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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

Koitama

I picked this one as my second game for VN of the Month May for a very simple reason... this company's previous works(1/2 Summer and Timepiece Ensemble) were overall enjoyable/emotionally powerful and I was hoping for a repeat of the experience. I'll be honest and say outright that it is nowhere near either of those two for sheer emotional impact, but I did find it more interesting in some ways, intellectually. First, the basic setting is pretty interesting. The VN takes place in a school wit
Clephas

Clephas

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Izuna Zanshinken Analysis [SPOILERS]

For the sake of those who haven't played the game and don't want to be spoiled, I will endeavor to keep the worst spoilers in a spoiler box, but since I can't speak of what I want to speak of without spoiling things, I'm going to say right here that if you read any further, I will spoil things for you to some degree.         First, it needs to be said that I usually present Izuna Zanshinken in a way geared to take the interest of someone without extensive experience of V
Clephas

Clephas

2

Random VN: Shoujo to Toshi no Sa, Futamawari

For those of you who are curious, I played this VN on a request from an old friend who wanted an opinion before he bought it (I already had the game, just hadn't opened it).  This game is relatively short, being a kinetic novel, but that doesn't detract from the experience at all, at least in my eyes. Now, I was skeptical about the concept of a VN focused on romance between a middle-aged guy and a girl in school... for one thing, it is a theme that has been mostly avoided like the plague ou
Clephas

Clephas

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Amairo Chocolata

This is the second mimikko game from January's releases, a pure moege made by Cabbage Soft, the makers of two other games, both of which I disliked (perfect examples of charage/moege slogs in the sugary and brainless mud).  I can't honestly say that Amairo Chocolata is that different from the company's other games... but I'm willing to forgive a lot for mimikko heroines. This game is pretty short, so short I finished it in just under eight hours (it's been a while since I bothered with a ga
Clephas

Clephas

2

Ninki Seiyuu no Tsukurikata

First, I should say that, left to my own devices, I would never have played this VN.  You ask me why?  It's because I avoid show-business themed VNs and anime like the plague.  If a rl friend hadn't begged me to try it, I would never have picked this VN up.  I should say that one thing I didn't like about this game is that it has a similar protagonist to the one from Aokana... a former talent in his field who gave up and ends up helping others 'rise to the occasion'.  To be honest, I loathe
Clephas

Clephas

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Renran Spirichu

Mmm... this month had a lot of fantasy, so it is probably normal I played more VNs this month than the last few... oh well. Anyway, Renran Spirichu is the latest release from Parasol, a charage-specialist company.  Umm... to be honest, I couldn't bring myself to do more than one path of this game, and the one path I did was Botan's (the catgirl).  This game's premise is fairly terrible, with girl exorcists possessing breasts in direct proportion to their spiritual power.  Not only that, but
Clephas

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February 2019 Releases

Wow, there are a lot of VNs being released for February this year that aren't nukige... this happens occasionally, but usually it is four or five games.  A few major names got concentrated into this month, as well as a bunch of games by new companies or new subsidiaries.  To be honest, from my point of view, despite the fact that this is my birth month, there isn't much to look forward to.  There is a  new VN in the Shuffle universe here, but with Agobarrier, the universe's father, deceased, I c
Clephas

Clephas

5

Clochette: Activist VN-makers or just endless Oppai?

I'm currently playing Koko kara Natsu no Innocence, the latest VN by Clochette, a charage company specializing in busty heroines that tends to produce first-class character development and heroine stories.  One aspect of Clochette that I've always thought was a bit funny was the obsession with 'shoushika', the current phenomenon in Japan where fewer and fewer young people are getting married and/or having kids.  This is touched upon to one degree or another in a lot of VNs, because it is an issu
Clephas

Clephas

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Random VNs: Kyonyuu Fantasy 2if

Knonyuu Fantasy 2if is a remake of the original Kyonyuu Fantasy 2, with an apparently expanded narrative.  Having played the Digitalized Novel version of the original Kyonyuu Fantasy, which I loved, I found Kyonyuu Fantasy 2if to be very… familiar. To be blunt, everything in this VN is exactly like the first few chapters of that estimable game, with the easygoing, unambitious protagonist gaining political power and rising to the top over the course of the game… while having sex constantly
Clephas

Clephas

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Random VN: Semiramis no Tenbin

Semiramis no Tenbin is a game by Caramel Box, best known in the West for the Otoboku series but who is more generally famous in Japan for being the home of Takaya Aya, one of the better writers in the industry.  This game... is unique.  I say this outright because there literally is no other VN like this.  It isn't the characters or the themes that make it unique (though those are part of it), but rather the sheer impact of Takaya Aya's 'side trip into thinking like a chuunibyou patient' as he p
Clephas

Clephas

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Yami to Hikari no Sanctuary

Yami to Hikari no Sanctuary is a VN made by Azarashi Soft, a company that I’ve ignored up until now due to its obsession with the Amakano series (a series which is aesthetically uninteresting to me). It is written by Kizuki (of Tasogare no Sinsemilla, Gurenka, and Hanono) and Onsen Daisuke (of Kon Kon and Koisuru Natsu no Last Resort). Kizuki was responsible for the writing of the common route and the central heroine route (Alice’s), as well as the character settings. Apparently, Onsen Daisuke w
Clephas

Clephas

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AI Love: Koisuru Otome wa Kikai-jikake

I didn't go into this VN expecting much.  Judging by the cover (considering I am a bibliophile, you would think I would know better, lol) and the Getchu page, I thought it was going to be a half-nukige along the same lines as the Ren'ai Jijou series (since Otaku was written by the same guy).  However, I was surprised at what I got... the first addition to my 'Chicken Soup for the Soul' list since Natsuiro Recipe in mid-2015. As a reference point, I almost never add VNs to the Chicken Soup f
Clephas

Clephas

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11gatsu no Arcadia Part 3: Hoshizaki Kokone

Kokone Kokone is the strict but gentle 'older sister' of the group. She is very devoted to her duty, as well as to the safety and happiness of the 'family'. Her character archetype is really easily recognizable from the beginning, so I'm sure most will find it easy to understand her. Her path, much like the two before it, starts from a split at the end of the next chapter. The events leading up to the split are - again - saddening and painful for the protagonist, and again he has to giv
Clephas

Clephas

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The problem with reviews and reviewers

Anyone who has read one of my reviews knows I'm something of a cynic and a pessimist.  I try to think the best about every VN I go into, but my first impulse is to see what is wrong, rather than what is right.  Whether it is optimism and rose-colored glasses or pessimism and cynicism, and excess of either is often a negative influence on the quality of a review.  Generally speaking, I usually make an effort to find something I like about a VN's concept before going in, then I start the VN t
Clephas

Clephas

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Akatsuki Yureru Koi Akari

This is the third game in Crystalia's series based on a world where a sport has grown up around using spiritual swords and a prequel to the original game, Kizuna Kirameku Koi Iroha.  For those who haven't played the other games, I can say that you might or might  not get more out of this game by playing the others first, as playing the original spoils you on the winner of the tournament and a few other issues.  On the other hand, this game also fills in a lot of gaps on characters from the origi
Clephas

Clephas

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JRPG: Nier Automata

The Nier/Drakengard series is one of the single weirdest series out there.  It's games range from DW-style man vs armies  with dragon flight simulation elements to heavy action-rpgs like the Nier games.  The Nier series originates with one of Drakengard's endings, where the protagonist and his dragon get thrown into another dimension and end up getting impaled on the Tokyo Tower after having it out with the JSDF.  This leads to the events of Nier, a thousand years later.  The original Nier'
Clephas

Clephas

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My next VN...

I'm going to avoid Saga Planets' new game for now, because I'm getting a lot of mixed signals... even if I set aside the fact that all the highest votes on it are by troll and duplicate troll accounts. As such, it came down to a contest between Shirogane Spirits (by Giga) and 11gatsu no Arcadia (by a new company named Levol). Naturally, being wary of anything non-Baldr by Giga, I've chosen to play 11gatsu no Arcadia.
Clephas

Clephas

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Koi to Koisuru Utopia and VN of the Month June 2016

Mmm... the first word that comes to mind with this VN is 'nostalgia'.  This VN isn't a high-budget affair... in fact, just from the looks and sound of it, it is fairly obvious it is on the lower-budget end of things.  The music is about as generic as it comes (fairly low-quality and lacking in variation), and, while there are character sprites for far more characters than is usual, the actual resolution outside of the h-scenes is fairly low.  This is a charage/moege, with no element that va
Clephas

Clephas

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Omoi o Sasageru Otome no Melody

About the February Releases Currently, fun2novel is reading Ouka Sabaki for me, and he has a fondness for mystery games and the Ace Attorney series, so he is a good fit for that game.  When he completes it and I post his commentary, we'll make the decision on the VN of the Month for February at that point. Omoi o Sasageru Otome no Melody This is the newest game in Ensemble's ongoing trap protagonist series of ojousama-ge (charage where all or most of the characters are rich girls)
Clephas

Clephas

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Sakura Nikagetsu

Sakura Nikagetsu is a VN by the company known as Orange Yell. So far, Orange Yell has produced two VNs, including this one, both of them nakige that at times come just short of being utsuge. First, I should mention that the art is pretty under par in both this company's games, in comparison to the industry baseline (if you exclude nukige and doujin). The reason for this becomes pretty evident when you start reading, and you realize how well-written their games are... and how good the music
Clephas

Clephas

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Endless Dungeon

Typical Dragon Race Members: "Ururu-sama Banzai! Ururu-sama Banzai! Ururu-sama Banzai!   lol, setting that aside, this is the ending of the Tiny Dungeon series (so far anyway. I'm sure they'll eventually reuse the setting, if not the characters). First of all, it should be noted that this VN does not have the impact of the rest of the series. It is mostly comedy, with a few really cool combat scenes mixed in (Veil vs. Note is pretty awesome) and H-scenes for all four of the new heroines.
Clephas

Clephas

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Clephas's Rave: Minori VNs and Why I Dislike Them

First off, those who remember my comments on Natsuzora and 12gatsu will remember I mentioned hating Minori games, with the exception of Eden*. The fact is, that I still do hate them, I hate reviewing them, and I hate reading them. The question is, why? I keep asking myself this. Minori has really good visual quality, good writers, and decent characters (even if they basically reuse the exact same cast over and over with different appearances and background stories to suit a given VN). T
Clephas

Clephas

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Random VNs: A few thoughts

First, I recently completed my second playthrough of Kikan Bakumatsu Ibun Last Cavalier... and I'd forgotten how much fun it was digging around in the political violence of that period.  It made me remember why I named it VN of the Year 2015, though that was mostly because 2015 sucked, lol.  It is a great game for fans of historical fantasy and the Shinsengumi, as well as fans of Grisaia's writer (who also wrote this one).  Having a trap protagonist who is also more than a little... bewitching m
Clephas

Clephas

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VNs

Random VN: Ojousama no Hanbun wa Ren'ai de Dekiteimasu

This game is a peculiar one.  This is the third time I've played the game, and the second time I've posted on it.  If you want to see my original review, please look here:    I'm going to focus here on coloring in some of the details of why I like this game and think it is underrated amongst Western readers of untranslated VNs.  First, the factors that lead to it being underrated. 1) The protagonist takes on a man-whore role through large swathes of the game and isn't a pure-hear
Clephas

Clephas in VNs

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Saga Planets

As I've been playing Floral Flowlove, I've been recalling my experiences with Saga Planets.  This is one of a very small group of companies that has never produced a 'complete kusoge' in my experience, and they always manage to maintain a certain level of quality, though they do their best work in VNs with a strong protagonist. Saga Planets is unusual amongst VN producers in that their games (at least in my experience) always maintain a certain baseline of quality... and in that they don't
Clephas

Clephas

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