October Releases: Hi no Nai Tokoro ni Kemuri wa Tatanai

Entry posted by Clephas October 11, 2016

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This is a mini-VN planned by and written by Hino Wataru of Akatsuki Works, the company responsible for Ruitomo; Comyu; and Hello, Lady. It was released for free at the beginning of the month, and it is done in a style that feels a lot like one of those close-ended hour-long 'preview' OVAs that sometimes come out a few years in advance of a potential TV anime release (Noblesse, Beelzebub, Phantom, etc). In other words, it is done in the form of a single 'episode' in the life of the characters, serving as a prologue, and introducing characters and setting the stage for a future release or releases.

Something that should be noted in advance is that this VN mentions the characters from Ruitomo (without using their names) in the context of their relationship to the protagonist's 'grandmother' (Izuru). This is backed up by the fact that the protagonist, Akeno Yuuri, follows the same 'profession' that Izuru does... as a 'katariya' (the meaning doesn't really translate that well). Basically, those who master this profession have the ability to create intentional changes in others through words they speak (in most cases, these changes are dependent on the others' expectations or desires, from what Yuuri says). I won't go into any other details on this, because it is a spoiler. The protagonist gets mixed up with the Kouga family, which runs the area through his client.

Another aspect that should be noted in advance is that this VN reuses a lot of resources from previous games by Akatsuki Works... in particular the city backgrounds from Hello, Lady and various songs and sound effects from other games. For those that are bothered by this kind of thing... give up. The game is free, so AW recycling backgrounds, BGMs, and sound effects really isn't a big deal.

For those looking for a translation... don't bother. This VN utilizes so many subtle plays on kanji in its mere four hours in length that it even makes Ruitomo's text seem easy. If I were to try tling it without ruining it, I'd be pulling out my last few hairs inside a minute.

This VN is standard Hino Wataru in style... which means a lot of quirky characters, a protagonist who has a bad case of ennui and a tendency toward hedge philosophy, and a general sense that whatever is happening at the moment is the most important thing in the world while saying the opposite openly in the text, lol. I enjoy Hino Wataru, but for every person who likes him, there are two that hate him, so this VN will definitely pick its readers.

Action-wise, there are some nice scenes, which mostly seem to be designed to whet your appetite for more (again, I got this sense throughout the VN that they were advertising as much as trying to make a game).

The narrative is, of course, high quality... Hino Wataru was quite obviously enjoying himself when he wrote this (believe me, I can tell when a writer is just writing what he wants to write, versus what he has been paid oodles to write, haha), since Yuuri is the type of guy who will drive a lot of people crazy. He's a natural con artist with a heart of gold, a persona that changes from moment to moment, and a virulent hatred of soba noodles. He also spends a ridiculous amount of time being insulted by the girls who will probably end up being the heroines of whatever future game or games he stars in, lol.

While this isn't a VN of the Month candidate (as it is obviously intended to be a prelude or prologue to something else) it is nonetheless an enjoyable side-trip for me as I continue on my journey to avoid playing Sen no Hatou as long as possible *snickers*