Fumino Hayashi Evangelion Manga Illustrator (Adaptation)
Fumino Hayashi (born January 23, year unknown) is a Japanese manga artist from Fukui prefecture. She is especially known for the manga, Neon Genesis Evangelion: Angelic Days. In 1995, she won the first “ENIX 21st century Manga Encouragement Grand Prize”. Then she made her major manga artist debut in 1996 when she was a teenager. Her style of illustrating varies among her works, ranging from manga comics that are light and comic to dark fantasies.
Hayashi and Anime
Neon Genesis Evangelion: Angelic Days was her first project with Kadokawa Shoten. This manga series is an adaptation of the Neon Genesis Evangelion game Girlfriend of Steel 2nd. The story is a spin-off from the final episode, episode 26 of the anime series. Compared to the original, this story is set in an alternate universe as a high school romantic comedy, that aims to show a happier world in contrast to the more serious themes of the TV series. Fumino contributed by drawing and writing the story in this series.
Her pop-style drawing differs greatly from the original Evangelion anime and Evangelion manga. The soft-touch approach to the characters creates a lighter and more exciting feeling to the audience. The famous main characters she illustrated include: Shinji Ikari, Asuka Langley Soryu, Rei Ayanami, Kaworu Nagisa, and Misato Katsuragi.
The Angelic Days manga was serialized in Monthly Asuka and Newtype USA. The series was also published in English soon after. As it continued to earn fame and popularity, the series was published around the world: in Thailand by Siam Inter Comics, in Mexico by Grupo Editorial Vid, in Argentina Editorial Ivrea, in Brazil by Conrad Editorian, in France by Glenat, in Germany by Carlsen Comics, in Italy by Panini Comics, and in Spain by Norma Editorial.
Personal Life
Hayashi states strongly that she is crazy about baseball. She aggressively supports the Chunichi Dragons. As she has illustrated a manga series about Sumo, she is also a Sumo fan. She said in an interview that during her childhood, she lived with her grandparents who were a big influence on her.
She would watch whenever Sumo was on live television. Eventually, this turned into a habit and since then she continued to watch Sumo until this day. In the modern day, Sumo wrestlers share their private lives on Twitter or Instagram, but during her youth, she referred to their private blogs for their information. She said it was attractive to read and see the unseen cuter side of these strong wrestlers. A different face to the overwhelmingly manly wrestlers portrayed on TV. Her favorite wrestler is Kazuhiro Kotoshogiku, who is a fan favorite in the world of Sumo.
Hayashi’s Works
Hayashi’s previous works included Kokakuka Aikyo Sae Kyono Ichiban which is a manga about Sumo wrestling. Kokakuka means a "Sumo lover" or "Sumo fan". The protagonist, "Sae Aikyo" is a passionate Kokakuka, who has passion and knowledge about the skills and rules of Sumo. As a woman in her 30s, she would go anywhere related to Sumo and be glued to the TV, constantly watching various Sumo programs. The manga is not only suitable for readers who love Sumo but also to the fans of Fumino Hayashi. She portrays herself through the manga, engaging readers with the same love of Sumo themselves. Fans say they can relate to many episodes throughout the story and it gave them a warm and cuddly feeling inside. Since this manga is a comedy, Hayashi’s illustrations are drawn in an approachable and friendly style.
She also worked on the manga, Isekai Chanko - Yokozuna Mokuzen ni Shokan Saretandaga - which is a fantasy manga based on cooking and gourmet. The protagonist is a Sumo wrestler, "Ooseki Takarayama" who is sent into a different world by three sisters. When these sisters are hungry, he turns into a chef to cook 'Chanko nabe,' which is a famous dish eaten by Sumo wrestlers. The story revolves around how he struggles to get back to the real world and the fantasy of food. The series can be found in a free comic book website, "Manga Life STORIA'".
In addition, she illustrated a short-length manga, Meteor released in 2017. It had a rather adult-like style of drawing compared to the ‘cuter’ style found in Angelic Days. The protagonist is a teenage girl, not so happy with her social and school life. The story starts all of a sudden with a meteor falling, resulting in a life changing experience for her. This manga series was only 3 volumes.
Another manga, Kami no DICE was also released in 2017 and was available on the web. It is about a high school otaku boy who encounters a mysterious classmate, ending up joining a death game called "D Game". This is a sugoroku game board that he is forced to play by his classmate, where they play to survive.
Series Works
- Neon Genesis Evangelion: Angelic Days (2003)
- Ghost Train (2006)
- Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria (2006)
- Kami no DICE (2008)
- BAT x DRAGON (2010)
- H+P -Himepara- (2010)
Completed Works
- POOLZ Hakusho (1999)
- TICK-SHOW (2001)
- W・MARCH・TV・SHOW (2002)
- Otafuku!! (2004)
Web Novel
- The Irregular at Magic High School (2011-2013)