Innocent Grey have officially revealed the sequel to Karan no Shoujo on their official website. While its title can still be read as Kara no Shoujo, the kanji making up the first word stands for “hollow” or “cavern” or, perhaps, even “emptiness”.
The creators urge fans to please call the game Kara no Shoujo 2 or just “Uro,” which is what the original kanji would’ve been read as. On the other hand, they insist that “Uro no Shoujo”—which is translated as Girl of the Hollow as opposed to the original’s Girl of the Shell—is not the correct title.
A full-fledged reveal is also featured in Tech Gian magazine, which seems to indicate that Innocent Grey assume players that pick up Kara no Shoujo 2 will have already played the first game, as it makes reference to side characters in Kara no Shoujo, as well as what happens in the true ending to the game.
Reiji Tokisaka will be the main character once again in Kara no Shoujo 2. He’s still searching for Touko, but it’s stated this particular plot will run in the background of the new game’s events. It’s likely that the event at the end of Kara no Shoujo—you’ll know what we mean if you’ve completed the game—and even the events of another Innocent Grey title, Cartagra, will be linked to the ones in Kara 2.
Reiji will be joined by another character named Tomoyuki Masaki, whom he saves from a life-threatening event. It’s Tomoyuki who will end up dragging poor Reiji into the middle of the events of Kara no Shoujo 2, and it doesn’t help that Tomoyuki himself is surrounded by mysteries. Additionally, Yukari, Reiji’s little sister, will be making an appearance as a more central character than before. In fact, she will be actively trying to stick her neck into the investigation… which could prove quite worrying for her, considering this is an Innocent Grey game.
Yukari is described as being the same kind girl from before (and still in love with bugs), but the traumatic events of Kara no Shoujo have left an impression on her. She has two friends, Kohane Torii and Yukiko Kayahara. Kohane seems to be the energetic type, and Yukiko the introverted type. Interestingly, Yukiko seems to be the female protagonist in this game, though her description states that she’s been suspected for the murder of her friend in the past.
Finally, Ryouichi Yaginuma, the antagonistic, narcissistic police officer from the first game and Cartagra, will be making an appearance, possibly in a more central role than before.
The writing for Kara no Shoujo 2 is currently at 80% completion, with most of the remaining work being matching images to text. Tech Gian’s feature reveals that there are as many as 100 background images in the game. Like its predecessor, this will be an adult game. Currently, Kara no Shoujo 2 is scheduled for a winter release. The creators hope to have it out before the new year.
If you haven’t played the original Kara no Shoujo, it was one of last year’s highlights, provided you’re OK with a little *ahem* “adult content” in your visual novels. You can read our playtest of it here.
