The BAMBOO BROOM DIARY/2022

2022/1/5: Happy New Year. (Kinoko)
Happy New Year!
I look forward to 2022 as well.
And though this is something that’s already from last year...
There was an important announcement in terms of TYPE-MOON.

It is a magician’s latest tale from an already olden age.

“Mahoutsukai no Yoru” Port confirmed!!!
Also, Theatrical Anime Adaptation confirmed!!!
It’s a project that has been in the works for quite some time and it’s finally been announced.
Both the game and the anime won’t be out for quite some time so I hope you’ll be able to wait for them patiently.


　　　◆

As I was casually watching the Ekiden at New Years,
I ran wild with my imagination, thinking that Morgan would probably quite like this kind of event…
And so a new Event idea began racing through my brain.


Capital of Sin, Camelot.
In the early morning, Barghest arrives having received such summons.
The throne is enclosed by a veil and Morgan cannot be seen.
“You called for me, Your Highness.” Barghest says, and bows.
Baobhan Sith is drunk on New Year’s sake and thus knocked out.
Melusine is not a morning person and so did not come.

Morgan: “A foot-race is quite acceptable as part of a festival.
Not a bad idea considering it is from Pan-Human History.”
Barghest: “Then, at next year’s Morgan-Festival we’ll use Camelot for a marathon?”
Morgan: “Nay. I have discovered an even more thrilling kind of competition.
How about... a car race?
A battle of speed between two mechanical vehicles is quite exhilarating
So exhilarating that I have already put in the order to Spriggan and had it completed.”
The veil opens in both directions.
In front of the throne is Morgan, riding a cute, anthropomorphized convertible.

Morgan: “This is the first automobile of the Fairy Kingdom—the Molcar (*smug*)”
Barghest: Barghest: ‘Does Her Highness have no intent in saving the Fairy Kingdom—?!’



　　　◆

Let’s talk a little bit about FGO.

The reason why Fou was staring at the ceiling during this latest epilogue was because he had noticed that the President had already appeared above the Wandering Sea.
He wasn’t just staring at the ceiling. I’m sure you understand.


Dark Koyan’s My Room voiceline towards Taigong Wang.
The reason why Dark Koyan is so butthurt at Taigong Wang is because her greatest match, the strongest Beast-hunter (even Koyan acknowledges him as such) had arrived to kill her after mistaking her for the wrong woman.
Taigong Wang: “Let’s settle the score once and for all, my destined woman (person)!” →
Taigong Wang: “Oh. Sorry, got the wrong person. Hehe. But hey, might as well do a little God-Sealing☆”

Having something like this happen to her, there’s no way the prideful Koyan wouldn’t be mad.
So her My Room voice-line is not one of an angry Daji, but one of an angry Honosumeragi-no-Himenokami.


　　　◆

Alright,
Finally let’s talk about Melty, a.k.a. “Melty Blood: Type Lumina”.

At last, some DLC characters are being added.
In this year’s early second week, on the 13th, Dead Apostle Noel and Aozaki Aoko are being addeddddd!!!

And oh my both of them for free !

I’ll say it again, free DLC! Thank you French Breadddd!!

Dead Apostle Noel’s cute and evil action-style.
Aozaki Aoko’s usual battle-style.
The fight reaches a further stage!
Melty Lumina’s second act starts here.
And you, wait leisurely until further DLC characters are introduced.


Of course, the single-player story-mode is still a thing.
Lumina’s already existing characters (aside from Warcueid) were positioned as having stories that were prior to Tsukihime R so they couldn’t have any spoilery conversations... however...
The DLC characters have had their stories written with the assumption that you’ve played Tsukihime R.

Think of it as… getting your lacking Tsukihime-nutrient supplements.
Outside of the character stories, I feel like I wrote a lot (accounting for all of it, about enough to just not quite fill one light-novel’s worth) for the extra story.

From here on out we’ve scheduled to keep adding stuff on little by little, so look forward to that as well!^{[Translator 1]}

Why prawns?! - Kinoko, 23/2/2022
Sorry for the abruptness, but Kinoko will end in about 20 hours.
I believe he already disappeared from this dimension and became a Tarnished wandering The Lands Between.
He'll be a vagabond who can't answer e-mails on the weekends. He counts on your forgiveness and understanding.

Thanks for taking part in our Valentine's Day event.
This year I worked on
- Morgan
- Baobhan Sith
- Melusine
- Barghest
- Habetrot
- Koyanskaya of Light
- Koyanskaya of Darkness
- Oberon
I hope you enjoyed them.
I'm really satisfied with how the Valentine mini-episodes turned out, especially with them being fully voiced, but what really makes them special is the Chocolate CE at the end. Everything in each Servant's Chocolate CE, from the design to the coloring, is created by the person in charge of the CE.
Each card carries an artist's passion, so take your time to appreciate all of them.
Thanks to all Craft Essence creators for one more year of wonderful work!

-

Now for a piece of advertisement.
Comic Dengeki Daiou started running a Fate/stay night -UBW- manga.
The author is Moriyama Daisuke (Osakabehime's dad), who made our Saber Wars II manga before.
"Why make a Rin route manga now?"
"Don't you have anything more relevant to the year of 2022?"

Great questions. I asked the same thing.
But Moriyama made it crystal clear that he wanted to give shape to this classic precisely because it was forgotten.
See the size of his zeal and resolve for yourself on the pages of the comic.

UBW was lucky beyond what I deserve. Though our dear Type-Moon is just blessed with many wonderful manga adaptations all around.

That aside, talking about Dengeki Daiou reminds me of how great Knots-sensei's Suki Suki Daichuki Tsuyo Tsuyo Sword (I love love wuv my super powerful Sword) is right now...
It got me with its curious title... and it's still getting me with how it stays completely true to that title... Just give the manga a chance.
Check the first chapter before reading anything else about it if you can help it! It's really good!^{[Translator 2]}

Untranslated

2022/8/6: Fes. (Kinoko)
FGO Fes ended without a hitch.
This is overdue, but I want to extend my gratitude to the FGO players who supported us, the staff who ran themselves ragged making the event happen, the cast who brought such excitement to the stage, and everyone who came to visit the venue. Thank you so much.


---


Summer Comiket - Bamboo Broom
We underestimated demand, and that caused a lot of anxiety for people. I apologize for that.
I want to get the books into the hands of as many people who want them as we can.


About what's inside, I'll talk about the Chapter 6 plot book that I was in charge of.
This is merely a compilation of documents created when we were making the game. Please enjoy this sample of these blueprints we drew up prior to writing the game scenario.
As for myself, the plot is always about this big, so it's not as if Chapter 6 was particularly special. In fact, this plot draft is actually shorter than the scenario that made it into the game.
In FGO, character backgrounds contain their personal details and stories, so the plot draft omits individual Servants' personal affairs and endings.
If we were to include those, the page count would become truly unmanageable, so those will go into the material book(s) to be released later, instead.


Next, about TYPE-MOON Manuscript...
It contains some text, but these are also documents that were created before they were turned into a game.
Once the game, or rather the title, is made, the contents are adapted from the background setting into what actually occurred in the story.
For El-Melloi II in particular, his materials were made before "The Case Files of El-Melloi II" even began, then they were handed over to Sanda Makoto and woven into the numerous mysteries at his discretion.
Perhaps the most perceptive readers will be able to tell what exactly was adjusted and how, when El-Melloi II was turned into a protagonist.


---


Melty Blood
Burning summer! DLC wave 3!


"If Arc's going to guest star in FGO, then Mash can be a guest in MB, too."


I know, the world runs on equivalent exchange.
And that's how Mash's shocking debut in MB came to be!
Neco-Arc's inclusion should make this a very familiar addition.
A cat needs a pure and innocent partner who will trust her 100% unconditionally, after all... *sniff*


On top of that, there are many additional elements this time.

• Boss Rush Mode 2
  

That's right. It would be a waste not to use them, so we added a Noel heroine route.
Who's the apple of her eye? You'll have to find out using your own eyes!

• Story Mode animation upgrades
  

We changed some of the specs for the existing single-player story mode and remade them to be more MB-like and easier to understand.
Thank you, French Bread...!
A lot of work went into Boss Rush Mode 2 in particular.
Maybe they play favorites with Noel because they're French (Bread)?
Keep it up.

• New scenarios for Arc and Ciel
  

To prevent Tsukihime spoilers in the MBTL story mode, it was designed as a prequel to the main story of Tsukihiime, or a what-if prequel.
That's why Arc and Ciel had references to old MB. But now that it's been a full year, we decided those don't really count as spoilers anymore, so we added mini-scenarios that are set after the end of Tsukihime.
Arc stays in the city, and she's together with Shiki.
But there are flags for Ciel, too. And Akiha. And even HisuKoha. The only fate that awaits that four-eyes is death.
Basically, it's a world where Arc and Shiki feel like a couple, but the other heroines still have a chance. Yeah, he really needs to die.
It's an everyday slice of life in this situation.
I mean, yeah, flirt with Arc and Ciel. We made it with that in mind.


That's all for MB, but it's also been nominated for the global fighting game tournament EVO, and the match results will be out tomorrow (Sunday 6AM Japan time).


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GaJRjsdQhI


By all means, watch the live stream if you can!
You'll get to enjoy a level of super-play between the final eight (miraculously, Japan and America are mostly evenly matched) that makes you wonder "are we even playing the the same game?".


---


Avalon le Fae Dramalogue
...And last, I'll talk about this.
This will just be my personal impressions rather than any report on the production, so I'm really sorry if it offends you...
But I'd like to leave this here, for the record.


Once again, it was an utterly pregnant two and half hours.
On the day of, I was briefly stunned by the sheer scale of the stage, and shocked to my core hearing the cast's emotional performances live on stage.
The script had a many long-running lines, rhymes, and otherwise difficult to read parts. It was incredible how they all managed to pull off a 2.5 hour long performance without a single mistake.
They only had a few chances to rehearse... and in a regular theatre it really is all or nothing.
Huh? Melusine? The strongest species will really just leave in the middle of a battle if she feels like it, huh? In fact, in that moment Kouno-san was Melusine in the flesh. The recording might be edited later, but it really was the ultimate treat for those who got to watch it in person.


Also, during rehearsal I explained the reasoning and emotion behind the more difficult lines, but Kawasumi-san and Ishikawa-san had an impressive understanding of their characters already.
Artoria Caster's energetic yet self-abasing personality. Her pessimistic yet unmatched competitive spirit. ...The way she always lifts her head high, no matter what she faces. Kawasumi-san performed all of those aspects of the character flawlessly.
Tonelico's nobility, even though nobody trusted her. The way she couldn't abandon her emotions in spite of her rationality. ...Her intense glare at the future, after she lost everything. It was a side of the Savior that wasn't conveyed in the text, and Ishikawa-san performed it perfectly.


Kawasumi-san and Ishikawa-san had the lion's share of the lines in this dramalogue,
but Waki Azumi's (Baobhan Sith) wails of despair,
Kouno Marika's (Melusine) laments of love,
Sugiyama Noboru's (Muramasa) last smile to Artoria,
Ishiya Haruki's (Beryl) callous cheer...
It was all heartwrenchingly poignant acting, to the very end.


It was all the very image of the Faerieland that I envisioned.
I'll never forget the tension in the air for those two and a half hours.
Thank you so very much.


...To be completely honest, when we were discussing plans for the dramalogue, my personal opinion was "I appreciate the thought, but I'd prefer not to do it..."
I had such a strong mental image of Artoria Caster during the Collapse Arc, I was sure I'd have a hard time recovering if the dramalogue deviated from my idea of what I wrote.
But, those worries were completely unfounded.
From the monologue where the Holy Sword was forged to the the monologue where the nameless king was crowned...
She showed me something perfect, that surpassed what I'd imagined.
Everything about Artoria Caster was imbued into lines that I'd previously cut and used to fill out a last few lines of the script.
That's what I felt, when I witnessed this live reading that resonated deeply in my breast.


I saw something beautiful.
I don't think I could ask for anything greater than that.^{[Translator 3]}

2022/8/7: Untitled. (Kinoko)
Congratulations on the victory Jing (Hisui)!

Even I, who only watched from the reset to the final game, was glued to my monitor, almost unable to breathe from excitement.
Masoma (Vlov), the other finalist was also suuuper-duuuper skilled and strong. Nobody watching could predict who was gonna win in this close battle.
I give my unrestrained applause to this display of gaming mastery, player skill and human ingenuity!

And just as I sit here thinking that hopefully this’ll happen again next year…
You know there’s also the domestic MBTL Official Tournament happening this year? Said the smirking viewer-only participant.

　　　◆

Apologies, but I might as well supplement some stuff to the last blog I put up.
I wrote that there are flags for Ciel, etc, in the Melty column, but…
This is not to mean that they’re just involved with another,
But rather means that they’re (generally) in the state of they were in Tsukihime from Day 3 onward.



Arc Route’s done-and-dusted, but through the mysterious power of Melty, these dreamlike days of ordinary life (shenanigans) continue. However, through some mistake, a new incident commences.

Some with Ciel, some with Akiha
/some with an alchemist
I think you can expect to team up with these two and fight some new boss, in all likelihood.


Supposing that perhaps sometime in the future there’ll be a scene in Melty where Shiki, Arcueid, Akiha, Ciel are all gathered at the Tohno mansion, then it’ll probably be as tense as on the 7th Day of the actual Tsukihime.
As said by a cat watching from the windows outside: “Is this hell?”

　　　◆

In MBTL’s story mode each character has their own personal story, but these aren’t all happening in the same continuity.
Rather, they were all built under the premise of occurring in continuities independent from one another.
For example, even though Arcueid and Ciel’s stories start out pretty much in the same situation, their final conclusion differs depending on which of them was that continuity’s main character.
You know, the whole multiverse thing.

In addition, about who’s the character of boss rush mode:
Boss rush mode 1 is a continuity where Miyako is the main character, while boss rush mode 2 is a continuity where Noel is the main character.



That’s all for my supplementary information.
The update which launches in August and comes with updated animations for story mode makes everything really pleasing to the eye, so I hope you’ll take this opportunity to play the game.^{[Translator 4]}

2022/12/25: The Time has Come! (Kinoko)
It’s gone by all too fast, but this year is hitting its climax.
So how is everyone spending their Christmas this year?
Personally, I spent Christmas Eve watching Sadako DX that I rented from Amazon Prime.
I’m sure it’ll stay an unforgettable Christmas Eve.

　　　◆

Thanks for celebrating Arcueid’s birthday!
It makes me very happy to be able to look at so many splendid Arcueids.
“What other vampire would look this good in Santa cosplay?” is what her happy-looking appearance practically screamed to me. Perfect way to heal my painfully writhing heart after having watched a 〇〇 movie.


TsukiR is currently on sale.
If there are any of you who feel like that’s gotten you a bit more interested, please take the opportunity to give it a play and I’d be very happy.

The Tsukihime fighting game MELTY BLOOD TYPE LUMINA has received its fourth free DLC.
Each character’s personal story mode serves as a story set before TsukiR, while the Boss Rush modes are like an after-story for those (me, that is) who demand to see the characters happy after TsukiR…
I’m sure there are many of you out there who think you don’t really get fighting games, and as such, we’ve now implemented a powerful out-of-game tutorial.


Also known as ‘Learn Melty with Manga’.
“The Teach-Me-Melty Dojo! - Miyako’s First Fighting Game -
Details can be found here: https://web-ace.jp/tmca/contents/2000048/


Alright. Now we’ll enter a bit of spoiler territory for MBTL.
The main purpose of MELTY BLOOD TYPE LUMINA was introducing the characters, but in the background there were also these happy post-TsukiR after-stories being played out, as previously mentioned.

Blissful ordinary existence that you hardly get to see in the main story.
Or absurd comedy you’d never be able to pull off there.
The one who made this possible is the mascot character Neco-Arc.
Just what is this “Neco 9-Parter” mentioned by her in Melty?
It’s not particularly important, but I might as well explain it since we have the chance.

1. Neco-Arc/Illuminati (Miyako Story > Boss Rush 1)

2. Neco-Arc/Coming Home (Mash Story 1)

3. Neco-Arc/Cat Wars (Neco-Arc 1 & Mash 2)

4. Neco-Arc/Invade (Dantes & Ushiwakamaru Stories + Boss Rush 3)

5. Neco-Arc/Multiverse (Boss Rush 4)


0. Neco-Spinoff/Christmas Carol (Boss Rush 2)


If you look at things with this order in mind, I think it’s easy to understand what’s happening.
Though, well, Neco-Arc’s appeal is being able to enjoy it ‘no thought, head empty’, so you don’t really have to care about the timeline!
The three remaining parts will arrive when you’ve probably forgotten about all this, so when that time comes, I look forward to seeing you again.

　　　◆

Lastly, I think I have to touch upon this a bit, right?

FGO Part 2 Chapter 7: Nahui Mictlan, The Journey of the Golden Jungle…

Finally, finally, it’s here! It launches on the evening of today (25th of December)!
We announced that there’s gonna be a first and a second part as well.
This time there really are just two parts. There’s not another part hidden like with LB6, so please, you may rest easy on your adventure across this tumultuous place.^{[Translator 5]}