Kazuyari Harada is a character designer and artist best known for his work with Nippon Ichi, where he's become the go-to guy for some of the studio's most memorable visual designs. He's the creative force behind the look of Disgaea, Phantom Brave, and Makai Kingdom—franchises that pretty much defined quirky JRPG aesthetics in the early 2000s.
His style is deliberately weird and chaotic in the best way: one moment you're looking at adorable chibi demons, the next it's bizarre pig nobles in ridiculous outfits. Fans often note that his work has this perfect balance of cute and unsettling that became almost synonymous with Nippon Ichi's brand of humor. His most iconic creation is probably Pleinair, a character who shows up across multiple games and has basically become the studio's mascot at this point.
Beyond official work, Harada publishes doujinshi under the circle name Haradaya, including his kipple series and the Pleinair Handbook—collections of short comics and illustrations that range from character sketches to straight-up fanart. These give you a fun behind-the-scenes look at how his brain works creatively.
Doujin circle: Haradaya (原田屋)
Alternative names: Harada Yuuichi, Haradaya
Content compiled by AnimeList.moe from publicly available sources.
