âge founder and visual novel creator

Hometown: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

Current residence: Minato-ku, Tokyo

Yoshida Hirohiko is best known as the creative force behind some of the most influential visual novels of the 2000s. He's the representative director at âge, the company that evolved from the doujin circle "relic" that he helped establish, and he basically shaped the studio's entire identity through his work.

His breakout was Kimi ga Nozomu Eien, which introduced a lot of people to what visual novels could do. But he really left his mark with the Muv-Luv franchise—both the original game and Alternative, which fans still consider a landmark in the genre. Beyond writing, he's also handled mechanical design for the series, so his fingerprints are all over the whole thing.

He's written various side stories tied to Muv-Luv as well, expanding the universe in different directions. You can find him on Twitter at @kycow if you want to keep up with what he's working on these days.