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.
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.
[3] 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 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.
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.
Vertical is translating other titles and series by Nisio Isin, including Monogatari, Katanagatari, Pretty Boy Detective Club, and Imperfect Girl.
His works are characterized by a sense of literature that is amid the so-called "Shindenki" (ja) mystery-light novel 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.
Tsunehiro Uno describes Nisio Isin as the only writer who has made a smooth transition from "Sekaikei" (ja) to "Shindenki".
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,[23]: 140 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.
[23]: 142 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.
[19]: 181 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.
In a conversation with Tow Ubukata, Otsuichi said of Nisio, "I think he falls into the light novel category in a broad sense.
introduces Nisio as "a new generation of writers who are breaking down the barriers between general literature and light novels.
[27] Kiyoshi Kasai talking about light novels in the 2004 special edition of Eureka,[28] 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 Sekai's 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.
The Japan Detectives Club was created by Ryūsui Seiryōin, and Nisio Isin is one of several authors to write novels using that setting.
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.
In Mazemonogatari (混物語, Mix Story) Koyomi Araragi meets various heroines from other series written by Nisio Isin.
Maniwagatari takes place 200 years before Katanagatari, when the first Kyotōryū head, Kazune Yasuri, met Kiki Shikizaki.
The fifth story titled My World (ぼくの世界, Boku no Sekai) was serialized in the Mephisto magazine published by Kodansha.
[59] 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.
[60] Kodansha later confirmed the publication date would be September 11, 2024, with 33 previously published and 6 new short stories.
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.
Medaka Box is a Japanese shōnen manga series written by Nisio Isin and drawn by Akira Akatsuki.
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.
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.
Cipher Academy (暗号学園のいろは, Angō Gakuen no Iroha) is a Japanese shōnen manga written by Nisio Isin and drawn by Iwasaki Yūji.
It started serializing in the Japanese magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump on November 21, 2022,[102] and finished on February 5, 2024.