Yū Furusawa is a Japanese mangaka known for creating the golf-themed manga Oi! Tonbo, which has been serialized in Weekly Golf Digest since 2014. Born on April 29, 1960, Furusawa’s career as a manga creator includes work as an artist on a manga title published in 2014, in addition to original character design credits for several anime projects dating back to the late 1980s.

Furusawa gained broader recognition with Oi! Tonbo, a series that follows a middle school girl named Tonbo on the Tokara Islands who possesses an extraordinary talent for golf. The manga achieved significant commercial success, with over 1.8 million copies in circulation, and received high praise from Yoshihiro Togashi, the creator of Hunter x Hunter, who named it his favorite manga of 2023. Togashi commended the work for combining the knowledge of co-creator Ken Kawasaki with what he described as Furusawa’s warm illustrations that gently portray dedicated characters.

The series was adapted into an anime television series produced by OLM, with Furusawa credited for the original character design. The first season premiered in spring 2024, followed by a second season in fall 2024. Furusawa’s artistic identity, as highlighted by Togashi’s endorsement, is characterized by a gentle and warm illustration style that effectively conveys the emotional depth and dedication of the characters in the story.