Clephas

I've dropped Juukishi (very poor pacing, long common route, short heroine routes, struck a poor balance between pseudo-seriousness and humor, etc) and gone on to Alia's Carnival, which is great, so far (though it is so obviously a spiritual tribute to Kamikaze Explorer). After that, I will play Hello, Lady; then I will play Endless Dungeon (sequel to the Tiny Dungeon series with all new characters).

Noir (makers of Canaan, Madlax, and Cazador de la Bruja) Yuri-ish anime with two assassins, Kirika and Mireille. I've probably seen this anime more than any other in existence. Ai Yori Aoshi- very old-style love-comedy. Legend of the Galactic Heroes- Space opera, massive deaths, and Machiavellian drama Heroic Age- Science fantasy, planets blowing up, insane monsters fighting one another in space. Special A (look for the m33w version, if you can find it... I translated it) Koukaku no Regios- post-apocalyptic fantasy Dantalian no Shoka- good fantasy anime based in the 1920's primarily in Britain. (this was the last anime I worked on as a tlc) Tatakau Shisho- super-violent fantasy

Currently playing Juukishi, but I have to work all weekend and to go to a baby shower out of state, so I probably won't have time to do much with it. So far... it is ok, but tbh, it goes too far to the goofy side at all the wrong points so far.

Seiji and Shinno Akikage in http://vndb.org/v12455 are two of the most evil antagonists I've ever seen. 'ありのままで鬼畜であり、外道なのだ。’　is used to describe Seiji. He is a genius sociopath who honestly believes the entire world exists only to provide him with what he wants and needs. Shinno Akikage is a demon that shows his love for humanity by doing his level best to send them into their own personal hell. He is probably the most 'demon-like' demon from a traditional Christian standpoint that I've ever seen in a VN or anime.

No, you pretty much have to play the first game and the Anzu path of the fandisc to understand the third game. Also, I haven't really spoiled anything, haha

I watched the entire Rurouni Kenshin series from episode 1-95 in a single sitting. My joints were stiff, I ran out of water bottles, and my snack boxes were empty by the time it was over. I also fell asleep sitting up within ten minutes of the last episode's end. I did something similar for Kyo Kara Maou, lol

Hmm... my rating of the third game... I'd probably give it a rating of 8.7 out of 10 (since most games tend to float between 6.5 to 7.7 for me, that is a pretty good rating). The Reika, Shion, and Kaoru arc (the 'normal arc') has a great story that is fairly straightforward, with the only real gut-twisting, ice-in-the-belly moment when you have to read Reika's bad ending. Akemi and Kiyomi's routes (I call them the 'gray zone' arc) are significantly different in focus, and they have numerous moments that can cause disturbance in the average reader. However, ultimately the stories have good endings, so it is hard to feel troubled overmuch about how they end. It is the 'Forbidden Zone' arc that serves to feed lovers of darker stories what they want, while probably repulsing people who prefer the lighter tone of the original game. This arc contains endings for Anzu, Shouko (girl who always seems to get the sharp end of the stick), Haku (incidentally, the oldest heroine in the game and a permaloli), Mai (insane yangire who likes torturing and killing people for kicks), Kaede (expressionless loli swordswoman), and one other heroine whose name I can never seem to remember. The epilogues for the Forbidden Zone Arc run the gamut from the heartwarming to the bittersweet, to the meloncholy, and to the insanely violent. This arc leaves a really strong impression, and it also happens to reveal all of the major background for the major events of the story. I strongly suggest not playing this arc until you've played all the paths for the other arcs. Generally speaking, Haku's, Shouko's, and the last heroine's (poisoner, tactician) endings feel kind of tacked on, which is one of the standing complaints from fanboys of the first game. Haku is very important to Kaito's past, but she plays a fairly unimportant role in the story overall. Shouko... mostly serves as a window into one of the story's antagonists. The poisoner girl feels really, really irrelevant. Mai, Anzu and Kaede are all integral to the Forbidden Zone arc, and so it feels fairly natural that they should have epilogues, overall. If I have a complaint, it is that there was no route for Akiko in this game (ok, yes, I have a thing for Tae's mother, so sue me). lol Ok, my real complaint... I could have done without the Shion route and with a more individualized Kaoru route (yes yes, Kaoru has a ridiculous amount of scenes centered on her, but her path is attached at the hip to Reika's... and it feels a little unnatural because of that). There are some really, really minor tweaks to the storytelling in the Trinity Edition, such as the use of actual character portraits for characters whose faces were not displayed in the Anzu path of the fandisc, and certain scenes were rewritten partially (it is almost impossible to tell which ones, though), and certain CGs that were altered for less ecchi content in the PS3 version remained so when they reverse-ported it and made it 18+ again. tbh, one particular scene was something of a relief (Kaito, Ryuu, and Naoto in the bath at the Nanjou home... ). It was slightly less funny than in the original version, though, haha.

I've been watching anime for over two decades now, and I've seen so many now that I can't even remember half of them (though, unfortunately for me, seeing five minutes of the first episode of a series brings back the entire story, thus preventing it from being 'fresh' to me). Unlike VNs, most anime end up translated, one way or the other, and as such, it is much easier for the average person to get involved with them. Nonetheless... how many of our younger neo-otaku friends have even touched on the older anime, beyond a few choice series people can't help but thrust on others? Certain anime are indeed timeless, but some fall between the cracks, either because their fans 'graduate' or they aren't vocal. As such, I thought I'd make a short list of classics (feel free to add your own to the list) that people here might like. I have no taste for one-off movies, for instance, so people who want to add movies to the list should feel free to do so. Restrict your entries to anime made in or before 2005... at least 9 years ago, in other words. Noir (female assassins, smells of yuri, Beetrain's flagship series) Legend of the Galactic Heroes (sci-fi space opera with the type of political commentary you would never see in a modern anime) Record of Lodoss War (old-style swords and sorcery fantasy without the excessive moe that became common in later eras) Slayers (I imagine that many have seen these, simply because they started the moe-comedy fantasy trend) Ai Yori Aoshi (a slightly different road than that which is common to modern love comedy, but it is a touching story that has stood the test of time) Full Metal Panic Elfen Lied Escaflowne Gundam Wing (my favorite early Gundam, simply because of the memories of watching it on Cartoon Network and the awful dubs) 08th MS Team (the most 'realistic' Gundam series ever, in terms of mech combat, lol) Love Hina (this is not one of my favorites, but it did introduce me to the cliches of the genre) Tenchi series (all of them) Ranma 1/2 Fist of the North Star (gore and gore and gore, lol) DNAngel Kono Minikuku mo Utsukushii Sekai Angelic Layer Chobits For the simple reason that I despised Shinji, I can't bring myself to recommend Evangelion, but I'm well-aware that it is a beloved classic for many.

Technically, my first anime was Voltron, in the eighties. However, the first anime I saw that I knew as an anime was the original Record of Lodoss War OVA series. I watched it fansubbed on crappy VHS recordings in my cousin's room... and I was doomed after that. That was 1992...

This has a massive common route (equivalent to a Key game's) with three massive arcs, one for Reika, one for the normal side heroines, and one for the Forbidden Zone heroines. In addition, Akemi and Kiyomi's routes split off from the rests of the normal heroines and each other pretty early on, making the game even longer. The Forbidden Zone's heroines don't have a huge amount of scenes to themselves, as they pretty much get lumped together in a single route with a single flow of major events (minor events change based on which heroine you choose, as well as the epilogue... ). Reika's ending is considered to be canon for the normal side heroines, whereas Anzu's is considered to be canon for the Forbidden Zone heroines. Akemi and Kiyomi's routes have distinct flows that show off interesting alternate views of how things turn out. Overall, yeah it is a great game. It gets bashed by some of the more jaded or those who preferred the lighter tone of the first game, but that is mostly people who feel the need to bash anything and everything...

I decided not to do the new Saki anime until all the episodes came out... seemed like a series that needs to be marathoned.

I'll watch anything fantasy/action, just to give it a chance... beyond that, whatever I'm in the mood for. I generally won't watch moeblob or stuff related with the entertainment industry (idols, singers, actors, etc) as a central element or characters. I also won't watch sports anime, unless it is kendo.

I just completed my third playthrough of Akatsuki no Goei and its fandisc, and I'm about to start the third game. However, for those who aren't familiar with these games intimately, I'll give a small explanation of how the series as a whole works. Akatsuki no Goei centers around Asagiri Kaito, a young bodyguard in training who intends to quit. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you choose to look at it) he witnesses a young girl being kidnapped, and he impulsively chases down the kidnappers and saves the girl. If this were your average VN, the kind-hearted and just young man would be rewarded and showered with love by the now deredere ojousama... but this is Akatsuki no Goei. For one thing, Kaito is not a kind-hearted guy. He is selfish, arrogant, and impulsive. He saved her because he was bored, and he has to be blackmailed into becoming her bodyguard. Several factors define Akatsuki no Goei's attraction... Kaito spends much of the game creating situations that you can't help but laugh at, and each of the heroine paths reveal a certain amount of his past and another side of his nature. Taken alone, the original Akatsuki no Goei would be just an exceptionally good love-comedy VN... it's when you take it as part of a bigger series that you start to understand things more. Need to know facts: 1. The third Akatsuki no Goei game is based off of Kaoru's ending in the first game, with a few events from the other paths mixed in. You also need to have read Anzu's path in the fandisc to understand the background for the game fully. 2. The first Akatsuki no Goei can stand alone, and I know a lot of people who simply play through it and the fandisc and stop there, because they want to see the story as having ended there. Tsumibukaki Shuumatsuron is much darker than the previous two games (well, except for Anzu's path in the fandisc), and it requires you to pass through a bad ending to get to the rest of the game. For those who want to end the series on a light-hearted note, it is perfectly acceptable to end your involvement with the series after the fandisc. 3. The third game produces mixed feelings in fans of the series. Some people love it and others hate it, but it is almost unheard of for people not to have some kind of reaction to it. 4. Kaito is not a kind-hearted guy, though he sometimes acts in a compassionate way as a result of doing whatever he wants at a given moment. He is frequently cold-hearted and tends to think in a way that is amoral. This comes out in particular in the third game and to a lesser extent in the first game and the fandisc. The fact that most people like his character and most of the events surrounding him end in laughter is a mark of how good the writing is in this series. 5. The setting is... frequently disturbing. It is an extremely stratified society, to the point where having a poor or criminal parent or grandparent is enough to exclude you from any decent work. Worse, the powerless are considered to be less than human, and the current generation of affluent individuals is growing up seeing anyone below a certain societal level as non-human filth or irrelevant entirely. The existence of the Forbidden Zones (small areas that are completely abandoned by the law, where the lowest of the low struggle for existence) in the large cities are the symbol of that society's problems. 6. Anzu's path in the fandisc reveals all of Kaito's past before he goes into training to become a bodyguard.

Largest cast... Sengoku Hime 5. Over a hundred named characters with spoken lines, lol.

Most VNs let you skip already-read text with the click of a single button...

I never reread already read text during a playthrough...it wastes too much time. It was one thing when I only had translated games to play... but now? I'd never manage to finish anything if I had to reread the common route, lol.

Kuki Youko (antagonist/martial arts master: Ayakashibito) Kokoro [AKA-Chenfui] (Shiranui's imaginary friend, his heart - physical heart, Evolimit) Lelouch (Code Geass)

The common route isn't boring... the protag is just the ultimate form of pessimist, making the average pessimist look like a shining example of optimism.

I'm surprised though... that game is pretty dark. True utsuge don't generally get translated, except for Swan Song... Edit: Incidentally, though I didn't put this game in the running for game of the year last year, it is nonetheless one of the better games from last year. It is pretty rare for me not to think what they intend to bring over sucks, lol.

A second round. If you want some more classics: Ai Yori Aoshi (one of the early love-comedy anime series). Again, for something more recent: Asobi in Ikuyo (ecchi, generally light-hearted, easygoing, mimikko galore) Again, I probably wouldn't recommend anything light from the last two or three years or so... other than Working! and its sequel.

I could have done with them cutting out the Alfheim arc entirely and ending the story with the collapse of SAO... I still enjoyed the Alfheim arc, but I felt that it was unnecessary.

I just liked Kirito... about 25% of my opinion of a story is decided by the protag, 10% by the character dynamics, 25% by the setting, and 40% by the scenario. The setting was interesting, Kirito never managed to disappoint me as a a protagonist, and the story was enjoyable, so there were no problems. The best most anime series manage these days is MAYBE doing one of those factors well. Also, SAO did melodrama much better than .Hack... one of the most basic necessities if you want to grab the attention of the viewer with melodrama is to attack their emotions in an easily comprehensible way, and SAO managed that much better than .Hack.

It didn't hit the same places as .hack because: 1. It actually made sense 2. Even though the idea is the same, the direction it went is completely and utterly different 3. Did you really go into it expecting .hack? *giggles contemptuously*

For something more recent, the Kara no Kyoukai movies, Sword Art Online, Legend of the Legendary Heroes, and for something more classic, Noir. Kara no Kyoukai is based in the same Nasuverse as Tsukihime and FSN, Sword Art Online is one of the few anime from the last few years that is worth watching, and Legend of the Legendary Heroes does fantasy with a nice mix of old and newer styles, creating a fun story. Noir... is a classic for a reason.

For me, I tend to have two types of reactions... I'm either excited and exhausted or disappointed and bored. If the game was deep, stimulated me emotionally and intellectually, and had characters I could empathize with, I tend to go out of it excited and exhausted (though this is an extreme reaction, usually to games that pass my 'favorites' line). Disappointment and boredom...is much more common. Considering the number of moege I've played and the number of role-playing, strategy, and shooter games I played before that (several hundred), it is inevitable that games that don't hit the sweet spot (as I said, baseline it has to stimulate me emotionally or intellectually... preferably both) leave me wanting to shrug my shoulders and move on. I guess the difference is that I am a hardcore gamer and have been one for the better part of two and a half decades. Good stories are my reason for living, and I couldn't live without them. However, I've long since resigned myself to the fact that I'll have to wade through oceans of shit to get to just one gem. It is why I tend to be both more and less objective than the average gamer. My initial response to most games is very subjective... but by the time I've finished a game, I usually have an objective analysis running parallel to my personal tastes. I guess it is because I got tired of being jaded... being condescended to isn't fun for the person on the receiving end, so I made a policy of not letting my jaded tastes control how I evaluated a game to others if it was outside my sweet spot. Naturally, my sweet spot is superviolence, mixed with virulent emotional clashes, an involved and well-designed setting, and a perspective that doesn't leave me feeling helpless (it is the main reason why I despise helpless or weak protags in action vns).