{"id":71170,"date":"2026-08-19T23:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=71170"},"modified":"2026-08-19T16:53:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T07:53:20","slug":"shirokuro-a-girlfriend-vs-childhood-friend-visual-novel-from-yu-akinashi-is-coming-to-steam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/shirokuro-a-girlfriend-vs-childhood-friend-visual-novel-from-yu-akinashi-is-coming-to-steam\/","title":{"rendered":"ShiroKuro, a &#8220;girlfriend vs childhood friend&#8221; visual novel from Love, Election and Chocolate artist Yu Akinashi, is coming to Steam with English support"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Publisher Shiravune has <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/shiravune\/status\/2089518418081050781?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">announced<\/a> that <strong>ShiroKuro<\/strong>, an adult visual novel by Japanese artist and indie developer Yu Akinashi, is coming to <a href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/4507850\/ShiroKuro\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Steam<\/a> with official English support. The game originally released in December 2024 via domestic platforms <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dlsite.com\/maniax\/work\/=\/product_id\/RJ01296614.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">DLsite<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dmm.co.jp\/dc\/doujin\/-\/detail\/=\/cid=d_479518\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Fanza<\/a> (links are NSFW). Akinashi is known for his involvement in eroge like \u201cLove, Election and Chocolate\u201d and \u201cMeteor World Actor,\u201d as well as the light novel series Rakuen Noise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">ShiroKuro\u2019s story revolves around Tohru Minagawa, an average student with \u201cslightly nerdy interests.\u201d Thanks to his interests, he managed to bond with and court his now-girlfriend Shiro Nagisaku, a silver-haired beauty whose hobby is creating high-quality cosplay outfits. Now together for one year, their relationship seems unbreakable. That is, until Tohru\u2019s childhood female friend, the long-haired Kuro Chono, comes back into his life, now suffering from a certain physical condition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1403\" height=\"789\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1403px) 100vw, 1403px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/20260819-71170-001.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-71175\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/20260819-71170-001.jpg 1403w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/20260819-71170-001-380x214.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/20260819-71170-001-768x432.jpg 768w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Though Tohru and Kuro used to be close, they started to drift apart after Kuro shot down Tohru\u2019s love confession years ago. Despite being a recluse who misses her classes, Kuro is a diligent student who hopes to return to school. With so much history between them, Tohru is bound to have conflicted feelings between his girlfriend and former crush.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Developed by Akinashi\u2019s doujin circle, Asobu Akinashi, ShiroKuro is a short visual novel with one ending. The Steam version supports English, Japanese, and Chinese text and is fully voiced in Japanese. While no release date has been announced for the global version yet, Akinashi promised to update the Steam store page once one has been finalized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">ShiroKuro is coming soon to <a href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/4507850\/ShiroKuro\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Steam<\/a>. A free demo and the entire game (both in Japanese) can be downloaded on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dlsite.com\/maniax\/announce\/=\/product_id\/RJ01296614.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">DLsite<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dmm.co.jp\/dc\/doujin\/-\/detail\/=\/cid=d_479518\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Fanza<\/a> (links are NSFW). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1400\" height=\"787\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/20260819-71170-002.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-71176\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/20260819-71170-002.jpg 1400w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/20260819-71170-002-380x214.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/20260819-71170-002-768x432.jpg 768w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?s=visual+novel&amp;ct_post_type=post%3Apage\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">My Planet MOON CHILD is a sci-fi visual novel that explores \u201cour inability to understand each other\u201d: Steam gems from Japan you might be missing out on<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The game released domestically in December 2024.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":71174,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","autoblue_enabled":true,"autoblue_custom_message":"","autoblue_shares":[{"did":"did:plc:uzrrhkfyjrfdsynj2voztcf2","date":"2026-08-19T14:00:07+00:00","uri":"at:\/\/did:plc:uzrrhkfyjrfdsynj2voztcf2\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3mtgvd3nm2a2h","response":"{\"uri\":\"at:\/\/did:plc:uzrrhkfyjrfdsynj2voztcf2\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3mtgvd3nm2a2h\",\"cid\":\"bafyreicd67dgz2bfz7bcrrewdosf5j2ysazhonpig5d2mt3zo4zlwvknem\",\"commit\":{\"cid\":\"bafyreihenmanqhhqtjlcaiixtl6bfidvafty4zds4jd7w26snuni5u2eha\",\"rev\":\"3mtgvd3nrvq2h\"},\"validationStatus\":\"valid\"}"}],"autoblue_post_url":"","autoblue_publish_document":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-71170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":7}},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>ShiroKuro, a &quot;girlfriend vs childhood friend&quot; 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