Famed illustrator and founding member of Key Itaru Hinoue has announced on Twitter and via the Animate Times blog that she has retired from VisualArt's and Key, and is pursuing a career as a freelance illustrator. This comes just days before Hinoue's final Key title Harmonia is scheduled to launch
WHAT?
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Whyā¦
Itās sadā¦ but I hope the best for her TT^TT
Thatās pretty sad. Sheās a big part of why I like Key so much.
And for her to retire due to her increasing inclination to fantasy makes a lot of sense. I mean, she came up with Rewrite, is apparently a fan of Kiseijuu, and thereās the thing with Holy Breaker!.
I wish well for her endeavors, and Iāll look forward to her future works 
I wonder if Key will ever look key enough anymoreā¦ Itaru Hinoue was one of the reasons I liked keyā¦
Iām sad, Iām not over exaggerating when I say this news is the worst Iāve ever heard this year. I mean, Na-Ga is a great artist and all but I canāt help but feel that a part of my passion for Key is missing nowā¦
Even though, as a big fan of Itaru Hinoue all I can say isā¦ thank you Itaru Hinoueā¦ and I wish you the best
RIP Hinonieās Moe :komue:
Sad news, indeed. Key wonāt be the same without her. I hope she finds success in her current pursuits.
āFun things, happy things
They canāt possibly stay unchanged
Even so, can you continue loving this place.ā
~Nagisa Furukawa
Iām happy for her, I honestly hope she will continue to do what she loves.
Besides, itās not like Hinuoe truly left anyway. I like her works a lot and iāll miss them, but what she has done will be cherished for years to come.
I know for sure iāll continue to love this place, will you?
This actually is sad to hearā¦
I actually like her artstyle, as she has this style in Key where she gives very much details to the characters personallyā¦ But well, I hope for the best for her.
It makes me sad as well, but at the same time I wish for the best for her.
I wish her luck with her future projects! Iām also interested to see how Keyās house aesthetic develops in the future-- though I think that, to some extent, Key will always be associated with Hinoueās classic ābig eyesā look from Kanon, Air and Clannad.
Itās definitely sad to hear thisā¦ and just when I was starting to appreciate her charactersā charm 
My biggest hope is that, now that sheās a freelance illustrator, she gets more and more chances to work on various things. Would love to see her illustrating the next big LN, or making character designs for a mixed media project or whatever.
Sad news, but I hope that this will spark her next big work. I believe, that this is a chance for her to improve even further and bring a work to the world that will leave a mark in everyone hearts.That may sound a bit strange, but I belive that āRewriteā made me into a better person. Not just because of its story written by Tanaka Romeo and Tonokawa Yuuto, but also because of the arts.
Besides, it doesnāt mean that she would never work with Key again. There is always a chanceā¦ And why we donāt bet on it?
This was sad to hear, but I donāt think itās too bad. Hinoue will get to have more of a personal mark rather than one that is automatically associated with a company and sheāll get a chance at doing what she wants.
KEY-wise, itās sad as in seeing something that left a big impact go away, but as for the future, itās not like Na-Ga is a bad artist, at least in my opinion.
Too bad sheās leaving T_T I didnāt see this coming at all.
I wish a better future for her and all the people working in Key.
Nobuo Uematsu of the Final Fantasy fame actually did something similar some time ago, heās a freelancer now, but Square still hires him to compose for their big titles. This sounded like it happened on less than stellar terms though, I canāt wait for someone to translate the whole interview.
Itās really sad to hear her go, especially since she was one of the founding members of Key and I really feels sheās greatly improved as an artist with each new title she works on. I hope that her future is prosperous ;~;
This is horrible news. As someone who fell in love with Key through the holy trinity of adaptions (CLANNAD/Kanon/AIR), Iāve always admired Hinoueās designs. Key just wonāt be the same anymore. With Jun Maeda probably retiring from the VN scrnerio after all the beats are done, and Hinoue leaving, Key just wonāt have that spark that made me love it.
I admit that I always looked forward to newer Key titles because either Hinoueās name was attached to designs & art, or Jun Maedaās was attached to scenerio.
Na-Gaās art is great, and Iām glad that weāll still have him, but Hinoue leaving takes away the feeling that I felt for Key.
Not to mention her art was on a new and beautiful level, with Holy Breaker and Harmonia specifically. Seeing Hinoueās art grow from Kanon/Moon/One, to Harmonia/Holy Breaker/Farewell, Ours, gives me such a nostalgic feeling, with all of them having some Key staff included.
Viewing on the situation as a Hinoue fan, Iām happy that she wonāt be limited to school girls and Key, since Key makes only a small amount of titles. And Iām happy that weāll still get more designs and art from her in the future, even if itās not for Key, or in the VN medium.
But viewing it as a Key fan, itās very heartbreaking news. It just wonāt be the same.
This news makes me want Harmonia even more. Not because itās a new Key story, or because itāll be Keyās first English release, but for sentimental reasons.
I hope this will be the case. Hinoue canāt just leave Key like this ;-;
This will not be the last weāve heard of Itaru Hinoue. You can bet on that.
