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Mahou Tsukai no Yoru, which translates to Witch on the Holy Night and often shortened to Mahoyo, is a popular visual novel written and released by Type-Moon Games; the creators of the successful Fate series of media. The game will also be released as an enhanced version sometime in 2022 for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 and will have voice acting.
Until the rerelease is available to the public, many players of the visual novel will want to know details about Mahoyo, from its place in the extended universe of the Fate media to simple fun facts about the game.
10 The Visual Novel is around 25 Hours Long
For players who want to have a decently fleshed-out experience without it being too long, Mahoyo is the optimal game. The visual novel does not have many player choices and very few branches, so the average play-time will be about 24-25 hours for a player.
If a reader wishes to experience all the content (though there is only one storyline), Mahoyo becomes about 30 hours long in total – it’s still an impressive number, but isn’t nearly as long as Type-Moon Games’ Fate/stay night.
9 Mahoyo Is Part of the “Nasuverse”
The “Nasuverse” is a fan-given nickname to the universe that many Type-Moon Games creations take place in; most of these games are from the popular Fate series. Mahou Tsukai no Yoru is, in fact, part of the Nasuverse, meaning that it takes place in the same world as the Fate series.
This is obvious for more dedicated fans, from mentions and cameos of Mahoyo in other games within the Nasuverse, but a more casual reader or someone new to the Fate series wouldn’t know this initially.
8 The Story Was Originally a Novel
Originally, the writer of Mahoyo, Kinoko Nasu, had written the game in 1996 as a 400-to-500 page novel, also titled Mahoutsukai no Yoru. However, he was largely unsuccessful in entering the novel in writing competitions, as the novel would exceed the page limit.
Eventually, Nasu shelved the novel when he was unable to keep it under 350 pages in order to submit it to Japanese publisher Fujimi Shobo. After Type-Moon Games was formed, he was suggested to remake the story, but as a visual novel.
7 Mahoyo Was Inspired by Neon Genesis Evangelion
Kinoko Nasu has gone on record to state that, when he first penned the 400-page novel that Mahoyo is a remake of, he had been inspired to write it when he watched the first episode of the hit anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion.
Nasu said that he had wanted the novel Mahoyo to be something that more than just his friends would read, and he’d wanted to write a novel since he was in high school. The inspiration had been a spur of the moment.
6 Mahoyo Was Intended to Release on 2009
Originally, Mahoyo had aimed for a 2009 release; more specifically, the visual novel was slated for a release date of sometime in April 2009, after being announced in April 2008. However, due to multiple delays, the game had been pushed back to releasing in mid-2010.
After that, it was delayed to late-2011, and then changed to “sometime” in 2011. Even so, the game still did not release until April 12th, 2012, with a playable demo of Mahoyo having been released on December the 15th, 2011.
5 Mahoyo Is a Prequel Game
The visual novel is a prequel to two other titles created by Type-Moon Games, Tsukihime and The Garden of Sinners. Mahoyo takes place in 1980, about ten years before the events of Tsukihime begin. The main character, Soujuurou Shizuki, originated from the same past of many other characters in the Nasuverse – in other words, Soujuurou came from the same organization as Souichirou Kuzuki, of Fate/stay night.
They both grew up in an organization that trained children from very young to become assassins; essentially, child soldiers.
4 An Anime Movie Adaptation is in the Works
Along with getting a re-release on the PlayStation 4 and the Nintendo Switch with voice acting in 2022, it has been announced that Mahou Tsukai no Yoru will also be gaining an anime film adaptation. The adaptation will be directed by Ufotable; a Japanese animation studio that was founded in 2000 and has adapted plenty of other Type-Moon Games titles into anime and movies, such as Fate/Zero.
Mahoyo’s film adaptation was announced in 2021, but no other information about release dates have been given yet.
3 The Visual Novel is the Back-Story of Aoko Aozaki
Aoko Aozaki, one of the protagonists of Mahou Tsukai no Yoru, is also a major character in Tsukihime, which comes after Mahoyo in the timeline; her role in that story was to be the mentor of the main character, Shiki Tohno.
This visual novel revolves around her back-story, as she studies and learns more about witchcraft while living with the witch Alice Kuonji. For readers of Type-Moon Games’ Tsukihime who want to know more about Aoko’s past, Mahoyo is the perfect place to do so.
2 There are Two Sequels in the Works
Although Mahoyo is considered to be the prequel to The Garden of Sinners and Tsukihime, it is revealed that there are two direct sequels planned for the visual novel.
However, serious production has not started on either of the sequels to the visual novel, as it is stated that the studio wants to wait until the remake of Tsukihime is finished before doing so. Tsukihime -A piece of blue glass moon- has already released, but the second title of the series is still under production.
1 Fate/stay night’s Theme was Inspired by Mahoyo
As Mahou Tsukai no Yoru’s novel version was the first piece of work that Kinoko Nasu had written, it is therefore possible that other parts of the work were used as inspiration for other visual novels. Mahoyo’s theme is of Alice and Aoko, two mages, defending their city from any enemy by using magic.
This theme was also used in Fate/stay night, released in 2004, and Tsukihime, which was released in 2000. Many fans of the game noticed this after playing through all three games.
Mahou Tsukai no Yoru is available on Windows PC.