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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

What am I doing right now? Mid-November Editioin

For those who are wondering, I am currently replaying Unionism Quartet before moving on to A3 Days.  It has been long enough that I didn't recall most of the details, so I needed a refresher.  At the same time, I'm playing Dishonored 2, so I'm dividing my time in half between VNs and gaming right now.  I don't plan on doing a full post solely on Unionism Quartet, so I'm going to just relate a few impressions here before I finish Yulia's path (I already finished Silvia's, Jubei's, Yuno's and
Clephas

Clephas

5

Re: LieF ~Shin'ainaru Anata e~ Part One: Common, Momo, Ruka

First, I should state that this is a VN I was unsure of from the beginning.  The concept of the 'rehabilitation program' in the VN is so similar to some manga and anime that have gotten attention recently that I had to shake my head in exasperation... not to mention that the concept is also at the core of why so many Japanese otakus like the school life slice-of-life charage that are produced in such profusion. The VN starts out from the perspective of Hahakigi Hinako, one of the three hero
Clephas

Clephas

5

Baldr Heart

Now, for those who are wondering, the reason I chose to play Baldr Heart first is fairly simple... it is the VN most anticipated this month, at least by the people I talk to.   Baldr Heart is the fourth game (if you count the Skydive and Zero games as a single game each) in the 'primary series' started with Baldr Force.  This series follows the evolving interrelations between humans, the net, extreme VR, and AIs, storywise.  The gameplay in all the games is a relatively fast-paced battle mech ac
Clephas

Clephas

5

Re: LieF ~Shin'ainaru Anata e~ Part two: Hinako and Ai (true)

Mmm... first I should explain why I chose to do Hinako last before the true route.  Hinako is the secondary protagonist of the VN, the one who introduces you to the characters as well as to the nature of the rehabilitation plan in the story.  As a result, Hinako's character development is jump-started, to the point where she is incomparably developed compared to Ruka and Momo.  Hinako is probably the strongest person in the VN, at heart.  Of course, she has her - rather obvious - weak point
Clephas

Clephas

0

Issues when Reviewing/Commenting on stuff you like and stuff you don't

Something I'm sure people have noticed in my posts in this blog is that I almost invariably compare VNs I'm reading on to either a genre standard or a similar VN in the past.  To be blunt, this is a shortcut, as it is incredibly tedious to write out an extensive analysis of a genre-typical something that is only minutely different from a hundred other VNs of the same type.  Comparisons provide a frame of reference, giving the readers a chance to figure out what they can expect based on prev
Clephas

Clephas

2

Clephas Top 50 VNs

For the last two years or so, I've gotten repeated requests to unequivocally name my top VNs made up until the present, ignoring objectivity, my vndb votes, etc.  I've more or less just ignored most of those requests, because it is a pain in the ass to name a 'favorite' VN in the first place.  I've made lists of VNs I loved from various genres, and I've also made lists of VNs for a specific purpose.  However, I've avoided making a list like this one up until now, mostly because my 'favorites' sw
Clephas

Clephas

0

Sora no Tsukurikata Final: Final Arc, Haru route

Surprisingly enough, Sora no Tsukurikata has managed to avoid driving me insane with rage.  *pauses for the gasps of shock and the screeches of terror from the audience* In the end, this VN managed to mostly avoid the violence you would see in most VNs with mafia members as main characters, and it did so without going down the 'total moe-moe' route that most VN writers would have chosen in the same case.  Haru is the main heroine of the game, but her route doesn't relegate the other he
Clephas

Clephas

0

Foreshadowing: My experience in VNs

Foreshadowing is one of those elements in all forms of literature and entertainment media that is pretty much unavoidable.  To be specific, it's been around since at least the time of the Greek tragedies, lol. However, how a story uses foreshadowing says a lot about its style.  In a lot of chuunige, for example, it gets laid on pretty thick, though they generally choose their moment for 'grand effect' and melodrama.  In nakige, it is usually as a prelude to a tear-jerking event in the immed
Clephas

Clephas

2

Sora no Tsukurikata part three: Third Arc and Noa

The third arc of this story focuses on the homonculus, Noa. Noa is a homonculus made by an old alchemist named Kagari, who dwells atop the hill overlooking the city.  She is the game's resident loli, a sweet, slow-speaking, kind-hearted girl who raises vegetables as something of a cross between her lifework and a hobby.  Naturally, like most characters of her type, she is widely loved by the game's characters. The third arc and Noa's path pursue knowledge of Noa's past, her nature as a
Clephas

Clephas

0

Sora no Tsukurikata part two: Second Arc and Yurika

The second arc of this story is focused narrowly on the aftermath of the first arc and Yurika.  Yurika is a rare type in VNs these days... a sexy adult woman who isn't another man's wife or widow (yes, I went there).  She is a member of the 'Virgin of Chains', the more 'peaceful' of the two mafia groups dominating the area.  She is the protagonist's friend, occasional partner, drinking buddy, and sex friend.  She has a somewhat nihilistic attitude toward life and an absolute love of te
Clephas

Clephas

0

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

Clephas

0

*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

Clephas

14

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
Clephas

Clephas

12

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
Clephas

Clephas

0

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
Clephas

Clephas

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)
Clephas

Clephas

10

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
Clephas

Clephas

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

Clephas

1

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,
Clephas

Clephas

1

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
Clephas

Clephas

6

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
Clephas

Clephas

2

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
Clephas

Clephas

4

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
Clephas

Clephas

4

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
Clephas

Clephas

0

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
Clephas

Clephas

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