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About this blog

A place for my thoughts and analysis of visual novels, anime, and games. 

Entries in this blog

Review and Analysis

For Elise ~Elise no tame ni~: A Shepard Tone of Realism

Visual novels seem to have gained a dirty reputation as cheap, disposable works of escapism. Often focused on simulating relationships in a digital, anime themed virtual reality. When I think of a visual novel fan with the most vanilla taste, I think of ones that want to be coddled in anime cliches so thick any semblance of reality's discomforts can be forgotten. Among other reasons, I think this is an explanation for why For Elise ~Elise no tame ni~ has been so overlooked. No other visual

I Am War: An Exploration of an Archetype

“War was always here. Before man was, war waited for him. The ultimate trade awaiting its ultimate practitioner.” ~Judge Holden (Blood Meridian) “My love is destruction. Its flames ache to devour all that exist: Heaven and Hell, God and Satan; all things in Creation, from the first universe that was, to the last that will ever be.” ~Reinhard Heydrich (Dies Irae)   The archetype of a sentient embodiment of war continues to persist, and has morphed considerably from its my
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Serial Experiments Lain Is Our Current Reality

Instead of a blogpost I did this one as an amateur documentary. I'm 100% serious about my claim. It might sound crazy, but if you watch the video I'm sure you'll at least see that my claim has a logical foundation to it. You don't need to have watched Lain to follow the video either. So if the topic interests you by all means check it out.   
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Umineko Final Impressions (Spoiler free)

I literally just finished reading Umineko around an hour ago. So these are my raw thoughts and immediate reflections after completing it. I will probably do a more comprehensive overview of Umineko after I've had it digest for a couple of days. What a beast... I first began this journey in mid May, and I've just finished it now. So in around 4 months time, I have clocked in at a total play time of 141 hours. In that time I've not only finished University, worked on multiple projects (both p
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The Other 4chan VN

Lesser known than its more popular sister, The Dandelion Girl is another VN that at least started its development by anonymous users on 4chan. And like Katawa Shoujo it's quite good, although very different. And in fact, I think it contrasts quite nicely with Katawa Shoujo. Katawa Shoujo very intentionally strove to conform to the standard visual novel formula. Hence why it takes place in Japan, in a high school, has branching routes with various heroines, and even included H-scenes. I thin
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The Function of Ellipses in VNs

VNs sometimes get criticized for their overuse of the ellipse (…). And I suppose I'll start my defense of the use of ellipses in VNs, by extending an olive branch. VNs do misuse the ellipse to an astounding degree, and I have an interesting little anecdote demonstrating this point. In college, me and some friends decided to spend a Friday night getting drunk and reading the worst VNs we could find. We stumbled upon Gender Bender DNA Twister Extreme. There is a LOT wrong with this VN, but a glari
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Umineko Mid-Point Impressions (SPOILER FREE)

Umineko is a beast of a work that I've been putting off for many years now, probably around a decade. I first learned about it after watching the Higurashi anime back in 2010. At first I stayed away because I wasn't a fan of Ryukishi07's sausage-finger art. However these days it seems that most common ports of Umineko utilize updated art. But, that still left one other huge factor for why I was so intimidated by Umineko for so long. The estimated reading time of both the Question and Answer
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Visual Novels are a Hot Medium

Firstly, by “Hot” I mean purely in the Mcluhanistic sense of the word. Though I think we all acknowledge that VNs can be a very “hot” medium in the erotic sense as well. But seriously speaking, VNs are a hot, highly intensive medium; and this is precisely why I see so much artistic potential in them even if relatively few as of yet have fully capitalized on this potential. To provide a brief definition of hot and cold media I think the simplest explanation is the more immersive a medium is
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Looking Back On YMK: A Drug That Makes You Dream

The monotony of school is an oppressive force on a kid's life. Psychologically omnipresent, you don't even need to be within its walls to feel its chains shackling you. Home is just made an extension of its presence with homework. And more then just the boredom of rote memorization and a lobotomizing curriculum, there is a social arena where you must interact with the other prisoners. Regardless of how you feel about them, its important to at least maintain a sociable facade. Unlike College
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Subarashiki Hibi The Importance of the Down the Rabbit Hole 1

*This post contains no spoilers! Before starting this post, I suppose that I should give a brief introduction and summary for Subarashiki Hibi ~Furenzoku Sonzai (Our Wonderful Everyday ~Discontinuous Existence). However, Asceai in his review of the VN probably gave the best and most condensed summary for this fairly complicated story. So I will borrow his words: “Subarashiki Hibi is a story told in six chapters. The chapters are of varying lengths and structure, but for the most part,
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Deemo: A Genuine *Visual* Novel

To provide some context, Deemo is a Taiwanese rhythm game developed for the iOS and Android by Rayark Games. For the most part, I think this game has escaped the notice from most western otaku. Which honestly would make sense, since it isn't marketed towards Otaku like other rhythm games (notably Love Live and Osu). In fact, the game play is arguably not even the primary purpose of the game. Rather, the songs serve the broader purpose of telling a story together with the visuals. The word "
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Sayonara wo Oshiete: A VN That Mastered The Use of Atmopshere

I told a couple people I would post my thoughts about Sayonara wo Oshiete when I finished it, and just a few days ago I finished a bad end and Mutsuki's good end. So here are my impressions, thoughts, and analysis of that experience. Also, this post does not contain any significant spoilers to the VN. So its safe for all those that are curious. (Also from here on forward I will refer to Sayonara wo Oshiete as 'Sayooshi') Before I start talking about Sayooshi, I want to briefly describe the
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Zalor's Seminar

Just an introduction to my blog, but being me I had to take advantage of a pretentious sounding title just for the fun of it. In any case, on to the point. At their best, I find Visual Novels to be the most immersive medium of written fiction. I enjoy literature, but often I appreciate it more from an intellectual/contemplative standpoint than through an enjoyment factor. Great VNs however, are in my mind the best of both worlds (I can read them for fun, and they leave me with something to
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