Nasuverse

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

The universe of the writings of TYPE-MOON's scenario director, Kinoko Nasu. It's made up of several "sub-universes" ("franchises" that share characters) that take place in the same world with the same rules, but interestingly enough, seldom obviously cross over. Also of note is that while the franchises are not alternate continuities to each other, the franchises themselves are made up of several, since the primary works are visual novels with multiple and very mutually exclusive paths which are all canon by virtue of being alternate continuities to one another.

Several of the main works are H-games (aka eroge, marked as such), while many of the related works are not.

A list of the works within the verse (and a short summary):

Mahou Tsukai no Yoru - Witch on the Holy Night

  • Originally an unpublished short story; it details the past of Aoko Aozaki (a minor but influential character present in Tsukihime) and her mentor, Alice Kuonji. They meet Shizuki Soujuurou, a man unfamiliar with city life. A Visual Novel adaptation was released (after a very long wait) on April 12, 2012. It is also Type-Moon's first all-ages visual novel.

Notes (Our Angels Are Different)

  • Also called Angel Notes; it's a short story featuring an apocalyptic future where The Ultimate Ones invade the planet and destroy the remains of humanity after the death of Gaia. Also notable for providing the foundation for some concepts in the 'verse, namely that "Gaia" is a living being and that each planet has an "Ultimate One".

Kara no Kyoukai - the Garden of Sinners (Our Souls Are Different)

  • Protagonist Shiki Ryougi wakes up from a coma, and finds that while she retains her memories, she cannot identify with them as her own. As she struggles through her own life like a stranger, strange events - suicides, murders - begin to happen around town.
  • Three novels, divided into seven chapters and an epilogue. A series of 7 animated feature-length films air in theaters from late 2007 to 2009. The DVD editions for all movies are available as of December 2009, while the Blu-Ray editions (incidentally with English subtitles) were released in February 2011, together with an OVA of the epilogue.
  • It is important to note that, being one of the first works written, this is the one work Word of God maintains to be in an Alternate Universe from the rest (due to major discrepancies, such as Shiki's eyes and Touko's goal). Most of the characters here can be considered the 'blueprints' for those in the rest of the 'verse. To clarify, every character from the other works are still present in KnK's universe (with the exception of anyone True Ancestor-related) and vice-versa, but they are slightly different given the conflicting aspects of each universe having possibly changed their circumstances. Excluding Zelretch, who can pop into any given universe at a whim. Shiki is included as a Character in Melty Blood: Actress Again. She is pulled across dimensions, thus indicating that Kara no Kyoukai and Melty Blood; at least, are Alternate Continuity.

Tsukihime (Our Vampires Are Different)

  • Tsukihime, an eroge visual novel. Features The Verse's other Shiki, Shiki Tohno, going back to his old family mansion after he was kicked out eight years old. He suffered a childhood accident which granted his eyes strange abilities and his own past is rather muddled as well. Has a manga and an anime adaption, complete with Bleached Underpants.
  • Tsukihime PLUS+DISC, a visual novel. A "fun disc" with a new short story (introducing two new characters, and finally revealing protagonist Tohno Shiki's face) and several other shorts discussing the Verse. Also, sequel promotion.
  • Kagetsu Tohya, a eroge visual novel. Yet another "fun disc" sequel that doesn't specifically take place in any one particular ending of the original game. In any case, about 90% of it is a (very messed up) dream.
  • Melty Blood, a fighting game. Relatively story-heavy for its genre. Has several sequels itself, some of them expanding the story considerably, mostly the update Melty Blood Re-Act. Supposedly takes place after an unreleased story route in Tsukihime.
  • Tsukihime 2 / the dark six, currently a running joke. A brief trailer is in Kagetsu Tohya, and there have been many short stories that expanded the characters (especially Tohno Shiki) far beyond their original roles.
  • A remake of the original Tsukihime has been announced in April 2008, reportedly finally including the Yumizuka Satsuki route that has been one of the running jokes of the franchise.

Fate (Our Magics Are Different)

  • Fate/stay night, an eroge visual novel. Shirou Emiya, Mage-in-self-training, stumbles into the "Holy Grail War". Has a manga, an anime adaption and a movie by Studio DEEN, and a PlayStation 2 port, all with the aforementioned bleached underpants.
  • Fate/hollow ataraxia, an eroge visual novel and the fandisc sequel to Fate/stay night. Similar in form and function to Kagetsu Tohya. An illusory, looping world featuring a girl who was supposed to be dead at the beginning of Fate/stay night.
  • Fate/Zero, a prequel to Fate/stay night written by Gen Urobuchi (under Nasu's direction) of Nitroplus fame, concerning the fourth Grail War that Shirou's adoptive father Kiritsugu took part in ten years ago. Originally a set of four novels, it was adapted into a Drama CD, a manga, and an Animated Adaptation by ufotable airing in Fall 2011.
  • Fate/tiger colosseum, a PSP exclusive 3D brawler, which serves as both a sequel and parody of the original games. Taiga Fujimura initiates a war for the Tiger Grail and the Masters and Servants compete for it once more. Followed by a stand-alone expansion pack, Fate/tiger colosseum UPPER, which added more playable characters from hollow ataraxia and zero, as well as Arcueid, Kohaku (both in Magical Girl form), and Neco-Arc, making it the first real Crossover between Fate and Tsukihime.
  • Fate Unlimited Codes, a fighting game. Follows the general plot of Fate/stay night but proceeds into a different direction; "What if this character was the protagonist?". Also includes Luviagelita Edelfelt from Fate/hollow ataraxia, a surprise entry of Lancer from Fate/Zero, and Saber Alter from the Heaven's Feel route, as well as a "new" entry of "Saber Lily", an apparently "Bright" version of Saber to round off the trifecta.
  • Fate/EXTRA, an alternate telling of the Fifth Grail War, released for the PSP in July, 2010. Differs from the rest of the series in that the player can choose their character's gender and Servant (from Saber, Caster, or Archer).
  • "Fate", or proto-version of it, was apparently one of Nasu's earlier works at which he wrote when he was still in college. In this version, Saber was male while the character that Shirou replaced was a female name Sajou Ayaka. The changes were made likely to shift into a eroge game and all the changes in background story of the female Saber were likely due to the fact that she is now female.
  • Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya, a Spin-Off Alternate Universe manga, starting from Fate/zero and going into the Fate/stay night time. Since it is some sort of Affectionate Parody of the Magical Girl genre, it is Lighter and Softer compared to Fate/zero and Fate/stay night, but it gets Darker and Edgier on its own with appearances of several characters from the Fate series.
  • Fate/Apocrypha is a cancelled Fate project for an online game based around the Holy Grail War Master and Servant system. Even though it was cancelled, it was featured in the Fate Complete Material IV that includes character arts of fifteen different Heroic Spirits. The project is being revived as a Light Novel authored by Yuuichiro Higashide.
  • Fate/strange fake is a non-canon Fate/stay night "fanfiction" written by Narita Ryougo, the author of Baccano!. It was originally an April Fool's joke game, until it was released in a novella form from Type-Moon Ace 2 magazine. The plot centers around a Grail War faultily copied from the third Grail War in Snowfield, a fictional small town in California, ten years after Fate/hollow ataraxia.

DDD aka Decoration Disorder Disconnection. (Our Demons Are Different)

  • A series of novels not directly connected, but explore another new aspect of The Verse: demons (not oni and oni hybrids like in Tsukihime; true demons).

Carnival Phantasm

Has its own wiki here.

The Nasuverse is mostly unified in its rules on Functional Magic and related topics (like non-human species). However, while crossovers are rare, they do happen, even if in incredibly roundabout ways. This 'verse is also notable for a very high amount of incredibly detailed Canon and a comparatively low amount of Fanon (since pretty much everything that can be explained is somewhere).

Then again, as already stated, it isn't internally consistent because large portions of the source material are mutually exclusive, and some parts of it are obviously not canon to begin with (like self-parodies etc.) - the canon universe is more about characters and the interaction between them, and less about the actual plot(s) taking place. Doujinshi authors take full advantage of this, and the amount of fan material available is staggering.

Due to the sheer amount of rules and terminologies involved within the Nasuverse, there is now an analysis page as a guide to all the terminologies and rules involved, also serving as a dissection of the setting through tropes. Please feel free to contribute. Also now has a memes page.

Pastimes of Nasuverse fans (sometimes called "Type-Lunatics", even by themselves) include:

  • Discussing power levels inside and across franchises. Of particular note, the Word of God strongest being, Type-Mercury/ORT has become a loved and hated icon of the Nasuverse.
  • Arguing over whether either Shiki (mainly Shiki) can kill Servants, or other beings for that matter (Word of God be damned). The Death of the Author is somewhat warranted since Word of God is mostly inconsistent and made up on the spot.
  • Pairing off the numerous female (due to its eroge roots) characters with each other. Far easier in Fate than Tsukihime, unless you're a Foe Yay or Twincest kind of person.
  • Trying to make sense of the intensely complicated and convoluted rules of the universe, only a small part of which is even available in English
  • Hating the Tsukihime anime adaptation, mostly citing low budget, character wrecking, vague storytelling, and OOC actions that just don't make sense when one has read the visual novel, and loving the manga adaptation.
  • Making fun of the pornographic aspects in the games, considering it hilariously bad, particularly the metaphors used for the sex organs
  • Arguing about the intelligence/stupidity levels of the protagonists (a very touchy topic - one end of the spectrum has them as subtle geniuses, the other as having noticeable cases of Downs Syndrome), Shirou being the most common focus.
  • Questioning the accuracy of some "canon" details; a decent amount of Nasu's interview answers about the 'verse have the distinct feel of being made up on the spot (see: "Mana Bomb") - enough to where many fans refuse to take anything not written in the actual works as Canon.
  • Figuring out scenarios based on the ridiculously convoluted character relationships. Even that chart only slightly helps (though it doesn't include the characters from Fate Zero, and does not show Shirou or Shiki's relationships with most of the heroines correctly, for instance missing out Shirou's love for Sakura and Rin, even though their routes are just as canon as Saber's).
  • Making a gigantic tabletop roleplaying game based on the Nasuverse.
The following tropes are common to many or all entries in the Nasuverse franchise.
For tropes specific to individual installments, visit their respective work pages.
  • Apotheosis: Inverted when the Age of the Gods was coming to an end. The Gods were changed into Divine Spirits, the highest form of Nature Spirits. There's also how people reborn as gods became closer to humans, though they still became beings of worship.
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