is a

freeware Freeware is software, often proprietary, that is distributed at no monetary cost to the end user. There is no agreed-upon set of rights, license, or EULA that defines ''freeware'' unambiguously; every publisher defines its own rules for the free ...

horror game A horror game is a video game genre centered on horror fiction and typically designed to scare the player. The term may also be used to describe tabletop games with horror fiction elements. Unlike most other video game genres, which are classif ...

developed by "noprops". It was first released in Japan in November 2008. The game gained a cult following in Japan due to livestreams and playthroughs. The game was later adapted into a variety of media, including two feature-length movies, a series of light novels, and a manga. A remaster was released on

Steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

and

Nintendo Switch The is a video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. Released in the middle of the Eighth generation of video game consoles, eighth generation of home consoles, the Switch succeeded the ...

in 2024.

Plot

A boy named Hiroshi, alongside his classmates, investigates a deserted mansion at the edge of town that is rumored to be haunted. They discover Ao Oni, a mysterious creature who pursues the group. Ao Oni will give chase until the player outruns him. If one of Hiroshi's classmates die within the mansion, they are transformed into an oni.

Gameplay

The player controls Hiroshi as he explores the locked mansion, gathering items and solving puzzles in order to escape. The creature (the Ao Oni) will begin to chase the player at both random and scripted moments, similar to the

Nemesis In ancient Greek religion and myth, Nemesis (; ) also called Rhamnousia (or Rhamnusia; ), was the goddess who personified retribution for the sin of hubris: arrogance before the gods. Etymology The name ''Nemesis'' is derived from the Greek ...

in '' Resident Evil 3''. This forces the player to evade the Oni by either outrunning him or hiding from him, since Hiroshi is unable to fight back against him.

Reception

The game gained a

cult following A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The latter is often called a cult classic. A film, boo ...

online in Japan, gaining notoriety through websites such as

Niconico , known before 2012 as , is a Japanese video sharing service based in Tokyo, Japan. "Niconico" or "nikoniko" is the Japanese sound symbolism, Japanese ideophone for smiling. As of 2021, Niconico is the 34th most-visited website in Japan, accordi ...

and

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

where ''Ao Oni''-related videos exceeded 50 million views by 2013. The popularity of the game revolves around the effectiveness of its horror aspects despite being a simple game, with the background music cited as a key contributor to the chilling atmosphere used to incite fear.

Adaptations

Novels

Novelizations

In 2013 – 2017, a series of novels were released which were based on the game. Slight differences to the storyline, mostly based on characterization are present, but the books are otherwise faithful to the game's plot. The title was licensed for digital distribution in the English language by J-Novel Club. The series is made up of five novels, which J-Novel Club released between 2018 and 2019: ''Ao Oni'', ''Ao Oni: Vengeance'', ''Ao Oni: Mutation'', ''Ao Oni: Grudge'', and ''Ao Oni: Forever''.

Junior novels

In 2018, PHP Laboratory began publishing a series of junior novels based on the ''Ao Oni'' series. The series follows the game characters, who are of elementary school age instead of teenagers, and is told from the perspective of a stray dog that was taken in by Takuro's uncle. # 『青鬼ジェイルハウスの怪物』(2018, lit. Ao Oni ''The Jailhouse Monster'') # 『青鬼廃校の亡霊』 (2018, lit. ''Ao Oni The Ghost in the Abandoned School'') # 『青鬼真夜中の地下病棟』 (2018, lit. ''Ao Oni The Midnight Underground Ward'') # 『青鬼ドクロ島からの脱出』(2019, lit. ''Escape from the Ao Oni Skull Island'') # 『青鬼ゾンビだらけの遊園地』 (2019, lit. ''Ao Oni Zombie Amusement Park'') # 『青鬼調査クラブジェイルハウスの怪物を倒せ!』 (2019, lit. ''Ao Oni Demon Research Club Defeat the Monsters of Jailhouse!'')

Live-action film

''Ao Oni'' was adapted into a

live action Live action is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live action with animation to create a live-action animated feature film. Live action is used to define film, video games o ...

film of the same name, that was released in Japan on 5 July 2014. A second live action film, ''Ao Oni ver 2.0'', was released the following year with a different director, writer, and cast.

Anime

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

television short series adaptation premiered on 3 October 2016. The series is produced by

Studio Deen is a Japanese animation studio founded in 1975 by former Sunrise producer Hiroshi Hasegawa, along with a team of ex-Sunrise animators. The studio owns three subsidiaries: Danny Donghua (), a Chinese sub-contracting studio; Megumi (め組), a di ...

, and directed by Toshirō Hamamura and Chisei Maeda, with Kanekoke handling series composition, Kichi designing the characters and Shiyu Yanagida composing the music. An anime film, also produced by Studio Deen, released in 2017.

References

External links

* at noprops * * {{Studio Deen films 2008 video games 2013 Japanese novels Anime television series based on video games Doujin video games Windows games Nintendo Switch games 2000s horror video games Light novels J-Novel Club books Manga based on video games RPG Maker games Studio Deen TV Tokyo original programming Video games about demons Video games about insects Video games adapted into films Video games adapted into comics Video games adapted into novels Video games adapted into television shows Video games developed in Japan Video games set in country houses