Kara no Shōjo

Kara no Shōjo (Japanese: 殻ノ少女, lit. "Girl of the Shell") is an adult visual novel video game by Innocent Grey for Windows. It was released in Japan on July 4, 2008, and for English-speaking markets on June 29, 2011.

Kara no Shōjo
Developer(s)Innocent Grey
Publisher(s)
Composer(s)MANYO[1]
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
Release
  • JP: July 4, 2008
  • EU: June 29, 2011
Genre(s)Visual novel
Mode(s)Single-player

Gameplay

As a visual novel, Kara no Shōjo's gameplay primarily revolves around reading dialogue with other characters and making choices that affect the outcome of the game.

At certain points in the game, the player character, Reiji, is tasked with investigating crime scenes. During these investigation sequences, the player must examine these scenes to uncover evidence. Later, the player must put the evidence together during inference sequences, in which Reiji must find the best answer from the clues obtained during the game. However, it's possible to fail an inference sequence by failing to obtain a given piece of evidence during a prior investigation; this in turn affects the outcome of the game.[2]

The game also features a travel system, through which the player can traverse between different locations in Tokyo. The player can only use this a limited number of times per day, and only on certain days.

Plot

Set in a post-World War II Japan during 1956, Kara no Shōjo's story revolves around Reiji Tokisaka (時坂玲人, Tokisaka Reiji), a private investigator who is investigating a series of grotesque murders on the request of his former colleague/best friend, Kyozo Uozumi (魚住夾三, Uozumi Kyōzo) of the Tokyo metropolitan police force. The murders are reminiscent of another string of serial murders that occurred six years ago prior to the game where Reiji lost his fiancée, which drives him with a strong desire to solve this case. Later at a park, Reiji also meets a high school girl from Ouba Girls Academy named Touko Kuchiki (朽木冬子, Kuchiki Tōko), who asks him to find her real self. Reiji is initially unsure of what she means, but later finds out that Toko has an unusually complicated past that may have more to do with the current string of serial killings than Reiji initially expects. While working to solve the growing number of murder cases in Tokyo, Reiji takes some time out to get to know Toko and her friends as well as other students from her school while working behind-the-scenes to unravel the mysteries of her dark past.

Characters
Reiji Tokisaka (時坂 玲人, Tokisaka Reiji)
Voiced by: Ryota Takeuchi (visual novel), Junichi Suwabe/Shinichiro Miki (OVA)
The series main protagonist and a private detective that specializes in particularly brutal murder cases. Before the series events, Reiji worked in the police force but then he was forced to quit after the death of his beloved fiancée Yukiko; he lives with his younger sister Yukari-(a student at Ouba Academy) who he cares for dearly and wants to make sure that nothing bad happens to her. He doesn't spend too much of his time at home due to his work unless he's off duty; he enjoys reading history books during his free time, even when he's in his office. He also becomes a substitute teacher teaching history at the same school that his sister attends.
Yukari Tokisaka (時坂 紫, Tokisaka Yukari)
Voiced by: Rino Kawashima/Kei Mizusawa (visual novel, OVA)
Reiji's younger sister and a high school student at the all-girls Ouba Academy. An old-fashioned, reliable type of girl, she's very close to her older brother and often takes care of him even when he tends to be helpless when it comes to doing household chores and will usually become concerned and worried when her brother has to go out and solve certain cases-(even if they're ones that could put his life at risk). Like Reiji she's very academic, but she has strong interests in entomology-(much to the dismay of some people including her brother) and has a huge collection of certain insects in her bedroom; on some occasions, her pet bugs end up appearing out of nowhere in certain parts of the house. She's a member of her school's art club.
Touko Kuchiki (朽木 冬子, Kuchiki Tōko)
Voiced by: Aji Sanma (visual novel, OVA)
A mysterious teenage girl who meets Reiji with a request that he help her find her "true self". Like Yukari, she attends Ouba Girls Academy along with being one of her classmates and also a member of the art club at her school; despite being one of the most popular students at school, she actually hides some secrets that no one else knows. She's shown to be a regular customer at Cafe Moon World, a restaurant/bar owned by Kyoko-(a widow whose husband died long before the series events).
Toko Mizuhara (水原 透子, Mizuhara Tōko)
Voiced by: Mimi Yoshida
Kuchiki's best friend and classmate from school. Sharing the same name as each other-(but spelled differently), the two girls are often shown spending time and hanging out together. Due to her poor background and having to live in a broken home, she is shown to have a severe inferiority complex, because of this she hates her parents, herself, as well as other people around her, revealing that she's also victim of bullying and torment by some of her peers. Like most of the people from her school, she practically worships Kuchiki especially since she's been one of the few people that ignores her troubled background. Since her first encounter with Reiji during a school field trip, she holds a strong grudge against him fearing that he's trying to take her friend away.
Tsuzuriko "Tojiko" Yosomiya (四十宮 "トージコ" 綴子, Yosomiya "Tojiko" Tsuzuriko)
Voiced by: Hinata Aoi
Tsuzuriko is an aspiring writer and one of Yukari's classmates/best friend from school who serves as a comic relief in both the OVA and visual novel. She possesses a bright and hyperactive personality and has published multiple stories in many well known literary magazines while keeping her writing career a secret from her school. She's often referred to as "Tojiko" by Reiji claiming that her real name is hard to pronounce, much to her dismay.
Orihime Tsukishima (月島 織姫, Tsukishima Orihime)
Voiced by: Rino Kawashima (visual novel)
The president of the student council at Ouba Academy. A talented honor student, she comes from a wealthy, loving and influential family; her charisma makes her an idol of many of her classmates.
Kyouzou Uozumi (魚住 夾三, Uozumi Kyouzou)
Voiced by: Jun Ozaki
Reiji's best friend and former colleague from the police. He and Reiji have known each other since they were students at the police academy where they both join the force and worked under the same supervisor. Even after his friend resigned from the police force, he still relies on Reiji's help in solving cases. Like Kuchiki, he's also a regular customer at Cafe Moon World.
Kyouko Hazuki (葉月 杏子, Hazuki Kyouko)
Voiced by: Shiho Kawaragi
The widowed owner of Cafe Moon World and a close acquaintance of Reiji-(one of her regular customers) along with being one of the few people who remembers his dark tragic past; she was also an old friend of his deceased fiancée. Since they’ve both lost someone important and special to them, they’re able to connect on a more different level.
Hatsune Amemiya (雨宮 初音, Amemiya Hatsune)
Voiced by: Himeno Miyabi
A waitress working at Cafe Moon World who used to help out at a brothel entitled Yukishiro, but after the establishment was shut down, Madam Ujaku took Hatsune under her wing and gave her the name Amemiya. She learned how to write from Shugo when they both lived at the Yukishiro brothel, so she gets mad whenever people say bad things about him.
Shinji Mamiya (マミヤ 真司, Mamiya Shinji)
Voiced by: Daisuke Yagami
Also known by his pen name, Shin Katsuragi (葛城 シン, Katsuragi Shin) or Katsuragi-sensei for short is a famous well-known novelist and author of Shell of Sheol, one of his most popular published books.

Development

Kara no Shōjo is developed by Innocent Grey. The original concept was by Miki Sugina.[3]

An audition for the voice roles of five of the main female characters of Kara no Shojo was held on January 2008.[4] 254 applicants attended the audition.[4][5]

In 2011, a sequel for Kara no Shōjo was announced by Innocent Grey under the provisional title Kara no Shōjo 2 (殻ノ少女2).[6][7] The title was eventually changed to Kara no Shōjo: The Second Episode (虚ノ少女, Kara no Shōjo) and was released on February 8, 2013.[7] The final installment "Kara no Shoujo - The Last Episode"(天ノ少女, Kara no Shoujo 3, Ama no Shoujo) was released in Japan on 25 December 2020.

Release history

Kara no Shōjo released its first demo on May 4, 2008[8] with the full version planned for release on July 4, 2008. Pre-orders of the game will come with a unique special packaging and an illustration book spanning 82 pages.[9]

An English-language version of Kara no Shōjo was released on June 29, 2011 in a collaboration between MangaGamer and tlwiki. The game can be purchased and downloaded from the MangaGamer website. MangaGamer released Kara no Shoujo: The Second Episode in English on October 30, 2015.

Music

The opening theme to Kara no Shōjo, named "Ruri no Tori" (瑠璃の鳥 lit. Azure Bird), was performed by Haruka Shimotsuki.[1] The soundtrack for the game, named Azure, was released on the same day as the game on July 4, 2008.[1][10] The composer of the soundtrack is MANYO (まにょっ).[1]

Reception

During the month of June 2008, one month before Kara no Shōjo's release on July 4, 2008, Kara no Shōjo ranked sixth in national PC game pre-orders in Japan.[11]

References
  1. "殻ノ少女 ダウンロード" [Music download section at Kara no Shojo's official website] (in Japanese). Innocent Grey. Retrieved 2008-06-17.
  2. "殻ノ少女 Detectiveシステム". gungnir.co.jp (in Japanese).
  3. "Getchu's product information on Kara no Shojo" (in Japanese). Getchu. Retrieved 2008-06-17.
  4. "Voice audition information at Kara no Shojo's official website" (in Japanese). Innocent Grey. Retrieved 2008-06-17.
  5. "Audition gathering for Innocent Grey's highly anticipated new work Kara no Shojo" (in Japanese). Galge.com. Archived from the original on 2008-06-11. Retrieved 2008-06-17.
  6. 殻ノ少女2（仮） (in Japanese). Innocent Grey. September 9, 2011.
  7. 虚ノ少女 (in Japanese). Innocent Grey. March 3, 2012.
  8. "News listing at Kara no Shojo's official website" (in Japanese). Innocent Grey. Retrieved 2008-06-17.
  9. "Pre-order campaign details at Kara no Shojo's official website" (in Japanese). Innocent Grey. Retrieved 2008-06-17.
  10. "Game-Style's interview with Innocent Grey" (in Japanese). Game-Style. 2008-05-23. Archived from the original on 2008-06-11. Retrieved 2008-06-17.
  11. "PCpress's Pre-order Ranking Log for June, 2008" (in Japanese). PCpress. Archived from the original on 2008-05-24. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
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