Asari Endō is a Japanese novelist and light novel author best known as the creator of the Magical Girl Raising Project franchise. Born in 1979 in Niigata Prefecture, Endō began their writing career by winning the second edition of the Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi! Grand Prize, specifically the Kuriyama Chiaki Award, with the debut work Bishoujo wo Kirai na Kore Dake no Riyuu, a comedic novel published in 2011.

Endō’s most significant and defining work is the Magical Girl Raising Project series. It originated as a light novel series published by Takarajimasha under their Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi! Bunko imprint, with the first volume released in June 2012 and illustrations by Maruino. The series has since expanded into a substantial franchise with numerous volumes, manga adaptations, and anime productions. As the original creator, Endō is credited as the author for the entire franchise, including its various media adaptations.

The Magical Girl Raising Project series has been adapted into multiple manga series. A manga adaptation illustrated by Pochi Edoya was serialized in Kadokawa Shoten’s Comp Ace magazine from September 2014 to October 2015. A subsequent manga series, Magical Girl Raising Project Restart, illustrated by Nori Senbei, began serialization in Comp Ace in April 2016. In 2016, the franchise was adapted into an anime television series. Produced by the studio Lerche and directed by Hiroyuki Hashimoto, the 12-episode anime aired from October to December 2016. A second anime season titled Magical Girl Raising Project Restart was announced and is scheduled to premiere in 2026.

Endō’s creative identity is closely tied to the subversion of the traditional magical girl genre. The Magical Girl Raising Project series is known for blending the cute and whimsical aesthetics of magical girls with dark, psychological thriller elements and a brutal survival game framework. This narrative approach emphasizes high-stakes conflict, strategic power usage, and themes of betrayal and moral ambiguity, creating a sharp contrast with more conventional stories focused on friendship and heroism. Endō has described the initial creative impulse for the series as a desire to depict a chaotic battle between magical girls with grim consequences.

Endō’s writing process is noted for extensive revision, often making significant changes to character fates and story elements even after editorial discussions. A personal detail that informs the series’ setting is Endō’s background; the creator is from Jōetsu city in Niigata Prefecture, and landmarks from this hometown served as inspiration for the locales depicted in the anime adaptation.