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Are you new to CHUNITHM's stories and characters?
Here's a short guide for where you can start!
Q: Are the stories tied into gameplay at all? Where can I even find the "lore"?
Q: Are the stories tied into gameplay at all? Where can I even find the "lore"?
CHUNITHM and its lore is unique in that it's almost completely detached from the game itself. Yes, this means you can enjoy CHUNITHM's story even if you don't play the game! Actual gameplay has little to no bearing on any lore itself.
Character stories and lore can be found when unlocking characters and leveling them to rank 15 in-game on the CHUNITHM.net website. Fans submit these stories to the Japanese strategy wikiwiki for other people to read easily. These stories are only available officially in Japanese—which is why we're here!
Q: If the lore has no bearing on gameplay, why read it?
Q: If the lore has no bearing on gameplay, why read it?
Hop on peak.
For a real answer, it makes gameplay more compelling. Getting invested into characters and their lore makes foldering and grinding in-game overall more enjoyable. And for the instances where characters' songs and their releases tie loosely into gameplay (such as boss song character reveals), it makes the release much more exciting. Song charts even have lore references sometimes!
Besides that, the lore overall is very unique and good, with the quality standing tall amongst even normal published novels. So why not?
Q: What's a "Label"? What kind of stories does each Label have?
Q: What's a "Label"? What kind of stories does each Label have?
CHUNITHM's original characters and stories encompass several "Labels," or story universes. Each Label has its own rules and dedicated lore, and can be identified by its unique background in-game.
Some Labels are much more accessible to new fans than others. We have a list of Labels below with notes on their general theme, story structure, and music genres.
We also have a Visual Jacket Search page on our wiki, for those looking for specific characters from specific songs!
LABEL LIST / DESCRIPTION
LABEL LIST / DESCRIPTION
CHUNITHM's first Label, focused on the fantasy genre and primarily featuring RPG composers. Its story follows an amnesiac boy named Shizuma Kurosaki wielding the legendary sword Seele Tact on his travels, gathering allies and facing evil. It is distantly connected to the Metaverse storyline, but can be read standalone.
Nine years after its conclusion, Monsieur Chapeau was added to this Label, likely as a nod to composer Toby Fox's RPG work, as the story is entirely unrelated.
A Label focused on idol and denpa songs. Not all of its stories are interconnected, but most characters are idols or otaku of some kind, and often include numerous pop culture references and detailed explorations of the characters' hobbies.
A number of GUMIN stories are part of the "Demon Continent Akihabara" saga, featuring idols who want to turn Akihabara into their empire and spread otaku culture.
A Label focused on Utaite and Vocaloid/VSynth producers. Relation is an umbrella label for a number of smaller, standalone stories, and spans a wide variety of genres, from slice of life to sci-fi and fantasy.
Some Relation characters' stories are connected, often in pairs such as Sylvias and Astraea (folern/Endmark), or Ruko Araba and Seito Maizono (Invitation/RevolutionGame).
A Label focused on live and instrumental music, featuring many guitarists, pianists, other instrumentalists, and a number of artists known for Touhou arrangements.
G.O.D's story takes after fighting games, with a wide cast of musicians from different settings. Musicians in this universe have special powers, and are called to "purgatory" to fight against an evil god with the power of music. While the cast is loosely connected by the overall plot, the Label is primarily character-focused, and many stories can be enjoyed independently.
Metaverse
Metaverse
The Metaverse Label is primarily focused on electronic music. It is CHUNITHM's largest original Label and contains many of the game's highest-level charts. Its main story is split into three "Arcs," and is read in novel format.
CHUNITHM's first Metaverse Arc, which was primarily active from ORIGIN to PARADISE LOST. Many early stories are connected in setting alone, but the story becomes more cohesive with each version, and are best read in order. In this story, the Metaverse is a virtual world created to house humanity after an apocalypse. The overarching story follows power struggles among programs and humans within the Metaverse, as well as its origin and the aftermath in the physical world.
CHUNITHM's second Metaverse Arc, which was active from PARADISE LOST to LUMINOUS. This Arc acts as the second half to Digital, in which several story elements and characters return. In this story, humanity is finally ready to come back to the surface, but the returning humans are caught up in a war with the new race of synthetic humans created to fix the polluted planet, and the machines who created them.
CHUNITHM's newest Metaverse Arc beginning in VERSE. It follows varying perspectives as they travel through different dimensions: lost teens on an adventure to return home, inter-dimensional agents tasked with stabilizing the multiverse, and scientists seeking to understand the nature of their world. It is currently ongoing, and has no connection to the prior Arcs, so it can be enjoyed independently.
A Label focused on future bass music first added in STAR PLUS, featuring cute animal characters. Animalia is made up of slice of life stories in a world where animals can talk, set in Safari City, Gunma Prefecture. Animalia's stories contain references to each other, but can be enjoyed independently.
A Label featuring composers from outside Japan, primarily the US and Asia, first added in CRYSTAL. Sibyl is a dark fantasy series about young women given powers of the four elements, and the struggles they face as a result. Many of its stories are especially tragic and gruesome, and may deal with very heavy subject matter—please take note when reading them.
The Sibyl stories in VERSE are a new starting point for the series known as the Scourge arc.
Irodorimidori (イロドリミドリ)
Irodorimidori (イロドリミドリ)
Irodorimidori is CHUNITHM's own idol series. Irodorimidori characters will not be translated or hosted here. They have their own dedicated wiki—please consult there! It's a multimedia offshoot series with some official translations out there.
Omnibus (オムニバス)
Omnibus (オムニバス)
A Label consisting of songs written and performed by VTubers. As these are treated like collab songs and feature the artists' avatars instead of original characters, they have no stories to translate and will not be hosted here. The exception to this is Perio, an alias/character belonging to sasakure.UK who was originally featured as a Relation character in CHUNITHM's original release and later brought back under Omnibus with his VTuber debut. This story will fall under Relation.
No Label
No Label
A handful of characters have no Label. This includes Chuni Penguin, whose unlockable story consists of messages from the team after each version.
Q: What Label(s) should I start with? What do you recommend reading?
Q: What Label(s) should I start with? What do you recommend reading?
Here is a short list of recommended starting points for new fans, curated by the translation team! Choose one that piques your interest.
We recommend the Metaverse, Relation, and Sibyl Spirit Chronicles Labels the most.
Metaverse Label
Metaverse Label
J-Core/EDM ~ Sci-Fi ~ Long reading length (500k+ words)
Currently the most popular Label according to devout CHUNITHM story fans. There are three different Arcs to choose from and enjoy (Digital, Surface, MultiVERSE), and each Arc has its own unique dynamic.
RECOMMENDED IF:
You like dense stories with heavy subject matters and complex themes. Also, with a lot of attached lore; including world-building lore, species, and even non-story related things like etymology.
You like reading well developed characters in sci-fi settings—notably, the writing for female characters being just as strong as the male characters.
You like participating in active fandoms with avid fans, and keeping up with our translation batch releases.
Vocaloid/VSynth producers and Utaite singers ~ Variety ~ Very short reading length (~10k words per character)
Mostly one-shot stories with generally lighter subject matter and straightforward plots. The most "accessible" Label.
RECOMMENDED IF:
You like a wide range of genres, and in general, anime/manga.
Many of the Relation Label's stories are lighthearted, and some have some heavier subject matter. There are many slice-of-life, romance, and supernatural stories. Outliers with heavier subject matter include characters such as Astraea and Sylvius.
You want something you can casually enjoy, rather than devoting time to novel-length epics.
Foreign composers ~ Fantasy/Tragedy ~ Medium reading length (episodic, 130k+ words)
The second most popular Label, with a very dedicated following.
We recommend this Label with a massive caveat that the level of dark and otherwise upsetting content is incomparable to any other Label. Since many people are intrigued by Sibyl, and many find out about CHUNITHM's character stories because of it, it feels fitting to recommend.
RECOMMENDED IF:
You like Shakespearean tragedies, where no one is spared from a cruel fate—plot armor saves no one.
You like episodic stories with an overarching narrative that's easy to follow.
You like cute anime girls. Nothing bad happens to them. (sarcasm)
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