Rewrite (visual novel)
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese visual novel
developed by Key
that was released on June 24, 2011 as a DVD playable on a Microsoft Windows
PC
and is rated for all ages. Rewrite is Key's ninth game, along with other titles such as Kanon
, Air, and Clannad. The gameplay
in Rewrite follows a plot line which offers pre-determined scenarios with courses of interaction, and focuses on the six female main characters. A fan disc
titled Rewrite Harvest festa! will be released in 2012. There have been three manga
adaptations based on Rewrite: one each serialized in ASCII Media Works
' Dengeki G's Magazine
and Dengeki Daioh
, and Ichijinsha
's Manga 4-koma Palette. The gear
in the title logo contains the kanji
of the Chinese zodiac
.
requires little interaction from the player as most of the duration of the game is spent simply reading the text that appears on the screen, which represents either dialogue
between the various characters or the inner thoughts of the protagonist. Every so often, the player will come to a point where he or she is given the chance to choose from multiple options. The time between these points is variable and can occur anywhere from a minute to much longer. Gameplay pauses at these points and depending on which choice the player makes, the plot will progress in a specific direction.
There are eight main plot lines that the player will have the chance to experience, three which are initially available and five more which can later become available. In order to view all plot lines in their entirety, the player will have to replay the game multiple times and choose different choices during the decision points in order to further the plot to an alternate direction. When first playing the game, the scenarios for the heroines Kotori, Chihaya and Lucia are available. To access Sizuru's scenario, Kotori's must be completed first. Similarly, to access Akane's scenario, Chihaya's must be done first. After the plot lines for these five heroines have been completed, an additional scenario called Moon is made available. Upon the completion of the Moon route, another scenario called Terra is made available, which serves as the true ending; both Moon and Terra revolve around the main heroine, Kagari.
Throughout gameplay, the player encounters minigame
s accessed through an in-game GPS system, which is rendered as a point-and click
map. In most cases, the player can choose to automatically skip the GPS mode, but sometimes the player is required to play through the minigame in order to move on to the next event. In the GPS mode, the player can meet various friends and have the option to do a quest. The names of the friends the player meets and the completed quests in the GPS mode are recorded in the Memory function, which serves like an encyclopedia of events. If the player completes the Terra scenario with all the quests finished and has recorded at least 100 friends in Memory, a bonus scenario called is made available. Oppai is a branch off Akane's scenario and serves as a comedic plot line not important to the overall story.
and afforestation
have caused the city to become overgrown with trees and flowers in much the same way that other cities are filled by buildings. However, while most of the city appears to be rural, there are many traditional city elements as well. While set in a modern setting, the city also gives off a strange sense of nostalgia
. The basis of the story is set in a high school setting. The first half of Rewrite primarily consists of the characters interacting in many everyday, enjoyable scenes. The latter half, however, is more serious, emotional, and carries a sense of mystery to the plot.
, normally only working on the art and character design for Key
visual novel
s, headed the project's planning. During the time when Key was developing Tomoyo After: It's a Wonderful Life in 2005, Hinoue had more free time since she was just helping Fumio
with the character design, and that is when Hinoue got the initial idea for Rewrite. Hinoue wrote a proposal for the basis of Rewrite premise and passed in on to Takahiro Baba, the president of Visual Art's. Despite Key having the two artists Hinoue and Na-Ga
as co-art directors with their sixth game Little Busters!
, Key went back to having Hinoue as the sole art director and character designer, as was with Key's first three games Kanon
, Air, and Clannad. However, Na-Ga assisted with the computer graphics
, along with Shinory, Mochisuke, and Minimo Tayama. Background art was headed by Torino, who worked previously with Key during the production of their first three games. Rewrite is the first of Key's visual novels to feature a 16:9 image aspect ratio
instead of the previously-used 4:3 aspect ratio. Rewrite is also the first Key game to be developed on Visual Art's' game engine
Siglus. The school uniforms for the heroines in the game are old designs that Hinoue created and used in dōjinshi
(self-published work) before. Hinoue spent much time on drawing the character art in Rewrite in particular due in part to the design of the school uniforms, the fact that most of the female characters have long hair, and because of the increased aspect ratio.
For work on the scenario, Key employed Ryukishi07
of 07th Expansion
, the creators of the Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
and Umineko no Naku Koro ni
game franchises, and Romeo Tanaka
, who wrote the scenarios for Cross Channel
and Kana: Little Sister (under the pseudonym Hajime Yamada); Yūto Tonokawa
returned after his help on the scenario for Little Busters!. Hinoue nominated Tanaka for the scenario staff after she played Cross Channel and became a fan of his work, and Tanaka drew up the entire scenario framework. For Ryukishi07, Baba suggested around autumn 2007 that Key ask him to join the scenario staff for Rewrite. The music in the game was composed by Key's signature composers Jun Maeda
and Shinji Orito
, in addition to Maiko Iuchi, Sōshi Hosoi, and Ryō Mizutsuki. Maeda also contributed as the quality control
ler for the game.
of Rewrite came bundled with the limited edition version of Key's eighth game Kud Wafter
released on June 25, 2010. Another slightly longer version of the demo, ver. 2.00, was released on Rewrites official website on March 26, 2011. A free benchmark
program titled Chihaya Rolling became available for download at Key's official website on August 20, 2010. The program, which also came with the previously released demo, features Chihaya rolling down a hill and hitting boulders and Kotori's pet dog Chibi-Moth. The purpose of the program is to test whether a given Microsoft Windows
computer will be able to play Rewrite or other games using the Siglus game engine. If a rank of D and above is shown, gameplay of Rewrite will be normal; if E is shown, gameplay will be fairly normal other than a few exceptions. Below rank E, gameplay will be difficult or impossible.
Rewrite was released on June 24, 2011 as a limited edition version, playable as a 2-disc DVD set on a Windows PC
. The limited edition came bundled with about an 80-page official guide book titled Rewrite of the Life, an arrange
album titled Soil, a CD containing recordings of the Internet radio show Radio Rewrite, three original cards from the Weiß Schwarz
collectible card game
, an original card from the Lycèe Trading Card Game
, three extra DVD case covers, and a mobile phone strap. The regular edition was released on September 30, 2011.
A fan disc
titled Rewrite Harvest festa!, produced by the same staff as Rewrite, will be released in 2012. The scenario will consist of various spin-off
stories which expand on the story from Rewrite.
illustrated by Sakana Tōjō titled Rewrite: Side-B began serialization in the October 2010 issue of ASCII Media Works
' Dengeki G's Magazine
. The first tankōbon
volume for Side-B was released on April 27, 2011; the second will follow on December 17, 2011. A second manga illustrated by Shūichi Kawakami titled Rewrite: Side-R began serialization in the April 2011 issue of ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Daioh
. The first volume for Side-R was released on June 27, 2011; the second will follow on December 17, 2011. Side-B and Side-R are meant to be read together as a pair. A third, four-panel
comic strip
manga illustrated by Miyura Yano titled began serialization in the June 2011 issue of Ichijinsha
's Manga 4-koma Palette. Despite the manga being released before the visual novel, the stories are based from the game.
There have also been several sets of manga anthologies
produced by different companies and drawn by a multitude of different artists. An anthology published by Taibundo and illustrated by Zen titled Ace Star Comics Rewrite was published in September 2011. Two volumes of an anthology series released by Ichijinsha under the title Rewrite Comic Anthology were released between September and November 2011. The first volume of a collection of four-panel comic strips released by Enterbrain
under the title Magi-Cu 4-koma Rewrite will be released in December 2011. A manga anthology titled appeared in Kadokawa Shoten
's Comp Ace
and a single volume was released in October 2011.
A short story series titled written by members of Key and illustrated by Zen began serialization in the September 2011 issue of Dengeki G's Magazine. Two volumes of a short story compilation series by several authors titled Rewrite SSS were published by Harvest between October and December 2011. Three volumes of a light novel
anthology published by Visual Art's under their VA Bunko imprint
titled Rewrite Novel Anthology are being released between November 2011 and January 2012. A 224-page art book titled was released on November 30, 2011 by ASCII Media Works.
show to promote Rewrite called began broadcasting on May 27, 2011. The show is streamed online every Friday, and is produced by the Japanese Internet radio stations Hibiki and Onsen. The show is hosted by Masakazu Morita
and Chiwa Saitō
, voices of Kotarou Tennouji and Kotori Kanbe from the game, respectively. The first volume of a CD compilation containing the first ten broadcasts was released on September 30, 2011.
: two opening themes, and five ending themes. The first opening theme is "Philosophyz" by Runa Mizutani of the dōjin music
group NanosizeMir. The second opening theme is "Rewrite" by Psychic Lover
; White Fox
animated the opening video for "Rewrite". The first ending theme is , also sung by Mizutani, and it is used for Kotori's, Chihaya's and Lucia's scenarios. The next two ending themes are and , both sung by Nagi Yanagi, who has sung for the band Supercell
. "Koibumi" is used for Sizuru's route, and "Itsuwaranai Kimi e" is used for Akane's story. "Itsuwaranai Kimi e" is also used as an insert song during Lucia's route. The last two ending themes are used in the Moon route, and "Canoe" used in Terra route, both sung by Aoi Tada
. Five of the main characters from Rewrite have background music
leitmotif
s. Kotori's theme is ; Chihaya's theme is ; Akane's theme is ; Sizuru's theme is ; lastly, Lucia's theme is .
The single for "Philosophyz" was released on January 28, 2011. The single contained "Philosophyz" and "Yami no Kanata e" in original, short and instrumental versions. A single for "Rewrite" was released on May 27, 2011. As with Key's previous works (excluding Planetarian: Chiisana Hoshi no Yume), a music album came bundled with the limited edition release of the game; the album, released on June 24, 2011 bearing the catalog number KSLA-0070, is titled Soil and contains arranged
versions of ten tracks of the game's music. The game's original soundtrack was first released on August 12, 2011 at Comiket 80
containing 63 tracks; it was later released for general sale on October 28, 2011. Each of the singles and albums released were on Key's record label Key Sounds Label
.
Visual novel
A is an interactive fiction game featuring mostly static graphics, usually with anime-style art, or occasionally live-action stills or video footage...
developed by Key
Key (company)
Key is a Japanese visual novel studio which formed on July 21, 1998 as a brand under the publisher Visual Art's and is located in Kita, Osaka, Japan. Key released their debut visual novel Kanon in June 1999, which combined an elaborate storyline, an up-to-date anime-style drawing style, and a...
that was released on June 24, 2011 as a DVD playable on a Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
and is rated for all ages. Rewrite is Key's ninth game, along with other titles such as Kanon
Kanon
is a Japanese visual novel developed by Key and originally released as an adult game on June 4, 1999, playable on a Microsoft Windows PC. An all ages version for the PC was released in January 2000, and was later ported to the Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation Portable...
, Air, and Clannad. The gameplay
Gameplay
Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and player's connection with it...
in Rewrite follows a plot line which offers pre-determined scenarios with courses of interaction, and focuses on the six female main characters. A fan disc
Fan disc
A fan disc is an expanded-content game disc, usually released by a game company after the game's first successful launch. The content adds new images, music, minigames, character information, demos, etc. It usually extends the game's time line by adding in a new shorter game; however, they are not...
titled Rewrite Harvest festa! will be released in 2012. There have been three manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
adaptations based on Rewrite: one each serialized in ASCII Media Works
ASCII Media Works
is a Japanese publishing company in the Kadokawa Group which formed on April 1, 2008 as a result of a merger between ASCII and MediaWorks where MediaWorks legally absorbed ASCII. Despite this, the former president of ASCII, Kiyoshi Takano, became the president of ASCII Media Works. The company...
' Dengeki G's Magazine
Dengeki G's Magazine
is a Japanese magazine published by ASCII Media Works and sold monthly on the thirtieth that primarily contains information on bishōjo games, but also includes an entire section on anime based on bishōjo games, and serializes manga and light novels based on such games. The "G's" in the title...
and Dengeki Daioh
Dengeki Daioh
is a Japanese shōnen manga magazine published by ASCII Media Works under the Dengeki brand. Many manga serialized in Dengeki Daioh were later published in tankōbon volumes under ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Comics imprint. The magazine is sold every month on the 27th...
, and Ichijinsha
Ichijinsha
is a Japanese publishing company focused on manga-related publication, including magazines and books. The company was first established in August 1992 as a limited company under the name Studio DNA which main purpose was to edit shōnen manga. In January 1998, Studio DNA became a public company and...
's Manga 4-koma Palette. The gear
Gear
A gear is a rotating machine part having cut teeth, or cogs, which mesh with another toothed part in order to transmit torque. Two or more gears working in tandem are called a transmission and can produce a mechanical advantage through a gear ratio and thus may be considered a simple machine....
in the title logo contains the kanji
Kanji
Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...
of the Chinese zodiac
Chinese zodiac
The Shēngxiào , better known in English as the Chinese Zodiac, is a scheme that relates each year to an animal and its reputed attributes, according to a 12-year mathematical cycle...
.
Gameplay
Rewrites gameplayGameplay
Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and player's connection with it...
requires little interaction from the player as most of the duration of the game is spent simply reading the text that appears on the screen, which represents either dialogue
Dialogue
Dialogue is a literary and theatrical form consisting of a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people....
between the various characters or the inner thoughts of the protagonist. Every so often, the player will come to a point where he or she is given the chance to choose from multiple options. The time between these points is variable and can occur anywhere from a minute to much longer. Gameplay pauses at these points and depending on which choice the player makes, the plot will progress in a specific direction.
There are eight main plot lines that the player will have the chance to experience, three which are initially available and five more which can later become available. In order to view all plot lines in their entirety, the player will have to replay the game multiple times and choose different choices during the decision points in order to further the plot to an alternate direction. When first playing the game, the scenarios for the heroines Kotori, Chihaya and Lucia are available. To access Sizuru's scenario, Kotori's must be completed first. Similarly, to access Akane's scenario, Chihaya's must be done first. After the plot lines for these five heroines have been completed, an additional scenario called Moon is made available. Upon the completion of the Moon route, another scenario called Terra is made available, which serves as the true ending; both Moon and Terra revolve around the main heroine, Kagari.
Throughout gameplay, the player encounters minigame
Minigame
A minigame is a short video game often contained within another video game. A minigame is always smaller or more simplistic than the game in which it is contained. Minigames are sometimes also offered separately for free to promote the main game...
s accessed through an in-game GPS system, which is rendered as a point-and click
Point-and-click
Point-and-click is the action of a computer user moving a cursor to a certain location on a screen and then pressing a mouse button, usually the left button , or other pointing device...
map. In most cases, the player can choose to automatically skip the GPS mode, but sometimes the player is required to play through the minigame in order to move on to the next event. In the GPS mode, the player can meet various friends and have the option to do a quest. The names of the friends the player meets and the completed quests in the GPS mode are recorded in the Memory function, which serves like an encyclopedia of events. If the player completes the Terra scenario with all the quests finished and has recorded at least 100 friends in Memory, a bonus scenario called is made available. Oppai is a branch off Akane's scenario and serves as a comedic plot line not important to the overall story.
Premise
Rewrite is set in the fictional city where treeplantingTreeplanting
Tree planting is the process of transplanting tree seedlings, generally for forestry, land reclamation, or landscaping purposes. It differs from the transplantation of larger trees in arboriculture, and from the lower cost but slower and less reliable distribution of tree seeds.In silviculture the...
and afforestation
Afforestation
Afforestation is the establishment of a forest or stand of trees in an area where there was no forest. Reforestation is the reestablishment of forest cover, either naturally or artificially...
have caused the city to become overgrown with trees and flowers in much the same way that other cities are filled by buildings. However, while most of the city appears to be rural, there are many traditional city elements as well. While set in a modern setting, the city also gives off a strange sense of nostalgia
Nostalgia
The term nostalgia describes a yearning for the past, often in idealized form.The word is a learned formation of a Greek compound, consisting of , meaning "returning home", a Homeric word, and , meaning "pain, ache"...
. The basis of the story is set in a high school setting. The first half of Rewrite primarily consists of the characters interacting in many everyday, enjoyable scenes. The latter half, however, is more serious, emotional, and carries a sense of mystery to the plot.
Characters
- Kotarou is the protagonist of Rewrite. He is a high school student with a frivolous personality and is known to be arrogant. Though not fully realizing it himself, he meddles in the business of others, and as such tends to get easily drawn into incidents.
- Kagari is the main heroine of Rewrite. She is referred as the "Key" throughout the game. The last two concluding arcs of the game called "Moon route" and "Terra route" revolve around her. Despite being the main heroine of the game, Kagari is often mistaken as a sub-character, because she is not introduced in the opening videos.
- Kotori is one of heroines of Rewrite, and attends the same school as Kotarou. Players often mistake Kotori for the main heroine, because she is the first girl to be introduced in the opening videos. She is skilled at gardening and is able to sense supernaturalSupernaturalThe supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
things. She has a hyper personality, has been good friends with Kotarou since childhood, and does not have very many other friends.
- Chihaya is one of the heroines of Rewrite who suddenly transfers into Kotarou's high school. She is a clumsy girl who has trouble honestly showing her feelings and has led a sheltered life causing her to know little about the world. She is constantly arguing with Kotarou.
- Akane is a heroine of Rewrite who attends Kotarou's high school one year above him. She is the president of the school's occultOccultThe word occult comes from the Latin word occultus , referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g...
research society, and is known as the "School Witch" due to an air of mystery that she gives off. While she is more arrogant than Kotarou at first glance, she has another side to her personality, and even has a much plainer personality with close friends and family.
- Sizuru is another heroine of Rewrite who is a shy girl on the public morals committee at school, and is one year younger than Kotarou. She has heterochromiaHeterochromiaIn anatomy, heterochromia refers to a difference in coloration, usually of the iris but also of hair or skin. Heterochromia is a result of the relative excess or lack of melanin...
, though wears an eyepatchEyepatchAn eyepatch or eye pad is a small patch that is worn in front of one eye. It may be a cloth patch attached around the head by an elastic band or by a string, or an adhesive bandage. It is often worn by people to cover a lost or injured eye, but it also has a therapeutic use in children for the...
over her golden-colored right eye, making this impossible to tell; her left eye is blue. Though she does not speak much, she often gives off plentiful facial expressions, and Kotarou can decipher these along with her behavior and gestures to carry on a conversation with her.
- Lucia is a heroine of Rewrite who is the class representative of Kotarou's class, and as such as a strong sense of responsibility and justice. She is a strong, fastidious girl who often must get involved with Kotarou's exploits when he gets out of line.
- Haruhiko is a self-styled "mad dog" delinquent, but in actuality he does not cause trouble for people very much, though is still a tough young man.
- Sakuya is a third-year student at Kotarou's school who looks after Chihaya as a guardian would, and despite having the same family name, is not directly related to her. While generally a sociably kind person, he is rather cold only towards Kotarou; Sakuya enjoys making fun of him. He wears glasses.
- Touka Nishikujou is a new teacher at Kotarou's school who is always seen smiling and is very kind. While not a teacher of Kotarou or the others, she often talks with them in the hallways, and has known Sizuru for a while. She is a popular teacher among the students.
Development
Itaru HinoueItaru Hinoue
is a female Japanese artist from Osaka, Japan, and is one of the founding members of the software company Key. Hinoue's choice of her pseudonym stems from the manga C by Shō Kitagawa; the protagonist in the manga was named...
, normally only working on the art and character design for Key
Key (company)
Key is a Japanese visual novel studio which formed on July 21, 1998 as a brand under the publisher Visual Art's and is located in Kita, Osaka, Japan. Key released their debut visual novel Kanon in June 1999, which combined an elaborate storyline, an up-to-date anime-style drawing style, and a...
visual novel
Visual novel
A is an interactive fiction game featuring mostly static graphics, usually with anime-style art, or occasionally live-action stills or video footage...
s, headed the project's planning. During the time when Key was developing Tomoyo After: It's a Wonderful Life in 2005, Hinoue had more free time since she was just helping Fumio
Fumio
is a Japanese illustrator from Osaka Prefecture who works on the art for adult visual novels. He has worked for several different visual novel companies, such as Front Wing, Jaleco, Circus, F&C, and Key.-Games illustrated:*Crank In*Hoshiuta...
with the character design, and that is when Hinoue got the initial idea for Rewrite. Hinoue wrote a proposal for the basis of Rewrite premise and passed in on to Takahiro Baba, the president of Visual Art's. Despite Key having the two artists Hinoue and Na-Ga
Na-Ga
Na-Ga is a male Japanese artist who is employed as a graphic designer and illustrator for the company Key known for such famous visual novels as Kanon, Air, and Clannad among others...
as co-art directors with their sixth game Little Busters!
Little Busters!
is a Japanese visual novel developed by Key which was originally released, rated for everyone as a limited edition version, on July 27, 2007 playable on a Windows PC; a regular edition, also rated for everyone, followed on September 28, 2007. Little Busters! is Key's sixth game, along with other...
, Key went back to having Hinoue as the sole art director and character designer, as was with Key's first three games Kanon
Kanon
is a Japanese visual novel developed by Key and originally released as an adult game on June 4, 1999, playable on a Microsoft Windows PC. An all ages version for the PC was released in January 2000, and was later ported to the Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation Portable...
, Air, and Clannad. However, Na-Ga assisted with the computer graphics
Computer graphics
Computer graphics are graphics created using computers and, more generally, the representation and manipulation of image data by a computer with help from specialized software and hardware....
, along with Shinory, Mochisuke, and Minimo Tayama. Background art was headed by Torino, who worked previously with Key during the production of their first three games. Rewrite is the first of Key's visual novels to feature a 16:9 image aspect ratio
Aspect ratio (image)
The aspect ratio of an image is the ratio of the width of the image to its height, expressed as two numbers separated by a colon. That is, for an x:y aspect ratio, no matter how big or small the image is, if the width is divided into x units of equal length and the height is measured using this...
instead of the previously-used 4:3 aspect ratio. Rewrite is also the first Key game to be developed on Visual Art's' game engine
Game engine
A game engine is a system designed for the creation and development of video games. There are many game engines that are designed to work on video game consoles and personal computers...
Siglus. The school uniforms for the heroines in the game are old designs that Hinoue created and used in dōjinshi
Dojinshi
is the Japanese term for self-published works, usually magazines, manga or novels. Dōjinshi are often the work of amateurs, though some professional artists participate as a way to publish material outside the regular industry. The term dōjinshi is derived from and . Dōjinshi are part of a wider...
(self-published work) before. Hinoue spent much time on drawing the character art in Rewrite in particular due in part to the design of the school uniforms, the fact that most of the female characters have long hair, and because of the increased aspect ratio.
For work on the scenario, Key employed Ryukishi07
Ryukishi07
is the pen name of a Japanese man originally from Chiba Prefecture who is well known as the original creator for the idea of the visual novel series Higurashi no Naku Koro ni and Umineko no Naku Koro ni. He is the representative member of the group 07th Expansion...
of 07th Expansion
07th Expansion
07th Expansion is a Japanese dōjin group that specializes in the creation of visual novels known as sound novels. They started out drawing for the trading card game Leaf Fight, but they are most famous for creating the dōjin game series Higurashi no Naku Koro ni...
, the creators of the Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
, known simply as When They Cry for the North American release of the anime adaptation, is a Japanese murder mystery dōjin soft sound novel series produced by 07th Expansion. The games are built on the NScripter game engine and are playable on Microsoft Windows PCs...
and Umineko no Naku Koro ni
Umineko no Naku Koro ni
is a Japanese murder mystery dōjin soft visual novel series produced by 07th Expansion. The first game in the series, Legend of the Golden Witch, was first released at Comiket 72 on August 17, 2007 playable on the PC; the game sold out in thirty minutes...
game franchises, and Romeo Tanaka
Romeo Tanaka
is a male Japanese free artist and scenario writer for bishōjo games and adult games. At one time, he had attended the University of Tsukuba. In 2007, Tanaka started to write his first light novel series entitled Jinrui wa Suitaishimashita which is published by Shogakukan...
, who wrote the scenarios for Cross Channel
Cross Channel
Cross Channel is an adult visual novel developed by Flying Shine for the Windows and PlayStation 2 platforms. The Windows version was released on September 26, 2003, and the PS2 version on March 18, 2004...
and Kana: Little Sister (under the pseudonym Hajime Yamada); Yūto Tonokawa
Yuto Tonokawa
is a Japanese scenario writer originally from Saitama, Japan working for the visual novel developing company Key under Visual Art's. He began working with Key on their sixth game Little Busters! and wrote the scenarios for two of the main heroines: Komari Kamikita, and Yuiko Kurugaya. Tonokawa also...
returned after his help on the scenario for Little Busters!. Hinoue nominated Tanaka for the scenario staff after she played Cross Channel and became a fan of his work, and Tanaka drew up the entire scenario framework. For Ryukishi07, Baba suggested around autumn 2007 that Key ask him to join the scenario staff for Rewrite. The music in the game was composed by Key's signature composers Jun Maeda
Jun Maeda
is a Japanese writer working for the software company Key; he has majorly contributed as a scenario writer, lyricist, and musical composer for the visual novels the company produces. His birth name in kanji was written as , though there is no change in pronunciation...
and Shinji Orito
Shinji Orito
is a Japanese musical composer originally from Hyōgo, Japan working for the software company Key. Before forming Key, Orito worked for another software company named Leaf where he contributed to four games...
, in addition to Maiko Iuchi, Sōshi Hosoi, and Ryō Mizutsuki. Maeda also contributed as the quality control
Quality control
Quality control, or QC for short, is a process by which entities review the quality of all factors involved in production. This approach places an emphasis on three aspects:...
ler for the game.
Release history
A lengthy game demoGame demo
A game demo is a freely distributed demonstration or preview of an upcoming or recently released video game. Demos are typically released by the game's publisher to help consumers get a feel of the game before deciding whether to buy the full version....
of Rewrite came bundled with the limited edition version of Key's eighth game Kud Wafter
Kud Wafter
is a Japanese adult visual novel developed by Key and was released on June 25, 2010 as a DVD playable on a Microsoft Windows PC. The game is Key's eighth similar game in its history. Focusing on the title character Kudryavka Noumi, also known as for short, the gameplay follows a plot line which...
released on June 25, 2010. Another slightly longer version of the demo, ver. 2.00, was released on Rewrites official website on March 26, 2011. A free benchmark
Benchmark (computing)
In computing, a benchmark is the act of running a computer program, a set of programs, or other operations, in order to assess the relative performance of an object, normally by running a number of standard tests and trials against it...
program titled Chihaya Rolling became available for download at Key's official website on August 20, 2010. The program, which also came with the previously released demo, features Chihaya rolling down a hill and hitting boulders and Kotori's pet dog Chibi-Moth. The purpose of the program is to test whether a given Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
computer will be able to play Rewrite or other games using the Siglus game engine. If a rank of D and above is shown, gameplay of Rewrite will be normal; if E is shown, gameplay will be fairly normal other than a few exceptions. Below rank E, gameplay will be difficult or impossible.
Rewrite was released on June 24, 2011 as a limited edition version, playable as a 2-disc DVD set on a Windows PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
. The limited edition came bundled with about an 80-page official guide book titled Rewrite of the Life, an arrange
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
album titled Soil, a CD containing recordings of the Internet radio show Radio Rewrite, three original cards from the Weiß Schwarz
Weiß Schwarz
is a Japanese collectible card game created by Bushiroad. Weiß Schwarz is a star system japanese trading card game created by Bushiroad. The game is separated into Weiß-side and Schwarz-side. Weiß & Schwarz is German for white and black respectively. The Weiß-side features mostly anime series while...
collectible card game
Collectible card game
thumb|Players and their decksA collectible card game , also called a trading card game or customizable card game, is a game played using specially designed sets of playing cards...
, an original card from the Lycèe Trading Card Game
Lycèe Trading Card Game
The Lycèe Trading Card Game is a Japanese collectible card game developed by Silver Blitz and published by Broccoli that uses characters from a variety of visual novel computer games. Lycée is a French word roughly meaning 'high school'. Most of the cards are given unique, fanmade artwork...
, three extra DVD case covers, and a mobile phone strap. The regular edition was released on September 30, 2011.
A fan disc
Fan disc
A fan disc is an expanded-content game disc, usually released by a game company after the game's first successful launch. The content adds new images, music, minigames, character information, demos, etc. It usually extends the game's time line by adding in a new shorter game; however, they are not...
titled Rewrite Harvest festa!, produced by the same staff as Rewrite, will be released in 2012. The scenario will consist of various spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
stories which expand on the story from Rewrite.
Printed media
A mangaManga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
illustrated by Sakana Tōjō titled Rewrite: Side-B began serialization in the October 2010 issue of ASCII Media Works
ASCII Media Works
is a Japanese publishing company in the Kadokawa Group which formed on April 1, 2008 as a result of a merger between ASCII and MediaWorks where MediaWorks legally absorbed ASCII. Despite this, the former president of ASCII, Kiyoshi Takano, became the president of ASCII Media Works. The company...
' Dengeki G's Magazine
Dengeki G's Magazine
is a Japanese magazine published by ASCII Media Works and sold monthly on the thirtieth that primarily contains information on bishōjo games, but also includes an entire section on anime based on bishōjo games, and serializes manga and light novels based on such games. The "G's" in the title...
. The first tankōbon
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...
volume for Side-B was released on April 27, 2011; the second will follow on December 17, 2011. A second manga illustrated by Shūichi Kawakami titled Rewrite: Side-R began serialization in the April 2011 issue of ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Daioh
Dengeki Daioh
is a Japanese shōnen manga magazine published by ASCII Media Works under the Dengeki brand. Many manga serialized in Dengeki Daioh were later published in tankōbon volumes under ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Comics imprint. The magazine is sold every month on the 27th...
. The first volume for Side-R was released on June 27, 2011; the second will follow on December 17, 2011. Side-B and Side-R are meant to be read together as a pair. A third, four-panel
Yonkoma
thumb|right|150px|Traditional Yonkoma layout, a comic-strip format, generally consists of gag comic strips within four panels of equal size ordered from top to bottom...
comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
manga illustrated by Miyura Yano titled began serialization in the June 2011 issue of Ichijinsha
Ichijinsha
is a Japanese publishing company focused on manga-related publication, including magazines and books. The company was first established in August 1992 as a limited company under the name Studio DNA which main purpose was to edit shōnen manga. In January 1998, Studio DNA became a public company and...
's Manga 4-koma Palette. Despite the manga being released before the visual novel, the stories are based from the game.
There have also been several sets of manga anthologies
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
produced by different companies and drawn by a multitude of different artists. An anthology published by Taibundo and illustrated by Zen titled Ace Star Comics Rewrite was published in September 2011. Two volumes of an anthology series released by Ichijinsha under the title Rewrite Comic Anthology were released between September and November 2011. The first volume of a collection of four-panel comic strips released by Enterbrain
Enterbrain
is a Japanese magazine publisher established on April 1, 2000. Enterbrain magazines are generally focused on video games and computer entertainment as well as video game and strategy guides. In addition, the company publishes a small selection of anime artbooks. Enterbrain is based in Tokyo, Japan...
under the title Magi-Cu 4-koma Rewrite will be released in December 2011. A manga anthology titled appeared in Kadokawa Shoten
Kadokawa Shoten
is a well-known Japanese publishing company based in Tokyo, Japan. Kadokawa has published both manga novels and magazines, such as Newtype magazine...
's Comp Ace
Comp Ace
is a Japanese computer game and manga magazine published by Kadokawa Shoten. Comp Ace began as a special edition version of another one of Kadokawa Shoten's magazines, Comptiq. The first issue was released on March 26, 2005, and was published quarterly for the first three volumes which had cover...
and a single volume was released in October 2011.
A short story series titled written by members of Key and illustrated by Zen began serialization in the September 2011 issue of Dengeki G's Magazine. Two volumes of a short story compilation series by several authors titled Rewrite SSS were published by Harvest between October and December 2011. Three volumes of a light novel
Light novel
A is a style of Japanese novel primarily targeting junior high and high school students . The term "light novel" is a wasei-eigo, or a Japanese term formed from words in the English language. Light novels are often called or for short...
anthology published by Visual Art's under their VA Bunko imprint
Imprint
In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...
titled Rewrite Novel Anthology are being released between November 2011 and January 2012. A 224-page art book titled was released on November 30, 2011 by ASCII Media Works.
Internet radio show
An Internet radioInternet radio
Internet radio is an audio service transmitted via the Internet...
show to promote Rewrite called began broadcasting on May 27, 2011. The show is streamed online every Friday, and is produced by the Japanese Internet radio stations Hibiki and Onsen. The show is hosted by Masakazu Morita
Masakazu Morita
is a seiyū and actor born in Tokyo, Japan. He currently works for Aoni Production. He is also the host of the radio show, Bleach B-Station. Morita is perhaps best known for his roles as Ichigo Kurosaki , Tidus , Auel Neider , Pegasus Seiya , Troy Bolton is a seiyū and actor born in Tokyo, Japan....
and Chiwa Saitō
Chiwa Saito
is a Japanese voice actress employed by I'm Enterprise.Saitō is one half of the voice acting duo "coopee", along with Natsuko Kuwatani. In the "Divine Design" arc of the Getbackers drama CDs, she voices a character who battles the character voiced by Kuwatani. She is a member of the voice acting...
, voices of Kotarou Tennouji and Kotori Kanbe from the game, respectively. The first volume of a CD compilation containing the first ten broadcasts was released on September 30, 2011.
Music
Rewrite has seven pieces of theme musicTheme music
Theme music is a piece that is often written specifically for a radio program, television program, video game or movie, and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits...
: two opening themes, and five ending themes. The first opening theme is "Philosophyz" by Runa Mizutani of the dōjin music
Dojin music
, also called in Japan, is a sub-category of dōjin activity. Dōjin are basically non-official self-published Japanese works which can be based on official products or completely original creations...
group NanosizeMir. The second opening theme is "Rewrite" by Psychic Lover
Psychic Lover
is a pop-rock band consisting of vocalist and guitarist . Originally consisting of six members, YOFFY and IMAJO are the only two who remained for their rise to fame. Much of their work has been featured as opening and closing themes of Japanese television series and Anime...
; White Fox
White Fox
, is a Japanese animation studio founded in April 2007. They are a relatively new anime studio spun off from OLM.-Other animation works:*Kiddy Girl-and: Key Animation*Mobile Suit Gundam 00: In-Between Animation...
animated the opening video for "Rewrite". The first ending theme is , also sung by Mizutani, and it is used for Kotori's, Chihaya's and Lucia's scenarios. The next two ending themes are and , both sung by Nagi Yanagi, who has sung for the band Supercell
Supercell (band)
Supercell is a Japanese 11-member music group led by composer and lyricist Ryo which formed in 2007 as a dōjin music group. Supercell started out by making use of the Hatsune Miku singing synthesizer to produce vocals for songs submitted to the Nico Nico Douga video sharing website...
. "Koibumi" is used for Sizuru's route, and "Itsuwaranai Kimi e" is used for Akane's story. "Itsuwaranai Kimi e" is also used as an insert song during Lucia's route. The last two ending themes are used in the Moon route, and "Canoe" used in Terra route, both sung by Aoi Tada
Aoi Tada
is a Japanese singer-songwriter and former voice actress and musical actress. She formerly belonged to Gekidan Himawari. Her nickname is "Mamoru Tada".Her most noted voice role is that of Cowboy Bebops Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky IV...
. Five of the main characters from Rewrite have background music
Background music
Although background music was by the end of the 20th century generally identified with Muzak or elevator music, there are several stages in the development of this concept.-Antecedents:...
leitmotif
Leitmotif
A leitmotif , sometimes written leit-motif, is a musical term , referring to a recurring theme, associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical idea of idée fixe...
s. Kotori's theme is ; Chihaya's theme is ; Akane's theme is ; Sizuru's theme is ; lastly, Lucia's theme is .
The single for "Philosophyz" was released on January 28, 2011. The single contained "Philosophyz" and "Yami no Kanata e" in original, short and instrumental versions. A single for "Rewrite" was released on May 27, 2011. As with Key's previous works (excluding Planetarian: Chiisana Hoshi no Yume), a music album came bundled with the limited edition release of the game; the album, released on June 24, 2011 bearing the catalog number KSLA-0070, is titled Soil and contains arranged
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
versions of ten tracks of the game's music. The game's original soundtrack was first released on August 12, 2011 at Comiket 80
Comiket
, otherwise known as the , is the world's largest self-published comic book fair, held twice a year in Tokyo, Japan. The first Comiket was held on December 21, 1975, with only about 32 participating circles and an estimated 600 attendees. Attendance has since swelled to over a half million people....
containing 63 tracks; it was later released for general sale on October 28, 2011. Each of the singles and albums released were on Key's record label Key Sounds Label
Key Sounds Label
Key Sounds Label is a Japanese independent record label formed in 2001 as a brand of the publishing company Visual Art's. Key Sounds Label was formed to catalog and release music related to visual novels produced by the brand Key, also under Visual Art's, known for developing such titles as Kanon...
.