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About this blog

This is a blog primarily focusing on but not limited to VNs.  It is primarily designed to express my opinion on otaku media (jrpgs, anime, manga, LNs, VNs, etc), individual VNs, and otaku community issues.   Most of the posts are related to my VN of the Month and Random VN columns, originally started in threads in the forums. 

As of March of 2017, I'm also looking for people to help with VN of the Month.

Entries in this blog

VNs

Dies Irae: An Explanation of Shinzabansho

First, I need to explain the basic concept of the Shinzabansho series, for those unfamiliar with Dies Irae or Paradise Lost.  The Shinzabansho universe began with the creation of the Shinza, the Divine Throne.  The Divine Throne, when claimed by a Hadoushin/Conqueror God (formerly mortal) who possessed a Law, would then overwrite reality and impose the Law generated by that deity upon all of creation, on a universal level.  In each of the stories, whether it is the web novel Avesta (soon to be a
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Web Novels

Web Novels: Adventurer Stories

As someone who read a wide variety of high fantasy novels over the years and experienced the golden age of fantasy (1980-2000) novels in the US, I am a lover of adventurer stories.  This doesn't change even with switching to Japanese web novels, where 'true' adventurer stories are a solid minority of the isekai and fantasy genres.   First, for those who are unfamiliar with the difference between isekai and high fantasy, it is fairly simple.  Isekai requires that the protagonist have an orig
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VNs

Poll: Which VN should I play?

For those who are still interested, I've been considering three VNs to play (I'm only going to play one for now), mostly because, for the first time in a while, there have actually been more than one notable release inside a four month period.   The LoS game looks to be a low-tension mystery fantasy that is probably going to turn out to be a nakige, based on the getchu page. Wakai Seyo looks like what it probably is, a moderately high-quality charage by a company known for its eccentri
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VNs

Hyakusen no Jou ni Katawareshi Toki

Hyakusen no Jou ni Katawareshi Toki (from here on known as Hyakujou) is Eushully's latest game, based a generation or two before the events of Kamidori in the same region.  It is technically a prequel, and the setting of Kamidori - the city of Yuidora - plays a pretty important - though not central - role in the story.  For those who want to know what the 'canon' is, it is Route A of the Law Route.  The game is designed to be significantly easier if you play the Chaos Route first, supposedly.  H
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VNs

Some thoughts on Dir'Lifyna (Eushully)

Eushully has been, for the past quarter century, one of the constants of the VN cosmos.  Why?  Because, with their first game Ikusa Megami, they struck gold in terms of setting design.  Eroge VN/RPG's have created some seriously odd results and synergies over the past quarter century.  The company that most embodies that is Eushully and the setting that embodies it is Dir'Lifyna, the world of the Ikusa Megami series and Kamidori Alchemy Meister.    There are lots of arguments as to why the
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Japanese literature

WN: Maou-gun Saikyou no Majutsushi wa Ningen Datta

This particular WN is remarkable for a lot of reasons.  The protagonist of this story is reincarnated in another world as the adopted son of a lich general in the service of Dairokuten Maou (lol, if you can guess who else got reincarnated, I'll clap in congrats), and he joins the demonic armies as a commander while hiding the fact that he is human behind a skull mask and lich's robes.  The story itself begins after he has already begun to become famous as a conquering commander but before his re
Web Novels

Clephas Japanese Web Novel Recommendations (Sci-fi, fantasy, and isekai)

I've been devouring web novels for some time now, so I have a pretty wide experience (within my preferred genres).  My preferences probably won't match many of yours, but I figured I would make some recommendations like I used to with visual novels. Isekai'd+Overpowered/cheat protagonist Death March Kara Hajimaru Isekai Kyousoukoku (https://ncode.syosetu.com/n9902bn/)- Despite the anime being a flop, this is easily one of the best fantasy web novel series of the type.  In addition, the
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Gaming

For Weebs (like me): Rise of the Ronin

Rise of the Ronin is an open-world game that covers important events from 1853-1868 from the perspective of a ronin (masterless samurai) of the fallen Kurosu-han (fictional).  This period of history is often called the 'Bakumatsu' (TL: The End of the Shogunate) or the events leading up to the Meiji Restoration beginning with the opening of Japan (signing of unequal treaties) and ending with the surrender of Edo to the Satsuma-Choshu forces.  Your character is one of a pair of twins (you can choo
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Sakura, Moyu. -As the Night's, Reincarnation-

Sakura, Moyu is the latest game by Favorite, the producers of Hoshimemo and the Irotoridori series.  For those who aren't yet familiar with Favorite, I should tell you that there are three things this company is known for.  For one, they produce first-class 'nakige' in a unique style full of pastel colors and manipulation of visual and narrative perspectives.  Second, they are known for their excellent stories and characters, regardless of which writer they have on the job.  Last of all, they ar
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VNs

Random Translation: Silverio Ragnarok - Cecile, Jace, Angelica, Patricia

Come into being, oh starlight written upon the heavens, for we are a shining falling star. From the moment this heart began to beat, the dark prophecy was set in stone.  The messenger of disaster is given no right to live upon the earth. Sunken deep beneath the dark ocean, the serpent burns its very self with curses.  It will never be forgotten, it will never be forgiven.  The grinding of scales, the raging fangs.  For the sight of Midgard burnt upon the inside of its eyelids stokes th
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VNs

Random Translation: Silverio Ragnarok Misaki and Ragna

Come into being, oh supernova written upon the heavens--- for we are a falling star from the Age of Gods. Oracle received, beginning revelation of the star. The plundered afternoon light brings forth the frozen blizzard.  The wind, the sword, and the wolf... the steps to ruin within the winter prison. The uncountable ruins stained our family and brothers in crimson.  Not even the three children of the gods were excepted.  There are no longer bonds between the sun, the moon, and th
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Random VN: Baldr Sky Zero

Baldr Sky Zero is an entirely different animal from Baldr Sky Dive. I say this as a warning for those who are looking for a complete duplicate of the experience. Baldr Sky Dive was very much like a post-apocalypse apocalypse story in some ways, with a bunch of revenge thrown in. There is much to recommend to both duologies but they are fundamentally different in some ways. This review is of the first half of the Zero duology, which covers the Sakura, Kei, and Fran paths. I chose to review i
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VNs

Anime Review: Fate Grand Order Camelot

Fate/Grand Order is the name of the mobile game/visual novel/card battle game that has become synonymous with the Nasuverse over the last seven years or so.  For those unfamiliar with the game, I'll go ahead and describe the flow of events that lead up to this particular chapter-turned-anime in the spoiler box below. In the game, Camelot is considered to be the first 'serious' chapter and the one with perhaps the deepest link to the other Fate/Stay Night series in spirit (considering the
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Japanese literature

The Ups and Downs of Web Novels and Light Novels

I'll go ahead and begin with an intro to my current experience with Light Novels and Web Novels in Japanese.  For the last two years, I've been reading them at a rate of 60-100 chapters a day (faster in the case of below-average size chapters).  I primarily read fantasy with a side of science fiction (no, not just isekai, though I love isekai).  This isn't hard, because fantasy and science fiction make up over three-quarters of all the LNs and Web Novels out there.  This is a bit ironic to my ey
VNs

Random VN: Haison Shoujo Ayashi Madohi no Kago no Sato

You might be wondering why I chose this VN for the first one to review in quite some time, and you would be right to wonder.  I wonder why I felt drawn to this VN myself, given how the first impression from the cover is a nukige.  However, something about it drew me in and made me want to play it.  Thankfully, it isn't an experience I grew to regret, so I'll go ahead and give you my impressions. This VN focuses on a club (six girls, one guy) who get stranded in an abandoned village in the m
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Amatsutsumi

... it's been a while since my feelings on a VN have been as complex as my feelings for this one are.  I say 'feelings' because this VN has massive emotional impact... not as much as Hapymaher, but nonetheless a lot of emotional impact.  To be blunt, Makoto is nothing like Hapymaher's protagonist, so if you were hoping for more of his 'consumed by sorrow and despair but still living my life' personality, sorry, no luck here.  Makoto is... a blank slate.  I don't say this in a bad way.  For
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Japanese literature

Random Translation: Anata no Tenshoku wa 'Daiyoukai' Desu Chapter 2

[Hey, your Mom is an evil woman (toxic woman)!] [I... I can't argue with that.] (Move... Move!  Move!  Move, please!  If I don't move now...!!) He tries to move his legs to get away from the three approaching him. However, he can't move. His body won't move an inch.  It is as if he's being tied down by an invisible something. (What is this!?  What is this!?  This is... what is it...?  It's as if I'm being enveloped in something...) At that moment, something was refl
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VNs

Why you should play Kamishino

Haruka ni Aogi, Uruwashi no, is on a shortlist of kamige that I tend to recommend to newbies to VNs or those who missed it during their first rapid obsessive blasting through the 'classics'.  For some reason, people are making excuses not to play the newly-fantranslated game.  I'm going to first pick apart the reasons that have been given for not playing it, even if it falls into the realm of their tastes. Number one reason, the one that is hardest to speak against, is that the game itself
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Japanese literature

Web Novel: Isekai Buyuuden Kakutou Ou ga Isekai o Iku (and the sequel)

https://ncode.syosetu.com/n8490cj/ https://ncode.syosetu.com/n4499fl/ This series is the latest gem I came across.  It isn't the only one I came across, but I've decided to only present ones that have gone over 200 chapters without getting boring, which is a very small proportion of the web novel population, lol. In this series, Earth's greatest bare-handed fighter, a master of qi and warfare unmatched on our planet, walks through a tunnel to an alternate version of Earth where ma
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Japanese literature

WN: Ankoku Kishi Monogatari

https://kakuyomu.jp/works/1177354054885318680 This particular WN is one where the protagonist is summoned... by the demon lord to save him from the hero!  The protagonist, Kuroki, becomes a Knight of Darkness and faces off with his trauma - the hero in question - and begins a story of endless misunderstandings and plot twists. That is, in fact, the peculiar flavor of this story.  Over 90% of Ankoku Kishi Monogatari's characters are self-absorbed pricks on some level, with the gods bein
VNs

Random Translation: Ashley Horizon and Dainsleif

Come into being, oh starlight written across the heavens... for we are a shining falling star. Oh how foolish, you blind and ignorant master of the throne!  How could you believe that you could take from my heart hope for the future with a mere prison at the bottom of the sea and an endless labyrinth? Look within these two eyes.  Know the fierce and undying flame within my gaze.  I already fly far into the distant sky, seeking the solemn flame (the sun). Even though my wings burn
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VNs

One more Random Translation: Kerberos

Fall from the heavens, oh my guardian star.  Obliterate everything within the iron abyss. I have served at the side of Hades for many ages.  I am the beastly and arrogant wolf who prays for the fall of all that is bright and noble while easing my hunger with the flesh and blood of the dead. Spit out curses, devour hope, grind the jaws of despair.  The deadly poison that drips from my fangs desperately, oh how desperately desires the collapse of the heavens.  Let the shining brilliance
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VNs

Random Translation: Gilbert vs Valzeride

The video below starts in the middle of a side-story where Valzeride (the antagonist and hero of Silverio Vendetta) confronts Gilbert over his ideals.  They begin to fight because their ideals, while both based on goodness and light, are inherently opposed.  Valzeride ultimately sees himself as inhuman garbage and strives to slay evil and bring happiness to the people of Adler, whereas Gilbert wishes to create a world where people like Valzeride are free of jealousy and judgment of the masses. 
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VNs

Random Translation: Silverio Trinity Countdown Video

"I have no regrets whatsoever about the fate I chose, bore, and walked to its end." "The reason is that I had only to but bear the burden alone.  It was a situation where the madman known as Valzeride was the only one that needed to suffer to the end." "If offering up the Monster of Light as a sacrifice would bring my homeland prosperity, then there need be no hesitation.  It truly was a perfect exchange.  As I desired, I ran through the infinite hells to their end." "Believing to
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Japanese literature

A few WNs

Isekai Tensei ni Kansha wo This is a warmhearted isekai where an elderly gamer with diabetes and other health problems gets reincarnated while playing a full-dive VR game.  In his new youthful body, he sets out to be an adventurer using the skills he purchased at the beginning of the game.  In the process, his kind and wise nature draws in a lot of people and eventually results in his first romantic relationships in his life.   Overall, this story is easygoing and warm-hearted from beg
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