Witch on the Holy Night (known in Japan as Mahōtsukai no Yoru (魔法使いの夜) and sometimes shortened as Mahoyo) is a Japanese visual novel developed and published by Type-Moon. It was first released for Windows on April 12, 2012 in Japan. An enhanced remastered version with voice acting and updated graphics was released by Aniplex worldwide for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 on December 8, 2022, and was released for Windows via Steam on December 14, 2023. It is largely a kinetic novel: the user experiences a linear plotline with little variation or player choices. The game is a prequel to Tsukihime and explores the backstory of Shiki Tohno's master Aoko Aozaki. An anime film adaptation by Ufotable has been announced.

Plot

Near the end of the Shōwa era, in Misaki town, an old mansion is rumored to be the home of a witch. After moving there, Aoko Aozaki begins to learn sorcery from a young mage, Alice Kuonji, the rumored witch of the mansion. The Aozaki family oversees the land on which Misaki is built and the heir (Aoko) is tasked with protecting it. Mysterious intruders have been disrupting the bounded field in Misaki, leading Alice and Aoko to investigate. A mannequin or puppet attacks them and is incinerated. As this happens, both of them spot someone running away, a civilian who must not get away having seen magic alive. Unexpectedly, a young boy named Sōjūrō Shizuki is drawn to the mansion and comes to reside with them as well. Eventually, it is revealed that the intruder who had been disrupting the bounded field is Touko Aozaki, Aoko's older sister. She, having killed their grandfather, now seeks to unveil the Aozaki's path to the root. Witch on the Holy Night takes place in the shared "Nasuverse" a colloquial term referring to a shared universe within the works created by Type-Moon and takes place many years before the events of the original 2000 release of Tsukihime. The remake versions of Tsukihime serve as direct sequels to the 2022 release of Witch on the Holy Night.

Characters

Main characters

Supporting characters

Development and release

Kinoko Nasu was inspired in late 1995 by the first episode of Neon Genesis Evangelion to write a novel, something he had been thinking of doing since he was in high school. Nasu originally wrote Mahōtsukai no Yoru on the spur of the moment as a roughly 400-page novel in winter 1996. He tried to enter it into several writing competitions, but was ultimately unsuccessful, leaving the work merely being passed around by his friends. Later, Nasu planned to submit it to Fujimi Shobo, but had difficulty keeping the page count under 350 pages, and left the novel unreleased. After forming Type-Moon with Takashi Takeuchi and releasing several projects under it, Takeuchi suggested remaking Mahōtsukai no Yoru so it could be released before their next planned project Girls' Work. In April 2008, a game version of Mahōtsukai no Yoru was announced. Unlike Type-Moon's previous games, Mahōtsukai no Yoru is not an adult game, and features Hirokazu Koyama as the lead artist in place of Takeuchi. The game was set to be released sometime in 2009, but after several delays, the game received a September 2010 release date. In September, however, Type-Moon announced that the release date had been pushed back to winter 2011, and later to sometime in 2011. A free game demo was made available on December 15, 2011, and the full game was released on April 12, 2012 for Windows PCs. An enhanced version for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 was announced in April 2022, and published by Aniplex on December 8, 2022 in Japan. A demo version was released on November 3, 2022. In June 2022, it was confirmed that the game would also launch worldwide under the title Witch on the Holy Night on the same date. It features a higher resolution than the original PC release and full voice acting along with English, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese language options. A Windows port of this version was announced in September 2023, and was released via Steam on December 14, 2023. Two visual novel sequels are planned by Type-Moon, though no updates have been made since 2012.

Reception

Jean-Karlo Lemus of Anime News Network said that "Witch on the Holy Night has lots to offer. While Nasu's stiff, wordy narration might be a turn-off, the characters and their interactions more than redeem it, and the primary conflict is engrossing and moving." Siliconera said "Witch on the Holy Night tells a fun and engaging story with tons of well-written and fleshed-out characters" but noted "some issues with the English localisation in particular set it on the edge of accessibility" and that "extra commas and misspelled words do little to dampen one's enjoyment". Nintendo World Report said "it's a 12 chapter novel with high resolution graphics, full voice acting, and no discernible gameplay beyond changing how text is displayed" and called it "a well-written story that sets up a lot of things for the future" while noting that "most of the text is well translated; although a few typos were present ... they weren't occurring frequently enough to be a concern." Hardcore Gamer called the novel "fun, but flawed" and criticized the pacing, saying "there are periods that just drag on", but also felt that "Witch on the Holy Night does earn its reading time." They also criticized the localization, noting that "there are errant keystrokes or obvious grammatical errors."

Music

The game's three disc original soundtrack was released on May 9, 2012, composed by Hideyuki Fukasawa and Keita Haga. A two disc arrangement album featuring tracks from the game titled WITCH ON THE HOLY NIGHT ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK REPETITION was released on December 29, 2013. Witch on the Holy Night 's ending theme song is "Hoshi ga Matataku Konna Yoru ni" (星が瞬くこんな夜に) by Supercell, and was released with the game's soundtrack.

Film adaptation

In December 2021, it was announced that the game will be adapted into an anime film produced by Ufotable.