{"rewrite":{"id":"r_39f0bda7684f4639a2e5a566","clusterId":"c_6e347039e18b4ce6b369566f","slug":"toei-games-to-publish-yatara-s-ballpoint-pen-horror-adventure-hino","model":"deepseek-v4-flash","headline":"Toei Games to Publish Yatara's Ballpoint Pen Horror-Adventure HINO","summary":"Toei Games will publish HINO, a 2D action-adventure game developed by UnGloomStudio and based on the ballpoint pen monster illustrations of artist Yatara. The game follows a girl named Hino and her companion Monimoni Skeleton as they explore a dark world seeking a place of rest. The project began when UnGloomStudio producer and animator Aury, a fan of Yatara's work, created a demo of animated monsters from Yatara's X illustrations and approached the artist with the idea. Yatara agreed, and the team expanded to six members including engineer Menchi. The game's scenario is an \"if story\" distinct from Yatara's original illustrations, though the protagonist and her companion retain their core designs. Monsters are one-hit kills, and the player uses a light bulb staff and other items to survive. The game was playable at BitSummit 2026 in Kyoto, where a demo is also available on Steam. A 2026 PC release is planned.","whyItMatters":"HINO marks Toei Games' entry into indie publishing with a title that adapts a social-media-born art style into a full game, while the developer's approach of animating static illustrations by hand-part separation could set a template for similar artist-to-game collaborations.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eUnGloomStudio has six members. Director and animator Aury, who has worked as a game engineer for more than 10 years, founded the studio for this project. He previously handled all weapon animation on a major company's AAA title, his first professional animation work. The team includes programmer Menchi, designer Yatara, effect designer Inato, music designer Tomokazu Shoji, and sound designer Kuwa-pon.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAury called the monsters' movements \"creepy.\" Yatara said he had never seen his illustrations animated before and that the actual movement \"exceeded my imagination.\" Aury separates the parts of each illustration by hand, draws in missing pieces, and animates them. He made a playable demo before approaching Yatara, animating monsters from Yatara's existing X posts emerging from darkness. Yatara said he immediately imagined how they would move as a game and agreed to the project.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe game's scenario is an \"if story\" distinct from Yatara's original illustrations. The protagonist Hino and her companion Monimoni Skeleton retain their core designs but have different motivations. In the game they seek \"a place of rest\" where monsters will not attack them. The character called \"Hat-sensei\" in the original illustrations is renamed \"Hat Man\" with changed settings. Aury said everything in the game is connected and \"a completely different atmosphere emerges\" by the end.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHiroaki Nagashima from Toei Games first encountered HINO at an event in Osaka last year. He was drawn to the key visual and approached the team after playing. The contract was signed in March 2026, though Toei Games has been providing support for about half a year. The publisher handles promotion, QA, and debugging but respects the studio's creative decisions. Nagashima noted there are no depictions of killing or blood in the game.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"Yatara's ballpoint pen style, never animated before, is being brought to life by a team whose lead animator learned 3D weapon animation at a AAA studio. The eerie movement is intentional.","twitterPost":"Yatara's ballpoint pen monsters are animated for the first time by a director whose animation background is 3D weapon rigs, not 2D.","threadsPost":"HINO's visual identity comes from Yatara's ballpoint pen illustrations, which have never been animated before. The director, Aury, learned animation on a AAA 3D title doing weapon motion capture. Adapting Yatara's eccentric 2D designs to movement is a first for both of them. The team calls the boss designs 'crazy.'","newsletterBlurb":"Toei Games will publish HINO, a 2D action-adventure based on Yatara's ballpoint pen monster illustrations. Developed by UnGloomStudio, the game follows a girl and her companion seeking a safe place in a dark world. A Steam demo is available now, with a full release planned for 2026.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"4Gamer.net\",\"url\":\"https://www.4gamer.net/games/901/G090124/20260523026/\",\"title\":\"A Little Scary but Cute: The Story of a Girl Seeking a Place of Rest and Yatara's Ballpoint Pen Monsters - Interview with the \\\"HINO\\\" Development Team [BitSummit]\"},{\"source\":\"Game Spark\",\"url\":\"http://www.gamespark.jp/article/2026/05/25/166863.html\",\"title\":\"Ballpoint Pen Illustration Cute Looks and the Harsh 2D Action ADV 'HINO' [BitSummit PUNCH]\"}]","lintFlagsJson":"[]","lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":14276,"outputTokens":1381,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1779826464,"createdAt":"2026-05-25T05:48:06.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-05-25T06:00:37.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-25T06:00:37.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_6e347039e18b4ce6b369566f","canonicalTitle":"ちょっと怖いけどかわいい。やたら氏のボールペン描きの怪物たちと，安息の地を求める少女の物語。「HINO」開発陣インタビュー［BitSummit］","representativeArticleId":"a_11795abe2b924bdcf7ff76f9","sourceCount":2,"writtenSourceCount":2,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":false,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[],\"studios\":[],\"people\":[\"やたら\",\"Aur\"],\"type\":\"news\",\"domain\":\"games\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-05-25T03:43:18.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-05-25T04:00:04.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-25T06:00:37.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"4Gamer.net","url":"https://www.4gamer.net/games/901/G090124/20260523026/","title":"ちょっと怖いけどかわいい。やたら氏のボールペン描きの怪物たちと，安息の地を求める少女の物語。「HINO」開発陣インタビュー［BitSummit］"},{"source":"Game Spark","url":"http://www.gamespark.jp/article/2026/05/25/166863.html","title":"ボールペンイラストな可愛い見た目と裏腹のシビアな2DアクションADV『HINO』【BitSummit PUNCH】 | Game*Spark - 国内・海外ゲーム情報サイト"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":[],"studios":[],"people":["やたら","Aur"],"type":"news","domain":"games","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":["Toei Games will publish HINO, a 2D action-adventure game based on artist Yatara's ballpoint pen monster illustrations.","The game follows a girl named Hino and her companion Monimoni Skeleton as they explore a dark world seeking a place of rest.","The project began when UnGloomStudio producer and animator Aury created a demo of animated monsters from Yatara's X illustrations and approached the artist.","The game was playable at BitSummit 2026 in Kyoto, and a demo is available on Steam.","A 2026 PC release is planned."]}