The Poll

To be straight with you, this is a suggestion that has been brought up numerous times by the small number of people I recommend books (in English) to.  I am a bibliophile, with a focus on history, anthropology, fantasy, and science-fiction.  It has been suggested to me that I should add book reviews/commentaries to my blog in addition to my posts on VNs.  While this is in some ways a good idea... I'm unsure if it makes sense to post about non-otaku content in this blog.

Fantasy VNs

My first love has always been fantasy.  When I was a kid, I found reality to be boring and had my own bout of chuunibyou, which lasted almost to the end of high school.  That love of fantasy never went away, and I honestly have no desire for it to do so.  Fantasy VNs make up approximately fifty-five percent of the VN of the Month quality VNs I've read over the years... a fact that is partially a function of my personal tastes and mostly a function of the fact that fantasy is 'flexible' in a way that most other genres aren't.  To be blunt, the biggest selling point for the writer is that they can do whatever they want with a fantasy setting, as long as it is internally consistent. 

For the reader, nothing beats the escapism provided by fantasy.  Fiction, to one degree or another, is about escaping one's own life to experience the life of another person or persons.  Fantasy is, in many ways, the penultimate genre for escapism... but in exchange, it demands certain capabilities of the reader.  One is 'suspension of disbelief', a skill/capability that allows you to take the setting seriously, as long as it maintains its internal integrity.  Another is the ability to see fantasy characters as people.  Sadly, some people are incapable of either, and those are the type of people who generally can't understand or enjoy fantasy... even the 'grittier' and more 'realistic' stuff.

Science Fiction VNs

There is that infamous Clarke's Third Law, that any sufficiently advanced science is indistinguishable from magic.  This is the primary reason why fans of fantasy and science fiction find it so easy to go between the two... and also why the two genres tend to be in the same aisle at bookstores.  Science fiction VNs again make up a disproportionate number of the best VNs out there, though to a lesser extent than fantasy (for the purposes of this argument, I relegate science-fantasy to the fantasy genre). 

Science Fiction, however, is interesting to a much wider audience than fantasy, in some ways.  It is less flexible than fantasy, because the writer ignores established theories at his/her peril, and science fiction readers are often popular science junkies, leading to a somewhat higher standard when it comes to consistency at times.   The main reason for the popularity of this genre is that it is the 'genre of hope and despair', the Pandora's Box of fiction.  In the mind of an idealistic sci-fi fan, the visions given to us by sci-fi writers are prophecies of a potential future, and in the eyes of the more cynical, they are warnings against future perils.  Either way, this genre is immensely fun to discuss with others, and it can lead to some truly interesting... and long arguments. 

Charage

The people who began producing the slice-of-life focused genre of VNs that eventually became the single largest umbrella genre in visual novels other than nukige have a lot to answer for.  Because this 'genre' takes in bits and pieces from other genres at need, it makes up roughly one quarter of my highest quality VNs list (most of them fantasy or sci-fi ones)... but, on their own, charage are a poison pill for the Japanese end of the industry. 

To be blunt, as Japanese society has begun to shift its attitudes, fewer and fewer people are playing non-nukige VNs in general, because charage are the 'face' of the medium.  As older fans depart, fewer new fans take interest, and as a result, the medium itself suffers.  That's not to say the VN industry is doomed... it's not, in the short term.  Charage have momentum, and there is a solid core of people on the other side of the big salty puddle who absolutely adore even the most puerile moe-infested kusoge among them who will ensure the genre's survival for at least another decade.  Unfortunately, profits are probably going to continue to drop from the medium's heyday all that time.

I do like charage... but the sheer mindlessness of a lot of the ones produced in the last four years or so has left me exasperated.  This genre sometimes produces some truly excellent games, but the sheer amount of filth I have to wade through comes very close to making it not worth searching.