Makoto Raiku is the pen name of Makoto Kawada, a Japanese manga artist born on August 23, 1974, in Gifu Prefecture, Japan. He is best known as the original creator of the internationally popular franchise Zatch Bell! His professional journey began as an assistant to Kazuhiro Fujita, the creator of Ushio & Tora. During his early career, he produced several one-shot stories for the anthology Weekly Shōnen Sunday, including Bird Man, Hero Ba-Ban, and Genmai Blade. In 1999, he created the series Newtown Heroes, which was published in the seasonal magazine Shōnen Sunday Super.

Raiku achieved significant commercial and critical success with his next work, Konjiki no Gash!!, which began serialization in Weekly Shōnen Sunday in 2001. In English-speaking markets, both the manga and its subsequent anime adaptation are known as Zatch Bell!. The series follows the battles of demon children, or mamodo, and their human partners who compete to become the ruler of the demon world. The manga was a hit, earning the 48th Shogakukan Manga Award in the shōnen category in 2003.

The popularity of the manga led to an anime television series produced by Toei Animation, which aired 150 episodes from 2003 to 2006. Raiku is credited as the original creator for the two animated feature films that accompanied the series: Zatch Bell: 101st Devil, released in 2004, and Zatch Bell: Attack of Mechavulcan, released in 2005. Both films are based directly on his original manga concept and characters.

In 2008, Raiku initiated a civil lawsuit against his publisher, Shogakukan, over the loss of five of his original color manuscripts. After the case was settled, he announced he would no longer work with Shogakukan and moved to Kodansha. His first series for his new publisher was Animal Land, which was serialized in Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine. His next major work, Vector Ball, ran in Weekly Shōnen Magazine from 2016 to 2017. The series concluded abruptly after Raiku chose to end it rather than follow creative suggestions from his editor that he had previously agreed to.

Raiku has demonstrated a commitment to creative independence. He later re-released his three major serializations as ebooks, often with new bonus content. In 2022, he established his own manga studio, Birgdin Board, to manage his intellectual property rights. Under this new structure, he began self-publishing a direct sequel to his most famous work, titled Zatch Bell! 2, online starting in March 2022. His career is notable not only for the creation of a major shōnen franchise but also for his subsequent advocacy for the rights of manga artists and his move toward self-publishing.