is a Japanese

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

and manga artist. She is one of the most prolific writers currently working in the

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

industry. She won the 16th

Animation Kobe The was an event established by Kobe in 1996 to promote anime and other visual media. The were given annually until 2015 by Kobe and the Organising Committee to creators and creations. Event Animation Kobe has been held annually in Kobe since ...

Award.

Personal life

Okada was born in Chichibu. She was often bullied at school and skipped days to deal with social anxiety. After leaving middle school, she would spend most of her time confined at home. In spite of this, her proficiency at writing helped to get her into high school, although her social anxiety remained a problem. Nobody had high hopes for her, and as she was graduating, she was constantly told that she “wouldn't survive in the real world.” Okada enrolled at the Tokyo Amusement Media School to study about games.

Career

Through her studies, Okada developed a passion for screenwriting, but found it difficult due to anxieties. Her earliest jobs included creating scenarios for

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy wa ...

pornography and transcribing interviews for a magazine. It was through this latter job that she met

Tetsurō Amino is a Japanese anime director, born on October 10, 1955, in Chiba Prefecture. In 1988, he started using his name in katakana. Works * '' Arashi no Yoru ni: Himitsu no Tomodachi'' * '' Bakusō Kyōdai Let's & Go!!'' * ''Bubu Chacha'' * ''DT Eightr ...

, who asked her to contribute some of her ideas for the plot of

DT Eightron is a 26 episode anime series produced by Sunrise and Fuji TV. It was directed by Tetsurō Amino, with Hideki Kakinuma handling series scripts, Yoshi Ichida and Ryō Tanaka designing the characters, Junya Ishigaki and Shinobu Tsuneki designi ...

. She went on to write the script for five episodes, and the connection with Amino helped in kickstarting her career. Okada pitched an idea for her first original anime, based on her experience. The screenplay was never published, but several elements of it would be used in some of her works. After several years, her reputation within the industry had grown considerably, with the screenplay for numerous successful series. Okada wrote the script for her directorial debut anime film '' Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms''. It was well received by critics and was awarded the prize for best animated film at the 21st

Shanghai International Film Festival The Shanghai International Film Festival (, French: ''Festival international du film de Shanghai''), abbreviated SIFF, is one of the largest film festivals in East Asia. "China's biggest film festival" according to the Hollywood Reporter. Nex ...

Works

Manga

*''

O Maidens in Your Savage Season is a Japanese manga series written by Mari Okada and illustrated by Nao Emoto. It was serialized in Kodansha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine'' from December 2016 to September 2019, with its chapters collected in e ...

'' (2016–2019; writer)

Television

*''

'' (1998; screenplay, eps. 9, 15, 17, 20, 22) *'' Angel Tales'' (2001; screenplay, eps. 1-13) *''

Crush Gear Nitro ''Crush Gear'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese anime television series produced by Sunrise. It aired from October 2001 to January 2003, with 68 episodes. The series is about people throwing mechanical vehicles called "Gears" into a large ...

'' (2003; screenplay, eps. 9, 17, 19, 30-31, 40-41, 48) *''

Hamtaro ''Hamtaro'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese manga and storybook series created and illustrated by Ritsuko Kawai about a hamster. The manga was serialized in Shogakukan's "Second Grade" magazine in April 1997; more ''Hamtaro'' stor ...

'' (2003; screenplay, eps. 146, 152, 157, 165, 172, 177, 185, 191, 197, 202, 204, 208, 217, 223, 228, 233, 238-239, 243, 248, 255) *''

Popolocrois is a Japanese video game software developer located in Tokyo, Japan. Originally established as “GEN CREATIVE HOUSE CO., LTD.” in February 1987, changed company name to “G-Artists Inc.” in March 1991, then to “epics Inc.” in June 2 ...

'' (2003; screenplay, eps. 5, 9, 17, 20, 24) *''

Diamond Daydreams is a Japanese game series, set in Hokkaidō. The series was developed by Red Entertainment and published by Hudson Soft. An anime version and a manga adaptation have also been released. History The series began with , which was released on ...

'' (2004; screenplay, eps. 3-4, 7) *''

Kyo kara Maoh! is a series of Japanese light novels written by Tomo Takabayashi and illustrated by Temari Matsumoto. The story follows the adventures of Yuri Shibuya, an average 15-year-old Japanese high school student, who is suddenly transported to a ...

'' (2004; screenplay, eps. 5, 11-12, 17, 22, 28, 32, 39, 44, 47, 49, 52, 58, 61, 65, 70) *''

Rozen Maiden is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Peach-Pit. It was serialized in ''Monthly Comic Birz'' between the September 2002 and July 2007 issues. The individual chapters were collected and released into eight ''tankōbon'' ...

'' (2004; screenplay, eps. 4, 8-9) *''

Basilisk In European bestiaries and legends, a basilisk ( or ) is a legendary reptile reputed to be a serpent king, who causes death to those who look into its eyes. According to the ''Naturalis Historia'' of Pliny the Elder, the basilisk of Cyrene i ...

'' (2005; screenplay, eps. 3, 6, 12, 14, 16, 20) *'' Canvas 2: Niji Iro no Sketch'' (2005; scenario, eps. 3, 5, 11, 14, 22) *'' Animal Yokochō'' (2005; scenario, eps. 62, 66, 78, 92) *'' Rozen Maiden: Träumend'' (2005; screenplay, eps. 4, 9, 11) *''

Fate/stay night ''Fate/stay night'' is a Japanese visual novel developed by Type-Moon and originally released as an adult game for Windows on January 30, 2004. A version of ''Fate/stay night'' rated for ages 15 and up titled ''Fate/stay night Réalta ...

'' (2006; screenplay, eps. 4, 9, 12, 16, 20, 24) *'' Aria – The Natural'' (2006; screenplay, eps. 9-10, 14, 23) *'' Simoun'' (2006; screenplay, eps. 12-13, 15-16, 18, 20-21, 23-24) *'' Sasami: Magical Girls Club'' (2006; series composition) *'' Sasami: Magical Girls Club Season 2'' (2006; series composition) *''

Red Garden ''Red Garden'' (stylized as ''RED GARDEN'') is a Japanese anime television series produced by Gonzo which premiered in Japan on TV Asahi on October 3, 2006. The plot revolves around four girls who become involved in a series of supernatural mu ...

'' (2006; screenplay, eps. 5, 8, 13, 17-18, 21-22) *'' Venus to Mamoru'' (2006; series composition) *''

Sketchbook ~full color'S~ is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Totan Kobako. First serialized in the April 2002 issue of ''Monthly Comic Blade'', the individual chapters were collected and published by Mag Garden until June 2019. Chapters also appeared ...

'' (2007; series composition) *''

Kodomo no Jikan is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kaworu Watashiya. The story revolves around a grade school teacher named Daisuke Aoki, whose main problem is that one of his students, Rin Kokonoe, has a crush on him. It was serial ...

'' (2007; series composition) *''

True Tears ''True Tears'' (stylized as ''true tears'') is a Japanese popular culture, Japanese visual novel developed by La'cryma, a collaboration between Broccoli (company), Broccoli, Circus (company), Circus, GameCrab and Rei Izumi, and was originall ...

'' (2008; series composition) *''

Vampire Knight is a Japanese manga series written by Matsuri Hino. It was serialized in Hakusensha's ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''LaLa'' from 2004 to 2013, with its chapters collected in nineteen ''tankōbon'' volumes. The manga series is licensed in Engli ...

'' (2008; series composition) *'' Vampire Knight Guilty'' (2008; series composition) *''

Toradora! is a Japanese light novel series by Yuyuko Takemiya, with illustrations by Yasu. The series includes ten novels released between March 10, 2006 and March 10, 2009, published by ASCII Media Works under their Dengeki Bunko imprint. Three ...

'' (2008; series composition) *'' Black Butler'' (2008; series composition) *'' Kyo kara Maoh! 3rd Series'' (2008; screenplay, ep. 22) *''

Canaan Canaan (; Phoenician: 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 – ; he, כְּנַעַן – , in pausa – ; grc-bib, Χανααν – ;The current scholarly edition of the Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus T ...

'' (2009; series composition) *'' The Book of Bantorra'' (2009; series composition) *'' Darker Than Black: Gemini of the Meteor'' (2009; series composition) *'' Black Butler II'' (2010; series composition) *''

Otome Yōkai Zakuro is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Lily Hoshino. It began serialization in November 2006 in the monthly ''seinen'' manga magazine '' Comic Birz''. The first ''tankōbon'' volume was released by Gentosha in January 2008; as ...

'' (2010; series composition) *''

Gosick is a Japanese light novel series written by Kazuki Sakuraba, with illustrations by Hinata Takeda. The series includes 13 novels published by Fujimi Shobo between December 2003 and July 2011. Set in a fictional European country in 1924, ...

'' (2011; series composition) *''

Fractale is an 11-episode Japanese anime television series created by Mandelbrot Engine, an artist collective consisting of critic and novelist Hiroki Azuma, screenwriter Mari Okada, and director Yutaka Yamamoto. The anime aired in Japan between Janua ...

'' (2011; series composition) *''

Wandering Son is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Takako Shimura. It was originally serialized in ''Comic Beam'' from the December 2002 to August 2013 issue, and published in 15 ''tankōbon'' volumes by Enterbrain from July 2003 to August ...

'' (2011; series composition) *'' Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day'' (2011; series composition) *''

Hanasaku Iroha , or ''Hanairo'' for short, is a Japanese 26-episode anime television series produced by P.A. Works and directed by Masahiro Andō. The screenplay was written by Mari Okada, with original character design by Mel Kishida. P.A. Works produced ...

'' (2011; series composition) *''

Aquarion Evol is the sequel to the 2005 anime series ''Genesis of Aquarion''. It was originally announced on February 25, 2011, by the production staff. It aired on TV Tokyo from January to June, 2012 and its premiere featured an hour-long special that ...

'' (2012; series composition) *''

Black Rock Shooter is a Japanese media franchise based on characters created by illustrator Ryohei Fuke, also known as Huke. It revolves around its eponymous character, a mysterious black haired girl with a blazing blue eye. The original illustration insp ...

'' (2012; series composition) *'' Lupin the Third: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine'' (2012; series composition) *''

AKB0048 ''AKB0048'' (stylized as ''AKB∞48'') is a 2012 Japanese science fiction musical comedy anime television series based on the idol group AKB48. The anime is produced by Satelight, with Shōji Kawamori as chief director. The first season air ...

'' (2012; series composition) *''

Blast of Tempest is a Japanese manga series written by Kyō Shirodaira and Arihide Sano, and illustrated by Ren Saizaki. It was serialized in Square Enix's ''Monthly Shōnen Gangan'' from July 2009 to March 2013, with its chapters collected in ten '' tankō ...

'' (2012; series composition) *''

The Pet Girl of Sakurasou is a Japanese light novel series written by Hajime Kamoshida, with illustrations by Kēji Mizoguchi. ASCII Media Works published 13 volumes between January 2010 and March 2014. A manga adaptation illustrated by Hōki Kusano was serialized A ...

'' (2012; series composition) *''

AKB0048 next stage ''AKB0048'' (stylized as ''AKB∞48'') is a 2012 Japanese science fiction musical comedy anime television series based on the idol group AKB48. The anime is produced by Satelight, with Shōji Kawamori as chief director. The first season aired ...

'' (2013; series composition) *''Ganbare! Lulu Lolo - Tiny Twin Bears'' (2013; screenplay, eps. 6-10, 21-23) *'' Nagi no Asukara'' (2013; series composition) *''

Selector Infected WIXOSS ''WIXOSS'' is a Japanese multimedia franchise produced as a collaboration between Takara Tomy, J.C.Staff, and Warner Entertainment Japan. The franchise revolves around the eponymous trading card game and follows girls known as Selecto ...

'' (2014; series composition) *'' M3: The Dark Metal'' (2014; series composition) *'' Selector Spread WIXOSS'' (2014; series composition) *''

Gourmet Girl Graffiti ''Gourmet Girl Graffiti'', known in Japan as , is a four-panel comic strip manga written and illustrated by Makoto Kawai. It was serialized in Houbunsha's ''Manga Time Kirara Miracle!'' magazine between the March 2012 and November 2016 issu ...

'' (2015; series composition) *'' Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans'' (2015; series composition) *''

Kiznaiver is a 2016 Japanese anime television series produced by Trigger, Aniplex, and Crunchyroll and written by Mari Okada. The series features character designs by Shirow Miwa. It also features the directorial debut of Hiroshi Kobayashi, assistant ...

'' (2016; series composition) *'' The Lost Village'' (2016; series composition) *'' Dragon Pilot: Hisone and Masotan'' (2018; series composition) *''Rinshi!! Ekoda-chan'' (2019; screenplay, ep. 2) *''

'' (2019; series composition, original creator) *'' Oni: Thunder God's Tale'' (2022; screenplay)

Original video animation

*''

Dead Girls ''Dead Girls'' is a science fiction novel by British author Richard Calder, first published in the UK in 1992 (HarperCollins) and 1995 in the US (St Martin's Press). It was his début novel. The novel is the first in Calders 'Dead' trilogy, a ...

'' (2007; screenplay) *'' Kodomo no Jikan: Anata ga Watashi ni Kureta Mono'' (2007; series composition) *'' Kodomo no Jikan Nigakki'' (2009; series composition) *'' Kodomo no Jikan: Kodomo no Natsu Jikan'' (2011; series composition) *'' Rurouni Kenshin: New Kyoto Arc'' (2011; series composition) *''Koitabi: True Tours Nanto'' (2013; series composition) *'' Zetsumetsu Kigu Shojo Amazing Twins'' (2014; series composition) *''Winter Oath, Summer Festival, Takeo Ōkusu'' (2016; screenplay) *''Cup's Promise, First Love of Arita'' (2016; screenplay)

Anime films

*'' Kaiketsu Zorori: Quest For The Mysterious Treasure'' (2006; screenplay) *'' Cinnamon the Movie'' (2007; screenplay) *'' Kaiketsu Zorori: Uchu no Yusha-tachi'' (2015; screenplay) *''

The Anthem of the Heart , abbreviated as and subtitled ''Beautiful Word Beautiful World'', is an Anime youth drama film produced by A-1 Pictures released in 2015. The film was directed by Tatsuyuki Nagai and written by Mari Okada. Masayoshi Tanaka served as the chief a ...

'' (2015; screenplay) *'' Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms'' (2018; director, screenplay) * ''

Her Blue Sky is a 2019 Japanese animated film produced by CloverWorks. The film is directed by Tatsuyuki Nagai and written by Mari Okada, with Masayoshi Tanaka designing the characters and serving as chief animation director. The trio under the creative tea ...

'' (2019; screenplay) * ''Kimi dake ni Motetainda'' (2019; screenplay) *'' A Whisker Away'' (2020; screenplay) *''Alice and Therese's Illusion Factory'' (TBA; director, screenplay)

Live-action films

*'' My Teacher'' (2017; screenplay) *''

Ankoku Joshi is a 2017 Japanese film directed by , written by Mari Okada and starring Fumika Shimizu, Marie Iitoyo, Nana Seino, Tina Tamashiro, Riria, Yuna Taira, Takeshi Masu and Yudai Chiba. The film is based on the mystery novel of the same name by . It ...

'' (2017; screenplay) * '' The Flowers of Evil'' (2019; screenplay)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Okada, Mari 1976 births 21st-century Japanese women writers Anime directors Anime screenwriters Japanese women film directors Japanese women screenwriters Living people People from Saitama Prefecture 21st-century screenwriters