Itsuki Yuge is a normal high school student who, admittedly, doesn't really try hard in school. He spends his time playing video games instead of studying. On the day of his high school exams, he gets a cryptic text from his cousin Mahiru Konatsuki, telling him to come to the school roof. Confused, he complies, and Mahiru dumps a bombshell on him: she's pregnant! Before a flustered Itsuki can get any more information, a mysterious gate appears and both are sucked away from their world and transported to Granvania, a world built around magic. After fumbling around in a dungeon for a bit, Itsuki and Mahiru discover that this world is populated by demons known as impurities. Itsuki mysteriously finds himself in possession of a sword, which he uses to combat the impurities. Eventually, the two cousins meet Narcisstes and Mana (a weird tanuki-like... thing with an apparent bondage fixation), who both proceed to take them to the castle to meet the king of Granvania. There, Itsuki and Mahiru learn that they are "God's Gifts", special people who are destined to combat impurities and save the world from falling into chaos. Itsuki is assigned with combating the impurities that have appeared in various dungeons that have appeared across the world. Mahiru is assigned to be a vessel to produce "Star Children" with Itsuki, along with 11 other "Star Maidens", each representing a different Zodiac sign. Their only chance of returning home is to do as the King demands and purge the world of the impurities and restore peace.
Conception: Ore no Kodomo wo Undekure (meaning "Please give birth to my child") was developed by Spike Chunsoft, formerly Spike, with characters were designed by Shinichirou Otsuka, and released in 2012 for the PlayStation Portable, exclusively in Japan. It gained little attention in the west. Regardless, the sequel, Conception 2: Children Of The Seven Stars did see an international release, being published by Atlus in the west for every version sans the PC version, and gaining a cult following among JRPG fans. Eventually, the first game would be adapted into an anime that aired in the fall of 2018. Produced by GONZO and licensed by Funimation, the series is available to watch legally on Crunchyroll here
and on Funimation's website here
In 2019, Spike Chunsoft released a remastered version of the first game entitled Conception PLUS: Maidens of the Twelve Stars (likely a nod to the second game's title). Unlike the original release, this version was released internationally on the PlayStation 4 and Steam, with most of the original content intact.
Conception provides examples of the following tropes:
- Adaptation Distillation: The anime glosses over or completely ignores several important plot points. The Star God is never mentioned, leaving Itsuki and Mahiru to be referred to as "visitors" instead of "God's Gifts." It's also never really explained why Itsuki and Mahiru were transported to Granvania in the first place beyond a vague, "You're here to save our world" explanation.
- Adaptation Expansion: In contrast to the above, the anime shows more of the Classmating ritual (here referred to as a love ritual) than the quick "two nondescript models join hands and BAM! Instant Star-children!" We actually see Itsuki and Mahiru engage in foreplay and Itsuki lays Mahiru onto a bed and climbs on top of her. So much for subtlety.
- And Your Reward Is Parenthood: The core mechanic of the game is producing "Star Children" with the various love interest characters—magically-created children who assist you in battle.
- Anime Theme Song: There are two of them: Destiny (the 12th Miracle) for the game and Star Light, Star Bright for the anime, both performed by nano.
- Arc Number: 12. Fitting, given the prominent use of the Western Zodiac system. There are twelve Star Maidens, twelve Star Blessings for them to create, twelve sub-dungeons for the player to fight through in order to get to the places to place the blessings, and the player can bring up to twelve Star Children with them into the dungeon complex, in groups of four.
- Barbie Doll Anatomy: The girls are completely nude during the Classmating ritual, but they lack nipples and their crotches are never shown.
- Battle Harem: Averted, making a rather curious contrast with the second game, where Wake could at least form a Battle Couple with a heroine of the player's choosing.
- Character Exaggeration: Mana's sexual deviancy is ramped up to eleven in the anime, to the point she actually sexually assaults both Itsuki and Mahiru. (The worst thing she ever did in the game, outside of making inappropriate comments, was sniff Mahiru to determine that she was a virgin.)
- Demonic Possession: Sorta... Mahiru doesn't fall under the control of an impurity, but she does hurl one up shortly after arriving in Granvania.
- Exposition Fairy: Mana will occasionally explain how certain aspects of the world (and the game) work, assuming she's not commenting on Itsuki's harem.
- Fanservice: Given the premise of the game, this is to be expected. However, one of the more notable examples of this trope comes from a feature added in the remaster: the player is given the option to wear school swimsuits during bonding events. Note that certain characters have jobs where wearing that kind of attire would be extremely unprofessional (e.g. Collette working at a bakery.) To be fair, the feature is easily toggled on and off through a setting in the options menu, and it's most likely aesthetic. Canonically, all of the girls wear their standard outfits.
- G-Rated Sex: Classmating; the ritual that produces Star-children. The girl is shown as a nondescript nude model that joins hands with Itsuki. She then releases a Matryoshka, out of which pops Star-children (typically 4). The anime makes it far less G rated.
- Hello, [Insert Name Here]: Taking a page from the Persona series, the game let's you choose the protagonist's name. However, unlike the Persona series, the game provides his canonical name, Itsuki Yuge, and allows the player to change it as they see fit.
- I Choose to Stay: In certain endings, Mahiru decides to remain in Granvania while Itsuki returns home.
- Lovable Sex Maniac: Mana, who is constantly commenting about Mahiru's sexuality or egging Itsuki on about his own sexual desires. Neither Itsuki or Mahiru appreciate it.
- Multiple Endings: The game features an ending for each maiden, plus a harem ending.
- That Came Out Wrong: Courtesy of Mahiru.Mahiru: [trying to explain what a figurine is to Mana] It's like a toy for adults.Itsuki: That's not how I would put it.
- Western Zodiac: A central aspect of the game is that each Star Maiden represents one of the twelve signs, with Animal Motifs to match where approprate.
- Word Salad Lyrics: The opening to the game is in complete English and contains words and phrases that reference the game's core themes, but the song still doesn't make much sense.
