Animamundi
Encyclopedia
Animamundi: Dark Alchemist (アニマ・ムンディ 終わりなき闇の舞踏 Anima Mundi: Owarinaki Yami no Butou) is a Japan
ese gothic horror visual novel
developed by Karin Entertainment and distributed by Hirameki International
in the United States
.
and as a result behead her and burn her body. Devastated by the death of his sister, Georik is grief-stricken until he realizes with shock that Lillith's severed head is still alive. Knowing that she cannot live like this forever, Georik tries to restore Lillith's body by transplanting the head from one body to the next, but despite his medical genius, he cannot make her whole again. In the depths of desperation, he stumbles across the secrets of alchemy
, secrets long ago forbidden. Seeing no other way to save his sister, Georik has no choice but to start his journey down this dark and dangerous path...
The main character of the game. He makes a contract with the devil Mephistopheles
in order to save his sister. A former royal physician and an aristocrat who must resort to using the knowledge in alchemy to restore his sister's body. He later works under Bruno.
Seiyuu: Yui Horie
The sister of the protagonist. Before she was beheaded, she had an affinity for animals and collected gothic lolita dresses. She practiced devil summoning spells at home, which caused the town people to hunt her as a witch. Although she was beheaded, her head was still alive, for Georik once had contracted with Mephisto, who resurrected her when she was almost dead not too long ago. Georik has chosen to hide her head in the basement, where she longs to interact with him again.
Seiyuu: Akira Ishida
Hardland's greatest inventor and the Secretary of Science and Technology, he is devastated upon news of Lillith's demise, as he was her fiancé before her death. He is a close friend of Georik.
Seiyuu: Hikaru Midorikawa
Another good friend of Georik; loyal and religious. He is the Captain of the Royal Guard.
Seiyuu: Takehito Koyasu
A lunatic alchemist who worships devils and yearns to contract with Mephistopheles
, who has no interest in his spirit. He is a foreigner, but nonetheless, with his great knowledge in alchemy, he became the royal physician after Georik quit the job.
Seiyuu: Hiroki Yasumoto
Devil who was attracted by Georik's noble spirit. He contracts with Georik and so treats Georik as his master.
Seiyuu: Megumi Ogata
A mysterious fortuneteller and medium, he runs the equally mysterious Golden Goose shop which, for a select few, deals in the tools and equipment of magic and alchemy. He is also skilled in the art of exorcism.
Seiyuu: Junichi Suwabe
A broker who trades organs or stolen goods and sells fresh dead bodies in black market. He is also the member of the 'secret society' The Hell-Fire Club (worships devil in some sense).
. To atone, Hirameki released some copies of the Japanese official game book, but did not re-release an unrated unedited version of the game. Another well-received factor for the game is that it had only one known bug; a text error that could be activated by clicking a particular series of events in a specific order.
In its review, GrrlGamer.com noted the "beautiful artwork, great musical score composed of symphony and chorus, [and] superb voice acting," as well as the elaborate storyline and dialogue. The review also had kind words for the English language adaptation, noting that "aside from a couple of minor typos here and there... Hirameki has truly done an outstanding professional job in this title." GamerGirlsUnite.com gave the novel a 85% rating, praised the voice acting with particular notice given to Yui Horie's performance as Lillith, and concluded that "... if you want to explore a new gaming genre, you're fond of reading stories and not afraid of getting into a gothic horror adventure, this is the game you need to experience. You won't regret it!
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese gothic horror visual novel
Visual novel
A is an interactive fiction game featuring mostly static graphics, usually with anime-style art, or occasionally live-action stills or video footage...
developed by Karin Entertainment and distributed by Hirameki International
Hirameki
Hirameki International Group Inc. was an American company founded in March 2000 which specialized in translating visual novels from Japan and releasing them to the American market. It is named after the Japanese word for the noun "flash" or "insight"...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Story
Many years have passed since Count Georik Zaberisk, once famed as the brilliant Royal Physician of the King of Hardland, relinquished his title and moved to the country to care for his frail sister, Lillith. His life since that time has been that of a normal aristocrat, with little out of the ordinary befalling him. So when one day the King offers Georik a new position as doctor in the capital, he jumps at the chance. However, while he is away from his manor, things take a horrifying turn for his sister when the villagers suspect her of witchcraftWitchcraft
Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
and as a result behead her and burn her body. Devastated by the death of his sister, Georik is grief-stricken until he realizes with shock that Lillith's severed head is still alive. Knowing that she cannot live like this forever, Georik tries to restore Lillith's body by transplanting the head from one body to the next, but despite his medical genius, he cannot make her whole again. In the depths of desperation, he stumbles across the secrets of alchemy
Alchemy
Alchemy is an influential philosophical tradition whose early practitioners’ claims to profound powers were known from antiquity. The defining objectives of alchemy are varied; these include the creation of the fabled philosopher's stone possessing powers including the capability of turning base...
, secrets long ago forbidden. Seeing no other way to save his sister, Georik has no choice but to start his journey down this dark and dangerous path...
Characters
Seiyuu: Ryotaro OkiayuRyotaro Okiayu
is a Japanese voice actor, who was born in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, and raised in Osaka, Osaka Prefecture. He has been active since 1989, and is currently affiliated with Aoni Production....
The main character of the game. He makes a contract with the devil Mephistopheles
Mephistopheles
Mephistopheles is a demon featured in German folklore...
in order to save his sister. A former royal physician and an aristocrat who must resort to using the knowledge in alchemy to restore his sister's body. He later works under Bruno.
Seiyuu: Yui Horie
Yui Horie
is a popular Japanese singer and voice actress. She is sometimes affectionately nicknamed by her Japanese fans.She hosts a radio show called and is the founding member of the singing group, Aice5. She is also a member of the band Kurobara Hozonkai, with the name YUIEL...
The sister of the protagonist. Before she was beheaded, she had an affinity for animals and collected gothic lolita dresses. She practiced devil summoning spells at home, which caused the town people to hunt her as a witch. Although she was beheaded, her head was still alive, for Georik once had contracted with Mephisto, who resurrected her when she was almost dead not too long ago. Georik has chosen to hide her head in the basement, where she longs to interact with him again.
Seiyuu: Akira Ishida
Akira Ishida
Akira Ishida is a prolific male seiyū born in Nisshin, Aichi, Japan.He was a part of Mausu Promotion from 1988 until March 2009...
Hardland's greatest inventor and the Secretary of Science and Technology, he is devastated upon news of Lillith's demise, as he was her fiancé before her death. He is a close friend of Georik.
Seiyuu: Hikaru Midorikawa
Hikaru Midorikawa
is a Japanese voice actor from Otawara, Tochigi who is represented by Aoni Production.He is most known for the roles of Softon in Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo, Tamahome in Fushigi Yugi, Seiran Shi in Saiunkoku Monogatari, Heero Yuy in Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, Kaede Rukawa in Slam Dunk, Zelgadis Greywords in...
Another good friend of Georik; loyal and religious. He is the Captain of the Royal Guard.
Seiyuu: Takehito Koyasu
Takehito Koyasu
is a Japanese voice actor.-Career:Koyasu is part of the voice actor quartet Weiß consisting of Weiß Kreuz voice castmates Shinichiro Miki, Tomokazu Seki, and Yuuki Hiro...
A lunatic alchemist who worships devils and yearns to contract with Mephistopheles
Mephistopheles
Mephistopheles is a demon featured in German folklore...
, who has no interest in his spirit. He is a foreigner, but nonetheless, with his great knowledge in alchemy, he became the royal physician after Georik quit the job.
Seiyuu: Hiroki Yasumoto
Hiroki Yasumoto
is a Japanese voice actor.-Television Animation:*Black Blood Brothers *Bleach , *Coyote Ragtime Show *Dōjin Work *Durarara!!...
Devil who was attracted by Georik's noble spirit. He contracts with Georik and so treats Georik as his master.
Seiyuu: Megumi Ogata
Megumi Ogata
is a female seiyū and singer from the Tokyo Metropolitan area. As a singer, she goes by the name em:óu. She attended Tōkai University, but left due to lack of interest. She is also best known for voicing Sailor Uranus, Kurama and Shinji Ikari....
A mysterious fortuneteller and medium, he runs the equally mysterious Golden Goose shop which, for a select few, deals in the tools and equipment of magic and alchemy. He is also skilled in the art of exorcism.
Seiyuu: Junichi Suwabe
Junichi Suwabe
is a Japanese voice actor working for Haikyo. His most known roles involve, Grimmjow Jeagerjaques , Archer , Keigo Atobe and Omega ....
A broker who trades organs or stolen goods and sells fresh dead bodies in black market. He is also the member of the 'secret society' The Hell-Fire Club (worships devil in some sense).
Reception
As has been the case with most visual novels released in America, Animamundi did not attract much attention in the mainstream gaming press, thanks in part to its fairly limited distribution. Several female-focused gaming websites reviewed the novel and were generally supportive, but not everyone was pleased with the fact that some of the artwork from the game had been edited or replaced; primarily the gore and soft yaoiYaoi
In careful Japanese enunciation, all three vowels are pronounced separately, for a three-mora word, . The English equivalent is . also known as Boys' Love, is a Japanese popular term for female-oriented fictional media that focus on homoerotic or homoromantic male relationships, usually created by...
. To atone, Hirameki released some copies of the Japanese official game book, but did not re-release an unrated unedited version of the game. Another well-received factor for the game is that it had only one known bug; a text error that could be activated by clicking a particular series of events in a specific order.
In its review, GrrlGamer.com noted the "beautiful artwork, great musical score composed of symphony and chorus, [and] superb voice acting," as well as the elaborate storyline and dialogue. The review also had kind words for the English language adaptation, noting that "aside from a couple of minor typos here and there... Hirameki has truly done an outstanding professional job in this title." GamerGirlsUnite.com gave the novel a 85% rating, praised the voice acting with particular notice given to Yui Horie's performance as Lillith, and concluded that "... if you want to explore a new gaming genre, you're fond of reading stories and not afraid of getting into a gothic horror adventure, this is the game you need to experience. You won't regret it!