Tokyo Majin Gakuen

Overview

Tokyo Majin Gakuen (東京魔人學園) is a series that helped to popularize "juvenile fiction" style video games in Japan with a majority of the franchise starring modern day high school students using their special abilities to fight supernatural threats [3]. The series mixes adventure gameplay with a strategy RPG where each gameplay style is separated into defined segments. During the adventure sections the player can develop relationships with other characters through the use of the franchise's unique "emotional input system" where the player selects what emotion they want to express to a person instead of picking specific dialogue choices. In the RPG sections, the player fights enemies in strategic turn-based battles that are presented in an isometric prescriptive.

Shuho Imai created the Tokyo Majin Gakuen franchise at his company Shout! Design Works, severing as the head designer and writer for the series. Characters were designed by Michi Kobayashi and the series' soundtracks were composed by Takashi Nitta. The franchise began in 1998 with the release of Tokyo Majin Gakuen: Ken Kaze Tobari on the PlayStation and was published by Asmik Ace Entertainment. Asmik Ace served as the publisher for the Tokyo Majin franchise for most of its life but after the release of Tokyo Majin Gakuen: Gehoujou in 2002 the rights were obtained by Marvelous Entertainment who published all future entries in the series.

Mainline Titles

The Tokyo Majin Gakuen series was planned to be a trilogy of games with each title themed around the concept of Man, Heaven and Earth. The first two chapters were released on the original PlayStation but the third entry, which was eventually announced for the Nintendo DS in 2008, was canceled in 2010 and has yet to be released [4][5].

• Tokyo Majin Gakuen: Ken Kaze Tobari (1998) - The first game that takes place in 1990s Japan and is the Man's Chapter in the planned trilogy.
• Tokyo Majin Gakuen: Oboro-Kitan (1999) - A fan disc to Ken Kaze Tobari.
• Tokyo Majin Gakuen: Gehoujou (2002) - The second installment known as Heaven's Chapter which follows the ancestors of the first game in the Edo period.
• Tokyo Majin Gakuen Teisenchou (Canceled) - The third title, Earth's Chapter, that was announced to take place during the Showa era but was canceled before it was released for the Nintendo DS.

Spin-offs, Collections, and Remakes

• Tokyo Majin Gakuen: Kenpuu Chou Emaki (2000) - A collection that contains Ken Kaze Tobari and Oboro-Kitan.
• Tokyo Majin Gakuen: Fuju Houroku (2000) - Spin-off card battle game released for the WonderSwan and Game Boy Advance.
• Tokyo Majin Gakuen Gehouchou: Keppuuroku (2004) - A PlayStation 2 port of Gehoujou with additional content.
• Tokyo Majin Gakuen: Kenfuuchou (2008) - A remake of Ken Kaze Tobari and Oboro-Kitan for the Nintendo DS.
• Tokyo Majin Gakuen: Gunseiden (2008) - A 2D fighting game based off the franchise released for mobile phones.

Related Titles

These are games that are related in some way to the Tokyo Majin Gakuen franchise but are not directly connected to the series, whether they be similar games made by the same developers or spiritual successors.

• Tenshou Gakuen Gensouroku (2004) - A title created by Asmik Ace that is extremely similar to Tokyo Majin but is not related to the franchise and was not developed by Shuho Imai.
• Kowloon High-School Chronicle (2004) - A first person action dungeon crawler created by Shuho Imai and Atlus that features a similar setting to Tokyo Majin and contains the emotional input system. Characters from the Tokyo Maijin series even make guest appearances in the title.
• Tenshou Gakuen Gekkouroku (2006) - The sequel to Gensouroku.
• Tokyo Mono Hara Shi (2010) - A first person dungeon crawler that was made by several developers from Atlus that worked on Kowloon High-School Chronicle and features the same emotional input system and character designer.
• Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters (2014) - Another title created by Shuho Imai and Arc System Works that is a spiritual successor in many ways to the Tokyo Majin series.

Adaptations

Tokyo Majin Gakuen has been adapted into a verity of different media including manga, audio dramas, novels and a two anime television series. The first season of the anime was called "Tokyo Majin Gakuen Kenpucho: Tou" and was produced in 2007 by AIC Spirits and BeSTACK. Tou was followed up by "Tou 2nd Act" later in the same year and ADV Films also released the series on home video in North America in December as just "Tokyo Majin." The series was later license rescued by Funimation in 2008.

External Links

1. Famitsu Interview with Shuho Ima about Tokyo Majin's 20th Anniversary (Famitsu, 2018).
2. Tokyo Majin Gakuen Memory Game Special (Dengeki Online, 2013).
3. Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters Creator Introductions (NIS America, 2015).
4. Tokyo Majin Gakuen Teisenchou Announcement (Famitsu, 2008).
5. Tokyo Majin Gakuen Teisenchou Cancellation (4Gamer, 2010).