also worked on many one-shot manga with yuri content. His artistic identity is marked by this versatility, and he has spoken about the importance of adapting and improvising to sustain a long career in the industry. His later works include After School of the Earth, School Mermaid, and Balance Policy, a series that explores themes of gender identity. In addition to his manga work, Yoshitomi maintains a YouTube channel where he regularly shares videos of his drawing process.