Vokoca

The small tsu signifies a stop between the two kanas around it. In this case it's kakkoii. To give an example, そち would be transcribed as sochi, and そっち as socchi.

Correct. It's a dialect, normally it'd be かっこいいだから... unless I'm horribly wrong.

Why would you... write in a dialect? Don't scare me like that. Well, might as well give this a try, but my Japanese sucks, so... prepare yourselves. :x 私の一番好きなＶＮは…多分「うみねこのなく頃に」ですが、正直言ってわかりません。確かに「うみねこ」には大好きなＢＧＭがあります。物語もとても面白いですが、その原作はあまり好きではありません。なぜなら竜騎士07は下手な芸術家で、声のないＶＮはちょっとつまらないです。でもAlchemistのリメイクはその問題を修正したので、やっぱり「うみねこ」は私の一番好きなＶＮです。 ほかの大好きなＶＮは「クラナド」とか「Steins;Gate」とか…「沙耶の唄」もあります。私の趣味はあちこちです。

So I redid the last roulette in AXANAEL to get a different ending and... sudden yuri H-scene attack! ....y-yes, it was a much better ending. Also just got to the opening in AkaGoei, that took quite a while! I wonder how much the choices before the OP influence the routes... seems like a rather strange structure. That said, loving the VN so far. The monologue before the OP was quite ominous - the MC really reminds me of Yuuji a lot, even if he's essentially different on the outside. It's funny, because this should be the other way around, considering when both VNs were released... You're in for a hell of a ride. And for the best OST in any VN ever.

Well, just finished AXANAEL. Not sure if it was supposed to happen this way at first, but all the roulette's were a success, leading to a really ridiculous and over-the-top ending. I'd give it a 7/10 for what I've read so far - but a whole bunch of new options appeared, so who knows what's next? Damn Nitro+ and their pretentious difficult menus, I'll have to hit the radicals...

Definitely do, the romance is just a small aspect. I see Kara no Shoujo is on your list, but have you actually read it? It's pretty different (and much darker) than most of the VNs I've read, you might like it.

Read more of AkaGoei. I think all of the heroines were introduced by now, but still no OP... strange. Either way, I like Tsuki more and more with each scene she is in. After the suffering that was Isuzu in HoshiMemo, Tsuki nearly makes me explode with happiness, that's what a splendid kuudere she is compared to the HoshiMemo horrors. Such a funny character, gotta love her. You might want to pick a different VN then. It's definitely not the focus, but it is still there.

Thanks for the awesome replies! Vocabulary should be no problem with Mecab/JParser, the only thing that scares me a bit is the grammar. I still stumble on that at times in the more descriptive scenes... but hopefully by the time I get to the second one, I'll be better at it. You should be able to learn both the kanas in a month, or even faster if you keep at it - then you just need to learn some grammar if you don't know it already. After that, just read, read, read - you'll learn and gain the experience at the same time, it's better than lying in textbooks.

Oh, awesome! And even if it was a million times better, I wouldn't skip the first one either way. I even started reading it already, and I'm liking it a lot. How's the difficulty in the sequel? I heard it's much harder than the first, but in what way?

I've actually really liked the humour in Extra - all the crazy effects exaggerated it in a hilarious way, and I love that kind of overblown humour. Though sure, the story itself was boring. Just started Akatsuki no Goei today, seeing that the language is simple enough even for me to read without any serious problems. I'm just a few hours in, but I already love the dynamic between the main character and Reika. And that Tsuki maid... that's just too good. The MC is great too - just when I thought Grisaia had a MC like no other, I came across this. I'm already liking this VN a lot. I hear the second one is even better?

That was exactly my problem. I usually get used to the art, no matter how it looks (and Tsukihime's isn't even that horrendous, compared to others), but the music can be a problem. The OST is tiny, uninteresting, and the VN is completely silent most of the time on top of that. And to top it all off, they have pretty much no sound effects whatsoever... it's a shame, really. But hey, in 20 years or so, we will maybe get that remake..... 50 years?

Couldn't help it and read a tiny bit more of Senshinkan. Damn, Akira is pure cuteness. The ADV parts are much easier to read, though I still think I'm getting way over my head here... just 5 months of proper japanese study behind me, after all. I was thinking of reading Akatsuki no Goei instead-- how's that VN? Also, to the people who read I/O, is the ending really so bad?

I would recommend AXANAEL, there's absolutely minimal narration, most of the story is told through voiced dialogues.

I actually liked how long Grisaia was, since it was filled with amazing humour and likeable characters. Dragging VNs can get really boring, but that wasn't the case of Grisaia for me - there was no amazing plot getting teased throughout the common route, so I could focus on the jokes and characters and enjoy them, instead of wanting to get through it all as fast as possible for some better plot. And come on, Makina is awesome. The funniest character from the bunch! HowdareyouhavedifferentopinionsIdon'teven

While the routes go in very different directions, they also almost always rely on the same plot-device, which was my biggest gripe with the VN. And those production values... where's that remake, damn it?

Well, similar in mood... maybe you could try Muv Luv? It's sci-fi instead of fantasy, and the first VN isn't really what you are looking for, but it gets much better later on. Or Kara no Shoujo, that has a very different feel from all the other VNs as well. But yeah, nothing similar to F/sn other than the fact that you 'avoid hanging around cute girls throughout the whole story'. The more similar things were already mentioned; Tsukihime is probably as close as you're going to get. This is pretty off-topic, but since there's a thread like this, I will just ask here - I was also looking for a similar VN, but not similar in setting, but in the number of choices. Clannad would be one other example - well, even better, actually - are there any VNs with high amount of choices and a lot of (preferably early) branching routes? Translated ones if possible, currently buried under japanese ones. Genre doesn't matter.

I always read the visual novel first, if I can, since it has more content. And only if I really liked it, I watch the anime adaptation some time later. It's different with manga though, for example. I usually watch the anime first, since it has much more content than the manga itself (excluding the story, of course). That's the thing I like about visual novels - while you read it first, you not only get more plot, but also the sounds and visuals.

Just finished Mare's route as well. It was pointless as I thought, and the h-scene was just... ugh, but at least the rest was really cute, and the ending was sweet. Overall, while the story was kind of lacking, the presentation, art and soundtrack were very nice. So, as I thought, 8/10 for Hoshizora no Memoria for me. I've been reading some more AXANAEL in the meantime. My favourite character died, and seeing how the story is built, I'm really starting to doubt the roulette parts are random. Well, I still hope they are, I will have to try once I reach the end, whatever it might be. Currently, the story went completely bonkers. If you disliked the second half of Chaos;Head, stay as far away from this VN as possible, because it's going even beyond the ridiculous territory. Really not sure what to think of the VN at this point, it'll all depend on whre it goes next, and if the roulette even has any variables or not.

Well, I will make this simple, her: (not actually a spoiler, just a relatively big picture) Protagonist, antagonist, heroine, side character... with so many personalities, who knows which one she actually is?I won't spoil anything, but you can never know with schizophrenic people. One moment they're nice, and the next... The VN is Disorder6.

Finally got back to Hoshizora and finished Yume's route. At the end, I thought that it was actually good, but then Anyway, I see the VN still isn't over... is Mare's route even worth reading? I honestly can't see anything they could add to the story without it feeling useless and stupid. But it's not like I hated the VN, still an 8/10 for me, though it's leaning close to 7. Depends on Mare's route I guess.

I thought Grisaia had pretty good h-scenes, I didn't even skip them--- but yes, there are some purposefully hilarious ones.

Yeah, I also found it funny how the h-scenes that should've been the most messed up ones from everything I've read were actually the most tolerable from the bunch. Well, the most tolerable I've seen so far was probably in AXANAEL, where they ditch the awkward narration entirely and get things done quick, no awful prolonging and repetition... man those Cross Channel h-scenes still give me nightmares, and I even skipped most of them. As for what to read next, I would also lean towards Clannad. A great starting point for KEY VNs, and it is one of my all time favourite VN if just for the ridiculous amount of content. I haven't played anything with so many routes in it, it really gives you quite a bit of freedom. I recommend trying without a walkthrough at least a few times to see where you end up.

What are you saying, Saya is a touching romance story. I'mnotevenjoking.

I really didn't want to do hers either since it had that pseudo-incest feel and lolis aren't exactly my thing, but I was very pleasantly surprised - it actually ended up being my favourite route, right next to Amane's. So I think you'll like it too, if only from the story standpoint.

Played some more of AXANAEL yesterday. I really should be finishing up Yume's route in Hoshizora instead, but those Russian Roulete sequences with the kagome song in the background are just so damn epic.