Tsukihime
An 18+ visual novel made during Type-Moon's doujin days. Tsukihime was one of the most successful doujin game of its time, it was adapted into an anime, manga, and more. It is the work that helped secured Type-Moon's place as one of the most popular groups (and later company) in the market.
Tsukihime was released in December 2000, although several trial versions of the game were also released beforehand. In January 2001, a fandisk called Plus-Disc was released, and later that year in August, a sequel/fandisk called Kagetsu Tohya was released. In 2003, an anime adaptation titled Shingetsutan Tsukihime began airing. The quality of the anime was deemed to be extremely poor, however, and was overall considered to be a failure. In April of 2003, Tsukihime, Kagetsu Tohya and Plus-Disc were bundled and released as Tsuki-Bako. As time passed, copies of the game became extremely difficult to find and were usually sold on auction websites for ridiculously high prices. In April 2008, Type-Moon announced a remake of Tsukihime, featuring new artwork and a new Satsuki route.
Story
The story of Tsukihime revolves around Tohno Shiki, a young man who is able to see "lines of death" (he has the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception) after a childhood accident. As a result, Shiki is able to kill anything by tracing its "death line." Of course, seeing death everyday usually drives people mad, and Shiki is no exception. Luckily, no sooner has Shiki received his power when he receives a pair of glasses from the magician Aozaki Aoko that can surprise the power of his eyes, thus allowing him to live a normal live.
Fast forward many years, after living away from the Tohno household for many years, Shiki returns after the death of the head of the Tohno family. Back home, he meets his sister Akiha, who is now the new head of the Tohno household. Later Shiki meets Arcueid, a vampire princess, and accidentally kills her. Thankfully Arcueid revives herself and enlists Shiki in her quest hunting down the bad guys to make up for "killing her." The bad guy in this case is Roa, a vampire that reincarnates himself each time he is killed by Arcueid. Also joining the Roa-hunting fray is Ciel, an assassin from the Church who is immortal thanks to previously being possessed by Roa. Add Akiha's two maids, Kohaku and Hisui, to the story, and we have a complicated love/suspense/supernatural story that spans 5 routes and contains multiple endings.
In Kagetsu Tohya, which takes place a year after the events in Tsukihime, Shiki finds him stuck in an infinite loop of dreams. Eventually Shiki finds the cause of all this, Arcueid's familiar Len (sometimes referred to as Ren), and gets himself out of the dream world.
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Tsukihime (Full Moon Edition) 月姫~完全版~Released: First released in December 2000 (C59), more were made available February 2001. The finished product, also known as the Full Moon Edition, sold for 2,500 yen. Contained the "Far Side of the Moon" routes (Akiha, Hisui and Kohaku). |
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Tsukihime (Half Moon Edition) 月姫~半月板~Released: August 2000 (C58) 300 copies were sold for 1,000 yen each. Half finished, contained the "Near Side of the Moon" routes (Arcueid and Ciel). |
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Tsukihime (Trial Edition) 月姫 体験版Released: December 1999 (C57) Only 50 copies were distributed (on 3.5 floppy disks) at a price of 100 yen. Cast still not finalized. Was later included in Tsukihime Plus-Disc. |
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Tsukihime (Preview) 月姫無料告知フロッピーReleased: August 1999 (C56) Only 300 copies were distributed (for free, on 3.5 floppy disks). So early in the making that even the cast hasn't been finalized yet. Was later included in Tsukihime Plus-Disc. |
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Tsukihime PLUS-DISC 月姫PLUS+DISCReleased: January 2001 Sold for 300 yen, a special fan disk that contains short stories involving characters from Tsukihime (後日談 and 幻視同盟), the first four chapters of Kara no Kyoukai, and other goodies such as character data and wallpaper. |
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Kagetsu Tohya 歌月十夜Released: August 2001 Sold for 1,500 yen, Tsukihime's Fan Disk. |
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Tsuki-Bako 月箱Released: April 2003 A specially package that comes with Tsukihime, PLUS+DISC and Kagetsu Tohya, marks the end of Type-Moon's 4 years activity as a doujin group. |
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Tsukihime (Remake) 月姫Released: TBA A remake of the original Tsukihime, with new artworks as well as a new Satsuki route. |
