Yonago Gainax and Gainax co-founder and Princess Maker game series creator Takami Akai announced on Tuesday a new visual novel based on the science fiction novel Japan Sinks (Nihon Chinbotsu ) by Sakyō Komatsu, titled Nihon Chinbotsu desu yo (Hey, Japan is Sinking). The visual novel will launch digitally in Japan and as a limited physical edition for PC in summer 2025, then for Nintendo Switch in fall 2025. Kermadec Submarine Images of France and the Japanese submarine Wadatsumi transformed into female characters were also released at the same time. accompanying notice.
Image via 4Gamer.net
© Yonago Gainax
Image via 4Gamer.net
© Yonago Gainax
The story of the visual novel is set in an alternate Japan, where novels are forgotten and otaku are persecuted. A mysterious substance called MOE, created in the upper layer of the Mohorovicic discontinuity – the boundary between the Earth's crust and mantle – activates fictitious functions in the human brain. When the novel was suppressed, a large amount of MOE was released due to the movement of the Earth's crust, causing an outbreak of the Personification Phenomenon (PP) in Japan, where MOE was used as a means to transform anything into a character.
Doctor. Tadokoro, one of the first people to discover the existence of MOE, and the person who holds the key to solving PP suddenly disappears. Deep-sea submarine pilot Onodera, who transforms into a female character, and assistant professor Yukinaga, with the help of the similarly transforming submarine Wadatsumi, embark on a journey across chaotic Japan to find Search for Dr. Tadokoro.
Komatsu released the original novel Japan Sinks in 1973, and the novel inspired two live-action films — one also released in 1973 and another in 2006 by its co-founder Gainax and Shin Godzilla director Shinji Higuchi. It also inspired a 1975 live-action film series, as well as two manga adaptations: the first by Golgo 13 author Takao Saitou and the 2006-2009 manga by Tokihiko Ishiki. Masaaki Yuasa directed a 10-episode anime adaptation of the novel titled Japan Sinks: 2020, which premiered on Netflix in 2020. The novel is considered a science fiction classic in Japan and worldwide.
Source: 4Gamer.net (Chihiro), Gematsu (Sal Romano)