is a Japanese visual novel studio known for the production of adult bishōjo games. Its main office is located in Taitō, Tokyo. The representative producer and president is Ryūichirō Yamakawa. “Frontwing” is the company's main brand, but it has also released games under affiliated brands “Survive” (サヴァイブ), “Hotchkiss” (ホチキス), and “b-wing.” These brands have all since merged to become “Frontwing.”
Frontwing's games cover a diverse range of genres, from school love life stories to hardcore adult games, and also games that utilize 3D computer graphics. The 3D content production team, Polygon Mura (ポリゴン村), is closely involved in the games’ production by seeking ways to incorporate 3D graphics into essentially 2D projects. Several of their games, originally produced for PC, have been ported to consoles. The development of the ported versions is generally done in-house. The company is also active in many other fields, including the development of the dance 3D software Dance X Mixer, taking part in the bi-annual Comic Market, and Niconico live broadcasts.
Since the company's founding in 1999 as a bishōjo games developer and the release of Frontwing's first title, Canary (Canaria: Kono Omoi o Uta ni Nosete) in August 2000, it has published over 20 titles in the visual novel genre. The studio's flagship games include the Netherworld Angel Djibril series, and the Grisaia trilogy which spawned an animated series in 2015. In regards to the Djibril series, writer Naoki Miyamoto, author of the book "Adult Games: Introduction to Cultural Studies”, has pointed out why there is a big demand for such works: “If the one to fight is a beautiful heroine, the risks she takes stimulate people's erotic imagination.”
In 2011, the first installment of the Grisaia series, The Fruit of Grisaia, won first place in the Moe Game Award. The second installment, The Labyrinth of Grisaia, won second place in 2012.
Frontwing marked its first venture into the overseas market May 29, 2015, with the English release of The Fruit of Grisaia on Steam. The company has since established its own in-house translation team, which made its debut with the English release of The Leisure of Grisaia on May 18, 2016.
On March 16, 2021, Frontwing announced that Bushiroad had acquired a 50.625% controlling stake of the company, with Frontwing becoming a subsidiary of Bushiroad.
On September 20, 2024, Bushiroad announced that it had sold all of its acquired stake in Frontwing to Good Smile Company, effectively making the company a subsidiary of the latter.
List of visual novels Listed by brand, in chronological order.
Frontwing
Japan Release date Japanese title English title English Release date August 4, 2000 Canary N/A November 11, 2001 Hooligan N/A September 27, 2002 Tea Society of a Witch N/A March 28, 2003 Sweet Legacy N/A August 29, 2003 Private Akihabara Academy N/A December 19, 2003Akibox ~"Private Akihabara Academy" Fandisk~ N/A April 23, 2004 Netherworld Angel Djibril N/A August 27, 2004 Sky Song N/A April 22, 2005 Netherworld Angel Djibril -episode 2- N/A February 24, 2006Boy Meets Girl N/A September 9, 2006Megachu! N/A March 23, 2007Kimi Hug N/A December 27, 2007 Time Leap N/A June 27, 2008 Netherworld Angel Djibril -episode 3- N/A December 26, 2008 Star Song N/A August 28, 2009 Time Leap Paradise N/A December 25, 2009 Star Song ~Starlight Serenade~ N/A April 23, 2010 Netherworld Angel Djibril -episode 4- N/A February 25, 2011Le Fruit de la Grisaia (French for The Fruit of the Grisaia) May 29, 2015 July 29, 2011 Warring States Angel Djibril N/A February 24, 2012Le Labyrinthe de la Grisaia (French for The Labyrinth of the Grisaia) June 22, 2016 September 28, 2012Pure Girl N/A March 29, 2013Le Eden de la Grisaia (French for The Eden of the Grisaia) N/A February 28, 2014Innocent Girl N/A August 15, 2014Idol Magical Girl Chiru Chiru☆Michiru July 29, 2015 March 27, 2015Yukikoi Melt N/A October 23, 2015The Leisure of Grisaia May 18, 2016 November 27, 2015From the Future Undying N/A December 12, 2015The Afterglow of GrisaiaJuly 20, 2016 April 28, 2016ISLAND August 23, 2018 N/A N/APurino PartyJune 23, 2016 August 28, 2016Corona Blossom Volume 1: Gift From The Galaxy July 29, 2016 October 28, 2016Corona Blossom Volume 2: The Truth From Beyond October 26, 2016January 26, 2017Corona Blossom Volume 3: Journey To The StarsJanuary 26, 2017 April 28, 2017Grisaia: Phantom Trigger April 28, 2017July 28, 2017January 26, 2018 April 27, 2018Momoiro Closet May 8, 2018July 27, 2018October 26, 2018Loca-Love: My Cute RoommateOctober 26, 2018April 26, 2019August 30, 2019April 23, 2020June 19, 2020Atri: My Dear MomentsJuly 22, 2020September 25, 2020November 26, 2020February 25, 2022April 5, 2022April 28, 2023October 26, 2023August 8, 2024Revue Starlight El DoradoAugust 8, 2024
Survive
Japan Release date Japanese title English title English Release date December 20, 2002 Azrael N/A December 19, 2003 Snow Song N/A January 31, 2003 Separation Blues N/A
Hotchkiss
Japan Release date Japanese title English title English Release date August 8, 2002 Hotchkiss Crank In! N/A October 10, 2003Twin Sex N/A
b-wing
Japan Release date Japanese title English title English Release date August 8, 2003 Take off!! Take Off!! N/A
Incidents Green Green High-Cost, Miscommunication and Copyright Dispute Case
References
External links
(English)