In an interview this weekend at Chicago's Anime Central convention, it was confirmed in an interview with Takahiro Baba, the CEO of Key, that several of their previously untranslated titles will hit the English market via Steam. This list includes both older titles, such as Tomoyo After: It's a wonderful life, Little Busters, and Planatarian, as well as new and updated releases including Rewrite+, which will feature a new character and route not found in the original visual novel, and Harmonia, a visual novel that will be released in English before its Japanese launch. Also confirmed was a possible English translation of the first part of the visual novel adaption of Angel Beats, a Key property that began life as a TV anime in 2010.
Rewrite+ follows a multifaceted story in which the player is dropped into the shoes of a high school student named Kotarou who possesses a unique power known as "Aurora" that allows him to "rewrite" his own body to better allow him to fight against various monsters and other troublesome types that appear before him. Though the game begins as a fairly typical high school drama/comedy, it soon builds into an engaging tale of a struggle between mankind and the Earth on which we live.
Key is a company that has been producing visual novels for nearly twenty years and is best known for producing stories featuring tragic and otherwise sad plots. Their best-known works, including the likes of Clannad, Kanon, and Air, have all been adapted into anime in the past decade. More recently they have forayed into original animation, beginning with 2010's Angel Beats, and continuing with last year's original anime Charlotte. This tradition will continue this summer as both Rewrite and Planatarian will hit the small screen in anime adaptions slated to premiere in July.
