Visual Arts (company) - Wikipedia

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iconThis article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.Find sources: "Visual Arts" company – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (August 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
Japanese video game publisher Visual Arts
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryPC gamesMusic
FoundedMarch 26, 1991; 34 years ago (1991-03-26)
HeadquartersKita, Osaka, Japan
Key peopleGenki Tenkumo (executive director)
ProductsVisual novels
ParentTencent (2023–present)
Websitevisual-arts.jp

Visual Arts (株式会社ビジュアルアーツ, Kabushikigaisha Bijuaru Ātsu), formerly Visual Artist Office (ビジュアルアーティストオフィス, Bijuaru Ātisuto Ofisu) and previously spelled in English as VisualArt's, is a Japanese publishing company which specializes in publishing and distributing visual novels for a large list of game developers. Visual Arts has developed game engines their brands currently use, including the current engine, called Siglus, and older engines RealLive and AVG32. Visual Arts also handles the distribution of these games. The games published are mostly for a male audience, though they also publish games targeted towards women as well. They are well known for publishing games developed by Key, such as Kanon, Air, and Clannad.

The company has coined a new type of visual novel called the kinetic novel where unlike in visual novels where the player is periodically given choices to make, there are no choices whatsoever and the player watches the game progress as if it were a movie. One of Key's games entitled Planetarian: The Reverie of a Little Planet was the first game produced under the kinetic novel name. In addition to games, Visual Arts also releases music CDs for video game music. Of special note among the artists sold under this label is I've Sound, a techno/trance music production group who was the first in the adult game industry to perform at the Nippon Budokan in October 2005.

Visual Arts is also involved with transplanting games they have previously published to be playable on mobile phones. Prototype manages this portion of Visual Arts known as Visual Arts Motto (ビジュアルアーツ★Motto, Bijuaru Ātsu★Motto). Visual Arts launched a web magazine called Visualstyle on October 26, 2007. Visual Arts launched a YouTube channel called Visual Channel in July 2008 where videos are posted which are related to the games and companies under Visual Arts. In October 2008, Visual Arts launched their VA Bunko light novel imprint, which includes light novels based on games produced by brands under Visual Arts.[1]

Visual Arts' president Takahiro Baba announced retirement in July 2023, passing on his role to Genki Tenkumo (also known as Tōya Okano) and transferred his share to Tencent, making Visual Arts a child company of Tencent.[2]

Partner companies

[edit]
The Visual Arts logo until 2019

Game brands

[edit]
  • 13 cm
  • Amedeo
  • Anfini
  • B_Works
  • Bonbee!
  • Catwalk
  • Concept
  • Dress
  • E.G.O.
  • Elysion
  • Flady
  • Frill
  • Garden
  • G-clef
  • Ham Ham Soft
  • Hadashi Shōjo
  • Hayashigumi
  • Image Craft
  • Issue
  • Jidaiya
  • Key
  • KineticNovel
  • Kur-Mar-Ter
  • KuroCo
  • Lapis Lazuli
  • LimeLight
  • Mana
  • Miss Chifu
  • Moe.
  • Ningyou Yuugisya
  • Ocelot
  • OPTiM
  • Pass Guard
  • Pekoe
  • Playm
  • Radi
  • Realdeal
  • Rex
  • Rio
  • Saga Planets
  • Sirius
  • Spray
  • Studio Mebius
  • Tone Work's
  • Zero
  • Zion
[edit]
  • Cure Records
  • fripSide
  • I've Sound
  • Key Sounds Label
  • OTSU
  • Queens Label

Defunct

[edit]
  • Akiko
  • Akumi
  • Craftwork
  • Culotte
  • D-XX
  • Giant Panda
  • Harvest
  • Kamen Shōkai
  • Manbō Soft
  • Miyabi
  • Otherwise
  • Ram
  • Tamachadō
  • Words

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "VA Bunko's official website" (in Japanese). Visual Arts. Retrieved October 22, 2008.
  2. ^ 『AIR』、『CLANNAD』などのビジュアルアーツがテンセントの子会社に。新体制では馬場隆博社長が相談役となり、天雲玄樹(丘野塔也)氏が新社長に (in Japanese). Famitsu. July 27, 2023.
[edit]
  • Official website (in Japanese)
  • Visual Arts product website (in Japanese)
  • Visual Arts Motto official website (in Japanese)
  • Visual Channel at YouTube (in Japanese)
  • VA Bunko official website (in Japanese)
  • v
  • t
  • e
Key
Brand of Visual Arts
People
  • Jun Maeda
  • Shinji Orito
  • Na-Ga
  • Itaru Hinoue
  • Naoki Hisaya
  • Yūichi Suzumoto
  • Yūto Tonokawa
  • Magome Togoshi
  • OdiakeS
Visual novels at Tactics
  • Dōsei
  • Moon
  • One
Visual novels
  • Kanon
  • Air
  • Clannad
    • Tomoyo After
  • Little Busters!
    • Kud Wafter
  • Rewrite
  • Angel Beats!
  • Summer Pockets
  • Heaven Burns Red
  • Anemoi
Kinetic novels
  • Planetarian
  • Harmonia
  • Loopers
  • Lunaria
  • Stella of The End
Animation and multimedia
  • One episodes
  • Kanon episodes
  • Air episodes
  • Air film
  • Clannad film
  • Clannad episodes
  • Angel Beats!
    • episodes
  • Little Busters! episodes
  • Charlotte
    • episodes
  • Rewrite episodes
  • Planetarian: Storyteller of the Stars
  • The Day I Became a God
  • Prima Doll
  • Kaginado
Audio
Soundtracks
  • Kanon
  • Air
    • "Tori no Uta"
  • Clannad
  • Planetarian
  • Little Busters!
  • Angel Beats!
  • Kud Wafter
  • Rewrite
  • Charlotte
  • Harmonia
  • Summer Pockets
Key Sounds Label
  • Discography
  • Humanity...
  • "Birthday Song, Requiem"
  • "Spica/Hanabi/Moon"
  • Ma-Na
  • Love Song
  • Key 10th Memorial Fes Anniversary CD
  • Circle of Fifth
  • KSL Live World albums
Other
  • Key Net Radio
  • Owari no Hoshi no Love Song
Category
  • v
  • t
  • e
Tencent
Services
  • Foxmail
  • iflix
  • JOOX
  • QQ
  • QQLive
  • Qzone
  • Sogou
  • Soso
  • Tencent Animation and Comics
  • Tencent Cloud
  • Tencent Maps
  • Tencent Video
  • Tencent Weibo
  • WeBank
  • WeChat
    • Red envelope
Music
  • KuGou
    • Ku Music Asian Music Awards
  • QQ Music
    • QQ Music Awards
  • Tencent Music
Film and television
  • New Classics Media
  • Tencent Pictures
Video games
  • Fatshark
  • Fulqrum Publishing
  • Funcom
  • Grinding Gear Games
  • Klei Entertainment
  • Leyou
    • Athlon Games
    • Digital Extremes
  • Miniclip
  • QQ Games
  • Riot Games
    • Radiant Entertainment
  • Sumo Group
    • Auroch Digital
    • The Chinese Room
    • Sumo Digital
  • Supercell
  • Techland
  • Tencent Games
    • LightSpeed Studios
    • TiMi Studio Group
  • Tequila Works
  • Turtle Rock Studios
  • Valhalla Game Studios
  • Visual Arts
    • Key
    • KineticNovel
  • WeGame
  • Yager Development
Related
  • 360 v. Tencent
  • Lao Gan Ma fraud case
  • Naspers
    • Prosus
People
  • Ma Huateng
  • Allen Zhang
  • Tony Zhang
  • Chen Yidan
  • Chen Xiaonan
Authority control databases Edit this at Wikidata
International
  • VIAF
National
  • Japan
Other
  • MusicBrainz label
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Visual_Arts_(company)&oldid=1306362936" Categories:
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