{"id":71372,"date":"2026-08-24T23:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=71372"},"modified":"2026-08-24T19:01:45","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T10:01:45","slug":"astrae-oratio-is-a-nostalgic-urban-fantasy-greatly-influenced-by-type-moon-boogiepop-and-demon-city-shinjuku-according-to-art-director","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/astrae-oratio-is-a-nostalgic-urban-fantasy-greatly-influenced-by-type-moon-boogiepop-and-demon-city-shinjuku-according-to-art-director\/","title":{"rendered":"Astrae Oratio is a nostalgic urban fantasy greatly influenced by TYPE MOON, Boogiepop and Demon City Shinjuku, according to art director"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Astrae Oratio <\/strong>(officially abbreviated to \u201cAsora\u201d) is an upcoming Korean RPG developed by Dynamis One and published NC (NCSoft). Set in Tokyo in 1889, or the ninth year of the fictional Reisei Era, Astrae Oratio revolves around the concept of \u201cmagic x bureaucracy,\u201d positioning itself as an urban fantasy work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During this year\u2019s Comiket, AUTOMATON had the opportunity learn more about the various Japanese influences on the game, as well as the urban fantasy genre from Astrae Oratio\u2019s art director Kim In (also known as hwansang), who was previously the Art Director for Blue Archive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As one of the biggest, though more \u201cobscure\u201d influences from Japan, Kim lists the 1982 fantasy horror novel Demon City Shinjuku, written by Hideyuki Kikuchi. Anime fans might be more familiar with the OVA of the same name released in 1988. Other literary influences include the Boogiepop series (which didn\u2019t only influence the game thematically, but also its visuals) by Kouhei Kadono, as well as Shakugan no Shana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWe\u2019re developing the project with magic in an urban setting \u2013 urban fantasy – as the central concept, and we have been so greatly influenced by the works of TYPE MOON. It\u2019s pretty much impossible to discuss without mentioning the genre foundations they have built over the years,\u201d Kim notes. \u201cI also consider recent titles like the Persona series to have urban fantasy elements. The decision to use urban fantasy, which depicts myths and the supernatural through a modern lens, as a core theme is what led to Astrae Oratio\u2019s unique setting and time period.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While it\u2019s very much a modern RPG, the anachronistic worldview and art style of Astrae Oratio were made to evoke a feeling of nostalgia, drawing inspiration from 90s and early 00s visual art and anime. Kim says that he wanted to make use of expressions from the past that are \u201cgreat, but aren\u2019t used much in recent works.\u201d As one example of this, he lists the character design for Ai Hiwagishiakari \u2013 whose hairstyle has the classic \u201canime girl hair vents\u201d which were pretty much a design staple in 90s and 00s otaku culture. \u201cBesides myself, there are many members on the development team who were influenced by works from the early to mid-Heisei era (1989-2019). Each of the members wanted to incorporate their favorite things from their childhoods into the game.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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