Kaoru Tada was a Japanese manga artist born on September 25, 1960, in Neyagawa, Osaka, Japan. She made her professional debut in 1977 while still a high school student, publishing her first works in Shueisha's Deluxe Margaret magazine. Her career spanned over two decades, during which she established herself as a creator of shōjo manga, a genre targeting young female readers with stories centered on romance and emotional relationships. Her artistic style was characterized by clean, sharp drawings and a narrative blend of comedy and heartfelt romance.

Among Tada's most notable original works is the manga series Love Me, My Knight, also known as Ai Shite Knight. Serialized in Margaret magazine from 1981 to 1983 and collected in seven volumes, the story follows Yaeko Mitamura, a young woman working at her father's okonomiyaki restaurant in Osaka, as she becomes entangled with a rising rock band called Bee Hive. The manga depicted the Japanese rock music scene of the early 1980s and was notable for its inclusion of elements of sexual ambiguity through certain characters. The series was adapted into a 42-episode anime television series produced by Toei Animation, which aired on TV Asahi from March 1983 to January 1984. This anime adaptation is recognized as the first to feature original songs performed within its episodes.

Tada's most significant and enduring work is Itazura na Kiss, also known as Mischievous Kiss. Serialized in Bessatsu Margaret magazine from 1990, the manga tells the love story of Kotoko Aihara, a less academically gifted but cheerful girl, and Naoki Irie, a brilliant and cold-hearted boy. The narrative follows their relationship from high school through to their marriage and adult life. The manga achieved tremendous popularity in Japan and across Asia, selling over 35 million copies, making it one of the best-selling manga series of all time. Tada was unable to complete Itazura na Kiss, as her career was cut short by her sudden death in 1999.

On March 11, 1999, Kaoru Tada died at the age of 38 due to a cerebral hemorrhage. The fatal injury occurred as she was moving to a new residence, when she hit her head on a marble table and subsequently fell into a coma from which she never awoke. She was survived by her husband, a member of a rock band whom she married in 1985, and their son.

Although Tada did not live to see the conclusion of Itazura na Kiss, the series became a multimedia franchise of considerable industry significance. The manga inspired a live-action Japanese television drama in 1996, a Taiwanese drama titled It Started with a Kiss in 2005, a Korean adaptation titled Playful Kiss in 2010, a Japanese anime adaptation in 2008, and a Thai adaptation titled Kiss Me in 2015. A Japanese remake, Mischievous Kiss: Love in Tokyo, was released in 2013, followed by a sequel. The story also generated an illustrated art book and two novels written by another author. Due to the incomplete nature of the original manga, later adaptations often incorporated an ending based on notes and discussions Tada had shared with her widower before her passing.

Recurring elements in Tada's body of work include a focus on determined young female protagonists, comedic storytelling, and a fascination with the rock music subculture, which also appears in another of her series, Miihaa Paradise. Her artistic identity is defined by her ability to craft long-form romantic narratives that resonated across multiple countries and media formats. Her legacy as an original creator rests on her foundational work in shōjo manga and the continued international success of adaptations of Itazura na Kiss, which have introduced her characters and storytelling to new generations long after her death.