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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 VN of the Month Announcement

I've been considering this for some time, but it has suddenly become a reality. To be blunt, I've come to my limit when it comes to playing pure SOL games.  Oh, I can still enjoy many of them, but if you asked me whether I can look at them without my resentment of 'normal' SOL content blinding me, the answer is no.  If I have to read through one more template date scene or see another osananajimi climb through the window from next door, I'm going to start tearing out the last remaining hair
Clephas

Clephas

2

**ON REQUEST** Ruri no Ie

Hmm... to be honest, I haven't played many VNs of this type, mostly because they don't really fit my tastes.  This is one of those dark horror/rape/sex training VNs that also happen to be based in the middle of the Cthulhu Mythos universe.  To be precise, this one is based on an island that mirrors Innsmouth in the mythos.  It is ruled by the Mashuu Family, and the protagonist ends up marrying the last daughter of that family, Mizuki.  He also gets stuck with an immense power and the role o
Clephas

Clephas

2

Experimental Book Post: The Under Jurisdiction Series

First, I should note that this is a series that is right up the alley of people like Dergonu... it were a VN.  This series, Under Jurisdiction by Susan R Matthews, mostly follows Andrej Koscuisko, a Drakonij Prince and would-be (though not by his own will) Inquisitor.  Setting The Under Jurisdiction series is based in a sci-fi future where humanity, at some point, diversified so greatly that sub-specification has occurred (though most aren't quite separate species entirely.  In this fu
Clephas

Clephas

4

Office de Sasou Ecchi na Kanojo

First, I should probably say that this isn't a nukige.  It looks like one, it has all the outward qualities of one, but it isn't one, strictly speaking.  The ratio of story and character development to H-content is too high, for one thing.  This game focuses on a young salaryman named Touma, who has just completed his training period, and he is given his first trial with one of the departments of his company.  He is assigned to a more experienced senpai, a capable young woman named Mai, at
Clephas

Clephas

0

A Few Things about Clephas Part 1

I keep getting questions like, 'Who are you?' and 'Why should I listen to you at all about VNs?'... not to mention questions that are a bit more personal. So, I thought I'd answer those questions I'm willing to answer (feel free to ask more in the comments, and I'll answer those that I can in a second post). Full Handle Name: Clephas Aurenius Handle Origin: A unique character I made up for a fictional fantasy universe some ten years ago. I've been using it as my sole handle for eight yea
Clephas

Clephas

0

Curio Dealer

This is the latest VN by AXL, and it is also the latest in its 'swords fantasy' (there is very little magic in these games) series (I say series, but they are just a line of similarly-designed games).  The previous games in this series include Princess Frontier, Hyakka Ryouran Elixir, Racial Merge, and Ou no Mimi ni wa Todokanai.  This is also AXL's fifteenth game, making it one of the most prolific companies (ignoring subsidiaries) still active.  Like all the games in this series, it is ba
Clephas

Clephas

1

VN Staff: Higashide Yuuichirou

Higashide might be familiar to Western anime fans as the writer for the Fate/Apocrypha LNs and the new anime series, or he might be familiar as the writer of Ayakashibito and Tokyo Babel.  However, of late he has definitely begun to worm his way into the collective consciousness of the Western otakus. So what kind of writer is he?  He wrote one of my single favorite VNs, Evolimit, and his works definitely have a certain... style.  Perhaps the most obvious reason why he leaves and impression
Clephas

Clephas

3

Sakura Sakimashita Part 4: Tsubame

Haruno Tsubame Tsubame is the person who has perhaps the most 'normal' reaction to the central conflict of this VN, and for that reason I consider her to be the best representative of 'normal humanity' in this VN (though this VN deliberately doesn't show the stuff happening in the cities, referencing it only obliquely). Emotionally, she rises and falls with a predictability that is reassuring, in comparison to Miu (who is something of a nihilist) and Miyako (who has issues that distract her f
Clephas

Clephas

1

VN Special [Major Spoilers]: Higashide and Evolimit

It is no secret that I am a huge Higashide Yuuichirou fan and that Evolimit is my favorite Higashide Yuuichirou game.  Before I go any further into this, I should note that Evolimit has the dubious honor of being the VN I've played the most often... a total of six times, as of two hours ago.  I should also explain what Higashide's unique qualities are as a writer. Higashide Yuuichirou wrote six VNs for Propeller before retiring from VNs completely to work for Type-Moon as a writer.  He also
Clephas

Clephas

1
VNs

Ryuusei World Actor Badge and Dagger and Dies Irae Interview with Kaziklu Bey

Ryuusei World Actor Badge and Dagger I'm going to be blunt, I'm not fond of what was done with the previous game, and I felt like this one was a repeat of the same mistakes. That's not to say there aren't a lot of good points to this game and its predecessor. Kinugasa Shougo is an excellent writer (as VN writers go) with a great skill in characterization and scenario design. However, just like the first game, this one cuts off without completing the story.I'm not nearly as angry this time,
Clephas

Clephas in VNs

0

Some thoughts: A few Months later

It has been almost six months since I ceased VN of the Month.  I can say now that while I do, surprisingly, miss some aspects of that particular column, the freedom giving it up has granted me is far greater compensation.  When I was doing VN of the Month, I was literally the only person commenting on most of the non-nukige VNs in a given month.  I was driven by a sense of obligation to those who read my blog to continue regardless of what it was doing to me and my life, and I can say now t
Clephas

Clephas

3

Top Ten VN/Anime/video game villains/antagonists

In action stories, often the story's quality is determined by the quality of the antagonist as much as the quality of the main characters.  The antagonist acts and the main characters react, creating the drama that pulls at our heart strings and excites us.  The more complex the story, the more likely the need for a strong antagonist will exist, at least in modern fiction.  I decided to put down my top ten and my reasons for making them my top ten here.  These are my top ten, but there isn't a p
Clephas

Clephas

2

Retro-gaming for a JRPG-lover

I've been a gamer for 22 long years.  I began my journey into the endless ocean of corruption that is video games with Super Mario Bros on the NES, and - while I've more or less fallen out of love with modern jrpgs - I have played a rather large number of Japanese role-playing games over the years.  Since this is a general otaku forum, I though I'd go ahead and include a list of famous pre-2008 jrpgs that can still be played today, without having to go out and hunt through bargain bins, resort t
Clephas

Clephas

3

Random VNs: Haru Uso, Natsu Uso, and Aki Uso

The 'Uso' series by Campus is a series of games, each focused on a different heroine who is in love with the same protagonist. That protagonist possesses the ability to hear lies (note that he doesn't hear truth), due to a magical artifact accidentally implanted in his body half a decade before the story begins.  The last game in the series, Fuyu Uso, will be coming out in July and covers the final heroine, the school president.   The other three heroines are Satsuki (Haru Uso) the school idol w
Clephas

Clephas

0

Random VNs: Plans for the Year

Ok...  normally I chose my Random VNs really at random, on a whim, through whatever method comes to mind.  However, this year there were a number of requests - mostly from off-site people (c'mon guys, I shouldn't be having two-thirds of those that make requests be off-site people, considering this site is the only one I'm really active on).  First, due to my Venus Blood, Ikusa Megami, and Sengoku Hime marathons of previous years, I was asked to marathon another long-running series with numerous
Clephas

Clephas

5

Some thoughts on Charage/moege (positive this time)

Understand, I'm not a huge fan of the moege and charage umbrella genres.  This is something I'm sure anyone who reads this blog is already well-aware of (to the point of exasperation in some cases) and at this point, it isn't something I need to reemphasize.  However, I've noticed that I've never really mentioned what I do like about moege/charage and their positive elements...  and I thought I'd go ahead and put that down here.   1. Charage do make decent breaks from my workday, as they
Clephas

Clephas

3

Pure X Connect: A few thoughts before I play it

To be honest, if something more interesting is up before I start this, I'll probably play that... why? Simple, you can name the protagonist, which is enough of a downer for me that I seriously want to avoid this if I can. Setting that aside... this looks to be a fairly standard charage, though the protagonist isn't - for once - a high school student (instead a college student). A big downside of what I read on the title was that it seemed like the protag is a total dimwit, even by VN standa
Clephas

Clephas

1

Unjou no Fairy Tale [EDITED]

Unjou no Fairy Tale is the second game by Cosmic Cute in the series/setting that began with Sora no Tsukurikata.  It is based around eighteen to twenty years after the original game in the city of Kaguya, a lawless city with many different races floating in the sky far above.  It is ruled by the invincible Mayor (with thirty-seven terms under her belt) Azumaza, frequently troubled the antics of the great (and in the eyes of ground dwellers, insane) alchemist Nemo, and plagued with more criminal
Clephas

Clephas

0

Random VN: Gouen no Soleil

(For those interested in the gameplay, I used a clear save I downloaded from the beginning to skip the battles, so you'll need to ask someone else) Gouen no Soleil is the second entry in the Soleil series and the first one where Lovecraftian elements are included.  For those wondering about cameos and characters from other games, the protagonist of this story, Nagare, was classmates with the protagonist of Shirogane, and in some of the endings, you get to see the world and some of the chara
Clephas

Clephas

0

Otome Game: Black Wolves Saga part 1

I'm currently playing Black Wolves Saga, an otomege by Rejet. I'm going to repeat a statement I've made many times in the past about otomege in general... their tropes are like a cancer on the genre in general. DIDS (Damsel in Distress Syndrome), tsundere heroes, psychotic/obsessive/possessive heroes, and dominating heroes rot these VNs from the inside in the same way the osananajimi heroines, airhead heroines, and self-insert protagonists of male-oriented VNs do to those. This VN is no ex
Clephas

Clephas

0

My list of the greatest charage

This list isn't in any particular order, but I'm going to separate out the fantasy ones from the non-fantasy for the sake of those who have no taste in fantasy elements.  This list excludes nakige and utsuge.  I got a request to make a charage list a while back, but I only got around to it today.   Fantasy World Election (first-class) Floral Flowlove (kamige) Minamijuujisei Renka Koiiro Soramoyou Senren Banka Ore no Tsure wa Hitodenashi Yomegami
Clephas

Clephas

0

Akaneiro no Kyoukaisen

... are you as surprised as I am that I'm already posting on this?  It isn't because I rushed through it or concentrated on it for three days straight.  No, in this case, it is because the game is actually only about seven hours long in total... and that is probably an overestimate.  While I don't tend to judge VNs by length, I do want to be able to get to know the characters before I see them falling in love.  This game's biggest plus point is that it is story straight from beginning to en
Clephas

Clephas

1

Soreyori no Prologue part 1: Common and Haruka

First, for those who haven't already read it, these are my thoughts on Minori: http://forums.fuwanovel.net/index.php?/blog/46/entry-341-clephass-rave-minori-vns-and-why-i-dislike-them/ Read that if you want to know where I'm coming from when I talk about Minori, because I don't like repeating myself, unless it is to brainwash people into playing Dies Irae. Common Route I'm going to come out and say this... this is a typical Minori common route. It feels like every other Minori game (ot
Clephas

Clephas

0

Random VN: Concerto Note

Concerto Note is a game I bought years ago and stuck in a small box containing my 'rainy day classics' without playing it.  Recommended to me over eight years ago as a classic kamige, I essentially forgot about it until I saw that Cross Concerto was coming out soon. This game uses a 'parallel story' system with a flowchart, where obtaining items on the non-true paths is required to complete the true path successfully.  This particular type of system is fairly rare, but it occasionally pops
Clephas

Clephas

0

Random VNs: Kono Sekai no Mukou de

Kono Sekai no Mukou de was the first game made by Orange Yell, and it is based in the same world as their second game, Sakura Nikagetsu.  This company is a low-budget maker that produces comedy/nakige (from the time between each release and the low budget, I'm guessing they are almost completely self-funded).  While they are nothing special visually or in terms of the audio, their games 'have heart' as some people put it. Kono Sekai starts out just after the protagonist, Asobu, discovers hi
Clephas

Clephas

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