Gen Urobuchi
A prolific Japanese author in the Visual Novel industry who currently works under Nitroplus. He is (in)famous for creating dark, tragic settings and plot twists in his stories. The work which put him to this fame was Saya no Uta, an H.P. Lovecraft-inspired Visual Novel released under Nitroplus. As a result, he has been given the nickname "Urobutcher" by several circles on the internet.
He and Kinoko Nasu of Type Moon are known to be good friends, and have even collaborated together on two Fate/ series projects, Fate/Zero and Fate/Apocrypha.
He has worked on the scenarios of the following visual novels:
- Phantom of Inferno
- Vampirdzhija Vjedogonia
- Kikokugai: The Cyber Slayer
- Saya no Uta
- Zoku Satsuriku no Django: Tre Donne Crudeli
He also worked on the following light novel series:
- Fate/Zero, under the direction of Kinoko Nasu
- Black Lagoon: Shaitane Badi
- Eisen Flügel
- Fate/Apocrypha as the concept creator of Spartacus and Vlad III
And he has been involved in the production of the following anime series:
- Blassreiter (as scriptwriter)
- Puella Magi Madoka Magica (script and series composition)
- An unknown original anime for October.
- Bittersweet Ending, if not outright a Downer Ending
- Break the Cutie: If there's an idealist in his story, chances are that person will be broken by the end.
- Creator Breakdown: He confesses to this in the afterword to Fate/zero's first volume, saying that he can no longer write happy endings to his stories. However, with the ending to Madoka Magica, he seems to have gotten over it. Somewhat.
- When he was 24, he spent a lengthy time in the hospital during an epidemic, "living like a dead man" as he put it. That would leave a mark.
- Cosmic Horror Story: A good number of his works are influenced by H.P. Lovecraft novels and the cosmic horror genre.
- Darker and Edgier
- Kill'Em All: Hence his Fan Nickname, "Urobutcher".
- Magnum Opus: By far his most critically acclaimed work to date is Puella Magi Madoka Magica.
- That said, some consider Fate/Zero to be his "best" work.
- One of Us: Transcripts exist of him, Kinoko Nasu, and a few other authors getting together for a tabletop RPG. Naturally, Urobuchi plays a dark, morally ambiguous sorcerer, while Nasu plays a fair-haired Knight in Shining Armor
- Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism: His works stand heavily on the cynical side of the scale, but he says that he used to write works that still have a glimmer of hope in them.
- Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids/True Art Is Angsty: He is also definitely on the side of those who consider happy stories to be unrealistic, to the point where he has actually suggested that Lighter and Softer stories, by definition, contradict the laws of nature and are therefore difficult to write and impossible to believe.
"I have nothing but contempt for the deceitful thing men call 'happiness', and find myself with no choice but to push my characters, whom I pour my heart and soul out to create, into the abyss of tragedy."
- And even then he is merely poking at the threads of angst and tragedy, despite Puella Magi Madoka Magica being an extremely dark Mahou Shoujo series. It is Gen's way of trying to redo his other most famous work Fate/Zero in his own image. A tale about how in other to have true absolute hope, there would despair that is equal to it.
- Trolling Creator: He has gained a reputation for this with Puella Magi Madoka Magica.