Jump to content
  • entries
    772
  • comments
    1841
  • views
    568550

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

Web Novels

Clephas Japanese Web Novel Recommendations (Sci-fi, fantasy, and isekai)

I've been devouring web novels for some time now, so I have a pretty wide experience (within my preferred genres).  My preferences probably won't match many of yours, but I figured I would make some recommendations like I used to with visual novels. Isekai'd+Overpowered/cheat protagonist Death March Kara Hajimaru Isekai Kyousoukoku (https://ncode.syosetu.com/n9902bn/)- Despite the anime being a flop, this is easily one of the best fantasy web novel series of the type.  In addition, the
Clephas

Clephas in Web Novels

0

Clephas Guide to a fun untranslated chuunige life

For the hell of it, I decided to make up a 'suggested playlist' for people who like/are interested in chuunige who have just begun to play untranslated VNs. There are two variations on this guide.  One is a 'test the waters, gradually take a dip, then dive into the depths' guide.  The other is a 'Spartan Guide', which starts out with medium difficulty VNs and moves into harder and harder ones at the top tiers.  Each VN list will have four tiers, based on a combination of my estimation of di
Clephas

Clephas

6

Clarification: VN commentaries

I've been asked what my standards are for VNs in general and how I apply them to my commentaries on VNs I've played in this blog. I've explained my standards before, as needed, but there is something that came out in that conversation that I think needs to be addressed. First, my favorite genre of VNs is and probably always will be chuunige.  This is because I like violence, I like internal monologues, I like hedge philosophy, and I love all that crap that makes former chuunibyou patients r
Clephas

Clephas

0

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
Clephas

Clephas

4

Chuuni Hime no Teikoku

Now, this is one of those games where the Getchu description and the one on the site don't represent the reality.  First, this game is a straight-out comedy.  The protagonist is a 'classic baka', a character who is easily distracted, daydreams about convenient scenarios with cute females, and generally makes trouble without meaning to.  Because of his perspective, the game is pretty high pace (and not really in a good way). The heroines include: Chuuni Hime- A real princess from a
Clephas

Clephas

0

Chrono Clock Part 2: Dorothy, Kuro, Miu

Dorothy Dorothy is a foreign exchange student, as well as the protagonist's new maid and his fiance (sort of). To be blunt, I dislike her character so much outside of her route that I wanted to smash her head in with a steel rod. Nonetheless, her route was actually pretty good. I was surprised at how good it was. I cried for it almost as much as I did for Michiru's, if for different reasons. If you can stand her, this is an excellent route to choose. Kuro Kuro is the female version o
Clephas

Clephas

0

Chrono Clock Part 1: Common, Makoto, Michiru, Misaki

Common First, I should say this VN isn't like Purple Soft's last few works. The common route is straight comedy and heart-warming antics combined with some minor drama and with a bit of personal growth for the protagonist on the side. It is good comedy and the personal growth is actually quite nice, since the protagonist as he started out would have driven me insane inside two hours. It is also relatively short, as are the heroine routes so far. I managed to finish the common route and one he
Clephas

Clephas

6

Chrono Box

Review by Dergonu, edited by Clephas   I just finished this game a few hours ago, and I’m honestly not sure what I should write about it. It left me with so many different impressions and emotions, I’m kinda overwhelmed. One thing is for certain though, this game was absolutely amazing. It made me laugh, it made me cry, and, dammit, it scared the crap out of me a few times. Chrono Box is a mystery from start to finish.  As a result, one of the things that makes the writin
Clephas

Clephas

8

Chrono Belt

Why should you play Chrono Belt, fans of Ayakashibito and Bullet Butlers? This is your reason. Do you really need another? But seriously, this fight is told entirely from Kuki's point of view, and as a result it is suitably awesome. Rather than doing it in order, I went ahead and did the Kuki-viewpoint segment first solely so I could re-experience the awesomeness that is Kuki Youkou. Anyway, Chrono Belt isn't so much a fandisc as a true-ending crossover of both games. Basically,
Clephas

Clephas

0

Character settings, game settings, and their use

This is a theme that actually doesn't come up very often in my reviews/commentaries on VNs these days, primarily because most VNs use what settings - whether those of the characters or of the game itself - to at least an adequate degree.  There are actually very few VNs that include setting elements that are interesting but never end up used... because it irritates the hell out of people who actually pay attention. The most recent example, which made me go off on a foul-mouthed tirade in pr
Clephas

Clephas

0

CharaBration! ~Otome wa Koi shite Charabureru~

Let's be clear... I have no reason to try to be fair to charage anymore.  This might sound like a terrible statement to make, but the fact is, I've been a lot nicer than I wanted to be for years when it came to charage.  I went out of my way to look for positive aspects, and when I found one, I deliberately put it in as positive a light I could without overdoing it.  This was because the sensation I got coming out of most charage was fatigue.  SOL, in small doses, is enjoyable and even relaxing.
Clephas

Clephas

0

Changing views of localization

Yay, Clephas is contributing to a controversial topic in his blog!  *listens for the hisses and boos of his loving public* More seriously, I'm not out to bash fantranslators, localization companies, or anyone else involved with the process.  I've been on both sides (consumer and producer) and I can honestly say that I can see all four sides of the argument (the producer side, the negative consumer side, the neutral consumer side, and the positive consumer side). The Positive Consumer
Clephas

Clephas

8

Caramel Box: The VN industry's 'oddball' company

Caramel Box is one of my favorite companies.  I'll say that right off the bat.  They have one of the best writing/producing teams in the business, and it tends to show.  Not only that, but their VNs tend to run the gamut, all the way from nakige to chuunige.  While artist-freaks will sometimes nitpick on the details of their CGs, their artistic style is unique in VNs, retaining some older techniques and mixing it with new.  In addition, their musical choices are similarly odd, frequently utilizi
Clephas

Clephas

1

Cafe Stella to Shinigami no Chou Part 1?

To be blunt, I might or might not continue playing this game, so I thought I'd go ahead and get my thoughts down now, after finishing one path.  More and more these days, I only play one path of a game before moving on, after all. Shinigami no Chou is Yuzusoft's latest release, and it is more along the lines of its more SOL-focused games like Sanoba Witch, as opposed to its more plot-focused ones like Dracu-riot or Senren Banka.  As such, the ichaicha and H-scenes are a bit overly long and
Clephas

Clephas

3

Butterfly Seeker

This is Unobara Nozomu's second attempt at the mystery genre (for those who are interested, he also wrote Yurirei, Teito Hiten Daisakusen, and Fairytale Requiem) after the dramatic failure of Shinsou Noise last year.  To be honest, I wasn't looking forward to this game, despite its interesting concept.  This game, like many detective mystery type VNs, possesses a deduction system... but thankfully, it also lets you skip that portion at the click of a button (thus avoiding the story disrupti
Clephas

Clephas

3

Busy as hell: Working on Seiken Tsukai in my free time (not copious at the moment)

... for the first time in years, I just went through an entire week without finishing a VN... Why? The reason is fairly simple... real life.  I'm having to clean up all the work left over from the time I spent essentially mentally handicapped that I didn't subcontract to someone else.  That is on top of the work I would have received anyway... In any case, I'm slowly making progress on Seiken Tsukai, and I can tell you that it is a VN that will definitely pick its readers.  The st
Clephas

Clephas

1

Busy and a preview of July's releases

... exactly how many times have I mentioned that I'm busy lately...?  Seriously.  I'm in the middle of VN withdrawal for the first time in over three years... and I'm realizing how addicted I am.  I'd be perfectly happy to play a kusoge for the second time, at the moment... if I had the time.  The best I can do these days is drop in for a few minutes and maybe a quick post or two.  Considering that I originally started this style of work because it made me enough money in a short enough per
Clephas

Clephas

3

Burned out

It's been a while since a single VN burned me out completely, but Silverio Trinity managed it.  That VN had many of the best elements of its predecessor, while being more balanced, having added unique soundtracks, and overall creating a mostly new experience that, while it didn't completely transcend the original, still managed to stand on the same plane. Unfortunately, it was a highly emotional experience, with a lot of excitement along the way... so I know I won't rate any VNs I play at t
Clephas

Clephas

11

Bunny Black 3

I've been playing this one off and on since it came out, but I went ahead and finished it today. To be honest, this game's difficulty level is about three levels higher than either of the previous ones, whereas the actual gameplay isn't improved all that much from the second one. The addition of a town-building element just made the game tedious, rather than adding anything to it. Story wise... a good beginning, some good moments in the center, and a last part that falls flat on its face.
Clephas

Clephas

1

Bunny Black 2

This is the second part of my marathon of the Bunny Black series. In this one, it is some years after the events of the first game, and the protagonist and friends find themselves at war with a faction of angels... Now I'm going to be straight here... the game system is a lot less refined than the one in the first game, at least in terms of the battles. There is far too much guesswork involved, and as a result, you can find yourself in severe trouble at times, even if you came prepared. Th
Clephas

Clephas

0

Bullet Butlers: Intro

Bullet Butlers: An Introduction Bullet Butlers has one of the more interesting fantasy settings that I've seen in a VN. Think film noir combined with elves, lizardmen, orcs, and magic and you won't be far off. The guy you see above is Rick Arrowsmith, the protagonist of the story and butler to one of the potential heirs of the draconic Mystic One (spiritual - not necessarily physical - descendants of the heroes who defeated the Undead King who serve as symbols of God's favor). Now, Bulle
Clephas

Clephas

3

Bullet Butlers: Final

Final Having finished this VN for the second time, there were a number of things I took notice of in a different way from the first time through... but perhaps the biggest one is simply that I was surprised at how many of the most important details I remembered. I had to laugh when I realized I'd subconsciously solved the riddle of the path themes in my first read through, and they came back almost immediately after I entered them. First, with Valeria's path, it is straight-and-narrow love
Clephas

Clephas

5

Bullet Butlers - a character portrait: Selma Fortenmeyer

Selma Fortenmeyer For various reasons, it isn't possible to tell the story of Bullet Butlers without telling the story of Selma Fortenmeyer, Rick's master. Selma is the true/central heroine of Bullet Butlers and the focus of most of the conflict in the VN, in the sense that she sparks most of the disasters and victories by her very existence and her position. Her growth as a character is easily the most powerful and obvious in the story, and it really is an incredible degree of growth. To
Clephas

Clephas

0

Books: The Malazan Book of the Fallen series

The Malazan Book of the Fallen is perhaps one of the most complex series I've ever read... and that is saying a lot.  It is high fantasy in the sense that it is based in a fantasy world that is unbelievably complex (it makes Game of Thrones look simple at times) and it has the combined moral ambiguity and dark humor of Glen Cook's Black Company series as well. However, where Steven Erikson shines the most is in his world-building... and in his character-creation.  This is perfectly natural, as h
Clephas

Clephas

12

Books: Honor Harrington Series

Yes, I have indeed decided to add books to my regular posts, mostly due to Rooke's suggestion.  Understand, if you think I've read a lot of VNs... that is nothing in comparison to the number of books I've read over the twenty-eight years since I learned to read.  That number is somewhere in the tens of thousands... and one of the reasons I can be so intolerant when it comes to the excessive reliance on conventions in VNs, lol.  Honor Harrington Honor Harrington is both a character and a series w
Clephas

Clephas

7
×
×
  • Create New...