07th Expansion Announces New Work on April Fool’s Day, Possibly Not (?) A Joke

Visitors to 07th Expansion’s Japanese site are being greeted with an image announcing a new work, Tri-Anthology.

According to the image, Ryukishi07 will be once again collaborating with Romeo Tanaka and Tonokawa Yuuto (of Key/Visual Arts) on it. He’s worked with them previously on the VN Rewrite.

Readers might want to take this with a grain of salt, since it’s already April Fool’s Day in Japan. Still, this announcement fits perfectly with the “science fiction” work Ryukishi07 was originally planning to release last winter Comiket, in December 2014. The translated teaser for that work states:

“And now, for a tale of the future.

Three worlds draw a spiral. Who is it at that lies at the end?

One world exists in the distant future. The General Earth Alliance advances into outer space. Past the sun, they voyage into the depths of the Milky Way.

Now, can you see the tiny fireworks flickering in the depths of space?

Those tiny fireworks, they are the light of the 200 pentillion warships from both sides of the UA$ galactic war fleet, sunk in space warfare that has endured from the beginning of civilization. Both sides, having amassed immense losses from war in the depths of space, avoid galactic conflict. Several colonial planets, last thought of in a time before the Galactic Century, shall be entrusted to become the location for the war’s skirmishes.

Coming in Winter 2014!”

Three worlds…three writers. Tri-Anthology. It makes a bit too much sense for a prank.

The new image has the same character as in that teaser, but with a different costume. It looks like it’ll involve characters traveling between three different words, with one science fiction, and another fantasy reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland. What’s next? The real world? A hellish nightmare of horror?

It reminds me of Aliens, in which one prominent designer did all designs for humans locations and technology, while another did everything related to xenomorphs (of course, it’s H.R. Giger they actually remember!) I look forward to seeing how their different authorial visions will comingle and conflict.

UPDATE: It’s been confirmed to be real, and is listed as “Coming Soon” on its new site.