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This month was almost a no-brainer... while there were some halfway-decent charage releases, there weren't any that made a significant impression. I'm afraid I don't have time to read Giga's newest half-hearted-but-pretty-looking charage (work is busy) and I haven't actually played any VNs since i finished Ninki Seiyuu last week. Silverio Trinity is VN of the Month January 2017. Normally, I wouldn't name a sequel as VN of the Month, on principle. However, in this case, the game itself warrants it. Silverio Trinity is one of those rare sequels I could actually conceive of standing on its own, because even when I extracted my prior knowledge of Silverio Vendetta, I still felt that it was an enormously enjoyable VN. The only point on which it doesn't stand on its own is in background knowledge about the Esperanto and the Great Apocalypse that is only infodumped in incomplete form in Trinity. Of course, not having full knowledge of the events at the end of Vendetta's path in Vendetta is a handicap, but not as much of one as it would have been with another game, lol. For those wondering about VN of the Year 2016, I'm still reviewing the candidates... I've narrowed it down to three potential winners: Tokyo Necro; Karenai Sekai to Owaru Hana; and Amatsutsumi. The most unlikely of those is probably Amatsutsumi, despite its feels (I knocked Floral Flowlove out of the competition last week). For those who complained to me about the fact that I'm not considering Senren Banka or Gin'iro Haruka, I actually have solid reasons besides personal tastes... I just don't feel like making a wall of text to explain the precise reasons why Gin'iro isn't in the running and I never really even seriously considered Senren Banka, lol. Edit: Keep in mind that VN of the Year is the competition I spend the most time on every year, using up a minimum of the first two months of the year each year since I started, lol. Not to mention that 2016 was one of the best out of the last ten years in terms of high-quality releases (though the ones that weren't high quality tended to be singularly awful). List of VN of the Year Winners so far Hapymaher (2013) Nanairo Reincarnation (2014) Kikan Bakumatsu Ibun Last Cavalier (2015) Again, 2015 is probably the single worst year for VNs out of the last ten, and so Kikan Bakumatsu is actually lower in quality than several releases from both 2014 and 2016, so I almost didn't name a VN of the Year 2015, lol.

We can finally distinguish the characters via hair color!

Double BJ is in the Agave route.

in modo da sapere italiano? but welcome

Once again, i am triggered

Thanks Limerence

Silvz hit all the things I'd recommend, but one recommendation is easier than a lot of recommendations, so: play Sekien no Inganock.

Congratulations on your promotion Politics and delays, ain't that the way of things ... Also I wouldn't worry too much about Fata Morgana, you're not missing much

There was alotta politics and delays over the past 2 months regarding my promotes but I now finally get to tell people that I is da sooper vizors now instead of just some random grunt counting shiz at dem stores, hah! Meanwhile I cant believe how fast time is flying, been so busy, and it feels like I haven't participated in this place for a while now And I just remembered that I completely forgot about reading Fata Morgana. I remember finishing the First Door and getting hyped and posting in VN Talk, then Aight, time to go, got essay due tmr ._.

When given a 10 point scale I think you should try to use use all of it and not just limit yourself to the upper half. It's a bit silly that I have to get used to others inflated rating systems when I browse works. If a work has an average rating of a 7 or a 8, what that actually means is that the community considers it merely decent. Try to be flexible with the scale and perhaps you won't have such a problem (maybe lower those 10s to 9s for example)

Gabriel Drop Out annoys me because when I watch it I think it's meh and then suddenly I find myself laughing out loud at something in it, like Vigne counting sheep this week. How dare I be inconsistent with my taste.

Welp. Finished FFX a few hours ago. It was amazing overall, and besides that 6-hour long grinding slump, a memorable journey all the way through. Amazing, wonderful, beautiful game. Also finished watching a Drankengard LP (skipped battle scenes). Hated it until the end. Then that ending happened and I laughed about it for the next two hours. Fucking amazing.

Yes. I'm pretty much a loner anyway. And the few friends I made are also going there when they graduate. But im pretty much just going there to attend idol concerts and do other idol related things. I'm sure I can befriend that crowd, the "idol fans" easily. Plus my kind of video games will be everywhere which is always a plus. I can deal with everything else, ridiculous work hours etc. Im just going there to enjoy my hobby. The hobby that I found due to my childhood obsession with japan which has now faded.

Happy birthday @jeftai and @Thomas! (Not exactly sure if it's your birthday yet at where you're living, but meh.) Hope you guys have an enjoyable day.

That's no great surprise, considering this was literally a popularity contest. People have most recently read the stuff focusing on the new characters, so right now they'll (generally) be more popular than the original cast, who starred in a game released in 2009.

Margit got 1st?! Excuse me while I go yell things that I can't remember if they are against the rules here or not. I'm that happy.

I've been asked in the past many times, 'How can you replay VNs?' and 'Isn't that boring?'. In fact, I get asked that a lot with my 'Random VNs' posts. I thought I'd answer this question... Replaying VNs is a matter of passion. To be blunt, if it is in a genre I don't like or hits my pet peeves too hard, I can't bring myself to replay it. The fact is, VN experiences don't change through multiple playthroughs, and in this way they are much closer to a book than to the interactivity of many games. Something I should make clear is that I am a story-lover above all other things. I don't just mean that I love games, anime, and VNs for their stories... I mean that I'll do practically anything to experience a good, well-presented story. Hell, I learned Japanese for that reason. This is actually the reason why I have so much trouble with pure romance, mystery, and charage. These three types of stories follow some of the most 'confined' story patterns in existence, with a very limited selection of story elements, and as a result they are far easier to predict than many fantasy, sci-fi, or even conspiracy-drama stories... at least for me. This is particularly fatal for mysteries, since a lot of the attraction of the genre, at least to me (when I still liked them) was how much trouble figuring out 'whodunnit' or 'what is going on'. Now, I have become experienced enough that very little surprises me. Particularly, in the last five years or so, this trend has become marked in my own subjective point of view when it comes to VNs. The issue now is the subject matter... what do I enjoy enough to experience pleasure with on a second run? The genres I can take pleasure in on a second playthrough are limited... almost entirely to the sci-fi, fantasy, and conspiracy genres. Rare exceptions exist, but that is due to a sheer, overwhelming level of quality or due to a powerful emotional experience that doesn't fade quickly through multiple playthroughs (Uruwashi no is an example of this type). To be blunt, with most VNs, replaying them is impossible. There are no new angles to explore, the feels no longer touch me, and I honestly have no interest in re-experiencing slice of life scenes, lol. So, it comes down, as I said above, to taste. I can replay VNs i love multiple times. However, I will never be able to replay say... Subahibi or Aiyoku no Eustia.