Nisio Isin (西尾 維新, Nishio Ishin, born 1981), frequently written as NisiOisiN to emphasize that his pen name is a palindrome, is a Japanese novelist and manga writer.He attended and left Ritsumeikan University without graduating. In 2002, he debuted with the novel The Beheading Cycle (クビキリサイクル, Kubikiri Saikuru), which earned him the 23rd Mephisto Prize at twenty years of age.