Gen Urobuchi
Gen Urobuchi (虚淵 玄 Urobuchi Gen), born December 20, 1972 in Tokyo, Japan, is a writer currently employed at Visual Novel company Nitroplus and the writer for Puella Magi Madoka☆Magica.
Biography
Gen Urobuchi joined the company Nitroplus as a writer and made his debut in 2001 by writing the scenario of the visual novel Phantom of Inferno, which was later adapted into a TV series and OVA series. His writing activity at Nitroplus continued in the following years with the release of Vampirdzhija Vjedogonia, Kikokugai - The Cyber Slayer and one of his best known works, Saya no Uta. He also actively participated in the company as an advisor to other titles, as well as for the Nitro+Chiral branch.
In 2004 he was approached by Kinoko Nasu and Takashi Takeuchi of Type-Moon with the offer to write a prequel to Fate/Stay Night. At that time, Urobuchi stated that he was going through a difficult period where he felt like he couldn't write the perfect ending. The offer gave him the chance to write a story where he would not have to worry about this. In the postface of the first Fate/Zero volume, he states that this opportunity probably saved his writing career.
When he was 24 years old he had to be hospitalised due to an epidemic. He mentions that spending several months recovering and living like a dead man ended up influenced his work, such as letting him kill off characters without hesitation. Therefore, he is known for writing especially gruesome stories.
Involvement in the Magica Quartet
In Autumn 2008, Urobuchi was called by Iwakami when Shinbo expressed his desire to work on an original Magical Girl anime, project which later became Puella Magi Madoka Magica. He wrote the full script for the series.
When looking over Shinbo's and Ume Aoki's previous work, Urobuchi decided that he wanted to make a work where the central focus would be the 'friendship between girls'. While working on the story, he mentioned that one of the first priorities was incorporating Ume Aoki's world-view into it. His plot proposal got accepted during the first meeting and the script was not changed much from the first draft.
The initial intention was to keep his involvement a secret at first, but this was scrapped when the staff list was leaked early during development. Due to Urobuchi's participation and his writing history, the work quickly gained the nickname "Chidamari Sketch" before broadcast, despite his claims of wanting to write a heartwarming story. After episode 3 aired, he apologised for misleading the audience.
Gen Urobuchi's Trail of Tears
- Ume Aoki was not aware of the true nature of the show until she learned they were planning to kill Mami Tomoe, her favorite character in the show.
- Episode 10 made Ume Aoki cry multiple times.
- Emiri Kato (VA of Kyubey) is a fan of the Mahou Shoujo genre. She only learned the grim nature of the show when she read the script.
- Shinbo liked Sayaka's character so much that he asked Urobuchi if there was some way to bring her back to life. Urobuchi said no.
- Made grown men to shed manly tears.
Other Works
Anime
- Phantom: The Animation (2004) (OVA, producer, wrote original scenario)
- Blassreiter (2008) (TV anime by GONZO, Scriptwriter for ep: 10-12, 15-17, 22-23)
- Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~ (2009) (TV anime adaptation of his visual novel story by Bee Train. Wrote scripts for episodes 6, 18, and 25)
- Puella Magi Madoka Magica (2011)
- Fate/Zero (2011) (TV anime by Ufotable, original creator)
Visual Novels
- Phantom of Inferno (2000) (visual novel by Nitro+, scriptwriter)
- Vampirdzhija Vjedogonia (2001) (visual novel by Nitro+, scriptwriter)
- Kikokugai - The Cyber Slayer (2002) (visual novel by Nitro+, scriptwriter)
- Saya no Uta (2003) (visual novel by Nitro+, scriptwriter)
- Jouka no Monshou (2003) (a short “fanfiction” Visual Novel by Gen Urobuchi. It takes place in the world of Equilibrium, which Urobuchi is a fan of)
- Zoku Satsuriku no Django (2007) (visual novel by Nitro+, scriptwriter)
Novels
- Hakumou no Dendoushi (2004) (novel, illustrated by kamiwata)
- Fate/zero (2006-2007) (novel, prequel to Fate/stay night, collaboration with TYPE-MOON)
- Black Lagoon novels (2008) (novel, illustrated by Rei Hiroe)
- Eisen Flügel (2009) (novel, illustrated by Chuuou Higashiguchi)
Gallery
Gen Urobuchi 10 years ago.
Gen Urobuchi nowadays.
Fan Gallery
This section contains fanart images
Everything in the following fan gallery is created, or the comments accompanying them are created, for entertainment value and should not be confused with actual canon events of the Puella Magi franchise.- (Trunkdiary(Jaguar)) PMM☆M~A long 4koma story1 01.png
The universe divided by zero.
- Fate stay night madoka smug.jpg
- Yuno despair.jpg
Urobuchi, what have you done?!