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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

Bansenjin: Final

To be honest, except for the end of the VN, this one is fairly disappointing. It was like they mixed a fandisc with a real sequel... there is way too much slice-of-life mixed into the VN, and the fact that they reused the Hajun concept again (anyone who plays this after having played Dies Irae and KKK will understand what I'm saying) was immensely irritating. I mean, the biggest complaint every last person who played the original had was that it was too much of a Dies Irae imitation, without t
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Bansenjin so far

I'll be frank, Soushuu Senshinkan Gakuen Bansenjin feels more and more like a 'worthless sequel' the more I read. I don't say that out of cruelty but simply because I have no attachment left to the characters from the original, except a general feeling of 'that story was over, for god's sake move on!'. Some people already know my feelings about sequels in chuunige VNs, and Masada is particularly bad when it comes to returning characters. One of the problems is that Masada tends to actually compl
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Rehash of vital points for those who played Hachimyoujin

Everything in this post is spoilers, so I'll be treating it as such. Don't look in the box below unless you played the first Senshinkan VN, Hachimyoujin. That is a very vague summary of the basic outline of what went on in the first VN, and no one should play Bansenjin without having played Hachimyoujin. Edit: At the same time, people who are used to Masada's style will have time getting into Bansenjin, simply because you have already experienced the majority of the characters in thi
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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
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Sanoba Witch Part 5: Kariya Wakana, Conclusion

Kariya Wakana Wakana is the game's single sub-heroine, who is only accessible after you have finished both parts of Nene's route. It is slightly shorter than the other routes, naturally, and it splits off a lot earlier in the common route. This route is entirely devoid of the fantastical aspects that were central to the drama of the other paths, setting them aside for standard love-comedy drama. Thankfully, this doesn't include a lot of meaningless ichaicha (in fact, the route ends really
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Games in General: Why I hate Trophies

Yes, I hate trophies, achievements, or whatever you choose to call them. Why? At least part of it is because I was a gamer back in the NES era, and I liked that sense of private accomplishment it gave me for beating a game on my own. Another reason is simply because I hate the way achievements and the like break immersion, particularly in rpgs and games with a good story. I can say this outright... I almost never finish games where I can't disable trophies. I'm not interested in showing off
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Kami no Rhapsody: Initial impressions

Ok, first I should say that this is based in the Ikusa Megami (Battle Goddess) series world. I haven't checked to see what time period it is in, but judging by the statements so far, I'd guess it was after the events in Madou Koukaku but before the second half of Verita. That said, this is based in the most fleshed-out fantasy world in all of VNs, so there is plenty of lore to draw on and add to, and Eushully is definitely milking the setting's popularity for all it is worth. Unfortunately
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VN of the Month March 2015 announcement

I am completely done - though without playing Mirai Kanojo - and I'm not interested in continuing (the new month's releases are already coming out, lol). For those who are interested... the contest between the VNs came down to a four-way fight between Shirogane, Hanasaki, Valkyrie, and Utakata. Naturally, I considered them all as fairly as possible, but in the end I picked Hana no No ni Saku Utakata no as VN of the Month March 2015 For those who were expecting me to pick something else... s
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Hanasaki Work Spring part 3: Hikari, Nonoka, Kanna, True

Kotobuki Hikari Hikari is the most apparently 'normal' of the heroines that have routes splitting off from the common route. She is in love with the protagonist from the beginning, so them getting together is mostly a matter of the protagonist getting over his self-derision. Her route's drama is intensely personal, though it isn't a relationship problem... The route itself has a lot more ichaicha than any of the other routes, so I felt like puking sand several times during it... but for peopl
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A few thoughts

I think those who follow my blog might be aware of this, but I've played waaaay too many VNs this month. To be blunt, once Hanasaki is done, I'll have played seven. I know that might not seem like much, just saying it... but it still makes up about 100 hours of play/read time in under a month. What makes it worse is that several of the VNs I played were horrible disappointments, despite being from companies I normally liked. What am I trying to say here? It is fairly simple... no matt
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Hanasaki Work Spring part 2: Kuon Ayano, Wakaba

Kuon Ayano Aaah... to be blunt, Ayano's path blows Inori's out of the water in some ways, if only because the sheer impact of her unusual approach to being the protagonist's lover can't help but make you rofl. Let's just say - as they do in the game - that Ayano is the 'best woman to make your wife but the worst as a woman'. There was almost no date time in this route, though there was plenty of ichaicha... fortunately, it was immensely humorous, so I didn't feel the need to puke sand. The dr
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Hanasaki Work Spring, part 1: Shiranui Asuka, common

So far this VN takes the form of a straight-out high-quality charage, with some nakige elements. The protagonist, Yuuma, is like the ultimate lazy guy... so much so that he researched ergonomics solely so he could create the ultimate pillow for sleeping in class. The heroines are Ayano - the much-older senpai who is a genius but has been held back more than any other person in the history of the school -, Inori - a lone-wolf girl who hates people who ask her personal questions -, Wakaba - t
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Yuki Koi Melt

This VN is by the makers of Pure Girl, Innocent Girl, and the Grisaia series... Front Wing. As such, I couldn't ignore it, since it turned out not to be a nukige... though it feels like one toward the end of the heroine paths. To be honest, I didn't have any hopes for this game, so it was nice that it had such good humor in it - think Pure or Innocent if they weren't nukige. I'm keeping this short because playing this game got really stressful in the heroine paths, and it is a bit hard for
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11gatsu no Arcadia Part 5: True Ending and final comments

Yeah, I know, this picture is actually nothing like the protagonist, lol. True Ending Ok, first this game stops well short of being a kamige, so don't expect me to give hands-down praise of it... but I will say this is the first VN I've played that uses the G-Senjou story structure and doesn't short the heroine routes. I can say that conclusively, having finished all the paths. Those who have encountered my virulent hatred of Aiyoku no Eustia will probably be surprised to hear this
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Hana no No ni Saku Utakata no Final Part: Ryouko, Shione, and Ouka (true path)

Yakushi Ryouko To be blunt, Ryouko is a sub-heroine, so there really isn't much to say about her. Her path quality is lower, the details are less involved, and the drama is so mild you almost have to ask yourself if it even exists. Despite this, she is a fairly cute character, and she does fill the 'adorable kouhai' slot nicely. Fujimiya Shione This path, in terms of quality and nature, is something of a hybrid of Shizuku's and Reina's. Similar to Reina's, it is an osananajimi's pat
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Hana no No ni Saku Utakata no part 1: Common and Reina

This is a VN by Applique, the makers of Concerto Note and Tasogare no Sinsemilla. Like most of their other VNs, this one has a layer of the supernatural mixed in with slice-of-life, wherein the supernatural becomes integral to their daily life. There are two major supernatural aspects present from the beginning. One is the protagonist, Michitaka, and his ability to see the traces of other human beings as colors, both on they themselves and the objects they touch or own. The other is Ouka.
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Hana no No ni Saku Utakata no part 2: Kasasagi Shizuku

Kasasagi Shizuku Shizuku is the student council president, an intelligent young woman who appears strict and unbending but really just interprets matters through her own unique psychological 'lense'. She is the only heroine who doesn't have a past relation to the protagonist before the story begins (one way or the other), and obligingly, her route seems to be the longest of the four heroines other than Ouka. She also possesses three endings... though two are basically 'normal, nothing ha
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Shirogane Spirits

To be honest, I generally dislike Giga's non-Baldr VNs, simply because the dip in quality (outside of visuals) is so sharp it isn't even funny. From dialogue and narration to voices and music, it is unbelievable how little comparative effort this company puts into its non-Baldr games. That said, this is actually quite a decent charage... though I do have some serious complaints. I'll go ahead and get those complaints out of the way first. Cons First, for all that the sound effects are
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Soreyori no Prologue part 2: Mayura and Touwa

Mayura Mayura is the second of the two secondary heroines... the protagonist's osananajimi who, predictably enough, has hidden her love for him since childhood (*pukes sand*). Anyway, having gotten my Minori complaints out of the way in previous posts, I won't bore you further with this. Mayura's route is your basic 'genki osananajimi' route combined with Minori's love of excessive drama. There are plenty of hard-hitting moments, that I'm sure that romance lovers will follow with excitement.
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11gatsu no Arcadia Part 4: Mitouya Sena

Sena Sena is another active type of heroine... the lazy martial artist heroine. With anything other than pursuing self-training, she is lazy, and she is also a glutton. Generally speaking, she's good if you like boyish heroines with a tendency toward sexually harassing other girls. Her path split is shortly after Kokone's, so there is not really much in the way of extra character development... but in exchange, her route is probably the most detailed of all the heroine routes. Not only
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11gatsu no Arcadia Part 3: Hoshizaki Kokone

Kokone Kokone is the strict but gentle 'older sister' of the group. She is very devoted to her duty, as well as to the safety and happiness of the 'family'. Her character archetype is really easily recognizable from the beginning, so I'm sure most will find it easy to understand her. Her path, much like the two before it, starts from a split at the end of the next chapter. The events leading up to the split are - again - saddening and painful for the protagonist, and again he has to giv
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11gatsu no Arcadia Part 2: Hattori Airu

Airu Airu is the game's 'fushigi-chan', or a girl who is mysterious/acts oddly. Generally speaking, her role in the earliest parts of the VN is fairly weak, but in the chapter leading up to the split for her route, she suddenly gains density and roundness as a character, and there is a definite sense that she is someone the protagonist might choose over his objective. Airu's route is a bit less of a depressing wind-down than Nono's is, if only because Airu's relationship to the protagonis
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11gatsu no Arcadia Part 1: Nonomiya Fuuka (Nono)

Because this VN uses the same basic structure as G-senjou no Maou, the 'common route' is actually the 'true route', so I felt a need to evaluate each heroine route separately from it. People who have read my comments on the forums will realize I despise the structure, because it has a tendency to be an excuse for h-scenes and inconsistent half-assed side endings (Eustia and G-Senjou are both perpetrators of this particular crime). Keeping that in mind, I'm going to strive for something resembl
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My next VN...

I'm going to avoid Saga Planets' new game for now, because I'm getting a lot of mixed signals... even if I set aside the fact that all the highest votes on it are by troll and duplicate troll accounts. As such, it came down to a contest between Shirogane Spirits (by Giga) and 11gatsu no Arcadia (by a new company named Levol). Naturally, being wary of anything non-Baldr by Giga, I've chosen to play 11gatsu no Arcadia.
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Valkyrie Runabout

This VN, like most of Rosebleu's VNs, is a fantasy/comedy VN. In this case, it is based in another world, where the protagonist was summoned and helped defeat the Demon King with his ex-girlfriend the Hero Scyana, the perverted swordmaster Hairen, and the berserk cleric Fran. The story actually begins after all these events have occurred and the protagonist has broken up with Scyana (for good reason), and he has started to attend an academy in the kingdom's capital city. As is to be exp
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