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About this blog

This is a blog primarily focusing on but not limited to VNs.  It is primarily designed to express my opinion on otaku media (jrpgs, anime, manga, LNs, VNs, etc), individual VNs, and otaku community issues.   Most of the posts are related to my VN of the Month and Random VN columns, originally started in threads in the forums. 

As of March of 2017, I'm also looking for people to help with VN of the Month.

Entries in this blog

A Bit of News for Old Hands

Just a bit of warning for those who are using really old versions of Translation Aggregator... to be blunt, they don't work with the current version of Windows 7 or 8. To be more specific, the way the old versions use the dictionaries causes a bug where the application no longer pastes the clipboard contents. I hadn't updated mine since the 2012 update, so I was really surprised when, after I updated my Windows (on both my work and personal computers) that TA stopped working. I figured out wh
Clephas

Clephas

18

Maggot Baits (Yes, I played this)

I’m going to be frank with you about this VN.  Maggot Baits is in no way, shape, or form a story with good guys.  Everyone in this VN is a monster or scum.  This VN has way too much guro, even for a VN focused on the grotesque, and it is actually made worse by the high-quality writing, lol. That said… story-wise, if you skip through 90% of the H-scenes, this VN is actually pretty good.  Unfortunately, if you don’t skip those h-scenes, it is very hard not to see this as one big snuff-film turned
Clephas

Clephas

4

Evenicle Final: A Conclusion

Hmm... I pretty much hit what I didn't like about the story and gameplay in the other posts, so I'll try to outline what is likeable about the game as a whole. 1) The game uses a skit system similar to the Tales games, letting you have short silly conversations at certain points on the map. 2) The variety of skills available - once you've filled them out a bit - is actually really good. By the end of the game, I had a way to deal effectively with just about any situation, without brute force
Clephas

Clephas

8

Yuusha vs Eiyuu

First, as a fantasy anime/VN fan, one thing you'll inevitably run into are these two words... 'yuusha' (勇者) and 'eiyuu'　(英雄).  The problem with these two words is that they inevitably end up translated as the same thing... 'hero'.  However, the nuance of each word is dramatically different, at least for those of us who actually care about nuance. Now, 'yuusha' is a word you hear mostly in certain types of fantasy VN or anime... these include 'sent to another world' and 'classic swords and s
Clephas

Clephas

9

Chrono Clock Part 1: Common, Makoto, Michiru, Misaki

Common First, I should say this VN isn't like Purple Soft's last few works. The common route is straight comedy and heart-warming antics combined with some minor drama and with a bit of personal growth for the protagonist on the side. It is good comedy and the personal growth is actually quite nice, since the protagonist as he started out would have driven me insane inside two hours. It is also relatively short, as are the heroine routes so far. I managed to finish the common route and one he
Clephas

Clephas

6

Kami no Rhapsody: Second Impression

Ok, for those who read my first post on this game, you probably have a good picture of how I see the gameplay in this game. There are hints of really excellent possibilities in the actual battle system... if you can ignore the fact that you have to equip skills (as medals) - even the personal ones - and the fact that many of the characters you get access too later are at one of two extremes... either way too weak or way too strong for the time in which you get them. As an example, the angel is w
Clephas

Clephas

7

Anti-Feminism in VNs

I'm an obsessive VN player, and I doubt there are many here who could match my experience. However, there is one issue I've more or less deliberately closed my eyes to when it comes to VNs... and that is the sheer amount of anti-feminist propaganda inserted into untranslated Japanese VNs in general. There are a number of major, really obvious examples of this, and I'll go ahead and describe them for you. 1. The 'female teacher who never gets married because she acts too much like a guy' arche
Clephas

Clephas

8

Kin'iro Loveriche -Golden Time- [Edited]

First, I should state that I'm avoiding the after stories for now, simply because I'll want to see them for the first time immediately after replaying the original game, rather than over a year after I originally played it, when my memory for details has faded as much as it has right now.  As such, this post will focus on the Ayaka and Mina paths that were added on for this fandisc release. Common Route The common route covers a summary of the events that happened in the first game and
Clephas

Clephas

4

Venus Blood Series, In order from Abyss to Hypno

A Universal Issue Tentacle sex and rape are the two big downers to this series. For a series with such good writing, it is amazing how quickly it becomes repetitive once h-scenes get into the picture. On the bright side, corrupting the heroines in Empire, Frontier, and Hypno almost always has immensely hilarious results after the mindbreak. It is kind of irritating that you pretty much have to mindbreak them to get the really good strategic skills, though. Abyss To be honest, this is
Clephas

Clephas

2

Kami no Rhapsody: First Completion

First, I should say that the last part of this game was actually worthy of Eushully in terms of dramatic flair. For those who probably think I was bashing this game out of hand, let me also say that there were lots of hints of what is best about Eushully. There are great characters/companions, some truly excellent character interactions, and even a few really stand-out scenes scattered throughout the first three fourths of the game... but the problem is that they are spaced out with a ridiculo
Clephas

Clephas

8

Senren Banka

Before I go into this VN, I should probably bring up a few facts I’ve noticed about Yuzusoft VNs in general.   First, while most Yuzusoft VNs have a central story that is vital to the heroine paths as well as the common route, the degree to which that central plot effects the heroine paths varies pretty wildly.  In some cases – such as with Nicola in Dracu-riot – the effects of the main plot are almost nonexistent, and in others – such as Miu’s from the same VN – the effects are dramatic and int
Clephas

Clephas

4

Kin'iro Loveriche

This is the latest release by Saga Planets, the makers of Hatsuyuki Sakura and Natsuyume Nagisa.  This, like many of the games by this company, is an emotional game that sort of edges around being a straight-out charage, though it can't really be called a story-focused or a true nakige.  This kind of genre ambiguity is common to this company's better works, so in that sense, it probably wasn't a bad choice, overall. First, I should say I skipped Akane's path.  I played the first three heroi
Clephas

Clephas

12

Decide Which VN Clephas will Play: March Releases

First of all, let me get this out of the way... VN of the Month, February 2015: Silverio Vendetta Runner Up: Sanoba Witch Currently playing: Teito Hiten Daisakusen Since I'm playing Teito Hiten for VN of the Year 2014 right now, I decided to let the fans of my VN of the Month thread decide which VN I'll play first from March. These are the three I considered. One is from Saga Planets, another from Rosebleu, and the last is from Minato Soft. Since these three are companies I actually
Clephas

Clephas

10

Amatsutsumi

... it's been a while since my feelings on a VN have been as complex as my feelings for this one are.  I say 'feelings' because this VN has massive emotional impact... not as much as Hapymaher, but nonetheless a lot of emotional impact.  To be blunt, Makoto is nothing like Hapymaher's protagonist, so if you were hoping for more of his 'consumed by sorrow and despair but still living my life' personality, sorry, no luck here.  Makoto is... a blank slate.  I don't say this in a bad way.  For
Clephas

Clephas

5

Tokyo Necro

OK, first I am going to avoid spoilers throughout this review, so I would like those who want to comment to avoid the same, even in spoiler boxes.  This is one of those games that is going to be harder to enjoy if you spoil it for those who come after, so I will personally eat anyone who spoils it.  This VN is by the same writer who did Sumaga (blech), Gekkou no Carnevale (yay), and Totono (a VN a lot of people here liked).  However, the style of story is much closer to that of Gekkou no Carneva
Clephas

Clephas

9

Ryuusei World Actor

Ryuusei World Actor is the latest VN by the up-and-coming plotge and chuunige specialist company, Digination, under its subsidiary Heliodor.  This company's games so far have been somewhat unpredictable and unbalanced in my experience, with a great deal of ambition and not quite enough talent to pull things through completely.  I say this from the point of view of a long-time chuunige/plotge addict, and from the perspective of a person that has played two of their games to the end and sampled tw
Clephas

Clephas

5

Trinoline

Written by Kiririri and edited by fun2novel  and Me Trinoline If there ever was a time when the quality of a story was judged purely on its aesthetics then minori’s games would be tough opponents to defeat. Trinoline continues in the same tradition as many other minori games. High-budget top-quality visuals with a ridiculous level of attention to details. This includes blinking eyes and well done lip syncing, top-notch high quality CGs, and unusual camera angles, where you walk a
Clephas

Clephas

6

Clephas Guide to a fun untranslated chuunige life

For the hell of it, I decided to make up a 'suggested playlist' for people who like/are interested in chuunige who have just begun to play untranslated VNs. There are two variations on this guide.  One is a 'test the waters, gradually take a dip, then dive into the depths' guide.  The other is a 'Spartan Guide', which starts out with medium difficulty VNs and moves into harder and harder ones at the top tiers.  Each VN list will have four tiers, based on a combination of my estimation of di
Clephas

Clephas

6

Boku no Hitori Sensou

To be honest, my first thought after playing this game was: 'Yeah, this is a Looseboy game.' Needless to say, I don't always consider that a compliment. Looseboy has a tendency to prefer being opaque even where being opaque doesn't really serve all that well, as anyone who played Sharin no Kuni or G-senjou can tell you, if they can bring themselves to discard fanboyism. Why do I say this? I say it because if I don't manage to get past that particular lump in the throat, I won't be able to pro
Clephas

Clephas

5

Riddle Jokers

I'm going to be blunt (as usual), Riddle Jokers is probably a sign that Yuzu Soft is starting to stagnate as a company.  I'm not trying to be mean or bashing Yuzu Soft for the sake of it... but, after finishing two paths of this game, I felt hugely exhausted, despite the fact that the paths are actually shorter than some of their other works.  The reason is fairly simple... the cast of characters this time around just isn't that interesting. Part of that is that the protagonist himself
Clephas

Clephas

5

Sengoku Koihime X ~Otome Kenran Sengoku Emaki

This is a partial remake/rewrite of Sengoku Koihime, which was released back in 2013.  It is by Baseson, the makers of the Koihime Musou series, and the protagonist is the nephew of the protagonist from that series.  It is based on the Moeshouden fandisc ending (where the Shin Koihime Musou heroines are all together).  In addition to h-scenes, the text itself has been partially rewritten (it is more noticeable later in the game), and they added on the Houjou Chapters, a ten-hour after story.
Clephas

Clephas

12

Nora to Oujo to Noraneko Heart

なんだこりゃ？！  Seriously, that was what I thought as I read this VN.  'What the heck is this?!'  Mmm... at times, it felt like I was reading an adult version of a children's picture book (if such things exist), at others I felt like I was reading a VN version of the various -gatari anime series, and at yet others, I almost thought this was just another charage.  This VN is by Harukaze, a subsidiary of Minato Soft (makers of Majikoi) that has produced one other game before, Love of Ren'ai Koutei
Clephas

Clephas

1

Sorcery Jokers: It surprised Clephas, will it surprise you?

First, I'll give you a quick run-down on this game... it is a game by 3rd Eye, a company known mostly for producing chuunige that are more moe-influenced than is the norm. This game is actually more of a mystery/chuuni/action/conspiracy type than a 'pure' chuunige. The world in which it is based is a future where, ten years before the story began, magic appeared on the scene. Large numbers of people became capable of using magic, and a new branch of science was built up solely for the purpose
Clephas

Clephas

2

Re: LieF ~Shin'ainaru Anata e~ Part One: Common, Momo, Ruka

First, I should state that this is a VN I was unsure of from the beginning.  The concept of the 'rehabilitation program' in the VN is so similar to some manga and anime that have gotten attention recently that I had to shake my head in exasperation... not to mention that the concept is also at the core of why so many Japanese otakus like the school life slice-of-life charage that are produced in such profusion. The VN starts out from the perspective of Hahakigi Hinako, one of the three hero
Clephas

Clephas

5

Chrono Clock Part 2: Dorothy, Kuro, Miu

Dorothy Dorothy is a foreign exchange student, as well as the protagonist's new maid and his fiance (sort of). To be blunt, I dislike her character so much outside of her route that I wanted to smash her head in with a steel rod. Nonetheless, her route was actually pretty good. I was surprised at how good it was. I cried for it almost as much as I did for Michiru's, if for different reasons. If you can stand her, this is an excellent route to choose. Kuro Kuro is the female version o
Clephas

Clephas

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