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I'm not going to argue about what defines a VN here. To be blunt, the fights over that issue - which were fairly pointless - were bad enough in the forums. That said, I am going to explain why VN terms tend to be so fuzzy and hard/impossible to pin down. 1. We are basically defining a medium that is new to us (new being a relative term, lol). 2. Pseudo-Japanisms like charage, moege, nakige, etc. are generalized terms that represent a certain type of structure and purpose to individual VNs. For people who like to nitpick, these terms really aren't fitting, because they are basically umbrella terms that contain a lot more than you'd think. 3. The Japanese otaku-media tendency to turn everything into an archetype creates an illusion of a 'universal unity of ideas'. Of course, there are a lot of different reasons besides these, but these are some of the more obvious ones. However, perhaps the one that bothers people the most are the pseudo-Japanisms that I and some others use and have been helpfully defined (inasmuch as that is possible) by various people. I should first explain what a pseudo-Japanism is. First, as a prime example, a visual novel is a term that came from the Japanese originally, but it is one we took and redefined for our own purposes. While the term originated in Japan, it is rarely used over there and the fundamental meaning is slightly different to them than it is to us. This is similar to the pseudo-anglicanisms like 'マンション’ that litter the Japanese language. Similarly, while the term 'moege' was coined in Japan, the actual meaning of the word changed immensely just in the past few years, as it was absorbed and reshaped by the perceptions of the Western community. Anyone who has played a 'straight moege' like Shuffle or Da Capo will understand what they are, but once you start expanding into the various other types that expanded from moege to birth new child genres, people start getting confused. To be blunt, we've gone and created a new specialist genre that pretends to be from Japan but is really almost wholly our own, because the meanings are not, strictly speaking, matching to those in Japan anymore. Of course, in a narrow sense of the word, some are the same - such as nakige and utsuge - but in the broad sense of the word, the concept of the 'charage' is almost entirely one we created to define a type of VN that branched out and away from the VNs we define as moege. In other words, the big mistake a lot of new and old people in the community make is in thinking these terms mean the same to the community in Japan as they do to the people here. These terms are ultimately ours, as they have been irreversibly shaped by our perceptions of their meaning in the way they are used. For the sake of those who don't have as much experience as I do, I'll explain the Japanese tendency toward archetyping everything. First, you have to understand that Asian culture in general sees imitation as a compliment, rather than a failing or an insult. Second, Japanese thinking is hyper-conservative, despite the rich sub-cultures that have bored holes into the base of their society. This extends to otaku culture as well and is encouraged by the commercialization of new mediums and genres as they become popular. In Japan, it wouldn't be wrong to say people 'like what they recognize'. It is this that leads to archetypical characters, settings, and stories being so dominant in VNs, anime, and manga. Of course, we see the same thing over here... but it is a much slower process. In just two or three years, we can see what was new becoming an archetype in otaku media. Over here, it tends to take ten to twenty years. It is simply a function of how our cultures work. Americans tend to dislike obviously repeating themes, and as a result we have a lot of encouragement for 'creativity' and it is harder for something to become an archetype in the first place, because we move on so fast. The Japanese find something they like, then they repeat it over and over until it becomes a tradition. Modern technology has just exacerbated this tendency, when it comes to otaku culture, lol. Edit: I should also note that the natural tendency of the Japanese is to polish things until they shine, a tendency that is reflected in their high-quality domestic products. To an extent, we can see that with VNs, as companies tend to prefer to produce a solid product that is similar if not identical to all its previous products. Unfortunately, the limitations created by that are unsuited to entertainment in general, which is the big reason why great artists and writers will all of the sudden suffer from a deep drop in quality (usually because companies want them to reproduce exactly the same VN as before, lol).

Before I start this, I should probably explain the company known as AXL to the newbies. AXL, which is known for Shugotate, as well as a number of other high-quality VNs, is an 'old-hand' company that was started pretty soon after the turn of the century. They developed an extremely beautiful art style, as well as a penchant for high-quality fantasy and romance stories. The thing most people will notice upon playing any two AXL games is that the art-style is exactly the same... it still possesses somewhat thicker lines than is the norm for VNs nowadays, and the actual character faces and poses tend to be reused heavily between games. The saving grace of this is that the actual quality of the original art is so high that it still looks pretty today, so you find that you don't really mind, for the most part. Common The common route of this game is a lot closer to what you would have seen in their best games, in that it is heavy on the story and the character development. From the very beginning, you are encouraged to enjoy the protagonist breaking out of his shell and developing a relationship with the heroines, the youkai, and his new male friends. The youkai, looking like adorable stuffed toys for the most part, are mostly comedy elements, and the protagonist's relationship with the tanuki Shouji is perhaps one of the most consistently amusing aspects of it all. There is a definite serious element to the story (AXL doesn't believe in completely drama-free main stories, apparently), but that makes for much better character development during the common route. It certainly made the heroine choice about something more than who had the biggest breasts or the cutest nose! lol (this was nice after the somewhat... disappointing heroines that resided in most of the VNs I've read so far from May) Minagi I'm regretting, in some ways, choosing Minagi first. Why? Because I can't imagine a better heroine to have picked for the main/true one, haha. Minagi is the VN's 'fushigi-chan', a girl who prefers the forest to school and who avoids others' company like the plague. However, underneath her lonely mask, there lies an incredibly adorable girl that is unbelievably easy to love. Her actual route is actually one that would not have been out of place as a true one, in another VN. Right from the beginning, straight through the end, you are learning more and more about the setting, about Minagi, and about how she and the protagonist are related to it all. The drama that takes up the last part of her route is particularly fitting for a canon/true/main heroine, and I honestly think it was worth it to play this, even if just for this route. Most importantly, the ending/epilogue actually goes into detail about what happens to the heroine and protagonist afterward, concluding better than five years after the events in the main story. If I had to classify this game so far, I'd have to put it in the 'nakige' category, simply because of how deeply emotional it gets at vital moments and the fact that I spent most of the ending and epilogue crying (in a good way).

Avatar: The Last Fuwabender* *Note: There will be no Avatar: The Last Airbender references from this point on.* An avatar, also known as profile picture, is defined via Google as "An icon or figure representing a particular person in computer games, Internet forums, etc." In the case of the Fuwanovel Forums, avatars typically represent one's identity, or at least represents whatever appeals to them personally at that particular point in time (such as a favorite character, "waifu", etc). Many users of this forum have different ways of utilizing their avatars and through years of extensive research I have been able to group them into the following: The Eternal: users who have had a single avatar since the beginning of their creation. ie. Zalor The Loyalist: users who have a single unique avatar that they change to variations of. Can change to another avatar, but typically returns to the original unique avatar ie. TarzanofVersailles The Bandwagoner: users who change their avatar on a whim depending on their current mood or preferences which can change over time. This can branch to Settlers who very rarely change their avatar to a new one ie. Clephas, or Travelers who change to a new avatar relatively quickly ie. Eclipsed (pre-Louise era) The Identity Crisiser: users who cycle / rotate their avatar on a frequent basis to a select few unique avatars while typically being unable to settle down on any particular one. May also become a Bandwagoner at times. ie. Kaguya-sama Eternals are the most powerful class of avatar users. Their very existence is so great, that if one were to ever somehow undergo an avatar change, the resulting shockwave can very well destroy the forums (an example being the fateful Taypocalypse of '14). Loyalists are the second most powerful class of avatars. They are typically very fond of their avatars and only choose variations of said avatar when changing avatars, or in the case that they do choose a new avatar, they tend to revert back to the original unique one eventually. Bandwagoners (subclass: Settlers/Travelers) are the common folk. Settlers are more powerful than Travelers. The Identity Crisisers are the wildcards. One can never fully determine if a Crisiser has finally settled on an avatar or if the Crisiser will continue their neverending quest for their one true avatar. ~~ TL;DR, here are all of my avatars since the beginning of my time here on Fuwanovel (times are approx.; not all images from an era are displayed.) Lurker Era (Sept) Date A Live Era (Sept - Nov) Kotori Era (Dec - Jan) <Love Live> Date A Live II Era (Jan) Charlotte Era (Feb) <Machine Doll> Frenda Era (Feb) <Toaru Majutsu no Index> Louise Era (Mar - Present) <Zero no Tsukaima> What avatar class are you? ~~ Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more Eclipsed's ramblings!

Hi everyone, this is my first blog post but hopefully not my last. I wanted to show off my most recent cover, as I feel immensely proud of it. Plus, I've started playing Steins;Gate and it's SO COOL. I can't wait to get into the meat of the story! I'm sure there's some Steins;Gate fanatics here, heheh. Enjoy!