Fortune Arterial

Fortune Arterial
Fortune Arterial original visual novel cover.
フォーチュン アテリアル (Fōchun Ateriaru)
Genre	Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Manga
Fortune Arterial Character's Prelude
Written by	August
Illustrated by	Akane Sasaki
Published by	ASCII Media Works
Demographic	Seinen
Magazine	Dengeki G's Magazine (former) Dengeki G's Festival! Comic
Original run	September 2007 – ongoing
Volumes	1
Manga
Written by	August
Illustrated by	Miki Kodama
Published by	Kadokawa Shoten
Demographic	Seinen
Magazine	Comptiq
Original run	November 2007 – September 2011
Volumes	7
Game
Developer	August
Publisher	August
Genre	Eroge, Visual novel
Rating	18+
Platform	PC
Released	January 25, 2008
TV anime
Fortune Arterial: Akai Yakusoku
Directed by	Munenori Nawa
Studio	Zexcs, Feel
Network	TV Tokyo
Original run	October 9, 2010 – December 25, 2010
Episodes	12

Fortune Arterial (フォーチュン アテリアル, Fōchun Ateriaru) is a Japanese adult visual novel, developed by August, released as a limited edition version on January 25, 2008 for a Microsoft Windows PC as a DVD. Fortune Arterial is August's sixth game, preceded by other titles such as Tsuki wa Higashi ni Hi wa Nishi ni: Operation Sanctuary, and Yoake Mae yori Ruriiro na. A manga based on the story, drawn by Akane Sasaki, was serialized between the September 2007 and April 2008 issues of ASCII Media Works' Dengeki G's Magazine; the manga transferred to ASCII Media Works' Dengeki G's Festival! Comic in April 2008. A second manga started serialization in the November 2007 issue of Kadokawa Shoten's gaming magazine Comptiq, illustrated by Miki Kodama. A 12-episode anime adaptation produced by Zexcs and Feel aired in Japan between October and December 2010.

Gameplay

The gameplay requires little interaction from the player as a majority of the game is spent simply reading text that appears on the screen. This text represents either dialogue between the various characters or the inner thoughts of the protagonist. Every so often, the player will come to a "decision point" where they must choose from options that are displayed on the screen, typically two to three at a time. During these times, gameplay pauses until a choice is made that furthers the plot in a specific direction, depending on which choice the player makes. There are five main plot lines that the player will have the chance to experience, one for each of the heroines in the story. In order to view the five plot lines to their entirety, the player will have to replay the game multiple times and choose different choices during the decision points in order to further the plot in an alternate direction.

Plot

Story

Fortune Arterial's story revolves around the male protagonist Kohei Hasekura, who transfers into a prestigious public school in the style of an English six-year school encompassing junior-high and high school students. The school, named Shuchikan Academy (修智館学院, Shūchikan Gakuin), is on an island named Tamatsu Island (珠津島, Tamatsushima) off-shore from mainland Japan, and the only way to get there is by boat. Soon after transferring, he discovers that one of the students in the class next door to his, Erika Sendo, is in fact a type of vampire.

Characters

Main characters

Kohei Hasekura (支倉 孝平, Hasekura Kōhei)

Voiced by: Shinsuke Nakamoto (Drama CD) / Daisuke Ono (anime), Natsumi Takamori (childhood in anime)

Kohei is the protagonist of the story, and is a fifth-year student. After always transferring to other schools, he makes his way to Shuchikan Academy where he plans to stay for a while.

Erika Sendo (千堂 瑛里華, Sendō Erika)

Voiced by: Shōko Mimura (PC) / Rie Kanda (anime)

Erika is also a fifth-year student, as well as the student council vice-president. She is a vampire. She is strong in literature classes and martial arts, and is very attractive, making her popular in her school. She has an inquisitive personality, and likes to do things directly. Once she has her mind set on something, she becomes very pushy, and will take her time making plans to make sure she gets her way. Her older brother Iori is the student council president.

Shiro Togi (東儀 白, Tōgi Shiro)

Voiced by: Airi Himekawa (PC) / Yukari Minegishi (anime)

Shiro is a fourth-year student who gives off a delicate image, and is very shy. She was introduced to the student council by her brother who was already on the council, and it was decided that Shiro would become the treasurer. However, she is often missing from student council meetings after school. Shiro joins an organization named "Laurel Ring" in order to support a chapel, and she cherishes a white pet rabbit named Yukimaru (雪丸) at the chapel.

Kiriha Kuze (紅瀬 桐葉, Kuze Kiriha)

Voiced by: Suzune Kusunoki (PC) / Erika Narumi (anime)

Kiriha is one of Kohei's classmates. She is most often seen alone, and will not talk much, even when spoken to directly. She does not have many interests, and is in no clubs. She has been exceptional in math ever since she was young. She is a vampire servant, which makes her immortal and she has superhuman powers, though she does not need blood and has lost her sense of taste.

Kanade Yuki (悠木 かなで, Yūki Kanade)

Voiced by: Fūka Hinami (PC) / Hitomi Nabatame (anime)

Kanade is Kohei's childhood friend, and is the older sister of Haruna. She is constantly in high spirits, and likes to do things at her own pace. She loves her younger sister so much, that she says that if she had been born a man from another family, she would have definitely married Haruna eventually. She often calls her sister "Hina". She is the resident adviser in the Academy dormitory.

Haruna Yuki (悠木 陽菜, Yūki Haruna)

Voiced by: Sakura Takatsuki (PC) / Hiroko Taguchi (anime)

Haruna is in Kohei's class, and is also a childhood friend of his. She has a bright personality, and enjoys helping others. She lost the memories from her early childhood after an accident as a child.

Miya Togi (東儀 観夜, Tōgi Miya)

Miya is a new female character included in the PlayStation 3 version, Fortune Arterial: Akai Yakusoku.

Secondary characters

Iori Sendo (千堂 伊織, Sendō Iori)

Voiced by: Kevin Spicy (PC) / Junichi Suwabe (anime)

Iori is Erika's older brother, and is the student council president. Just like his sister, he too is a vampire. He gives off the air of a male model, and many girls in his school want to go out with him. He is generally popular with everyone in his school.

Seichiro Togi (東儀 征一郎, Tōgi Seiichirō)

Voiced by: Rei Takatori (PC) / Tomohiro Tsuboi (anime)

Seiichirō is also the treasurer of the student council, along with his sister Shiro. He is very kind with his sister, and may have a sister complex. He used to be the president of the Japanese archery club.

Tsukasa Hachimandaira (八幡平 司, Hachimandaira Tsukasa)

Voiced by: Kyōtarō Hai (PC) / Kentarō Itō (anime)

Tsukasa is one of Kohei's classmates otherwise known as "Heiji". After Kohei transferred schools, he became a good friend of his. He may seem like a delinquent, but he is very friendly. He has a twin sister.

Shizuko Amaike (天池 志津子, Amaike Shizuko)

Voiced by: Tomomi Misaki (PC) / Chizuko Hoshino (anime)

Shizuko is the caretaker of a certain church on the island, as well as the one in-charge of the female side of the school dormitory. She is always wearing a sister outfit. Her Christian name is "Margarita", while most students address her as "Sister Amaike" instead. She is typically sister-like and a no-nonsense type of person most of the time, however she is also known to be very scary when she loses her temper. Kohei fears her as "The Person who cannot take jokes". Kanade calls her "Maru-chan" and Iori calls her "Shizuko-chan", which she doesn't seem too happy about.

Masanori Aoto (青砥 正則, Aoto Masanori)

Voiced by: Kazuya Ichijō (PC/anime)

Masanori is the homeroom teacher of Kohei, Haruna, Kiriha and Tsukasa's class, as well as the one in-charge of the male side of the school dormitory. He teaches Chemistry. Has a mild personality. Kohei saw him riding a scooter without a license and thinks of him as "Someone who rides a stolen bike". Takes towards an independence and autonomy approach in education. He is usually known by the nickname "Aonori", while Kanade calls him "Noripii". Was known to be a troublemaker during his younger days.

Art Club President (美術部部長, Bijutsubu Buchō)

Voiced by: Keito Mizukiri (PC/anime)

Her name is unknown. She is a sixth-year student as well as the president of the Art Club. She is troubled over the declining in the number of members in the Art Club. Has a very straightforward personality. Tsukasa works part-time at the sushi bar which is owned by her family, as well as her residence. Kohei falls in love with her if you cannot end up with any of the five heroines, which is known as the Bad End Route.

Kaya Sendo (千堂 伽耶, Sendō Kaya)

Voiced by: Ōka Miseri (PC) / Kaori Mizuhashi (anime)

Kaya is Erika and Iori's mother. Estimated to be 251 years old and above, yet she looks like a child, giving people the image that she is Iori and Erika's younger sister instead. Erika looks like a splitting image of her, the only difference being Erika's more matured body and that Kaya's eyes are constantly red in color, which every vampire has when they have their vampiric impulses.

Development

Release history

August first announced the production of a new visual novel at Comiket 71, and on February 21, 2007, they made the official announcement for Fortune Arterial on their official website. The game was first introduced to the public in Japan as a limited edition version on January 25, 2008 as a DVD playable on a Microsoft Windows PC. The regular edition followed on February 29, 2008. Kadokawa Shoten had planned on releasing a port for the PlayStation 3 and a spin-off game for the PlayStation Portable, but they later cancelled both games.

Related media

Manga

The manga adaptation, under the title Fortune Arterial Character's Prelude, was serialized in ASCII Media Works' Dengeki G's Magazine between the September 2007 and April 2008 issues, illustrated by Akane Sasaki. The manga transferred to Dengeki G's Festival! Comic, a special edition version of Dengeki G's Magazine, starting with the second volume sold on April 26, 2008. The first bound volume was released on June 27, 2008 under ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Comics imprint. A second manga, called simply Fortune Arterial, started serialization in the November 2007 issue of Kadokawa Shoten's gaming magazine Comptiq, illustrated by Miki Kodama. The first volume for the second manga was released on July 26, 2008 under Kadokawa Shoten's Kadokawa Comics Ace imprint; the sixth volume was released on February 26, 2011. Enterbrain published ten volumes of a manga anthology titled Magi-Cu 4-koma Fortune Arterial released between April 25, 2008 and February 25, 2010. Ichijinsha published three volumes of another anthology titled Fortune Arterial Comic Anthology between June 25 and October 25, 2008.

Books and publications

Harvest published a series of six erotic light novels, each focusing on a different heroine, between June 10, 2008 and June 1, 2009. Runa Okada wrote the novels and the game's original artist Bekkankō provided the illustrations. Prior to the game's release, Enterbrain published a fan book on November 21, 2007 titled Tech Gain Super Prelude: Fortune Arterial containing information on the development of the game and information on the game itself. ASCII Media Works published a fan book on June 20, 2008 titled Fortune Arterial Perfect Visual Book.

Audio dramas

Marine Entertainment released a series of five drama CDs titled Fortune Arterial: Through the Season between August 15 and December 28, 2008. Each of the CDs covered one of the heroines and featured the same voice cast as the game. An Internet radio show titled August Broadcasting Office: Shuchikan Academy Student Council Business Trip had a pre-broadcast on August 13, 2009 and started regular biweekly broadcasts on September 10, 2009. The show is produced by Marine Entertainment and hosted by Junichi Suwabe and Rie Kanda, the voices of Iori and Erika Sendo. The first volume of a CD compilation containing the first six broadcasts was released on December 29, 2009 by Marine Entertainment.

Anime

A 12-episode anime TV series adaptation titled Fortune Arterial: Akai Yakusoku (FORTUNE ARTERIAL 赤い約束, Fortune Arterial: Red Promise) produced by Zexcs and Feel and directed by Munenori Nawa aired on TV Tokyo between October 9 and December 25, 2010 in Japan. The opening theme is "Kizunairo" (絆-kizunairo-色, Color of Bonds) by Lia and the ending theme is "I Miss You" by Veil. An original video animation episode was bundled with the limited sixth volume of Miki Kodama's manga Fortune Arterial.

Episode list

Episode #	Title	Original airdate
01	"Migratory Bird" "Wataridori" (渡り鳥)	October 9, 2010
02	"Opening Ceremony" "Shigyōshiki" (始業式)	October 16, 2010
03	"The One Thousand Year Spring" "Sennen Izumi" (千年泉)	October 23, 2010
04	"Newcomer" "Shin'iri" (新入り)	October 30, 2010
05	"Key" "Kagi" (鍵)	November 6, 2010
06	"Letter" "Tegami" (手紙)	November 13, 2010
07	"Omen" "Maebure" (前触れ)	November 20, 2010
08	"Memory" "Kioku" (記憶)	November 26, 2010
09	"Servant" "Kenzoku" (眷属)	December 4, 2010
10	"Thirst" "Kawaki" (渇き)	December 11, 2010
11	"Parting" "Ketsubetsu" (訣別)	December 18, 2010
12	"Red Promise" "Akai Yakusoku" (赤い約束)	December 25, 2010
OVA	"The Place Where I Ended Up" "Tadoritsuita Basho" (たどり着いた場所)	February 26, 2011

Music

The opening theme for the Fortune Arterial visual novel is "Tobira Hiraite, Futari Mirai e" (扉ひらいて、ふたり未来へ, Open the Door, to Our Future) sung by Mizuho. An insert song in the game is "Akai Yakusoku" (赤い約束, Red Promise) sung by Veil. A maxi single containing the opening theme and insert song was released on January 25, 2008. An image song for the game, "It's My Precious Time!", is also sung by Mizuho and a single containing the image song was released on October 25, 2007. August released the game's original soundtrack on May 30, 2008. A character song album titled Fortune Arterial Feeling Assort was released by Geneon on August 14, 2009. Shot Music released a remix album, Fortune Arterial -Omnibus Edit- P-O-P, with remixes of the game's background music and theme songs on January 29, 2010.

External links

• Fortune Arterial official website (Japanese)
• Fortune Arterial at TV Tokyo (Japanese)
• Fortune Arterial at Crunchyroll
• Fortune Arterial: Akai Yakusoku (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia