Aya Nishitani
|
This person page is a stub. You can help Megami Tensei Wiki by expanding it. |
| No reason provided. |
| Aya Nishitani | |
| 西谷史 | |
Nishitani in 2016 | |
| Date of Birth | March 14, 1955 |
| Birthplace | Japan |
| Other Name(s) | Aya Nishitani |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Occupation(s) | Novelist |
| Known For | Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei |
Aya Nishitani (西谷史, Nishitani Aya) is a novelist and author of Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei, the book that inspired the creation of the Megami Tensei franchise. From 1986 to 1993 Nishitani wrote nine novels that encompass the Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei book series.
Biography
|
This section is a stub. You can help Megami Tensei Wiki by expanding it. |
| No reason provided. |
Early Life
Nishitani attended Takada Gakuen, a Jōdo Shinshū Buddhist-affiliated school. He developed a habit of reading and playing piano under the influence of his mother, who was an elementary school teacher. He read over 5,000 books before graduating from high school.[1] He originally aspired to be a rock musician, performing in clubs before turning to writing.[2] He later worked at Toshiba, where his experience programming personal computers informed his early fiction.[3]
Career
In the mid-1980s, Nishitani published a short story in Oh! PC, a monthly Softbank magazine.[4] The story featured the idea of summoning demons using a computer, a concept influenced by his interests in astrology and horror fiction. Encouraged by his editor Goro Hashimoto, writer Takao Inoue, and Animage editor-in-chief Toshio Suzuki, Nishitani expanded the story into a full-length novel.[5][6] After discussions over the title, Suzuki insisted on Megami Tensei, with Digital Devil Story as its subtitle.[7] The resulting book was the first volume of the Digital Devil Story trilogy.
Illustrator Hiroyuki Kitazume was selected to provide character designs intended to soften the tone of the narrative.[8] The novels sold approximately 450,000 copies, supported by editorial and promotional backing from the publisher Tokuma Shoten.[9]
Following publication, the story was adapted into both an OVA and a Namco-developed video game. Nishitani later expressed frustration with Tokuma Shoten’s reluctance to continue with a sequel OVA and their consideration of changing the series’ title.[10] Around this time, his legal representative discovered that Tokuma Shoten had not secured the Megami Tensei trademark, enabling Atlus to acquire the rights directly. Nishitani agreed to collaborate with Atlus, which led to the development of Shin Megami Tensei.[11]
Media Credits
This is a list of each Megami Tensei media Aya Nishitani was involved with.
| Year | Media | Role |
|---|---|---|
| March 31, 1986 | Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei | Writer |
| October 1, 1986 | Digital Devil Story 2: Mato no Senshi | |
| February 1, 1988 | Digital Devil Story 3: Tensei no Shūen | |
| 1990 | New Digital Devil Story: Toraware no Megami | |
| 1991 | New Digital Devil Story 2: Hyōkai no Joō | |
| New Digital Devil Story 3: Jinma no Wakusei | ||
| 1992 | New Digital Devil Story 4: Ikari no Yōtei | |
| New Digital Devil Story 5: Megami yo Eien ni | ||
| 1993 | New Digital Devil Story 6: Tensei no Kizuna | |
| 1994 - 1996 | Shin Megami Tensei: El Salem |
External Links
References
- ↑ ナイトランド・クォータリー. No. 33 Page 2-3. Cover date August, 2023.
- ↑ "Come to think of it, before I wrote my novel, I wanted to be a rock musician and played in clubs." Aya Nishitani, The History of Megami Tensei as Told by Creator Aya Nishitani. Retrieved September 1, 2025. Game Design Gazette.
- ↑ "I got the idea of summoning demons on my PC from three experiences.
01
When I was young, I worked for a company called Toshiba. I had opportunities to write programs.
At that time, I felt that a PC is a big empty box, and a program is to create an environment for an app to run." Aya Nishitani, The History of Megami Tensei as Told by Creator Aya Nishitani. Retrieved September 1, 2025. Game Design Gazette. - ↑ "The magazine that I wrote about summoning demons by computer is a Softbank magazine called Oh! PC." Aya Nishitani, The History of Megami Tensei as Told by Creator Aya Nishitani. Retrieved September 1, 2025. Game Design Gazette.
- ↑ "Goro Hashimoto was the editor-in-chief, and he always told me that my short stories were interesting.
Then Toshio Suzuki, editor-in-chief of "Animage" magazine, who had read my stories, said to me “Summoning of demons by computer was the most interesting.”
And he asked me if I'd like to make it into a full-length novel. If you do that, we can consider making it into an anime.
At that time, I wanted to try.
But I felt sorry for Goro Hashimoto, so I went to him to get his approval before I wrote it.
He was the one who first inspired me to write it.
He seemed a bit chagrined but said, "You should give it a shot. I was relieved.
I haven't written a full-length novel yet, but I am under the care of three people, Goro Hashimoto, Takao Inoue, and Toshio Suzuki. I can't do anything alone." Aya Nishitani, The History of Megami Tensei as Told by Creator Aya Nishitani. Retrieved September 1, 2025. Game Design Gazette. - ↑ "Q: Please tell us how you came to have your original work published as a standalone novel.
A: I brought it to the editorial department of Tokuma Shoten’s Animage. The editor-in-chief back then was Suzuki Toshio, who later founded Studio Ghibli. I remember he was looking over several works and decided on the spot to go with the one about using computers to summon demons." 『デジタル・デビル・ストーリー 女神転生』と仏教・北欧神話・ラブクラフト……. Published September 2, 2025. mitok. Translation by dijeh. - ↑ "In 1985, when the novel was ready and the project began, there was a meeting about what the title should be. I came up with three titles: "女神転生" "Digital Devil Story" and "転生の絆（Bonds of Reincarnation）.
All the attendees, except one, said Digital Devil Story was the best.
Only Toshio Suzuki, the editor-in-chief of Tokuma Shoten, said "Definitely 女神転生"
Since he was the project leader, everyone agreed.
Digital Devil Story" became the subtitle." Aya Nishitani, The History of Megami Tensei as Told by Creator Aya Nishitani. Retrieved September 1, 2025. Game Design Gazette. - ↑ "When deciding on an illustrator, Toshio Suzuki, editor-in-chief of Animage, showed me two candidates and told me to choose one of them.
Both were promising young artists, and one looked like he would be outstanding at drawing demons.
The other was Mr. Kitazume.
Without hesitation, I said I wanted Kitazume to draw it.
In my mind, the story I was writing was going to be a tragedy.
I thought that if I could depict it with Ms. Kitazume's lovely character, it would soften the tragedy of the story. I think I succeeded." The History of Megami Tensei as Told by Creator Aya Nishitani. Retrieved September 1, 2025. Game Design Gazette. - ↑ "In fact, the three Digital Devil Stories novels sold 450,000 copies because of the Animage editorial department" Aya Nishitani, The History of Megami Tensei as Told by Creator Aya Nishitani. Retrieved September 1, 2025. Game Design Gazette.
- ↑ "One night, I met with Tokuma Shoten's executive producer to discuss the next anime. (He was not Toshio Suzuki.)
I had planned to talk about games at that time. But the conversation took an unexpected turn.
He asked me to stop using the title "女神転生Megami Tensei".
(Now, I can understand his feelings. But at the time, I was filled with anger.)" Aya Nishitani, The History of Megami Tensei as Told by Creator Aya Nishitani. Retrieved September 1, 2025. Game Design Gazette. - ↑ "Before meeting the ATLUS executive, my legal representative said.
'Tokuma Shoten has not wanted to make MT 2 anytime soon. So ATLUS wants to make a game directly from your original novel ”Digital Devil story& New DDS . What do you want to do?
When I heard this, I had mixed feelings. The reason why MT became a hit was because of the power of each work, but Tokuma Shoten's advertising power was huge.
So I wondered whether it would be right to pass over Tokuma Shoten and sign a direct contract with ATLUS or not..
I was unsure, but the agent told me to knock it off. 'Tokuma Shoten didn't apply for the trademark rights for MT. That's why ATLUS has acquired the trademark right. I was surprised and angry at the same time.
Initially, a contract was signed for MT, with me as the author, the anime as a secondary use and the game as a secondary use of animation.
In cases like this, it is common in Japan for publishers to obtain trademark rights to protect the author.
Tokuma Shoten did not do its normal thing.
Later, this became a well-publicised case in the entertainment legal sector. It was never out in the open, though.
And I heard here and there that Tokuma Shoten's staff had a reputation for being irresponsible.
But I know the person in charge. He is very serious and would never make such a mistake.
After all, the executive produser does not like MT. When he heard that they were no longer going to develop the anime, he stopped acquiring the trademark rights. That's how it felt to me.
Suddenly I found myself in front of my agent, not speaking, but thinking about it.
He said, "What do you want to do? Do you want to stop?" He asked.
I said, "No, let's do it. This will make MT & SMT bigger".
Shin Megami Tensei was then released to the world." Aya Nishitani, The History of Megami Tensei as Told by Creator Aya Nishitani. Retrieved September 1, 2025. Game Design Gazette.