Nisio Isin facts for kids

Nisio Isin (Japanese: 西尾 維新, Hepburn: Nishio Ishin, born 1981) is a famous Japanese writer. He uses a pen name, which is often written as NISIOISIN. This is because his name is a palindrome, meaning it reads the same forwards and backward! He writes novels, manga (Japanese comics), and even screenplays for animated shows.

Nisio Isin started his popular Monogatari novel series in 2005. This series has grown to 29 books and has been made into a very successful animated TV show by Shaft. Other books and manga he wrote, like Katanagatari, Medaka Box, and Jūni Taisen, have also become anime. He even worked with the writers of Death Note on a novel called Death Note Another Note: The Los Angeles BB Murder Cases.

From 2009 to 2016, Nisio Isin was one of the top 10 best-selling authors in Japan. In 2012 and 2014, he was the number one best-selling author! By November 2022, his books and manga had sold over 36 million copies.

His stories are known for their long, clever, and funny conversations between characters. He mixes different types of stories, like mysteries and fantasy, and often includes references to other manga and anime.

A Writer's Journey

Nisio Isin loved manga since he was a kid and dreamed of becoming a mangaka (manga artist). But he felt his drawing skills weren't improving, so he decided to become a novelist instead. He thought it didn't matter if his handwriting wasn't perfect! He went to Ritsumeikan University but left before finishing his degree.

Early in his career, Nisio Isin was known for writing very quickly. He even submitted two or three stories to a single Mephisto Prize competition. In 2002, when he was just 20 years old, he won the 23rd Mephisto Prize with his first novel, Kubikiri Cycle: The Blue Savant and the Nonsense User, which started his Zaregoto series. His slogan back then was "Nisio Isin, the 20-year-old from Kyoto."

He still works with Mephisto magazine and the publisher Kodansha. In 2007, he released his Katanagatari series as twelve books over twelve months. This was a big deal because another author, Ryūsui Seiryōin, was doing the same thing at the same time!

His most famous work is the Monogatari series. It started as a few short stories in 2005 and grew into 28 books. Many parts of the Monogatari series have been turned into anime, and it's still ongoing! The anime has sold millions of DVDs and Blu-rays.

Many of his other series have also been adapted into anime, including Zaregoto, Katanagatari, Medaka Box, Jūni Taisen, and Pretty Boy Detective Club. Juni Taisen was even made into a stage play in Japan, and his Bōkyaku Tantei series became a Japanese TV show.

Between 2009 and 2016, Nisio Isin was consistently one of Japan's top-selling authors. In 2012 and 2014, he was the best-selling author in the entire country! His books and manga have sold over 36 million copies. Many of his novels have also been translated into English, making him one of the most translated Japanese authors in the U.S. during that time.

Writing Style

Since he started writing, Nisio Isin's stories have been known for their clever wordplay and funny, often sarcastic, conversations. He once said that his use of manzai (a type of Japanese stand-up comedy) comes from being from the Kansai region of Japan. He believes that "dialogue is the character" and focuses more on what characters say than how they look. He also includes many female characters in his stories because he feels it's easier for them to show their unique personalities through things like fashion.

His biggest inspirations come from Shōnen Jump manga (comics for boys) and shōjo manga (comics for girls). He's a huge fan of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and even wrote a novel for the series called JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Over Heaven. You'll often find references to JoJo in his books!

His works often blend mystery novels with "light novels" (a type of Japanese novel with illustrations, often aimed at young adults). He's known for creating stories where unusual characters try to solve mysteries in strange or impossible situations. He also frequently references old anime and manga.

Nisio Isin has a unique way of naming his characters. He tries to make their names help define who they are. He doesn't just pick weird names; he often follows certain rules, though he sometimes breaks them. People have called his naming style "bizarre" and "extremely strange." Some examples of his character names include Namanie Nienami, Kiss-shot Acerola-orion Heart-under-blade, and Byōinzaka Kuroneko (which means "Black Cat of Hospital Hill").

He has mentioned that he learned a lot from other Japanese writers like Kiyoshi Kasai and Hiroshi Mori. He even called five of these writers "God-like beings" who helped shape his writing style.

Nisio Isin and Light Novels

Many of Nisio Isin's books are published by Kodansha Novels, which usually publishes general literature. However, his works are often seen as light novels. A light novel is a type of Japanese novel that usually has illustrations and is aimed at a younger audience, often teens and young adults.

Some people debate whether his Zaregoto series is a light novel or not. In 2005, a guide book called This Light Novel is Amazing! ranked the Zaregoto series as the second most popular light novel series. But the authors of the book also noted that there were different opinions on whether it truly fit the "light novel" category.

Nisio Isin himself has said he's not sure if his work is a light novel in the traditional sense, but he doesn't mind if people call it one. He sees it as a "collaboration between an illustration and a novel," which is a common feature of light novels.

Selected Works in English Translation

Many of Nisio Isin's popular series have been translated into English, allowing fans around the world to enjoy his stories.

• Monogatari series: A long series of fantasy novels.
• Katanagatari series: A samurai epic.
• Pretty Boy Detective Club series: Mystery novels about a group of handsome detectives.
• Death Note Another Note: The Los Angeles BB Murder Cases: A mystery novel based on the Death Note manga.
• Juni Taisen: Zodiac War: A battle royale story.
• Imperfect Girl: A suspense novel.

Selected Novels

Nisio Isin has written many different series and standalone novels. Here are some of his notable works:

The Zaregoto Series

The Zaregoto series is a mystery series with nine main books and a tenth released in 2023. It also has two spin-off series: the Ningen series, which follows the Zerozaki clan, and the Saikyō series, which focuses on the character Jun Aikawa.

The Risuka Series

This series, also known as Shin Honkaku Mahō Shōjo Risuka, is a fantasy series that started in Faust magazine.

The Monogatari Series

This is one of Nisio Isin's most famous works. It began as short stories and grew into a massive series of 28 volumes. The stories often focus on one new character at a time. The series is divided into different "seasons" like First Season, Second Season, Final Season, Off Season, Monster Season, and Family Season.

• Mazemonogatari: A collection of crossover stories where characters from Monogatari meet characters from Nisio Isin's other series.
• Mijikanamonogatari: A book collecting many short stories from the Monogatari universe.

The Katanagatari Series

This unique series is a samurai epic that was released as twelve volumes, one each month, throughout 2007. It also has a prequel called Maniwagatari that takes place 200 years before the main story.

The Densetsu Series

This is a complete series with 10 volumes. The first book was Nisio's longest at the time it was published.

The Medaka Box Novels

These are spin-off novels based on the popular Medaka Box manga series.

The Bōkyaku Tantei Series

This is an ongoing mystery series with 14 volumes. It features a detective who forgets everything she knows each day.

The Jūni Taisen Series

This series started as a one-shot story and was later published as a full novel. A sequel was released in 2017.

The Bishōnen Series

Also known as the Pretty Boy Detective Club series, these books were originally planned to be part of the Bōkyaku Tantei series but became their own popular series. It's about a group of handsome detectives.

The Henkyaku Kaitou Series

This new series was announced in 2022 to celebrate Nisio Isin's 20th anniversary as a writer.

Other Novels

Nisio Isin has also written several standalone novels that explore different themes:

• Ningyō ga Ningyō: A horror novel.
• Nanmin Tantei: A detective novel.
• Shōjo Fujūbun: A suspense novel.
• Ripogura!: A novel that shows Nisio Isin's love for "constrained writing," where he follows special rules while writing.
• The Veiled Man Hypothesis: Nisio's 100th book!
• Delivery Room and R.I.P. werther town: Newer works.

Manga

Nisio Isin has written the stories for several manga series.

One-shots

He has written many one-shot manga (single, short stories) with different artists for various magazines like Weekly Shōnen Jump and Jump Square.

• Ōgiri: A collection of 9 one-shot stories based on different themes, released between 2014 and 2015.

The Medaka Box Manga

Medaka Box is a popular shōnen (boy's manga) series written by Nisio Isin and drawn by Akira Akatsuki. It was published in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 2009 to 2013 and collected into 22 volumes.

The Bakemonogatari Manga

This manga is an adaptation of the Monogatari series novels, drawn by the artist Oh! great. It was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Magazine from 2018 to 2023.

The Risuka Manga

A manga adaptation of the Risuka novel series, drawn by Nao Emoto, began in 2021.

Other Manga Series

• Kimi to Nadekko!: A shōjo (girl's manga) series that appears within the Monogatari universe.
• Shōnen Shōjo: A shōnen manga series that ran from 2016 to 2017.
• Seishun Kijinden! 240 Gakuen: A manga that features characters from Nisio Isin's other series, celebrating his 15th year as a writer.
• Cipher Academy: A recent shōnen manga series that started in 2022.

Screenplays and Audio Works

Nisio Isin has also written for other types of media:

• Audiobooks: He wrote R.I.P. werther town specifically for the audio service Audible before it was released as a print book.
• Character Commentaries: For the DVD/Blu-ray releases of the Monogatari series and Kubikiri Cycle, Nisio Isin wrote special audio commentaries where two characters from the show talk about the episode.
• Drama CDs: He has written scripts for audio dramas for his Monogatari, Katanagatari, Medaka Box, and Pretty Boy Detective Club series.
• TV Show Scripts: He wrote specific episodes for the Medaka Box anime series.
• Promotional Videos: He has written scripts for short animated videos and trailers, including crossover videos between Madoka Magica and Monogatari, and videos celebrating his 20th anniversary.

See also

In Spanish: Nishio Ishin para niños