, often stylized as NISIOISIN to emphasize the palindrome, is a

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

ous Japanese novelist,

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

author, and screenplay writer. Nisio debuted in 2002 with the novel ''The Beheading Cycle'' (the first in his '' Zaregoto'' series), which earned him the 23rd Mephisto Prize at twenty years of age. In 2005, he began his long-running ''

Monogatari is a Literary genre, literary form in traditional Japanese literature – an extended prose narrative tale comparable to epic (genre), epic literature. ''Monogatari'' is closely tied to aspects of the oral tradition, and almost always relates ...

'' novel series, which was published in 29 volumes as of 2023, and was later adapted as a highly-successful animated series of the same name, produced by Shaft. His '' Katanagatari'' novels, '' Medaka Box'' manga series, '' Jūni Taisen'' novel, and ''The Beheading Cycle'' have also been adapted as anime. He has also collaborated with '' Death Note'' writer Tsugumi Ohba and illustrator Takeshi Obata to write the light novel '' Death Note Another Note: The Los Angeles BB Murder Cases''. Between 2009 and 2016, he ranked among the top 10 best-selling authors in Japan, ranking as the best-selling in 2012 and 2014. As of November 2022, his novels and manga had over 36 million copies in circulation. Nisio's works frequently feature lengthy and witty dialogues. He is viewed as an author that blends regular novels and

light novel A is a type of Genre fiction, popular literature novel from Japan usually classified as young adult fiction, generally targeting Adolescence, teens to Young adult, twenties or older. The definition is very vague, and wide-ranging. The abbr ...

s, going through the genres of mystery, '' sekaikei'', and '' shindenki'', with frequent references to other manga and anime.

Career

Nisio Isin was a manga enthusiast since childhood and wanted to become a

mangaka A manga artist, also known as a mangaka (), is a comic artist who writes and/or illustrates manga. Most manga artists study at an art college or manga school or take on an apprenticeship with another artist before entering the industry as a pr ...

. However, seeing a lack of improvement in his drawing ability, he decided to become a novelist, mentioning that it didn't matter if his handwriting was subpar. He attended the Ritsumeikan University College of Policy Science and left the university without graduating. During his early career when he submitted work for magazines, Nisio's writing speed was a selling point, and he once submitted two or three works to a single Mephisto Prize. In 2002, Nisio debuted with the first novel of the '' Zaregoto'' series, ''Kubikiri Cycle: The Blue Savant and the Nonsense User'', earning him the 23rd Mephisto Prize. He was twenty years of age at the time, and his slogan was "Nisio Isin, the 20-year-old from Kyoto". Afterward, he proceeded to write the second title in the series, ''Strangulation Romanticist'', in three days. He still works with the '' Mephisto'' magazine, and worked with

Kodansha is a Japanese privately held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha publishes manga magazines which include ''Nakayoshi'', ''Morning (magazine), Morning'', ''Afternoon (magazine), Afternoon'', ''Evening (magazine), Eveni ...

on the literary magazines '' Faust'', and ''Pandora.'' He also published his '' Katanagatari'' series as twelve volumes over twelve months for the ''Kodansha Box'' line in 2007; Ryūsui Seiryōin was matching this output, and the ''Kodansha Box'' website stated that it was the first time in the world two authors had done twelve-volume monthly novel series simultaneously. Nisio Isin is best known for the ''

'' series, which began as a trilogy of short stories on the '' Mephisto'' magazine in 2005, and developed into a series with 28 volumes. It has been adapted as anime up to ''Zoku Owarimonogatari,'' still has ongoing anime adaptations for the series, and it has also been adapted as manga. The series has consistently achieved a high number of sales, with the anime's first two seasons alone, ''Bakemonogatari'' and ''Nisemonogatari'', selling over one million DVDs and Blu-rays combined as of September 2012. The first volume of '' Zaregoto'', his '' Katanagatari'' and '' Medaka Box'' series, his '' Jūni Taisen'' novel, and the '' Pretty Boy Detective Club'' series have all been adapted into anime as well. ''Juni Taisen'' was also adapted as a Stage Play in Japan in 2018. His '' Bōkyaku Tantei'' series was adapted as a Japanese Drama in 2015. Several of his series have been adapted as manga. In February 2008, his novel '' Death Note Another Note: The Los Angeles BB Murder Cases'', based on the '' Death Note'' manga, was released in English by

Viz Media Viz Media, LLC is an American entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California, focused on publishing manga, and distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. The company was founded in 1986 as Viz, ...

Del Rey Manga Del Rey Manga was the manga-publishing imprint (trade name), imprint of Del Rey Books, a branch of Ballantine Books, which in turn is part of Random House, the publishing division of Bertelsmann. History Del Rey Manga was formed as part of a cr ...

released the first and second volume in his '' Zaregoto'' series, which were revised for a rerelease by Vertical and followed by a translation of the third volume. Vertical is translating other titles and series by Nisio Isin, including ''

'', '' Katanagatari'', '' Pretty Boy Detective Club'', and ''Imperfect Girl''. From 2009 to 2016, Nisio Isin was one of the top 10 best-selling authors in Japan, achieving a place in the top 3 for three years and, in 2012 and 2014, ranking first place as the best-selling author in the country. In those years, he sold 1,408,319 copies and 997,211 copies, respectively. As of November 2022, his novels and manga had over 36 million copies in circulation. The ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

s Translation Database reported that from 2008 to 2018, 19 of Nisio's novels were translated into English, putting him as the second author with the most English translations of that period in the U.S.

Style

Since Nisio's debut, wordplay and tongue-in-cheek dialogue have been characteristic of his works. When asked if his use of manzai comedy was related to the fact he is from the Kansai region, he replied "I think it's certainly because I'm a Kansai person." He feels that "dialogue is the character" and focuses more on dialogue than appearance. Nisio features many women in his works because "it is easier for them to express their individuality" explaining that "women are much more adorned as characters (e.g. fashion) than men". His greatest influence comes from such things as ''Shōnen Jump''

and shōjo manga en masse. About manga, he is a passionate fan of '' JoJo's Bizarre Adventure''; in a dialogue with Hirohiko Araki, the author of the manga, he commented this is "a manga he would like all humanity to read." Among his references, references to JoJo are particularly common and in a novelization project of the series called "VS JOJO", together with Kouhei Kadono and Ōtarō Maijō, he wrote one of the novels that were published, called ''JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Over Heaven''. His works are characterized by a sense of literature that is amid the so-called "Shindenki" ( ja) mystery-

genre, in which insane characters attempt to solve a mystery in a situation that would be impossible or unlikely in reality; and inexhaustible quotations of anime and manga from the past. He is well regarded as an author who has blended the conventions of mystery novels and character-driven light novels. Tsunehiro Uno describes Nisio Isin as the only writer who has made a smooth transition from "Sekaikei" ( ja) to "Shindenki". He has made no secret of his policy of not doing crossover or linking in his '' Zaregoto'' series. This is because crossover and linking was a technique Kouhei Kadono, whom he admires, excelled at, and so he decided to stick with the opposite style, but he replied he made an exception for the ''Ningen'' series because he began writing it as an homage to the relationship between the Kouhei Kadono's ''Boogiepop'' series and ''Beat's Discipline''. He still maintains a steady writing pace and develops several series at the same time, but until ''Mazemonogatari'', he did not link his works to each other. After fifteen years of non-crossover writing, he decided it was time to try a new pattern. He has a unique way of naming his characters. He seeks to define his characters by their names, and he does not simply give them unusual names, but instead establishes some rules for them, although he will occasionally deviate from these rules. When it comes to naming, he has been described as "bizarre" and "extremely strange". Examples are Namanie Nienami, Kiki Kikitsu, Shibuki Shibushi, Mukae Emukae, Momo Momozono, Kajiki Kurokami, Kariteru Kanaino, Sukinasaki Saki, Shikigishi Kishiki, Kiss-shot Acerola-orion Heart-under-blade, Backyard Bottomslash, Quarter Queen, Sagano Usagi, Byōinzaka Kuroneko (which translates roughly as "Black Cat of Hospital Hill") and Shikizaki Kiki. He said he learned much from the novels of Kiyoshi Kasai (the author of '' Vampire Wars''), Hiroshi Mori, Natsuhiko Kyogoku, Ryūsui Seiryōin and Kouhei Kadono. He has also stated the five writers were, metaphorically speaking, God-like beings, who had shaped and molded his writing style.

Nisio and light novels

Most of Nisio's works are published by ''Kodansha Novels'', a general literature imprint, but are sometimes classified as

s. In a conversation with Tow Ubukata, Otsuichi said of Nisio, "I think he falls into the light novel category in a broad sense." The January 2005 issue of ''Nikkei Characters!'' introduces Nisio as "a new generation of writers who are breaking down the barriers between general literature and light novels." The ''Nisio Isin Chronicle'' describes his '' Zaregoto'' series as "often regarded as a light novel". Kiyoshi Kasai talking about light novels in the 2004 special edition of ''Eureka'', commented that, although having the ''Zaregoto'' series ranked in a guide for light novels could be out of place, the influences Nisio had in his writing are easy to see, such as ''Kimi to Boku no Kowareta Sekais academy romance, fighting pretty girls, moe characters, and Sekaikei-like settings, so it is not strange to see his works through the lenses of light novels. In the 2004 edition of the light novel guide book '' This Light Novel is Amazing! 2005'', the ''Zaregoto'' series ranked as the second most popular light novel series, but the authors wrote: "There are different opinions on whether the ''Zaregoto'' series is a light novel or not." Taking into account various opinions on " bunko is the light novel", "packaging", "age of the characters", and other factors, the book's ''Genre Guide'' refers to the ''Zaregoto'' series and ''Kimi to Boku no Kowareta Sekai'' as "borders" outside of the bunko. In the following year's ''This Light Novel Is Amazing! 2006'', the ''Zaregoto'' series ranked first, and in an interview held to commemorate this, Nisio said, "I'm unsure if it's a light novel" commenting that "it's not a light novel in the sense that it's 'not a light novel label,' but it's part of a light novel in the sense that 'it's a collaboration between an illustration and a novel,'" and he also said that he has no qualms about his work being identified as a light novel.

Works in English translation

Novels

;'' Zaregoto'' series * ''Zaregoto, Book 1: DECAPITATION: Kubikiri Cycle - The Blue Savant and the Nonsense User'' ( Del Rey. 2008. , Vertical. 2017. ) – the winning work of the 23rd Mephisto Prize (2002) * ''Zaregoto, Book 2: STRANGULATION: Kubishime Romanticist - No Longer Human - Hitoshiki Zerozaki'' ( Del Rey. 2010. , Vertical. 2018. ) * ''Zaregoto, Book 3: SUSPENSION: Kubitsuri High School - the Nonsense User's Disciple'' ( Vertical. 2019. ) ; ''Monogatari'' series *''KIZUMONOGATARI: Wound Tale'' ( Vertical. 2015. ) *''BAKEMONOGATARI, Part 1: Monster Tale'' ( Vertical. 2016. ) *''BAKEMONOGATARI, Part 2: Monster Tale'' ( Vertical. 2017. ) *''BAKEMONOGATARI, Part 3: Monster Tale'' ( Vertical. 2017. ) *''NISEMONOGATARI, Part 1: Fake Tale'' ( Vertical. 2017. ) *''NISEMONOGATARI, Part 2: Fake Tale'' ( Vertical. 2017. ) *''NEKOMONOGATARI (BLACK): Cat Tale'' ( Vertical. 2017. ) *''NEKOMONOGATARI (WHITE): Cat Tale'' ( Vertical. 2018. ) *''KABUKIMONOGATARI: Dandy Tale'' ( Vertical. 2018. ) *''HANAMONOGATARI: Flower Tale'' ( Vertical. 2018. ) *''OTORIMONOGATARI: Decoy Tale'' ( Vertical. 2018. ) *''ONIMONOGATARI: Demon Tale'' ( Vertical. 2018. ) *''KOIMONOGATARI: Love Tale'' ( Vertical. 2019. ) *''TSUKIMONOGATARI: Possession Tale'' ( Vertical. 2019. ) *''KOYOMIMONOGATARI, Part 1: Calendar Tale'' ( Vertical. 2019. ) *''KOYOMIMONOGATARI, Part 2: Calendar Tale'' ( Vertical. 2019. ) *''OWARIMONOGATARI, Part 1: End Tale'' ( Vertical. 2019. ) *''OWARIMONOGATARI, Part 2: End Tale'' ( Vertical. 2020. ) *''OWARIMONOGATARI, Part 3: End Tale'' ( Vertical. 2020. ) *''ZOKU OWARIMONOGATARI: End Tale (Cont.)'' ( Vertical. 2020. ) ;'' Katanagatari'' series Omnibus 3-in-1 volumes. *''KATANAGATARI, 1: Sword Tale'' ( Vertical. 2018. ) *''KATANAGATARI, 2: Sword Tale'' ( Vertical. 2019. ) *''KATANAGATARI, 3: Sword Tale'' ( Vertical. 2019. ) *''KATANAGATARI, 4: Sword Tale'' ( Vertical. 2020. ) ; ''Pretty Boy'' series *''Bishōnen, Book 1: Pretty Boy Detective Club: The Dark Star that Shines for You Alone'' ( Vertical. 2020. ) *''Bishōnen, Book 2: The Swindler, the Vanishing Man, and the Pretty Boys'' ( Vertical. 2020. ) *''Bishōnen, Book 3: The Pretty Boy in the Attic'' ( Vertical. 2021. ) ;Other books * '' Death Note Another Note: The Los Angeles BB Murder Cases'' (

. 2008. ) * '' xxxHOLiC: AnotherHOLiC'' ( Del Rey. 2008. ) * '' Juni Taisen: Zodiac War'' (

. 2017. ) ;Short stories * ''Magical Girl Risuka'' ('' Faust'' 2. Del Rey. 2009. ) ** This is the English translation of "Yasashii Mahō wa Tsukaenai" ( "Easy magic cannot be used"), the first story of '' Risuka'' series. * ''Kyōko Okitegami in STAY HOLMES'' - '' Bōkyaku Tantei'' series. ** A short story published on May 2, 2020, in a project titled ''Day to Day'' on the website ''tree''. * ''Street For You'' ** A short story published on August 28, 2020, in a project titled ''Story for you'' on the website ''tree''.

Manga

;One-shot *''After School: 7th Class'' ('' Faust'' 1. Del Rey. 2008. ) ;''Imperfect Girl'' Adaptation of the ''Shōjo Fujūbun'' novel. *''Imperfect Girl, 1'' ( Vertical Comics. 2017. ) *''Imperfect Girl, 2'' ( Vertical Comics. 2018. ) *''Imperfect Girl, 3'' ( Vertical Comics. 2018. ) ;'' Juni Taisen: Zodiac War'' Adaptation of the ''Jūni Taisen'' novel. *''Juni Taisen: Zodiac War (manga), Vol. 1'' ( VIZ Media LLC. 2018. ) *''Juni Taisen: Zodiac War (manga), Vol. 2'' ( VIZ Media LLC. 2018. ) *''Juni Taisen: Zodiac War (manga), Vol. 3'' ( VIZ Media LLC. 2019. ) *''Juni Taisen: Zodiac War (manga), Vol. 4'' ( VIZ Media LLC. 2019. ) ; ''Bakemonogatari'' Adaptation of the ''Monogatari'' series novels. *''BAKEMONOGATARI (manga), volume 1'' ( Vertical Comics. 2019. ) *''BAKEMONOGATARI (manga), volume 2'' ( Vertical Comics. 2020. ) *''BAKEMONOGATARI (manga), volume 3'' ( Vertical Comics. 2020. ) *''BAKEMONOGATARI (manga), volume 4'' ( Vertical Comics. 2020. ) *''BAKEMONOGATARI (manga), volume 5'' ( Vertical Comics. 2020. ) *''BAKEMONOGATARI (manga), volume 6'' ( Vertical Comics. 2020. ) *''BAKEMONOGATARI (manga), volume 7'' ( Vertical Comics. 2021. ) *''BAKEMONOGATARI (manga), volume 8'' ( Vertical Comics. 2021. ) *''BAKEMONOGATARI (manga), volume 9'' ( Vertical Comics. 2021. ) *''BAKEMONOGATARI (manga), volume 10'' ( Vertical Comics. 2021. ) *''BAKEMONOGATARI (manga), volume 11'' ( Vertical Comics. 2021. ) *''BAKEMONOGATARI (manga), volume 12'' ( Vertical Comics. 2022. ) *''BAKEMONOGATARI (manga), volume 13'' ( Vertical Comics. 2022. ) *''BAKEMONOGATARI (manga), volume 14'' ( Vertical Comics. 2022. ) *''BAKEMONOGATARI (manga), volume 15'' ( Vertical Comics. 2022. ) *''BAKEMONOGATARI (manga), volume 16'' ( Vertical Comics. 2022. ) *''BAKEMONOGATARI (manga), volume 17'' ( Vertical Comics. 2023. ) *''BAKEMONOGATARI (manga), volume 18'' ( Vertical Comics. 2023. ) *''BAKEMONOGATARI (manga), volume 19'' ( Vertical Comics. 2023. ) *''BAKEMONOGATARI (manga), volume 20'' ( Vertical Comics. 2023. ) *''BAKEMONOGATARI (manga), volume 21'' ( Vertical Comics. 2024. ) *''BAKEMONOGATARI (manga), volume 22'' ( Vertical Comics. 2024. ) ;'' Pretty Boy Detective Club'' Adaptation of the novels with the same name. *''Pretty Boy Detective Club (manga), volume 1'' ( Vertical Comics. 2021. ) *''Pretty Boy Detective Club (manga), volume 2'' ( Vertical Comics. 2021. ) ;'' Cipher Academy'' *''Cipher Academy, Vol. 1'' ( Shonen Jump. 2024. ) *''Cipher Academy, Vol. 2'' ( Shonen Jump. 2024. ) *''Cipher Academy, Vol. 3'' ( Shonen Jump. 2024. ) *''Cipher Academy, Vol. 4'' ( Shonen Jump. 2024. ) *''Cipher Academy, Vol. 5'' ( Shonen Jump. 2025. )

Novels

''Zaregoto'' series

The is written by Nisio Isin and illustrated by Take. Nine volumes were published between February 2002 and November 2005. The tenth volume was published on February 8, 2023. It was followed by a spin-off series titled ''Ningen'' series starring the Zerozaki clan. A second spin-off series titled ''Saikyō'' series focusing on the character Jun Aikawa was also released. All books were released in Japan by ''Kodansha Novels''. * (June 7, 2006.

. ) ** A dictionary of the '' Zaregoto'' series telling the behind-the-scenes of the story. The 4-koma manga drawn by Take titled ''Zaregoto Ichiban'' (戯言一番) was re-released in the book.

''Ningen'' series

Spin-off of the '' Zaregoto'' series, it is also known as the ''Zerozaki Ichizoku'' series. The illustrations are provided by Take. Published by

''Saikyō'' series

Spin-off of the '' Zaregoto'' series telling the story of "Overkill Red" Jun Aikawa. It was first serialized in the ''Mephisto'' magazine. Published by

. Take handled the illustrations for the series again.

''JDC Tribute'' series

The ''Japan Detectives Club'' was created by Ryūsui Seiryōin, and Nisio Isin is one of several authors to write novels using that setting. The third book is a compilation of the first two.

''Sekai'' series

Interlinked mystery series with a different narrator telling the story each time. Published by

. Illustrated by Tagro. * With the publication of the second novel, both books were also published in hard cover through '' Kodansha Box''.

''Risuka'' series

First serialized in Faust magazine with illustrations by

Capcom is a Japanese video game company. It has created a number of critically acclaimed and List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil'', ''Monster ...

's Kinu Nishimura. It was later published by

''Monogatari'' series

The series was first created by Nisio Isin as a series of short stories for the ''Mephisto'' magazine. While his previous series, '' Zaregoto'', featured large casts of characters, each ''Bakemonogatari'' story tends to introduce only one new character. The previously published stories, and some new ones, were eventually collected in two volumes as part of the '' Kodansha Box'' launch titles on November 2, 2006, and December 5, 2006, and it continued its 28-volumes publication until August 19, 2021. On January 25, 2023, Nisio Isin announced a new novel that was published on May 17, 2023, continuing the series. Vofan handled the illustrations for the series. The series is divided into six parts: ''First Season'', ''Second Season'', ''Final Season'', ''Off Season'', ''Monster Season'' and ''Family Season''.

''Mazemonogatari''

In Koyomi Araragi meets various heroines from other series written by Nisio Isin. These crossover stories were first distributed in sessions for the ''Kizumonogatari'' movies between 2016 and 2017.

collected those stories, with 3 new ones, and published in 2019.

''Mijikanamonogatari''

In 2024, Kodansha collected 33 previously published short stories and 6 new short stories in a book titled .

Related book

* Audio drama script ** (

. 2009. ) * Character commentary script ** (

. 2012. ) ** (

. 2015. ) ** (

. 2015. )

''Katanagatari'' series

This twelve volume samurai epic with illustrations by Take was released one volume a month throughout 2007.

''Maniwagatari''

Maniwagatari takes place 200 years before Katanagatari, when the first Kyotōryū head, Kazune Yasuri, met Kiki Shikizaki.

Related book

* Audio drama script ** (

. 2010. )

''Densetsu'' series

A complete series with 10 volumes published by

. The first volume was published as the "Nisio's longest book" at the time of its publication. The cover of the final volume was illustrated by Fuu Midori.

''Medaka Box''

Spin-off novels of the ''Medaka Box''

. Illustrated by Akira Akatsuki.

Related book

* - Illustrated by Akira Akatsuki. It was distributed as a booklet at ''Medaka Box DVD Premium Event'' on March 3, 2013. * - ( Shueisha. 2013. )

''Bōkyaku Tantei'' series

Ongoing series with 15 volumes published by

. Illustrated by Vofan.

''Jūni Taisen''

After the one-shot publication in the one-shot series ''manga'' Ōgiri, the story told one day before those events was published in one volume by Shueisha on May 19, 2015, with the illustrations provided by Hikaru Nakamura. A sequel was released in 2017.

''Bishōnen'' series

The "Pretty Boy Detective Club" was originally intended to be a group that would appear in the '' Bōkyaku Tantei'' series, but during the story's development, Nisio Isin decided it could be published as an independent title. Illustrated by Kinako. Twelve volumes were published by the Kodansha Taiga label.

''Henkyaku Kaitou'' series

For the 20th anniversary of Nisio's debut in 2022, a new series was announced. The next two books were announced in the afterword of ''Phantom Thief Flâneur's Patrol'', with the series titled as . The series was later retitled as . Illustrated by Takolegs.

Novelizations

Other works

Nisio Isin has also published several single-volume works, with some of them receiving manga adaptations. All of them deal with different themes from the usual. ''Ningyō ga Ningyō'' is a novel that invokes the style of old Japanese nonsense horror novels; ''Nanmin Tantei'' is a detective novel, a style always present in Nisio Isin's writing, but much more prominent in this title; ''Shōjo Fujūbun'' is a suspense novel, and ''Ripogura!'' is a novel that highlights Nisio Isin's love for constrained writing, based on three short stories rewritten three times each following restrained writing rules. ''The Veiled Man Hypothesis'' was Nisio's 100th book.

Uncollected works

''Nakoto Manuscript'' series

''Nakoto'' or Pnakotic Manuscript, referencing the grimoires

H. P. Lovecraft Howard Phillips Lovecraft (, ; August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American writer of Weird fiction, weird, Science fiction, science, fantasy, and horror fiction. He is best known for his creation of the Cthulhu Mythos. Born in Provi ...

created, has been releasing since 2004. * . Written in the Japanese magazine Eureka published by Seidosha in September 2004 issue. Illustrated by Akira Yamaguchi. (). * . Illustrated by Yoko Nihombashi - (January 30, 2006. ). * - (September 1, 2006. ). * . Released in the published by

in June 2008. * - (June 30, 2009. ). * - - Distributed in December 2020.

''Shuugatari''

Stories written for the Pandora magazine published by

. Illustrated by Maruboro Akai. * SIDE-A - (October 9, 2008. ) * SIDE-B - (December 20, 2008. ) * NO-SIDE - (April 21, 2009. ) * ONE-SIDE - (August 21, 2009. ) * A fifth chapter titled GENOCIDE was planned for publication in Pandora Vol. 5 but never released, presumably due to Pandora itself being suspended.

'' Katanagatari'' series

* A

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

titled was released as a leaflet accompanying the on December 13, 2010.

''Sekai'' series

The fifth story titled was serialized in the ''Mephisto'' magazine published by

. * - (August 7, 2009. ) * - (December 8, 2009. )

''Monogatari'' series

Since the release of the ''Bakemonogatari Anime Complete Guidebook'' on October 28, 2010, Nisio Isin has written more than 60 short stories related to the anime or manga adaptation. The stories happen throughout all the timeline of the story featuring different narrators. They usually are brief stories talking about a specific topic, commentaries on literature, etc. Only the short stories in ''Mazemonogatari'' were collected in a book. Kodansha revealed in May 2024 that 32 previously published short stories and 6 new short stories were being collected in a book titled ''Mijikanamonogatari'' to be released July 3, 2024. However, on June 12, 2024, Kodansha announced that the book would be delayed after it was discovered that a story that should have been included was inadvertently left out. Kodansha later confirmed the publication date would be September 11, 2024, with 33 previously published and 6 new short stories.

''Detective Urban Legend''

A series written in the ''Mephisto'' magazine published by

. * - (December 7, 2011. ) * - (April 5, 2012. ) * - (August 7, 2012. )

''Summer Vacation Sabotage''

A story written in the ''Mephisto'' magazine published by

. * - , August 4, 2016.

'' Bōkyaku Tantei'' series

Stories written for the ''Mephisto'' magazine published by

that were not collected yet. * - , August 8, 2018. * - , December 6, 2018. * - , April 10, 2019. * - , August 8, 2019. * - , December 4, 2019. * ** A short story published on May 2, 2020, in a project titled ''Day to Day'' on the website ''tree''. * - included in the ''Okitegami Kyōko no Kansatsu-hyō Special Free Paper'' distributed in the Japanese bookstores on April 27, 2021.

Derived from works by other authors

* - (December 14, 2007. ) ** A tribute based on the ''Hyakkiyakō'' series by Natsuhiko Kyogoku. * - written by Yoko Nihombashi. Published by

(July 1, 2010. ) ** A story written in the official B5 booklet dōjin magazine titled ''Shōnen Fight''. * - (August 29, 2014. ) ** A story written in commemoration of the 150th serialization of the '' Nobunaga no Shinobi'' series.

Misc.

* - (November 3, 2002) ** A story released in the

dōjinshi , also Romanization of Japanese, romanized as ', is the Japanese term for self-published print works, such as magazines, manga, and novels. Part of a wider category of ''doujin'' (self-published) works, ''doujinshi'' are often derivative of exi ...

magazine ''Tandem Rotor no Hōhōron'' in the first literary flea market on November 3, 2002. * . Illustrated by Ōtarō Maijō - (December 24, 2004. ) ** Competition on the theme of "coming to Tokyo". * . Illustrated by Ōtarō Maijō - (December 24, 2004. ) ** A relay novel with Otsuichi, Takekuni Kitayama, Yuya Sato and Tatsuhiko Takimoto. * - (July 13, 2010. ) * - (April 7, 2012,

) * - (December 24, 2012,

) * - (December 5, 2013. ) * "Fragment Novels" (Nisio Isin Official Website) ** Self-Remix excerpts of his novels. * "Street For You" ** A short story published on August 28, 2020, in a project titled ''Story for you'' on the website ''tree''. * - October issue of "Gendai Shousetsu" (September 22, 2022,

) * - Magazine (November 15, 2023,

)

Commentary on the literature

* Ryūsui Seiryōin - (

. January 1, 2003. ) * Tatsuhiko Takimoto - ( Kadowaka. June 25, 2004. ) * Hiroshi Mori - (

. November 15, 2007. ) * Natsuhiko Kyogoku - (

. June 12, 2009. ) * Yamori Mochizuki - (

. August 6, 2009
On Kodansha's website
(in Japanese)) * Mizuki Tsujimura - (

. January 15, 2010. ) * Takeru Kaido - (

. May 15, 2012. )

Manga

One-shots

Since the publication of the ''Hōkago, Nanajikan-me.'' one-shot in Comic Faust, Nisio Isin has been writing several original scripts for manga.

Ōgiri

Based on 9 themes suggested by his editor, Nisio Isin wrote 9 one-shots with various artists that were released on Shueisha's magazines between 2014 and 2015 in a period of four months. The collection of stories were published by Shueisha on April 3, 2015 ().

''Medaka Box''

''Medaka Box'' is a Japanese ''shōnen'' manga series written by Nisio Isin and drawn by Akira Akatsuki. It was serialized in the Japanese magazine ''

Weekly Shōnen Jump is a weekly Shōnen manga, ''shōnen'' manga anthology published in Japan by Shueisha under the ''Jump (magazine line), Jump'' line of magazines. The manga series within the magazine consist of many Action (fiction), action scenes and a fair ...

'' from May 11, 2009, to April 27, 2013. It was published by Shueisha in 22 volumes.

''Kimi to Nadekko!''

''Kimi to Nadekko!'' is a Japanese ''shōjo'' manga series written by Nisio Isin and drawn by Ema Tōyama. It is an in-universe manga written and drawn by Nadeko Sengoku, a female character from the ''Monogatari'' series. The 3 chapters were released in various ways in 2014. All three chapters were collected as an extra in the ''Koimonogatari'' Volume 2 BD set.

''Shōnen Shōjo''

''Shōnen Shōjo'' is a Japanese ''shōnen'' manga series written by Nisio Isin and drawn by Akira Akatsuki. ''Shōnen Shōjo'' began serialization on January 4, 2016, and was published in '' Jump Square'' magazine until April 4, 2017, with a total of 16 chapters. Compiled by Shueisha into 3 volumes.

''Seishun Kijinden! 240 Gakuen''

''Legend of Eccentric Youth! Nishio Academy'' (青春奇人伝！240学園, "240" is a pun with "Nishio") is a Japanese ''shōnen'' manga series drafted by Nisio Isin and drawn by Shiba Mochi. It was done in commemoration of the 15th year of Nisio Isin writing career and it features various characters from his other series. It began serialization on February 9, 2017, in '' Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine'' until November 9, 2018. Compiled by

into 3 volumes.

''Cipher Academy''

is a Japanese ''shōnen'' manga written by Nisio Isin and drawn by Iwasaki Yūji. It started serializing in the Japanese magazine ''

'' on November 21, 2022, and finished on February 5, 2024.

Screenplay

* Audiobook ** (

Audible Audible may refer to: * Audible (service), an online audiobook store * Audible (American football), a tactic used by quarterbacks * ''Audible'' (film), a short documentary film featuring a deaf high school football player * Audible finish or ru ...

. December 29, 2022) *** A novel written first for the audio service

. Kenichi Suzumura narrated the story.

released the print version on July 26, 2023. * Character commentary ** Audio commentaries are content available on the DVD/BD release of the ''Monogatari'' series and ''Kubikiri Cycle''. Each episode features two characters having a conversation about the specific episode they are in. Nisio Isin has written each one of them. ** ''Nisio Isin Daijiten'' *** A series of commentaries in the form of an audio guide with characters from ''Monogatari'', ''Zaregoto'', and ''Bōkyaku Tantei'' series written for the ''Nisio Isin Daijiten'' exhibition, held in Tokyo during 2017. A transcription of said audio guide has been published in the accompany pamphlet. Nisio Isin in this occasion also wrote the script for six ''FANDA Cards'' handed as a gift at the exhibition's visitors, each one with a different character giving a call on the phone of the visitors. * Drama CD ** ''Monogatari'' series *** (

. August 3, 2009) *** ( Aniplex. December 18, 2019) ** ''Katanagatari'' series *** (

. 2010) *** ''Episode 0 Kyotō Yasuri'' - An audiobook released in the DVD/BD of the twelve episodes of the ''Katanagatari'' anime. It contains 12 chapters telling the story in the rebellion twenty years before the main story. ** ''Medaka Box'' *** , in 12 parts ( Media Factory. 2012–2013) ** ''Pretty Boy Detective Club'' *** ( Aniplex. 2021) *** ( Aniplex. 2021) *** ( Aniplex. 2021) *** ( Aniplex. 2021) *** ( Aniplex. 2022) * Script **''Medaka Box'' (TV) *** Episode 12 - - Original air date: June 20, 2012. ** ''Medaka Box Abnormal'' (TV) *** Episode 12 - - Original air date: December 27, 2012. ** '' Madoka Magica x Monogatari'' manner movies *** Four skits written by Nisio Isin about theater manners that were presented in the Japanese sessions for Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie -Rebellion- between October 26 and November 22, 2013. **** 1st week (October 26 – November 1): Ōgi Oshino Version **** 2nd week (November 2 – 8): Karen Araragi & Tsukihi Araragi Version **** 3rd week (November 9 – 15): Mayoi Hachikuji Version **** 4th week (November 16 – 22): Hitagi Senjōgahara Version **''Okitegami Kyōko no Bibōroku x Monogatari'' PVs. (2014. Directed by Yukihiro Miyamoto) *** Two advertisements for the first e-book of Nisio Isin, Okitegami Kyōko no Bibōroku, from the ''Bōkyaku Tantei'' series. ** ''Madogatari'' (''Madoka Magica x Monogatari'' crossover) *** A crossover manner video shown in the ''Madogatari exhibition'' on September 22, 2016. ** ''Monogatari'' series in 120 seconds *** PV for the release of the final volumes of the Monogatari series, ''Shinomonogatari''. Script written by Nisio Isin with Kana Hanazawa and

Maaya Sakamoto is a Japanese actress and singer. She made her debut as a Voice acting in Japan, voice actress in 1992 as the voice of Chifuru in the anime ''Little Twins'', and became known as the voice of Hitomi Kanzaki in ''The Vision of Escaflowne''. Other ...

voicing in-character, Nadeko Sengoku and Shinobu Oshino, respectively. ** Nisio Isin 20th anniversary movie *** A short video published on August, 7th and narrated by ''Zaregoto'' series' protagonist Ii in which Nisio Isin's career is summarized and volume 10 of said series is announced. ** Urgent Conversation! Nonsense User x Koyomi Araragi *** A 17-minute video released at the conclusion of the Nisio Isin 20th anniversary celebrations. In this video story written by Nisio Isin, the protagonists of Zaregoto and Monogatari, Ii and Koyomi, are portrayed by their respective anime VAs. ** ''Ikusamonogatari'' Message Movie *** An animated video produced by whitepuzzle and written by Nisio Isin within the context of the ''Ikusamonogatari'' novel.

Related book

* (September 18, 2004. Seidosha. ) * (November 1, 2005. Gentosha. ) ** Written by Ryūsui Seiryōin. Nisio cooperated as a special guest. * (January 30, 2006. Takarajimasha Co. ) ** Fan book containing an interview with Nisio Isin. * (February 1, 2006. Takarajimasha Co. ) ** Contains a dialogue with Nisio Isin. * (March 12, 2008. Media Factory. ) ** Nisio Isin lectured for five days as a special guest. * (September 3, 2014.

. ) ** Interview book where Nisio talks with Kentarō Kobayashi, Hiromu Arakawa, Chica Umino, Mizuki Tsujimura, and Toshiyuki Horie. * (September 5, 2022).

. ** Nisio answers 240 questions of fans.

Adaptations

Anime

Manga

Nisio Isin has several adaptations of his novels for manga and since most of his novels are published by Kodansha, most of them comes out in magazines of the publisher.

''Zerozaki Sōshiki no Ningen Shiken''

First serialized in Pandora Vol. 2 Side-A, it was later transferred to the Japanese magazine '' Monthly Afternoon''. It's an adaptation of the first volume of the ''Ningen'' series and it was drawn by Iruka Shiomiya. It was serialized from December 20, 2008, to August 2013. Compiled by

in 5 volumes.

''Zerozaki Kishishiki no Ningen Knock''

It was serialized in the Japanese magazine '' Monthly Afternoon'' from August 25, 2014, to September 24, 2016. It's an adaptation of the second volume of the ''Ningen'' series and it was drawn by Chomoran. Compiled by

in 4 volumes.

''Okitegami Kyōko no Bibōroku''

It was serialized in the Japanese magazine '' Monthly Shonen Magazine'' from August 6, 2015, to March 6, 2017. It partially adapts volumes 1 to 8 of the ''Bōkyaku Tantei'' series and it was drawn by Yō Asami. Compiled by

in 5 volumes.

''Shōjo Fujūbun''

''Shōjo Fujūbun'' is an adaptation of the novel with the same name and was drawn by Mitsuru Hattori. Mitsuri wanted to adapt the novel after reading it. It was serialized between November 30, 2015 and August 29, 2016, in the Japanese magazine ''

Weekly Young Magazine is a Japanese weekly anthology magazine published in Tokyo each Monday by Kodansha. The magazine started on June 16, 1980, and is targeted at the adult male () demographic. It was published bimonthly (under the title ), on the second and fourth ...

''. It was compiled by

in 3 volumes.

''Himeiden''

It was serialized in the Japanese magazine ''Young Magazine Third'' from December 4, 2015 to December 6, 2017. It's an adaptation of the first volume of the ''Densetsu'' series and it was drawn by Mitsutani Osamu. Compiled by

in 4 volumes.

''Bishōnen Tanteidan''

It was serialized in the Japanese magazine ''

Aria In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...

'' from June 2016 until June 2018 because of Aria's termination. It was transferred to Shonen Magazine Edge on October 17, 2018 and the rest of the chapters were released until July 17, 2019. It's an adaptation of the first four volumes of the ''Bishōnen'' series, and it was drawn by Oda Suzuka. Compiled by

in 5 volumes.

''Jūni Taisen''

It was serialized in the Japanese magazine '' Shonen Jump+'' from September 23, 2017, to May 12, 2018. It is an adaptation of the '' Jūni Taisen'' novel and it was drawn by Akira Akatsuki. Compiled by Shueisha in 4 volumes.

''Bakemonogatari''

''Bakemonogatari'' is an adaptation of the ''

Monogatari series is a Japanese light novel series written by Nisio Isin and illustrated by Vofan. The plot centers on Koyomi Araragi, a third-year high school student who survives a vampire attack and finds himself helping girls involved with a vari ...

'' novels and is drawn by

Oh! great , known professionally as Oh! great, is a Japanese manga artist best known for his manga series '' Tenjho Tenge'' (1997–2010) and '' Air Gear'' (2002–2012). In 2006, ''Air Gear'' earned him the Kodansha Manga Award in the '' shōnen'' categ ...

. It began its serialization in '' Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' on March 14, 2018, with the last chapter published on March 15, 2023. It has been compiled by

with a special edition for the '' Kodansha Box'' label also published.

''Risuka''

* As part of the release of the fourth volume of the series,

Hiro Mashima is a Japanese manga artist. He gained success with his first serial '' Rave Master'', published in Kodansha's '' Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from 1999 to 2005. His best-selling work, '' Fairy Tail'', published in the same magazine from 2006 to 2 ...

drew a scene from the chapter ''Easy magic cannot be used.'' of the first volume and

released it via

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

on November 27, 2020. It was later published in the book distributed in the Japanese bookstores. * A manga adaptation serialized on '' Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine'' from April 9, 2021 to February 9, 2024. Nao Emoto handled the illustration. Compiled by

in 7 volumes.

TV Drama

Japanese drama. It adapted the first four volumes of the '' Bōkyaku Tantei'' series. Starring Yui Aragaki.

Stage Play

* Juni Taisen (2018) * Labyrinth Revue: Bishounen Tanteidan (2021)

Notes

References

External links

Nisio Isin Official Website

Nisio Isin Anime Project
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nisio, Ishin Nisio Isin 1981 births 21st-century Japanese novelists Living people Japanese mystery writers Light novelists Ritsumeikan University alumni Japanese male writers 21st-century pseudonymous writers