Shinnosuke Hino is a freelance Japanese illustrator and author best known for his contributions to fantasy video game franchises, particularly through manga adaptations, novel illustrations, and character design work. His professional credits span video games, card games, drama CDs, and original anime productions, establishing him as a versatile creator within the Japanese game and anime industry.

Hino is most notably recognized as the original creator behind the anime adaptation of Spectral Force. The Spectral Force franchise, originally a series of strategy role-playing games developed by Idea Factory, features a dark fantasy world where multiple factions vie for control of a continent. For the anime OAV adaptation of Spectral Force, Hino is officially credited as the original creator and also contributed to the design work, making him a foundational figure in translating that game's aesthetic and narrative into an animated format. His involvement with the larger Spectral series is extensive, as he also provided character design for several games in the franchise, including the original Spectral Force, Spectral Force 2, and the related titles Spectral Tower and Spectral Tower 2.

Beyond his work on Spectral Force, Hino has a significant and well-documented history with the Fire Emblem series, one of the most prominent tactical role-playing game franchises. He served as both the author and illustrator for the official game novels and manga adaptations of Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 and Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem. His relationship with the franchise continued for years, as he later returned to create guest illustrations for various commemorative books and projects. He provided artwork for the Fire Emblem Memorial Book Archanea Chronicle, created downloadable content artwork for Fire Emblem: Awakening featuring the character Catria, contributed illustrations to Fire Emblem: One Hundred Songs of Heroes, and most recently has made illustrations for the mobile game Fire Emblem Heroes.

His creative portfolio extends into other notable game properties as well. Hino worked as an illustrator for the fighting game Guilty Gear XX and provided card illustrations for the trading card game Monster Collection as well as the digital card game Alteil. He also handled character design for the video game Elemental Monster: Mystery of the 5 Pillar Gods and contributed as a special character designer for the crossover tactical role-playing game Chaos Wars. Additionally, he provided illustrations for a drama CD adaptation of Dragon Force, another strategy role-playing game, and worked on the game Dragon Force itself in a character design capacity.

Throughout his career, Shinnosuke Hino has maintained a distinct professional identity as a freelance artist specializing in character design and sequential art for fantasy and strategy game worlds. His body of work demonstrates a strong association with tactical and strategic fantasy properties, where detailed character and monster designs are paramount. His role as both illustrator and author on the Fire Emblem novels shows his capability to adapt game mechanics and stories into prose and manga formats, while his original creator credit on the Spectral Force anime highlights his significance in shaping that property's visual identity from its game origins to an animated series.