Aoko Aozaki

Witch on the Holy Night is an anime film from Studio ufotable, set to open in Japan on November 20, 2026. It is based on a famous 2012 visual novel by Type-Moon, written by Kinoko Nasu. (A visual novel is a story-based game that is mostly read, with pictures, music, and voices.) This one is a "kinetic novel," meaning the player makes almost no choices; it is read like a book. A remastered version came out on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 in 2022, and on Steam in 2023. The film brings back the voice cast from that game. Type-Moon is the company behind Fate and Tsukihime, and ufotable is the studio known for the Fate/Zero and Demon Slayer anime, as well as The Garden of Sinners films. Fans have wanted this adaptation for a long time. The story is a prequel to Tsukihime. It shows the youth of Aoko Aozaki, who later becomes an important mentor figure in that story. The film is set in Japan in the late 1980s, in a town called Misaki. The town is changing fast. New buildings are going up on the hills, and the old ways are fading. In an old Western-style house on top of a hill live two young women. Aoko Aozaki seems to be a normal high school girl. She is energetic, direct, and a little hot-headed. But she is also learning real magic. Her teacher and housemate is Alice Kuonji, a quiet, elegant girl who was born a witch and lives in her own calm world. In this setting, "magicians" keep their powers secret from normal people. One day, a boy named Soujuro Shizuki arrives in town. He comes from the countryside, from deep in the mountains, and he knows nothing about city life. He does not even know how to use a ticket gate at a train station. By chance, he learns the two girls' secret. That puts all three of them in a difficult spot, and soon he ends up living in the house with them. At the same time, strange intruders begin to break the magical protections around the town, and Aoko and Alice have to find out who is behind it. The story mixes quiet slice-of-life moments with big magical battles. It is about three very different people slowly becoming a kind of family, and about growing up in a time of change. Ufotable is known for bright, detailed effects, so the magic fights are expected to be a highlight. No earlier Type-Moon knowledge is needed, but fans of Tsukihime and Fate will spot links to the wider world.