Japanese writer
Ryukishi07
(
?騎士07
,
Ry?kishi Zero-Nana
, born November 19, 1973; real name unknown)
is the
pen name
of a Japanese writer who is the leading member for the group
07th Expansion
. He is the creator of the
When They Cry
visual novel
series, which includes
Higurashi When They Cry
,
Umineko When They Cry
and
Ciconia When They Cry
. His pen name is originated from
Final Fantasy
, "Ry?kishi" being the term for "
Dragoon
" and "07" a
play on words
for "
Lenna
".
[1]
Early life
[
edit
]
Ryukishi07 studied at a
vocational school
that specializes in art and wrote
doujinshi
, while having interests on
anime
,
manga
and
video games
. While in college, he tried to write manga and novels, but realized, "No matter your passion for something, without skill, you can never make it as a professional."
[
citation needed
]
He met with a colleague from a theatre troupe and he was inspired to write a play called
Hinamizawa Bus Stop
(
雛見?停留所
,
Hinamizawa Teiry?jo
)
, which he submitted to a contest that he later lost.
[2]
His younger brother, Yatazakura, inspired by the success of
Type-Moon
's visual novel
Tsukihime
, suggested that he and Ryukishi create their own sound novel. Ryukishi restructured
Hinamizawa Bus Stop
into the episodic visual novel series,
Higurashi When They Cry
.
[3]
After graduating from school, he dreamed of becoming a
video game developer
. He focused on finding a job at a video game manufacturer, but he failed to do so. He took up a position at a
menswear
store, but after a few months, he tentatively took up an offer for a civil service position based on the
civil service
test that he had taken during the job search.
[4]
Career
[
edit
]
Ryukishi07 launched the
doujin circle
07th Expansion
in 2001. He originally produced original cards for Leaf Fight, a trading card game produced by the eroge developer
Leaf
. After his younger brother Yatazakura learned game programming, 07th Expansion began to produce
Higurashi When They Cry
, a reworking of concepts from Ryukishi's
Hinamizawa Bus Stop
script into a psychological horror
visual novel
, with characters inspired by the works of
Key
.
[5]
Reactions to worldwide spread of his works
[
edit
]
In a 2012 interview with Damien Bandrac for the Journal du Japon, Ryukishi07 said:
Initially, my audience was
otaku
who attend
Comiket
, which are a very small fraction of Japanese otaku, themselves a small part of Japanese people in general! I never thought for one second that I could be read, published, edited at the other end of the planet, in France... As for Higurashi, I never thought that people outside Japan might be interested. Umineko in particular is a text that even Japanese people can have difficulty reading. So, to imagine that foreigners have made the effort to read it, understand it, and translate it, is an indescribable happiness to me.
[6]
His writing has been described as alternating between "macabre scenes and schoolboy humor". He has said, "A story should be like a roller coaster. That is to say before writing a really cruel scene, I have to lift the people's spirits, for example, with a fun scene... Before writing a scene of pure despair, we must go through scenes of hope. And indeed, when I write, all of this amuses me very much." He has cited
And Then There Were None
as his influence.
[6]
Works
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"スクウェア?エニックス Music パワ?ド Vol. 1".
Gangan Powered
(in Japanese). 2006.
- ^
Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni production staff.
"07th Expansion インタビュ?"ひぐらしのなかせ方"?載!"
[07th Expansion Interview: How They Make the Cicadas Cry Published!].
Toranoana
(in Japanese). Toranoana Inc. Archived from
the original
on December 24, 2004
. Retrieved
December 24,
2004
.
- ^
Szczepaniak, John (2014).
The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers: Gold Edition
. SMG Szczepaniak. p. 322.
ISBN
978-0992926021
.
- ^
佐?木, 由香.
"ビジネス★ヒ?ロ?インタビュ?Vol.6:シナリオライタ??騎士07さん"
[Business★Hero Interviews Vol. 6: Ryukishi07].
マイナビ
(in Japanese). MyNavi Corporation. Archived from
the original
on 2007-12-13
. Retrieved
January 11,
2013
.
[
dead link
]
- ^
"Keyキネティックノベルプロジェクト『Loopers』?騎士07スペシャルインタビュ?"
.
fes2020.product.co.jp
. Retrieved
8 May
2024
.
- ^
a
b
Bandrac, Damien (2012-06-10).
"Interview avec Ryukishi07, auteur chapeaute - Journal du Japon"
(in French).
Journal du Japon
. Archived from
the original
on 2014-03-30
. Retrieved
2013-03-09
.
- ^
"Higurashi's Ryukishi07 Announces Rose Guns Days"
.
Anime News Network
. January 31, 2012.
Archived
from the original on February 3, 2012
. Retrieved
January 31,
2012
.
- ^
"Rose Guns Days Game by Higurashi's Ryukishi07 Outlined"
.
Anime News Network
. 2012-02-26.
Archived
from the original on 2013-01-06
. Retrieved
2012-03-01
.
- ^
"Ryukishi07's Hotaru-Bi no Tomoru Koro ni Manga to Begin in March"
.
Anime News Network
. December 27, 2015.
Archived
from the original on December 31, 2019
. Retrieved
December 31,
2019
.
External links
[
edit
]
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When They Cry
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