[Pillagers of Raillore - 7.3/10 - A Discount Sorcery Jokers]

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.

[Kinsenka, Moyu. -as the Night's, Celebration- Review]

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.  

[UI Design – An Anatomy Of Visual Novels]

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.  

[A Dog of Raillore Review]

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

[Event CGs – An Anatomy Of Visual Novels]

The Event CG is both a central part of the story and potentially the single most expensive part of any given visual novel (at least, that's the way it is reported).  A lot of visual novel makers include their number of Event CGs in their advertising, and often the final Event CG for a route becomes the defining memory for the reader.  The CG above, from Tokyo Babel, is one of a number of defining moments, where hints of the reality that lies behind the facade, become evident, even as the characters battle to fulfill their desires.  

Spoiler

Samiel, who is initially presented as a potential final antagonist, is as much of a victim as anyone else in the dreary hellscape that is Tokyo Babel.  A pitiful doll put together from the scraps of the original's soul and memory to serve as opposition to the people trying to reach Jacob's ladder, just strong enough to be an obstacle while being weak and vulnerable enough to be crushed on the whims of those who use her.

Poor utilization of Event CGs can often result in the wrong scenes being emphasized or major plot twists being overlooked, because VN readers are trained to associate them with story progression.  On the flip side, effective use of an Event CG can give life to even a trite or mundane plot.  Despite the fact that I often made fun of 'charage' (the standard sol-focused VN that had a strong focus on character development but lacked overall cohesion), this was one aspect a lot of companies excelled in.  A single Event CG at exactly the right time could turn a mundane romance into a dramatic, emotional one that feels more real to the reader (and I'm not talking about H-scenes, though I'll get to those in a moment).  

Now, for the more controversial aspect of Event CGs... the H-scene CG.  To be blunt, in the vast majority of plot-focused visual novels, sexual content is neither necessary nor does it add anything, save that if there wasn't one, a lot of readers would think they were missing out.  However, for a lot of romance-focused visual novels, experienced VN-readers feel cheated if there isn't an H-scene, even if they don't necessarily want to watch/read it.  

Rarely, a visual novel makes the H-Scene a vital part of the story progression, and in these cases, it is easy to feel that it was a valid choice.  Devils Devel Concept's H-scenes (the majority of them, anyway) usually have a role in how the story comes to life, as the protagonist's near-emotionless persona tends to crack open the most in these scenes, and the author does an excellent job of portraying the way his way of thinking and that of the heroine don't quite match.  Similarly, Draculius's H-Scenes reveal a great deal about the characters and setting that would otherwise be missed by the reader.  The Event CGs, in these cases, have innumerous variations in expression that go along with the text to bring the characters, their emotions, and their desires to life in a way that can't quite be expressed without them.

 

[Anime of the Year 2025-I Winter - Übel Blatt]

Ubel Blatt- This series leaves me with a lot of mixed emotions.  On the one hand, this series is an excellent revenge story with a deep setting and characters... on the other hand, the presentation of the first four or five episodes is pretty shoddy.  I don't say this to be mean but rather to tell yall why I both love and feel ambivalent about the series as a whole.  There are some really good action scenes and tons of blood in this series, but fight choreography frequently stutters and the chain of events is not always properly pursued.  It is particularly bad when moving between arcs, where the beginning of the arc is just glazed over in a blasé fashion in most cases.  This is particularly marked in the first arc, where I frequently winced at the choices of the animators, even as certain scenes stood out on their own as pure gold.  The protagonist's deep and complex emotions make for great sob scenes at certain key points, especially where he confronts the Heroes, and I find myself remembering those moments more than the fights, despite this being a violence/blood focused series.

Sakamoto Days- Comedy series about a former assassin having to deal with his former co-workers trying to kill him while he runs a convenience store to support his family.  There are some tributes to Gintama in the story, but for the most part it is just an ongoing zany series of events where Sakamoto and friends try to avoid killing while driving off assassins so Sakamoto won't get in trouble with his wife.

Solo Leveling s2- I only put this down because Kvan went out of his way to diss the series... seriously.  This basically takes what made the first season great, then amps it up by several levels.  The real attraction of the series is the fight choreography, the music, the flashy action and the occasional moments of vulnerability and growth on the part of the protagonist.  I wouldn't call this shounen, but rather a 'seinen' story, as the protagonist's motivations are more down to earth and less aspirational than in a shounen.  In addition, there is no comradery or group antics along the way, as evidenced by the name of the series.  There are several extremely emotional moments, both positive and negative, during the course of the story that left a big impact, at least for me.

Salaryman- A despairing salaryman gets summoned by a maou as one of the Four Heavenly Kings, where he ends up working as a negotiator, bringing together the maou's army and fixing its problems along the way.  It is also about his personal journey from a burnt-out, broken man to a more healthy-minded and vigorous individual working for the sake of those around him.

Botsuraku Kizoku- Fantasy anime where a magic-obsessed man gets reincarnated in the body of a talented noble child in a family that is about to lose its title.  He pursues magic obsessively and rapidly rises, earning a massive following (and an adorable harem on the side).  It is mostly him innocently pursuing magic and raising up those around him in a partly incidental manner.  Edit: Kvan calls it banal, and he isn't wrong.  It is fairly trite as fantasy go, which was why I stopped reading the LN about the point where the anime ends.  However, the anime presents it in a way that is reasonably enjoyable, so even if it is banal, it isn't as awful as he tries to portray it.

Saikyou Alchemist- Surprise hit, at least for me.  While it is definitely a trope isekai where the protagonist gets summoned to another world and granted power by a goddess, its well-presented and well-written, with a solid cast of characters and a setting that is just detailed enough to keep a watcher's interest.  An example of an anime using the tropes rather than being used by them, at least in my opinion.

Tensei Ojisan- Comedy anime where an old guy in a coma gets his consciousness transported into the body of a villainess in an otomege and sets out to save her while helping the protagonist progress her romances (while failing and only earning yuri points and love points from the heroes without realizing it).  Edit: Kvan focused on it being a 'villainess' anime, which actually isn't the point of the thing at all (meaning he probably didn't even watch the first episode or even read the animelist summary).

Fugukan- The concept is the recent (in the last four years or so) standard where the protagonist starts out with a crap skill/job/class that gets him treated like crap and betrayed by his friends, only to become immensely powerful as a result of that betrayal.  Ein is a pretty solid protagonist, and the heroines are adorable for the most part.  The story is solid as well, if a bit tropey.  

Isekai Tsuuhan- Basically yet another old guy with a skill that lets him order stuff from earth while in another world.  Tbh, this sub-genre is one of those that is either funny and fun or absolutely awful and boring.  This one manages to lean more toward the former, fortunately.  

NEET Kunoichi- Mostly a romance between a NEET ninja girl and a salaryman who is targeted by youma.  Romance is slow to develop for obvious in-story reasons, but it is definitely present.  Comedy is mild, action is surprisingly bloody but not really that great compared to more focused anime.

Beheneko- Ecchi fantasy following a guy reincarnated as a baby behemoth who ends up as a pet for an erofu (ecchi elf girl).  For someone who wants something that is mostly silly, tropey, and ecchi, it is great.  Edit: Kvan once again missed the point.  There is no 'cheat skill' in this one.  It is mostly about the elf heroine's growth and him watching over her in the main story (though it can be argued the ecchi atmosphere and h-references are the point of the series).  I'm not saying the series is awesome, I'm saying that you should take Kvan's statements with a massive grain of salt, given that he obviously didn't watch most of the series on his list or even pay attention to the scenario summaries.

Elf-san- Very cute romance between a sleepy-eyed guy with an easygoing personality and an elf he befriends while going between worlds in his sleep.  There is some action, but it is mostly flavor for the rom-com.  Edit: Having finished the series today, I can say it is a surprise gem.  I honestly was expecting to drop this one when I first started the series, but it turned out to be a wonderfully adorable romance with some really heart-touching moments.

Girumasu- Mostly a comedy about an Adventurers Guild receptionist who goes out and finishes dungeon bosses to end her overtime.  There is some serious stuff, but it is mostly the protagonist wailing or getting pissed off about being forced to work late at night or on holidays then going berserk and ending all the quests so she can get off early.  Edit: Finished it today, have to say that I find it somewhat amusing that the protagonist's combat style is complete muscle-head, while the hero is the clever hard-worker who just barely gets by.

Aparida- Harem fantasy following a red mage who gets exiled from a high-ranking party.  Pretty standard fantasy LN scenario these days (not my favorite, really), where the protagonist gets back at those who put him down without really trying.

 

[Aoi Tori - 7/10 - Not Purple's best work, but still good]

7 hours ago, LostPomegranate said:

I agree with you there. Only Akari's route - and Mary's to a lesser extent - really felt like they were written with their own story in mind rather than how it fed into the true route. Which is a shame because Sayo was a pretty great character and foil to the MC. Risa / Mikako were largely just a joke story that existed to foreshadow a few plot points and throw in some extra H-scenes (with 8 of the 25 belonging to them). There's really only a few ladder structure games where I wasn't hit with the same feeling and those were not "true route" type games such as Fruit of Grisaia.

 

Aiyoku no Eustia is on my decision wheel right now - most of the VNs I own but haven't read end up on a wheel I spin to determine my next read when there isn't a new release - so I'll likely hit that myself at some point.

Honestly?  I'd say don't bother with anything from August.  August's writing team tends to be awful at keeping the details even remotely consistent in their plot-focused games.  This is true with Fortune Arterial and it is even more true with Eustia.  The sad part is that the setting of Eustia and Cain's characterization are really, really well written up until a certain point (to be specific, once the female pope and the princess get on the scene) where all of the sudden the setting and character personalities are all over the place.  This was the reason why my final rating for the game was so abysmally low, despite actually enjoying it immensely up to about the mid-point.  Not to mention that I have a distinct dislike for Victim A heroines (heroines that would probably die horribly in the first act of any decent story with a dark atmosphere, hahaha).

This was also seen in the Sen no Hatou series, which had a truly impressive setting with some interesting characters... however, once again their writing team sabotaged itself by not only utilizing the ladder-style structure but also failing to keep the setting consistent (I actually have fewer complaints, mainly because character personalities didn't suddenly change on a fundamental level partway through the story).  Up to a point, the setting was internally consistent, but I kept hitting points in the true route that were inconsistent with the setting presented in the other routes and common route.  

The 'true heroine' debate is probably never going to go away.  Games with true heroines inevitably push down the other heroines to some extent to build up to the true one.  The single best approach I've seen in a multi-route plot-focused game is Vermillion Bind of Blood, which treats all its heroines equally while the 'true' route is called the Grand Route and actually doesn't have a heroine.  A secondary approach is having one path serve as a joke and the other as the true route, like in Draculius, where you had a path where the protagonist chose not to confront certain issues and the path itself was nonstop comedy, versus the more serious and emotionally deep true route.

As far as I know, there are really only a few companies and scenario writers who ever even make an attempt at equalizing heroine treatment.  There is always a main heroine, though some authors manage to bring to life all the heroines despite their preferences.  An example of this would be Higashide Yuuichirou, who, while he always has a heroine he favors, also always gives all of the heroines a route worth remembering from beginning to end.  Whether it was Ayakashibito, Bullet Butlers, Chrono Belt, Evolimit, or Tokyo Babel, all of his works made you love his characters, even the ones that were less visually appealing, lol.

 

[Aoi Tori - 7/10 - Not Purple's best work, but still good]

The biggest hazard with the ladder-style story progression structure is that all the heroines but the 'true' heroine get gypped.  Aoi Tori, at least, has the advantage that all the paths are technically 'true' in an alternate worlds sense, but it still feels like the heroines other than Akari aren't really getting treated equally.  

In the case of Aiyoku no Eustia, the author failed utterly to create internal consistency, as his setting (both the general one and the heroines' settings) made any path other than Tia's path impossible within the greater context of the story.  This is actually a trend with a lot of writers who like to use the ladder-style, where they fail to maintain internal consistency due to a half-assed attitude toward the non-true heroines' stories.  

[Save Systems – An Anatomy of Visual Novels]

With JVNs, in particular untranslated ones, saves are intricately intertwined with how people play the game, with save points being specifically recommended in walkthroughs to shorten replay time when moving to other routes or filling out CGs and scenes.  A lot of people who make walkthroughs for translated games in English have a tendency not to transfer this system over, even if they used a Japanese walkthrough as a base, a lack of convenience I found notable, even if I honestly don't know why.

If you want to look for an ideal form of this kind of walkthrough, Foolmaker (gusha no Yakata) is still preserved at the Sagaoz website (along with game saves for a lot of old VNs) and contains a bunch of efficiency walkthroughs that save at the latest point possible for each path split, which is why I generally recommend it for people playing old JVNs.

Seiya-Saiga, which is the oldest surviving walkthrough producer for visual novels in Japanese, still releases walkthroughs for all the releases in a given month.  They also place save points at key points in progression to make things easier for readers who have less time and don't want to have to figure things out themselves.

 

[Apocalypse – Genre Deep Dive]

The apocalypse genre is greatly influenced by the post-war (WWII) mentality.  In post-war Japan, which rebuilt after seeing most of their major cities firebombed and their industry destroyed, the concept of an apocalypse was much closer to reality, not the least because of the nuclear bombings.  Similarly, much of Europe's urban landscape was a ruin due to the bombings from both sides, and rebuilding afterward was a colossal undertaking that made it easy for the Soviet Union to take over a massive portion of the continent like it did, through means both forceful and more subtle.  

As a result, most apocalypse genre works in all mediums are descended from the ones inspired by this era and the threat of nuclear war that persisted through much of the twentieth century afterward.  For a generation that had witnessed the disintegration of two major cities and now had multiple hostile powers possessing similar - even more powerful - weapons, it was much, much easier to imagine the annihilation of humanity than it was for previous generations.

Most current works are evolutions on the same ideas as those from that era.  There is a sense of cynicism about human nature, a sense of helplessness when it comes to an individual's ability to effect outcomes, and a sense of desperation for survival that influences preppers and all other sorts of people even today.

I personally would like to offer the most unique variation on the post-apocalypse experience I've seen in a VN (or rather the most modern one).  Komorebi no Nostalgica.

This VN is unique in that, at first, it is difficult to tell that this is a post-apocalypse landscape.  The characters are living normal, peaceful lives in a seemingly super high-tech world, but when they discover an ancient android, the predecessor to the sentient AI androids called the Metosera that now live as independent sapients amongst them, the perspective changes drastically.  While the basic atmosphere remains soft and disconnected from what came before, the characters are slowly confronted with a line of thought that predates their current society and the remnants of the old war.

Spoiler

The android they discover, Cinema, was an android that worked at a video rental shop run by a mysterious 'manager' (who goes unnamed through much of the VN).  Unlike the Metosera, who are often very Vulcan in their logical statements, even as they show emotion, Cinema - despite being technically two generations behind the androids that first allowed the Metosera to emerge - shows a wide range of childish emotions and a surprising degree of innocent insight that startles both the characters and the reader.

However, as Cinema's functions gradually unlock, it becomes apparent that the intent behind her design is similarly alien to the development of the Metosera, who spontaneously developed emotional emulation through pure programming evolution.  Instead, Cinema's every bodily function, every aspect of her design, is put together to encourage the natural development of machine consciousness with only the most basic of evolutionary programming to aid it along.  It even has a built-in flaw she has to overcome in order to become truly sapient.

Moreover, while maintaining her purpose is the service and protection of humans, Cinema feels genuine in a way many Metosera (with the notable exception of Fluorite, the heroine) fail to do due to their isolationist tendencies.  

Also, as one explores Cinema's story, one also runs across the reality of a post-apocalypse world.  Humanity has lost most of its history, due to the universal digitization of the history books and cinema (incidentally why Cinema herself is so valuable, as she has a massive amount of movie data in her data banks), a single terrorist attack essentially obliterated the records of humanity's history during the war between humanity and the AIs (by the way, humanity lost).  Global warming also sank an enormous proportion of civilization under water, and the protagonist and two of the heroines actually explore the underwater remnants of Tokyo in search of a database during the common route.  These ruins remain mostly untouched, despite being underwater, a massive skyscraper mall able to be explored on foot without a suit due to the advanced materials of its construction.  In exploring the underwater ruins and this building, one is confronted with the sense of sorrow and loss, as old advertisements and remnants of people's lifestyle and shopping remain scattered around its floors, as if it was only abandoned a few days ago, rather than a generation or more in the past.

The final, grand route of the game shows Cinema reaching full sentience and sapience, despite the fact that her hardware shouldn't be able to support the AI architecture that conventional theory says is necessary for the purpose.  This triumph of a long-dead man's dream of creating a neighborly, familial AI sapience instead of the former slaves turned equals that are the Metosera is incredibly impactful, especially if you have gone through Fluorite's path, where she undergoes a grand evolution of emotion and gains ground on even much older members of her race.

As one of the kinder, gentler post-apocalypse societies, one in decline despite its technical superiority, Komorebi no Nostalgica is an excellent choice of a representative of the apocalypse genre.

Another example of an interesting apocalypse story would be Evolimit, one of my all-time favorite VNs and written by the same author as Tokyo Babel.  I'm going to spoiler this one as well, since I intend to just talk openly about various aspects of the setting and story.

Spoiler

First, the protagonist Shiranui and his comrade Shizuku wake up without memories a hundred years after they went into cold sleep, where they are introduced to a society drastically different from the one they are familiar with.  Their memories return shortly, when they confront the reality they are on Mars, not Earth, but this only makes sense, since they were originally part of the first wave of colonization of the planet.  

Evolimit's world is one where society has taken a drastically different turn due to two major factors, the existence of the personal evolutionary substance known as 'Patch' and the threat of the Barbaroi, massive AI mecha that constantly threaten to slaughter the denizens of Mars few cities.  At some point after Shiranui and Shizuku's memories cut off, their expedition was wiped out, and most tech was also wiped out for the second wave of colonists due to a viral infection that turned all machines against humanity.  Without the discovery of the Patch, humanity would have gone extinct on Mars shortly after their arrival.  

As it is, they are living in a modern-seeming, post-tech society that was created through desperate efforts of the early settlers of the second wave of colonists and the sheer power of the 'Star Priests/Priestesses' who serve as mayors for the city-states, creating the environment-maintenance Patches and serving as judge, jury, and executioner in addition to their role as administrator.  Despite this, it is not a dystopian society, but rather a somewhat feudal one posing as a modern society.  Like an isekai medieval world, it is not uncommon for villages to get wiped out by Barbaroi (monsters), people just accept they can't travel without combat power, and people sort of naturally fall into their roles when it is necessary, like a pure military society.

The equalizing power of the Patch, which vastly improves the body while providing a single unique ability to every individual, has removed social inequality while also maintaining a situation where everyone is on war footing for several generations.

The sheer tragedy of this world becomes evident when the Disasters, the threat from Shiranui and Shizuku's past reemerge and their memories of the individuals behind the Disaster come forth.  Their dearest friends, warped horrifically by the power of their Patches' evolution into facsimiles of the great people they were, are the true enemies of the denizens of Mars, living tribulations who want nothing more than for humanity to overcome them... but won't stop until they have been defeated, a feat that is virtually impossible for the average Patch user.  

The false logic implanted in them warps their consciousness (with the notable exception of Phantom Killer, who is a true nihilist) and causes their love of humanity to make them want to force tribulations upon them.  This is done by acting on their deep and visceral understanding of humanity's flaws, brought on at least in part by their exceptionality as human beings before they were changed.  Each of the Disasters was a genius, an exceptional individual who was selected in a one in one hundred thousand selection process for the first wave, as well as being one of the leaders of those people who stood at the head of humanity.  

Their immense potential as Disasters is all the more terrible for how great they were as people.

Baldr Sky (all of the series) is a perfect example of the post-apocalypse and apocalypse genres.

Spoiler

  It is based decades after a world-devastating war that changed the shape of continents and erased most of the human population.  Most of those that have survived are living perpetually in the virtual realm while consuming nano-reconscructed soylent green instead of real food.  Society has mostly broken down, with only a few places creating an illusion of relative peace.

In Skydive, the threat and benefits of AI, as well as nanotechnology are brought to the fore, even as the protagonist desperately seeks revenge and redemption.  Having witnessed his girlfriend dissolve in gray goop, he is obsessed with both preventing the disaster of self-replicating nanotech from repeating itself and getting revenge on those who caused the disaster.  While the focus is on his personal story, there is plenty of information about the world around him, which is pretty hopeless, overall.

In Baldr Sky Zero, we are given another scenario (based in the ruins of South Asia rather than Japan) where a group of mercenaries fights their way through a virtual and physical landscape that is the result of the creation of a true war economy.  Human beings are created, experimented on, used up, then recycled back into the system.  The virtual world is simply a realm where the lambs are led to sacrifice, while the physical realm is where they can briefly play before their young lives are cut short.

The wars themselves are without meaning beyond the development of useful virtual and physical technologies, their theft, or their destruction.  Corporations rise and vanish with alarming frequency, and children sometimes have to auction their own body parts off for money before they are killed in snuff videos.  As a world, it is perhaps the most horrifically dystopian post-apocalypse setting I've seen.  Muv-Luv Alternative at least had humanity united against an outside threat, whereas in this setting, humanity was just doing all these awful things to themselves.

 

[Dating Sims – Uncovering The VN Hybrid]

The Japanese dating sim genre hit is height back in the late 1990's and early 2000's, before vanishing almost entirely with the advent of modern visual novels.  In most ancient dating sims, you would spend time polishing yourself (studying, working out, etc) on some turns while doing part-time jobs to earn money for presents and conversing with heroines (often repeating the same set of questions and interactions over and over) on a regular basis until you could get their affections high enough they were willing to go on a date.  Depending on your choices during the date, you would get closer to an actual relationship, which was the end goal of most dating sims (since most of them weren't h-games).  

Dating sim elements were leftover in most SOL VNs during the mid and late 2000's, but by 2010, most dating sim elements (even hidden ones such as affection points) were completely eliminated from modern visual novels.  

As a side-note, references to dating sims persist in anime and manga long after the Japanese version of the genre died, and they made a comeback with Persona 3-5's social links system.

[Anime of the Year 2024-IV Fall - Shangri-La Frontier: Kusoge Hunter, Kamige ni Idoman to su 2nd Season]

Hitoribocchi no Isekai Kouryaku- The original LN/WN series is basically Haruka being an unreliable narrator.  Those monologues he does in his head throughout the anime?  That's what the LN reads like.  As such, this is a rare case where the anime is significantly better than the original material, which was mostly a comedic presentation in Haruka's words of the horrible things that were happening to him and his class as a result of being isekai'd (though Haruka was having the time of his life, for the most part).  One thing that is overlooked in the anime is that Haruka is flat-out a genius, an eccentric one but still a genius.  His fiddling with the usage of his skills and stretching their meaning is classic top-level litrpg behavior, lol.

Yarinaoshi Reijou- Basically a romance trying to hide as action and political drama.  Despite the concealment tactics, the romance is pretty adorable.

Sayounara Ryuusei- Needs a second season, but the presentation of the main character is excellent.  However, the presentation of the setting is meh at best.

Tsuihou Sareta Chiyu Jutsushi- I disagree with kvan about this one... the character development is generally rushed and poorly-done in an effort to force the story to the conclusion of the first arc in twelve episodes.  The story itself is not that good and the action presentation is third-rate at best.

Maou-sama Retry R- I'm mostly mentioning this one so that I can point out the differences from the first season.  First, normal animation quality goes down somewhat, and the style is drastically different (to the point where Kunai and a few other characters are barely recognizable).  On the other hand, the action animation is about as high as it gets in a low-budget anime, and the presentation of the last four episodes is downright godly.  It's just sad that the drastic changes probably put off a lot of the fans of the silliness of the first season and its character designs.

 

[Death End Request 2 Review – Glitching Our Way Into True Fear]

This game fixes most of the quality of life issues the original game had, while creating an interesting atmosphere typical of Japanese horror.  The death ends weren't as abrupt as in the original game, as Pallas says.  They are pretty telegraphed, and by the end, I was mechanically saving right before key points and seeing the dead ends before moving on to the main story.

I disagree primarily with the assessment of the rpg system, but that is because I honestly see nothing wrong with 'classic' rpg combat systems in general.  I'm generally playing jrpgs while I'm half-asleep after work, so I don't want to be troubled by things like real-time battles or complex gimmicks that aren't really a 'quality of life' improvement for an old-style solo gamer like me.  To my mind, the turn-based battle system was perfected with Grandia II, and I think all jrpgs should use it, lol.

As a visual novel, sadly, I've read many, many better ones, even ones in the same genre.  Which is kinda sad, considering that Compile Heart put more money into the game than any five of those VNs combined (with the possible exception of Minori, who was horrible about managing their funding, or Key who always blew money on mini-games and silly animations with their later games).  

Edit: One thing I should note is that, as visual novels and visual novel hybrids became more ubiquitous, telegraphing bad ends became more and more common, even in the horror and mystery genres.  Back with Tsukihime, the bad endings (really just dead endings) were not predictable to any significant degree (the original Tsukihime of course), and most of the visual novels made from 2000-2012 used some variation of a koukando (love point/affection point) system to determine which heroine route and which ending you ended up with, if they weren't using a strict 'choose your own adventure' format.  It is very rare to find a mystery or horror VN made before JVNs began to decline five years ago and after 2015 that wasn't fairly obvious about which choices led to dead ends or bad endings if you were paying attention. 

The major reason most people end up using walkthroughs for VNs is because it takes way too much time and effort to figure it out on your own, compared to rpgs with multiple endings and the like.  Sometimes, VN-makers like to create triggers for bad endings or 'normal' endings in the weirdest places, even going so far as to erase affection point gains simply because you selected the wrong choice in a joke scene (real story).  

 

[Anime of the Year 2024-III Summer - Make Heroine ga Oosugiru!]

Alya-san- This season's cute rom-com anime.  Edit: Basically an anime about an overly serious half-Russian heroine quietly proclaiming her love in various ways in Russian for the protagonist while he pretends he doesn't understand.  It has serious moments and a rival heroine (his sister), but the romantic comedy is the focus, for the most part.

Wistoria- A surprise in that it was good despite being a tropey magic school fantasy.  Presentation was excellent.  Edit: What is most notable is the action scenes, the way the characters' emotions and presented and bared during the battles and the quality of the action itself.  Setting-wise, it is pretty generic and relies excessively on people knowing the tropes, though.

Isekai Shikkaku- Excellent parody of isekai anime in general.  Protagonist is hilarious.  Basically, Dazai (the suicide and alienation obsessed author from the early twentieth century who was the basis for one of the main characters of Bungou Stray Dogs) tries to commit double suicide with his girlfriend, but instead gets hit by a truck that appears out of nowhere and appears on a summoning circle.  Instead of receiving a cheat skill like everyone else, he is still the same physically weak, drug-addicted author he was before, but all that is bothering him was that his double-suicide failed.  His nihilistic speech as he departs the church of summoning draws the elf priestess who explained things to him (who has horrible taste in men, incidentally) to follow him, only to find he has already managed to attract the intention of a lively cat-girl warrior (who also has horrible taste in men).   Despite being a satyrical series, it has a number of really good serious and emotional moments, and Dazai's passion for his calling in life somehow leads to good results.

Hazurewaku- The novel is awesome, and the anime does a good job of portraying the relatively early parts of the series.  Edit: A vengeance-driven protagonist  with a slightly sociopathic personality (and a high intelligence to accompany it) uses his unblockable affliction skills to kill his way through everything that stands against him on his way to destroying the goddess who forced him to cast aside his facade as a 'good boy' that he created for the sake of the aunt and uncle who raised him after his crap parents ruined him.  He ends up accompanied by an overly sexy high elf knight, a former gladiator, and her adopted dark elf sister.

Ore wa Subete wo Parry Suru- Kanchigai fantasy anime.  While it was funny to watch at first, it kind of feels excessive in retrospect.  Honestly, while the production values are high, the story is really absurd in retrospect and it really isn't as funny the second time as it was the first.  Basically an anime you can watch once and enjoy but is impossible to rewatch.

Shinmai Ossan Boukensha- Another surprisingly good anime.  Protagonist and his teacher's interactions are hilarious.  Basically the protagonist sets out to become an adventurer after he hits his thirties and ends up being trained by a bunch of psychotic S-rank adventurers, who drag him up to their level kicking and screaming.  The story begins after the training is over and he has already been rebuilt better than before and his common sense completely ruined.  A lot of this series' attraction is the comedy, as the action is really one-sided for the most part.

Maougun Saikyou no Majutsushi- A human child is raised by a demon lord of the undead and poses as a lich while doing his best to temper the demon side's bad habits and ensure they win the war with humanity.  Just like the novels, the anime is pretty good, and the story is already concluded, so it has the advantage of not needing a sequel, lol.

Isekai Yururi Kikou- A good soft homey story with an isekai'd guy essentially raising two children while playing at being an adventurer.  Honestly, if you don't want heartwarming isekai parenting, this is not the anime for you.  It is even more niche than most isekai are.

 

[The Skip Button – An Anatomy of Visual Novels]

It isn't really an issue if you can read a VN quickly enough, but I can see how the skip function might be an engrossment-breaking tool for the majority of people, who can't read a line a second, lol.

[Anime of the Year 2024-II Spring - Karasu wa Aruji wo Erabanai]

Umm... Kvan's assessment of this season is pretty off the mark, so you might as well ignore him (since he probably only watched one episode or none of most of the series he gave a 5 rating).

Kimetsu no Yaiba: Hashira Geiko-hen- Basically a leadup to the final arcs of the series, the sheer drama of the last episode alone would have been worthy of a 9, not to mention the incredible animation quality, with huge attention paid to every detail and every scene timed perfectly.

Dainanaoji- The black horse of this season, an anime that was immensely fun to watch, despite me initially dropping it due to the animation style.  The protagonist was a commoner in his previous life, lacking talent for sorcery, but he was obsessed with sorcery to the point of madness, and he managed to make something of himself to a point, before he was essentially murdered by an aristocrat that didn't like an uppity commoner studying magic.  He is then reincarnated as the seventh prince and younger brother of his best friend from his previous life, in a body with immense magical talent.  Of course, he uses this as an excuse to study sorcery to his heart's content, while dealing with his obsessive maid/bodyguard and his overbearingly affectionate older brother.  Lots of amusing combat scenes (I say amusing because Lloyd's attitude makes it so, with some of them being badass as well).  

Lv2 Kara Cheat- A merchant boy from another world gets transported to another isekai, whereupon he is rejected and exiled by those who summoned him for being low-leveled and without skills.  However, he manages to level by accident soon after his exile, gaining access to all magic and becoming infinitely powerful... only to settle down and start a slow life, with his adoring demon-wolf girlfriend (eventually wife), a group of female adventurers, and with occasional visits from members of the demon army.  Generally it is a comedy sol more than anything else, though there are some nice brutal slapdowns when people cross certain lines.  The opening song alone is worth watching a few times for laughs.

Madome- Basically a cute romance fantasy where the protagonist impulsively buys a high elf slave at an estate sale for another sorcerer when he falls for her at first sight.  His inability to express his emotions toward her and her devoted service to him as a maid make for lots of romantic cuteness for those who like that kind of thing.  Oh, and there is also action scenes and some dark aspects, as well, lol.

Re:Monster- Evil-natured protagonist gets reincarnated as a goblin and goes all devouring and evolving monster power fantasy without the sol of Slime.  Generally enjoyable to watch once, but not really worth re-watching most of the episodes, sadly.

Tensei Kizoku, Kantei Skill de Nariagaru- Basically a 'warring states reincarnation fantasy' where the protagonist is reborn into a crumbling empire in an isekai to a loving set of parents of a minor noble family, with the ability to see others' talents and abilities.  His essentially good nature and desire to do the best for his people results in him earning a following.  This series is more watchable if you watch it with the second season, as the first season is mostly setup and companion-gathering.

The New Gate- My guilty pleasure of the season, a relatively low-quality (animation-wise) series about a guy who was in an SAO-like situation getting transported into the game world's future instead of going back, whereupon he gets to see the results of the NPCs gaining self-awareness and creating their own history.  It has some seriously good emotional moments and a few good action scenes (for average quality anime), but the company animating it obviously put most of the budget into Schmee's character design, so the combat animations are lacking sometimes.

Kami wa Game ni Ueteiru- Basically a world where people can compete in gods' games for the fight to make a wish of the gods.  The protagonist is a serious talent who gets teamed up with a crazy former goddess.  A decent watch at best, if you like puzzles.

Dekisoko- Probably the only series I agree with Kvan about.  Basically trash, low-quality anime.  Story-wise it has good aspects, but it is told poorly and the animation quality was lacking to bring the story to life.

Code Geass- Easily the worst and most nonsensical Code Geass sequel/side-story I've ever seen.  Pretty much just a money grab.  I loved the original series, and I liked Boukoku no Akito a great deal.  However, this one felt pretty trashy, quality-wise.  Given that the Geass takes different forms based on the individual, someone ending up with a near-carbon copy of Lelouch's Geass was a ridiculous idea, and the antagonist stretched the limits of suspension of disbelief, even for an anime, especially given that...

Spoiler

Charles was an immortal like CC and could only be killed by a maxed Geass holder, so he had no need for a clone to place his brain into.

I also don't like that they used the movie canon rather than the original series canon, lol.

Generally speaking, this season was one of the best in recent years, even if the only real stand-outs were Karasu (given general critical acclaim, since I didn't watch it), Dainanaoji and Kimetsu No Yaiba in absolute terms.  It is more like the average-quality of its middle of the road series was much higher than usual, as I usually drop at least two-thirds of the series I watch halfway through the season, whereas I finished almost everything I started this time.

[Scarlet Kaleidoscope Review - Top 10 Best Rated Visual Novels Translated in 2024]

1) Aoi Tori- I only put this one above Karenai Sekai because its production values are significantly better and individual characterization is slightly better.  As nakige with utsuge elements go, this is one of the top five of all time.  It shows off the mix of Purple Soft's specialties, in creating a grim and solemn atmosphere, massively erotic H-scenes, tear-jerking storytelling, and powerfully-impactful characters who burn themselves into your memory.  I also was surprised to see this in any way put below Mashiro-Iro Symphony as it is a generic sol game.

2) Karenai Sekai to Owaru Hana- Easily one of the best tear-jerker VNs ever made.  The tragic cost of the heroines' continued existence and the protagonist's willingness to sacrifice for them are the topmost reasons to like this as a tear-jerker.  However, the lack of a distinctive path for each of the heroines makes it fall below Aoi Tori overall.

3) Hatsuyuki Sakura- Mostly a sop to Saga Planets Golden Age.  While the setting is internally inconsistent and the heroine paths are of massively varying quality, it is still a memorable game for me.

4) Irotoridori no Sekai- Favorite's fourth-best work, after Sakura, Moyu; Hoshizora no Memoria; and its sequel Irotoridori no Hikari.  Still, it was nice to see the localization actually appear.

5) Gin'Iro Haruka- This company consistently produces the same game with different characters, yet manages to do it well despite that.  This game's high point is the massive scale of the heroine paths, which no other company ever did for an SOL game.  If you invested emotionally in one of the heroines, her path almost definitely satisfied, something most SOL games fail at massively.

6-10) More or less the same.

[Anime of the Year 2024-I Winter - Kingdom 5th Season]

Tsukimichi 2- It's worth noting this separate from the original season because it is significantly better than the first season (barring a few scenes toward the end).  For readers of the light novels, this fulfills the promise of what the series could have been, and for fans of the anime, it is a great continuation.

Chiyu Mahou no Machigatta Tsukaikata- The protagonist is summoned along with two popular people from the same school to a kingdom endangered by an invasion of demons (Mazoku).  While his friends are heroes, he only got caught up in the summoning, but because his magic is healing, he gets drafted by the semi-psychotic drill sergeant personality leader of the medical unit.  While this in itself might not seem too bad, it is hilarious because he is essentially forced to take advantage of his magic's healing properties to keep himself going through a super-charged version of boot camp.  Generally a fun to watch series.

Akuyaku Reijou Level 99- Basically a communication-challenged girl gets reincarnated in the body of the hidden true villainess of an otome-ge rpg and goes crazy training herself due to her leveling addiction.  If you don't expect anything great, it is a fun watch.

Nozomanu Fushi no Boukensha- This is probably the true gem of the season, an anime about a guy who gets eaten by a dragon in a dungeon and wakes up as a skeleton.  His struggles to gain a more human-like body and continue to pursue his dream are the basic premise of the story.  

Sokushi Cheat- If you want an op protagonist who just destroys everything and everyone, it is great.  If you don't, you'll hate it.

Sasaki to Pii-chan- Fantasy comedy with sol elements.  It is enjoyable to watch once, but it is not a series you'll go back to again later.

Gekai Elise- Highly emotional story following a girl who is executed for crimes against her nation, before waking up as an orphan in Japan.  She becomes a doctor, trying to save lives and atone for her previous life's sins, but one day while flying to perform life-saving surgery, she gets in a plane crash.  She survives the crash, but she overworks herself to death saving the other passengers... only to wake up in the body of herself in her previous life, before she made the mistakes that led to so much disaster.  

Saikyou Tank- Cheesy fantasy.

Isekai de Mofumofu- Adorable little girl mofumofus animals and anything that even remotely resembles an animal with a side of being destined to decide the fate of that world's humanity, lol.

[Science Fantasy – Genre Deep Dive]

Science Fantasy is perhaps one of the most pervasive genres in existence.  The most powerful example in Western culture would be Star Wars, which is often considered the penultimate science-fantasy by fanboys.  However, the genre also gained some minor popularity elsewhere, with the Deathstalker Saga and a few others prior to the current fantasy/sci-fi publishing boom that hit after ebooks took off.  The Superhero genre can also be considered to be science-fantasy in a general sense, making it a bigger umbrella than most think.

JRPGs such as the old Breath of Fire series and Xenogears both included elements of science-fantasy, mixing magic and tech freely, and this was also seen in Final Fantasy VI, where magitech was at the center of the story for much of the game.  For VNs, my beloved Silverio series is worth mentioning, as the series has a basis in science-fantasy rather than being pure fantasy.   

Perhaps the most notable aspect of science-fantasy is that it combines the flexibility of fantasy with an internal consistency reminiscent of science-fiction in many cases.  Fantasy is an infinitely flexible genre with no real limits, whereas science-fiction is usually an extension of our world, seen as a potential future or past.  When the two are combined, you get a genre that seems partially like an extension of the world we know and partially a realm of pure fantasy and imagination.

 

[Anime of the Year 2023-IV Fall - Shangri-La Frontier: Kusoge Hunter, Kamige ni Idoman to su]

Of the recent anime seasons, this is the one I watched the most of.  It just had that many wonderful series.

Saihate 2- Saihate no Paladin's second season was a rare example of the sequel matching the original on every level, with a dramatic ending that made me clap and left me with a pleasant tingling of emotional fulfillment.

Akuyaku Reijou- Yuri protagonist with a crazy personality goes all-out to save the villainess of the game after being reborn as the protagonist of her favorite otome game.  It was pretty good, but not great.

Hikikomari- This series had a ridiculous number of ups and downs and a difficult to understand premise (mostly due to poor setting setup).  However, it does have a number of great scenes, mostly Komari's berserk scenes, lol.

S-rank Musume- The story of a loving foster father in a village worrying about his overpowered father-con daughter as she works as an adventurer in town.  The story is decent, but not great.  It has some seriously great moments toward the end, but the buildup is pretty slow.  Edit: There are a lot of hidden facets to this series that could attract different types of watchers, but it doesn't quite match my preferences.  Feel free to say I'm wrong on my assessment, lol.

Ossan no VRMMO Katsudouki- A guy makes a weird solo character for his VRMMO experience on the weekends and ends up triggering all sorts of crazy events despite only being on occasionally compared to others.  Most of it is in-game SOL.  Edit: This anime was relaxing to watch, a low-stress series to watch between other series, like the ginger in a sushi tray cleans the palate between types, lol.

Sousou no Frieren- This season's true masterpiece, a tear-jerker of a fantasy series following a near-immortal elf who helped defeat the demon king, only to realize decades later her own sense of loss.  She then goes on a journey with her apprentice to revisit the many destinations of her ten year journey with them.  Has great action but most of it is her and Fern journeying across the continent in a slow, meandering manner.  It is highly emotional, and many of the episodes are designed to draw tears or make you smile at the past antics of the hero party.  However, when it goes for badass, it is seriously badass.  Edit: This was straight out the best anime of 2023 and probably will end up being one of the top 10 for the next decade.  It is just that high in quality and has that much of an impact.

Kage no Jitsuryokusha 2- The second season of this series is just as good as the original, with the same over the top action and crazy mismatched expectations that made the first season so hilariously fun to watch.

Goblin Slayer 2- While the animation quality is way weaker than the original season, it is still Goblin Slayer and that means blood and goblin-slaying, lol. 

Shangri-la Frontier- A high-quality anime with a high action focus where a guy who loves kusoge (shitty games) goes to enjoy a kamige (perfect/awesome game) of a VRMMO and causes a ruckus.  Generally funny and fun to watch.  Edit: Just because I only devoted a few lines to this doesn't mean I don't like it.  If anything, this series was on my top 3 for the season.  However, the anime does a good job of self-explaining without a ton of infodumping, so I feel no need to push it.

Ragna Crimson- This one is a tribute to nostalgia, recalling the era of Claymore and other such brutal action stories.  In a world where dragons are as common as dirt and are focused on devouring humanity in particular, Ragna has the compressed memories and power of his future self shoved into him, forcing him to confront the long tragedy that would have been his life, given a chance to change the future.  This series is downright brutal, being reminiscent of Claymore and other dark fantasy series from the nineties and early 2000's, in both tone and aesthetic.

Hametsu no Oukoku- Science Fantasy revenge story following a guy intent on exterminating humanity for murdering his teacher/mother/first love, a witch who died protecting him.

Boushoku no Berserk- A meh power fantasy.  It gets overshadowed by most of the other stuff this season, but it would have been higher rated if it were released during another.  Edit: I say it is 'meh' because the concepts have been over-explored in fantasy and isekai anime, and the writer and anime-makers' attempts to present it in a new light didn't really change that it isn't anything new.  It doesn't distinguish itself much from other similar fantasy series, similar to when I read the light novels.

Seiken Gakuin no Makentsukai- A lord of the undead, a necromancer of immense power who was once a betrayed hero, enacts a ritual of reincarnation to fulfill his promise to the dark goddess he loved and served, only to awaken in the body of his child self an indeterminate period of time later, being 'rescued' by a naive girl  he ends up saving in turn by using necromancy to turn her into a vampire.   This science fantasy series has some good moments, but it ends too quickly and with nothing resolved, so I have to reserve judgment for a second season.

Kikansha no Mahou wa Tokubetsu- This follows a protagonist who specializes in undoing others' magic when he is thrown back in time, given a chance to prepare for the upcoming world-ending disaster he lived through to the end.  Generally a good watch, but just like the anime above, it really needs a second season to fill it out.

 

 

Edit: In retrospect, it is kind of unbelievable that so much watchable anime got concentrated into a single season.  

 

[Irotoridori No Sekai – The Colorful World Review – Beyond The Other Rainbow]

This game, in retrospect, didn't really do justice to any of the heroines other than Shinku.  I can't say I recall any of the paths or the details of the characters anymore, whereas I can recall most of the details of Sakura, Moyu and even AstralAir by the same company.  The incidents in the other worlds left a much stronger impression than most of the heroine routes, which is perhaps on purpose.  

Favorite's specialty as a company is playing on emotions, and the other world chapters and Shinku's path do an excellent job with this, while the other paths are mostly just background information to add depth to Shinku's path.  While this was true - to an extent - with most of Favorite's other games (feeding the true path with the other heroine paths being a common tactic when there is a true path), this one is perhaps the most obvious about it.  Nonetheless, it is a game that is worth mentioning for people who want the catharsis of emotion brought forth by the characters' situations.

[VN of the Month November 2024]

Mostly trash this month, except for Kimagure Temptation 2, which might be good or awful, depending on how they follow up from the original.  There are more non-nukige releases than were originally scheduled, but Purple Soft has gotten so trashy the last few years that I can't trust the brand anymore (which is sad, because they were so reliable from 2010 to 2020).  I bought Kimagure but the shipping company cancelled and now it is being re-routed.  No idea when it will reach me, sadly.  

Tbh, I would rather have a canon sequel for Akeiro Kaikitan or Nanairo Reincarnation, as there was no conclusion as to which ending was canon in either (though most think one of Kotori's endings was the canon ending for Nanairo).  Most think that Kana's ending is canon for Akeiro, but my personal preference is Velvet, though the twins' ending is my favorite for sheer feels.

[Anime of the Year 2023-III Summer - Seija Musou: Salaryman, Isekai de Ikinokoru Tame ni Ayumu Michi]

Seija Musou- A solid LN series produces a solid anime.  Generally one of the better isekai, though it lacks the flash and emotional impact of the best.

Jitsu wa Ore, Saikyou Deshita- Overpowered protagonist gets abandoned as a baby and generally makes a mess as he grows up by overpowering enemies while not even recognizing them as such much of the time.

Nanatsu no Maken- This series is magic school fantasy based in a school built over a massive labyrinth/dungeon, where sorcerers do their stranger and more horrifying experiments.  It's a pretty dark series, and the setting is often pretty horrifying behind the scenes.  Unlikely to get a sequel though, so it is left unfinished.

Helck- A fantasy that is extremely weird both on the surface and when you dig beneath it.  Helck is a good-natured man born with a heroic power and constitution, but at the beginning of the story, he already desires the destruction of humanity, despite the smile on his face.  As the story goes on, more and more is revealed about what is going on in human lands, and his resolve becomes clear.  Helck himself is a really sad character, driven to extremes by a situation he should never have had to deal with.

Higeki no Genkyou- Villainess genre reverse-harem series.  There is some good action, but most of it is the protagonist trying to prevent the tragedies that would have happened in the 'true history'.  

[Multiple Title Screens – An Anatomy Of Visual Novels]

A few examples of multiple Title Screen styles.

Evolimit: Depending on which ending was the most recent, the final background CG from that ending is visible on the title screen, while that ending's unique BGM is played.

A number of VNs: The title screen starts out blank, but as you complete heroine routes, the heroines are added to the title screen in various poses until the scene on the front of the game box is complete.  This is the most common style, seen in numerous VNs across many genres.

A number of VNs: Background change (usually along with BGM music).  This one was common in the 'early era' from 2000-2009.

The title screen change is most common in plot-heavy VNs, whereas it is rare with mid-budget charage/moege (your basic sol-romance).  The main reason for this is that those type of games tend to pour most of their budget into the h-cgs, heroine sprites, and scene cgs.

[Anime of the Year 2023-II Spring - Tengoku Daimakyou]

Jigokuraku- Excellent animation, pretty guro, action scenes are good.  Story will split opinions though, as it is pretty horrifying at times.

Iseleve- This one actually turned out pretty good, which I didn't expect, since the original material was kinda meh.  I probably should have expected it though, since good light novels rarely make good anime.

Dead Mount Death Play- Pretty good reverse isekai.  I recommend binging it with the second season rather than watching them separately, as the first scene gets cut off a bit abruptly.  

Tensei Kizoku no Isekai Boukenroku- Pretty standard 'blessed by the gods reincarnation' isekai.  The series isn't awful, but it doesn't develop anything new either.

Isekai Shoukan wa Nidome Desu- Former hero gets re-summoned to the same world a short (relatively so) time later, only to find that the humans have gone out of their way to ruin the peace he created between the races.  Protagonist is the aggressive type and has all the powers from his previous summoning, but those who summon him don't recognize him for certain reasons.