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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

Unlucky Re:Birth/Reverse

This is a VN by Windmill, the company that made Hyper Hyspeed Genius and Kamigakari Cross Heart, both great VNs, even if they were wildly different in focus and genre.  While this VN doesn't quite measure up to them overall, it does have its moments, which I will outline below. First, the common path... it is your classic charage common path, though with the fantasy twist that the protagonist is sucked into another world whose only real differences materially is the existence of magic and the la
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Sakura no Uta Part 3: Shizuku, Episode IV

For various reasons, I haven't had time to push my way through the rest of this VN.  The biggest reason is simply because I had too much work to do.  I haven't even been playing Fallout 4... god what a boring few days.  Anyway, this latest entry covers Shizuku's path and the episode marked IV... both of which have a lot of similarities. Shizuku's path doesn't really feel like a heroine's path, to be frank about it.  Almost all of it is a reminiscence of what occurred in the months immediately be
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Sakura no Uta Final: The true path, Ai (the normal ending), and the True ending

I'm going to come right out and say it... Sca-ji slipped up a bit when he designed the true path.  Oh, I could understand the big turning point event being as it is, but its effect on certain characters - Rin for instance - doesn't make nearly as much sense as he wants you to think.  Rin's change is the most dramatic (for all that happens during the true path, the protagonist is pretty much rock solid, even if he wavers).  It is also the most odd, even with the knowledge about her that Sca-ji ha
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Koisuru Kimochi no Kasanekata

This is the newest VN by Ensemble, a subsidiary of Will which has previously specialized in 'ojousama-ge' (VNs where most or all the heroines - and sometimes the protagonist as well - are from a wealthy background).  This VN takes a slightly different tack than the company's previous games... probably because of the effects of the mediocrity that was Golden Marriage and the kusoge that was Koi no Aria (incidentally, they also split off another subsidiary that specializes in ojousama-nukige, lol)
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Kodomo no Asobi Part 2: Yuzuriha (moving onto Hatsuru)

I went ahead and did Yuzuriha's path, since it and Sera's branch off from one another.  Despite this fact, Yuzuriha's path is quite distinct from Sera's, so you don't need to worry about all of the text repeating or anything like that.  Yuzuriha's path does have one thing in common with Sera's though... and that is that the relation formation stage is pretty long.  In both cases, there is a lot of back and forth, chasing and being chased, and if you have trouble with that, this path might be a b
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Kodomo no Asobi: Final

Mmm... there isn't too much extra to comment on with the Katsumi's and Michiru's paths.  They are of about the same length as the previous two (which means about one and a half times as long as the average charage route) with a lot of buildup before the relationships actually form.  That was my complaint with the other two, and that hasn't changed here.  Similarly to the other routes, I felt that the drama actually inside the route was a bit lacking compared to the common route.  Katsumi's route
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Magical Dears Part1: Some complaints and some compliments

Magical Dears is the newest VN by one of Navel's subordinate companies, Navel Honeybell... and to be honest, I was interested to see what they would do with it.  The VN itself is your standard slice-of-life charage based in an alternate Earth where magicians have been working behind the scenes to save the world since the dawn of civilization.  In this world, the magicians revealed themselves when they realized that intervening behind the scenes to prevent disasters had already reached its limit
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Magical Dears Final: Good god, this is crap.

Yes, I'm going to say it right here and now... this is a kusoge.  Oh, there are some good points...but unfortunately, the really half-assed way things are done between and after the most vital points kind of make this VN the crap it is. First, this VN as a whole suffers from the 'didn't go far enough' and 'not enough detail' syndromes.  Even the romantic elements in this VN feel truncated, and that is usually the only story element in which charage excel.  Why do I say 'didn't go far enough'?  I
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Koko Kara Natsu no Innocence Part 1: Common and Yuno

For those who care, I posted my thoughts on Clochette and VN activism in general in this post ( http://forums.fuwanovel.net/blogs/entry/975-clochette-activist-vn-makers-or-just-endless-oppai/ ).  Now, a few issues with this VN.  Kokonatsu (Koko kara Natsu no Innocence) very much follows in the tradition of combining science fiction, fantasy, and/or science-fantasy elements in a charage with solid scenario design and writing to create an interesting whole.  In this case, it would probably be best
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Koko Kara Natsu no Innocence Part 2: Arika, Kotobuki, and Iroha (edited)

Arika's path is... one of the ecchi-est paths I've seen in a non-nukige in a while.  That is to say, Arika plays the role of the 'honor student' of the future, the ideal of the people from Yoshikazu's era.  There are minor spoilers in the box below, but they were significant enough I had to box them up.  Besides this, it addresses seriously a number of issues when it comes to modern child-rearing and the reasons why it has become so hard (in an oblique manner) for kids to be raised in an era wh
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Yome Sagashi ga Hakadori Sugite Yabai!

Mmm... first, I should probably mention my first encounter with the company that made this VN, Hulotte, Imouto no Okage de Motesugite Yabai!  Moteyaba was a pretty straightforward take on the 'popular protagonist that forms a harem he eventually chooses a girlfriend from' trope, and as a result, while it was decent, I didn't find anything to be particularly interesting about it.  In a way the same can be said about Yomeyaba, in that it uses the same (common to about ninety percent of charage) tr
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Revival Posts: Izumo and Miagete Goran, Yozora no Hoshi wo

Thanks to Zenophilious for showing me the internet cache so I wouldn't have to revive the posts by rewriting them.   Izumo 4 First, an introduction to Izumo the series.  This is just based on various scenario outlines and reviews I read (I haven't actually played any of the Izumo games before this one), but it is basically a simple rpg/VN hybrid series that involves the kami of Shinto myth in an older-style chuuni gakuen fantasy setup.  My interest in the series originate
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Random VNs: Tsuyokiss Full Edition (part of my Tsuyokiss marathon)

First, I should explain the differences between this version and the original.  The endings and part of the story are extracted from the PS2 version, which got generally higher ratings than the original PC version, and paths from the Minikiss fandisc were added on (including Konoe Sunao's route), making the game as a whole feel more complete.  This basically means that this is the definitive version of the VN and you should really play this one if you want to play Tsuyokiss. Second, I bring
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Random VNs Tsuyokiss Nigakki

For those who haven't read my comments on the first Tsuyokiss game, here they are.  I'm now going to move onto the direct sequel to the original, Tsuyokiss Nigakki Tsuyokiss Nigakki is the second VN in the series, based in the second semester of the same year in the protagonist's life.  The introduction of a new character - Serebu - seemed like it might change the dynamics a bit... but it really didn't.  I was honestly disappointed with the lackluster common route and the sheer amount
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Tsuyokiss Sangakki Full Edition

Common Path The common path in this VN is, I'm going to say straight out, better than either the original's or Nigakki's.  Part of this is the variety of events.  Both the original and Nigakki tended to have a lot of event repetition in the general sense (ongoing jokes like Inori Sensei being late to class and Kani's reaction to it), and while some of that is inherited, in general there was a lot more in the way of interesting events throughout the path.  However, what really brought the pa
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Tsuyokiss Next

This is actually my second time playing this VN, though my first playthrough only went through Neko and Kohane.  I will say that playing this after the original series does change my perspective somewhat, as it is easier to get the many references throughout the VN.  Hakari, one of the heroines, is the cousin of the protagonist from the original trilogy and the protagonist is Kani's cousin.  Jiro is a relative of one of the Kenpou Club's members from the time of the first protagonist (ten years
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Dropping a title: Quintuple ☆ Splash

For those interested in this game, you have my apologies... but I honestly just couldn't bring myself to play anymore of this after completing the short common route and Sohori's route.  I have a number of reasons, but the main ones are: 1.  This is a lolige.  I am not and have never been a lolicon and my tolerance for non-immortal human lolis is pretty low.  All but one of the heroines in this game are either complete lolis or borderline, and to me, that is just visually tiring after a whi
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Hanikami Clover: Succubi and wasted potential

... it has been almost a year and a half since the last release from Studio Ryokucha, and I was looking forward to this, almost despite myself.  This company has produced some really good games over the years, and I have generally enjoyed most of their games I've played thoroughly.  At first, it seemed like this one might end up being one of the better VNs by this company, but once I finished my first route, I was forced to come to the realization that my expectations - based on the building of
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Random Replay: Re:Birth Colony - Lost Azurite

Re:Birth Colony is a VN that has a special place in my heart.  It is the second VN in the two VN series about a future where a rain of meteors rendered the planet's surface lifeless and humanity is living in arcologies of various types.  The first one, Fake Azure Arcology, I plan to replay a bit later.  It has the same writer as Hapymaher, Harukiss, Sakigake Generation, and a number of other VNs going back to 2007.  The protagonist, Keram Souji (also known as Rindou Souji), is the adoptive
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Fake Azure Arcology

Mmm... because I replayed Lost Azurite, I thought I'd do a bit of comparison... also because I didn't feel up to playing Sengo or Dragoon yet.  Fake Azure Arcology is based some time before Lost Azurite, in Amahara, an arcology completely cut off from the outside world.  It is a city that basically tries to maintain a sense of the 'outside' inasmuch as it is possible while essentially living inside a giant dome.  Seasons and the sky are simulated, as is weather, and it is even possible to cook r
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Toki ga Tsumugu Yakusoku part 1: Some thoughts based on the common route EDITED

First, I should say that this starts out like a first-class nakige in classic non-Key style (which means no loli heroines with weird speech patterns and less than six heroines total, lol).  I generally am fond of Applique for giving me Tasogare no Sinsemilla and the Arcology series, but when they screw up, it is usually in a way that should have been blatantly obvious as they were doing it. The protagonist and his daughter (yes, his daughter) are a great combo, and their past is one of one
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Toki ga Tsumugu Yakusoku part 2: Based on a few routes

I'm definitely going to have really, seriously mixed feelings on this VN when it is done.  The problems with the common route still apply, but some of the heroine routes make up for the problem.  I'm not going to say this is going to be another Tasogare no Sinsemilla... that possibility never even really existed.   For better or worse, this VN has serious pacing issues near the beginning (yes, the heroine routes are longer than the common route), and the difference between even the non-true hero
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Random VN: Lineup

I went ahead and based my schedule on the poll's numbers...  1: Silverio Vendetta (because I need some chuuni) 2: Houkago no Futekikakusha 3:  Dracu-riot (Japanese version) This is subject to change based on what is going on and sales (I keep an eye out for cheap games on download, lol), but for now, this is the schedule.  I am also going to play Kouya (started yesterday as withdrawal reached its peak).  Sorry, as I said before, I ignored that poll.  Jeanne would take too muc
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Shoujo-Tachi wa Kouya o Mezasu

To be honest, I wasn’t really interested in playing this VN, as you might have noticed if you read my previous entries.  However, I ended  up playing it because, once I stopped taking the pain meds (thus going into withdrawal… viva Bucket and Water Bottle!), I had a mind just clear enough to read something on the level of a charage or slightly more complex but not enough to read something like Dies Irae or Jeanne. I’m going to be straight up about this VN… like a lot of stuff Takahiro get
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Random VNs: Thoughts as I replay Silverio

Since I already did a full review of this back when it first came out, I'm going to restrict my words on this to comments about things I noticed or found interesting during the second playthrough (setting aside spoilers). First... Zephyr.  As a protagonist, he is the kind of guy most people would love to hate.  In Japanese, he frequently refers to himself with blunt internal honesty (and outwardly to others as well) as '小者’　and ’凡人’ (words that basically mean he is the lowliest of 'normal'
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