The Fruit of Grisaia
The Fruit of Grisaia is a Japanese adult visual novel, the first in a series of visual novels by Front Wing, with character designs by Akio Watanabe and Fumio. It was released in February 2011 for Windows, and it was later ported to the PlayStation Portable and PlayStation Vita. Two sequel visual novels were also produced for Windows: The Labyrinth of Grisaia in February 2012 and The Eden of Grisaia in May 2013. The three games have been licensed in English and published worldwide by Sekai Project in 2015. There have been two manga adaptations published by Akita Shoten and Mag Garden. A 13-episode anime television series animated by Eight Bit and produced by NBCUniversal aired in Japan from October to December 2014. Subsequently, anime adaptations of the two sequel games aired between April and June 2015. An anime film adaptation of Grisaia: Phantom Trigger premiered on March 15, 2019. A sequel to the film titled Grisaia: Phantom Trigger the Animation Stargazer will premiere on November 27, 2020.
Gameplay
The Fruit of Grisaia is a romance visual novel in which the player assumes the role of Yūji Kazami. Much of its gameplay is spent on reading the story's narrative and dialogue. The text in the game is accompanied by character sprites, which represent who Yūji is talking to, over background art. Throughout the game, the player encounters CG artwork at certain points in the story, which take the place of the background art and character sprites. The Fruit of Grisaia follows a branching plot line with multiple endings, and depending on the decisions that the player makes during the game, the plot will progress in a specific direction.There are five main plot lines that the player will have the chance to experience, one for each heroine. Throughout gameplay, the player is given multiple options to choose from, and text progression pauses at these points until a choice is made. Some decisions can lead the game to end prematurely, which offer an alternative ending to the plot. To view all plot lines in their entirety, the player will have to replay the game multiple times and choose different choices to further the plot to an alternate direction. Throughout gameplay, there are scenes with sexual CGs depicting Yūji and a given heroine having sex.
Plot
Yūji Kazami transfers to Mihama Academy, a school with only five female students and prison-like features. Every student in the school has their own "circumstances" for being there, but Yūji is not required to do anything about their situation as he asked for a normal student life. According to the decisions he makes while at Mihama Academy, however, he will eventually choose to become involved of his own accord.Characters
Main characters
;Yūji Kazami;Yumiko Sakaki
;Amane Suou
;Michiru Matsushima
;Sachi Komine
;Makina Irisu
Secondary characters
;Chizuru Tachibana;Yuria Harudera
;Kazuki Kazami
;Asako Kusakabe
;Michiaki Sakaki
;Chiara Farrell
;Kiyoka Irisu
;Sarina Irisu
;Masataka Irisu
;Satoko Kazami
;Ryouji Kazami
;Megumi Komori
;Haruna Ibuki
;Chiaki Sakashita
;Yoshihiko Ochi
;Saaya Kaneda
;Mifuyu Sakurai
;Minori Sakuma
;Tamaki Hirooka
;Ritsu Koide
;Sachi's Father
;Sachi's Mother
Phantom Trigger characters
;Rena Fukami;Tohka Shishigaya
;Christina Sakurako Kujirase
;Murasaki Ikoma
;Maki Inohara
;Shiori Arisaka
;Haruto Aoi
;Ichiru Sengoku
;Nogami
;Izumi Yamamoto
;Choco & Vanilla Inagaki
;Chihiro Ukawa
Release history
The game was first released for Windows on February 25, 2011. A PlayStation Portable version was released on February 21, 2013. The PSP version removes explicit sex scenes, but adds a new story, updated graphics, and additional voices. An upgraded PlayStation Vita version was released in August 2013 in Japan. Two sequels were released for Windows: The Labyrinth of Grisaia released on February 24, 2012 and The Eden of Grisaia released on May 24, 2013. A spin-off parody game of Grisaia no Kajitsu, titled Grisaia no Kajitsu Spin-out!? Idol Magical Girl Chiruchiru Michiru, was released for Windows in 2014. It was ported to the PlayStation Vita on June 25, 2015, and features an original story on how Michiru becomes a magical girl tasked with the job of saving the world. Sekai Project acquired the rights to release an English version of the Grisaia trilogy as well as the spinoff game Idol Magical Girl Chiruchiru Michiru which they funded via Kickstarter in December 2014. An English port of the PlayStation Vita version of The Fruit of Grisaia was released on Steam on May 29, 2015. A collection named The Grisaia Trilogy containing the three main entries and side stories was released for the Nintendo Switch in November 2019.Related media
Manga
A manga adaptation titled The Fruit of Grisaia: Sanctuary Fellows, written by Eiji Narumi and illustrated by Shū Hirose, began serialization in Akita Shoten's Champion Red Ichigo magazine with volume 36 released on February 5, 2013. The first tankōbon volume was released on December 20, 2013; four volumes have been released. A second manga titled The Fruit of Grisaia: L'Oiseau bleu, written by Jun'ichi Fujisaku and illustrated by Taka Himeno, was serialized in Mag Garden's Monthly Comic Blade magazine between the May and September 2014 issues. Following the magazine's discontinuation, the manga continued serialization in Mag Garden's Comic Garden magazine with the October 2014 issue. The first tankōbon volume was released on September 10, 2014 and the third and last on December 10, 2015.Anime
A 13-episode anime television series adaptation, animated by Eight Bit, produced by NBCUniversal, and directed by Tensho, aired in Japan from October 5 to December 28, 2014 on AT-X. The screenplay was written by Hideyuki Kurata, character designs and chief animation direction are handled by Akio Watanabe, and Elements Garden composed the music. Six anime shorts were released with the DVD and Blu-ray Disc compilation volumes released between December 25, 2014 and May 27, 2015. The anime has been licensed for digital and home video release by Sentai Filmworks in North America. Sequentially, Eight Bit and NBCUniversal produced two follow-ups. A 47-minute anime television film adaptation of The Labyrinth of Grisaia aired on April 12, 2015, and a 10-episode anime adaptation of The Eden of Grisaia aired from April 19 to June 21, 2015. They have also been licensed for digital and home video release by Sentai Filmworks.A 90-minute anime film adaptation based on Frontwing's Grisaia: Phantom Trigger episodic game series premiered on March 15, 2019. The film was directed by Tensho at Bibury Animation Studios, with Akio Watanabe handling character designs and Ryuichiro Yamakawa handling production. Hitoshi Fujima and Fuminori Matsumoto are composing the music. The cast members reprised their roles from the game.
A sequel to Grisaia: Phantom Trigger has been announced. The new sequel will tell the story of the game's Vol. 3. The sequel is titled Grisaia: Phantom Trigger the Animation Stargazer, and the cast and staff will reprise their roles from the film. The sequel will premiere on November 27, 2020.
Music
The Fruit of Grisaia has six pieces of theme music: one opening theme and five ending themes. The opening theme is "Shūmatsu no Fractal" by Faylan. Each heroine has her own ending theme, starting with Yumiko's theme "Holograph" by Eufonius. Amane's theme is "Home" by Miyuki Hashimoto. Michiru's theme is "Skip" by Chata. Makina's theme is "Mayoi no Mori" by Hiromi Satō. Sachi's theme is "Kono Hi no Mama de" by Nana. The single for "Shūmatsu no Fractal", which also contains "Happy Soul Dance", was released on January 26, 2011.The anime's opening theme is "Rakuen no Tsubasa" by Maon Kurosaki, and the main ending theme is "Anata no Aishita Sekai" by Yoshino Nanjō. Additional ending themes include "Eden's Song" by Hana used in episode two, "Skip" used in episode five, and "Sōsei no Tanatosu" by Faylan used in episode thirteen. Several ending themes from the game included as insert songs are also used in the anime such as "Holograph" in episode six and "Lost Forest" in episode nine. The opening theme for The Eden of Grisaia is "Setsuna no Kajitsu" by Kurosaki.
Reception
In the 2011 Moe Game Awards, The Fruit of Grisaia was awarded the Grand Prize, as well as the Gold Prizes for Scenario, User's Choice, Theme Song, and True Love. The judges highly praised the story for its balancing of seriousness with comedy. The PlayStation Portable version sold 3,700 units in the first week, making it the second best-selling PSP title in Japan that week. Famitsu rated it 30 out of 40.Operation Rainfall rated The Fruit of Grisaia a score of 5/5, with reviewer Chris Melchin writing that " like visual novels and romance, I see no reason not to check out The Fruit of Grisaia if you haven’t already."