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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

Sora no Tsukurikata Part one: First Arc, Kazuha route

As I began this VN, I decided to change my approach to how I would handle it.  My dislike of ladder-style story structures will probably cause me to go berserk when I finish the final (Haru's) route, but for now, I'm going to evaluate the story based on each arc and its associated heroine route, ignoring the VN as a whole until I've gone through the final route. Now, the protagonist of this story is a pretty archetypical character... a PI who has been scarred and run down by life living in
Clephas

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*sighs* more ladder-style complaints

For those of you familiar with my tendency to bitch and moan about this kind of story-structure, I don't really need to explain... but I'll do so anyway.  The 'ladder-style' story structure is the style used in games such as G-senjou, Aiyoku no Eustia, and Sen no Hatou.  While it does make it easy to fit in a 'true' path (the true path being main street) and breaking things down into 'arcs' makes for a more expansive story, that is at the cost of increasing irritation in a way that would never h
Clephas

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October 2016: Which VNs I plan to play and what I'm doing now

October is turning out to be a frustrating month, with the VN I was most interested in delayed until December (for some reason, December seems to be getting all the most interesting ones...).  I honestly had hopes that October would break the 'dry spell' I've been experiencing since I completed July's releases.  There is still a possibility of that happening, but I'm not getting my hopes up. Right now, I'm busy with work, trying to open up a nice quiet period so that I can get all of Octobe
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Random VNs: Prima Stella [edited]

First thing that anyone thinks when they see a VN written by Choco Chip is 'nukige!!!'.  That isn't precisely correct.  I've played exactly three games by this guy that impressed me, though that was over four years ago.  Those three games were Prima Stella, Sarasara, and Sakura Iro Quartet.  Randomly, I decided to pick Prima Stella back up, and I relived my ancient experiences with it, gaining new impressions relative to what I've experienced since. First, my impressions are universally pos
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My opinion: Pitfalls of a Fantranslator

This is a simple post putting forth my views on what the largest pitfalls are for a fantranslator, both in the immediate sense and the long-term. Immediate 1. Making promises: Anyone who starts a translation is bound to do something stupid... such as setting a deadline or predicting how long it will take them to do something.  Even experienced translation groups trip and fall into this particular trap.  Nothing good comes of making promises, primarily because rl exists. 2.  Agreei
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Random VNs: Yuyukana (also VN of the Month for September announced)

Ok... as random choices to play go, this one was probably a horrible choice.  Yuyukana starts out as and rarely escapes the standard charage model (there are some tear-jerking moments at the end of some of the routes, but it isn't at nakige level).  First, you have the tsundere osananajimi.  Then you have the ojousama who mysteriously comes in every morning to cook breakfast for the protagonist whose parents are not living at home.  Third you have the mysterious transfer student who profess
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3

Tokubetsu na Bonjin no Seikatsu

No, the title isn't the name of a VN... at least as far as I know.  It essentially means 'the lifestyle of a special normal/average person'.  This is the wording that came to mind when I thought about the standard charage protagonist... Now, slice-of-life is by nature just that... a slice of the characters' lives outside of whatever conflict or set of events that determines the flow of the story.  There are slice-of-life moments in almost all VNs (except for a few sex-only nukige, mahou sho
Clephas

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Sen no Hatou, Tsukisome no Kouki

First, a little background for those who didn't read my previous posts on the subject.  I'm one of those rare souls who read Aiyoku no Eustia, by this same company, and came to hate it in the end.  I have reasons... even good ones.  The biggest one is that the side-heroines' endings make no sense in the context of the story as a whole.  This isn't a joke and it isn't something that can actually be denied by anyone who finished the main path (Eustia's).  This is actually the thing I despise most
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October Releases: Tsukikage no Simulacre

Tsukikage no Simulacre is a mini-VN by Akatsuki Works' sibling brand, Applique, which specializes in solid story-focused VNs ranging from nakige like Toko o Tsumugu Yakusoku to hard sci-fi stories like Re:Birth Colony.  Applique is also responsible for the creation of Tasogare no Sinsemilla, which is a classic VN that I still remember well to this day. This VN, like Hinonai (reference the previous post), seems to have been created as a combination prelude/advertisement for a future, more ex
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October Releases: Hi no Nai Tokoro ni Kemuri wa Tatanai

This is a mini-VN planned by and written by Hino Wataru of Akatsuki Works, the company responsible for Ruitomo; Comyu; and Hello, Lady.  It was released for free at the beginning of the month, and it is done in a style that feels a lot like one of those close-ended hour-long 'preview' OVAs that sometimes come out a few years in advance of a potential TV anime release (Noblesse, Beelzebub, Phantom, etc).  In other words, it is done in the form of a single 'episode' in the life of the characters,
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Kanojo Step

Kanojo Step is the latest VN from Smee, a company famous (or infamous) for making old style first-generation charage (right down to being able to name the protagonist and having him be a non-person, as well as there either being no drama or only weak/easily resolved drama in the story).  As such, I wasn't anticipating a blowout hit, and I didn't get it, of course.  However, it did surprise me a bit in one aspect... ... and that was its comedy.  Ok, most of it is cheesy and 'familiar', but t
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Natsu no Majo no Parade

Natsu no Majo no Parade is a classic-style 'dotabata love-comedy', meaning that it is partially about romance and partially about what amounts to a situational comedy.  The VN was made by a newborn company called Wonder Fool.  It is based in a world where (mostly female) magic-users called Witches go around helping people (the setting is never really properly explained, probably because the writers were lazy when it came to world-building). The protagonist, Yukito, is a normal guy whose mot
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Amusing: Sports VNs

One thing I didn't notice until recently is that there is a severe lack of (non-nukige) sports VNs out there.  The reason I didn't notice?  It's fairly simple... I have no interest in conventional sports (martial arts-related sports being differentiated from 'normal' sports).  There are protagonists and heroines who are athletic in many VNs, and there are a few combat-sport VNs (like Walkure Romanze and Aokana).  However, all-in-all the lack of sports VNs is... amusing on the surface. When
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4

2016: VN of the Year Candidates so far

Compared to 2015, this year has been an excellent one.  That isn't to say that we saw a glut of first-class VNs like in 2011 or 2014, but there have nonetheless been several releases worthy of consideration for a VN of the Year award from me so far. Candidates so Far Inochi no Spare Amatsutsumi Floral Flowlove Tokyo Necro Akeiro Kaikitan Close but not quite there Koi Suru Otome to Shugo no Tate ~Bara no Seibo~ (a direct sequel, so not a potential winner)
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Tayutama 2

First, I should apologize to those who voted for Sen no Hatou.  To be honest, I had every intention of finishing it first... but I kept running into the walls I described in the previous post, so I switched over to this game.     ****** Before reading further, please realize that it is impossible to talk about this VN without spoiling the original to some extent.  If you haven't played the original Tayutama, you shouldn't be considering playing this game anyway (as it doesn't make sens
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Akatsuki Works and Applique release free mini-VNs

Akatsuki Works and Applique, two subsidiaries of Akabeisoft2 (of Sharin no Kuni and G-Senjou no Maou fame) have each released a mini-VN for free on their websites (which are a pain to access from outside of Japan, but anyone used to bypassing DMM's controls on their MMO releases should be able to manage it).  Akatsuki Works released Hi no Nai Tokoro ni Kemuri wa Tatanai  ( https://vndb.org/v19369  ), which seems to be a chuunige-type by Hino Wataru, as is typical of the Akatsuki Works brand.  Ap
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Taking a short break (by my standards)

I'm delaying playing through anymore VNs until at least Saturday, mostly because I realized my fatigue was reaching its peak.  The reason why I realized this was fairly simple... I wasn't enjoying the bloody scenes in Sen no Hatou, which is highly unnatural for me.  Normally, I would have been on a blood high after that first scene, but after replaying Evolimit, I was a bit glutted on battle scenes.  As such, I came to the conclusion that I can't fairly assess Sen no Hatou at the moment.  Also,
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3

Random VNs: Evolimit

Now, if you asked me my top three VNs of all time, I would honestly put this one as one of those three, no matter how often the other two get rotated out.  Evolimit, in my mind at least, shows off the best of Higashide Yuuichirou's writing in combination with Propeller's unique art style and superior musical direction and composition.  Oh, and incidentally, this is the sixth time I've played this game from beginning to end, reading all the endings... that I can still find a VN enjoyable aft
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The heroine that is always present

For those who have no idea whatsoever what I am talking about, I'm referring to a type of heroine that tends to exist in a relatively high proportion with a strong central plot... the type of heroine that remains by the protagonist's side, usually no matter which heroine he chooses and is usually the true heroine.  This heroine has a bond with the protagonist that surpasses that of a simple friendship or lover and can't really be cut without destroying them both.  This heroine's existence is usu
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4

Chuunige protagonists: Heroes, anti-heroes, and monsters

Now, in the past I've often tried to clearly define my favorite VN genre, the chuunige.  While there are many elements that go into making a chuunige, the primary requirements are conflict (violent or otherwise), philosophy (hedge philosophy usually), deliberately exaggerated character personalities and backgrounds, and extremely detailed settings. Now, for reasons known only to me, I felt like talking about the chuunige protagonist.  Understand, chuunige protagonists are inevitably... uniq
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4

Tayutama 2 or Sen no Hatou?

A simple question, with the poll closing at the stroke of midnight Monday morning US Central time.  Which VN do you want me to play first?  Honestly, there is no chance whatsoever of me playing anything else before at least one of these two, so feel free to make your decision based on which you are most interested in. For those who aren't aware of the games: Tayutama 2 is the direct sequel to the original game, based off of Mashiro's ending as canon.  The main heroine is one of Mashiro
Clephas

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Random VNs: Gleam Garden no Shoujo

Gleam Garden is a semi-chuuni VN by the makers of Lovesick Puppies, Cosmic Cute.  While it isn't amongst the VNs I love the most, it was nonetheless a pleasant memory, so I chose to dig it out of the pile and play it again this week.  Edit: I should mention that while this VN does have action scenes, a lot of the VN is about the changes in the characters, especially the heroines, as they learn to accept their sins, their past, and the restrictions placed on their future by their situation.
Clephas

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How I feel about games that come in parts

When Corona Blossom came out recently, I once again came face to face with a niche trend in gaming that has roots back in the nineties era console games... video games that, rather than presenting a full story in and of themselves (even if they are intended to have sequels), instead are released in parts.  Now, I thought about why this kind of game production method has never really caught on... and it took me all of ten seconds to remember why. Let's take the Shenmue series.  Really a
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Random VNs: Nanairo Reincarnation

Below is the original mini-review I wrote of Nanairo Reincarnation in 2014, which I mostly pulled out because it is much harder to access than this blog because of how buried that thread is.  Also, I was feeling too lazy to completely rehash everything I said back then.     Nanairo Reincarnation   Kamige kita!!!  lol   I've been waiting all this  year for a kamige to appear, and thankfully, I wasn't disappointed.  Every once in a while I co
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Random VN plans

Now... as I said in the nostalgia post, I've been replaying a lot of games lately.  The reason is fairly simple... my backlog of VNs is almost nonexistent now.  I've played roughly 85% of the ones I purchased during the first days, including all but a few of those that I've purchased in the last few years.  That isn't to say that there are no VNs of interest that I haven't played yet... but many of them just aren't available to purchase by download and are too expensive to obtain a physical copy
Clephas

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