Japanese developers and anime makers love April Fool’s Day (1st April). Every year they put so much effort in a joke that lasts only one day, and all these jokes just keep getting better and better each year. Here is a recap of some of the best stuff that fans should not miss!
1. FGO GO
Super popular mobile RPG Fate/Grand Order does not limit its joke to just a fake piece of news or a serious yet ridiculous picture. The developer TYPE-MOON actually made a Pokémon Go parody game, Fate/Grand Order Gutentag Omen (FGO GO), specially for April Fools.
The game allows players to catch chibi servants in augmented reality. Instead of using a Poké Ball, the players have to throw a gem in order to catch a servant. Unfortunately, the game was only available on April Fools.
Official website: http://www.fate-go.jp/fgogo/
2. Live action Osomatsu-san
Osomatsu-san is an anime series that does not feature handsome shonen characters but still manages to capture tons of girls’ hearts. On April Fools, Osomatsu-man announced a live action movie and released a picture of the cast.
Yes, this is the live action of ojisan Osomatsu-san where they are thirty years older. The cast consists of the six main actors from Japanese drama Byplayers, which follows the cohabitation life of six ojisan. Fans were shocked, of course, but at the same time convinced by the idea since the drama somehow conjures up the possible future of the six brothers. To conclude, this is one good joke that may come into reality.
▼ Byplayers
Official website: http://osomatsusan.com/
3. Rejet Friends
Japanese developer Rejet is famous for its otome games and mobile game Icchibanketsu -ONLINE. On April Fools, they announced they were planning to make a game called Rejet Friends.
The name sounds strangely familiar because this is in fact a parody of Kemono Friends. According to the picture above, characters from Rejet games all appear to be animals. Unlike FGO GO, this is not actually a game. This is just a visual to make fans happy, while actually it disappointed a lot of females who love cute guys with animal ears and wish it would be true.
▼ Kemono Friends
4. Live action LoveLive! Sunshine!!
LoveLive! Sunshine!! fooled fans with a 15-minute long video of its live action adaption. Unfortunately the official video has been removed, yet fans can still watch it on other channels.
【速報】『ラブライブ！サンシャイン!!』実写映像化！スペシャルムービーが公開されました。 https://t.co/Vowg4RK762 #lovelive
— ラブライブ！公式 (@LoveLive_staff) 2017年3月31日
As it was April Fools, the video is definitely not as "live action" as one may expect it to be.
It is just a pretty adorable puppet drama, but still the effort is appreciated!
5. New Fire Emblem title
Nintendo tweeted that they would make a new Fire Emblem title called "維新大乱". The name suggests that it would be a game based on the Meiji Period of Japan.
[任天堂HP] ファイアーエムブレムシリーズ最新作『ファイアーエムブレム 維新大乱』の情報を掲載しました。 https://t.co/ZI31qRisuq
— 『ファイアーエムブレム』総合 (@FireEmblemJP) 2017年3月31日
There is in fact no such title and the website is actually one that belongs to Fire Emblem Echoes. This is a lazy one, but okay.
6. Thunderbolt Fantasy x Touken Ranbu
A mysterious short film was released on April Fools. At first glance, it features the protagonist from glove puppetry drama Thunderbolt Fantasy. After a while, Mikazuki Munechika from Touken Ranbu appears and the duo crash swords over some snack. At the end of the video, it says a Thunderbolt Fantasy x Touken Ranbu drama will premiere in 2205.
The funny thing is, both characters are voiced by the same person, Kosuke Toriumi. It makes the viewers go insane since it’s like watching a person talking to himself in a super dramatic way.
Again, the video is not available on the official channel now.
7. VR Kareshi
Erotic game developer Illusion posted a video of its latest VR title, VR Kareshi, on 1st April. Like the title suggests, this is a VR game where players get to spend time with a virtual boyfriend. Sadly, it is not going to happen since this is just a parody of its erotic VR title, VR Kanojo.
VR Kanojo official website: http://vrkanojo.com/