Naotaka Hayashi
Description
Naotaka Hayashi is a Japanese writer and game scenario author known for his work as an original creator on anime series such as Plastic Memories. He is affiliated with the game company MAGES., where he has been a key figure in the development of visual novels.
Hayashi developed an interest in storytelling from a young age. During elementary school, he aspired to become a manga artist but eventually shifted his focus to writing, as he felt insecure about his drawing abilities. He began writing novels in middle school. To pursue his dream of becoming a novelist, he dropped out of university and enrolled in a specialized writing school. After graduating, he entered the video game industry when an acquaintance offered him work writing scripts.
His professional writing career began at the game company KID, where he worked as the main writer on entries in the Memories Off series, including Memories Off: Sorekara and Memories Off #5: Togireta Film. Following KID's bankruptcy in 2006, Hayashi moved to the company 5pb. (now part of MAGES.). At 5pb., he became a central creator in the Science Adventure series, serving as the original writer for critically acclaimed visual novels such as Chaos;Head and Steins;Gate. His work on Steins;Gate, in particular, established his reputation as a writer of science fiction narratives involving complex concepts like time travel.
Building on his success in video games, Hayashi expanded into anime production. In 2015, he created the original anime series Plastic Memories. For this production, he is credited as the original creator and wrote the script for all thirteen episodes. The series is a science fiction romance that explores themes of memory, mortality, and artificial intelligence, focusing on androids with predetermined lifespans.
Following Plastic Memories, Hayashi continued to work in anime. In 2017, he served as script supervisor for the anime adaptation of Chaos;Child, another entry in the Science Adventure series. In 2018, he co-wrote the series composition for the original anime DARLING in the FRANXX alongside director Atsushi Nishigori. He also contributed scripts for multiple episodes of that series.
A note of clarification exists regarding his name, as there is another Japanese animator and director also named Naotaka Hayashi. The two professionals work in different fields of the anime industry, with the Naotaka Hayashi profiled here being specifically the writer and game scenario author.
Hayashi developed an interest in storytelling from a young age. During elementary school, he aspired to become a manga artist but eventually shifted his focus to writing, as he felt insecure about his drawing abilities. He began writing novels in middle school. To pursue his dream of becoming a novelist, he dropped out of university and enrolled in a specialized writing school. After graduating, he entered the video game industry when an acquaintance offered him work writing scripts.
His professional writing career began at the game company KID, where he worked as the main writer on entries in the Memories Off series, including Memories Off: Sorekara and Memories Off #5: Togireta Film. Following KID's bankruptcy in 2006, Hayashi moved to the company 5pb. (now part of MAGES.). At 5pb., he became a central creator in the Science Adventure series, serving as the original writer for critically acclaimed visual novels such as Chaos;Head and Steins;Gate. His work on Steins;Gate, in particular, established his reputation as a writer of science fiction narratives involving complex concepts like time travel.
Building on his success in video games, Hayashi expanded into anime production. In 2015, he created the original anime series Plastic Memories. For this production, he is credited as the original creator and wrote the script for all thirteen episodes. The series is a science fiction romance that explores themes of memory, mortality, and artificial intelligence, focusing on androids with predetermined lifespans.
Following Plastic Memories, Hayashi continued to work in anime. In 2017, he served as script supervisor for the anime adaptation of Chaos;Child, another entry in the Science Adventure series. In 2018, he co-wrote the series composition for the original anime DARLING in the FRANXX alongside director Atsushi Nishigori. He also contributed scripts for multiple episodes of that series.
A note of clarification exists regarding his name, as there is another Japanese animator and director also named Naotaka Hayashi. The two professionals work in different fields of the anime industry, with the Naotaka Hayashi profiled here being specifically the writer and game scenario author.
Works
- Topics: Anime overview