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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

A long-time Consumer's point of view: Sequels and Fandiscs

One thing I've noticed as a difference between the kind of VN consumer I am now and the one I was at at the beginning is that I fundamentally have difficulty mustering interest in sequels, fandiscs, and even anime continuations of my favorite VNs. When I first started playing VNs, I was your classic fanboy.  If they put out some kind of new story related to a VN I'd enjoyed, I'd snap it up in an instant.  Before I started playing the untranslated, I would obsess over fandiscs and sequels to
Clephas

Clephas

0

A warning for Amenity's Life

For those looking forward to my comments on Hook Soft's latest release, I should probably warn you that I've yet to finish every route of any Hook Soft game.  If you ask me the reason... it is pretty simple.  Hook Soft is the charage 'ideal' company.  I say this because I've never encountered a company that sticks so tightly to the 'golden road' of the charage.  Moe-moe heroines with soft, non-threatening personal settings?  Check. Cute tsunderes that just have trouble being honest wit
Clephas

Clephas

0

Liber 7 Eigou no Owari o Matsu Kimi e

First, I should state that I'm not a fan of Lass in general.  Legion and Tsurugi Maya are decent writers... but as scenario-designers go, they tend to screw up the pacing at the beginning and toward the end of their VNs to one degree or another.  Also, they have a long-standing preference for the 'only difference is the epilogue' style of 'heroine route', which leaves people like me who enjoy immense variations in story based on which heroine is chosen feeling unsatisfied. In that sense, Li
Clephas

Clephas

0

Ryuukishi Bloody†Saga

Ryuukishi is the sequel to Ryakudatsusha no In'en, which was released last month... or rather, Ryakudatsusha is a prelude/prequel to this game.  However, the fundamental nature of the game has changed greatly.  For one thing, this VN lacks the constant rape and mutilation scenes that were so a part of Ryakudatsusha... ... well not entirely.  There is only one rape scene, and there are a few guro scenes.  However, those scenes are not nearly as dominant as the ones in Ryakudatsusha.  For tho
Clephas

Clephas

6

Karenai Sekai to Owaru Hana and VN of the Month Announcement

... I'm going to be blunt about this... I can't  believe this was written by the same guy who wrote Nekopara, Sakura Bitmap, and Strawberry Nauts.  This VN has an overwhelming degree of impact compared to his other works, to the point where I'm even willing to consider it a kamige.  Music, music-usage, story, presentation, art, and art usage are all at their highest levels, combining to create a nakige whose impact is far out of proportion to its length (which is only about seven hours, for me).
Clephas

Clephas

5

Random VNs: Koitate

Koisuru Otome to Shugo no Tate - The Code Name is "Shield 9" is the VN that most vets think of when they think of AXL as a company.  For better or worse, this has become the defining work in this company's library, and it is the only one that has any sort of English release patch out (though it is only a partial with Yukino's route).  This VN is something of a thriller, focusing on Kisaragi Shuuji as he protects Yukino, Ren, and Marina from the assassins and would-be kidnappers inside their
Clephas

Clephas

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Unionism Quartet A-3 Days

I'm going to be frank... for people who liked the original game and those who didn't, this is a waste of time.  Do I sound like a jerk?  I'm not trying to be... I don't think I've ever come across such a weak direct sequel (since it really is a full game).  I sampled one of the new heroines, one of the main heroines from the original game, one of the secondary heroines from the original game, one of the sub-heroines from the original game, and one of the 'extra' heroines from the original game (
Clephas

Clephas

5

Random VNs: Like a Butler

As part of my series of posts on AXL, today I finished replaying Like a Butler, one of AXL's earlier charage-type VNs.  This VN is of a type that hadn't really been touched until AXL opened it up... the ojousama-ge.  Just to give you a little history, until the release of Haruka ni Aogi, Uruwashi no in 2006, there hadn't been any really good or famous ojousama-ge made.  It was only after 2010 when the sub-genre exploded outward into the ridiculous numbers we've seen since (with Ensemble alone pr
Clephas

Clephas

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Random Vns: Itoshii Kanojo no Mamorikata

This VN is the third AXL VN I played, way back in 2011.  This VN is a charage with a twist.  That twist is that its setting is a military school run by a PMC (Private Military Corporation) named Blaze, designed to produce bodyguards, special forces mercenaries, and military researchers.  It starts out with the protagonist entering the school, hoping to reunite with his osananajimi Yui, having promised to do so as a child *pauses for laughs*, and having exchanged letters over the years, keep
Clephas

Clephas

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AXL: The same characters... but they feel new!!!

AXL is a really weird company.  I don't mean that as an insult.  AXL produces VNs with very little variation in quality, consistently producing stories and characters that are fun to read about...  However, when I take a step back and really think about it, their characters are the same between products, right down to the voices and (to an extent) their appearance. AXL is probably the only VN company out there that hasn't radically changed its visual style in the past ten years... in f
Clephas

Clephas

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Toxic Tropes: The Childhood Promise, the easygoing osananajimi relationship

I decided to start a series covering certain tropes I consider to be generally toxic for various reasons.  These tropes are not character archetypes (which I will probably make a different series of posts about later), just to let you know. This time, I want to cover the childhood promise, and easygoing relationships with osananajimi heroines. The Childhood Promise Perhaps one of the most prolifically used tropes in charage in particular and VNs in general, the childhood promise i
Clephas

Clephas

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Random VNs: Minamijuujisei Renka

Minamijuujisei Renka is by far my favorite Studio Ryokucha game.  The setting, the characters, and the presentation of this VN are first class.  The only real downside this VN has is that the true (Kanori's) ending stops short of tying up all the loose ends. The setting of this VN is in a southern island, purchased from old Britain by a now-defunct kingdom and colonized by the nobles from that kingdom.  It is called the 'Dukedom of Gwinburg', despite being ruled by a king because of the fac
Clephas

Clephas

1

Studio Ryokucha

Since I decided to go back and play two of their old games, I thought I'd explain my experiences with this company. Studio Ryokucha, like many older charage/moege companies, tends to produce two types of games... the standard 'empty candy' charage where there is no central plot to deal with, and the 'candy with filling' type, where there is a central story/plot that serves as the backbone of the game.   To be blunt, their 'empty candy' charage are second-rate at best, due to their tendency
Clephas

Clephas

0

Out for Jury Duty

Yay, I've been summoned for jury duty... *makes a face* That said, civil duty is civil duty, so I have to live with it interfering with my life.  The first day of my summons is tomorrow, and I've spent the last four days adjusting my sleep schedule so I don't have to do something drastic like pull an all-nighter just to get there on time.  Anyway, I got all but one of the VNs I planned to play for the month done, and that last one is being a pain in the rear, so I'd have to wait anyway
Clephas

Clephas

5

Ryakudatsusha no Inen

This VN is Akabeisoft3's latest VN, adding yet another genre to that company's list.  To be straight, this is a guro-rape dark fantasy similar to Maggot Baits in atmosphere (albeit not as extreme).  The protagonist, Roy, starts out as a shota living happily with his family.  However, one day bandits, led by a psychopath named Ix, attack the village, raping and murdering the women, including his mother and older sister.  He himself is raped by the leader's wife as well as her shota slaves. 
Clephas

Clephas

3

Random VNs: Shukufuku no Kane no Oto wa, Sakurairo no Kaze to Tomo ni

For those who are wondering about jury duty: I got rejected inside ten minutes without an explanation, lol.  Moreover, I spent four days reversing my sleep schedule so I wouldn't be groggy and zombified... what a waste of effort. Anyway, I finished playing Shukufuku no Kane last night but didn't have the time to post on it, given how I needed to go to bed eight hours earlier than my usual time.  This is the second time I played this game,, and I had to shift the vote upward in response to m
Clephas

Clephas

0

Yomegami

I'm going to say this straight out... Awesome job, Alcot!!!  There is a peculiar balance needed to make the perfect fantasy story-focused charage... and it has literally been years since the last time a VN has managed it.  I should know, since I play everything fantasy that isn't a nukige and some that are.  Alcot's formula of comedy (in particular sexual comedy and situational comedy) is pretty straightforward and easy to enjoy, going across cultural lines fairly easily.  As such, it
Clephas

Clephas

4

Natsuiro Koi Uta

Studio Ryokucha.  This company is fairly unique, utilizing an art style that differs dramatically from the standard for moege/charage but still falls into the same realm nonetheless.  In addition, this company has produced a disproportionate number of excellent games, despite the fact that they are all essentially charage (though the degree to which they fit the genre differs from game to game).  Natsuiro Koi Uta is their latest work, a ‘pure’ charage set in modern Tokyo.  It starts out
Clephas

Clephas

0

Preview for November releases

For those who are wondering, this is a list of VNs I'm planning to at least sample.   Yomegami Ryakudatsuha no Inen (seriously, despite the fact that it is an obvious trap) Gokukano (giving this a chance, in case it isn't a nukige) Natsuiro Koi Uta Karenai Sekai to Owaru Hana (no idea what this is about, since the Getchu and official pages are somewhat vague) Suki to Suki to de Sankaku Ren'ai     Right now, I'm playing Yomegami, having completed
Clephas

Clephas

4

Reminiscence Collectors Edition Part 2: Recollect

ReCollect is the direct sequel to the original game, based on a 'normal' ending where certain major events in Aki's, Accela's, and Kizuna's paths never came to fruition.  In fact, it is based off of a romance-less version of Aika's path, as the events in the last part of her path (before the romance/lovers thing) occur immediately before the story begins.  So, if you've played Reminiscence but not ReCollect yet, it would be wise to use the update patch to activate Aika's path so you can get to k
Clephas

Clephas

4

[Changed] Reminiscence Collectors Edition part 1: Reminiscence

I picked up the Reminiscence Collectors Edition, despite the fact that I already possessed the original game, primarily so I could see how they altered things.  To be blunt, the changes so far - having finished Rin's, Nozomi's, and Aki's routes - are a lot less than is indicated on the site.  The typos I vaguely remembered from my first and second playthroughs are no longer present, Rin and Nozomi both got minor (very minor) touch-ups to their paths, and there are a few added scenes in the commo
Clephas

Clephas

0

Clephas' list of high-quality writers: Tier One

I think we can all agree I've read a lot of VNs. *waits for audience laughter with a smile* *looks sad when the audience laughter recording doesn't work* Anyway, over the years I've encountered a lot of writers.  Some were mediocre, others were decent, yet others were good... and some were just great. I decided to list the writers I honestly think have a lot of talent and whose works are something we, as VN fans, should at least keep an eye on.  Tier One presents writers who are '
Clephas

Clephas

4

Otome ga Irodoru Koi no Essence

I'm going to be blunt... for some reason, the 'Otome' series of trap-protagonist ojousama-ge by Ensemble seems to be incapable of fulfilling the promise of Otome ga Tsumugu Koi no Canvas in any of its follow-up games.  Koi no Canvas was, for better or worse, one of the single best charage I've ever played, with strong characterizations for all of the characters (including the protagonist) full voices for all characters (later Otome series games all had voiced protagonists, though), and superlati
Clephas

Clephas

4

Signalist Stars and VN of the Month, October 2016

Signalist Stars came at me from out of left field, smashing me across the face with a spike grenade.   I literally wasn't expecting anything from this VN, as my recent experiences with new companies have left me unwilling to hope for better.  This VN does, in my mind, fall into the charage genre, but it does it so well that I was left a bit stunned.  Signalist Stars is based in a city where people who have a burning passion are encouraged to pursue it, regardless of what it is.  In this cit
Clephas

Clephas

1

Gusha no Kyouben [UPDATED]

First, I should say that I have no taste for loli-shota whatsoever, so I'm going to drop this now that I've finished one of the paths and gotten a feel for what this VN is like.  So... this turned out to actually be a loli-shota game, despite my hopes otherwise.  I have no idea of what Akabeisoft is thinking, turning its main child brand into a sub-brand that produces random games, but I can honestly say that I wish they would stick to one or two genres... Now, this is one VN that has no bu
Clephas

Clephas

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