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Random VNs: Doushite, Sonna ni Kuroi Kami ga Suki na no?


Clephas

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First, I should say that this VN has major problems, despite the fact that I ended up enjoying it quite a bit as a whole.  This is true of most VNs (obviously), but in this case, the problems are a bit more obvious.

The main problem is the number of choices... to be honest, the sheer number of choices in this VN completely breaks engrossment with it at most points.  Generally, the best parts of this VN are found when the choices are over and all that is left is the momentum until the end of the path... which says everything about how bad a screwup it was on the producer's part that they did it this way.

The second major problem is that this VN has a ton of sexual content, despite not being a nukige.  I'm going to be blunt... while the first full h-scene is quite touching, as are one or two others in each path, there is a definite excess of h-scenes as a whole (to be specific, there are over fifteen for Ichou, who is the main heroine, ten for Urara, and four each for Sakuya and Mizuha, for a total of thirty-three that I remember).  Moreover, most of them are in situations that feel forced or random, so it is hard to take them seriously even if you are inclined to in the first place.

The third and final problem with this VN... is that the time it takes for them to get to the point is interminable.  For better or worse, the relationships are pretty much already in their proto-forms near the beginning of the VN, so it feels natural when you choose Ichou or Urara on the first arc, as well as Mizuha and Sakuya on the second.  Normally, this would be an excuse for a lot of slice of life, but most of this game's content is ichaicha, even before a lovers' relationship is formed. 

That comes back to the positive elements... one thing I seriously liked about this VN was its take on the ideas behind Shinto as a religion.  Shinto is a fairly unique religion, in that it is an animist faith that adapted to the rise of an imperalist system and even the reduction of the Imperial line to a symbol.  Its inclusiveness is such that it is possible for it to embrace the Christian God, the Buddha, and any other deity you can conceive of without creating any sort of internal paradox.  Since the basic concepts of Shinto are for individuals to hold respect and reverence for creation from the lowest to the highest, it can pretty much coexist with any religion, as long as the other religion isn't dominant, lol.

Another positive element was that the heroines in general were fairly unique (once you got past the somewhat... overly cliched beginnings and the way the number of choices makes the whole thing feel unnatural).  I found myself laughing hysterically sometimes at the way Ichou casually refers to herself as ugly, related to values of physical beauty from over two thousand years ago (I'm pretty sure this was the writer's jab at the ephemeral nature of standards of female and male beauty).  Urara being an open erogamer, an atheist, and a pragmatist.  Sakuya being a genius at concealing how much she looks down on everyone but Haruto... and finally, Mizuha's half self-aware chuunibyou.

This VN has three arcs... the 'first season' which contains Ichou's and Urara's paths, the 'third season' which contains Sakuya's and Mizuha's paths, and the 'second season' which is an extension of Ichou's path that connects the other two arcs as a true ending.  In the end, my main conclusion was that this game was interesting... but in the end immensely flawed.  I dropped this VN the first time around for good reason, that reason being the way the constant choices disrupted the experience and made it hard to get into the story (giving it a forced and unnatural feeling).   However, if you can get past that, this VN is really good for lovers of ichaicha and romance in general.  I was honestly touched by the way both Harutos slowly eased the hearts of the heroines, slowly healing the deep wounds lying beneath the surface. 

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