Before Fate, however, Type-Moon created another visual novel named Tsukihime, about a young man named Shiki Tohno, who has as strange power that allows him to see Lines of Death. His encounter with the immortal vampire Arcueid Brunestud starts off a supernatural story full of danger and mystery. Unlike the Fate series, Tsukihime is largely unknown even to Fate fans, even though several of the game’s characters have appeared in games like Fate/Grand Order. That’s a real shame, as Tsukihime is an important part of Type-Moon’s catalog and deserves to be treated as such. Tsukihime deserves to be better known, and there are many reasons why Type-Moon should consider making a new anime for one of their most important games.
RELATED: Type-Moon Visual Novel Mahotsukai No Yoru: Witch On The Holy Night Getting Film Adaptation By Ufotable
Relevance In The Nasuverse
The Fate series, along with its many spin-off stories and alternate universes, are part of a shared setting known as the Nasuverse, named after Kinoko Nasu, a novelist and writer behind Type-Moon’s visual novels. Tsukihime is another part of the Nasuverse, and it does a better job of exploring the setting than Fate. The Fate series mostly focuses on the Servants and the various Holy Grail Wars they are involved in, and while it occasionally dives into the world’s workings, it is mostly a very story with a narrow focus.
In comparison, Tsukihime does a better job of expanding the world of the Nasuverse, introducing concepts like vampires and exploring institutions like the Holy Church, which is only lightly touched on in Fate/stay night. As a result, it is a very vital part of the Nasuverse, so it’s a shame that most fans of Fate know very little about the franchise. A new anime could make up for this gap in knowledge and allow Fate fans to learn about a whole new side to the world they enjoy so much.
An Anime Could Tie-In To The Remakes
The original Tsukihime visual novel originally came out in 2000, making it a very old game. It’s not hard to understand why younger fans of the Fate series wouldn’t have heard of it. In 2021, that changed when Type-Moon released the first part of a two-part remake for the game. The remakes are fairly faithful to the original story, although changes have been made, such as the addition of new characters that play a large role in the new stories. In addition to the remakes, a new fighting game named Melty Blood: Type Lumina was also developed by French Bread, highlighting characters that appeared in the new visual novels.
RELATED: The Garden Of Sinners: A Delectably Grim Modern Fantasy
The new games certainly bring a lot of new attention to Tsukihime as a franchise, but a new anime would be just as effective. In addition, the release of these remakes is the perfect time to announce an anime, since it would draw the attention of new fans to the series. In addition, more people are interested in watching anime over playing visual novels, so a new Tsukihime anime is certainly more likely to grab new fans, though fans of the visual novels may disagree. Nevertheless, a new anime would be appreciated by all Tsukihime fans regardless of the reason.
Tsukihime Deserves A Second Chance
Tsukihime actually already received an anime adaptation all the way back in 2003, but it was largely considered mediocre by fans. The anime only focused on Arcueid’s route, and cut out many of the story elements that made Tsukihime as beloved as it was. It was also very short, having only 12 episodes to tell the visual novel’s story (in comparison, the original Fate/stay night anime had 24 episodes just for Saber’s route). The anime is generally considered to be a misstep, and it might be part of the reason why Tsukihime is not as well-known in the anime community.
Tsukihime deserves to get a second chance at an anime adaptation, especially when there’s still so much story left to tell. Given enough time to expand on the different plotlines that carry though the visual novel, it’s more than possible to create an anime series that could propel Tsukihime to the same heights as Fate. In addition, Type-Moon could take the same track as the Fate anime series and adapt multiple routes with different series. It would be a lot of work, but if the anime was successful, it would certainly encourage Type-Moon to make the effort. Tsukihime is a story that is just as interesting as Fate/stay night, and a new anime would prove it.
MORE: Fate/Stay Night: Every Route In The Visual Novel, Ranked
