The BAMBOO BROOM DIARY/2019

2019/1/31: That year, I had a run in with fate (Kinoko)
"Fate/stay night" 15th anniversary.
To think that this one title would live on for so long. Even we who created it would never have imagined as much.
First of all, I would like to show my gratitude to this blessing, to all staff members who have participated in its development and growth, as well as "Fate/stay night" that has kept the spark of battle going until now.

And also, to all the creators who sent in comments for the 15thProject, and to all you people on twitter who gave us comments of support.
I would like to offer my gratitude, and thanks for our past and current relationship.
I am truly grateful for your compliments.

I believe I'll be able to try my best in making it a festival worthy of this crucial 15th anniversary.

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Happy New Year! Fear not, it's just a mortal wound. It's still January so, this is totally not an out-of-season greeting.

So, what was I up to during winter-break, you ask?
Yeah, Dragon Quest Builders 2 was super interesting…!
Builders 1 was a reaction to Dragon Quest 1 where the responsibility is put and borne upon the Hero and depends on your choices but...
Builders 2 is instead a closely-tied spinoff that incorporates one of Dragon Quest 2's certain gimmicks, which was in the game for just a bit, and so its more of a unified world.
However, in this closely-tied spinoff, they touch upon a certain enigmatic character not talked about in the main story of Dragon Quest 2, with their thoughts, circumstances and conclusion deeply tied to Builders 2's theme of 'death and rebirth' while also managing the amazing feat of creating a masterpiece that relatively speaking makes Dragon Quest 2 even better.
Though interesting as a building game, it's also indisputably a story-driven RPG masterpiece.
I of course enjoyed the great moments and spectacle of the army that unfold in rapid succession during the final chapter but...
In the last of the last, during the wrap-up of the story, the text talks about the people that aren't main characters - just mere denizens of the world - respectfully and earnestly depicting these denizens' lives while also leaning into the themes of Builders 2. My heart was really touched by how content-heavy that was. You know its a really great RPG when it that puts so much effort into not just the things that stand out, but also these kinds of minor characters.

For gamers like you, who still think twice about this like 'oh, I dunno, I don't really play building games', I can say that this is a gentle game which takes beginners by the hand so just take my word for it and please try it out.^{[Translator 1]}

2019/2/19: Untitled (Kinoko)
This is right before the re-run, so maybe this is something I shouldn't be saying but...

I would appreciate it if when something is written as "love", you read it as "soul".

Basically, the life acquired by a certain AI is kind of like that.^{[Translator 2]}

2019/2/20: Manga adaptation, you say...!? (Kinoko)
Right together with the CCC re-run, the manga adaptation by Mr. Nishide Kengorou is starting.


https://web-ace.jp/youngaceup/contents/1000118/


Go over here and look at it yourself! (from the GAMEST paperback magazine)

Together with the manga adaptations of part 1.5, this special proposal came in like one last missile.
Please check out Nishide's previous work, which depicts the growing pains of the 90s golden age of fighting games: "Umehara Fighting Gamers!"
Of course I like Daigo but man, I really loved Kurahashi's final monologue...

In any event, please check out CCCC's manga adaptation.
The 1.5 parts are all remnants of different varieties, with a strong 'extra story' character to them, yet CCC - though not veering from this pattern - is in itself a very unique work, I'll have you know...^{[Translator 3]}

2019/3/15: Raging stoooooooorm... (Kinoko)
Writer: “Being in charge of the script means that when I play the game myself the surprises are spoiled and that sucks, you know…”
Kinoko: “I understand”

And so, secretly to this writer, I added a little bonus.
Me myself, I wanted a grail, and so I asked of DW if it’d be fine giving one.
Doing both of these are what's tough about being upper management, right?

Hello, Kinoko here.
March is about halfways over. With the pollen acting out all day, how are you all doing?
I have a little bit of an annoucement to do this time around.


・The novelization of “Raging Loop”.
The masterpiece visual novel Raging Loop that leapt into Kinoko’s top 3 of 2018 is having its novel version sold by Star Seas Company.
It was a great honor to be put in charge of volume 1’s commentary this time around.
I’m sure I don’t have to talk about how good it is to those who’ve already played it.
But for those who have yet to experience it, I’d like it if you could take this opportunity to interest yourself with it.
Raging Loop is a masterpiece that explores the peculiar structure of games, yet the novel also tries working out a way to recreate this structure in written form.
In either way, please try a volume or two. As you advance further, with the excitement and shivers increasing, you’ll comes across the hazardous lair of the wolves.

・“LET’S LAGOON” volume 1-6
Okazaki Takeshi’s youthful action manga about being castaway on an uninhabited island is finally complete!
I’ve always wanted to introduce it here but, as I waited for it to complete... it became 2018... huh?

It has a charming artstyle, well illustrated storyline, and characterization that leaves you unable to dislike any single one of those eccentric people.
It's great that the main character is so likeable with his attitude that though he's just a mere student incapable of much, he thinks deeply, never gets discouraged, and always adapts to his surroundings. Still...
Most of all… the heroines… are really cute...
I can highly recommend it to people who want to enjoy a survival sci-fi where you feel giddy being swung back and forth between the double heroines’ cuteness.


...Still, were you to read this in your teens, your sexual preferences would undoubtedly be distorted... A mass production of Mashin Eichirous...
I mean, Chika is basically my ideal image of how Ciel should be…!^{[Translator 4]}

2019/4/2: Untitled (Kinoko)
A fourth of this year’s whole has ended, gone with the wind. I can’t believe it’s already spring.


I managed to make the time in between work to run around the lands of Ashina and so I’ve finally come within sight of its finale.
I’m sure many gamers have already talked about it but, I’ll speak of my own unfiltered impressions of it.

Wonderful artwork.
A moving sense of ephemerality
A never before seen sense of action.
And a cast of characters that are understated, yet overflowing with charm.

“Sekiro”

Half a year since that PV, its perfection has handily surpassed the long accumulated expectations it had.
A truly unreal game.
Diversity peaks here. This is not a game created with everyone in mind.
I give my gratitude towards this era where I can come across a game this much to my own (personal) preference after waiting for so long.
21 years after the ambitious, but slightly imperfect “Bushido Blade”, I'd even go so far as to say that sword-fighting action has met its completion.

The battle with the formidable enemy of the first half, Gen’ichirou, was not just about beating the boss to advance, but also gave me a feeling of fighting just for the fun of it.
For a game in which your objective is just beating it, I think that's really something amazing.



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By the way I’d like to use this chance here to do a statement about “FGOQ”, the lost wolf that sprinted across the Day of Fools.
We split up the writing work so that each servant’s writer decided the drop-item and information blurb for their respective Servants.
It’s not a lot of text but we thought carefully about what were in the Servants’ hearts.^{[Translator 5]}

2019/5/16: Untitled (Kinoko)
The second mystery-festival, “A Meihousou Most Foul”, has started! I hope you’ll enjoy it!

To prevent spoilers I can’t talk much about its contents but I can talk about its outer framework, in terms of the novel versions and the game versions.
“Murder at the Kogetsukan” and “Murder at the Meihousou” that are being published by Star Seas Company are mystery novels penned by writer Madoi Ban using the world of FGO as its motif.
These are not just the game version’s script put into a novel as is but rather stories that take the game version’s script and add in further gimmicks.

This current "mystery-festival" script was originally delivered to us in January.
The "A Meihousou Most Foul" in-game event was built up based on this,
while the "Meihousou Murder Incident" was written as a novel after the completion of the in-game script.
It’s not just a novelization of the in-game event, but something that hides surprises that makes you slap your knees and go “Oh!”, so I think even people who have played the game version in advance would find it enjoyable.


Also, the production method of the mystery-festival this time around is a bit different from last time’s “Kogetsukan”:

Original script: Madoi Ban
In-game text writing: The writing team

Like that. If you’re asking why we’re using this kind of method its because we want to further employ the differences between the novel version and the game version.
If I am to give a concrete example as to what part is different then...

・In the novel (original) version, the starting requirements were having arrived at Part 2 Chapter 3 (SIN).
　In order to make the requirements for playing a bit broader, us on the writing team decided to change it to Part 1.
　To go with this change, we had to swap out a certain character with a different one. The swapped in character’s role and text was given as Nasu’s responsibility.
・As there weren’t just scenes from within the play this time around, the other servants that appear were supervised and rewritten by their respective writers.

Something like that.
By changing the starting requirements, the character of the script changed but the atmosphere and logic of the original is still the same.
I hope you’ll wholeheartedly enjoy the 7 days of this thinking game.


“Uh, that’s good and all but isn’t there something out of place? Like the plot details?”
Ho-ho-ho. Enjoying such things is the real charm of mysteries, you whippersnapper.^{[Translator 6]}

2019/8/15: Vegas! (Kinoko)
With the warm days stretching onwards, how are you all doing?
It’s important to keep heatstroke-countermeasures in mind, like avoiding direct sunlight, or staying sufficiently hydrated.
That aside, these eggs and mirrors ain’t dropping...


“FGO” summer event, commencing!
We were once again privileged to happily write this summer event together.
This time around we plainly made each writer wholly responsible for the servants they’re in charge of and their respective casinos.

On the other hand, If you’re asking about Mr. Nasu, given my schedule this year has been quite harsh, the plan was for me to stop at just being responsible for general supervision but...
I couldn’t hold back... I took up responsibility of 1 casino’s worth...
I mean, it’s summer. Like, it’s the resplendent Etoile. Who woulda thought it’d appear in such a form? Of course I’d wanna write about it...

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And a bit belatedly, thank you all for coming to “FGO fes.”!
A heartfelt thanks,
to all you who arrived during this heat,
to the cast who took to the stage,
and to the staff who stayed until the last supporting the venue.
Just this one day is something I let myself enjoy as a humble guest, to get a break from work.

Each year as I look upon the venue I’m moved, thinking that this has to be the max for an IRL event, and this year’s ‘Fes.’ was no exception.
We owe the army of people cooperating and doing their best in creating such a gigantic venue, such as the likes of Aniplex’s Mr. K, and the whole event team, scurrying about for half a year for the sake of realizing this event.
All the engineers who spent a whole day behind the stage, tinkering with their equipment and choreographing the stage production.
All the staff who prepared the parts for the guides of each Theme Park, and sent everyone off with a smile even to the very end.
Chaldea Park managed to finish up in an awesome way thanks to these oodles of unsung heroes.

I hope we can be blessed by fortune to once again go through such dreamlike moments next year too.

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Speaking of “Fes.”, there was the surprise of episode 0 of Chapter 7’s anime, “Babylonia 0”.
By now I believe you can view it quite easily so if you have the time please give it a watch.

This time, there was a problem that was imperative in solving in terms of the production of the “Absolute Demonic Front Babylonia Anime”.
The problem of how to communicate the buildup from Chapter 1 to 6.
There was a proposal to do a digest of each chapter but then Chapter 7 itself would have its length reduced, and each animated Chapter would also be quite downsized.
That being the case, we’d at least want people who don’t know about the game to at least learn about Chaldea, Mashu and Romani, as a prequel to before Ritsuka arrives... And so I had the honor of writing “Chaldea - Zero”.
The A-Part is Romani Archiman’s journey.
The B-Part is Mashu’s upbringing and her growth up until Chapter 6, as a milestone towards Chapter 7.

And with this, I could hand over the baton to the protagonist, Fujimaru Ritsuka... It turned out to be another manuscript packed with lines, but through the abilities of storyboarder Takao and director Akai it turned out just suuuuuper emotional… and interesting... reborn into a wonderful animated piece.
I think my feelings after seeing the completed episode 0 were the same as everyone else at the venue.
Kind of a gradually emerging warmth like, man... we sure went through a great journey coming all the way here.


Nonetheless, only episode 0 min-maxed into being emotional.
From episode 1, it will start as just purely “greedy entertainment”.
I think it was almost unilaterally conveyed from episode 0 just how much all of the anime staff love the main story of FGO and so from that, please look forward to the broadcast starting in October.

Of course, not just to Chapter 7, but also to “Divine Realm of the Round Table Camelot - Theatrical Edition” as well.
Chapter 6’s production is also proceeding smoothly, with the material I receive meant for supervision being wonderful, with a quality worthy of the movie medium.
This is coming out after Chapter 7, so I cannot provide any information about it but, it’d be great if you could look forward to it all the same.










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By the way, about Gawain’s Nightless Charisma.
Please think of it as… the result of him having the Gift given to him by the Lion King and what happened in the holy land inscribed into his Saint Graph.
He did not abandon his sins.^{[Translator 7]}