Leaderboard

Christ I've always been bad at these. Anyways, hey y'all! I'm Matangi. I've liked visual novels for a while now and I've been hitched to write some content for the good folks here at Fuwanovel, mainly reviews. I'm also hoping to hop on board some translation projects as well as I'd like to hone my skills as an editor. I think that's it for now. See you around!

Have you ever wondered what a character's hair style tells you about their identity? I did a little stats analysis using vndb to find out: https://bunnyadvocate.tumblr.com/post/161292880097/hair-tropes-in-japanese-media There's nothing too surprising in here, but I thought it was fun to examine~

Dies irae, long-held to be the holy grail of chuuni VNs, is finally upon us! Often praised for its complex and wordy prose, its philosophical themes, its extensive and gloriously nerdy fight sequences, and the manner in which it deconstructs the chuuni action genre, it's a grand battle opera that has become a seminal work in Japan, and we finally have the chance to experience it for ourselves! Whether we're blown away or we're completely let down by the hype, it will be an interesting experience either way. It's currently only available on Steam. If you were a kickstarter backer, go to your Backerkit dashboard, the codes should be there. First things first, the recommended route order: Kasumi -> Kei -> Marie -> Rea. The game's two parts represent the order in which the routes were initially released, but that is NOT the order in which you should read the VNs. The route order is unlocked, yet can ruin the experience if you go out of order. Stick to the recommended route order if you want to have the best experience, no matter who your favored waifu is. Furthermore, there are specific choices you have to make in the Rea route if you want the best, most complete ending in the game. Follow this walkthrough, composed by one of the game's translators, if you want an easier time with that. The second issue: Bueehhh!? Two parts? DLC?? Freemium!?!? Ever since the prefundia launched last year, light has said that there would be two parts. Dies irae is an absolutely huge work, and would typically necessitate a $50+ price tag, yet Steam is a platform that is extremely unfriendly towards high-priced VNs. The split game setup was conceived as a way to combat the hostile environment for high-priced VNs on Steam. And just yesterday, light revealed that they will be offering the common route for free. So, it will be free common route + Act I and Act II purchasable separately, all in one storefront. Third issue: All-ages? Waitaminute! This was an adult game! Dies irae has a long and complex history of releases. To be frank, the initial release of the game was a mess that not many people actually liked very much. They then released a free patch that rewrote large parts of the scenario and added a good chunk of content, but it still wasn't enough. The second release of the game, Acta Est Fabula, added two new routes that further explored the universe of Dies irae and provided a new final route that was far more satisfying than the last, making it actually feel like a complete story. And then, a few years later, the all-ages-only Amantes amantes was released. It didn't add any new routes, but it did add a boatload of content to the existing routes, including an expanded final ending that is considered a must-read, as well as all-ages h-scene replacements that people have said do a better job with character bonding and development. Amantes amantes has ever since been considered the definitive version of the game by its fanbase, and is the version that was Kickstarted. However, light recognizes the weeaboo's love for porn, and is going to offer an 18+ patch that will add those h-scenes back in (and remove the replacement scenes). Unfortunately, this patch will take a little while to come out—it's currently scheduled for late July. Be aware of this if you insist on playing the 18+ version of the game. It's happening, just not right away. Also be aware that the version of the game on Steam now has long been considered THE version of the game to play. Misc issues: The menus for some are in Japanese unless you use Japanese system locale! If you're experiencing Japanese menus, switch your system locale. This is not a consistent issue, and the team is aware of it and looking for a fix. (fixed) So let us see what all the hype is (or isn't) about! Use this thread to share your experiences. Remember to use spoiler tags and to properly label them for anything spoilery.

Hi everyone . Well, one thing is for certain--we're all going to die someday. As some of you know, my dad passed away around six months ago, so this topic has been on my mind. I wonder how regularly people think about it, because I often do, and I find it heaps scary. See, I'm someone who tends to get stuck in the past. Let's say I often take walks around a certain city block. It's so sad to think someday, I'll never be able to do that again, and the world will continue to spin anyway. When my dad died, the world had changed forever from my perspective, yet when I walked to the shops next door, I looked around and realized oh, no one cares. If we're talking about the universe, I guess our entire race is hardly worth a footnote. Then there's the thing about what happens when you die. Do you become a ghost, is there a next life, or do you cease to exist? The last option is scary. It sounds kind of silly, but even the simple things I enjoy like gaming will be gone. Let's say Persona 17 comes out, but I won't even exist anymore to play it. That's sad. There's this Face App on mobile devices that lets you see how you'll look when you get old. I hung out with some friends the other night, and we messed around with that app a bit. The gender swap function is funny, but there's something sad about the aging one. It's a shock when the change is sudden, but when it's gradual like in real life, maybe it's okay. I'm in my 30s now, and if I look at photos of me in my teens, I'm sure I look different, even if I can't tell just from memory. The other week, I found some old photos of my dad in the garage, and I thought wow, I guess we were all young once. Hopefully when I'm old and dying, I'll be able to smile rather than complain all day about regrets. I've heard when your time is near, your brain will release whatever chemicals are needed to ease you through the process. Not smart enough to know the details, but it's a comforting thought. Then again, I've also heard we may be able to upload our consciousness onto machines in the future, so see you in cyberspace . Thank you !

Surprise! Dies irae is delayed! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1986219362/dies-irae-english-localization-project-commences/posts/1899216?ref=backer_project_update The folks on the Dies irae team maintained that there would be a May 31st release all the way until just a few minutes ago, when they announced a sudden last-minute delay to some time "this week." Reading Steiner is on twitter making it sound like this will be a super short delay. We all know how light operates by this point, though. So place your bets! Will light actually make their revised release estimate? Will Dies irae actually release this week? Or will light find a way to fuck up spectacularly? Will it even come out this year?? Who knows! Crazier things have happened. Isn't this exciting? It's probably better than playing the game itself! Thanks, light!

Not that it needs confirmation, but can confirm non-stop Kansai-ben with the TH2 twins route. Also, they're pretty cute, and come on: twins.

My suggestion would be Saiunkoku Monogatari. It is a series with two thirty-nine episode seasons based in a world that resembles old China, in social and governmental structure. The protagonist is a girl from a poor noble family who gets taken into the Imperial harem as the Emperor's consort and ends up with the job of getting him out of his funk (a job with few benefits and a lot of trouble... though she is the only member of the harem). The way she goes from what is essentially a self-educated, down-to-earth girl used to living poor to ever greater and more interesting things is fun to watch. It is one of those hidden gems from a decade ago, lol.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/644540/Dies_irae_Amantes_amentes/ Guess who was one of two people who voted June 2nd.

*This post contains no spoilers! Before starting this post, I suppose that I should give a brief introduction and summary for Subarashiki Hibi ~Furenzoku Sonzai (Our Wonderful Everyday ~Discontinuous Existence). However, Asceai in his review of the VN probably gave the best and most condensed summary for this fairly complicated story. So I will borrow his words: “Subarashiki Hibi is a story told in six chapters. The chapters are of varying lengths and structure, but for the most part, they cover the month of July 2012 from a number of different perspectives. The story begins in chapter #1, 'Down the Rabbit-Hole" on July 12, 2012. The protagonist; Minakami Yuki; lives a peaceful everyday life with Tsukasa and Kagami; her childhood friends; when one day she meets a mysterious girl, Takashima Zakuro (a girl in another class in Yuki's school, who seems to have met Yuki before but Yuki does not remember this). The next day, she learns that Takashima Zakuro has killed herself. Rumors in school are abuzz about predictions of the end of the world in 2012 - one of which is a Web site called the "Web Bot Project", a network of crawlers designed to harness the 'collective unconsciousness' to make predictions. A boy in Yuki's class named Mamiya Takuji stands up and makes an apocalyptic prediction, stating that the world will end on the 20th, and that Zakuro's death was the first sign. He speaks of an event he dubs "the Last Sky", where the world will be destroyed and reborn. The clock is ticking and more people die as the prophesied date draws closer and closer while Yuki attempts to get to the bottom of the identity of Mamiya Takuji, the Web Bot Project and the Last Sky.” Although this is a highly accurate plot summary of Suba Hibi that avoids spoilers, what a prospective reader of Suba Hibi should also know, is that the story is divided into two parts. The two parts are fundamentally interlinked, but are also kept separate. And it is this aspect of the visual novel that really defines it as a masterpiece. There is the part of the work that is a story, and then there is the part that is a philosophical work. Both parts are handled excellently well, and mix together in a fascinating and integral way. Simply, these chapters: Down the Rabbit Hole 2, It's My Own Invention, Looking-Glass Insects, Jabberwocky, Which Dreamed it, Jabberwocky 2, and the first two epilogues are a complete story. The VN very well could have been just these parts, and it would have been a damn good work of art. And yet, the visual novel is not just these parts. Down the Rabbit Hole 1, End Sky 2, and all the scenes with Ayana throughout all the chapters are included as well. And by virtue of just being there, it forces the reader to question why? These parts add nothing to the actual narrative of the story, and yet it is these parts that mark the very start and the very end of the story. With a mysterious girl named Ayana showing up periodically throughout the story to remind us not to get too caught up in the events of the story. That while the narrative part of the story is fascinating, and very easy to get lost in. There is a whole deeper layer to everything going on that we will only get a clue of at the very end. Down the Rabbit-Hole 1, which I will refer to as Chapter 0, gets a lot of flak for being considered a weak start to an otherwise excellent story. And although Down the Rabbit-Hole 1 does have a fair bit of fluff, it is an absolutely integral part of the story. As an introduction, Chapter 0 has the role of establishing what kind of mind set the reader should approach this story with. And it is for this reason that Chapter 0 is so important. Suba Hibi is a philosophical work above all else. Upon finishing this story, you get the feeling that Sca-ji (the primary creator) wanted to write a philosophical thesis of his own, but then decided to create a whole visual novel instead. And I'm so glad he chose that route. By using fiction to express these concepts, and forcing the reader to see the story not as a story but as a world of its own, it gets us to see the relevance of said philosophies. The whole story is essentially there to create a conversation about various philosophical topics, with solipsism being one of the big ones. This is what Chapter 0 exists for, to get the reader to understand that the events we will see unfold as the actual story progresses is not meant to be just mere entertainment (and oh boy is it a thrill ride), but to keep in mind that there is even deeper subtext to everything going on. Takashima Zakuro, the girl whose suicide is the triggering point, or perhaps even the direct cause of all the events that follow, plays an entirely different role in Chapter 0. With the exclusion of this chapter, she is a normal character and even the primary protagonist of the Looking Glass-Insect chapter. But in Chapter 0, she has the role of being a character that knows what is going on. A role that she shares only with Otonashi Ayana (except that Ayana retains that role throughout the entire duration of the story, not just in Chapter 0 as is Zakuro's case). When reading Chapter 0, we are told and even see some interesting and cryptic things, but have no way of piecing those things together. Thereby giving you enough information to be curious about the under workings of everything that is going on, but with no means of figuring that out yourself without continuing into the proverbial “Rabbit Hole”. It is for that reason that Suba Hibi is first and foremost a philosophical work, because above all else our purpose is to try to figure out what is going on. And once the story really gets rolling in Down the Rabbit-Hole 2, we experience the main events from a myriad of unreliable perspectives. Meaning that trying to figure out what is going on is less like a puzzle as would be in a typical mystery, but more about determining what makes the most sense from the scrambled information we get. In fact, without giving any major spoilers, it is made quite clear at the very end of the story that interpreting the story is the only solution we have, meaning that everything isn't laid out clearly by the end. Which once again, adds significance to Chapter 0. Upon finishing Suba Hibi (meaning reading End Sky 2), you will want to reread Chapter 0 since now we as readers will no longer be in Minakami Yuki's shoes as we were the first time. Throughout the whole first reading of the story, Chapter 0 was nothing but a source of questions. Upon the second time, it is our source for answers. We have the necessary knowledge to be sharing the table with Takashima Zakuro and Ayana, since this time around, like them we will also know what is going on. When Zakuro and Ayana spoke to Yuki in our first reading, it felt like the two characters with any sort knowledge of what was really going on were keeping us in the dark. They would give subtle clues, but those clues were useless at that time. In the second reading of chapter 0, as readers we are equals in knowledge to Ayana and Zakuro and can finally make use of those clues. And the VN understands this. In fact, Ayana first introduces herself in Chapter 0 by saying “It's been a while”, addressing herself not to Yuki, but to the audience. The true meaning of this remark is very apparent to a second time reader, and instantly reminds you of the conversation you had with Ayana in End Sky 2.Although in a first reading, you probably will easily disregarded this, thinking that Ayana and Yuki briefly met before, and that Yuki simply doesn't remember. And it is here where the role that Ayana and Zakuro play differ in Chapter 0. (Here is an upload of that entire first encounter with Ayana in Down the Rabbit Hole 1, English subtitles are available) When Zakuro speaks, she is speaking to Yuki the character, not us the audience. Ayana however, really speaks directly to us, the audience (in all the chapters of this story), and that “it's been a while” (久しぶり) is essentially proof of that. As you progress in the story and work through the other chapters, Takashima's role is quite different from Chapter 0's, and she is much more ignorant compared to her chapter 0 self. Ayana however, no matter what chapter you read (and therefore which character's perspective you are seeing), is the exact same. In a story so filled with inconsistency, she is always the one consistent factor. Which goes back to my first point, just as Chapter 0 and End Sky2 are separate from the main story, so is Otonashi Ayana. Suba Hibi is not a simple story, and it is not meant to be only enjoyed for its emotional highs and lows; it's strange beginning makes that clear. Furthermore, during the process of reading, in case you ever forget that, Ayana is always there to remind you of that fact. Especially with the appearances she makes near the climax of the story in various chapters. But perhaps what I love most is the use of perspective. Returning to a previous point, in your first reading of Chapter 0 you will naturally orient your own perspective with Yuki's since all the information we receive in that chapter is from her. In fact, the whole story is told from the first person perspective of various unreliable narrators. And in every chapter we will identify our understanding of things from that character's point of view. But by the second reading of the story, because we have a complete picture of everything, there is a dichotomy between the reader, and the protagonist's narration. An artificial feeling that we are in a third perspective emerges. Because at this point we can balance what the protagonist perceives, with an objective understanding. Which causes us to identify with out own (third person) perspective of the story, rather than submitting to the protagonist's point of view. The more the reader develops their own personal perspective of things, the more they can relate to Ayana. The one character whose role is simply to be an objective observer. In a first reading, conversations with Ayana seem like she is teasing the reader for how little they actually know of what is going on. But this is because in a first reading, we identify with whichever protagonist's perspective we are seeing. Ayana is teasing us the reader by teasing the character she is talking to. The more we identify with the character's point of view, the more annoying and weird Ayana seems. But the more we identify with our own perspective (meaning by having read everything already), the more Ayana feels like an equal talking to us. Since just like the reader, she is the only other objective perspective on everything. In fact, this brings us back to the fact that unlike a book, where a first person narrative is without dispute a first person narrative. This is a visual novel, with choices. Even with all the information presented to us is in first person, it is by nature of its medium a third person experience since we dictate the story at certain key points. And Ayana is there to remind us that we like her, are experiencing things from an objective point of view.

Hi! I'm searching for tools to translate Eden* to Brazilian Portuguese. Or can anyone tell me what engine Eden* uses? I'm new here, so... Sorry if i made something wrong. :3

2) Sorta...but you can lean on the Yes side 3) Not really but probably, same as 2) 4) If i remember correctly yes 14) Uhhhh....yes? 15) ...yes Damn I had to have answered the ones that are all questionable. But let me tell you about them. 2) Harem sorta but the MC clearly "picks" one in the end. 3) Tons of ecchi but not much harem, clearly the MC picks one 14) Great series imho, clearly the MC picks one, no harem, good series. Read the manga and watch the anime as both are VASTLY different...manga is darker, anime is far more happy go lucky. 15) Awesome series just read it.

1) Yes 8} Yes 16)Yes

That is the entire game.

By the way, in case someone doesn't follow him on Twitter, @garejei posted an English walkthrough on his blog.

Yes, change the locale to JP and the game should show proper english menus. (haven't tested it yet, though)

Looking for some VNs that has heroines with kansai-ben dialects. I looked around on VNDB, and it seems to be a tag on the site, but the results are rather overwhelming, with tons of random side characters and stuff listed. I'm not the best at sorting through tags and stuff on VNDB, so figured I'd ask here for some recommendations. I'm specifically looking for games with a heroine/ heroines that has a proper route in the game, so not just random side characters. (Characters that just kinda switches to the accent every now and then, like Amane from Grisaia, doesn't count. It has to be there constantly, or at least very often.)

That's some interesting research there, and I'd found many interesting thing there. By the way, I think 'pubic hair' thing was quite rare so it might be no need to analyze it imo (Also the fact that it's mostly appear in nukige).

There have been best VN guy and best VN girl contests on /r/visualnovels. I've surprised there hasn't been just a general best visual Novel contest. I want to include as many major VN communities as I can with voting so I wanted to make sure to run it by this forum. I won't spam the forum with topics/posts with this contest I promise. I'm mostly gonna follow the format done with previous bracket contests. Some ground rules: * If an entrant has a vndb page (v+number URL), it is considered eligible for this contest * In the nomination form, please put the v+the number from the vndb link of the VN you want to nominate (e.g. "v5" nominates Little Busters) * With that said we once nomination voting starts we're actually going to merge most series together into one entrant each. So stuff like Muv-Luv+Muv-Luv Alternative are together, Umineko+Chiru will be together, Ace Attorney will be together, DanganRonpa will be together, MajiKoi original+S+A, Fate/Stay+Hollow, all parts of Baldr Sky etc. Nominate all parts you think are worthy enough to be included in the series and we'll fit em in. * General exceptions are where series may have similar names or in the same universe but have wildly different characters/stories. For example the Infinity series (Never7, Ever17, Remember11) would all be separate, Chaos; series + Steins; series + Robotics; series would all be separate, Grisaia trilogy and Phantom Trigger are separate, etc. * If you think any particular series should be merged together or kept separate, please leave a comment in this topic. * Don't worry about nominating untranslated VNs or otomes or BL or nukiges or heavy gameplay VNs that are usually seen as JRPGs/Fighting Games. All of those are allowed as they are on vndb! * Even if a single visual novel has had multiple releases/expansions we'll be nominating based on its VN page not any release page (so all Go Go Nippon and Clannad releases would each be nominated as v7316 and v4 respectively). * Feel free to submit a vote form multiple times to nominate more than 15 visual novels. I just used 15 as an arbitrary number so the form doesn't get too big. All currently nominated visual novels will be kept track in a Google Document here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1G3Rt5Rr1Zj9dhjoxb2wVUisqiuplnqP8ZX5zvtKwee4/edit To nominate visual novels for the best Visual Novel contest, click Here https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdzKWQoSGBN1r9eWQvzjmeE_ObLGujEqdYELGnz_YttJPflSA/viewform?usp=sf_link The next round of nomination voting will be... sometime in a few days or so.

Wow, it's actually out now. Though when you activate the keys it says "beta-testing". Don't know if it changes anything. edit: The tweets saying that it's out just got deleted? Nevertheless, there are still keys on the backerkit.

 Moribito - Guardian of the Spirit. Fantasy, great characters, strong female heroine, lots of intrigue, zero ecchi, non harem.

Tsubame yes, Hikaru no - Clover Day's is still in translation (I haven't finished yet). The Twins in To Heart 2 - Still in quality check (I haven't finished yet). https://vndb.org/v20 Midou Kotone in Osananajimi to Ama~ku Ecchi ni Sugosu Houhou (untranslated) https://vndb.org/v456

Ahoge (that one lock of hair that permanently stands up) It generally means that the character is airheaded, naive, excessively straightforward, or outright stupid (or some combination of the three). Exceptions exist, but for the most part, the idea applies.

Some call me Nostradamus

I love how we've all given up on stressing the fact that the article is satire

Oh okay, I guess I'll just start with Amantes then. Thanks for all the info mate . To anyone that's read Dies Irae already, do drop some knowledge about the differences and importance of scenes from the two versions if you know of them. Please and thank you! Ps: without spoilers of course!

what version of BGI is it? V1 or V2?

@Fiddle Hahaha, I'm glad you found a useful use for the information, may it keep you safe in your VN journeys~

So if I see a character with hair that is pink, very long, styled in an "intake" fashion, parted to one side, and without bangs, I will assume he is a murderer. I appreciate this information.

Because it's enormous game and cost would be enormous. Like 60$, which looks terryfying, from marketing standpoint. But two parts, 29.99$ each, looks nice and pleasant.

this goddamn-ish mentality of yours is exactly what´s keeping companies such as mikandi jp to appear on stage, ultimately fucking up people´s hopes and expectations. you seriously don´t want to get it, do you? like if this (libra etc) was an unofficial translation of sorts, like if some retards suddenly decided on doing stuff they had no single clue about, like them stubbornly ignoring all goodwill-ish feedback in the process of creating an abomination you could either read(?), or refuse doing so, because well, it´d be an unoffical one, so fuck it. but in the case of libra it´s fundamentically different - licensing costs & whatnot probably at a minimum due to them being all lovey-dovey with xero - still got an impressive sum of little over 180k out of the kickstarter campaign of theirs - having put quite some reccources into propaganda and avertisement - unless all funds were spend on drinking finest shochu and whoring around with schoolgirls, there should´ve definitely been enough left for hiring themselves some competent staff - & lastly let´s please not forget one of the claims they did make: "XERO has partnered with MiKandi Japan to complete this giant task. Together we are working with the original writers, and programmers to deliver a superbly translated game" so yo, from a customers point of view this sure is sth to feel angry about, even more so if he/she happened to back the aforementioned campaign, which as things stand now was build on lies and utterly false assurances. not even remotely wanting to mention the bad turn they´ve done to each and every smaller-ish publisher who´s trying to somehow get by when doing kickstarters. edit: and just to be clear, this has so fuckingly nothing to do with being able to read moonrunes or not, because if you´re calling yourself a professional, yet keep on delivering one hell of a garbled mess, getting condemned should be expected. simple as that.

Looking for something with really good comedy, we all need to laugh sometimes. Sub only. https://myanimelist.net/animelist/Skrewball717 @ittaku Would suggest trying Black Lagoon or Bakuman depending if u want action or romance/sol...even tho this isn't my thread