vn release Gahkthun of the Golden Lightning released!

[Decay]

http://mangagamer.org/gahkthun/

Woot! I thought for sure that this would slip into 2016, but MangaGamer is managing to squeeze it in just before the year's end, getting it out there December 23rd! For those who don't know, this is the latest entry in Liarsoft's acclaimed Steampunk franchise, which also contains the popular fan translated titles Sekien no Inganock and Shikkoku no Sharnoth. They're a unique setting in VNs. Some of the games are set in fictional locations within the world, but some like Gahkthun, are set in early 20th century Europe, fusing together steampunk, fantasy, and science fiction themes with a hint of lovecraftian horror. The sky overhead is under a permanent blanket of smog, while the seas have been dyed black by pollution. Gahkthun takes place in Marseille, France in 1908, starring one Nikola Tesla. This shit couldn't possibly be more nerdy and I love it. Each game in the series is written by Sakurai Hikaru, notable for her poetic prose. This prose is something that was pretty much lost entirely in the Amaterasu translations of Inganock and Sharnoth, but Gahkthun's translation is being handled by Koestl instead. Koestl, known for his absolutely excellent Grisaia translation, is trying to preserve as much of the feel of the original work as possible. 

In case you can't tell, I'm super excited for this. I was a fan of the previous games and this one looks awesome. I really want it to do well so MangaGamer and Liar-soft wants to release the rest of the series and possibly other Liar-soft VNs as well. Anyone else excited for this?

[Deep Blue]

this looks really good, gonna play it for sure when it comes out even if I have to pause all the vn I'm reading at the moment.

[Darklord Rooke]

One of the few upcoming VNs I'm interested in - big sucker for steampunk and Koestl does good work.

Edited November 13, 2015 by Rooke

[VirginSmasher]

http://mangagamer.org/gahkthun/

Woot! I thought for sure that this would slip until next year, but MangaGamer is managing to squeeze it in just before the year's end, getting out there December 23rd! For those who don't know, this is the latest entry in Liarsoft's acclaimed Steampunk franchise, which also contains the popular fan translated titles Sekien no Inganock and Shikkoku no Sharnoth. They're a unique setting in VNs. Some of the games are set in fictional locations within the world, but some like Gahkthun, are set in early 20th century Europe, fusing together steampunk, fantasy, and science fiction themes with a hint of lovecraftian horror. The sky overhead is under a permanent blanket of smog, while the seas have been dyed black by pollution. Gahkthun takes place in Marseille, France in 1908, starring one Nikola Tesla. This shit couldn't possibly be more nerdy and I love it. Each game in the series is written by Sakurai Hikaru, notable for her poetic prose. This prose is something that was pretty much lost entirely in the Amaterasu translations of Inganock and Sharnoth, but Gahkthun's translation is being handled by Koestl instead. Koestl, known for his absolutely excellent Grisaia translation, is trying to preserve as much of the feel of the original work as possible. 

In case you can't tell, I'm super excited for this. I was a fan of the previous games and this one looks awesome. I really want it to do well so MangaGamer and Liar-soft wants to release the rest of the series and possibly other Liar-soft VNs as well. Anyone else excited for this?

This one looks pretty good. I like me some steampunk & science fiction so this one will be on my to play list.

[Canicheslayer]

Yeah It looks VERY good. I'll preorder it next month...probably

[Beato]

Was planning on reading it in japanese first but looks like I won't be able to manage to do so before the english release, I probably still want to read it in japanese first but I'll definitely buy the english release anyway to support it.

[BookwormOtaku]

Just preordered mine.

[Turnip Sensei]

I haven't been this hyped for a VN release since Steins;Gate. Christmas is going to be awesome.

Now just I need to put some effort in finishing Shiei no Sona-Nyl before that. 

 

[Kawasumi]

yes, been looking forward to this, I have been a huge fan of steampunk since I read The Edge Chronicles.

Looks like MG is gonna take my money once again.

[Narcosis]

Here goes my money

[senhua1980]

Insta preordered.

I love Liarsoft's Steampunk theme.

[Maxel]

Damn, I'm hyped for this one:

• Good translation? Checked
• Good story? Checked
• Awesome visuals? Checked
• High ratings on EGS/VNDB? Checked
• Romance? Checked
• Skills??? Checked!
• Choices? Checked

That's enough, only issue might be the price 45$, JP download version is priced 50$ :/ Will buy 100% though. And as I thought Dec release, awesome! Hope Supipara will release in Dec too, if not then January I guess.

Also really liked the op music:

Edited November 13, 2015 by Maxel

[Eclipsed]

Will admit, got a little hyped from reading how hyped you were.

[Josephl64]

Not really a steampunk fan, but it looks interesting regardless. Hopefully there's a physical release(unless I'm missing something and that was already confirmed).

[Crimrui]

Damn, I'm hyped for this one:

• Good translation? Checked
• Good story? Checked
• Awesome visuals? Checked
• High ratings on EGS/VNDB? Checked
• Romance? Checked
• Skills??? Checked!
• Choices? Checked

Can't argue with those options. I'm pretty much sold on the setting but also having romance and choices? That's an overkill.

[Yukiru]

I'm planning on buying a couple copies myself, really looking forward to it, gotta save up money for this December.

[Decay]

For those of you new to the series, MangaGamer posted a brief overview of the setting: http://blog.mangagamer.org/2015/11/13/gahkthun-of-the-golden-lightning-and-the-steampunk-series-a-brief-introduction/

[Beato]

Just pre-ordered it, though like I said earlier in the thread I probably want to read it in Japanese first. It looks like it's doing pretty well so hopefully that means that we'll get more steampunk games (and liarsoft in general) in english.

[Wonderfullyevil]

I was attempting to formulate my thoughts into a meaningful manner and add to the topic.

I now realized I can't.

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF--- YES DECEMBER CANNOT COME ANY FASTER

[Katatsumuri]

I probably annoyed the hell out of someone when I saw how close this is to coming out. I absolutely loved both Sharnoth and Inganock (Sharnoth basically had everything I really wanted from a VN when I read it the first time), and I really, *really* hope mangagamer translate the two between Sharnoth and Gakthun. Well, now I hope the hype train doesn't derail on the way to christmas...

I love this series
The hype train can't go faster.
Merry christmas, me.

Edited November 18, 2015 by Katatsumuri

[kooolm]

A VN about Tesla. Now that's something I want to try to read, lol.

[Chronopolis]

Aww yea. So happy that a game like this is getting localized.

[Decay]

Unfortunately Edison doesn't play a role in this one, as far as I know, so they don't play up that rivalry at all. Although it does feature Florence Nightingale and Wilhelm Reich.

Most of you know who Florence Nightingale is, but I'm sure many of you have never heard of Wilhelm Reich. Reich was an Austrian psychoanalyst, active from the 1920s until his death in '57. He worked under Freud and gained some recognition early on. But his theories quickly became heavily politicized. He had The Mass Psychology of Fascism published in 1933, after which he made a hasty exit from Nazi Germany. He was highly critical of fascism and, interestingly enough, attributed the rise of fascism to the repression of the youth's sexual desires. This political philosophizing caused some alienation in the psychoanalyst community, but it didn't end there.

His next work, The Sexual Revolution, was a controversial work that was practically pseudo-science. It merged ideas from marxism with psychoanalysis and theorized that the source of all neurosis is the lack of "orgastic potency" in subjects. He was actually somehow even more obsessed with sex than Freud was. He came up with a theory surrounding "orgone," a supposed universal energy that drives all life, which is sexual in nature. And he came up with a bizarre form of therapy where he would have his patients strip down and he would prod and massage them in certain ways that would allow them release repressed emotions and sometimes also reach orgasm. Yeah. Suffice to say, he became a bit of an outcast, and almost no one follows his teachings anymore. 

So, what does this have to do with Gahkthun? Gahkthun's Wilhelm Reich is the leader of The Academia's Governing Council and actually has a fascist bent, which goes against the real-world Reich. The impression I get from his character bio is that he seems to be all business, being the kind of guy who has no time for sex and never talks about it. But what he does have in common is "Orgone." Gahkthun's Reich seems to be in search of this cosmic force he believes to be the manifestation of bliss itself. It will be interesting to see how many other ways the character may relate to the real life figure.

I know this post was largely apropos of nothing, but I like it when games utilize historical figures like this and I enjoy comparing them to the game characters. It's nice to know the background of these people before going in and hopefully some of you found it interesting as well. 

[Chuee]

He was actually somehow even more obsessed with sex than Freud was. 

That can't be a good thing.

"He came up with a theory surrounding "orgone," a supposed universal energy that drives all life, which is sexual in nature."

Literally what...

"And he came up with a bizarre form of therapy where he would have his patients strip down and he would prod and massage them in certain ways that would allow them release repressed emotions and sometimes also reach orgasm."

Okay I guess he is weirder than Freud. 

 

[Darklord Rooke]

Doddler on Twitter: "The translation that Koestl did for Gahkthun is kind of amazing."

Less than a month to go