Norifusa Mita (born 1958) is a Japanese manga artist from Kitakami, Iwate Prefecture. After graduating from Meiji University, he worked for a company and helped manage his family’s clothing business before beginning his manga career at the age of thirty. His representative work, “Dragon Zakura,” follows lawyer Kenji Sakuragi as he attempts to rescue a financially troubled high school by preparing its students for admission to the University of Tokyo. Alongside detailed study methods and examination strategies, the manga explores disparities in education, the influence of family circumstances, and the changes students undergo as they reconsider their academic and professional futures. The series received the 29th Kodansha Manga Award in the General category and an Excellence Award in the Manga Division of the Japan Media Arts Festival in 2005, and was later adapted for television.
