is a Japanese

visual novel A visual novel (VN) is a form of digital interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves. They combine a textual narrative with static or animated illustratio ...

series produced by Mages, with character design and art provided by Karu. The series follows Mei Ayazuki, a high school girl who is sent back in time to the

Meiji period The was an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonizatio ...

and explores her relationships with spirits and Japanese historical figures. ''Meiji Tokyo Renka'' was released as a

mobile game A mobile game is a video game that is typically played on a mobile phone. The term also refers to all games that are played on any Mobile device, portable device, including from mobile phone (feature phone or smartphone), tablet computer, table ...

Dwango The Dial-up Wide-Area Network Game Operation, better known by the acronym DWANGO, was an early online gaming service based in the United States. Launched in 1994, it was originally known for its compatibility with ''Doom'', for which it function ...

in 2011, with over 300,000 users playing the game. In 2013, it was ported onto the

PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PA ...

Broccoli Broccoli (''Brassica oleracea'' var. ''italica'') is an edible green plant in the Brassicaceae, cabbage family (family Brassicaceae, genus ''Brassica'') whose large Pseudanthium, flowering head, plant stem, stalk and small associated leafy gre ...

, and was then followed by game sequels and updated re-releases. The original game franchise also expanded with a series of adaptations, including two theatrical animated films,

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

adaptations, an animated television series, and a

live-action film 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 animation, live-action animated feature film. Live action is used to define ...

Plot

On the night of the crimson moon, high school student Mei Ayazuki comes across a traveling magician, Charlie, and is transported back in time to the

, where she meets several historical figures and is invited to live with them. Though Mei has lost her memories, she begins helping the men with their own concerns through her ability to see and interact with

spirits Spirit(s) commonly refers to: * Liquor, a distilled alcoholic drink * Spirit (animating force), the non-corporeal essence of living things * Spirit (supernatural entity), an incorporeal or immaterial being Spirit(s) may also refer to: Liquids ...

. While waiting for the next full moon, Mei comes to consider staying in the Meiji period altogether.

Characters

; : :Portrayed by: Shion Aoki (''Oborozuki no Chat Noir'' musical), Momoko Suzuki (''Gekkō no Meine Liebe'' musical), Rikka Ihara (live-action film) :Mei is a high school student who is transported into the Meiji period and loses her memories. She has the ability to see

. Her name can be changed by the player in the games. ; : :Portrayed by:

Hirofumi Araki is a Japanese actor and singer associated with Watanabe Entertainment. He is a member of the acting troupe D-Boys and the leader of its pop unit D-Date. As an actor, Araki has been involved in many theater and television projects, notably st ...

(musical), Shuto Miyazaki (live-action film) :Ogai is a translator and writer who also works as a doctor for the military. After meeting Mei, he has her to pretend to be his fiancé to avoid suspicion. Later on, he asks her to pose as his fiancée and invites her to live in his house. Throughout his route, Ogai faces a spirit named Elise, a character he created based on a girl he admired while he was in Germany. ; : :Portrayed by:

Shohei Hashimoto is a Japanese actor and television personality. He first began making appearances in musical theatre and stage plays in 2013 and was also the host of the intelligence training segments on the children's variety show '' Shimajiro no Wao!'' Afte ...

(musical), Makaha Takahashi (live-action film) :Shunso is an artist living with Ogai and is known for his unique art style. He acts exasperated towards Ogai and Mei, but secretly admires them. He is fascinated with cats, but falls into a slump after a black cat from one of his paintings escapes into the real world. Shunso also has problems with his vision and avoids getting examined out of fear that it may lead to the end of his career. ; : :Portrayed by: Kousuke Asuma (musical), Taiki Yamazaki (live-action film) :Otojirō is an actor who works as a cross-dressing

geisha {{Culture of Japan, Traditions, Geisha {{nihongo, Geisha{{efn, {{IPAc-en, lang, ˈ, ɡ, eɪ, ., ʃ, ə, {{IPA, ja, ɡei.ɕa, ɡeː-, lang{{cite book, script-title=ja:NHK日本語発音アクセント新辞典, publisher=NHK Publishing, editor= ...

under the name Otoyakko. He invites Mei to train as a geisha at his

okiya An is the lodging house/drinking establishment to which a or geisha is affiliated with during her career as a geisha. The is typically run by the "mother" () of the house, who handles a geisha's engagements, the development of her skills, and ...

. He enjoys the plays that Kyōka writes and uses them for his performances. ; : :Portrayed by: Tomoru Akazawa (musical), Toman (live-action film) :Kyōka is a playwright. He is mysophobic and hates dogs. Like Mei, he can also see spirits, including the rabbit on his shoulder, a memento from his deceased mother. ; : : Portrayed by: Yu Yoshioka (musical),

Yuki Kubota is a Japanese actor and model whose work has included stage, television and film roles. He is best known as the character Takatora Kureshima / Kamen Rider Zangetsu / Kamen Rider Zangetsu Shin in the Kamen Rider series ''Kamen Rider Gaim''. He is ...

(live-action film) :Gorō is a policeman and a former member of the

Shinsengumi The was a small secret police organization, elite group of swordsmen that was organized by commoners and low rank samurai, commissioned by the (military government) during Japan's Bakumatsu period (late Tokugawa shogunate) in 1863. It was ac ...

. The reflection of his katana allows him to see spirits, which he fights to preserve peace in the village. ; : :Portrayed by: Ire Shiozaki (musical), Tetsuya Iwanaga (live-action film) :Yakumo is a researcher from Greece who came to Japan to teach English and do research on Japanese spirits. ; : :Portrayed by: Yūya Asato (musical), Yutaka Kobayashi (live-action film) :Charlie is a traveling magician who transports Mei into the Meiji period. His real identity is . He can only appear at nighttime. ; : :Portrayed by: Shōta Matsushima (live-action film) :Tōsuke was introduced as an original character for the 2015 anime film '' Gekijōban Meiji Tokyo Renka: Yumihari no Serenade'', but was integrated into the main cast following the release of ''Full Moon''. He is an inventor with a focus on electric devices and can also see spirits. Because he believes a spirit killed his mother when he was young, he hopes to eliminate all spirits from the world. ; : :Kōyō is an author and Kyōka's mentor. He was introduced as a new character for ''Haikara Date''. ; : :Rentaro is a prodigy pianist. He was introduced as a new character for ''Haikara Date''. ; : :Taikan is an apprentice painter and Shunso's friend. He was introduced as a new character for ''Haikara Date''.

Media

Games

''Meiji Tokyo Renka'' was originally a game published for mobile phones in 2011 by

. The characters were designed by Karu. The game's theme song was "Tokyo Roman Tan" by KENN. The game was ported to the

, which released on September 26, 2013. The game's theme song is "Kurenai no Yoru no Uta" by KENN. A sequel, ''Meiji Tokyo Renka: Twilight Kiss'', was released for the

on April 23, 2015. An updated re-release of the first game, titled ''Meiji Tokyo Renka: Full Moon'', was released for the

PlayStation Vita The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, then in other international territories on February 22, 2012, and was produced ...

on August 25, 2016, which included a route for Tōsuke Iwasaki, an original character from '' Gekijōban Meiji Tokyo Renka: Yumihari no Serenade'' and '' Gekijōban Meiji Tokyo Renka: Hana Kagami no Fantasia''. A mobile port for the iOS and Android were released on July 20, 2017. A fourth game developed by Mages and titled ''Meiji Tokyo Renka: Haikara Date'' was released as a mobile game app on December 14, 2018. An English version of Meiji Tokyo Renka was released on October 3, 2024 for the

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 ...

and

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 ...

, along with a Chinese version.

Light novels

''Meiji Tokyo Renka'' was adapted into several light novels written by Yukiko Uozumi.

Manga

''Meiji Tokyo Renka'' was adapted into a manga series by Hiyori Hinata and ran in '' Monthly Asuka''. A manga anthology drawn by several artists was later released in 2016.

Film

An animated film project was announced in January 2013, and the cast from the original game reprised their roles.

Sumire Morohoshi is a Japanese actress, voice actress and singer from Kanagawa Prefecture. She debuted as a solo singer under the Flying Dog record label. Biography Sumire Morohoshi was born in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, on April 23, 1999. At the time of birth ...

was cast as Mei, who was unvoiced in the games, and the film also introduced a new original character, Tōsuke Iwasaki. The film was animated 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 Hiroshi Watanabe. The story is centered on Kyōka Izumi's route, with new plot elements introduced through Tōsuke Iwasaki. The first film, '' Gekijōban Meiji Tokyo Renka: Yumihari no Serenade'', was released in theaters in Japan on July 18, 2015. The theme song, "Dance in the Light", was performed by KENN. The second part, '' Gekijōban Meiji Tokyo Renka: Hana Kagami no Fantasia'' was given a one-day screening event on May 6, 2016 in select theaters due to the first film's poor box office performance. A live-action film titled ''Meiji Tokyo Renka'' was announced in January 2018 and is slated for a 2019 release. Rikka Ihara was cast as Mei. The film also stars Yutaka Kobayashi as Charlie, Shuto Miyazaki as Ogai, Makaha Takahashi as Shunso, Taiki Yamazaki as Otojirō, Toman as Kyōka,

as Gorō, Tetsuya Iwanaga as Yakumo, and Shōta Matsushima as Tōsuke. To promote the film, a live-action television series featuring the same cast will air in April 2019.

Daisuke Namikawa is a Japanese actor and singer associated with Stay Luck. He began acting as a child and is sometimes mistaken with Daisuke Hirakawa, as their names only differ by one character when written in kanji. Despite his wide range of roles, he usua ...

Nobuhiko Okamoto is a Japanese voice actor and singer affiliated with Raccoon Dog. He won the Best New Actor Award at the 3rd Seiyu Awards and Best Supporting Actor Award at the 5th Seiyu Awards. Voice acting career In an interview held at the Anime Expo, wh ...

, and

Toshiyuki Morikawa is a Japanese voice actor, narrator and singer who is the head of Axlone, a voice acting company he founded in April 2011. His name is sometimes, although incorrectly, transliterated as Tomoyuki Morikawa. In 2003, he and Fumihiko Tachiki formed ...

, who voiced Ogai, Kyōka, and Charlie respectively, will make voice-only cameos in the film. The theme song, "Ichiya no Eien ni Kimi Omou", will be performed by KENN.

Musicals

adaptation titled ''Kageki Meiji Tokyo Renka: Oborozuki no Chat Noir'' ran in June 2016. ''Oborozuki no Chat Noir'' is centered on Shunso Hishida's route. The musical was directed by Kotaro Yoshitani and written by Sayaka Sakuragi. It starred

as Shunso,

as Ogai, Kousuke Asuma as Otojirō, Tomoru Akazawa as Kyōka, Yu Yoshioka as Gorō, Ire Shiozaki as Yakumo, and Yūya Asato as Charlie. Shion Aoki was cast as Mei. The musical was given a home release on Blu-ray and region 2 DVD on October 5, 2016, with the Blu-ray peaking at #175 and the DVD at #109 on the

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that ...

Weekly Charts. A sequel stage musical titled ''Kageki Meiji Tokyo Renka: Gekkō no Meine Liebe'' ran from August 18–19, 2018 at Morinomiya Piloti Hall in Osaka and August 25-September 2, 2018 at Theatre 1010 in Tokyo. The musical focuses on Ogai Mori's route. The cast from the previous musical reprised their roles, this time with

as lead, while Momoko Suzuki was recast in the role of Mei.

Anime

An anime television series adaptation was announced at a promotional event in October 2016.

Akitaro Daichi is a Japanese anime director, producer and photography director. Career Daichi is a native of Gunma Prefecture and a graduate of Tokyo Polytechnic University. He originally aspired to be a stage photographer, but entered the employ of Tokyo Ani ...

was announced as the director at the ''Haikara Date'' promotional event on January 21, 2018. The cast from the games and the anime film reprised their roles and the show is animated by

TMS Entertainment , formerly known as the is a Japanese animation studio owned by Sega Corporation. TMS is one of the oldest and most renowned animation studios in Japan, known for its numerous anime franchises such as '' Detective Conan'', '' Lupin the Third ...

. The series premiered on

Tokyo MX JOMX-DTV (channel 9), branded as Tokyo MX (officially stylized as TOKYO MX), is an independent station, independent television station in Tokyo, Japan, owned by the . It is the only television station that exclusively serves the city and parts ...

and

TVA The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally owned electric utility corporation in the United States. TVA's service area covers all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, and small areas of Georgia, North Carolina ...

from January 9 to March 27, 2019. The series is being simulcasted by

Crunchyroll Crunchyroll is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service owned by Sony, Sony Group Corporation. The service primarily distributes fi ...

, and in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

by Ponimu. It is also being given an English dub by

Funimation Funimation was an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service. Launched in 2016, the service was one of the leading distributors of anime ...

. The opening theme song is "Tsukiakari no Rhapsodia" by KENN. The series features three ending songs, each performed by members of the cast: "Hoshikuzu no Yomibito" by KENN and

; "Mellow na Yoru ni Odorimashō" by

Shinnosuke Tachibana is a Japanese voice actor, singer and narrator. He is married to voice actress Ao Takahashi. Career Tachibana graduated from Aojijuku Tokyo School 18th term. In 2003, he made his voice acting debut as Kyuu in the television anime '' E's Otherwis ...

and

; and "Yoiya Yoiya" by

Kousuke Toriumi is a Japanese voice actor affiliated to Arts Vision. Biography He is a member of and . To commemorate twenty years of his debut, a book entitled released on May 16, 2016. He created his YouTube channel on March 19, 2020. Filmography Anime te ...

and

Jun Fukuyama is a Japanese voice actor and singer. He played Lelouch Lamperouge in '' Code Geass'', Yukio Okumura in Blue Exorcist, Koro-sensei in '' Assassination Classroom'', Ichimatsu in '' Osomatsu-san'', Yuta Togashi in '' Love, Chunibyo & Other Delu ...

Episodes

Reception

Over 300,000 users had downloaded the 2011 mobile game. The PlayStation Portable port of the original game sold 5,963 copies in its first week.

References

External links

Official websiteOfficial Full Moon website
* * {{TMS Entertainment 2013 video games 2015 video games 2016 video games 2018 video games 2.5D musicals Android (operating system) games Anime television series based on video games Broccoli (company) games Funimation IOS games Japan-exclusive video games Kadokawa Beans Bunko Light novels Mages (company) games Male harem anime and manga Meiji era in fiction Otome games PlayStation Portable games PlayStation Vita games Video games developed in Japan Visual novels