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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

Random VN: Prism Recollection

Prism Recollection is a more recent release by Clochette, with a less fantastical setting than Kamikaze Explorer's or Suzunone Seven's.  Prism Recollection's setting is in a future Japanese town that is being redeveloped by corporations using it to test cutting-edge technologies and techniques for comprehensive economic redevelopment (as opposed to the piecemeal redevelopment that is normal in most cities).   From the fact that most stores require people to use digital money to the AR holograms
Clephas

Clephas

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Shukusei no Girlfriend 2 and 3 and Fujiko disc

I hadn't paid attention, but this series was apparently made by a subsidiary of the same company that owns Minato Soft... which explains the familiarity of the humor and the sound effects. Shukusei no Girlfriend 2 This entry in the series focuses on Maya, the heroine who serves as an antagonist initially in the first game.  Maya is a very straightforward girl with a strong desire to take care of those younger than her.  She is very much a warrior maiden with a strong motherly side (whi
Clephas

Clephas

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Koi to Mahou to Kanrinin

This is a VN by a new company, Prometheus that seems to be reusing members from ID, a company known for third-rate moege. Overall, I didn't have any real hopes for this VN going in, and thus I wasn't disappointed. That said, this VN did surprise me in that it actually had some good points to it, which I'll enumerate below.   Pros   1. The two heroines, while not entirely unique, actually have real worries in life that get wrapped up in the events of the heroine routes. There is actually dr
Clephas

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VNs

Princess x Princess and Kurogane Kaikitan

Princess x Princess is the sequel/extension of Rishia's route from Shuffle 2.  Essentially, it begins with Rishia enthusiastically searching out extra wives for Raito while he has difficulty adjusting to his girlfriend's values.  However, this quickly expands into a game that, to some extent, can actually be called a sequel rather than a fandisc.  This is similar to how the original Shuffle's 'extras' functioned more like true additions to the original game than fandiscs. I'm going to be bl
Clephas

Clephas in VNs

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VNs with a Seasonal Theme

The greater proportion of VNs out there take place in a three or four month period... and are usually linked to a seasonal theme.  This is especially true of moege/charage variants, but it can also be said for more story-focused games, like Tasogare no Sinsemilla.  I just thought I'd bring out my thoughts on the use of seasonal themes here, since it comes to mind fairly often. The two most common seasons used in VNs as a thematic background to the setting are summer and winter.  Now, why mi
Clephas

Clephas

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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
Clephas

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Random VN Assesment: Hatsugamai

Hatsugamai (or Soshite Hatsukoi ga Imouto ni Naru) is one of my favorite nakige from the last four years.  Feeling in the need of some emotional catharsis, I finally went back to it a while back, and I was blown away a second time by just how powerful the emotions this game brings out are. First, it should be noted that Alcot Honeycomb, the subsidiary of Alcot that produced this game is known for two things... that it is a low to mid-price and budget company and for the fact that they have
Clephas

Clephas

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Random Vns: Valkyrie Complex

.... I finally finished this one.  It has been installed on my computer for the better part of three years, with me only going back to play it occasionally... This VN/srpg hybrid is by Circus, the same company that did Suika and the Da Capo series... so obviously, this kind of VN is completely out of character for them, lol.  I'm going to be blunt... this VN pales in comparison to just about every decent hybrid I've played, both storywise and gameplay wise.  The best thing I can say for the
Clephas

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[Major Spoilers]Some fun VN Setting facts

Right now, in order to 'clean my palate' before playing Mojika, I'm replaying Bloody Rondo, 3rdEye's first (and arguably worst) VN.  A thought came to my mind that has been bothering me since I finished Oratorio Phantasm.  Are Shinkurou and Luna still alive at the time this VN occurs within the setting?  The reason I ask is because Now that we are finished establishing my hypothesis about why things in Oratorio Phantasm played out as they did, I thought I'd consider Shinigami no Test
Clephas

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VNs

Random VN: Duelist x Engage

Duelist Engage is one of a number of VNs I was pretty sure I underrated relative to my time doing VN of the Month.  The fact that the VN stuck in my mind even almost a decade later says that this supposition was most likely correct.  Thankfully, after replaying it (after so long it was mostly new to me) I found that this supposition was correct. Before I dig into story and character issues, I need to note that one way this VN stands out over modern charage is the expressiveness of the heroi
Clephas

Clephas in VNs

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Japanese literature

WN: Ankoku Kishi Monogatari

https://kakuyomu.jp/works/1177354054885318680 This particular WN is one where the protagonist is summoned... by the demon lord to save him from the hero!  The protagonist, Kuroki, becomes a Knight of Darkness and faces off with his trauma - the hero in question - and begins a story of endless misunderstandings and plot twists. That is, in fact, the peculiar flavor of this story.  Over 90% of Ankoku Kishi Monogatari's characters are self-absorbed pricks on some level, with the gods bein

Creative Corner: Brainstorming a character

Usually, I focus mostly on the perspective of a consumer when I write in this blog.  I do this because I am and always have been primarily a consumer of material rather than a creator.  However, that doesn't mean I've never created anything... just that I haven't published anything (well, under my own name... ghost writing doesn't count) since some early fiction on Deviantart over a decade ago.  So, since I'm not writing as many reviews, I chose to start a small corner describing the techni
Clephas

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My next Random VN

Hopefully, this poll will work out better than Minikui Mojika did (sadly, my opinion on it has only gotten worse in hindsight), but I thought I'd give you all a chance to pick out which Random VN I will play after my current one. First, the VN I'm currently playing... Honoguraki Toki no Hate yori.  I just started this one, and I probably won't finish it until I've played whatever I choose to from August's releases (there aren't enough releases for a poll this time around, lol).  My interest
Clephas

Clephas

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What makes a great VN battle scene?

I had someone ask me why I consider some VN battle scenes to be good and others to be low quality just the other day, and I thought I would address this here.   First, I should state that while visuals definitely have an effect on the quality of a battle scene, the quality of visuals is less than 15% of the reasons why I pick one VN's battle scenes over another's.  The considerations when it comes to visuals are raw quality (artist skill, detail, etc), number of combat-related CGs and sprit
Clephas

Clephas

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Random VN: Love Revenge (REVISED)

Now, I know what you are wondering... 'Why did Clephas pick a charage for a random VN this time around?"  The answer is not as straightforward as usual.... This game is about as close to being the 'perfect' charage as I've ever encountered.  That's not to say it is exceptional in every way.  There are better written and better presented charage out there.  However, I've yet to encounter a charage that utilizes every single element included to the greatest degree possible like this one does.
Clephas

Clephas

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Random VN: Shukusei no Girlfriend

Shukusei no Girlfriend is the first of three games in the series, based in a world where mahou shoujo-like girls calling themselves Stars fight demons to protect humanity... a pretty standard setting that, in most games, would mean lots of tentacles, aku-ochi, and general mayhem that would range from the mildly distasteful to the outright disgusting.  While in anime (non-hentai) most mahou shoujo are fairly straightforward and rigidly formulaic battle anime, in VNs, mahou shoujo usually end up o
Clephas

Clephas

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Semiramis no Tenbin: Characters

Like Akagoei, I've previously posted on Semiramis no Tenbin, so I'm going to limit my comments to some generalities and character descriptions.  This game, for the most part, focuses on the manipulative efforts of one Kamio Ami, the game's main heroine, seen from the point of view of Hayami Reiji.  The game starts out with Reiji being tricked into having sex with Ami, who then proceeds to blackmail him into giving her a place to stay.  He then ends up being at her side as she manipulates the hel
Clephas

Clephas

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Clephas' top AI/robot/android/etc heroines

This is a list of my favorite artificial (non-magical) heroines.  The reason I thought this up was because I am currently replaying Komorebi no Nostalgica, which is pretty much the top for an AI-focused VN.   Emmy from Akabanzu  https://vndb.org/c42670 Akabanzu itself is an unusual game in that it is a charage focused on a protagonist being forcibly rehabilitated from game addiction.  The AI in this game, Emmy, focuses on a support role, which makes for a surprisingly interesting (and
Clephas

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My list of Capable Heroines

The definition of a 'capable' heroine, in my case, is a heroine who manages to surf the waves of life and move circumstances to create a situation convenient to herself, either through manipulation or force of will.  A heroine of this type might pursue a dream, pursue revenge, or pursue power, but what defines them is that they both 'seek' and 'take' what they want.  Most heroines in male-oriented and otomege VNs do not fall into this area.  Most are reliant on the males in their life to some ex
Clephas

Clephas

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Shiranui's Journey (Evolimit): The Tale of a Hero

Be warned, this is full of spoilers for one of my favorite VNs, Evolimit.  Shiranui Yoshikazu is one of my favorite protagonists of all time, and I thought it would be good to just lay out why I loved the guy from beginning to end.           Shiranui's past   The Disaster (MAJOR Spoilers.  Don't read this part unless you have finished at least Kazuna's ending) Even entirely ignoring the events of the main story, Shiranui's story is one of quiet he
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Litrpg

Litrpg series: Apocalypse Gates and Alpha Alpha World

Recently, I've been devouring anything written by Daniel Shinhofen, the writer of the Binding Words series I recommended in a previous post.  Shinhofen is a harem specialist that can vary from having non-existent ero to full-on BDSM in his stories, but a common element to all of them is that all his protagonists end up with a harem and that harem is happy (for the most part).   Lest I make that sound like he scrimps on story, the very reverse is the case.  Every one of his series is extreme
Clephas

Clephas in Litrpg

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Random Translation: Bullet Butlers intro

異なる世界の話をしよう。 Let us speak of another world.   　我々とは森羅万象の法則が異なる世界、　違うものたちが生きる世界のことを。 A world where the laws of creation differ from our own.  A world where beings different from us live.   　誕生したとき、その世界はただの“無”でしかなかった。 When that world was born, that world contained nothing but the void.   　何も存在しないが故に何も起こらず、幾千幾万の時間が経とうとも、その世界は変化することがなかった。 Since nothing existed nothing happened.  No matter how many tens of thousands of years passed, that world continu
Clephas

Clephas

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Studio Ryokucha

Since I decided to go back and play two of their old games, I thought I'd explain my experiences with this company. Studio Ryokucha, like many older charage/moege companies, tends to produce two types of games... the standard 'empty candy' charage where there is no central plot to deal with, and the 'candy with filling' type, where there is a central story/plot that serves as the backbone of the game.   To be blunt, their 'empty candy' charage are second-rate at best, due to their tendency
Clephas

Clephas

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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'
Clephas

Clephas

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VN of the Month January 2018

Well, this ended up being a contest between two charage... Shogun-sama wa Otoshigoro and Yorite Konoha  wa Kurenai ni.  While I did not play Futamawari, so some will object to me naming a VN of the Month now, I will again repeat that I don't have any interest in that kind of lolicon story. To be honest, it really isn't that much of a contest... Shogun-sama's flaws pretty much ensure it falls behind Yorite Konoha wa Kurenai ni as VN of the Month January 2018.  The flaws are relatively m
Clephas

Clephas

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