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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

Zettai★Maou ~Boku no Mune-kyun Gakuen Saga~

I had a lot of reasons for avoiding playing this game... first, it had really crappy-looking gameplay. Second, it was tagged both in Japanese and English with the hetare protagonist tag. Third, the concept was pretty stupid, even by VN standards... On all these counts, I was correct in my assessment as to whether this would be playable. That's not to say this VN doesn't have a lot of positive points. The heroines are generally well-developed, and they do have their own paths (though all
Clephas

Clephas

0

Boku wa Tomodachi - I am not Sweetheart

This is the first of August's releases I'm playing, and to be honest, I didn't really have any hopes for this VN... in a good way, my belief that it would suck was betrayed, though this is a very problematic VN, in a number of ways. 1. It is LONG. This VN is way too long for a story that is almost entirely slice-of-life (though it is an extremely abnormal life) and considering how self-abusing the protagonist tends to be. 2. The music cuts out at irregular intervals, and frequently it d
Clephas

Clephas

8

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

Kikaijikake no Eve: Better than its concept

I'll start out saying this. The primary reason I hadn't played this up until now was because the concept just sounded so silly on paper, no matter how many times I read it. I mean, making sex toys as a gameplay element? Seriously? However, I don't regret playing this game in any sense of the word, and it escapes being a nukige despite the concept. First, the gameplay... There are two major aspects to the gameplay, a phase where you research and make sex toys as well as other daily activi
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2

Elements to make a good VN/gameplay hybrid

This is just my opinion, born of my experiences with both bad and good VNs with gameplay. Note that I more or less expect half of humanity (or more) to disagree with me on most or all points, so don't expect me to respond to every scream of rage at my apparent assumption of superior knowledge. These are written on the basis of the philosophy that VNs are trying to tell a story and are primarily a storytelling medium. 1- Due to the nature of a visual novel (with the emphasis on the novel), the
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6

Monobeno Happy End part 2: Alice, Natsuha, and a few thoughts

I'm not going to go into detail like I did with Sumi's path, if only because my love for youkai isn't fulfilled to the same degree in Alice's or Natsuha's paths as it was in that one. Also, another reason is that the progression for both is far less dramatic than it is with Sumi's path. In Alice's case, the actual events leading up to the end of the main story are really dark and sad, and the path itself tends to be quite a bit more gloomy than the other two. In exchange, there is a lot mor
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1

Monobeno Happy End part 1: Sumi

First, I should state that Monobeno is an unapologetic lolige. The extent the writers went to to make this game a lolige (even in Alice's path) is so ridiculous I had to sigh in exasperation. Sadly, it also has one of the best plots and some of the best characters you can see in a VN. Like this company's previous VN, Gothderi, dismissing it because it is a lolige is a huge mistake. I played the original version of Monobeno, where all the endings were extremely bittersweet and vague, and
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2

Resurrecting Posts: Arcadia no Tomoshibi

I lost five posts with the reset, and I probably won't bother trying to resurrect Natsuiro Recipe, except to say that it was the first addition I'd made to the Chicken Soup for the Soul list in over a year... and I generally don't update that list unless I really believe a VN is worth it. Arcadia no Tomoshibi is a two-in-one VN downloadable only from DMM, sold for around a ten dollars. It is by Nostalgic Chord, the makers of Houkago no Futekikakusha, which was easily the best utsuge made in
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0

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
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0

Harems: Vns and real-life

The idea of a harem is a very old one. In fact, there is literally no culture (prior to Christianity) that, sometime in its past, did not accept the idea of a harem in one form or another. However, it was never a simple system of one man simply marrying as many women as he wanted. In some places, it was a mark of familial wealth. In order to avoid long-term difficulties, a wealthy individual would take numerous wives, produce numerous sons, and split that wealth amongst those sons in order
Clephas

Clephas

5

Sorcery Jokers: It surprised Clephas, will it surprise you?

First, I'll give you a quick run-down on this game... it is a game by 3rd Eye, a company known mostly for producing chuunige that are more moe-influenced than is the norm. This game is actually more of a mystery/chuuni/action/conspiracy type than a 'pure' chuunige. The world in which it is based is a future where, ten years before the story began, magic appeared on the scene. Large numbers of people became capable of using magic, and a new branch of science was built up solely for the purpose
Clephas

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2

Maboroshi no Dystopia Final: Akari and Youko - Why the difference?

I left these two to last for the simple reason that they were obviously intended to be the main heroines. As usual, my instincts for the intentions of a writer were correct. There is a significant difference, both in depth and in detail, between these two paths and those of the other two heroines. First, in both cases, the protagonist's past (though different parts of it) is revealed, and there is something approaching drama involved in the story. Second, the heroines themselves are much dee
Clephas

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2

Maboroshi no Dystopia part 2: Kaede's path and one pissed off Clephas

Ok... if just one path got gypped by the writers, I would have overlooked it as a minor flaw. It would have been worthy of irritation, but I wouldn't have bothered remaining angry forever. It isn't uncommon for a single heroine to pull the short straw when it comes to route quality... but after reading Kaede's route I have something I need to say. This game is incomplete!!!! Here are my reasons for saying that: 1. Ruriko's route goes from dark revelations to sudden lovers to the ending
Clephas

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1

Maboroshi no Dystopia Part 1: First Impressions and Ruriko's path

For various reasons, I had high hopes for this VN. For one thing, it is by the same company that did Reminiscence and for another, I just liked the basic concept. However, there is one issue that is more than a little irritating... they used an entirely new main staff (new writer, new artist) and tried to maintain an aura of similarity to the Akagoei series without the heart and soul that made that series interesting. First, the protagonist is obviously a knock-off version of Kaito, with a
Clephas

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0

Japanese Ghosts, spirits, oni, etc: A bit of a crash course

First, the simple basis for understanding the way Japanese think about the supernatural. Simply put, Shinto, which was the country's official religion and is the religion that originated there, is an animistic faith, with a strong tendency toward the personification of nature and objects. Second, Buddhism was the dominant faith in Japan for centuries, when the various shogunates tried to weaken the Emperor's power by strengthening the influence of Buddhism as a rival faith. Why is this rel
Clephas

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4

Abandoner - Severed Dreams

I'll be blunt... despite appearances, this isn't a chuunige. It is a sort of cross between fantasy, science fantasy, and mystery. I'll just say that I wasn't impressed by it... if only because there were numerous technical failures throughout the game (think the kind of BGM random cut-offs you sometimes encounter in older games), and most of the story is shared by all the paths... the only difference is in the epilogue, h-scenes, and who dies and lives at the end. The protagonist is a form
Clephas

Clephas

3

Kitto Sumiwataru Asairo Yori mo

First, I should probably address those who questioned why I never played this VN before... the answer is that I did try this VN 'way back when' and couldn't get past the prologue. To be frank, the prologue of this VN is pretty... unimpressive. However, once you get past that prologue, you are put into what probably amounts to the best nakige I've ever played. This VN is a kinetic novel, with only a single ending. It combines elements of mythology, mystery, fantasy, and psychological horror
Clephas

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6

Baldr Bullet Revellion...

I'm going to be blunt... this game is badly overrated on vndb. I was - quite frankly - amazed at how poorly the story was told... it was like looking at a bunch of disorganized pictures set on a wall and trying to make an actual story out of them. The protagonist is your classic cipher for the reader, and the female characters basically exist to have random sex with the protagonist. The actual battle system is nowhere near as refined as it was even in Force, despite the fact that Revellion is a
Clephas

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1

Baldr Force Exe: As promised

Well... first, I should say that Baldr Force EXE was the thirty-fifth untranslated VN I played. At the time, I didn't have a controller, and I ended up suffering from horrible wrist pain from playing using the keyboard. So my first piece of advice to anyone trying to play this game is to get a controller (most are compatible) that you are comfortable using. This shares basic gameplay with Baldr Skydive, though that game's battle system is quite a bit more advanced. As such, feel free to sear
Clephas

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3

Monster Musume series part 2: The fandisc and my final thoughts (for now, anyway)

The fandisc for the entire series actually brings all the characters - plus a new cast of one protagonist and three heroines - together, including extensive after-stories for both the first and second generation of characters (Gakuen being the second generation and the others the first). The new cast is based in an era fifty years after the events in the second generation, when most of the characters are elderly or deceased (with the exceptions of near-immortals like Suiku). The three heroines
Clephas

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1

Monster Musume series part 1: Why the heck is Clephas playing this?

Well, the answer to the above question is simple... I saw the monster girl anime for this season's first episode and got curious about what kind of content these games had... to be honest, I was planning to drop it inside the first few hours, using it as a break from more serious content before starting Baldr Force.. but I was surprised to find just how good the writing in these games is. That said, the early games (the Lamia and Alraune games) are nukige, as presented... and the H scenes ar
Clephas

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9

Corona Fandisc

I went ahead and played my way through this... for the most part, the story is slice-of-life, with a lot more focus on the comedic elements than in the main game. The result is a lot of hilarious scenes... and really little else for most of the first two-thirds of the game. The endgame story is supposed to be a tearjerking final battle... but to be honest, I hadn't developed enough affection for the new characters to feel anything for what was happening. Too much of the content was comedic, a
Clephas

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0

Kikouyoku Senki Gin no Toki no Corona part 2: Mini-review

First, I should state that I couldn't stand Yumina from Yumina the Ethereal, so I dropped the game about halfway through. I hate it when a ditz is the main heroine, and Yumina is one of the most air-headed heroines I've ever run across... and I've played a lot of moege. As such, I went in without a lot of the knowledge you are supposed to gain in Yumina's late-game, so my experience will be slightly different from those who played Yumina. First, Touka, the protagonist, is a former chuunibyou
Clephas

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1

Kikouyoku Senki Gin no Toki no Corona part 1: Gameplay and Unit types

I'm in the midst of playing this game, and I thought I'd first give you a basic outline of what to expect. This game is based around four major aspects: 1. Hitting enemies' weak spots (elemental) 2. Getting enemies to hit your strong points (elemental) 3. Use 1 and 2 to build up your MP to use powerful super-skills. 4. Keeping Corona, Tokino, and Touka (the protagonist) alive while still keeping their levels up. There are a lot of other points and complexities, but it pretty much boi
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0

My Random VN Schedule For July

Normally, I don't finish the VN of the Month games so early (I'd expected to be forced to take more time out for Neyuki, and so I've been left at loose ends). So, I normally just pull a few random VNs out of my massive backlog (mostly stuff I got at really low prices through my friend in Japan), play them, then mini-review them. However, I've chosen to be a bit more ambitious this time around, since I have the time. I'm actually going to make a schedule! 1. Kikouyoku Senki Gin no Toki no
Clephas

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