アカイイトゲーム情報
Akai Ito Game Information
Akai Ito: The Name
Some of you who came here are likely aware that "Akai Ito" means "red thread (赤い糸)" in Japanese. However, that is only half of the answer with regard to the Japanese meaning of the game title. アカイイト is in Katakana, the syllabic writing system. That means that the title can potentially be written with any kanji or group of kanji that have the sound, "Akaiito." So, technically, "Akaiito" would be a more correct name.
Most Japanese people, however, when asked what "Akaiito" means, would think of "the red thread of fate," a legendary red string, tying together the pinky fingers of two destined lovers. It would also help to understand that blood, with its adherent qualities, also can look like red threads, depending upon the way it splashes. So Kei, with her special blood, is something of an "akaiito" in her own right.
The game actually uses extensive wordplay based on the title in the course of the story. I can't guarantee that my translation fully depicts each one, but... be on the lookout!
Akai Ito: The Game
While the game obviously has many of the qualities you find in the Renai (romance) genre, Success Corp. describes it as a "Traditional Japanese Horror Adventure." While calling it "Renai" may be misleading (Kei is never clearly in a romantic relationship with the route character), calling it "Horror" is probably also misleading (simply put, it isn't scary). It does have some Horror qualities, though. Of the game's thirty-two endings, the Red Endings (or "bad" endings) essentially mean that Kei is dead. The Blue Endings (or "normal" endings) mean that she survived (although they're often more depressing than the Red Endings...).
One would be most accurate to simply call it a visual novel. It is a story about survival, because Kei has a special type of blood that attracts monsters that would suck her dry. However, first and foremost, the story is about the bonds that two people can form in a time of crisis.
At the beginning of the story, you learn that the main character suffered a terrible loss, very shortly before the story began. As you play through the routes, you will also see that each of the five women have had to deal with loss and loneliness in their lives, and have a void that needs to be filled.
You will also find a plethora of unique symbolism for each character, and numerous references to Japanese and interculteral mythologies. I hope you look forward to finding out what they are.
The Translation
You should know enough about the translation already if you looked at the other pages of this site. For now, I will only clarify one or two things:
For one, if you see a blurb of text in the middle of the translation, closed in parentheses and labeled "TN," that is a Translator's Note. If you find them intrusive, just skip over them and read them later (or not, if you like). If there are parentheses I have not designated as "TN," they should either be explaining Japanese onomatopoeia, or they should exist in the original descriptive text I translated.
The other part of the translation that might confuse people is the bold text. These words were labeled in the original game as entries in the Akai Ito Glossary (Yougojiten) that can be accessed from the system menu. Unfortunately, the glossary was much more difficult to translate than the game text, and I wound up stopping around the "Nebai Ito" scene. (Just take a look and you'll see why...) I have tried to provide an adequate summary of the glossary entries in translation notes, leaving them out only (or rather, usually) when I think the game explains them well enough on its own.
I know I have left this out for some terms. Please tell me if you would rather have this fixed sooner... or if you would like me to translate the other routes first. For now, I'm assuming the latter. ^_^;