Clephas

The Beginning after the End- I had hopes for the Beginning after the End, and there were definitely some good parts. However, there was one simple annoyance that ruined everything... all the action scenes are crap. Considering that there was so much potential for good action, the style used in this anime was... cheap. Kanpekiseijo- My favorite series of the season. It begins like a typical otomege or female protagonist web novel, with the protagonist being mistreated and exiled, only to end up in a warm environment where she finds happiness... well that is the end, anyway. To be honest, this was just an adorable anime, with a lot of good feels. Shirohiyo- This is a high quality iyashikei isekai, focusing on a chubby little cheat protagonist (in mundane ways) and his adorable little brother as he tries to build an environment where his little brother can find happiness. A cute series, overall. Kanchigai Atelier Meister- Basically a comedy fantasy of the kanchigai variety (protagonist has no idea of his own abilities but is overpowered). It is good for laughs throughout the story, though the end result of every arc is pretty much the same. Teogonia- The comparison to Utawarerumono above is not entirely wrong. The atmosphere is fairly similar, but the concept is drastically different. A reincarnator protagonist (his reborn personality is completely dominant with occasional flickers of knowledge and memory) lives as a low-ranking foot soldier in a primitive society on the border of his homeland. There, he has to fight with other races to survive, along with his fellow militia. The fantasy world itself is interesting and the story is pretty brutal. However, the protagonist is not overpowered (though he kinda seems like it at the end). Akutoku Ryoushu- Basically my junkfood isekai of the season. I loved this mostly for Amagi and the protagonist's relationship, as well as the occasional sci-fi action scenes. I dropped the book series early on because I found it unreadable, but the anime was pretty good, at least for me. Kijin Gentoushou- Protagonist has his life ruined by his oni half-sister but can't quite bring himself to truly despise her, despite seeking revenge for his childhood friend's murder. He hunts other oni from the late Edo period until modern day, struggling with his own inhumanity and emotions as he tries to come to terms with what he is. Yami Healer- More fantasy junkfood. Overpowered protagonist smashes the villains' plans practically without even realizing it. Generally fun to watch, yet it was a meh read... strange. Koroshiya and Ninja- Comedy series following a clumsy ninja who can only turn objects into leaves and a ruthless hitman girl as they go about their daily lives. Generally amusing.

Dungeon crawler vn hybrids were pretty common for a while, with Bunny Black coming to mind as a localized one while Ninetail specialized in the genre, producing the Gears of Dragoon series. As the author mentions, the genre inevitably struggles to tell and sell a story. This is because the gameplay is inevitably grindy (even compared to ancient jrpgs) and repetitive. This is especially the case with games where dungeon layouts are randomized and the plot is primarily enjoyed outside the main gameplay. To an extent, the souls-like games that were made popular by Demon Souls took things in a different direction, actually doubling-down on the gameplay focus while settling most of the story in the form of dungeon-found easter eggs and cryptic statements by the very occasional npcs. On the flip side is the Persona series, which indulges in heavy storytelling while also being a dungeon crawler series (especially 3 onwards). It's parent series, Shin Megami Tensei, is even more focused on dungeon-crawling aspects with the story more minimalized (though V proved the exception). Generally, one needs to keep in mind that dungeon crawlers are an umbrella genre that branched off from traditional rpgs, going in their own direction. The expectation of expansive stories comes in great part from this origin, as many of the people hooked on more modern (post-2000) dungeon crawlers came from jrpg-addict origins and then went evangelistic about them to other gamers after.

Even if you liked Sorcery Jokers, if you liked it at least partially for its narrative, then this game will be trash to you. There is no narration in this game, meaning the entirety of the game is expressed through dialogue, sprites, sound, and CGs. While the quality of the CG and motion is better than previous games, it is not so much better as to justify getting rid of narration entirely (if anything, decent narration would have turned a mediocre game into an excellent one). The sound (whether bgm or sound effects) is about the same or slightly lower in quality than previous 3rdeye games. Dialogue is no better or worse than previous games, save that there is slightly more exposition and meaningful pauses than there would have been in most games. Visually, the sprites are approximately the same as Sorcery Jokers and Gensou no Idea. Now, this is something that wasn't touched upon in the review overhead... setting and presentation. The setting is so poorly presented as to be incomprehensible unless you spend a lot of time backtracking through the crappy notes/encyclopedia section, and presentation-wise, the lack of narration leaves you guessing at most of the story's key points and not in a good old-fashioned mindf**k way. The former is a sign of just how poor a choice cutting out narration is for this type of game, as most fantasy/drama (or chuunige as we call it) are highly dependent on narration to inform the reader about the setting, and an encyclopedia is a lazy writer's choice as a replacement (theoretically, encyclopedia functions should be used for clarification, not outright explaining everything). All in all, the game leaves behind a poor impression, barely worthy of being considered a visual novel, much less a good one.

As I've mentioned before, Raillore is trash. It is an experience empty of joy for fans of the genre and confusing due to poor UI design.

The NVL style is a style that is highly-specialized for text-heavy, plot-heavy games with extensive narration. On the opposite end is ADV-style, which is specialized for VNs with moderate to low-levels of narration and high levels of dialogue. The major reason NVL has mostly fallen to the wayside is that VNs that need its unique qualities simply aren't being made anymore. Companies like Light, Propeller, and Nitroplus have become less and less prolific over the last ten to twelve years, while companies like Navel and Will reached their peak between 2015 and 2018, when the JVN industry itself peaked and began its drastic decline. The NVL style never really caught on with EVN companies, so it is mostly a non-issue, with the ADV being what most people recognize as 'visual novel style'. For more particular UI aspects, I have a particular dislike for Purple Soft's translucent menu at the top of the screen that tended to go off at random times through accidental button presses, requiring me to back track manually using save games just so I wouldn't miss plot points. Most VNs have a menu with text and sound options, with gameplay ones often having control and hot button options as well. Most UI options are pretty standardized, whether in the west or the east, so you can play any VN without an instruction manual or much fumbling.

Yes. However, it needs to be said that the main conflict - the origin of the conflict - has already been resolved and most of it is the protagonist and his companions putting out fires while adding to his harem and bringing peace to Sengoku era Japan in the process. Edit: I should also note that this series/game does a lot better with the harem aspect than in Shin Koihime, where it was pretty all over the place. The sheer number of heroines beggars belief, but most of them leave a strong enough impression that you remember them afterward, which is better than Shin Koihime, lol.

Houjou is one of several continuations of the game that were tacked on later, adding more story, more characters, and more battles. I stopped after Houjou, but there were two more I think after that...

Excerpt from the prologue of the abortive smartphone game, Dies Irae: Pantheon. Kouha's intro The First Era: 1:29-3:32 Muzan's Rise (Avesta) 3:33-6:41 The Second Era 6:41-8:43 The Rise of the Morning Star, Neros Satanael (1000 years before to Paradise Lost) 8:44-14:36

Sometimes I want to say to the people who translate the titles... 'You do realize there was no need to translate the title, don't you? The translation wasn't even remotely correct and reads awful, so why did you do that?' I mean, for anime, Shingeki no Kyojin turns into 'Attack on Titan' when 'The Charge of the Titans' or 'The Blitz of the Titans' would have been a much better and more dramatic title. A lot of it is apparently the Japanese side doing the translation, and most Japanese have no idea of what good English sounds like...

Translated VN names are often catastrophes anyway... Bokuten's English title is one of the least abominable ones out there. I sometimes hear a game I played in the past is getting localized, but when I see the translated title, I go 'Uh... which game is that again?' lol

Sadly, in terms of games being made, the numbers started steadily decreasing back in 2019 and Covid pretty much killed the industry in Japan. As for VNs made between 2015-2020, there were a pretty good number of excellent releases. However, there is very little worthy of note made after 2020.

Don't worry, you aren't missing much even if Raillore gets cancelled. Trash is trash.

After you gain an understanding of the grammar, as well as both katakana and hiragana, your biggest obstacle is going to be kanji. Using a parser (programs that place potential readings in the form of furigana above kanji) can help accelerate your ability to read visual novels, but it isn't a 100% perfect solution, since parser programs often make odd choices for the furigana. If you just want to read slice-of-life VNs (moege, in other words), it might take you a relatively short amount of time to achieve your goal, as it is unlikely you will encounter any unusual kanji usages that would make a parser stumble. It's when you delve into the harder visual novels that you'll end up testing the limits of your understanding.

First, I need to explain the basic concept of the Shinzabansho series, for those unfamiliar with Dies Irae or Paradise Lost. The Shinzabansho universe began with the creation of the Shinza, the Divine Throne. The Divine Throne, when claimed by a Hadoushin/Conqueror God (formerly mortal) who possessed a Law, would then overwrite reality and impose the Law generated by that deity upon all of creation, on a universal level. In each of the stories, whether it is the web novel Avesta (soon to be a visual novel) or the three visual novels (Paradise Lost, Dies Irae, and Kajiri Kamui Kagura), the reader stands as a witness to the events that bring the end of one god's reign and the beginning of the next one. The next stage of my explanation is that of the various eras. There are spoilers for each of the series below, so I'll place it in the box. Before I do explain this, please understand that there are technically two canons in Shinzabansho, one where Marie's path in Dies Irae is the true ending, leading to the events of Kajiri Kamui Kagura and Pantheon, the other where Rea's path is the true path, where Marie was the final Shinzabansho deity. This explanation is based on the former canon, which is a heavily retconned canon created by Masada when he decided he wanted to make the abortive smartphone game Pantheon.

Since you said a harem ending isn't necessary and you want light and funny... Floral Flowlove - well, if you ignore the fact that is a nakige. Kin'iro Loveriche - Same as above Shin Koihime Musou (obviously) Yomegami (whenever it comes out, as it is JAST doing the localization) Osananajimi wa Daitouryou (My Girlfriend is President) Onigokko