Naru Nanao
Encyclopedia
is a female Japanese
artist from Okinawa
, Japan
. Nanao's choice of her pseudonym stems from the Circus'
game Aries; one of the characters was named . She is a free illustrator and thus is not affiliated with one single company; she is primarily a character designer. She began working with video game developers in 2000, but she is most well known for providing original character design for three heroines in the original D.C.: Da Capo visual novel
by Circus released in 2002. Other works include Canvas 2: Niji Iro no Sketch, Ef: A Fairy Tale of the Two.
, and Sola
. At one point, she only went by her given name Naru. She is the supervisor of her dōjinshi
circle known as . She often collaborates with another circle named . She even provided the front-cover illustration for the Comiket 70
catalog for August 2006.
visual novel
s due to her status as a free illustrator and not being affiliated with one single company; she is primarily a character designer. Her first work for a visual novel was as the art director for Cave Castle Cavalier by Dall released in 2000. That same year, she worked on Kinki 2 -Taboo-: Hospital Taboo by Succubus. In 2001, Nanao worked on three games for the company Circus
which were: Infanteria, Suika, and Archimedes no Wasuremono. Also in 2001, Nanao worked on her first all-ages game called Quiz Saitama Rengō no Yabō by Saitama Ringō. In 2002, Nanao provided character design in Circus' first D.C.: Da Capo game for three heroines: Nemu Asakura, Sakura Yoshino, and Kotori Shirakawa. Even though Nanao became well known for her work in D.C.: Da Capo, she did not participate in another game in the Da Capo series again. Also in 2002, Nanao worked on the game Panic!! Kerokero Ōkoku by Pajama Soft. In 2003, Nanao worked with Circus and PrincessSoft
to produce the all-ages game Sakura: Yuki Tsuki Hana. In 2004, Nanao designed two heroines, Elis Hōsen and Kiri Kikyō, from Canvas 2: Niji Iro no Sketch by F&C FC01. In 2006, Nanao started working with Minori
on their game series Ef: A Fairy Tale of the Two.
by providing female character design. In 2011, she worked on Canvas 4: Achrome Étude by providing Elis Hōsen's character design.
(main writer of Kanon
) to produce the original series Sola
. Nanao provided the original character design for the project which was used as a template for the character design in the Sola anime
and manga
series. In 2007, Nanao started working as the character designer on the reader-participation game Ohime-sama Navigation
being serialized in the Japanese bishōjo
magazine Dengeki G's Magazine
, published by ASCII Media Works
. She worked with Tryfirst as the character designer on the Nintendo DS
visual novel , released in Japan in 2009. It was translated into English and released in 2010 by Natsume, under the title Witch's Wish.
. The similarities between the two artists was often brought up on the Japanese Internet forum
2channel
. Her characters have large, wide eyes with a certain amount of sharpness, as opposed to being more rounded, which are widely spaced apart on the face. A distinct feature often added to her bishōjo
characters is the use of long, thin ribbons attached to the hair or clothing. Clothing, especially Japanese school uniform
s, is often simple in design but very diverse, such as in regards to collars, sleeves, or skirt hems. While excelling in female character design, her design for males lacks, which is why when working on a visual novel, character design for the males will be handled by a different person, such as in the case of Ef: A Fairy Tale of the Two.
which had male character design provided by 2C Galore.
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
artist from Okinawa
Okinawa Prefecture
is one of Japan's southern prefectures. It consists of hundreds of the Ryukyu Islands in a chain over long, which extends southwest from Kyūshū to Taiwan. Okinawa's capital, Naha, is located in the southern part of Okinawa Island...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Nanao's choice of her pseudonym stems from the Circus'
Circus (company)
Circus is a Japanese visual novel studio known for creating adult-oriented bishōjo games. In addition to the normal Circus brand name, there are other brand divisions including Circus Northern, Circus Fetish, Circus Metal, and Sanctuary...
game Aries; one of the characters was named . She is a free illustrator and thus is not affiliated with one single company; she is primarily a character designer. She began working with video game developers in 2000, but she is most well known for providing original character design for three heroines in the original D.C.: Da Capo visual novel
Visual novel
A is an interactive fiction game featuring mostly static graphics, usually with anime-style art, or occasionally live-action stills or video footage...
by Circus released in 2002. Other works include Canvas 2: Niji Iro no Sketch, Ef: A Fairy Tale of the Two.
Ef: A Fairy Tale of the Two.
Ef: A Fairy Tale of the Two is the overall title of a two-part Japanese adult visual novel series by Minori for the PC as a DVD. The first game in the series, Ef: The First Tale, was released on December 22, 2006, and the second game, Ef: The Latter Tale, was released on May 30, 2008...
, and Sola
Sola (manga)
Sola is a Japanese work originally conceived by Naoki Hisaya with original character design by Naru Nanao . Sola is a mixed media project, first unveiled through the prologue of the manga featured in the Japanese manga magazine Dengeki Daioh on December 21, 2006, published by MediaWorks...
. At one point, she only went by her given name Naru. She is the supervisor of her dōjinshi
Dojinshi
is the Japanese term for self-published works, usually magazines, manga or novels. Dōjinshi are often the work of amateurs, though some professional artists participate as a way to publish material outside the regular industry. The term dōjinshi is derived from and . Dōjinshi are part of a wider...
circle known as . She often collaborates with another circle named . She even provided the front-cover illustration for the Comiket 70
Comiket
, otherwise known as the , is the world's largest self-published comic book fair, held twice a year in Tokyo, Japan. The first Comiket was held on December 21, 1975, with only about 32 participating circles and an estimated 600 attendees. Attendance has since swelled to over a half million people....
catalog for August 2006.
Visual novels
Naru Nanao has worked on a large number of adultEroge
An or Ero-ga is a Japanese video or computer game that features erotic content, usually in the form of anime-style artwork. Eroge originated from galge, but unlike galge, they feature erotic/pornographic content.-History:...
visual novel
Visual novel
A is an interactive fiction game featuring mostly static graphics, usually with anime-style art, or occasionally live-action stills or video footage...
s due to her status as a free illustrator and not being affiliated with one single company; she is primarily a character designer. Her first work for a visual novel was as the art director for Cave Castle Cavalier by Dall released in 2000. That same year, she worked on Kinki 2 -Taboo-: Hospital Taboo by Succubus. In 2001, Nanao worked on three games for the company Circus
Circus (company)
Circus is a Japanese visual novel studio known for creating adult-oriented bishōjo games. In addition to the normal Circus brand name, there are other brand divisions including Circus Northern, Circus Fetish, Circus Metal, and Sanctuary...
which were: Infanteria, Suika, and Archimedes no Wasuremono. Also in 2001, Nanao worked on her first all-ages game called Quiz Saitama Rengō no Yabō by Saitama Ringō. In 2002, Nanao provided character design in Circus' first D.C.: Da Capo game for three heroines: Nemu Asakura, Sakura Yoshino, and Kotori Shirakawa. Even though Nanao became well known for her work in D.C.: Da Capo, she did not participate in another game in the Da Capo series again. Also in 2002, Nanao worked on the game Panic!! Kerokero Ōkoku by Pajama Soft. In 2003, Nanao worked with Circus and PrincessSoft
PrincessSoft
PrincessSoft is a Japanese company specializing in the publishing and development of visual novel video games.-List of games:*Day of Love *21: Two One *Hourglass of Summer *Cafe: Little Wish...
to produce the all-ages game Sakura: Yuki Tsuki Hana. In 2004, Nanao designed two heroines, Elis Hōsen and Kiri Kikyō, from Canvas 2: Niji Iro no Sketch by F&C FC01. In 2006, Nanao started working with Minori
Minori
is a Japanese visual novel company which created the games Bittersweet Fools, Wind: A Breath of Heart, Haru no Ashioto and Angel Type. Their latest game as of 2009 is Eden*...
on their game series Ef: A Fairy Tale of the Two.
Ef: A Fairy Tale of the Two.
Ef: A Fairy Tale of the Two is the overall title of a two-part Japanese adult visual novel series by Minori for the PC as a DVD. The first game in the series, Ef: The First Tale, was released on December 22, 2006, and the second game, Ef: The Latter Tale, was released on May 30, 2008...
by providing female character design. In 2011, she worked on Canvas 4: Achrome Étude by providing Elis Hōsen's character design.
Other
In 2006, Nanao teamed up with Naoki HisayaNaoki Hisaya
, born , is a Japanese screenwriter who has worked for Tactics, Key and Siesta, but as of 2006, he is a freelance writer. He is well known for being the main writer of the popular visual novel Kanon while working under Key. Additional works include Moon., One: Kagayaku Kisetsu e, and Moon Childe....
(main writer of Kanon
Kanon
is a Japanese visual novel developed by Key and originally released as an adult game on June 4, 1999, playable on a Microsoft Windows PC. An all ages version for the PC was released in January 2000, and was later ported to the Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation Portable...
) to produce the original series Sola
Sola (manga)
Sola is a Japanese work originally conceived by Naoki Hisaya with original character design by Naru Nanao . Sola is a mixed media project, first unveiled through the prologue of the manga featured in the Japanese manga magazine Dengeki Daioh on December 21, 2006, published by MediaWorks...
. Nanao provided the original character design for the project which was used as a template for the character design in the Sola anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
and manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
series. In 2007, Nanao started working as the character designer on the reader-participation game Ohime-sama Navigation
Ohime-sama Navigation
, with the subtitles and Which Girl do you Trust?, is a reader-participation game in the Japanese bishōjo magazine Dengeki G's Magazine, published by ASCII Media Works, which started in the February 2008 issue sold on December 30, 2007...
being serialized in the Japanese bishōjo
Bishojo
is a Japanese term used to refer to young and pretty girls, usually below university age. Bishōjo is not listed as a word in the prominent Japanese dictionary Kōjien...
magazine Dengeki G's Magazine
Dengeki G's Magazine
is a Japanese magazine published by ASCII Media Works and sold monthly on the thirtieth that primarily contains information on bishōjo games, but also includes an entire section on anime based on bishōjo games, and serializes manga and light novels based on such games. The "G's" in the title...
, published by ASCII Media Works
ASCII Media Works
is a Japanese publishing company in the Kadokawa Group which formed on April 1, 2008 as a result of a merger between ASCII and MediaWorks where MediaWorks legally absorbed ASCII. Despite this, the former president of ASCII, Kiyoshi Takano, became the president of ASCII Media Works. The company...
. She worked with Tryfirst as the character designer on the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
visual novel , released in Japan in 2009. It was translated into English and released in 2010 by Natsume, under the title Witch's Wish.
Art style
Before becoming well-known with D.C.: Da Capo, her style of character art at that time was often compared to Misato Mitsumi, another artist known for her work on Comic PartyComic Party
, sometimes abbreviated to ComiPa, is a romantic adventure and dating sim video game by the Japanese game studio Leaf. It was first released on May 28, 1999 for the PC with adult content, but re-released with it removed for the Dreamcast, PC, and PSP...
. The similarities between the two artists was often brought up on the Japanese Internet forum
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
2channel
2channel
is a Japanese textboard. In 2007 there were 2.5 million posts made every day. Launched in 1999, it has gained significant influence in Japanese society, comparable to that of traditional mass media such as television, radio, and magazines. As of 2008, the site generates revenue upwards of ¥100...
. Her characters have large, wide eyes with a certain amount of sharpness, as opposed to being more rounded, which are widely spaced apart on the face. A distinct feature often added to her bishōjo
Bishojo
is a Japanese term used to refer to young and pretty girls, usually below university age. Bishōjo is not listed as a word in the prominent Japanese dictionary Kōjien...
characters is the use of long, thin ribbons attached to the hair or clothing. Clothing, especially Japanese school uniform
Japanese school uniform
Japan introduced school uniforms in the late 19th century. Today, school uniforms are common in many of the Japanese public and private school systems. The Japanese word for this type of uniform is .-Usage:...
s, is often simple in design but very diverse, such as in regards to collars, sleeves, or skirt hems. While excelling in female character design, her design for males lacks, which is why when working on a visual novel, character design for the males will be handled by a different person, such as in the case of Ef: A Fairy Tale of the Two.
Ef: A Fairy Tale of the Two.
Ef: A Fairy Tale of the Two is the overall title of a two-part Japanese adult visual novel series by Minori for the PC as a DVD. The first game in the series, Ef: The First Tale, was released on December 22, 2006, and the second game, Ef: The Latter Tale, was released on May 30, 2008...
which had male character design provided by 2C Galore.