Part Six - Idle Talk 2
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*Warning! This section in particular may contain spoilers. You've been warned!
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"Takada was an accident."
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Editor |
I'd like you to address any bits of 「Tsukihime」 that have gotten weird responses, etc. For example, about Takada...
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All |
(Laugh)
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Editor |
Youichi (*1)... could you talk about him?
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Nasu |
There isn't really any deep meaning, but... I guess you want to know why.(Laughs) I guess an easy way to explain it is he's a very manga-ish character... saying anymore might stain his fame. (Laughs)
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Takeuchi |
He's probably really hilarious to people who get the joke. He was an accident, basically. (Laughs)
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Nasu |
I can't believe you all found that funny too. (Laughs)
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Editor |
Do you know the real Takada?
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Nasu |
We went to the same middle school. He played tabletop RPGs with us, (*2) in the group where I was GM (*3). We still hang out once in a while. He has a very big heart. Privately, I really owe him for a lot of things. He's listened to a lot of my selfish requests. It wasn't really as a way to pay him back, but I did decide to use his name, one way or another. That's really all there was to it... scary, huh? (Laughs)
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Shiki-chi and Ari-chi
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Editor |
How did Arihiko and Shiki become friends?
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Nasu |
We actually wanted to put that in the actual game. There was an entire day that was scrapped from the Akiha route. Something like Arihiko getting into a fight with him. We planned for that to happen. We had the whole thing written out. Personally, I'd love to put it in 「Kagetsu Tohya」. They have a really interesting relationship.
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Sacchin's Model
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Editor |
Can you tell us about who you based Sacchin (Yumizuka Satsuki) on...
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Nasu |
Looks-wise? (Laughs)
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Editor |
Yes...or, maybe... (*4)
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Takeuchi |
Akari from 「Hikaru no Go」. (*5) I really like her. When we changed the story from 30 days to 10, I wanted to make an exciting spot in the center. Nero's stuff all got finished really quickly, but we were still figuring out what to do with Akiha. We wanted a character like Nero. We thought of a sort of gay Kaoru character (*6) at first, a sort of dyed-in-the-wool serial killer (Laughs), so we decided to emphasize Shiki's serial-killer like qualities. In the Akiha route, the player isn't sure whether or not Shiki is a serial killer, so we wanted something to parallel that. That was our initial plan, but then Nasu said "If I have a choice, I'd like it to be a girl." That fit with what I was doing graphically at the time, so I decided to draw her like Akari.
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Nasu |
We had this one classmate, a really plain-looking girl, who was very important for the "everyday" side, but when we changed the story to 10 days, she was cut out. When we were talking about Akiha's route we decided to use her, because her design fit perfectly.
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"The True Ancestor Arcueid"
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Editor |
So is Arcueid an entity that was artificially extracted?
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Nasu |
Any True Ancestor aside from the very first one is artificial in some way or another. Arcueid is an Ancestor who was created even though there was really no need for her. Whenever another True Ancestor can be created, the other Ancestors get together and say "Well, things are like this right now, so we need someone who can take this role" and then mold the new one. Arcueid was originated from nothingness -- a product to realized the pointless goal of "the strongest True Ancestor"... there are a few other secrets, but... (Laughs)
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Editor |
Seems like it's best if we just stop here. (Laughs)
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The 17-Part Mystery
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Editor |
Next on the list, we have... (He shows a piece of paper.)
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Nasu |
Ahh! I knew this was coming! (Laughs)
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Editor |
As I'm sure you're aware, we'd like to talk about the "17-part" thing. (*7)
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Nasu |
Well...um...this was just decided based on the impact the number would have. Like "Woah, sevenTEEN?!" (*8) A description so strong you could visualize it. That was my foremost goal. The other part to it... (Laughs) Well, I'd rather not go into it.
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Editor |
So you were so focused on the word 17, that you just found yourself wanting her to be in 17 pieces?
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Nasu |
Well, that's not exactly it... (Laughs)
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Takeuchi |
What was it you said back then?
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Nasu |
I did talk about this publicly once before. (*9)
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Takeuchi |
What was it about? 17...lines...?
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Nasu |
He cut her, and she ended up in 17 pieces, and... (...silence...) (*10)
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Nasu |
...this is scary. (Laughs) Anyway, Arcueid getting killed was the first real shocking scene in the game. It was fun to write. When I finished it, I thought "Wow, that was fun! ...time to sleep." And then next thing I know, everyone was attacking me over it. (Laughs)
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Shiki's School
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Editor |
I saw a post from the same user on the message board about Shiki's school. (*11) If he's in class 2-3, then why is Ciel in class 3-B?
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Nasu |
I don't know how it works in other schools, but in our school, the school side counted classes like A, B, C, while students counted it by 1, 2, 3... A=1. Counting it alphabet wise could be considered discriminatory by some students. The teachers all said 2-B, and I guess some students who didn't care called the classes like that too. I thought up this school using my own school as a base, and it actually surprised me that other schools were different. (Laughs)
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The Burial Agency and Vampires
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Editor |
I have a question about the church. It seems like the church in the 「Tsukihime」 world expresses a very abnormal level of animosity toward vampires. (*12)
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Nasu |
Yes. I was actually told this before and felt it to be a bit abnormal myself. I'm sorry to say this, but there's actually no big reason for that. Basically, the church in the 「Tsukihime」 world only likes humans. Things that aren't human at all can be controlled so they don't need to be made into enemies. So completely different races are fine. But things that were born from humans, in other words, things that may carry the possibility of "infection" to other humans are treated like diseases that need to be cut off. That's about all the reasoning I can give.
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Editor |
Does that way of thinking stem from the beginning of the church?
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Nasu |
Their way of thinking began to get twisted when the Burial Agency was created. They were made for that very purpose, so unless they think that way, they have no other reason to exist. Their faith is very shallow, so they have a necessity to affirm the importance of their roles. Things just continued to escalate.
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The Indian Dead Apostle
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Editor |
"Curry De Marche."
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All |
(Laugh)
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Editor |
He's connected to a lot of fun stories.
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Nasu |
Curry De Marche... how should I explain this? (Laughs) There was this manga called 「Tsukihime of the Day」 on the Neko Musume Tei page, (*13) and Curry Cook (*14) appeared in it. I won't go into my own feelings on this... (Laughs) Anyway, he's a really nice guy. He's a Dead Apostle... I guess I shouldn't be so serious about this, we're just talking about curry (Laughs) But anyway, the church doesn't really care about him. Like, "It won't hurt to just let him be." And he's also really good friends with Ciel.
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OKSG |
Is all this canon? (*15)
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Nasu |
Yeah, pretty much. (Laughs)
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Editor |
It's hard to believe the Burial Agency just getting up and going to India. Apparently, this was also Ciel's first job.
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Nasu |
Yes. But why India? (Laughs)
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Vampires and Coffee
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Editor |
About the vampires in Kohaku's route...
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Nasu |
Vampires in the first half, and then Shiki appears in the second half...people have already played through that pattern. And the Kohaku route was designed basically with the assumption that players already kind of know how the story goes. So we had Shiki leave early on purpose.
There was one more thing we wanted to do -- put in dialog between the vampires. So we just went ahead and made it. At this point, Shiki's drugged and lost his reason. So they sort of talk to each other with no real idea of what's going on...he's kind of on a high, even though all the dangerous things about him are visible. It's like talking with the old Shiki, a conversation that hits you deep. That's what I was aiming for.
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Editor |
That scene left a big impression on me, yet Kohaku...
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Nasu |
I know, she just pops out from the shadows. (Laughs)
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Editor |
Yes. It was hard for me to understand that she was messing with things in the background. That it was all her doing...
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Nasu |
I know. But she was working very hard. (Laughs)
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Is Vermilion form killable?
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Editor |
Some are of the opinion that Shiki could only kill Akiha's "Vermilion" form. Did you ever talk about this while working on Kohaku's scenario?
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Nasu |
We decided whether or not Vermilion form was killable or not, actually. However, when we saw how excited everyone was getting in figuring out whether or not it was killable, we decided it wasn't necessary for us to declare a set answer. So basically we thought it was best to leave it open.
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Editor |
So is that why there have been less posts on the "Spoiler Board" lately?
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Nasu |
There are people out there who really think up some interesting things. I'd like to have everyone enjoy those rather than get stuck on my boring ideas.
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About Demon Species
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Editor |
We'd like to hear about Tohno's blood and species of vampire now.
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Nasu |
Tohno is really the product of multiple generations of mixed blood. There are two species of vampires in the 「Tsukihime」 world. There are beings different from humans who have always been vampires, and then powerful people who were called demons, chased and forced to hide, and became a little twisted as a result. Tohno's blood is a mix of those two types. (*16)
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Magic and Magecraft
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Editor |
About magic and magecraft...
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Nasu |
There's this Mage's Association that has absolutely nothing to do with the main story of 「Tsukihime」, but anyway, magic and mages are completely separate. It's written in the glossary, but there are only 5 types of confirmed magic at the time in 「Tsukihime」.
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Editor |
We're also curious about the details surrounding the magic.
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Nasu |
Ummm... well in 「Mahoutsukai no Yoru」 there's one, and... (*17)
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Takeuchi |
Basically it's the core of all your novels.
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Editor |
Can we expect more in the future?
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Nasu |
Yes. I have a lot of structure written for this world, so if you remember what you learned in 「Tsukihime」 and read other stories, you may have a few "A-ha!" moments.
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Shimo Tsukihime
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Editor |
How about "Shimo Tsukihime?" (つき姫 rhymes with 月姫, 下つき meaning something written below, like notes in the margin)
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Nasu |
Ah, okay, how should I explain this... (Laughs) Toward the end of 1999, while we were thinking up the plot, we were trying to decide how the females themselves would interact with one another. At that moment I was writing a scene between Arc and Ciel. And I was thinking that in this scene, I would have to end up making Arc the dominant one... (*18) But I'm glad I didn't go that far. (Laughs)
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Takeuchi |
That's the first time I've heard of this.
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Nasu |
Really?!
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Takeuchi |
Yeah.
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Nasu |
It's written in the plot notes, like "What if we did this here? This is Shimo-Tsukihime!" (Laughs)
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Editor |
Your usual graffiti?
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Nasu |
No, this was something done in a word processor, very seriously. I thought "maybe if I'm lucky he'll say yes...?"
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Takeuchi |
I completely forgot about all this. (Laughs)
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Part 05
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Part 07
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