Visual Arts is spinning up a new visual novel label, and for VN fans in Malaysia and SEA, this is one worth keeping on the radar.
The company announced VISUAL ARTS Scripts, a fresh brand focused on what it describes as emotional visual novel experiences that can shift the way everyday life feels. Very Visual Arts-coded, honestly. This is the same wider company behind Key, the legendary name tied to tearjerker classics like Kanon, Air, Clannad, Little Busters!, and Rewrite.
The first title under the new label is Sayagatari -Promise of the Cursed Blade- — also known in Japanese as Sayagatari -Yōtō no Yakusoku-. It is planned for release this year, with a physical version coming first and a Steam release arriving later.
That Steam part matters for us here. Visual novels can be annoying to access if they stay locked to Japan-only physical editions, so a PC release gives Malaysian and SEA players a much easier route, especially if regional pricing and language support turn out decent. For now, though, Visual Arts has only confirmed the release order, not the finer details most international fans will be waiting for.
Cursed swords, romance, and one very dangerous kiss
Sayagatari follows Kanemori Tōya, a former kendo practitioner who breaks the seal on a forbidden shrine. That decision brings him face to face with Saya, a girl carrying a sword. Because Tōya is obsessed with blades, he reaches out for it — bad move, bro. The sword turns out to be cursed and awakens a murderous impulse inside him.
Saya is the one who saves him, and the method is very visual novel: a kiss with the power to suppress the curse. From there, the two begin living together and fighting demons using the demonic blade, while their bond slowly changes from curse-management partnership into something more romantic.
The main staff includes Mii Yamaya on scenario, Taisuke Takanashi on music, Riichu handling original illustrations, and Pero drawing the SD artwork.
Two more VISUAL ARTS Scripts projects are already cooking
Visual Arts also revealed two additional games in development for the new brand.
The first is Tekkai Jōsai no Haika, translated as The Ash-Gray Flower of the Iron Rebar Fortresses. It comes from artist chibi and scenario writer Kōji Dōgu. The setting is a century after a massive fire, where abandoned shells of illegal buildings are now known as Iron Rebar Fortresses. The story follows Yūma Kuze, an archeologist sent on an expedition, who meets a mysterious girl named Haika while exploring those ruins. She is searching for a treasure she considers worth dying for.
The second teased project is Honjō Renyoku to Ushinawareta Naharas, featuring art by Yōko. This one is set in Showa 44, or 1969, right after Apollo 11’s moon landing. While the world is hyped about the Space Age, the story’s mysterious girl is not looking up at the stars. Instead, she searches Tokyo’s Kanda-Jinbōchō book district for a rare book called Nietzsche’s Wahnsinn, which may not even truly exist.
Why this is interesting for SEA fans
Visual Arts has decades of baggage in the best way possible. Key’s older works helped define the emotional VN-to-anime pipeline, and more recent titles like Summer Pockets have kept that style alive. Summer Pockets first launched on PC in Japan in 2018, later reached Switch, mobile, and PlayStation 4 through its updated REFLECTION BLUE version, and received an English PC Steam release in 2020. Its TV anime adaptation premiered in April 2025 and ran for 26 episodes.
Key also has anemoi, a romantic adventure game announced in 2024, now set to release in Japan on April 24.
So yeah, VISUAL ARTS Scripts is not just another random VN label. If it can bring these stories to Steam properly, it could be a new lane for Malaysian fans who enjoy anime-style romance, mystery, and supernatural drama but do not want to fight import barriers just to play.
Source: Anime News Network