Okarin

Natsu no Kusari is coming

Yeah, but this is the West we're talking about. Most people are years behind new releases. I sometimes buy a VN right at launch, but most often I've got my hands full with older titles. I'm one of the people who would like to give Subahibi a try. I don't think we can raise sales significantly, but we're there.

Even if LB did bad too, comparing Subahibi to it just isn't fair... LB has accompanying anime to it (though a little old by now) and Key is somewhat known. The thing is, I guess the majority of the public are VN veterans to some degree; those people would have already read LB, and newbies would probably recoil at a novel that lasts so long, or maybe it didn't appeal to them in the first place. Comparing Subahibi to DDLC is also unfair, because DDLC has spread like wildfire thanks to shock value (just take a look at Youtube, questionable things attract people's attention) and a phenomenon around that. Besides, DDLC is for free, it doesn't cost a substantial amount of money that some people will think, it could be better employed getting some other game. Also it doesn't matter anymore how good the novel is... with a growing offer of VNs, it becomes harder to focus on a single title. Maybe some people are planning to buy it in the future, but have decided to clear some other games before.

Coffee (bitter).

A man's trinket, another man's treasure I guess.

I don't, he might enjoy it and then there's no way back.

Not accurate, my last cat that passed away recently lasted 14 years, so 14*15 = over 200 years old, and that's just not possible (or was my cat an elven cat?). About the main quandary of the post, I guess that's what happens when you let go and become a nekopariah. Serves you right. Now there's no return from fapping to underaged catgirls. You crossed Full Metal Alchemist's Door of Truth. You performed human transmutation, the ultimate sin.

Man, there's more people who know about O3 (Ori, Ochi, Onoe)? I never finished it, but it was one of my first VNs, yes, I actually started with some EVNs. It was interesting because, although loosely set in Japan (but fictional city, of course), it was Western through and through, and thus untouched by typical Japanese clichés. I'd say it was more interesting by the themes (there's some obsession, and mental disorders applied to relationships) than by the romance itself.

If pure romance truly belongs in VNs, I guess it hides somewhere in the valley of otome and yuri VNs. The other piece of advise I can give is, pursue your fantasies. It will be more fun that way. Create the kind of characters, love interests, and relationships that you would like to have ideally. That's how Twilight was born, I guess you can do better than that.

If you want to see what a militarised society means, take a look at Evangelion. Permanent crisis state. They nailed it better than just anyone in Japanese media. Far better than Key's Rewrite (Guardian and whatnot), for example.

In fact, I believe that the professional works I've read leave honorifics aside, while some fantranslators keep them, but it's hard to keep track of it so I might be wrong...

I don't know about "lazy", but "weeb" is a pretty accurate term, even if it's derogatory. That's why I used it. This kind of people are the ones who don't study nor know Japanese, but want to keep the Japanese mannerisms. I'm sure you know how the story goes, you can easily find discussions about this matter. I'd add that they are also, amusingly, not native English speakers. But then I'm not either, and I can fully understand the "localisation consists of adapting to target audience" thing. Not that my opinion matters more, but perhaps, it's more well-thought than "keep honorifics plz". And also, it's the opinion of a lot more people.

Why so serious. When talking about Spanish culture and conditions in English (and you can replace Spain with any country, except it's mine), you don't really mix in Spanish words with English ones. And I warrant you that Spain has some things that are very different from English-speaking countries. Why should we do the same with Japanese? In the end, the problem can be circumvented, but like Kiri says, it implies not being lazy, really. Things that change between countries are things like the food and so on, and they can mostly be adapted, not to be things they aren't (like rice ball -> hamburger), but to make some sense. After all, side notes about translation are very common, for example, explaining things like name-based jokes, or holidays.

KIRI WINS FATALITY

If you have to be familiar with Japanese, or even know Japanese to enjoy VNs... why translate them in the first place? That'd be a utopia truly. In the end all you want is to feel superior because you know Japanese and most people don't... or maybe you just know a bunch of Japanese terms.

I guess than when you've played 40+ novels and watched dozens of anime you know enough of what happens in Japan. But we're not segregating by weeb experience, and things should be palatable to Western readers, no matter how much experience they have in Japanese culture. "Onigiri" is pretty easily recognisable, but "rice ball" doesn't really hurt anyone either. And the honorific play is more extreme than that. It can be discarded or transformed without much being lost. I'm not really saying they should pretend Mt. Fuji is located in Maryland, like they did in the 90s here.

Mr., Mrs., Ms., and if you like, Sir, are the only honorifics in English that I know of. And obviously they're used in a different way than in Japanese. In Japanese, speaking politely is a core need for people. In English, it's way more loose. Also Japanese can be, and in anime and VNs it sometimes is, very rude and even aggravating.

As simple as calling the onigiri a "rice ball". But full-fledged weebs love their untranslated Japanese terms (even if they can't speak Japanese). You can't pretend that Japan is America (or Spain). But the script should be at the very least understandable by the people you're doing it for. I don't tend to mix Spanish words into my English speech, because that's bad English.

I don't recall having (Japanese) honorifics in English. With names of food or distinctly Japanese objects, I'm okay with leaving them in Japanese, though surely they can be adapted to English somehow. That's what it means providing a true translation- not only transliterating, but adapting the text to the audience.

I'd suggest watching the Kanon 2006 anime. It's fantastic. As for Air, I haven't watched the anime, so I can't say. However, I'm playing the VN so I guess it might be doable. Air is slightly more modern than Kanon, and it shows.

In my opinion, Angel Beats already hinted at decline. Charlotte is full decline. It's plain obvious that Key can't keep doing the same formula forever, precisely because it has been dethroned from it by other companies. Thus, they try different things; but they have alienated me (I've read the Rewrite VN and I find it a chore and a meh experience), and like me, possibly quite a lot of people. In my opinion, they're not doing it right. Harmonia was, at least, decent, but small effort. Like Kiri says, let's hope Summer Pockets saves VNs.

I'd say that a part of Clannad's success on Steam has been that it's HD and revamped, not the "classic" (read: dated) version from the mid-2000s. I'm reading original Air now and it shows. However, with Little Busters the improvement is little, the main thing it has going for it are the extra routes. Also... watching rubbish like Fault sell 100K really makes me cringe.

I'm not familiar with the Chu-Chu games, but Chaos;Head had its own, too. I guess they're a way of presenting the same characters in more relaxed situations. I. e., only for hardcore fans

Sorry, slip of the finger.

Clannad is not that depressing most of the time, I mean, it has a lot of drama for every character, but also tons of slice of life. I feel that Kanon, that was the VN that started the former Key trend, is way more tear-inducing. I really only cried with Ushio. Also remember that nakige always ends on a positive note, so the negativity is undone.