Zalor

It seems fairly interesting. My primary concern is with it being so obscure, if there are even any places to download it anymore, lol.

Many people criticize majoring in the humanities because they claim there are less job opportunities. And while this may technically be true, it is not to the extent people claim. Yes, getting a job related to History, English (or whatever humanities field you choose) is pretty tough. But most people who major in Humanities end up getting jobs that have nothing to do with their majors. I know a decent amount of English majors who are now working for Non-profits and not only getting paid decently well, but enjoy their work as well. If you major in Engineering, it's obvious that you will most likely become an engineer. If you major in the humanities, it isn't clear what career you will get, but plenty of various opportunists exist. Additionally, if you study hard and are ambitious; both Law school and Business school don't really care about what you majored in so long as you do well on the tests. Mentioning this mostly since I'm planning on going into law myself. Interestingly enough, from the lawyers I've spoken to, majoring in something not related to law is actually recommended. (aka doing prelaw isn't as smart as you might think).

By any chance was the guy you helped install Tsukihime me? Here's a link to the old ass thread I was referring to.

To quote from an article Sanahtlig did not too long ago on the subject, "Japanese companies don't care what you want, and neither do localization companies. They want profits, and releasing titles people want is often unfeasible or unprofitable. Time to learn Japanese." This topic is about the VN market around the world, and yet there would virtually be no VN market if it weren't for the Japanese. Meaning all other VN markets are pretty much dependent on the Japanese, since very little quality VNs get produced anywhere else. A reliance on another country for your own market isn't healthy and will lead to little growth. Imagine if only one country wrote and published novels, global literature would be so limited! And that is essentially what the VN market is like. In order for the western market to really expand, we need to produce good VN's, not just translate them. And ironically enough, most of what gets translated isn't even good, lol. So long as the market is this dependent on Japan, learning Japanese really is the best option.

I just knew you were going to post this, lol. To OP, Deep Blue's list is pretty good. Phantom of Inferno also might be worth checking out

I talk about this briefly in my profile description, but to give a more detailed reply; it started with my love of the Kanon 2006 anime. Around when I turned 13 I moved on from the shounen phase of my life, and started to explore other genres. Probably my 3rd or 4th anime I watched after exploring the world of non-shounen/completed anime was Kanon, and that changed my life. Kanon got me to realize that visual entertainment could be so much more than what I had previously experienced. So naturally I continued to watch (and enjoy) other completed anime titles of all sorts of genres (I stopped watching shounen all together at this point). Then randomly on YouTube one day I ran across this review of Kanon. It was then that I discovered that the Kanon anime was based off of a visual novel. I was like "Holy shit! I need to read this!". But at that point in my life I was pretty bad with computers and had no idea how get this VN. Eventually I discovered a thing called "torrents" but had no idea how to use them, so I gave up in frustration and moved on with my life. A few months after than, I decided to look up some freeware VNs in English. I ended up getting my hands on a neat little OELVN titled Memo, and quite enjoyed it. I liked it so much, that I decided to explore what else the OELVN community had to offer (because downloading these VNs didn't require torrents, which at this point in time I still didn't know how to use). I was then deeply disappointed by the next few titles I played, and then dropped VNs altogether for a while. (Btw, to add some perspective. This was during 2010, well before Katawa Shoujo's complete release was out). Than during the winter of that year, I finally sucked it up and figured out not only how to use torrents, but also how to get one of Kanon, and how to patch a VN. I enjoyed the Kanon VN immensely and decided to explore this medium even more. (Only this time, Japanese VNs, not OELVNs since they had deeply disappointed me previously). My next VN was Yume Miru Kusuri, and holy shit did that amaze me. I read Aeka's route all in one day and was quite impressed by this medium. From there I continued to read other VNs from time to time when I found interesting ones that caught my attention. .

I got so excited for a second that this project got updated. Thanks for fixing the link though. I understand that with real life, plus all the writing you do to keep us informed on VN related news it mus be hard to find time for this story. But hopefully you don't drop it entirely.

Narcissu because it is one of my favorite visual novels. But Higanbana looks awfully interesting as well. (I/O looks pretty promising as well). Ever17 is also supposedly really good. It's a classic I've never read actually.

I hope none of the three ended up dead at least... Nope So pretty much like me.

I swear, it's like the Fuwa forums and Fuwa chat are two entirely different communities. Some people I never see on the forums (like Sonicboom2.0, or really everyone other than Kurisu-chan, Kiriririririririri, and Flutterz) seem to be very active on the chat.

I look for three simple attributes, but the importance I stress on them varies. 1) I find them physically attractive. They don't have to be a model by any means. But I want to enjoy looking at them. This is a requirement. However, if a girl exceeds in the other two attributes I looks for, I become more lenient on her beauty. 2) Intelligent, and on my wave-length. By intelligent, I really just mean not stupid and/or ignorant. And by on my wave-length, I mean we think on the same level. Basically, I want to be able to have good conversations with her. 3) Nice. So long as she is sympathetic and empathetic for others (including me), then she passes that test. I don't want a misanthrope for a girl friend, and definitely not for a wife.

To be honest with you, those are my thoughts as well. Also, due to the nature of my school, most people had too much work to do to focus on relationships, including myself. There wasn't really a dating culture in my school, and there were only a handful of couples in total. The only time during high school where I actually would have had time for a relationship was during my last semester of senior year. Everything before that I was up to my neck in work (and so were most other people). That's what's interesting about comparing life to a VN. Unlike a VN where things completely end, and depending on that ending it is either good or bad. In life, phases end, but the whole thing still continues. And indeed, the way certain phases of your life end aren't necessarily bad or good, they just ended. While in a VN I would have gotten the 'bad ending', because my romantic life was non existent. From a non VN perspective, things overall went quite well. I made good friends and got into the college of my choice. 1) Narrate this shit, would read 2) Very happy for you, hope things turned out fine I'm in complete agreement. I would read that as well. Also, congrats.

Having started college a few months ago, I still find myself looking back on high school in a very retrospective light. Sometimes I look back with nostalgia on the fun I had with my friends and the joys of my old life, but other times (including most recently) I look back on the things I regret. Particularly I regret my complete inaction in pursuing romantic relations. If my High School experience were like a VN, I got (and indeed I chose) the no girl bad ending. In fact, the no girl ending in Yume Miru Kusuri basically summarizes my experience. The fact that I can identify with the main protagonist from YMK (Kouhei Kagami) as much as I can is almost scary. Quotes from that ending like "I just couldn't be bothered. There have been a number of chances. And when I think about it, they all had to do with girls. I kept my distance from them, because of their peculiarities. I was concerned that I might get caught up in something bothersome. And that's why I refrained from getting involved with any of them." (Not using a spoiler tag since this quote doesn't really spoil anything from the VN) What's particularly striking about this is that much like that ending, I had options. Not just options, but multiple opportunities that I repeatedly declined. There were girls that I knew were interested in me, and I intentionally did nothing about it. At the time I dismissed them because I didn't think we would match well. But that sounds a bit too much like "I kept my distance from them, because of their peculiarities." And above all, much like a bad ending, I feel this lingering hopelessness. I realize that I haven't really changed much from high school. Which makes me fear Kouhei's concluding words in that bad ending even more, "I'm sure that, in reality... I never really wanted it to change..." In all honestly, I think things will be fine for me (in the future); I'm just in a particularly gloomy mood right now which is influencing my thoughts and writing. But yeah, how about you guys? If your high school experience were a visual novel, what ending did you get? (I'm really curious if anybody got something resembling the childhood friend ending.)

I honestly didn't know that about Arabic. But as for your question, perspectives on that vary. There are some people out there who will tell you that the only way people should read VNs is in Japanese (this is an extreme opinion, and I disagree with it), but reading the original does allow to you to experience the original in its intended glory. My personal perspective is that good writing in any language is good writing. A visual novel translated well into English can be quite enjoyable, and a well-written Japanese VN is enjoyable. So yeah, I don't have a bias towards one or the other. The biggest problem is that since Japanese and English are so different, sometimes things are virtually untranslatable. This is the issue with most Masada works. His VNs are written in ways that exploit the Japanese language in ways that are very difficult to replicate in English. That's at least what I've been told. I probably need at least another year of Japanese under my belt before I'm ready to tackle a Masada VN (like Dies Irae).

Interesting you should ask, since the guy who started this topic was a bit of a mentor for me. Anyway, I've been self studying Japanese for around a year now. The way I studied was by learning the grammar (Tae Kim Grammar is a great guide), and then actually reading VNs with dictionary software. I still have a lot to learn, but my Japanese is now at the point when I can recognize most grammar (so long as it isn't complex/uncommon stuff). Words often get repeated, so you will naturally gain a vocabulary the more you read. Although, I've also taken to using flashcards as well. There are all sorts of methods on how you can efficiently retain vocab and new grammar you learn. But ultimately the most important thing to do is simply to expose yourself to the language (in other words read a lot with dictionaries and grammar guides to help you, until you eventually become less reliant on them).

Wow, Chronopolis actually started a topic. That is reason enough to crawl out of the shadows and make a post before crawling back into the shadows. What makes me want to read a VN above all else is when I see a unique art-style (or unique visual presentation in general), and/or it has a unique and interesting premise. Although I've noticed that often unique visuals and unique story go hand in hand. Now for me, unique visuals extents past simply unconventional character art or background art (those are of course welcome), but the presentation of the words and pictures counts as well. For instance, while Symphonic Rain, Narcissu, Yume Miru Kusuri, Saya no Uta, etc are included in my list of unique visual presentation; I include works like Swan Song as well. Swan Song doesn't use character sprites, and presents the text in a way that accommodates the images. In addition, since Swan Song is more like a novel in many regards, and the way the text is presented gives that feel as well. Here is an example: Thankfully learning Japanese has opened doors to me, since I was beginning to run out of translated VNs that actually interested me. The VN I am currently reading: Sayonara wo Oshiete has saved me from my starvation in search of an interesting VN that uses its art to enhance the story. The VN is Denpa story done right. All the scenes take place during the twilight hours of the day, which just adds to the eeriness of the story and events that unfold.

Steve would disapprove this review. Joking aside, I thought it was not only well written, but expressed the flaws in the game that kept me apprehensive about playing it. I've never read Hoshizora no Memoria because it didn't look like a VN I would like, and this review confirmed my speculations.

It starts with anime, and than the next thing you know your kids learn Japanese, Chinese, Korean and move to one of those countries. Lol, I'm exaggerating a lot. But I do think you made a good point that a lot of weebs eventfully expand their interest to other Asian cultures. Despite the fact that I almost failed Chinese in high school, after studying Japanese for over a year (with an emphasis on reading and Kanji), I'm actually thinking about studying Chinese next fall. I think weebism is just an early symptom for over all Asianophilia.

Instead of reading this I could be learning Japanese... But in all honesty, learning to read Japanese is easier than you would think (mostly thanks to ITH and translation aggregator). I've been self studying for a bit over a year and I can finally read untranslated VNs decently well so long as I have those tools aiding me. Now speaking the language is where I truly struggle. Just like how you learn to read by reading, you learn to speak by speaking (and my speaking practice is comparatively much lower). I am convinced that within 1 - 2 years of self studying with an emphasize on reading, you will be able to read untranslated VNs. But if you want to speak and communicate in the language, that's where classes come in handy (and why I'm in a class now). Also, vice-versa. Classes won't really help much with reading, you're better off self studying if you want to read Japanese stuff.

Fun fact. You know that long analysis I did of Kanon (of Mai and Sayuri's routes). That was an intended project I had for a while, but I didn't get serious about writing it until my family went on a week long vacation (I didn't want to go for various reasons). Out of boredom I finally sat down and wrote it. So boredom + loneliness can equal productivity.

Oh man.. way back in the early days of fuwa (2013), I remember getting in an argument with somebody about Saki versus Akagi. In retrospect it was a dumb thing to argue about. But personally, I really dislike Saki. Both Akagi and Legendary Gambler Tetsuya are good anime that deal with mahjong in a serious light, but I could never get into Saki. But then again, I dislike most moe anime regardless of the subject matter.

I'll tip you .10% of the $2000 if you do it.

Lol, you must have tested in to the highest level Japanese classes available. Out of curiosity, what does this entail? (since you already know the language). Like, do the professors give you graduate level work or something? Also, to what degree are you focusing on Japanese literature? (I'm extra curious because I'm also likely going to major in Japanese. Only I'm still a novice at the language).

Wow, I remember the first version of this you did. Only if I remember correctly, back then you only gave people 3 days to ask questions. 1) What do you think of the broader VN community (also, specifically what are your relations to/thoughts about TLwiki)? 2) Relating to the first question, what is you history with the VN community? Like, how long have you been actively participating on forums about VNs? And retrospectively, how significant/active of a role did you play in those past communities? Do you have fond memories of them? 3) You mentioned you have a job. What do you do if you don't mind me asking? 4) You also said that you are in University. Why did you decide to return to school? And furthermore, what are you studying? (if these questions are too personal you don't have to answer). I'll probably be back for more questions if that's alright. This is all that came to my mind right now.

This basically. I went to one of the top high schools in my city, and I certainly was the smartest kid in my middle school. But going to that high school really put me in my place. It destroyed the ego I built up in middle school, which was probably a good thing since it overall made me a more likable person. It was tough realizing that there were people who were just inanely better than me at certain things, and it made me want to stop trying. But once I got to know them, they were usually rather nice and helpful. They didn't look down on me and respected the effort I was putting. And it also turned out, that a lot of them put more effort and time into things than I thought. I noticed that the few who were assholes (and ultra academically competitive) were usually miserable. They were always stressing about something. By just accepting that they were better than me (at a certain thing and moving on) I realized that I was a lot more happy than them anyway. Which got me to also realize; who cares if you're brilliant if you're chronically stressed and miserable. So yeah, some people will be better than you. But who cares, that is no excuse to stop trying.