Happy birthday to popular novelist and scenario writer Gen Urobuchi, nicknamed “The Urobutcher” for his penchant for killing fans’ most beloved characters. Let’s take a look at his long career, as well as his ten most influential works in this blog post!
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How Did Gen Urobuchi Become an Anime Writer?
Gen Urobuchi was born on December 20, 1972. Early on he became a fan of classic Leaf visual novels like To Heart and Kizuato. These titles made him want to pursue a career as a writer so he could tell stories that captured a similar level of emotional depth. He went to work for Nitroplus in 1997, which was then doing backup development and audio production for other visual novel companies. Urobuchi created Phantom of Inferno in 2000, which thrilled fans with its dark and mature storytelling, causing the company to explode in popularity.
Urobuchi worked on other popular visual novels, including Hello World and Kikokugai: The Cyber Slayer. But the game that brought him the most fame was Saya no Uta, released in 2003 (which JAST USA published in 2013, with an HD Remastered edition in 2018). The writer has been involved with multiple Nitroplus works as a consultant, including those deliciously dark BL titles JAST USA has been pumping out in English.
As Nitroplus focused more on anime production and less on visual novels, Gen Urobuchi also evolved. Because of his past work as a guest writer for a Fate/Stay Night fan disc, Urobuchi was approached to write the novelization for the Fate/Zero prequels, and the anime adaption was a smash hit. Then his magnum opus Puella Magi Madoka Magika arrived in 2011, thrilling fans with its dark story. The intensity of the anime was increased by the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, which brought northern Japan to its knees and interrupted the broadcasting schedule for this series.
Is Gen Urobuchi Japan’s Quentin Tarantino?
It’s not a hard comparison to make. Both men have a signature writing style that’s immediately identifiable by their many fans. Some of their shared themes include:
- Moral ambiguity. Characters might do immoral things for “good” reasons at any moment.
- A high death count. Gen loves to kill off his characters in dramatic ways. As in Game of Thrones, you’d better not get too attached to any one character, or you might regret it.
- A cult following. Both creators have massive followings of fans all over the world.
- Deconstruction of genres. Only Gen Urobuchi could take the happy and bright world of magical girls and turn it into the darkest story we’ve ever seen.
If there’s a downside to his amazing works, it’s the Urobuchi Curse. Basically, whenever he loses interest in a work and moves on to other projects, the anime falls through the floor in story quality. That’s why Aldnoah.Zero Part 2, Psycho-Pass season 2, and the Psycho-Pass movie were underwhelming because Urobuchi wasn’t involved. It’s also why Magic Record could never live up to the amazing original work, so I dropped that series.
The 10 Most Famous Anime Written by Gen Urobuchi
Let’s look at the most influential works by Gen Urobuchi together!
Madoka Magica Created the Modern Magical Girl Genre
The anime that made us rethink everything we thought we knew about the magical girl genre. When Tomoe Mami dies in episode three, we realize that no one is safe in this universe!
Saya no Uta Made Gen Urobuchi Famous
One game that really put Urobuchi on the map with fans was Saya no Uta, released in 2003. This is the dark tale of Fuminori, a medical student who experiences a brain injury after a mysterious accident. The damage to his brain causes him to perceive all the people around him as horrible Lovecraftian monsters, except for one beautiful girl named Saya. Who is this girl, and why is she the only one who appears human to Fuminori?
The HD remaster of Saya no Uta is on sale from Steam (all ages version) and JAST USA (full 18+) edition for 50% off right now. This is a highly recommended visual novel for all fans of Urobuchi’s brand of storytelling!
Fate/Zero Was the Perfect Prequel
Another hugely popular story was Fate/Zero, a prequel set ten years before the events of Fate/stay night. Did you enjoy the show?
Psycho-Pass Made Us Question Our Humanity
The story is set in a future where an advanced AI called the Sibyl System predicts the likelihood of individuals committing crimes based on their psychological state and mental stability.
Suisei no Gargantia Made Us Want an Intellignent Robot Companion
Having grown up watching mecha anime like Armored Trooper Votoms, Urobuchi loves telling stories about giant robots. Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet tells about a space pilot and his giant robot Chamber who crash on a water world. There he encounters a society of humans living on huge ships that salvage technology from the seas. If you love Titanfall 2 (and I do), that game took a lot of cues from this anime.
Another anime writer I love is Mari Okada. Read my post about her most important works here!
Another Signature Gen Urobuchi Anime: Aldnoah.Zero
Another amazing world created out of thin air, This story tells about a war between Earth and Mars using mecha and advanced technology.
Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom Is the Quintessential Gen Urobuchi Story
Urobuchi’s breakout work was the visual novel Phantom of Inferno, about a shadowy organization known as Inferno. They programmed assassins to kill their targets. Nitroplus was extremely proud of the 2009 Requiem for the Phantom anime based on the game because they produced it themselves and had control over its quality.
Expelled from Paradise Made Us Enjoy Rie Kugimiya’s CGI Butt
Another iconic work by Gen Urobuchi was Rakuten Tsuihou, a cyberpunk-esque story of a future where most humans live inside a digital utopia called DEVA. While I always love having more Rie Kugiyama, the CGI animation in this film turned me off.
Godzilla: Monster Planet
What’s the hugest, most mind-blowing idea for a series of Godzilla films you could think of? How about a dystopian future in which kaiju appear and destroy the Earth, forcing humanity to leave in spaceships. 20,000 years later humanity finally returns, only to discover that Godzilla is still alive and even more indestructible than ever. Sadly this film trilogy also uses 100% CGI, making it hard for an old-school fan like me to enjoy.
That Time Urobuchi Put His Mark On Kamen Rider
Can the great Urobuchi write a “dark” story for a children’s tokusatsu TV show based on fruit? Yes! Kamen Rider Gaim had many of the hallmarks of Gen’s writing, which probably left a deep mark on many impressionable viewers.
Thunderbolt Fantasy: The Show That Made Us Fall in Love with Puppets
Finally, we get to Gen Urobuchi’s passion project, Thunderbolt Fantasy. It’s a long-running live-action series made with Taiwanese puppets that tells an amazing story of a wandering swordsman who goes on a quest to find the legendary Sword of the End. Between the amazing puppetry and practical effects, the legendary story by Urobuchi and voice work by some of Japan’s top seiyuu, it’s a real treat. It appears to be airing on Amazon Prime and Crunchyroll if you want to give it a watch!
Thanks for reading this blog post celebrating the birthday of the great Gen Urobuchi. Which works by him have you enjoyed? Tell us in the comments below!
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Great news: J-List has started a new sale giving you 18% off all DVDs, Blu-rays, and Nintendo Switch games. That means an instant 18% off all imported anime Blu-rays, sexy live-action JAV titles, hentai anime, and region-free anime games for your Nintendo Switch! Browse all sale products now!
