After dropping out of high school, he worked as assistant of Shinji Hiramatsu and Hiroshi Motomiya.
He made the debut as solo manga artist with 海の戦士 (Umi No Senshi) in Weekly Shōnen Jump.
Saruwatari's longest running manga is the action comic Tough, which has been serialized in Young Jump over a decade.
Saruwatari also created Riki-Oh, a cult manga sensation featuring graphic martial arts fighting, which was adapted in a Hong Kong live-action film and Japanese OVA.
Saruwatari illustrated ZIG, written by Takashi Nagasaki, for Shueisha's Grand Jump in 2017.