Witch on the Holy Night (known in Japan as Mahōtsukai no Yoru (Japanese:魔法使いの夜;lit.A Magician's Night) and sometimes shortened asMahoyo) is a Japanesevisual novel developed and published byType-Moon. It was first released forWindows on April 12, 2012, in Japan. An enhanced remastered version with voice acting and updated graphics was released byAniplex worldwide forNintendo Switch andPlayStation 4 on December 8, 2022, and was released for Windows viaSteam on December 14, 2023. It is largely akinetic novel: the user experiences a linear plotline with little variation or player choices. The game is a prequel toTsukihime and explores the backstory of Shiki Tohno's master Aoko Aozaki.
Ananime film adaptation byUfotable has been announced.
Near the end of theShōwa era, in Misaki town, an old mansion is rumored to be the home of a witch. After moving there, Aoko Aozaki begins to learn sorcery from a young mage, Alice Kuonji, the rumored witch of the mansion. The Aozaki family oversees the land on which Misaki is built, and the heir (Aoko) is tasked with protecting it. Mysterious intruders have been disrupting the bounded field in Misaki, leading Alice and Aoko to investigate. A mannequin or puppet attacks them and is incinerated. As this happens, both of them spot someone running away, a civilian who must not get away, having seen magic alive. Unexpectedly, a young boy named Sōjūrō Shizuki is drawn to the mansion and comes to reside with them as well. Eventually, it is revealed that the intruder who had been disrupting the bounded field is Touko Aozaki, Aoko's older sister. She, having killed their grandfather, now seeks to unveil the Aozaki's path to the root.
Witch on the Holy Night takes place in the shared "Nasuverse" a colloquial term referring to a shared universe within the works created by Type-Moon, and takes place many years before the events of the original 2000 release ofTsukihime. The remakes ofTsukihime, titledTsukihime: A Piece of Blue Glass Moon andTsukihime: The Other Side of Red Garden, take place within the same universe asWitch on the Holy Night.
The first protagonist of the story and a high school student who has just begun to learn sorcery after moving into an old mansion where a witch was rumored to live. At school, she is the student council president. Aoko first appeared as a minor character inTsukihime and its sequelsKagetsu Tohya andMelty Blood,[2][3] and has appeared in several other non-Tsukihime-related Type-Moon games and media such asFate/Extra.[4]
A natural-born witch, the daughter of the elder son of the wealthy Kuonji family and a witch he fell in love with, who lives alone in a mansion. She is emotionally detached and self-abusive; thus, she does not form relationships easily but gradually comes to accept Aoko as a friend. She has been acquainted with the Aozaki family for over ten years and serves as Aoko's partner and teacher.
Sōjūrō Shizuki (静希草十郎,Shizuki Sōjūrō; romanized asSoujyuro Sizuki in the English version)
The second protagonist of the story and a young man from a rural location who is still adjusting to living in the city and is a normal high school student. He is quiet and reserved, but warm-hearted and stable in contrast to Aoko and Alice. He winds up living at the Kuonji mansion as well, despite Alice's attempts to drive him away by ignoring him, and Alice develops uncertain feelings toward him.
The popular vice-president of the Student Council, a classmate of Aoko who becomes Sojuro's best friend. He and Aoko were close friends as children, though they both deny having any feelings for one another. His family life is apparently complicated, and he is known to casually smoke and spend nights out. Tobimaru happens to have unrequited feelings for Kojika Kumari.
The treasurer of the Student Council, a friend and classmate of Aoko who possesses a cool-mannered and realistic personality. She is very responsible as a result of being in charge of a household of brothers, but she dislikes how the men in her life look down on her. Though her father disapproves of her desire to attend college, Kojika still works hard to save money to attend anyway.
A classmate of Sojuro, Hosuke is a cheerful young man whose primary interests are the attractive girls in class and becoming rich someday. He often tries to organize the male students in class, though his cunning often fails, and the girls wind up pitying him instead. He is also Sojuro's co-worker at their part-time job.
Aoko's older sister, regarded as a genius magus in the Aozaki family, believed that their magical lineage was dying out. She and Aoko never get along particularly well. Alice enjoys Touko's company because she is a person who can truly understand Alice, though Alice does little to stop Aoko and Touko from fighting. Touko has appeared inKara no Kyōkai as a supporting character.
The antagonist of the story, an ageless nature spirit whose true form is a golden werewolf, though he appears as a fair-haired young boy. His existence is similar to the True Ancestors that appeared inTsukihime. Other werewolves once revered him as the werewolf who would revive their race, but he was ostracized and later sold to Touko Aozaki when it became apparent he was not a true werewolf. He is badly injured in mortal combat with Sōjūrō, who destroys his heart with two concentrated blows. As Lugh is immortal, he easily regenerates, but the horrific nature of the wound, the pain he suffered from the injury and subsequent regeneration, and Sōjurō's bizarre nature cause Lugh to become catatonic with fear and be emotionally reduced to the child he appears to be.
May Riddell Archelot (メイ・リデル・アーシェロット,Mei Rideru Āsherotto)
An idol singer who has travelled around the world, May is also a mage with an eccentric personality. She is acquainted with Sojuro by unknown means and is known by the church. As a mage, her ability is considerable enough to cause trouble for Lugh.
A member of the Mage's Association, though she has only been part of the organization for a year after leaving the Church. It is believed that Ritsuka is apprenticed to the Aozaki family to act as a watchdog, which is why Aoko is suspicious of Ritsuka's intentions.
Ritsuka's twin sister, a member of the church, is well-known in town as a pious nun. She possesses a genetic condition that results in heightened senses and is skilled in rougher acts as well.
A member of the Church. Despite his gentle personality, his advice is often critical and harsh. He was once apprenticed to the Aozaki family and happens to be Touko's old lover. Because he was strong enough to kill a witch, Touko remains vigilant around him.
Kinoko Nasu was inspired in late 1995 by the first episode ofNeon Genesis Evangelion to write a novel, something he had been thinking of doing since he was in high school. Nasu originally wroteMahōtsukai no Yoru on the spur of the moment as a roughly 400-page novel in winter 1996. He tried to enter it into several writing competitions, but was ultimately unsuccessful, leaving the work merely being passed around by his friends. Later, Nasu planned to submit it toFujimi Shobo, but had difficulty keeping the page count under 350 pages, and left the novel unreleased. After formingType-Moon withTakashi Takeuchi and releasing several projects under it, Takeuchi suggested remakingMahōtsukai no Yoru so it could be released before their next planned projectGirls' Work.[6]
In April 2008, a game version ofMahōtsukai no Yoru was announced.[7] Unlike Type-Moon's previous games,Mahōtsukai no Yoru is not anadult game, and features Hirokazu Koyama as the lead artist in place of Takeuchi. The game was set to be released sometime in 2009, but after several delays, the game received a September 2010 release date.[8] In September, however, Type-Moon announced that the release date had been pushed back to winter 2011, and later to sometime in 2011.[9] A freegame demo was made available on December 15, 2011, and the full game was released on April 12, 2012 forWindowsPCs.
An enhanced version forNintendo Switch andPlayStation 4 was announced in April 2022,[10] and published byAniplex on December 8, 2022 in Japan.[11] A demo version was released on November 3, 2022.[5] In June 2022, it was confirmed that the game would also launch worldwide under the titleWitch on the Holy Night on the same date.[12] It features a higher resolution than the original PC release and full voice acting along with English, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese language options.[13][1] A Windows port of this version was announced in September 2023, and was released viaSteam on December 14, 2023.[14]
Two visual novel sequels are planned by Type-Moon, though no updates have been made since 2012.[15]
Jean-Karlo Lemus ofAnime News Network said that "Witch on the Holy Night has lots to offer. While Nasu's stiff, wordy narration might be a turn-off, the characters and their interactions more than redeem it, and the primary conflict is engrossing and moving."[16]Siliconera said "Witch on the Holy Night tells a fun and engaging story with tons of well-written and fleshed-out characters" but noted "some issues with the English localisation in particular set it on the edge of accessibility" and that "extra commas and misspelled words do little to dampen one's enjoyment".[17]Nintendo World Report said "it's a 12 chapter novel with high resolution graphics, full voice acting, and no discernible gameplay beyond changing how text is displayed" and called it "a well-written story that sets up a lot of things for the future" while noting that "most of the text is well translated; although a few typos were present ... they weren't occurring frequently enough to be a concern."[18]Hardcore Gamer called the novel "fun, but flawed" and criticized the pacing, saying "there are periods that just drag on", but also felt that "Witch on the Holy Night does earn its reading time." They also criticized the localization, noting that "there are errant keystrokes or obvious grammatical errors."[19]
The game's three disc original soundtrack was released on May 9, 2012, composed byHideyuki Fukasawa and Keita Haga.[20] A two disc arrangement album featuring tracks from the game titledWITCH ON THE HOLY NIGHT ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK REPETITION was released on December 29, 2013.[21]
Witch on the Holy Night's ending theme song is "Hoshi ga Matataku Konna Yoru ni" (星が瞬くこんな夜に) bySupercell, and was released with the game's soundtrack.[22]
