Daisuke Higuchi is a Japanese manga artist born on May 10, 1966, in Gunma Prefecture. She is best known as the original creator of the popular sports manga and anime series Whistle!. A recurring point of clarification in discussions about her identity is that she is a female creator, despite her given name, Daisuke, being typically associated with men in Japan. Her self-portrait in her work often takes the form of a crow.

Higuchi began her professional career after being recognized in the 43rd Osamu Tezuka Awards in 1992, where she earned third prize. That same year, she published her early work Itaru, a romance and action story. Her breakthrough came in 1998 when she began writing and illustrating the soccer manga Whistle!. She has stated that she was inspired to create a soccer series after traveling to France to attend the 1998 FIFA World Cup tournament. Whistle! was serialized in Shueisha's prestigious Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine from February 1998 to October 2002, with its 212 chapters collected into 24 volumes.

The success of Whistle! led to an anime television adaptation. The series, for which Higuchi is credited as the original creator, was produced by Studio Comet and consists of 39 episodes that aired on the Animax network from May 2002 to February 2003. Beyond the original manga and anime, the Whistle! franchise was expanded to include two video games released for the PlayStation and Game Boy Advance in 2003. More than a decade after the original series concluded, Higuchi returned to the property with Whistle! W, a sequel manga that ran from September 2016 to April 2021, published by Shogakukan on their Ura Sunday and MangaONE web platforms. The sequel was collected into five volumes.

While Whistle! remains her most significant work, Higuchi has created a number of other manga titles. Her bibliography includes the short stories Singing Flame, X-Connection, Break Free!, and NOIZ. She also authored the four-volume series Go Ahead, published from 2005 to 2006. Additional works include Seirei Gakusha Kidan Reikyou Kaden, Dokushi, Sengoku Basara 3 - Kishin no Gotoku, and Akashiya Ginga Shoutengai.

A recurring theme in her most famous work is the emphasis on perseverance, solidarity, and willpower, with the protagonist striving to overcome obstacles through dedication and teamwork. Her industry significance stems from her ability to create a long-running and internationally recognized shonen sports manga, a genre typically dominated by male authors. Whistle! was licensed for English release in North America by Viz Media, broadening her influence and introducing her work to a global audience. The transition of the sequel Whistle! W to a digital-first publication platform also reflects the changing landscape of the manga industry.