Tsukihime Remake A Piece Of Blue Glass Moon Is So Good I No Longer Want A Tsukihime Anime

Visual novels are a bit of a mess. A legitimate genre of game is constantly downplayed, mocked and derided for being a few steps above interactive books and often weird premises. Honestly, when the stereotypical visual novel is always "absurd dating premise but then it gets DARK", it's safe to understand why some people look away from visual novels.

And yet, Tsukihime made me believe. I'd gotten into Tsukihime primarily through Melty Blood and Fate/ Carnival Phantasm- I had a rough clue of who characters like Arcueid Brunestud were, and my further curiosity lead me into reading the manga adaptation for Arcueid's route.

With that familiarity in mind, you really start to see the magic of the Tsukihime Remake. A Piece of Blue Glass Moon is visual novel excellence at its finest- showing everything you can do with the medium without having to compromise the genre for mass appeal.

Title: Tsukihime: A Piece Of Blue Glass Moon

Developer: Type-MOON

Publisher: Aniplex, JustDan

Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PS4

Tsukihime Remake Understands The Assignment

The very first thing I'd noticed playing the Tsukihime Remake is that it takes the name Visual Novel very seriously. While most people tend to think of the two-sprites-over-a-text-box format when it comes for visual novels, Type-MOON games have always elected for what is essentially a full-page text box with the sprites behind it. It's a philosophical choice that works out really well because Tsukihime is wordy. It saw the word "novel" and said "bet.

It's here that makes me think Tsukihime just wouldn't be the same in anime format: the protagonist, Shiki Tohno, has a long and consistent internal monologue. While dating sims tend to be about projecting yourself on the character, Shiki is characterized in his own way- the game is just rationalizing his processes on you.

Shiki's monologues are wordy, yes, You get a whole extended scene of him ogling his senpai Ciel's bare legs, for crying out loud. But they're also so much of the Tsukihime tone that gives it its flavor. Adapting it into an anime would be an absolute nightmare- but it excels in the visual novel format since his entire soliloquy can be condensed into a single page.

It's not just his thoughts about himself, either. A core part of Tsukihime's plot is Shiki's obsession with the vampire Arcueid. From the split second he meets her the game needs to tell you how compelled he is to focus his attention on her. While more modern anime fans would rather he simply just constantly yell "I AM OBSESSED WITH ARCUEID" the visual novel gives you a peek into the dream factory with his constant over-description of anything to do with her.

Although wordy these are genuine charm points for Tsukihime Remake. It has me on a lead much the same way Arcueid does Shiki and it's really impressive because you can go on about how good the relationship between two characters is and not even get into describing the story, which is about a boy with Death Perception and a vampire teaming up to kill other vampires.

The Type Moon Flex

Of course, the other half of this discussion is the 'visual' element of the visual novel. It's always very tempting to have a visual novel just use one or two sprites for the entire novel, and maybe have an animated cutscene for big, central moments. Yet Tsukihime Remake takes the kind of opposite approach to this.

All through Tsukihime Remake you're constantly greeted with unique sprites and CGs (full-on illustrations). Arcueid has back sprites for when she's looking at something away from Shiki, and will even turn around with in-between frames when she turns back. Heck, characters eyes can blink on cue with the in-game VO.

Even having characters suddenly zoom in as they get intimate- it really enhances the story in a meaningful way without going too crazy on the effects. To me, these tense conversations are more interesting than the vampire fights itself- simply because it's an excellent use of the visual novel medium.

It's an effect that enhances the story in a way that really validates the medium. You're still reading the text, but these accents add so much more to the experience in a way that doesn't move it away from feeling like a visual novel.

They're all creative decisions well executed- either going with more static sprites, featuring small animations or relying on a full CG to sell the tension of scenes.

This is all interesting to see exactly because I know it's not something every visual novel can afford to do. Visual novels tend to be made by smaller developers, and the bigger ones can tend to move away from the visual novel-y -ness in search of external validation. And yet, like Arcueid in the full moon, Tsukihime Remake stands here entirely proud of what it is as a beacon of excellence for the medium.

Why I Don't Want A Tsukihime Anime

Look, I know an anime is a good way to get a series popular. Heck, I wouldn't even be a Type-MOON fan if I hadn't been dumped and drowned my sorrows by watching Unlimited Blade Works. But at the same time, the current only way to experience Tsukihime Remake is through the visual novel, and it's an experience that I honestly think can change you for the better.

It's a story unrestrained by the format of serial TV anime or even feature movies. It meanders at times (a whole half hour is spent with Arcueid in front of a whiteboard breaking down Kinoko Nasu's meticulous worldbuilding on vampires) but it also soars to true heights. For every scene that feels like it drags on too long it also feels like there's another that hits its stride thanks to the format.

Even if you're already in on the original Tsukihime, there's enough changes that make Tsukihime Remake a delight to read, particularly with the improvements to Ciel's route and the introduction of just how much a pain in the ass the Church really is.

If you want to try to get into visual novels, absolutely give Tsukihime Remake A Piece of Blue Glass Moon a try. It is visual novel excellence at its finest, and it even makes some of the gags in Melty Blood make a bit more sense.

Final Score: 9/10

Game reviewed on Nintendo Switch, Review copy provided by JustDan, the game's publisher in Southeast Asia