Muv-Luv
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese visual novel
developed by âge
, which was originally released as an adult game
for the PC
in February 28, 2003. Subsequent versions with the adult content removed were sold for the PC and Xbox 360
. Consisting of two parts, and , the gameplay
in Muv-Luv follows a linear plot line, which offers pre-determined scenarios and courses of interaction, and focuses on the differing scenarios of the female main characters. Muv-Luv was followed by a sequel, , which was released for the PC on April 24, 2006 and follows the storyline of Muv-Luv Unlimited. Two fandiscs were also released, and , containing alternate scenarios, short stores, computer wallpapers, and audio dramas.
Muv-Luv has also made the transition to other media. Three manga series based on the games were published by MediaWorks
and later ASCII Media Works
and serialized in the manga magazine Dengeki Daioh
. Shueisha
published a seven volume novel series based on Muv-Luv and Muv-Luv Alternative while Enterbrain
publishes a follow-up novel series, Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse in its Tech Gian magazine and follows the events after Muv-Luv Alternative. Total Eclipse has also been adapted into the manga format by ASCII Media Works
and an anime series which will air in 2012.
Muv-Luv is divided into two segments, or story arcs—Extra and Unlimited—which serve as different phases in the overall story. At the beginning of the game, only the Extra arc is available to play, but once the player has completed the scenarios available in Extra, Unlimited is made accessible. This is achieved by completing the scenarios for the two main heroins, Sumika Kagami and Meiya Mitsurugi.
Muv-Luv Unlimited takes place in an alternate world
to Extra, where aliens called BETA (an acronym for "Beings of the Extra Terrestrial origin which is Adversary of human race") have invaded and mankind fights back against the alien aggressors with giant robots
called , usually referred to as simply , as almost all conventional weapons were ineffective.
The BETA first arrived on Earth in 1973 (in China and Canada) after arriving on the Moon in 1967 and being spotted on Mars in 1958. By 2001, the world population has been reduced to 1 billion people, and most of Europe and central Asia have been wiped out. The Soviet Union, though, is still around, operating out of Alaska. When the BETA first arrived in Japan in 1998, 36 million people were dead within a week.
Most of the major characters from the Extra timeline are present in Unlimited, except for the Unlimited world's Takeru, who is said to be dead, and Sumika, who does not seem to exist in the Unlimited timeline. The characters are, for the most part identical to their Extra counterparts, with the possible exception of Mikoto, who is now female.
In the sequel Muv-Luv Alternative, Takeru wakes up three years after the end of Unlimited to find himself back in his room. Although he first thinks that everything that had happened to him was a dream, he soon feels that something is wrong, and leaves the house to find that he has been sent back in time to the beginning of the events in Unlimited. Unwilling to accept the events at the end of Unlimited, he decides to help professor Kouzuki save the earth and mankind.
CD-ROM, and re-released on DVD-ROM on April 30, 2004. A fandisc, called Muv-Luv Supplement containing a number of short stories, computer wallpapers, audio clips, and a trailer for the upcoming Muv-Luv Alternative. The limited edition DVD was released on December 17, 2004 and the regular edition was released on December 24.
Muv-Luv Alternative is a sequel to Muv-Luv and taking place after the events of the Unlimited arc in the original game. The DVD version of the game was released on February 24, 2006 and the CD version was released on March 3, 2006. A Muv-Luv Alternative fandisc, Muv-Luv Altered Fable, was released on August 31, 2007 containing an alternate version of the Extra arc from Muv-Luv along with a radio drama, a Senjoki vs. BETA strategy RPG, computer wallpapers, and a Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse short story.
"All-age" versions of Muv-Luv and Muv-Luv Alternative with the adult content removed were released simultaneously on September 22, 2006. In 2011, both games were ported to the Xbox 360
by 5pb.
and simultaneously released on October 27, 2011.
's, and later ASCII Media Works
's Dengeki Daioh
manga magazine. The first adaptation, called Muv-Luv, is written and illustrated by Ukyō Takao and covers the Extra part of the first game. It was collected and republished in three volumes by MediaWorks. The second series is Muv-Luv Unlimited and covers the Unlimited portion of the first game. It ran for four volumes and was written and illustrated by Tomo Hiryokawa. The third series, Muv-Luv Alternative, is written and illustrated by Azusa Maxima and based on the second game of the same name. It began its serial
run in the February 2007 issue of Dengeki Daioh. , six compilation volumes have been published by ASCII Media Works. The novel series Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse has also been adapted into a manga by Takashi Ishigaki and two compilation volumes have been published .
! colspan="3" | Muv-Luv
|-
! colspan="3" | Muv-Luv Unlimited
|-
! colspan="3" | Muv-Luv Alternative
|-
! colspan="3" | Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse
|-
. The closing theme for the Extra segment of Muv-Luv is "I Will" and the Unlimited segment's ending theme is , both by Minami Kuribayashi. For the all ages version, the opening theme the Extra segment is "divergence" by Minami Kuribayashi. For the Unlimited segment, the opening theme is by Masami Okui
. The all ages version featured several ending themes depending on the ending, including "I will" by Minami Kuribayashi, by Aki Misato
, "Astraea" by Miyuki Hashimoto
, and by CooRie
.
The opening themes for the sequel Muv-Luv Alternative are by JAM Project
for the original release and by JAM Project for the all age release. The ending theme for both releases is by Minami Kuribayashi.
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 âge
Âge
Âge is a division of Acid Co., Ltd., a Japanese publisher of adult video games and visual novels. Âge was formerly known as Relic and developed video games for consoles. It gained fame following the release of its 2001 adult visual novel Kimi ga Nozomu Eien. It was founded by Hirohiko Yoshida,...
, which was originally released as an adult game
Eroge
An or Ero-ga is a Japanese video or computer game that features erotic content, usually in the form of anime-style artwork. Eroge originated from galge, but unlike galge, they feature erotic/pornographic content.-History:...
for the PC
IBM PC compatible
IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to...
in February 28, 2003. Subsequent versions with the adult content removed were sold for the PC and Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
. Consisting of two parts, and , the gameplay
Gameplay
Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and player's connection with it...
in Muv-Luv follows a linear plot line, which offers pre-determined scenarios and courses of interaction, and focuses on the differing scenarios of the female main characters. Muv-Luv was followed by a sequel, , which was released for the PC on April 24, 2006 and follows the storyline of Muv-Luv Unlimited. Two fandiscs were also released, and , containing alternate scenarios, short stores, computer wallpapers, and audio dramas.
Muv-Luv has also made the transition to other media. Three manga series based on the games were published by MediaWorks
MediaWorks (publisher)
was a Japanese publishing company in the Kadokawa Group known for their brand magazines and book labels. These included such well-known magazines as Dengeki Daioh, and Dengeki G's Magazine, along with MediaWorks' main light novel publishing imprint Dengeki Bunko. The company was merged with ASCII...
and later ASCII Media Works
ASCII Media Works
is a Japanese publishing company in the Kadokawa Group which formed on April 1, 2008 as a result of a merger between ASCII and MediaWorks where MediaWorks legally absorbed ASCII. Despite this, the former president of ASCII, Kiyoshi Takano, became the president of ASCII Media Works. The company...
and serialized in the manga magazine Dengeki Daioh
Dengeki Daioh
is a Japanese shōnen manga magazine published by ASCII Media Works under the Dengeki brand. Many manga serialized in Dengeki Daioh were later published in tankōbon volumes under ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Comics imprint. The magazine is sold every month on the 27th...
. Shueisha
Shueisha
is a major publisher in Japan. The company was founded in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The following year, Shueisha became a separate, independent company. Magazines published by Shueisha include Weekly Shōnen Jump, Weekly Young Jump,...
published a seven volume novel series based on Muv-Luv and Muv-Luv Alternative while Enterbrain
Enterbrain
is a Japanese magazine publisher established on April 1, 2000. Enterbrain magazines are generally focused on video games and computer entertainment as well as video game and strategy guides. In addition, the company publishes a small selection of anime artbooks. Enterbrain is based in Tokyo, Japan...
publishes a follow-up novel series, Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse in its Tech Gian magazine and follows the events after Muv-Luv Alternative. Total Eclipse has also been adapted into the manga format by ASCII Media Works
ASCII Media Works
is a Japanese publishing company in the Kadokawa Group which formed on April 1, 2008 as a result of a merger between ASCII and MediaWorks where MediaWorks legally absorbed ASCII. Despite this, the former president of ASCII, Kiyoshi Takano, became the president of ASCII Media Works. The company...
and an anime series which will air in 2012.
Gameplay
The gameplay in Muv-Luv requires little player interaction as much time is spent on reading the text that appears on the lower portion of the screen, representing either dialogue between characters, or the inner thoughts of the protagonist. Every so often, the player will come to a "decision point", where he or she is given the chance to choose from multiple options. The time between these points is variable and can occur anywhere from a minute to much longer. Gameplay pauses at these points and depending on which choice the player makes, the plot will progress in a specific direction. There are multiple plot lines that the player will have the chance to experience, one for each of the heroines in the story, and there are twenty possible endings. To view all plot lines, the player will have to replay the game multiple times and make different decisions to progress the plot in an alternate direction. The game can end prematurely if the player makes the wrong decisions. When this occurs, the player must go back to a previously saved spot and choose different decisions.Muv-Luv is divided into two segments, or story arcs—Extra and Unlimited—which serve as different phases in the overall story. At the beginning of the game, only the Extra arc is available to play, but once the player has completed the scenarios available in Extra, Unlimited is made accessible. This is achieved by completing the scenarios for the two main heroins, Sumika Kagami and Meiya Mitsurugi.
Plot and characters
The plot of Muv-Luv is divided into two parts. The first part is called Muv-Luv Extra while the second part is called Muv-Luv Unlimited. In Extra, Takeshi Shirogane wakes up one morning to find a beautiful young woman sleeping in his bed and an infuriated Sumika Kagami, Takeshi's neighbor and childhood friend. The young woman, Meiya Mitsurugi, is the heiress to a financially powerful family and is determine to be Takeshi's bride. As the game progress, both girls compete for Takeshi's affections while Takeshi has reoccurring dreams about a marriage promise he made to a girl long ago. At first, he believes the girl was Sumika, but eventually realizes that it was actually Meiya. At the conclusion, Takeshi must choose between which of the girls he truly loves.Muv-Luv Unlimited takes place in an alternate world
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
to Extra, where aliens called BETA (an acronym for "Beings of the Extra Terrestrial origin which is Adversary of human race") have invaded and mankind fights back against the alien aggressors with giant robots
Mecha
A mech , is a science fiction term for a large walking bipedal tank or robot, including ones on treads and animal shapes.-Characteristics:...
called , usually referred to as simply , as almost all conventional weapons were ineffective.
The BETA first arrived on Earth in 1973 (in China and Canada) after arriving on the Moon in 1967 and being spotted on Mars in 1958. By 2001, the world population has been reduced to 1 billion people, and most of Europe and central Asia have been wiped out. The Soviet Union, though, is still around, operating out of Alaska. When the BETA first arrived in Japan in 1998, 36 million people were dead within a week.
Most of the major characters from the Extra timeline are present in Unlimited, except for the Unlimited world's Takeru, who is said to be dead, and Sumika, who does not seem to exist in the Unlimited timeline. The characters are, for the most part identical to their Extra counterparts, with the possible exception of Mikoto, who is now female.
In the sequel Muv-Luv Alternative, Takeru wakes up three years after the end of Unlimited to find himself back in his room. Although he first thinks that everything that had happened to him was a dream, he soon feels that something is wrong, and leaves the house to find that he has been sent back in time to the beginning of the events in Unlimited. Unwilling to accept the events at the end of Unlimited, he decides to help professor Kouzuki save the earth and mankind.
Development and release
Muv-Luv was released on February 28, 2003 on WindowsMicrosoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
CD-ROM, and re-released on DVD-ROM on April 30, 2004. A fandisc, called Muv-Luv Supplement containing a number of short stories, computer wallpapers, audio clips, and a trailer for the upcoming Muv-Luv Alternative. The limited edition DVD was released on December 17, 2004 and the regular edition was released on December 24.
Muv-Luv Alternative is a sequel to Muv-Luv and taking place after the events of the Unlimited arc in the original game. The DVD version of the game was released on February 24, 2006 and the CD version was released on March 3, 2006. A Muv-Luv Alternative fandisc, Muv-Luv Altered Fable, was released on August 31, 2007 containing an alternate version of the Extra arc from Muv-Luv along with a radio drama, a Senjoki vs. BETA strategy RPG, computer wallpapers, and a Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse short story.
"All-age" versions of Muv-Luv and Muv-Luv Alternative with the adult content removed were released simultaneously on September 22, 2006. In 2011, both games were ported to the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
by 5pb.
5pb.
is a Japanese video game manufacturer and record label for video game and anime music. 5pb. formed on April 6, 2005 after Chiyomaru Shikura left Scitron to begin the company as its executive director, the position he still holds. The company name is derived from the phrase "The Five powered &...
and simultaneously released on October 27, 2011.
Manga
Three manga adaptations based on Muv-Luv and its sequel Muv-Luv Alternative have been serialized in MediaWorksMediaWorks (publisher)
was a Japanese publishing company in the Kadokawa Group known for their brand magazines and book labels. These included such well-known magazines as Dengeki Daioh, and Dengeki G's Magazine, along with MediaWorks' main light novel publishing imprint Dengeki Bunko. The company was merged with ASCII...
's, and later ASCII Media Works
ASCII Media Works
is a Japanese publishing company in the Kadokawa Group which formed on April 1, 2008 as a result of a merger between ASCII and MediaWorks where MediaWorks legally absorbed ASCII. Despite this, the former president of ASCII, Kiyoshi Takano, became the president of ASCII Media Works. The company...
's Dengeki Daioh
Dengeki Daioh
is a Japanese shōnen manga magazine published by ASCII Media Works under the Dengeki brand. Many manga serialized in Dengeki Daioh were later published in tankōbon volumes under ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Comics imprint. The magazine is sold every month on the 27th...
manga magazine. The first adaptation, called Muv-Luv, is written and illustrated by Ukyō Takao and covers the Extra part of the first game. It was collected and republished in three volumes by MediaWorks. The second series is Muv-Luv Unlimited and covers the Unlimited portion of the first game. It ran for four volumes and was written and illustrated by Tomo Hiryokawa. The third series, Muv-Luv Alternative, is written and illustrated by Azusa Maxima and based on the second game of the same name. It began its serial
Serial (literature)
In literature, a serial is a publishing format by which a single large work, most often a work of narrative fiction, is presented in contiguous installments—also known as numbers, parts, or fascicles—either issued as separate publications or appearing in sequential issues of a single periodical...
run in the February 2007 issue of Dengeki Daioh. , six compilation volumes have been published by ASCII Media Works. The novel series Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse has also been adapted into a manga by Takashi Ishigaki and two compilation volumes have been published .
! colspan="3" | Muv-Luv
|-
! colspan="3" | Muv-Luv Unlimited
|-
! colspan="3" | Muv-Luv Alternative
|-
! colspan="3" | Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse
|-
Novels
Anime
On July 24, 2011, a teaser website announced that television anime adaptation of the Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse novels will air in Japan in 2012.Music
The opening theme of Muv-Luv is by Minami KuribayashiMinami Kuribayashi
is a Japanese singer-songwriter and voice actress from Shizuoka prefecture.Her involvement in the game and anime Kimi ga Nozomu Eien, where she voiced the role of one of the characters, Haruka Suzumiya and performed and penned the theme songs and other songs relating to the series, has brought her...
. The closing theme for the Extra segment of Muv-Luv is "I Will" and the Unlimited segment's ending theme is , both by Minami Kuribayashi. For the all ages version, the opening theme the Extra segment is "divergence" by Minami Kuribayashi. For the Unlimited segment, the opening theme is by Masami Okui
Masami Okui
is a Rock/Pop/Anison singer who was born in Itami, Hyōgo, Japan. She began her professional musical career at age 21 as a concert backup singer.From almost the very beginning of her career, Masami has sung themes for anime TV and movies...
. The all ages version featured several ending themes depending on the ending, including "I will" by Minami Kuribayashi, by Aki Misato
Aki Misato
is a female Japanese J-pop singer from Saitama, Japan. Most of her songs are theme songs for anime and video games. She made her debut in 2004 with her first single Kimi ga Sora Datta , which was featured as the ending theme of the anime Mai-HiME...
, "Astraea" by Miyuki Hashimoto
Miyuki Hashimoto
is a Japanese female singer from Saitama Prefecture. She is signed to Lantis, a label which contribute songs to anime and video games.- Singles :* Koko ni Iru kara... # Koko ni Iru kara.....
, and by CooRie
CooRie
CooRie is a self-produced Japanese music unit by singer-songwriter Rino that performs songs for anime and games. CooRie used to be a two-persons unit when it debuted in 2003, with Rino doing the lyrics and vocals and doing the music compositions and arrangements...
.
The opening themes for the sequel Muv-Luv Alternative are by JAM Project
JAM Project
JAM Project is an anime music genre "supergroup" based in Japan, originally founded on July 19, 2000 by famous 1970s theme song artist Ichirou Mizuki...
for the original release and by JAM Project for the all age release. The ending theme for both releases is by Minami Kuribayashi.