{"id":53985,"date":"2025-11-17T22:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-17T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=53985"},"modified":"2025-11-18T12:03:18","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T03:03:18","slug":"most-people-fuga-melodies-of-steel-and-aeruta-creators-talk-about-the-appeal-of-kemomimi-and-furries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/interviews\/most-people-fuga-melodies-of-steel-and-aeruta-creators-talk-about-the-appeal-of-kemomimi-and-furries\/","title":{"rendered":"Deep down, most people\u00a0like\u00a0furries, they just\u00a0don&#8217;t\u00a0know\u00a0it yet.\u00a0Fuga: Melodies of Steel and\u00a0Aeruta\u00a0creators talk about the appeal of\u00a0kemomimi\u00a0and\u00a0furries\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Gravity Game Arise&nbsp;officially released&nbsp;the action RPG&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/aerutasteam\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Aeruta<\/a>&nbsp;<\/strong>on November 6. The game stars Chaya, a fox-eared girl&nbsp;leading&nbsp;a double life as&nbsp;an adventurer and a&nbsp;baker, and&nbsp;has earned a Very Positive&nbsp;rating&nbsp;on&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/aerutasteam\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Steam<\/a>&nbsp;with over 900&nbsp;reviews.&nbsp;While much of the praise focuses on&nbsp;Aeruta\u2019s&nbsp;solid&nbsp;action&nbsp;gameplay&nbsp;and bakery management, the&nbsp;cute&nbsp;characters&nbsp;with their fluffy animal ears and tails&nbsp;have also been a major draw.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This style of character \u2013 human-looking but sporting animal ears&nbsp;\u2013&nbsp;is called&nbsp;kemomimi&nbsp;in&nbsp;Japan&nbsp;(shortened from&nbsp;<em>kemonomimi<\/em>, meaning \u201cbeast ears\u201d), and&nbsp;it&#8217;s&nbsp;a trope you&nbsp;pretty much&nbsp;can\u2019t&nbsp;go wrong with&nbsp;if&nbsp;we\u2019re&nbsp;talking popularity. Hoping to&nbsp;explore what makes animalistic characters so appealing&nbsp;among game and anime fans alike, I sat down&nbsp;for a chat&nbsp;with&nbsp;Aeruta\u2019s&nbsp;publisher&nbsp;Gravity Game Arise, as well as&nbsp;the&nbsp;absolute&nbsp;authority on everything furry \u2013 CyberConnect2, the&nbsp;creators of the <a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/fuuga\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Fuga: Melodies of Steel<\/a>&nbsp;series.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this interview,\u00a0CyberConnect2\u2019s\u00a0CEO Hiroshi Matsuyama and\u00a0Aeruta\u00a0producer Lin\u00a0discuss\u00a0what draws them to\u00a0kemomimi\u00a0and\u00a0furries\u00a0(called \u201ckemono\u201d in Japanese)\u00a0and why they incorporate these\u00a0characters into their games.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"first-thing-s-first-furries-and-kemomimi-are-completely-different-things\">First&nbsp;thing\u2019s&nbsp;first,&nbsp;furries&nbsp;and&nbsp;kemomimi&nbsp;are completely different things&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2014To start&nbsp;us&nbsp;off, could you each introduce yourselves?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lin:<\/strong>\u00a0<br>I\u2019m Lin,\u00a0publishing producer of\u00a0Aeruta\u00a0at Gravity Game Arise. Thank you for having me today.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Matsuyama:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>I\u2019m Matsuyama, CEO of CyberConnect2, the studio behind&nbsp;the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cc2.co.jp\/fuga\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Fuga: Melodies of Steel trilogy<\/a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2014Sorry to be abrupt;&nbsp;I love both Fuga and&nbsp;Aeruta,&nbsp;but&nbsp;what exactly is the difference between&nbsp;furries&nbsp;and&nbsp;kemomimi?&nbsp;<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Matsuyama &amp; Lin:<\/strong>\u00a0<br>(Awkward silence)\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2014It&#8230;&nbsp;got really tense&nbsp;all of a sudden.&nbsp;Sorry about that.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Matsuyama:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>We have&nbsp;a very clear&nbsp;definition&nbsp;at our company.&nbsp;Furries&nbsp;and&nbsp;kemomimi&nbsp;are completely different things.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2014My apologies.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Matsuyama:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>Our&nbsp;furry&nbsp;designs follow certain rules.&nbsp;First of all,&nbsp;it&#8217;s&nbsp;essential for them to be completely covered in fur.&nbsp;A cute girl with just animal ears and a tail&nbsp;feels like cosplay compared to that.&nbsp;It\u2019s&nbsp;totally fine&nbsp;to call&nbsp;that&nbsp;a&nbsp;kemomimi&nbsp;design, but&nbsp;calling it&nbsp;a furry&nbsp;design&nbsp;would be incorrect.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s&nbsp;also the muzzle,&nbsp;the snout that extends forward,&nbsp;and the paw pads.&nbsp;We design them based on animal anatomy,&nbsp;so for example, the thumbs will be further off to the side, without paw pads. Of course, If we go too&nbsp;far&nbsp;with such details, it can get a bit&#8230;&nbsp;you know, so we&nbsp;don\u2019t. For instance, our female characters originally had six nipples, but going overboard can cause issues on various fronts, so we&nbsp;tone things down to a milder form.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1298\" height=\"731\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1298px) 100vw, 1298px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251104-364688-001.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-53993\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251104-364688-001.jpg 1298w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251104-364688-001-380x214.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251104-364688-001-768x433.jpg 768w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>&nbsp;\u2014Wow, that certainly made the difference clear. So, that makes&nbsp;Aeruta\u2019s&nbsp;Chaya a&nbsp;kemomimi, not&nbsp;a&nbsp;furry?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lin:<\/strong>\u00a0<br>Yes,\u00a0Aeruta\u2019s\u00a0on the\u00a0kemomimi\u00a0side. That said, when\u00a0she\u2019s\u00a0sleeping, she\u00a0fully turns into\u00a0an animal.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"382\" height=\"804\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 382px) 100vw, 382px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251104-364688-002.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-53994\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251104-364688-002.jpg 382w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251104-364688-002-181x380.jpg 181w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2014Oh?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Matsuyama:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>Right,&nbsp;she turns into a fox when she sleeps.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lin:<\/strong>\u00a0<br>Exactly.\u00a0A\u00a0very cute\u00a0one\u00a0too.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1297\" height=\"731\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1297px) 100vw, 1297px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251104-364688-004.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-53995\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251104-364688-004.jpg 1297w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251104-364688-004-380x214.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251104-364688-004-768x433.jpg 768w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2014That complicates things.&nbsp;Then, how do you refer to Chaya&nbsp;officially?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lin:<\/strong>\u00a0<br>That\u2019s tricky\u00a0for us,\u00a0too. For now, we just call her a \u201cfox girl.\u201d If we said\u00a0kemomimi\u00a0outright, that would box her into a specific\u00a0category, so\u00a0we keep\u00a0things\u00a0vague\u00a0on purpose.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2014Does that not make it&nbsp;difficult to market the game, in&nbsp;terms of&nbsp;reaching the right fan communities?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lin:<\/strong>\u00a0<br>That&#8217;s a good\u00a0question. Like Matsuyama-san\u00a0said,\u00a0there\u2019s\u00a0a big difference\u00a0between\u00a0furries\u00a0and\u00a0kemomimi.\u00a0But at the same time,\u00a0I also believe that\u00a0many\u00a0players\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0consciously\u00a0articulate the differences. If\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0cute,\u00a0they\u2019ll\u00a0embrace it.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fans of&nbsp;furry characters&nbsp;do&nbsp;tend to prefer more animalistic traits&nbsp;like&nbsp;muzzles, full-body&nbsp;fur&nbsp;and the like \u2013&nbsp;and I personally love those&nbsp;features too.&nbsp;On the other hand,&nbsp;kemomimi&nbsp;characters&nbsp;offer&nbsp;a more&nbsp;human appeal.&nbsp;I think&nbsp;Aeruta&nbsp;subtly conveys both kinds of cuteness.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Matsuyama:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>If anything, Chaya\u2019s transformation feels more like youkai fantasy.&nbsp;She\u2019s&nbsp;originally a fox spirit who transforms into a&nbsp;beautiful&nbsp;human&nbsp;girl,&nbsp;but&nbsp;can\u2019t&nbsp;quite hide her ears and tail.&nbsp;That&#8217;s&nbsp;the kind of&nbsp;endearing&nbsp;worldview I understood it to be.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lin:<\/strong>\u00a0<br>I think it also comes down to which side is the character\u2019s true self, whether they are primarily human or beast\/animal.\u00a0With\u00a0kemomimi, the human part dominates,\u00a0and the\u00a0animal traits\u00a0are\u00a0added as a\u00a0\u201cmoe\u201d\u00a0element. In contrast, Western \u201cfurry\u201d culture favors the\u00a0animalistic\u00a0side as the\u00a0main focus.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1296\" height=\"731\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1296px) 100vw, 1296px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251104-364688-005.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-53996\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251104-364688-005.jpg 1296w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251104-364688-005-380x214.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251104-364688-005-768x433.jpg 768w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2014So&nbsp;the target audiences are&nbsp;completely different?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Matsuyama:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>Definitely. When we say&nbsp;furry,&nbsp;we\u2019re&nbsp;thinking of&nbsp;the characters in&nbsp;Sherlock Hound or,&nbsp;to give a&nbsp;more recent&nbsp;example, BEASTARS. Those&nbsp;titles&nbsp;fully embrace&nbsp;the&nbsp;furry&nbsp;worldview.&nbsp;<br>Kemomini,&nbsp;on the other hand, has its own&nbsp;appeal.&nbsp;They\u2019re&nbsp;like different schools&nbsp;of thought entirely.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Everyone:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>(laughs)&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2014That\u2019s&nbsp;a good way&nbsp;to put it. What&nbsp;would you say is the&nbsp;appeal of&nbsp;furry&nbsp;characters?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Matsuyama:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>For example, take&nbsp;Sherlock Hound, directed by Hayao Miyazaki about forty years ago.&nbsp;There was really no need to make that into a story about anthropomorphic animals.&nbsp;They could have just designed human characters based on the world of Sherlock Holmes,&nbsp;included&nbsp;Professor Moriarty, and made a straightforward Holmes anime.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8230;But ultimately, when&nbsp;it comes to grabbing people&#8217;s attention,&nbsp;having a&nbsp;hook is crucial. The&nbsp;visual impact of a&nbsp;dog&nbsp;character with a muzzle,&nbsp;wearing a trench coat and a hat&nbsp;is&nbsp;strikingly&nbsp;unique,&nbsp;isn\u2019t it?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1438\" height=\"696\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1438px) 100vw, 1438px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251104-364688-006.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-53997\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251104-364688-006.jpg 1438w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251104-364688-006-380x184.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251104-364688-006-768x372.jpg 768w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2014It&nbsp;does leave&nbsp;a&nbsp;lasting&nbsp;impression.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Matsuyama:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>Exactly.&nbsp;It\u2019s&nbsp;all about making people turn their heads. But&nbsp;if you&nbsp;go too far, the audience gets put off, so&nbsp;it\u2019s&nbsp;a matter of balance.&nbsp;I saw Sherlock Hound when I was a young boy, and it struck me to the core.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I remember thinking, what a wonderful way to reinterpret the story! And it&nbsp;wasn\u2019t&nbsp;just&nbsp;Holmes,&nbsp;everyone in that world was an animal. As a kid, I was amazed, thinking,&nbsp;\u201cWait,&nbsp;you can do that?\u201d&nbsp;I was completely captivated and&nbsp;couldn\u2019t&nbsp;wait for each new episode. But despite being such a fantastic&nbsp;series, it&nbsp;didn\u2019t&nbsp;really catch&nbsp;on&nbsp;with the&nbsp;general public&nbsp;at the time.&nbsp;So&nbsp;little&nbsp;me&nbsp;concluded that the world was wrong.&nbsp;The anime&nbsp;was just ahead of its time.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are works that are brilliant but remain undiscovered by the world, only to become popular later, right? Even as a child,&nbsp;I felt Sherlock Hound&nbsp;was one of those, and I believed that one day the&nbsp;whole world&nbsp;would fall in love with it. But as I kept waiting, I realized there still&nbsp;weren\u2019t&nbsp;many games or anime featuring&nbsp;furry&nbsp;characters, so&nbsp;I&nbsp;finally decided&nbsp;I\u2019d&nbsp;take&nbsp;on the role of making them myself.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With the mindset of&nbsp;becoming&nbsp;the leading company in&nbsp;furry&nbsp;games,&nbsp;CyberConnect2 has&nbsp;kept at it ever since.&nbsp;We believe&nbsp;that if we keep striking the wall long enough,&nbsp;we\u2019ll&nbsp;eventually break through. And I intend to be the one&nbsp;at the forefront, fists clenched&nbsp;tight.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2014I see&nbsp;Sherlock&nbsp;Hound had quite an influence on you, Matsuyama-san.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Matsuyama:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>It\u2019s amazing, both in its art and&nbsp;its worldbuilding.&nbsp;This is just my personal opinion, but as I mentioned earlier, while it certainly has that eye-catching impact, there\u2019s no real reason it had to be designed that way.&nbsp;BEASTARS, on the other hand, has a reason. The story could only be told in a world inhabited by characters who&nbsp;literally have&nbsp;claws and fangs.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The same goes for&nbsp;our&nbsp;Little Tail Bronx&nbsp;series.&nbsp;CyberConnect2\u2019s&nbsp;kemono&nbsp;universe has clear reasoning and meaning behind it;&nbsp;there\u2019s&nbsp;a logic that convinces our audience about why the world has to be that way.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"deep-down-everyone-s-a-furry\">Deep down, everyone\u2019s&nbsp;a furry&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2014CyberConnect2 has many staff who are fond of&nbsp;furries, right?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Matsuyama:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>Yes, everyone says&nbsp;they\u2019ve&nbsp;always liked&nbsp;content&nbsp;with that kind of aesthetic. The&nbsp;reason&nbsp;why&nbsp;they like it&nbsp;tends to come&nbsp;later,&nbsp;it starts&nbsp;with a simple&nbsp;\u201cI like this.\u201d&nbsp;However,&nbsp;they all&nbsp;hide&nbsp;it&nbsp;at first.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2014So&nbsp;everyone\u2019s&nbsp;first instinct&nbsp;is to&nbsp;hide&nbsp;that they like it?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Matsuyama:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>Yes, even at our company, people instinctively try to hide that side of themselves, so&nbsp;I think that tendency&nbsp;is even stronger in society at large.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s&nbsp;why we need to bring those people,&nbsp;the latent&nbsp;furry lovers,&nbsp;out into the open, including&nbsp;our fanbase. And the&nbsp;catalyst&nbsp;for&nbsp;forming such a community lies in the content we create and the intent behind our promotional efforts, so this is something we need to keep expanding.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2014You believe that, deep down,&nbsp;everyone has some level of&nbsp;fondness for&nbsp;furries&nbsp;inside them?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Matsuyama:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>That\u2019s right.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2014Does that mean&nbsp;even&nbsp;I have the potential to be&nbsp;a&nbsp;furry?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Matsuyama:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>You do.&nbsp;Most&nbsp;people&nbsp;just&nbsp;haven\u2019t&nbsp;realized it yet. They just&nbsp;don\u2019t&nbsp;know how to put it into words, but when asked directly,&nbsp;they\u2019d&nbsp;probably say, \u201cNow that you mention it, yeah, I do&nbsp;kind of&nbsp;like that.\u201d The reason they&nbsp;haven\u2019t&nbsp;discovered it is that there&nbsp;aren\u2019t&nbsp;many works like that, so they&nbsp;haven\u2019t&nbsp;had the chance to learn about it.&nbsp;But ultimately, we\u2019re&nbsp;all mammals. Every human being has an animal&nbsp;living inside their heart.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2014You made that last part sound like a proverb or&nbsp;something.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Everyone:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>(laughs)&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2014By the way, when&nbsp;it comes to your&nbsp;respective&nbsp;games, do you think players are&nbsp;drawn&nbsp;more to the gameplay, or to the&nbsp;kemomimi\/furry character designs?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lin:<\/strong>\u00a0<br>From what\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0seen of\u00a0players\u2019\u00a0reactions so far,\u00a0I think most people\u00a0are initially drawn in by the visuals and the characters. I\u00a0think\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0possible many players picked up\u00a0Aeruta\u00a0because of the\u00a0animal ears. But the ones who play for a long time or leave reviews often\u00a0mention\u00a0the gameplay\u00a0and story, too. So even if the\u00a0initial\u00a0hook\u00a0is\u00a0the\u00a0kemomimi\u00a0characters,\u00a0I think\u00a0people\u00a0end up genuinely enjoying the\u00a0content of\u00a0the game as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1534\" height=\"859\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1534px) 100vw, 1534px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251104-364688-007.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-53999\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251104-364688-007.jpg 1534w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251104-364688-007-380x213.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251104-364688-007-768x430.jpg 768w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2014Aeruta&#8217;s&nbsp;game system is quite elaborate (part&nbsp;roguelite&nbsp;action, part bakery simulator),&nbsp;but I get the sense that the&nbsp;kemomimi&nbsp;aspect is what&nbsp;has brought in such a loyal fanbase.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lin:<\/strong>\u00a0<br>We definitely felt that having\u00a0kemomimi\u00a0characters helped spark more people\u2019s interest.\u00a0Interestingly, at the start of development, we\u00a0hadn\u2019t\u00a0even planned to include\u00a0kemomimi\u00a0at all. Once the core game systems were finished, we started thinking about what unique appeal we could add to make\u00a0Aeruta\u00a0stand out,\u00a0and since everyone on the team loved\u00a0kemomimi, we decided to incorporate it.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In fact, when we released the demo in January last year, there were no animal ears or tails yet. Those only appeared with the Early Access version. You could say the development team&nbsp;itself&nbsp;turned out to have a latent love for&nbsp;kemono.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Matsuyama:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>See? I told you. Everyone has an animal&nbsp;living inside their&nbsp;heart.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2014It&nbsp;seems to me that&nbsp;realizing&nbsp;it was okay to&nbsp;insert&nbsp;your&nbsp;own quirks in your work gave&nbsp;Aeruta&nbsp;a unique identity. What about you, Matsuyama-san,&nbsp;when it comes to&nbsp;Fuga,&nbsp;do you think players are drawn in more by the&nbsp;<\/strong><strong>furry&nbsp;<\/strong><strong>aspect, or by the gameplay?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Matsuyama:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>At CyberConnect2, we believe that&nbsp;in order to&nbsp;create a game that truly stands out, the system, characters, and story all need to&nbsp;mesh together&nbsp;perfectly,&nbsp;like gears in a machine.&nbsp;That\u2019s&nbsp;why we design&nbsp;all three simultaneously. We advance the script while building the system, and once the system starts taking shape, we go back and revise the script again. Because of that,&nbsp;I believe players&nbsp;are coming to our games for both&nbsp;sides.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1296\" height=\"731\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1296px) 100vw, 1296px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251104-364688-007-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-54000\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251104-364688-007-1.jpg 1296w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251104-364688-007-1-380x214.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251104-364688-007-1-768x433.jpg 768w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2014Do you think&nbsp;it\u2019s&nbsp;a good time&nbsp;for developers to try making and profiting from&nbsp;furry or&nbsp;kemomimi-themed games,&nbsp;maybe even&nbsp;by adding such elements to existing projects?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Matsuyama:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>I think&nbsp;it\u2019s&nbsp;a good&nbsp;idea.&nbsp;Aeruta&nbsp;is&nbsp;practically proof&nbsp;of that. These days, there are countless action games and action RPGs, and plenty of cute games too. However,&nbsp;Aeruta&nbsp;not only adds&nbsp;animals&nbsp;ears, but has a protagonist&nbsp;that\u2019s&nbsp;actually a&nbsp;fox,&nbsp;and that alone gives players a hook.&nbsp;So yes,&nbsp;creating&nbsp;a clear reason&nbsp;for players to choose your game is a perfectly valid strategy.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2014But&nbsp;wouldn\u2019t&nbsp;having more&nbsp;furry&nbsp;games&nbsp;out there&nbsp;mean more competition for you?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Matsuyama:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>Not at all. If anything, it means more people who share the same passion, and more opportunities for&nbsp;the furry&nbsp;culture to spread among a wider audience.&nbsp;That\u2019s&nbsp;absolutely a good thing.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2014You&nbsp;almost&nbsp;sound&nbsp;like a&nbsp;missionary&nbsp;at this point.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Everyone:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>(laughs)&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2014Lin-san, do you also think\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0worthwhile\u00a0making\u00a0furry\u00a0or\u00a0kemomimi\u00a0games now?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lin:<\/strong>\u00a0<br>I\u00a0absolutely\u00a0think\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0a genre worth\u00a0creating\u00a0for. Incorporating\u00a0such\u00a0elements can lead to new kinds of\u00a0game\u00a0mechanics or new ways to tell stories. Of course, to use them effectively, you have to understand\u00a0kemono\u00a0and\u00a0kemomimi\u00a0deeply,\u00a0but if done right,\u00a0it\u00a0can\u00a0open up new creative directions\u00a0for your game. That said, since\u00a0some\u00a0gacha\u00a0games\u00a0have\u00a0recently\u00a0started\u00a0featuring\u00a0furry\u00a0characters, developers will need to think carefully about how to differentiate themselves.\u00a0There\u2019s\u00a0a lot of potential, but\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0also a tricky element to handle well.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2014It&nbsp;does&nbsp;seem like something that&nbsp;could backfire&nbsp;if just treated casually, without proper care for the culture.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Matsuyama:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>But I must say,&nbsp;when I played&nbsp;Aeruta, I was honestly amazed&nbsp;by how entertaining&nbsp;the game itself&nbsp;is.&nbsp;It\u2019s&nbsp;not just cute. The cycle of going on&nbsp;action-packed&nbsp;adventures&nbsp;and&nbsp;returning to&nbsp;run&nbsp;the bakery&nbsp;is&nbsp;executed at&nbsp;an astonishingly&nbsp;high&nbsp;level.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are plenty of games where the&nbsp;different systems&nbsp;don\u2019t&nbsp;fit together, or worse, where the core action just&nbsp;doesn&#8217;t&nbsp;feel good&nbsp;and&nbsp;isn\u2019t&nbsp;fun at all.&nbsp;Or ones that look great visually but fall flat once you actually play them.&nbsp;There are&nbsp;plenty of games&nbsp;that just \u201cdon\u2019t get it.\u201d But&nbsp;Aeruta&nbsp;is very impressive in how polished it is. And the&nbsp;development&nbsp;team is&nbsp;very&nbsp;young, if I&#8217;m not mistaken?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lin:<\/strong>\u00a0<br>Thank you. Yes,\u00a0Aeruta\u00a0is the\u00a0development team\u2019s\u00a0first game, so everyone\u00a0working on it is\u00a0quite young.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1296\" height=\"731\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1296px) 100vw, 1296px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251104-364688-008.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-54001\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251104-364688-008.jpg 1296w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251104-364688-008-380x214.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251104-364688-008-768x433.jpg 768w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Matsuyama:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>I honestly thought, \u201cWhat kind of genius group is this?\u201d&nbsp;It\u2019s&nbsp;unbelievable.&nbsp;I\u2019d actually like to ask&nbsp;<em>you<\/em>&nbsp;during this&nbsp;interview;&nbsp;how did they get to that level?&nbsp;Did they already have&nbsp;past&nbsp;experience&nbsp;making games?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lin:<\/strong>\u00a0<br>They originally started making\u00a0Aeruta\u00a0as their graduation project back in\u00a0college. Afterward, they decided they wanted to complete and release the game for real, so they founded their own development studio. Since\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0their first full game,\u00a0they&#8217;re\u00a0extremely\u00a0passionate about it.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0tough in today\u2019s industry, but they work about sixteen hours a day.\u00a0If\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0not sleeping,\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0making\u00a0the game.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Matsuyama:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>(laughs)&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lin:<\/strong>\u00a0<br>They\u00a0all\u00a0have\u00a0a strong desire\u00a0to\u00a0deliver something\u00a0meaningful\u00a0to\u00a0the world through their game.\u00a0They\u2019re\u00a0constantly thinking about what they can do for players and what they can\u00a0offer them. Of course, since this is their first release,\u00a0there\u2019s\u00a0a lot of anxiety, too.\u00a0That\u2019s\u00a0why\u00a0we\u00a0chose to launch it in Early Access,\u00a0so they could incorporate\u00a0player\u00a0feedback throughout\u00a0the\u00a0development\u00a0process.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2014It stood out to me how quick&nbsp;<\/strong><strong>Aeruta<\/strong><strong>&nbsp;was&nbsp;to&nbsp;implement&nbsp;feedback&nbsp;all the time.&nbsp;The team fixed issues pointed out by players right away, and&nbsp;compared to the&nbsp;early stages&nbsp;of Early Access, the game&nbsp;has&nbsp;improved&nbsp;dramatically.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lin:<\/strong>\u00a0<br>Yes, both we\u00a0(the publisher)\u00a0and the developers took user opinions\u00a0and suggestions very\u00a0seriously. We were actively committed to building the game\u00a0together\u00a0with the community, and I think the speed of implementing\u00a0updates was the result of that attitude.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"we-want-aeruta-to-be-embraced-by-the-furry-community-too\">We want&nbsp;Aeruta&nbsp;to be embraced by the&nbsp;furry&nbsp;community too&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2014After making a&nbsp;furry&nbsp;or&nbsp;kemomimi&nbsp;game,&nbsp;what\u2019s&nbsp;the best way to reach the right&nbsp;communites&nbsp;and get your game noticed&nbsp;by them?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Matsuyama:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>I&nbsp;actually&nbsp;don\u2019t&nbsp;think&nbsp;you&nbsp;should&nbsp;lead with \u201cThis is a&nbsp;furry&nbsp;game!\u201d People can tell just by looking, so&nbsp;there\u2019s&nbsp;honestly no need to explicitly&nbsp;state&nbsp;that.&nbsp;Instead, you should focus on communicating what&nbsp;the&nbsp;furry characters inhabiting the game do in that world.&nbsp;If&nbsp;you include&nbsp;a&nbsp;clear reason&nbsp;or&nbsp;basis for why the characters are&nbsp;furries, people&nbsp;are going to love it before they know it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At CyberConnect2, we do PR through things like stage events and merch booths at&nbsp;Japan Expo&nbsp;or&nbsp;Anime Expo. But the only event we&nbsp;specifically&nbsp;target for&nbsp;furry&nbsp;audiences is&nbsp;Anthrocon.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s&nbsp;an event with a strong concentration of&nbsp;furry&nbsp;fans, so we quietly set up&nbsp;our&nbsp;booth, hold panels, and engage directly with that community to expand our reach. In Japan, the equivalent would be&nbsp;Kemoket.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2014Yes,&nbsp;you mentioned&nbsp;Anthrocon&nbsp;in a past interview&nbsp;with us, and many readers were surprised to see a major game creator even&nbsp;refer&nbsp;to it.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Matsuyama:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>I think&nbsp;Anthrocon&nbsp;still has plenty of room to grow in both recognition and attendance.&nbsp;That\u2019s&nbsp;exactly why&nbsp;we\u2019ve&nbsp;continued to&nbsp;participate, to help nurture it together. For indie&nbsp;creators&nbsp;especially,&nbsp;it\u2019s&nbsp;a great opportunity&nbsp;to get noticed, so I hope it gets the attention it deserves.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1296\" height=\"866\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1296px) 100vw, 1296px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251104-364688-009.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-54002\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251104-364688-009.jpg 1296w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251104-364688-009-380x254.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251104-364688-009-768x513.jpg 768w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2014And for&nbsp;Aeruta,&nbsp;what do you think will help&nbsp;broaden&nbsp;your fanbase?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lin:<\/strong>\u00a0<br>I\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0think\u00a0there\u2019s\u00a0a single central\u00a0kemomimi\u00a0fan community per se. In Japan, events like\u00a0Kemoket\u00a0do exist, but like\u00a0Anthrocon,\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0mainly for\u00a0furry\u00a0fans,\u00a0so\u00a0being a\u00a0kemomini\u00a0game,\u00a0Aeruta\u00a0might\u00a0not quite resonate\u00a0in the same way.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2014Right, different schools of thought, as Matsuyama-san&nbsp;said.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lin:<\/strong>\u00a0<br>Exactly.\u00a0I\u00a0think\u00a0presenting furry fans with\u00a0just\u00a0animal-eared characters would be\u00a0a\u00a0bit&#8230;\u00a0you\u00a0know.\u00a0Still,\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0sure some\u00a0of them\u00a0will find\u00a0Aeruta\u2019s\u00a0characters appealing.\u00a0So\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0important for us to reach out to communities that share that sense of affinity.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2014That\u2019s&nbsp;true,&nbsp;you&nbsp;have to&nbsp;read the&nbsp;room, but&nbsp;not be afraid to reach out either. To wrap up, could you both share a message&nbsp;for&nbsp;our&nbsp;readers?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Matsuyama:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>Thanks to everyone\u2019s support, the&nbsp;Fuga: Melodies of&nbsp;Steel&nbsp;series&nbsp;continues to&nbsp;perform&nbsp;well,&nbsp;and&nbsp;we\u2019re&nbsp;also serializing a manga&nbsp;adaptation&nbsp;which is now covering the events of&nbsp;Fuga 3.&nbsp;The manga tells a slightly different story from the games, so I hope people enjoy&nbsp;comparing them.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We also held a \u201cFuga Expo\u201d in Fukuoka in October, and&nbsp;it\u2019s&nbsp;heading to Tokyo in November and Osaka in December. Each stop will have events, merchandise, and autograph sessions, so please&nbsp;come visit&nbsp;if you can.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And in December,&nbsp;we\u2019re&nbsp;holding the second&nbsp;Fuga&nbsp;live reading event,&nbsp;where the voice actors perform scenes from the manga on stage.&nbsp;That\u2019s&nbsp;organized by&nbsp;Tri-Dia, so please look forward to all the&nbsp;Fuga&nbsp;events we have lined up for the end of the year!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2014 The\u00a0Fuga\u00a0IP is growing\u00a0so\u00a0quickly,\u00a0I feel like\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0almost ready for an anime adaptation.\u00a0And\u00a0Lin-san, could we hear a final message from you as well?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lin:<\/strong>\u00a0<br>After a year and a half in Early Access,\u00a0Aeruta\u00a0will finally\u00a0launch in\u00a0its completed form on November 6. To celebrate the release,\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0holding one last sale at the Early Access price, at\u00a020% off. If this interview sparked your interest,\u00a0we\u2019d\u00a0be thrilled if you\u00a0picked up\u00a0Aeruta.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2014Thank you both very much.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Aeruta&nbsp;is out now for PC (<a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/aerutasteam\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Steam<\/a>).&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/fuuga\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Fuga: Melodies of Steel<\/a>&nbsp;trilogy&nbsp;is available for PC (Steam), Nintendo Switch, PS5\/PS4 and Xbox Series X|S\/Xbox One.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We talk to Fuga developer CyberConnect2 and Aeruta publisher Gravity Game Arise about the appeal of furry and kemomimi characters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":53989,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[64,10],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-53985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-game-development","category-interviews","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - 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