Mari Okada

Mari Okada (Japanese: 岡田 麿里) is a Japanese screenwriter, director, and manga artist. She is one of the most prolific writers currently working in the anime industry. She won the 16th Animation Kobe Award. 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 games. 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 pornography and transcribing interviews for a magazine. It was through this latter job that she met Tetsurō A...