Usamaru Furuya is a Japanese manga artist born in Tokyo on January 25, 1968. His background is distinguished by a formal education in fine arts, having graduated from the oil painting course at Tama Art University. During his time at university, he developed interests in sculpture and Butoh dance, an avant-garde movement that emerged in post-war Japan. Before committing to manga as a career, he initially worked as a high school art teacher.

Furuya made his professional manga debut in 1994 with Palepoli, which was published in the legendary alternative manga magazine Garo. This early work established him as a creator operating outside the mainstream, and his career has since been defined by a willingness to move between very different genres and publishing contexts. He has contributed to a wide range of publications, from underground magazines to major mainstream seinen and shōnen anthologies published by Kodansha, Shogakukan, Shueisha, and Shinchosha. He has also created a four-panel yonkoma series for the daily newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun and even produced a manga biography about Emperor Akihito for the weekly magazine Shūkan Post.

His body of work is marked by significant stylistic and tonal variety. Furuya has worked across dark psychological horror, absurdist comedy, and dramatic coming-of-age stories, often shifting his visual approach to match the narrative. His early gag manga Short Cuts, which ran in Weekly Young Sunday, demonstrates his skill with absurdist humor, while series like his adaptation of Osamu Dazai's novel No Longer Human showcase a much darker and more realistic style. Common threads in his work include a fascination with the grotesque, a surrealistic sense of humor, and a recurring interest in the struggles and psychology of youth, particularly as they transition into adulthood.

Several of Furuya’s original manga have been adapted into other media, most notably the anime series Litchi DE Hikari Club and the live-action film Teiichi no Kuni. The anime Litchi DE Hikari Club is an adaptation of his horror manga Lychee Light Club. The original Lychee Light Club manga was itself based on a stage play by Norimizu Ameya and was serialized in Manga Erotics F from 2005 to 2006. The story follows a group of middle school boys who use increasingly cruel tactics to build an artificial intelligence. The comedic anime adaptation, which consisted of eight short episodes, aired on Tokyo MX from October to November 2012. The series was produced by Kachidoki Studio and directed by Masahiro Takata. The anime is often distinguished from its source material by its much lighter, parodic tone.

Another of his notable original works is Teiichi no Kuni, a political drama set in an elite all-boys high school. The series follows a student's ruthless ambition to become class president as a stepping stone to a future career in politics. Teiichi no Kuni was serialized in Shueisha's Jump Square from 2010 to 2016 and was later adapted into a live-action film in 2017.

Furuya has also created several other significant original manga that have gained international recognition. His series 51 Ways to Save Her, which ran from 2006 to 2007, was loosely adapted into the anime television series Tokyo Magnitude 8.0. Other notable works include the surrealist school-life story Genkaku Picasso, the apocalyptic drama π (Pi), and the prequel to Lychee Light Club titled Bokura no Hikari Club. He continues to be an active creator, with the series Lunatic Circus running in Monthly Comic Bunch from 2020 onward. He has also engaged in collaborative projects, such as Tosho Lin Kai, a short manga created with a story by former idol Rina Ikoma.