(
pseudonym) is a female Japanese artist from
Osaka, Japan, and is one of the founding members of the
visual novel brand
Key under
VisualArt's. Hinoue's choice of her pseudonym stems from the
manga C by Sho Kitagawa; the protagonist in the manga was named . Before forming Key, Hinoue worked for the company
Tactics where she had a hand in the creation of the three games for that company:
Dosei,
Moon., and . After forming Key, Hinoue has become known for her work on such titles as
Kanon,
Air and
Clannad. Her
dojinshi circle is known as "Soldier Frog".