Ayana

I smile. I smile because the world can become gifted and shared, after all. I admire and respect you. "How was Alice in Wonderland? Did you find it interesting?" Alice...

I stare in bewilderment for 777 seconds, and then I quickly and repeatedly ask the question: "What did you see at the ___?" Edit: What do you see?

References in these works are really cool, whether they're serious or comedic. However, I have come across too many in the huge number of VNs that I've read (given that what I look for are "referential" stories in the first place...) to specify anything notable enough. I could say that, so far, the highest amount of references (both of which are serious and comedic) I've seen in an eroge was in SubaHibi. Can't give any examples, though...

I would also like to participate in on this circle, it sounds like a lot of fun! Although... I can relate a bit to what Clephas was discussing earlier here, about the disparity of what was read and what wasn't between the various people here. Though I haven't played nearly as much eroge, it's still the case that I've played most of the english translated stuff aside from nukige. Would certainly like to discuss the works with others, though... so I'm going to join. I also don't mind rereading Visual Novels (translated or untranslated, it's fine either way), so as long as I have others to talk/discuss about it with during those times. ^^ Sign me up!

There's a lot of games that I've played over periods of my life that took my breath away, as is with any progression of experiencing new things that come along your way. The last one that amazed me was an eroge called Subarashiki Hibi. Ever since finishing and re-reading 3 times consecutively a year and a half ago, I can say that my entire worldview and thought patterns have changed (or rather, have been heavily modified) as a result of taking to heart the story within this VN. Not only was it extraordinarily touching on a personal level, but it was also one of the greatest feats of ingenuity and 'paradigm shifting' I've ever seen in any story in any media. I've been "mindblown" by SubaHibi (sometimes by just thinking about it on the spot) so many times I've practically lost count and it goes to show that the writer is supposedly a very intelligent person who understands the world around us whilst being able to properly express himself (oh yes, it's a philosophical work xD). I guess my main interest/value here must be philosophy (or philosophy-related), as I managed to find what was the 'ideal' in accordance to this value. Obsessing aside, before that were various other stories that I previously thought were the greatest feat in media, too. Before SubaHibi; I saw Umineko no Naku Koro ni as the ideal, with Little Busters! being the next, and then Ever17 before that. Pretty sure if I traced all the way to the very first 'amazing' thing, it'd be Chrono Trigger. CT was a game that I held (and still do) as one of the true masterpieces out there in video games. I'm probably more into eroge/VNs now because the stories are more expanded upon, with no focus on gameplay mechanics and the improving of them alongside story elements. Maybe another one of my values is the story aspect independent to any gameplay? It's inevitable that SubaHibi will be surpassed as the pinnacle of all media by something else, most likely unexpectedly so. Knowing this, I like to be as forwardly biased as possible, so I can easily shift into any other thing I get involved with next (after all, this can be nothing but an opinion of mine).

M-maybe that's for the best, too. ._. Valvrave seems to become more and more "over-the-top" as the show goes along, even counting near the end where it gets REALLY over-the-top (seriously, WTF ). This made it really hard for me to take watching the anime seriously throughout, so it's definitely a flaw. I felt like the plot was too convoluted and all over the place (most events all felt rather forced as they were presented), that it'd need about 4 or 5 seasons to fit it all in a more diluted fashion. To boot, this manages to ruin the character development (in to which there hardly is any for the most important character) because the attention is directed exactly towards the plot and its misgivings. I still hold to the fact that it did very well in some other areas, but those areas are most definitely neither the character and plot aspects, which I feel are the biggest priority for any developing anime.

Finished Kakumeiki Valvrave and now on to watching Suisei no Gargantia. Sci-fi/Mecha glory. Valvrave was pretty good (aesthetics, fight scenes, music, overall entertainment value), but I do have some hold-ups with it (most but not all aspects to the characters and plot) that prevent me from regarding it as anything higher than, let's say, '7/10 material' for anime. Oh yeah, and Valvrave is one of the most utterly "WTF" things I've watched recently so I recommend the anime to anyone who loves those types of experiences. As far as Gargantia goes, the originality of the premise presentation has me so hooked that I may end up marathon'ing the whole show in one session. ^^

Aw you seriously beat me to the punch on this one. :< But my favorite is and always will be for: Subarashiki Hibi (Spoilers!)

Well, finished with Chapter 2 of Asairo... on to Chapter 3 now. Just wanted to say that this is seriously the most beautiful thing I ever read, and that never before in my life, have I craved Milk Tea more so than I do now. Asairo has actually become one of my favorite VNs in general, there's no doubt about that even when I'm not finished with the whole thing. <3

I cannot wait for the new website design, seriously... well, even though it's not like I hate the current one now.

One of my favorite songs. First off, the video is really on a whole other level than that of most music videos out there with it's creativity and/or originality (while still being trippy, you can find quite a lot of interesting symbols in it that coincide with the music). I'm also then led to believe, from the song in question, that Pharrel Willians is something of a savant with his direction here. Maybe biased because I love it when artists and cultures mix together like this, as seen with the symbols. Oh and I do find the song catchy as hell. 10/10 from me either way.

Wonderful list, Clephas. I shall be adding some of these to my 'wishlist' (which I don't use on vndb, but rather, in my mind :3). It's a bit of a habit that I hardly explore the fantasy genre (or rather, any genres other than the one I currently idealize) and I'd want to do so in order to broaden my horizons/expand my views on eroge out there. Being that you're really experienced in the eroge scene, seeing this list is extremely helpful, especially for motivational factors. ^^

くすくす… "It certainly has been a long time since we last met, hasn't it?" Well, in any case, I welcome you with a smile~

Hello there and welcome to the forums, Sirjabberwock (I LOVE your name, btw. Through the Looking-Glass <3). From my experience with "learning Japanese", I can only tell you how utterly simple yet time-consuming the whole process is. Though, this depends on if you aim to 'master' japanese, or if you want to become 'accustomed' to it instead. If it's the latter, then you'll only have to spend a few months at most with a lot of free time. Mastering japanese takes years, however. My method for getting used to it was (enough to read it pretty well, but not to write/speak it effortlessly); taking in the entirety of Tae Kim's Guide on Japanese Grammar whilst at the same time reading various untranslated eroge using ITH+TA with Mecab and JParser (no machine translation). There are, what I feel, several perfect-tier guides on this whole process (Aero's Guide), and it can help you tremendously... both for boosting your psychological motivation going through the process, and just generally making it quicker to learn japanese. You'll get to gradually learn the language as well as reading some of the truly wonderful, yet untranslated stories within eroge out there. I really hope this helps you on your road to success in the Japanese language, and if you don't particularly mind, I could even give you some suggestions on what to read (though there is a 'picture guide' for that, which would be far more suitable, tbh). =) Wish you luck with your endeavors. ^^

Impressions on Asairo so far, after having finished Chapter 1... Spectacular. Seriously, this is already an amazing read and I'm only just starting that of the 2nd Chapter, which is supposedly the longest. Like that of the previous 'Oretsuba', it's the writing that really does this eroge justice (or rather, it just takes an already great VN to even greater heights *.*) . Also, the whole thing so far fits my particular tastes extremely well (especially the characters... Hiyo <3).

Back again... and I'm currently listening to some really strange music (once again).

How do I say this... it'd be too "outside of the norm" of an experience for me to just gladly accept right away. To be honest, it doesn't actually sound all too pleasant for any given circumstance. So my answer is: n-no. (t-this is probably bad... need to become more open-minded perhaps xD) Last thing... Fuwanovel has got to be the best community I've ever had the pleasure of being in. With that said, I do have to humbly thank the moderators who run and manage the website for their support of it, as it's a top-notch and wonderful service. 10/10. This is my ￥３０ (or rather, priceless) gesture of thanks to the mods and to the entire community in general (a happy family). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZK68z2JVNs

Out of the three; movies, animes, and/or games... the scariest I've experienced was from playing a game. And as far as scary games go, Amnesia: The Dark Descent really takes the cake on this one. It took me literally 2 months to actually beat this relatively short game, because I had to take practically week-long breaks in-between playing sessions from the terror. Though, this was me playing with headphones, lights turned off, at night, alone, etc. Amnesia's atmospheric and psychological effects are truly wondrous as far as horror goes... with many of the actual scares simply being a result of Nothing Is Scarier (courtesy of Tvtropes). And at this point, nothing else out there really scares me anymore due to the severe desensitization I received from Amnesia. :/

I'm extremely passionate about this particular Visual Novel, as many have probably seen from my behavior here along with looking all over my profile and avatar, etc. Subarashiki Hibi ~Furenzoku Sonzai~ is seriously just that great in my eyes. I've managed to fully read SubaHibi about 4 times over, and each time it has gotten that much greater. I can read practically any given part of the VN at this point and do nothing but smile in utter satisfaction because of how genius everything in it is. But of course the main reason is that it clicks with a lot of my personal values and ideals. I honestly can't say anymore than this, but SubaHibi is a definite favorite of mine even for years to come. Who knows how many times I've actually expressed these thoughts here already. xD

Finally, finally finished with Oretsuba... That took a relatively lengthy amount of time considering the norm I have for reading through entire 50+ hr VNs. Though it's safe to say that Oretsuba is one of my favorite VNs next to Baldr Sky and SubaHibi, as it was probably the most entertainment I've had in a long time. xD Funniest VN, definitely. Next, I'm reading one that a friend recommended me a while back; Kitto, Sumiwataru Asairo Yori mo, or 'Asairo' for short. I feel like I'm on a roll with VNs lately so I want to keep up the pace and then never let go~!

Haru's awesome! <3 10/10 I know right?! I love everything about Haru, she's like the ideal character in my eyes (well, next to a certain someone with the same voice actress <-- Kawashima Rino). Speaking of which, her VA, to me, is the single most stand-out and noticeable VAs I ever hear from when it's in VNs or anything japanese related. G-Senjou, Kara no Shoujo, Ikikoi, Subarashiki Hibi, Natsukumo, many more, etc. as well as some anime. She always voices such amazing eccentric/stand-out characters, and thus it makes her voice just as noticeable. Especially to the point where I'm able to immediately tell it's her without reading a CV description. A definite favorite~