Ao Oni

Ao Oni (青鬼) is a freeware horror game developed by "noprops". It was first released in Japan in November 2008.

The game gained a cult following in Japan due to livestreams and playthroughs. The game was later adapted into a variety of media, including two feature-length movies, a series of light novels, and a manga.

Plot
A boy named Hiroshi investigates a deserted mansion that is rumored to be haunted alongside his classmates. The group vehemently disagree on the veracity of the rumors surrounding the mansion, with Hiroshi asserting that he does not believe in the supernatural, while other classmates assert their certainty that the mansion is haunted.

Upon entering the mansion, the group discovers that it is home to a mysterious creature referred to as the Ao Oni, a tall humanoid with a deformed face that proceeds to chase the player throughout the mansion.

Very little information is provided to the player concerning the titular Ao Oni and his reasons for inhabiting the mansion, though it is implied that he was once human. The Oni is a muscular, tall humanoid with a large head and blue skin who is roughly twice the size of an average human. When he appears in the game, a characteristic "shrieking" string chord plays until the player outruns him. Normally, his mouth is kept closed in an amused smirk, but in a secret ending he is shown to have a set of sharp, knife-like teeth. If the Oni captures and kills one of Hiroshi's friends, they too turn into an Oni, distinguishable by their hairstyles, which they kept when transformed by the Oni.

Gameplay
The player controls Hiroshi as he explores the locked mansion, gathering items and solving puzzles in order to escape.

The creature (the Ao Oni) will begin to chase the player at both random and scripted moments, similar to the Nemesis in Resident Evil 3. This forces the player to evade the Oni by either outrunning him or hiding from him, since Hiroshi is unable to fight back against him.

Reception
The game gained a cult following online in Japan, gaining notoriety through websites such as Niconico and YouTube where Ao Oni-related videos exceeded 50 million views by 2013. The popularity of the game revolves around the effectiveness of its horror aspects despite being a simple game, with the background music cited as a key contributor to the chilling atmosphere used to incite fear.

Novelizations
In 2013 – 2017, a series of novels were released which were based on the game. Slight differences to the storyline, mostly based on characterization are present, but the books are otherwise faithful to the game's plot. The title was licensed for digital distribution in the English language by J-Novel Club. The series is made up of five novels, which J-Novel Club released between 2018 and 2019: Ao Oni, Ao Oni: Vengeance, Ao Oni: Mutation, Ao Oni: Grudge, and Ao Oni: Forever.

Junior novels
In 2018 PHP Laboratory began publishing a series of junior novels based on the Ao Oni series. The series follows the game characters, who are of elementary school age instead of teenagers, and is told from the perspective of a stray dog that was taken in by Takuro's uncle.


 * 1) 『青鬼 ジェイルハウスの怪物』(2018, lit. Ao Oni The Jailhouse Monster)
 * 2) 『青鬼 廃校の亡霊』 (2018, lit. Ao Oni The Ghost in the Abandoned School)
 * 3) 『青鬼 真夜中の地下病棟』 (2018, lit. Ao Oni The Midnight Underground Ward)
 * 4) 『青鬼 ドクロ島からの脱出』(2019, lit. Escape from the Ao Oni Skull Island)
 * 5) 『青鬼 ゾンビだらけの遊園地』 (2019, lit. Ao Oni Zombie Amusement Park)
 * 6) 『青鬼 調査クラブ ジェイルハウスの怪物を倒せ!』 (2019, lit. Ao Oni Demon Research Club Defeat the Monsters of Jailhouse!)

Live-action film
Ao Oni was adapted into a live action film of the same name, that was released in Japan on 5 July 2014. A second live action film, Ao Oni ver 2.0, was released the following year with a different director, writer, and cast.

Anime
An anime television short series adaptation premiered on 3 October 2016. The series is produced by Studio Deen, and directed by Toshirō Hamamura and Chisei Maeda, with Kanekoke handling series composition, Kichi designing the characters and Shiyu Yanagida composing the music. An anime film, also produced by Studio Deen, released in 2017.