Haruichi Furudate is a Japanese manga artist born on March 7, 1983 in Karumai, Iwate, Japan. He is best known as the creator of the internationally successful volleyball manga series Haikyu!!.

Furudate was a member of his middle school and high school volleyball clubs, a background that directly informed his most famous work. After graduating from high school, he attended the Sendai Design Training School in Miyagi Prefecture.

His professional career began in 2008 when he wrote the one-shot King Kid, which received an honorable mention for the Jump Treasure Newcomer Manga Prize. In 2010, he launched his first full serialized series in Weekly Shōnen Jump, titled Philosophy School, Yotsuya Sensei's Ghost Stories.

The following year, Furudate wrote two one-shot chapters of what would become his signature work, Haikyu!!, published in Jump NEXT! in January 2011 and in Weekly Shōnen Jump in April 2011. The full series began serialization in Weekly Shōnen Jump on February 20, 2012 and concluded on July 20, 2020. The manga was collected into forty-five tankōbon volumes. During its serialization, Haikyu!! received the 61st Shogakukan Manga Award in the shōnen category. The series has become one of the best-selling manga of all time, with over seven million copies sold in Japan in 2020 alone.

Haikyu!! has been adapted into numerous anime productions. The anime television series, produced by Production I.G, first aired in April 2014. Subsequent seasons followed, and the story continued through multiple original video animations and theatrical films. Among the anime credits attributed to Furudate as the original creator are the films and specials Gekijōban Haikyū!! VS Chiisana Kyojin, Haikyū!! Bakemono-tachi no Iku Tokoro, Haikyu!! Final, Haikyu!! LAND VS. AIR, and Haikyū!! Lev Kenzan!. The franchise has also inspired stage play adaptations, light novels, and video games.

Furudate's artistic identity is defined by a dynamic and energetic drawing style that conveys the speed and intensity of volleyball matches. His personal experience as a volleyball player gives the series authenticity in its depiction of the sport's techniques, strategies, and the emotional landscape of its young athletes. Thematically, Haikyu!! focuses on perseverance, teamwork, personal growth, and the underdog narrative, following protagonist Shoyo Hinata as he overcomes his small stature to compete at the highest level of high school volleyball. Furudate is known for distinctive character designs featuring oval faces and almond-shaped eyes.

The success of Haikyu!! has made Furudate a significant figure in the manga industry. The series is widely credited as one of the defining sports manga of the 2010s and has played a major role in popularizing volleyball as a subject in popular media.