Noizi Ito

Noizi Ito (いとうのいぢ,Itō Noiji, born August 9, 1977) is a Japaneselight novel andvideo game artist. She is employed by theH-game maker UNiSONSHIFT and is a part of the circle Fujitsubo-Machine. Unlike mostromanized Japanese words and names, Noizi Ito's name uses theKunrei-shiki romanization form.

Noizi Ito
Noizi Ito at Epitanime 2010
Born	(1977-08-09)August 9, 1977 (age 47) Kakogawa, Hyōgo, Japan
Nationality	Japanese
Notable work	Shakugan no Shana Haruhi Suzumiya

Ito is well known for her work as the character designer and artist for theShakugan no Shana novel series which spawned amanga andanime series. She has also worked on theHaruhi Suzumiya novel series along with its authorNagaru Tanigawa. Their work has also led to an anime television series titled after the first book in the series,The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.^[1] She is also the character designer for the 2012 anime seriesAnother and for theVirtual YouTuber Tenjin Kotone.

Career

edit

Ito first began creating characters around the time she graduated from middle school.^[1] She grew up at a time when fighting games were popular with her and her classmates and developed an interest, beyond just controlling the characters, in the aesthetics and design of characters. After purchasing a book on breaking into the industry, Ito began going for job interviews at Osaka-based companies near to home, such asCapcom. She made it past the initial round, however did not get the job and in the end found a job working for Softpal onvisual novels.^[2]

She had started a manga series calledBee-be-beat it! which was introduced in volume 1 of theDragon Age Pure magazine. Furthermore, she has worked on threeadult game projects for UNiSONSHIFT Blossom. The first wasNanatsuiro Drops, released in 2006, followed by the Alice in Wonderland themedAlice Parade, released in 2007, andFlyable Heart, released in 2009. She also was the artist in theadult gamesPeace@Pieces,Forget Me Not, and alsoKomorebi ni Yureru Tamashii no Koe, all under the UNiSONSHIFT label. Outside UNiSONSHIFT, she has recently worked as one of the illustrators forSega and Flight-Plan's DS gameShining Force Feather.

Games

edit

UNISONSHiFT

Be-reave (1999)
Wasurenagusa Forget-Me-Not (2002)
Komorebi ni Yureru Tamashii no Koe (2003)^[3]
Peace@Pieces (2004)^[4]

UNISONSHiFT Blossom

Nanatsuiro Drops (2006)^[5]
Alice Parade (2007)
Flyable Heart (2009)^[6]
Kimi no Nagori wa Shizuka ni Yurete (2010)^[7]
FlyableCandy Heart (2011)^[8]

Nippon Ichi Software

The Guided Fate Paradox (2013)
The Guided Fate Cross Thesis (2014)

Sega

Sakura Wars (2019)

Flight-Plan

Shining Force Feather (2009)

Other

Fire Emblem Heroes (2017)

Art books

edit

Over the years, Fujitsubo-Machine has produced severalart books featuring art by Noizi Ito. The publishing companyMediaWorks publishedGuren: Ito Noizi Art Collection (いとうのいぢ画集「紅蓮」) on January 27, 2005.Kaen: Ito Noizi Art Collection II (いとうのいぢ画集 II「華焔」) was released on August 7, 2007.Sōen: Ito Noizi Art Collection III (いとうのいぢ画集 III「蒼炎」) was released on August 10, 2009.Haruhi-ism Ito Noizi Illustration (いとうのいぢ画集ハルヒ主義) was released on April 30, 2009. TheIto Noizi Art Collection Haruhi Hyakka (いとうのいぢ画集ハルヒ百花) was released on May 1, 2013.

Art style

edit

Ito stated that she enjoys drawing because "the first thing players are attracted to is the game's art". Many of these games take place in the emotionally charged world of high school and Ito draws from her own experiences.^[2] Although she has designed several very successful characters, Ito stated that she draws her inspiration from anything by which she comes. She described the midpoint between a young female and adult body where it resembles their male counterparts and simultaneously are on the cusp of becoming a full-fledged woman as being the form she likes the best and enjoys drawing the most.^[1] Ito stated that since all women have been high school girls at one point and enjoy reminiscing about those times, noting that "being a highschool girl is probably the best time in a girl's life."^[2]