Makoto Raiku, was born on August 23, 1974 in Gifu - Japan. Raiku began his manga career as an assistant to Kazuhiro Fujita in his manga Ushio & Tora. He was accepted to Manga University. He began creating several one-shots for the Shōnen manga anthology such as Bird Man (1991-) which is about a young pilot, Hero Ba-Ban (The Forbidden Hero) which is about weak but happy superheroes, and Genmai Blade which is about a teenage medicinal exorcist. In 1999 he created a series called New Town Heroes, this series was published in Shōnen Sunday Super, a temporary publication that offers upcoming mangaka and one-shots from the main Sunday book. In 2001, Raiku started the manga series Konjiki No Gash!! which began to be published in Shogakukan's Shōnen Sunday magazine and in 2003, inspiring an anime version (Konjiki No Gash Bell!) produced by Toei Animation. Both versions are very popular in Japan. In the US the manga and anime are known as Zatch Bell!. In a chapter of Zatch Bell!, Raiku makes an appearance with his own story, and also plays the role of Ponygon's companion in the game, Zatch Bell!