Type-Moon[a] is a Japanese company that produces video games, anime, manga, light novels, and affiliated merchandise. It was founded by illustrator Takashi Takeuchi, writer Kinoko Nasu, programmer Nobuyuki Kiyotake, and composer Keita Haga. The company is known under the name Notes Co., Ltd.[b] for its publishing and corporate operations, as it is the company's official name, while the use of the brand name Type-Moon is a homage to the founder's origins as a doujin circle of the same name. After releasing the visual novelTsukihime as doujin soft, the group incorporated and commercially released the visual novel Fate/stay night which became the company's most well-known title. Both works have received several adaptations in other mediums that have amassed a global fanbase.
Before the founding of Type-Moon, starting in October 1998, illustrator Takashi Takeuchi and writer Kinoko Nasu (friends since their time at junior high school)[citation needed] released the first five chapters of the light novel series The Garden of Sinners through the web page of their doujin circle, Takebouki[c], and sold the last two at Comiket 56 in August 1999.[1] At that same time, the two alongside programmer Nobuyuki Kiyotake and composer Keita Haga (colleagues of Takeuchi when he worked for Compile)[citation needed] distributed a free floppy disk announcing the formation of the doujin circle Type-Moon (the name originating from Notes.[sic], one of Nasu's previous works) and the start of the development of the visual novelTsukihime.[2]
Tsukihime was initially released at Comiket 59 in December 2000.[3] Soon after, Sunshine Creation[ja] 10, in January 2001, saw the release of Tsukihime Plus-Disc: an omake disc that mainly served to fix issues the first copies of Tsukihime had and which also featured bonus content.[4] Later, at Comiket 60 in August of the same year, the fan discKagetsu Tohya was released.[5] In September,[6] the members of Type-Moon established Notes Co., Ltd. while remaining active as a doujin circle. After the great response it received following the inclusion of its first four chapters in Plus-Disc, Type-Moon printed a complete edition of The Garden of Sinners split in two volumes that were sold at Comiket 61 in December.[7]
On 30 December 2002, in collaboration with French-Bread (known as Watanabe Seisakujo[d] before 2003), Type-Moon released at Comiket 63 the fighting game/visual novel Melty Blood,[8] a doujin game for compatible PCs that serves as the third proper entry in the Tsukihime series. It was followed by the expansion Melty Blood Re-Act, released on 30 May 2004, which received a patch update, Final Tuned, as a free download over the Internet.[citation needed] Type-Moon and French-Bread partnered with Ecole Software to develop and publish a commercial version titled Melty Blood Act Cadenza that was released for Sega NAOMI arcade systems on 25 March 2005[9] and for the PlayStation 2 on 10 August 2006.[10] A Windows port of Melty Blood Act Cadenza Ver. B, an upgraded version of the arcade edition, was released on 27 August 2007.[11]
To mark the end of activities as a doujin circle, Type-Moon released at Comic Revolution[ja] 33 in April 2003 Tsuki-Bako: a specially packaged three-disc set that includes Tsukihime, an expanded version of the omake disc named "Plus+Disc", the fan disc, and a new arrangement for all BGM.[12]Tsukihime's popularity led to a 12-episode TV anime adaptation by J.C.Staff with the title Lunar Legend Tsukihime that aired from October to December 2003 on BS-i,[13] which was later licensed by Geneon Entertainment for release in North America in 2004.[14] A manga adaptation illustrated by Sasakishonen[ja]using the same title as the anime was serialized in the magazine Dengeki Daioh from the October 2003 to September 2010 issues,[citation needed] with its chapters collected across ten volumes published by ASCII Media Works.[15] It was initially licensed by ComicsOne for an English release in North America in 2004,[16] but later, in 2005, DrMaster took over the publication of ComicsOne's manga titles, including Lunar Legend Tsukihime.[17] However, DrMaster went bankrupt in 2009, and so only six of the ten volumes went published.[citation needed]
Company
2004–2006: Fate/stay night, hollow ataraxia, and Zero
After starting to fully operate as a company, Type-Moon released a demo of its first commercial product, Fate/stay night, on a CD included with the December issue of the magazine Tech Gian[ja] from Enterbrain on 21 October 2003. That same demo would also be released as a download on 1 November through Type-Moon's website.[18]
Fate/stay night released on 30 January 2004.[19] A sequel, Fate/hollow ataraxia, was released on 28 October 2005.[20]Fate/stay night would later be turned into a 24-episode TV anime by Studio Deen, airing from 7 January to 17 June 2006;[citation needed] a second anime series premiered on 4 October 2014. A manga series to promote the anime started publication on 26 December 2005 in Kadokawa Shoten's magazine Monthly Shōnen Ace,[21] which had its conclusion on 17 November 2012 with its 20th volume.[22]Fate/stay night was also released for the PS2 platform on 19 April 2007.
In a collaboration between Type-Moon and Nitro+, writer Gen Urobuchi penned a light novel prequel to Fate/stay night titled Fate/Zero, which Nasu supervised and Takeuchi illustrated. Its first volume released on 29 December 2006, the second on 31 March 2007, the third on 27 July 2007, and the fourth and final one on 29 December 2007, along with the image albumReturn to Zero produced by ZIZZ Studio[ja]. Fate/Zero was then adapted into a four-volume drama CD, with the first release coming out on 22 August 2008 and the last on 22 January 2010.[23] It was followed by an animated adaptation by Ufotable in 2011–2012.[citation needed]
At Comiket 72 on 27 August 2007, they released the "All Around TYPE-MOON drama CD".[24]
In August 2019, Type-Moon announced that they established a new company called Type-Moon Studio BB, a video game development studio with former Square Enix and Atlus employee Kazuya Nino, the director for the series Trauma Center, Etrian Odyssey, and Dragon Quest Builders, becoming the head of the studio.[25] According to Nino, the company plans to develop medium to large-scale 3D games in cooperation with external developers and small-scale 2D games developed in-house.[citation needed]
Releases
Type-Moon has developed and produced the following:
Tsukihime series
Tsukihime, PC-based adult visual novel game, originally released on 28 December 2000. A television adaptation of the visual novel, Lunar Legend Tsukihime, by J.C.Staff, aired from 10 October – 26 December 2003.
Kagetsu Tohya, PC-based Tsukihime fan disk, released on 13 August 2001.
Melty Blood, PC-based fighting game, in association with French-Bread, released on 28 December 2002. Manga serialized from June 2005 to August 2011.
Melty Blood Re-ACT, PC-based expansion to Melty Blood, released on 20 May 2004.
Melty Blood Re-ACT Final Tuned, update patch to Melty Blood Re-ACT, released as a free download.
talk. and Prelude, are two short stories published in Tsukihime material book's Plus Period published on 22 October 2004, and the Type-Moon's Character material published on 20 August 2006, respectively, intended to act as a prologue to a potential Tsukihime sequel.
Melty Blood: Act Cadenza, arcade port to Melty Blood released on 25 March 2005, and re-released on the PS2 platform on 10 August 2006.
Melty Blood: Act Cadenza Version B, the updated PC port of Act Cadenza, was released on 27 July 2007.
Melty Blood: Actress Again Current Code, the first 2D fighting game for Sega RingWide arcade board, was released on 29 July 2010. Ver. 1.07 was released later for Arcade on 14 October 2011, and a PC port on 30 December 2011, along with the Blu-ray release of Carnival Phantasm Season 3 limited edition. An updated version was released on Steam on 19 April 2016.
Tsuki no Sango, is a story by Nasu for Maaya Sakamoto's Full Moon Recital Hall, a project organized by the Japanese online magazine Saizensen, that consisted of Sakamoto reading short novels in a theater while an accompanying short animation was aired in the background. Tsuki no Sango was the first of the recitals on 21 December 2010, also got a manga adaptation with a story and art by Sasaki Shōnen.
Melty Blood: Type Lumina, the first Type-Moon fighting game and overall for Xbox console port, as well as a "What-If" story to Tsukihime Remake titles and Reboot to the Melty Blood series, released worldwide on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows, and Steam on 30 September 2021.
Fate/stay night, PC-based visual novel game, released on 30 January 2004. A DVD version was released on 29 March 2006, and a non-ero PS2 port entitled Fate/stay night [Réalta Nua] was released on 19 April 2007, and re-ported non-ero to PC on three versions covering each arc. Currently, four anime adaptations exist of Fate/stay night: the first was produced by Studio Deen and primarily based on the visual novel's Fate route,[citation needed] the second was a film adaptation of the Unlimited Blade Works route and also produced by Studio Deen,[citation needed] and the third was a TV remake of the Unlimited Blade Works route produced by ufotable.[citation needed] The Heaven's Feel route has been adapted into a movie trilogy by ufotable.[26]
Fate/hollow ataraxia, PC-based Fate/stay night sequel, released on 28 October 2005, re-released for PS Vita on 27 November 2014.
Fate/school life, is a comedy 4-koma manga by Eiichirou Mashin revolving around the normal life at school of the minor characters of Fate/stay night and Fate/hollow ataraxia, in later volumes, other characters from different TYPE-MOON works would also appear.
Fate/Zero, a light novel prequel to Fate/stay night, were released from 29 December 2006, to 29 December 2007. Made in collaboration with Nitroplus. Anime adaptation by ufotable aired from 1 October 2011, to 23 June 2012.
Fate/Prototype, is an animated short by Studio Lerche, distributed with the third home release of Carnival Phantasm on 31 December 2011. Based on the Second Tokyo Holy Grail War, it is the original concept of Kinoko Nasu's for Fate/stay night. It has yet to be adapted as a full series, with only a short animated feature and production notes detailing the story.
Fate/Prototype: Fragments of Sky Silver, a light novel written by Hikaru Sakurai, illustrated by Nakahara, and published by Kadokawa Shouten, were released from 10 September 2014, to 26 April 2017. It is a prequel of Fate/Prototype, the original version of Fate/stay night with a female protagonist.
Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya, a spin-off manga series written and illustrated by Hiroyama Hiroshi, serialized in Comp Ace magazine from 26 September 2007, to 26 November 2008, followed by two sequels entitled 2wei! and 3rei!!
Fate/Extra, an RPG dungeon-crawler for the PSP-system, released on 22 July 2010. Sequel Fate/Extra CCC was released on 28 March 2013. An anime version titled by Shaft as Fate/Extra Last Encore
Fate/Extra Record, a remake of the original Fate/Extra with a revamped battle system and updated visuals. It is the first project by the new Type-Moon Studio BB.
Fate/Apocrypha, a light novel by Yuuichirou Higashide and illustrated by Konoe Ototsugu, was released between 29 December 2012, and 30 December 2014, spanning five volumes. An anime adaptation by A-1 Pictures aired between 2 July 2017, and 30 December 2017, with international localization by Netflix.
The Case Files of Lord El-Melloi II, a light novel written by Makoto Sanda, illustrated by Sakamoto Mineji and published by TYPE-MOON under their label TYPE-MOON BOOKS[27] on 30 December 2014, to 17 May 2019. It is considered a side-story to Fate/Zero, following one of the protagonists as an adult. A manga adaptation illustrated by Tō Azuma has been serialized.[28] An anime adaptation by Troyca aired from 6 July – 28 September 2019.
The Adventures of Lord El-Melloi II, sequel to The Case Files, began publishing on 25 December 2020.
Fate/strange fake, a light novel series written by Ryohgo Narita, illustrated by Morii Shizuki, and published in Dengeki Bunko starting on 10 January 2015. It is a remake of the original 2008 April's Fool's web-published one-shot known as Fake/states night, which was later edited and included in TYPE-MOON Ace Vol.2 in 2009. A manga adaptation, also illustrated by Morii Shizuki, is being released alongside the aforementioned current novelization.[29]
Fate/Labyrinth, a light novel by Hikaru Sakurai, illustrated by Nakahara. It is a side-story to Fate/Prototype: Fragments of Blue and Silver and was released on 9 January 2016, between Fragments' 3rd and 4th volumes.
Fate/Grand Order, an RPG for the Android/iOS that was released on 30 July 2015. The game contains characters from previous TYPE-MOON properties along with new characters. A new class, Shielder, was added to the game. The first chapter of the game was animated by Lay-duce as a television movie titled Fate/Grand Order First Order aired on 31 December 2016.
Fate/Grand Carnival, an OVA series that is a spiritual successor to Carnival Phantasm, focusing on characters from Fate/Grand Order.
Fate/Requiem, a light novel by Meteo Hoshriza, published on 31 December 2018. Set in a timeline where a large Holy Grail War took place, which resulted in everyone having a servant in the aftermath.
Fate/type Redline, a spin-off manga series written by Keikenchi and illustrated by Ryoji Hirano, based on the gag manga Koha-Ace.
Fate/Samurai Remnant, an action RPG released in 2023 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Windows. It is the story of the Waxing Moon Ritual, a subspecies of a Holy Grail War taking place in Japan during the Edo period.
Other
The Garden of Sinners, known in Japan as Boundary of Emptiness (空の境界, Kara no Kyōkai) and sometimes referred to as Rakkyo (らっきょ), is a light novel series originally released as a series of chapters released independently online or at Comiket between October 1998 and August 1999, the chapters were later republished by Kodansha into two volumes released both on 8 June 2004, and again in three volumes between 15 November 2007, and 16 January 2008. Ufotable produced a series of seven anime films based on the series between 1 December 2007, and 28 September 2013, and also produced an original video animation episode on 2 February 2011. A final anime film was produced and released in 2013. A manga adaptation illustrated by Sphere Tenku started serialization in September 2010 in Seikaisha's online magazine Saizensen.
Notes. is a short novel by Kinoko Nasu and published in May 1999 for an angels-centered doujin anthology Angel Voice.
Decoration Disorder Disconnection (DDD), a light novel by Kinoko Nasu and illustrated by Hirokazu Koyama, published irregularly in the Faust magazine, with two volumes released in 2004, the series is currently on hiatus.
Carnival Phantasm, animated OVA series by Lerche based on Take Moon a parody manga created by Eri Takenashi, mixing characters from Tsukihime, Kagetsu Tohya, Melty Blood, Fate/stay night, Fate/hollow ataraxia with minor cameo appearances from Fate/Zero, Fate/EXTRA, Kara no Kyoukai, Mahoutsukai no Hako and KOHA-ACE characters.
All Around Type-Moon, is a drama CD released at Comiket 72 on 17 August 2007. Various TYPE-MOON characters interact within Ahnenerbe and find themselves in comedic situations. It has a manga adaptation.
Witch on the Holy Night, a visual novel written by Kinoko Nasu, featuring art by Hirokazu Koyama and music by Fukasawa Hideyuki. Originally written and set before The Garden of Sinners and Tsukihime, the story follows a young Aozaki Aoko alongside two new faces – Kuonji Alice and Soujuuro Shizuki. In an interview with 4Gamer, Kinoko Nasu expressed the desire to make a game that feels like a finished work and considers this a success.[31] It was released on 12 April 2012. This is the first Type-Moon visual novel not to be an adult game. An upcoming film adaptation by ufotable has been announced.
Fire Girl, a light novel with an original story by ex-Liarsoft member Hoshizora Meteor and illustrations by bunbun, published by Type-Moon under their label TYPE-MOON BOOKS, were released from 29 December 2012, to 18 March 2016.
Sekai Seifuku 〜 Shiroi Keito to Manatsu no Berubiaaje, a light novel side-story of World Conquest Zvezda Plot, written by Kimura Kou and illustrated by Kouhaku Kuroboshi was released on 22 March 2014, published under the TYPE-MOON BOOKS label.
Girls' Work was announced on 1 June 2008, as a PC visual novel work written by ex-Liarsoft members Hoshizora Meteor, Myogaya Jinroku, and Kimura Kou, with character designs by Takenashi Eri, but on 24 December 2010, it was announced to be restarted as a joint animation project with animation production company ufotable and Aniplex. Released date has not been revealed.[32]
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