Kara no Shoujo developer, Innocent Grey, have a fascination with tragedy. Several of their high-profile games deal with brutal murders and death, often that of the female cast.
While murders in mystery stories may not be uncommon in themselves, Innocent Grey don’t shy away from depicting gore either.
When the time came for us to speak with them about Kara no Shoujo, we couldn’t help but ask if this approach didn’t distance or possibly even alienate some of their potential audience. Interestingly, they don’t feel it does.
“We’re always asked this, but, for example, the sorrow caused by a heroine being killed is what grants the protagonist the power to pursue the case to its end or to obtain clues,” Innocent Grey replied. “In other words, it’s tragedy that’s necessary for the story.”
They emphasized: “If murders don’t happen, then it would be just like the many normal eroge out there. The two existing opinions of fans are that they agree, and that they agree but still want to save her [the heroine].”
“In response to their requests, we created Caucasus in 2009, where you can choose to save the heroine based on your choices. In later works, we believed that there should be both characters that you can save and those that must inevitably die.”