Clephas

His comment about plotge being too padded/long is the one I was referring to. Mindless SOL and repeated dating scenes are unnecessary fluff even in SOL games, because they often don't do anything for the character dynamics or character development, which is supposed to be the point. I tend to subconsciously ignore that type of VN now that I don't feel like I have to play them all the time. Generally speaking, even in a romance SOL VN, you only need one or at the most two dating scenes that don't lead into drama or the conflict of the path. However, some companies (Yuzusoft comes to mind) include way too many date scenes (not to mention interminably long h-scenes), resulting in a lot of unnecessary padding. To be blunt, it might sound counter-intuitive, but I often thought of dating as non-SOL content, because (unless the characters are married or the characters have had numerous lovers) dating is a deliberate departure from daily life, a low-level stress-test for romantic relationships because 'dating' has been so beautified in anime culture. Despite jokes about cutting Kasumi's path (a lot of fans make that joke), there is very little you could cut from Dies Irae without weakening it. Dies Irae is a detail-oriented VN in the sense that every detail has its place in the story, right down to the deliberately exaggerated personalities of the main characters on both sides of the conflict. Similarly, I can't see a reason to cut anything out of Muv-Luv Alternative (though Muv-luv itself could have done with a major trim). Hoshi Ori Yume Mirai and the other games by that company actually base their appeal an their extremely detailed romance from high school to full adulthood, developing the relationship and having numerous tribulations. In that sense, I give that company kudos, because it got them a solid fanbase. However, it doesn't appeal to the people who want 'quick in, quick out' SOL romances like Wagamama High Spec. Another thing that needs to be accounted for is reading speed. Even in English, there are people who simply don't read that quickly and those who read excessively fast. For me, completing an 800 page paperback novel in six hours is normal, but for most people that is the work of weeks of scattered reading or several days of concentrated reading. The disparity is inevitably going to lead to differing opinions and preferences for VN length and narration styles. Someone who takes ten minutes to read a page in a novel probably isn't going to like a narrated battle scene that goes on for the equivalent of forty pages. Whereas for me it is simply entertaining. Not to mention those VN fans who work full time aren't going to have enough free time to really enjoy a VN like Dies Irae even if they have an average or slightly above average reading speed. For someone like that, the wordiness of a game like Dies Irae isn't something to relish but something that eats into their free time more than they think is necessary. ... why am I defending my opponents? Stupid fairness brain...

To be honest, this isn't one of your better videos... Length preferences are entirely a matter of taste and most VNs are too short, not too long. A lot of VNs cut out stuff so that they have excuses to make fandiscs, after all. To some extent, I can agree that Hoshi Ori is too long, but for a certain crowd (who want to follow the romance until they are in the grave) it is an attractive game. Your comments on Dies Irae were malicious and excessive. It was like listening to a 4chan troll's rant. I also found it amusing you were comparing it to Fate/Stay Night, when the experiences are completely different except for the beginning. Instead of pointing out things that could have been cut out to shorten the game (which was supposedly the premise of the video), you immediately decided to bash it in general, which kinda defeats the point of including it in the first place.

Kuroshitsuji II- This sequel gives me very mixed feelings. On the one hand, I hated how it invalidated the ending of season 1's drama. On the other, the ending and leadup to it is awesome. Densetsu no Yuusha- Great berserk scenes, weak comedy, generally an interesting series and concept. Unfinished. Nuraryihon no Mago- Youkai lovers watch, other people not so much. Asobi ni Iku Yo- One of the best ecchi harem anime to have come out ever. Not just because of catgirls, lol.

DMM does this periodically, thoroughly blocking foreign IPs for months at a time, easing the restrictions for a while, then doing it again. Honestly, I dunno why they do it... I mean, all it does is cost them business. Edit: I do know that early on it was an attempt to disrupt the pirates, but most of the people who do the actual work of ripping VNs live in China (incidentally why so many pirated VNs have spyware and ransomware on them), Korea, Southeast Asia, or Japan... IP blocks don't help at all with the Japanese, and it barely slows the rest, since the ones ripping are hackers in the first place. It's a pretty pointless way of doing things.

Have you tried Textractor yet? You can get agth by downloading Translation Aggregator, as it comes attached to that program.

Fate/Grand Order is the name of the mobile game/visual novel/card battle game that has become synonymous with the Nasuverse over the last seven years or so. For those unfamiliar with the game, I'll go ahead and describe the flow of events that lead up to this particular chapter-turned-anime in the spoiler box below. In the game, Camelot is considered to be the first 'serious' chapter and the one with perhaps the deepest link to the other Fate/Stay Night series in spirit (considering the characters involved). The sheer level of scenario quality and artwork that went into the game version was completely different than what you saw in previous chapters, and it lacked the somewhat oddly humorous aspects that went into them. The anime, split into two movies, is easily one of the top-quality Fate-series anime I've seen, if only because it shows the main reason why a lot of people keep playing FGO, despite the game being a blatant money trap waiting to suck your bank account dry if you aren't careful. Throughout the last few chapters of the first main volume and the Lostbelt Chapters, FGO continually jerks at the emotions, showing you both the dark and heroic sides of the Heroic Spirits that appear on both sides of the conflict. In a way, I consider Camelot to be the true starting point of the current FGO 'style', and it shows. I cried numerous times during this movie, and while the action falls far short of work done by ufotable on other Fate series anime, the producers did not fail in any way to grab the attention and emotions of the watchers. Most of the important moments of the original game are presented in an impactful manner, and the only real complaint I have is that certain characters didn't have the time to make an appearance in the first movie (Tawara Touta in particular is impactful in the sense that he and Arash were a team in the original content and brought life to the mountain people settlement part). The moments that stand out to me most in the second movie are Mordred vs Sanzo, Tristan vs Serenity and Cursed Arm Hassan, and the final conflict (Lion King vs Mash, Ritsuka, and Bedeviere). This is not so much because the fights were awesome but because the lines and their presentation were perfectly designed to produce a result that would remain in memory and impact the emotions. Overall, while the animation quality of this anime falls well short of the ufotable-made Fate series, in exchange the emotional impact is on a completely different level.

Sorcery Jokers Gensou no Idea I/O Edit: @Osakayu Also, Subahibi doesn't count because it has rape.

Gundam Unicorn- One of the better Gundam series from the Universal Century universe, I'd say second place behind the 08th MS Team series. Action is top-quality, as is the animation. The story... is typical Gundam, lol. Baka to Shoukanjuu- Low-quality comedy fantasy. Omamori Himari- I have a weakness for non-human heroines, so I loved this one, but I was still annoyed that it never went anywhere. Vampire Bund- A heavy-handed attempt at a modern vampire series that didn't quite match expectations. Katanagatari- Violent series that is reasonably fun to watch, story is absurd though.

Mmm... The question of whether this might stimulate the Western market... yes and no is the short answer, in my opinion. Yes, some people will spend more on EVNs and thus stimulate some people to make more... but it probably won't be as much as you might think. In my experience, many JVN addicts tend to outright ignore EVNs if someone doesn't insistently push them to play them. The reason why this is a problem from the opinion of someone who wants an outcome where the JVN crowd heads for EVNs is that there are a huge number of untranslated 'classics' and high-quality VNs in Japan. Ironically, in recent years, the most creative ones are the least likely to get a translation, which actually makes sense, since mindless SOL is the flavor of the month right now in the localization industry (because it is easy to read and easy to translate).

The JVN industry in Japan is dying (except for nukige). There are entire months where there are no serious releases these days. Covid pretty much killed most of the minor companies and several of the major ones. This just accelerated the trend that began in 2019, as demand for SOL games, which were the bread and butter of the industry, started to fall rapidly with the lower buying power of the demographics that primarily consumed them.

Some companies utilize the rigid playing order well, but others do so poorly, seeking to hide lower path quality by forcing you to experience the lesser paths first. A classic example of this is Rui wa Tomo o Yobu as well as Comyu. In the former case, Rui's path is by far the weakest path in the game, and yet it is the first one you are forced to experience. The same goes for Benio's path in Comyu. This has a huge disadvantage, as it gives an impression that the game is lower quality than it actually is and leads to people dropping it without seeing the best parts. Ruitomo is still a top-quality game, but more than one person who has tried it at my suggestion has complained about Rui's path being so weak before dropping it. On the other hand, Dies Irae does the same by enforcing that you play the game in the order of either Kasumi or Kei first, then Marie, than Rea. This actually works out ideally (especially since it links directly into the Shinzabansho canon), and it also allows you to ignore one or the other if you wish (Kasumi gets ignored the most often, incidentally, lol). The most common use of Rigid Playing Order happens in chuunige as a genre. This is probably because the scenario directors and writers in these cases are far more likely to have a specific pathway to the finale than other genres. The methodology I came up with is to split heroines/paths into four tiers. I call these tiers the 'introductory path', the 'sub path', the 'main path' and the 'conclusion path'. Introductory paths serve more as setting and character dynamic introductions more than anything else. They usually assiduously avoid presenting the 'hidden truths' of the setting and plot, while providing a truncated ending that deliberately falls short of what the reader would want. The aforementioned Benio and Rui paths, as well as the Anna path in Vermilion Bind of Blood all fall into this category. Sub paths are a bit of an odd man out. For some reason, some VNs throw in random heroines and paths that have no real meaning for the story as a whole. Ayaya's path in Comyu and the 'normal paths' that sometimes appear in various games fall into this category. Main paths are the most common type of path in plot-centric VNs. These paths have the quality of being conclusive when taken by themselves but do not resolve the plot's core conflict in a conclusive manner. Examples of such paths include Kei's path in Dies Irae, as well as most of the paths in Tasogare no Sinsemilla. Conclusion paths are often represented as a true route, grand route, canon route, etc. The universal aspect of these paths is that they all resolve the core conflict of the plot in a conclusive manner, as well as tear the veil concealing most of the mysteries hidden in the other paths. They will often include variants of events that occurred in other paths that lead up to a grand conclusion, and there are often aspects of the plot that only make sense because you played the main paths prior to playing this type of path.

About two-thirds of most web novel writers are just pulling it out of their rears as they write... including me.

I wonder how they'd even go about that, considering how varied the quality of Japanese to English translations are... Even if you provided every localized game and the original text as learning material, it probably wouldn't let it produce an accurate translation (though they'd probably also need to feed it high-quality prose in massive amounts to make it comprehensible). More likely, you'd get something either slightly below or slightly above average, which isn't that high of quality either way... Though I imagine just cutting out the translation and editing staff would save a lot of money for localization companies... lol

It is an issue, and one that doesn't really need to happen with localized VNs. To be blunt, compared to JVNs that haven't been localized, the prices are unbelievably cheap even in the most expensive cases. There is no excuse for pirating localized VNs... especially since sales on digital versions are a regular thing if you just wait.

Death March is pretty good though it is over twenty volumes (too bad the anime was horrible), and so is Arifureta. However, I mostly agree...

I'll go ahead and begin with an intro to my current experience with Light Novels and Web Novels in Japanese. For the last two years, I've been reading them at a rate of 60-100 chapters a day (faster in the case of below-average size chapters). I primarily read fantasy with a side of science fiction (no, not just isekai, though I love isekai). This isn't hard, because fantasy and science fiction make up over three-quarters of all the LNs and Web Novels out there. This is a bit ironic to my eyes, since it was the reverse with VNs, where romance and slice of life made up over 90% of all JVNs. The great thing about web novels is that you can read them at your leisure without paying anything, and if you like it, most good authors have a patreon you can contribute to or get a light novel release you can buy to put money in their pockets. The downsides are that there are usually three bad web novels for every one good one, and even the good ones usually have problems with the writing (a web novel I read recently used incorrect kanji for common phrases in a number of cases, making it annoyingly hard to read). The good thing about Light Novels is that they generally have added and more refined content compared to the original material, and they generally also come along with at least some pictures to help you get an idea of what the characters look like (some Japanese authors just suck at describing character appearances beyond hair color and skin color). The downside is that light novels are generally more expensive than standard paperbacks or ebooks and rarely go down in price even after years or even decades have passed. As such, they are often a huge burden on the pocketbook (in particular, a lot of LN series give you very little content for each $10 volume, as little as one hundred fifty short pages in a lot of cases, which is totally not worth it). The upside of web novels in terms of content is that web novels tend to be more freeform and creative. However, in exchange most are never completed and many of them just trail off because the writer runs out of ideas. This is opposed to Light Novels, where I've definitely experienced situations (repeatedly) where authors are just continuing out of momentum and the story never goes anywhere... which is horrible when you are already overpaying for novels that are far too short for the money in question. It is pretty common for LN series to run to 20+ volumes and yet never really get anywhere...

Railgun- Yuri-ish To Aru series. Sora no Otoshimono- Ecchi comedy at its best, though that isn't saying much. Kiddy Girl- A poor-quality sequel to Kiddy Grade. Tatakau Shisho- Moderate quality fantasy in terms of story, extremely high-quality in terms of action. Seiken no Blacksmith- Average fantasy series from an era chock-full of them. Seitokai no Ichizon- Comedy series with no real content, still fun to watch. Nyan Koi- One of the last old-style rom-coms. Darker than Black 2- Still Darker than Black with good action, but the story is poorly presented compared to the first season and it lacks stylistically.

My list (ten): Kamio Ami (Semiramis no Tenbin)- You don't mind being manipulated, as long as it is by a pretty girl. Chitose (Silverio Vendetta)- You like functional yandere heroines and don't mind getting the shit beat out of you to make you a better person. Belche (Draculius)- You like complex and layered relationships with women, especially ones where the woman serves multiple roles beyond wife and lover in your life. Ritia (Evolimit)- You are willing to overlook a bit of cybernetic modification if it is for an adorable and kind-hearted girl who also happens to have the hobby of leading armies of young people against giant robots. Kei (Dies Irae)- Being enemies doesn't mean much to you beyond spice to a relationship, and you have a thing for strong women with a serious fragile side. Aria (Yurikago Yori Tenshi Made)- You don't mind patiently answering your partner's questions because figuring out her unique personal language is as intriguing to you as her body. Velvet (Akeiro Kaikitan)- You like the quiet type, even if they seem a bit gloomy, and you have a bit of a savior complex. Suzu (Ayakashibito)- You prefer to be as close as family with your partner, and the stronger that bond is, the better you feel about it. Adelheit (Floral Flowlove)- You like taking care of your partner and the more hopelessly lazy they are, the more you like it. Her great singing voice and kind heart are just the cherry on top though. Tonoko (Haruka ni Aogi, Uruwashi no)- You prefer to be the more mature figure in the relationship, and you have a taste for girls that are smarter than you. If they are kind-hearted and sensitive, that only makes it better.

Canaan- The conclusion of the 'Girls with Guns' themed series that began with Noir. Following an innocent and warm-hearted reporter and a cold-blooded and emotionally stunted assassin through their days in a country on the verge of civil war, with lots of Metal Gear Solid style happenings in the background. Seriously, it really resembles that series in atmosphere except for the camera girl. Princess Lover- Another crappy attempt at combining a bunch of different heroine paths into a single VN... ironically, it is actually better than the original game, which is about as crappy as you can get for a rom-com vn. Spice and Wolf II- Pretty much just more of the same, in a good way. Needless- Weird post-apocalyptic fantasy, fun for a single go through but not worth rewatching. Kara no Kyoukai 7- In a way this is the true conclusion of one of the story threads that began in the second movie (which was the first chronologically). It has a lot of interesting moments and drama, and it serves as the official conclusion of the main story. The movie that comes after this one is basically an epilogue.

It's been the case to one degree or another since covid hit, but there is literally nothing this month in the way of non-fandisc, non-nukige PC JVNs. Considering that before covid, it wasn't uncommon for eight or nine to be released a month, you can see how far the industry has fallen in the last few years.

Souten Kouro- Series following Cao Cao from the early days of his rise. It is fairly high quality and a good watch. Haruhi Suzumiya- You either love it or you hate it. K-on- The abomination that caused the term 'moeblob' to be coined. This series should never have existed, as it spawned even more abominations of a similar nature. Tayutama- Middling quality, screwed up ending (for some reason, they didn't use the Mashiro path ending, despite her being the chosen heroine...) Tears to Tiara- An abortive attempt to repeat the high-quality results they somehow managed to get from the Utawarerumono anime. Asura Cryin- If it weren't for the protagonist being a Shinji Mk-??? then this would have been an interesting anime. Setting is often poorly presented despite the hints at greater complexity. Phantom- In terms of action, it is similar to Noir and Madlax (fun if you like assassination action with guns) but it fails to fully capture the attraction of the gritty and down-to-earth (relatively speaking) VN from nitroplus. Pandora Hearts- Fantasy series with an interesting concept and good heroine, but it never gets an ending. 07-Ghost - BL-ish fantasy action series that is actually good to watch if you don't mind the undertones.

Seija Musou's original WN and Ln were both high quality. It's questionable whether that will translate to the quality of the anime though. Summer is mostly sequels and isekai for me... I didn't see anything especially interesting on the list otherwise. I am surprised they are reviving Bleach at this point, and I'll definitely watch the Kenshin remake (though the story hasn't aged that well).

Haruka ni Aogi, Uruwashi no - While some might say the setting is unrealistic, the romances in the main school routes are very emotional and impactful even given their situations. Every path stands on its own in the main school routes (the redheads in the branch school routes have related routes), and there is a tight focus on the relationship from the moment of the path split, with the relationship being slow burn early on in all three cases. Gin'iro Haruka Hoshi Ori Yume Mirai Edit: To clarify, the best place to look for VNs with actual romance (vs harem guy gets to choose anyone) is VNs made between 2004-2014. To be frank, most of the supposedly romance-heavy VNs that came out after that were relatively low quality. Tone Works VNs stand out as an exception, as all of them have extremely good romance from beginning to end.

To Aru Majutsu no Index- At the time, a promising - if generic - fantasy shounen series. Unfortunately, though it was popular, the later seasons began to feel like a digression from what was good about it. Toradora- One of the last classic-style rom-coms. High-quality and enjoyable, even today. Black Butler- I liked this series a great deal (and no, not because of any yaoi vibes that kvan mentions above). I liked it for the sheer power of Ciel's personality and strength of will and pursuing what he wants. Kara no Kyoukai 6- A digression from the rest of the series in the sense that it has no relation to the core story. However, it has some good action scenes as it follows Kokutou's brocon little sister in investigating problems at the womens' school she attends (it was also attended by Asagami Fujino). Tytania- A high-quality space opera series that never completed. Still pissed off about that years later, lol. Macademi Wasshoi- Comedy, ecchi, silliness, zaniness. This series is enjoyable for people who like absurd humor and ecchi. It also makes fun of Harry Potter unapologetically. Kurozuka- Guy gets turned into a vampire by his girlfriend in the twelfth century, follows him during his periods of wakefulness into the future. Shikabane Hime- An urban fantasy action series that never got to the point. Casshern Sins- Basically tons of feels and violence in a melancholic world headed for ruin. Yozakura Quartet- People trying to keep things together in a sanctuary city for youkai even as others try to destroy it. Never really goes anywhere. Gundam 00 S2- Conclusion of Gundam 00, great mecha action and good story.

Natsume Yuujinchou- Definitely a 'naki' anime, basically gives feels and has no other purpose. Youkai stuff is interesting, but ninety percent of it is trying to make you cry. Kara no Kyoukai 5- Arguably the best of the movies in terms of action. This is also the climax of the series in the sense that Shiki confronts the behind-the-scenes enemy. World Destruction- Incidentally the first anime I fansubbed, it is a mediocre action fantasy anime. Nogizaki Haruka no- comedy rom-com, decent quality. Sekirei- Ecchi anime with action on the side. Harem-building with a setting that never really comes to life. Blade of the Immortal- Excellent action, failure to conclude the story, which was poorly presented anyway compared to the gore and violence.