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This is the third game in the series that began with Chuusingura (please don't judge that particular work by the utterly shitty translation). I do highly recommend that you play both Chuusingura and Bushi no Kodou before you play this game, because it is necessary to fully understand some of the events that occur (particularly in the true Hijikata ending). First, a bit of background about the Bakumatsu period. Essentially, after Admiral Perry forced open Japan with the threat of his cannons, the Bakufu (also known as the Tokugawa Shogunate), was forced to sign the usual set of unequal treaties Western nations forced on Eastern ones with less advanced tech during that period of history. Japan's peculiar double-headed political structure at the time, with the Emperor 'lending' his authority to the Shogun of the time in order to rule Japan and the then-emperor's stated wish for the exclusion of foreigners lent anti-Tokugawa factions and ambitious feudal lords the justification they needed (mostly to convince their followers) to start moving against the Bakufu. This was made worse when one of these factions succeeded in assassinating Chancellor Ii, who directed the political purges and authoritarian political moves of the Bakufu immediately following Perry's actions. This gave others the idea to do similar things to anyone they saw as supporting the Bakufu, and Kyouto became the center of a bloody series of assassinations of officials and merchants who sided with the existing authority or benefited from foreign contacts. The Aizu Clan, which was given the authority and rather nasty job of bringing peace to Kyouto, recruited ronin (masterless samurai) in order to form a police force that would capture or execute the other ronin making trouble in the city. This resulted in the formation of the Roushigumi, which later became the Shinsengumi seen in Hakuoki, Peacemaker Kurogane, and the Rurounin Kenshin OVAs (Saitou Hajime in the main series was also a member). Historically, the Shinsengumi, despite having suffered a number of internal disputes and factional splits in the years leading up to the fall of the Bakufu, were amongst the few who fought to the end against the new government, and Hijikata Toshizou's final death and his death poem are one of the most incredibly romanticized objects amongst samurai-loving weaboos of the classic stripe. Some left-leaning history buffs in Japan blame the romanticization of the Shinsengumi and the characters from Chuusingura for the intense rise in nationalism and insane glorification of samurai culture that occurred leading up to WWII. Now down to business... it should be stated that this game is about fifteen times more violent than Chuusingura was. The protagonist and other members of the Shinsengumi killed people on a daily basis with swords in broad daylight, and they don't really hold back when it comes to portraying that. This game is also just as long as Chusingura (maybe slightly longer) was, despite being essentially one long path for most of its length (with about a third of it devoted to individual paths). This is because the story covers about six years worth of chaotic events, both political and personal. Going into this game with a full knowledge of the fates of the Shinsengumi members, I couldn't help but wish some of their fates would be changed (hint: of the original membership, only Saitou Hajime and Shinpachi live to see old age), and there are a lot of characters I honestly wept for... no matter what game I see him/her in, Sakamoto Ryouma is always an admirable character and seeing the pointless deaths of a number of clear-eyed individuals with an eye toward the future is just as bad. However, this game follows history to the end in the Hijikata path and for most of the game otherwise... and while the Shinsengumi might be cultural icons now, their lives were colored with blood and tragedy. There are four main paths, three side-paths (paths for heroines that die or are otherwise separated from the main cast for some reason), and one true path (Hijikata Ending 2). The main paths include Okita Souji, Kondou Isami, Hajime Saitou, and Hijikata Toshizou. Okita's path... well, if you've seen any of the many anime (except Gintama) where he pops up, you'll know what I mean when I say it ends on a sad and somewhat empty note. Kondou Isami's path is marginally better (if you know about Kondou's historic fate, it is nice to see it changed). Saitou's path is significantly better and more detailed, as are the three side-paths (which is somewhat ironic). Hijikata's paths are, of course, the most complete-feeling and satisfying, though the first one left me in tears for a solid ten minutes. This game does have some major flaws... there was an obvious history buff's obsession with detail when it came to portraying a lot of the historical events involved, and that aspect could start to feel interminable in the space between the story's main turning point and the heroine paths. However, I found myself willing to forgive that flaw in the end. Overall, this was an excellent story, and it takes relatively few liberties with history (beyond feminization of historical figures), which is unusual in Shinsengumi portrayals. The most unusual aspect of the game (the protagonist's ability) was mostly a dormant issue for the greater part of the game, so it often left me with a nice illusion that I was seeing through the eyes of a real Shinsengumi member. I was surprised at one revelation in the true ending, though... HUGE SPOILERS

Damn, should I be afraid? For now all I can tell, being like 2 hours into it, is that I really enjoy the poems. I think it's a great innovative resource to get to know the characters in depth, and I really revel in figuring out the meaning or at least trying to work out an interpretation. I must say that I'm going into it completely blind. The only thing I'm aware of is that it's supposed to be pretty messed up, and that at some point shit hits the fan. Before starting to read I thought it might be something like Higurashi, that started out looking cute and fluffy, but then it progressively builds up into a more sinister and dark atmosphere, until indeed shit gets real, but for the time being the only sinister tone I could grasp is built in the poems. Some of them definitely have a weird shade, and some even creep me out. Well, we'll see~

Hi! (i dont really kno what to say...) I like visual novels! (wow that was really awkward...) Anyways, sometimes I talk to myself in parenthesis but i hope we can still get along! I am into vns with plot and especially good characters. vns i've read: g senjou, danganronpa, hoshimemo, subahibi, dal segno, himawari, rewrite, little busters, flyable heart, a sky full of stars, the letter, nurse love addiction, sakusaku, my girlfrriend is the president, grisaia no kajitsu, majikoi, noone but you, doki doki literature club, my harem heaven is yandere hell, yandere, dandelion, mystic messenger, hatoful bf, hustle cat, starlight of aeons, 999, ozmafia, roomates, toheart2, ect. as you can tell im good with yuri, harem, otome and bl. tell me if youve read any of these! byebye and thanks for reading this!!!

Show-off EDIT: Although I guess I had one moment like that. I've once had a class on electoral systems that had some interesting material, but the lecturer was probably the dullest person in the world and every week I was literally sleeping during his lectures - simply couldn't help it. And, as it as a small course, it was impossible for him not to notice... However, when the final exam came, I was the only person to get an A, without even learning much - lecturer's face when he was giving me my test back and realized who it belonged to is a memory I will treasure till the end of my days. :3

Or just do what I do: Turn in a last-minute slop job and get a good grade for it anyways. Persuasive Speech - dedicate 5 minutes of preparation, stutters like crazy, goes way above the allotted time- 95/100 (no feedback on the lowered score, but I don't care, lol). Western Civ Research Paper - turn it in minutes away from deadline, loosely references books and articles, no proofreading at all - 190/200 (I got marked off for citation formatting). Humanities Portfolio - only spent 3 hours on it, gave up halfway, just kinda threw random stuff together - 50/50.

pls, this isn't just for vn related confessions confession: my priorities are bad enough that I delayed working on school stuff for weeks to try working on other stuff, but I also failed to complete the other stuff in time anyway and am still failing time to play some harukana (´・ω・`)

There's only love for gay things around here. <3

My comp 1 professor likes speaking gibberish in foreign languages, and my computer maintenance professor once told me a story about how he surfed in the middle of a hurricane. They can be quite interesting at times. You know what my comp 1 exam was? Writing my name and course # on a piece of paper. :3 That being said, he was kinda strict on the research paper (I ended up getting a C on it).

Believe me, he wasn't. I'd love to see that face. Coming to think of it, I've met a lot of strange lecturers and instructors at university, starting with the sadists who try to destroy the students mentally, and finishing with the devoted believers in pseudoscientific theories who liked to talk about them endlessly at the lectures instead of actually teaching things. And I was still pretty lucky, by the way.

Aye, I'm always looking for those, that's also why I've already initiated this thread, to make sure that valuable info will flow here as soon as first episodes start showing up. ;> In this season I actually had two huge surprises, with Net-juu no Susume being far better than it had any right to be and Konohana Kitan evolving from a cute fluffy thing into something wonderfully touching. Maybe this one will also have some hidden gems.

Very often there is a hidden gem in a season that doesn't draw any attention till it starts airing, so I'll have to wait to dictate veredict, but for the time being I'll be watching Violet Evergarden (yeah, all aboard the hype train, though if it turns out to be bad it'll be a huge disappointment) and Citrus for my dosis of yuri (hopefully good. I've only heard good things about the manga).

only interested in Citrus

Mostly a lurker nowadays - but keeping with my yearly tradition, have some bees.

Praying upside down is the new meta. 8/10.

Tokyo Babel Licensed by MangaGamer, available on Steam Summary The gates of Heaven are closed shut; the realm of Hell consumed by flood. And in their wake, countless parallel worlds wither away, one after another. The surviving angels and demons gather at the city they believe to be their final chance at salvation: the floating purgatory of "Tokyo Babel". Joined by humans, they embark on a pilgrimage across the seven layers of Babel, hoping to ascend Jacob's Ladder in an effort to re-open the gates of Heaven. Their journey would be an atonement toward the heavens. And yet, their plans fall into ruin as a group of pilgrims -- their minds consumed by madness - set out to lord over the numerous layers of Tokyo Babel with the intention to wreak complete and utter havoc atop the floating purgatory. Amidst this neverending impasse, a lone youth is saved from the ruins of his devastated world - Tendou Setsuna, a man denied human treatment since birth. Joining his savior, Lilith - known as the Witch of the Night, he begins his journey across Tokyo Babel... ...yearning for an answer to a single question: Why he still possesses the will to keep on living. Ending Guideline / Suggested Route Order It is highly recommended that you go Raziel -> Sorami -> Lilith to avoid spoilers. Note: Lilith's route can only be entered after the other two are completed. Route Guideline Raziel Bad End True End Kugutsu Sorami Bad End Normal End True End Lilith Bad End #1 Bad End #2 Bad End #3 True End Setsuna End Attribution Walkthrough was originally created and posted by Gare on his blog. I did some formatting and added repeat choices, that's all.

Hello? Is this the imouto factory? Yes, I'd like to order 900 of these. Ok, thanks.