is a Japanese

Japanese people

The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

 manga artist

Mangaka

is the Japanese word for a comic artist or cartoonist. Outside of Japan, manga usually refers to a Japanese comic book and mangaka refers to the author of the manga, who is usually Japanese...

, most famous for his characterizations and stories set in the world of Tenchi Muyo!

Tenchi Muyo!

, is a Japanese anime, light novel, and manga series created by Masaki Kajishima and Hiroki Hayashi.The generally accepted translation of the title is No Need for Tenchi or Useless Tenchi, though at the time of its appearance it was also translated variably as No Heaven and Earth and This Way Up...

.

Okuda got his start as a doujinshi artist before debuting professionally, studying under Nobuteru Yūki

Nobuteru Yuki

is a Japanese manga artist, illustrator, and animator. He began as a doujinshi artist under the nom de plume The Man in the High Castle and Yubic , both references to the works of American science fiction author Philip K. Dick...

 and Yutaka Izubuchi.

His collection of Tenchi-related works spans eleven years, beginning with "No Need for Tenchi!" in 1994 before finishing its run as "The All-New Tenchi Muyō!" ("Shin Tenchi Muyō!") in late 2005. "Tenchi, Heaven Forbid! G...", a collection of seventy-four yonkoma

Yonkoma

thumb|right|150px|Traditional Yonkoma layout, a comic-strip format, generally consists of gag comic strips within four panels of equal size ordered from top to bottom...

 comics drawn during the course of six years for Pioneer LDC's

Geneon

is a Japanese music, anime and home entertainment production and distribution enterprise headquartered in Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Geneon has been involved in the production and distribution of several anime in Japan...

 monthly fan club letter, was later released by VIZ Media

VIZ Media

VIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...

 as "Tenchi Muyō: Sasami Stories", bundled along with previously published material featuring the Sasami character.

Works

• No Need for Tenchi! (1994–2000)
  • The All-New Tenchi Muyō! (2000–2005)
  • Tenchi Muyō! Sasami Stories (2002)
  • Tenchi, Heaven Forbid! G... (1994–2000)
• Detatoko Princess (1994–1999)