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One thing with Dies Irae - and indeed a significant proportion of chuunige in general - is that the antagonists can have a tendency to overwhelm the protagonist's qualities. Ren has a few good points, but when it comes down to it, he is essentially the ultimate version of the type that 'just wants to return to normal life' and Kasumi is Victim A. For this reason, I skipped Kasumi's route entirely the first time I played Dies Irae and only reluctantly played it the second time. Reinhardt, on the other hand, is a grand character who, for all that he is very obviously evil, is also glorious in his own way. Mercurius, for all his evil, obviously loves Marie, even if he shows it in a really screwy way. The fact is, you have to see Kasumi as a symbol rather than a character, when it comes down to it, since her character is a fairly standard osananajimi type. Masada generally lavishes his full skills on descriptions of his villains/antagonists' internal qualities, their motivations, their pasts, etc. He actually seems to prefer the villainous characters over the 'good guys', as is shown in Paradise Lost, where everyone is evil to one degree or another, with the possible exception of Riliel (though this is only in the sense that she isn't malicious, not that she doesn't kill people). Lyle, the protagonist of Paradise Lost, is about as evil as they get, and most of the characters of Kajiri Kamui are also amoral or have a very strong dark side. This can also be seen in Senshinkan, where the protagonist and his closest friends were so much more boring than the antagonists and side-characters (with the possible exception of the main heroine, who has a really wonderfully twisted personality). Honestly, I just recommend you play the game through, then think on whether you liked the characters or not, since almost nobody is going to like Ren based on the events of Kasumi's path or the common route (he spends way too much time escaping from reality). Edit: Honestly, I've never met anyone who loved Dies Irae based on Ren or Kasumi. Most people just liked the antagonists and other heroines... or the writing and plot. I personally am fond of Ren, but, except for his weird hangups (the biggest of which is the one that defines his power), his desires are fairly standard for an early-era chuunige protagonist. The main reason you'll almost never see the untranslated readers criticize Dies Irae is because only chuunige-lovers ever play Dies Irae in Japanese. The game is as well-written as it gets, and the presentation is first-class, with great opposition characters. I can guarantee you that most of them think of the antagonists and the heroines first when they look back at the game, and Ren is probably an afterthought (except for the coupling with Rusalka, of course, since that was hugely popular). The sheer difficulty level of Dies Irae in Japanese meant that only people with the level of Japanese knowledge to be able to enjoy the first-class writing ever played the game in the first place, and generally only chuunige readers had that level of understanding. I have declined to comment on the recent discussions on whether Dies Irae is 'good' or not because, regardless of what I say in that matter, it will end up being disregarded because I am a chuunige-addict and a player of untranslated games. One thing that I should probably mention about my initial experience with Dies Irae was that, until I got through Marie's path, I experienced a great deal of frustration with the game and Ren and Kasumi. I have mentioned this in some of my blog posts, but I personally believe that Victim A type heroines should never be present in chuunige, meaning that, even though I understand her role in the game as a symbol of everyday life/what Ren wants from life, I still loathed Kasumi's presence in the game. For this reason, I've actually advocated in the past for skipping Kasumi's route entirely, since it doesn't add a whole lot to the story in comparison to Kei's route, which is actually a better intro in a lot of ways (Kei being a better heroine in general). I had to actually finish Marie's path before I was ready to like Ren as a character, and I liked him even more after Rea's path.

Hey everyone. I know I don't get to make it around to Fuwanovel much(I'm trying, I swear), but I wanted to come by and give out some tickets for the creative sorts on the forums. The web conference is running this coming Saturday and it covers a variety of visual novel development topics (largely content writing this year) and I have a few tickets to give out. If you haven't heard of it, the schedule and talk details are over here: https://vnconf.com/schedule/ The tickets are first come first serve. Just let me know if you're interested and how I can reach out to you, and I'll get you set up!

Guys, I managed to get a confirmation that the Making Lovers fan-disc will get translated as well.

Perhaps the most universal complaint of those who read Japanese VNs, regardless of their tastes, is the bland, non-people, average protagonists that make up better than 90% of all VN protagonists. This trend began with the first moege, as a technique to allow people to self-insert more easily, but the tradition has worked against VNs more than it has worked for them, with protagonists with unique quirks turning out to be almost as important to a VN's lasting popularity as heroine quality. Unfortunately for those new to VNs, it is impossible to tell at a glance whether a protagonist will be interesting or not based on the cover, since most protagonists don't have a tachie, voice-acting, or a character description on the official site, lol. So, as a service to my fellow Fuwans, I decided to go ahead and make this list. The greater majority of these games will be untranslated, but I will go ahead and list ones that are translated that I know of. Feel free to help me add to the list, though this one is for Japanese-origin games, not EVNs. The baseline for these protagonists will be that they are either unique, unusual, or capable (intelligent, talented, and/or skilled at something and have something approaching a personality) without deliberate nerfing of their qualities to make heroines stand out more. Harem protagonists who are merely kind to everyone will not count for the purpose of this list, and characters whose personality/capabilities/talents/skills get toned down in the heroine routes will also not qualify. Translated Tokyo Babel Ayakashibito Hello, Lady (soon) Hapymaher Noble Works (yes, he does make the baseline) Dracu-riot (assuming the official release comes out) Nanairo Reincarnation (soon) Tsukihime FSN Comyu (yes, I include this... because even if you hate Akihito's man-whore qualities, he is definitely not a cardboard cut-out character) Rance games (I hate the Rance games, personally, but you can't say he isn't unique) Majikoi Tsujidou-san no Jun'ai Road (Dai only seems sheeple on the surface... he has enough depth as a character to qualify) Eien no Aselia (while his personality is standard for a jrpg protagonist, it has enough twists and unique qualities to make the list) Seinarukana (similar to above) Fata Morgana no Yakata (I wavered because of the way the game is structured, but I chose to list it anyway) Grisaia series Kikokugai Demonbane 11eyes Rewrite (I hate this protagonist, but he stands out, even if he is a dumbass) Animamundi Baldr SkyDive (whenever it comes out) ChuSinGura (I honestly wavered on this one, both because the protagonist is a moron and because I don't consider this to have been truly translated) Cross Channel Daiteikoku Daitoshokan no Hitsujikai Dies Irae I/O Yumina Kyonyuu Fantasy (yes, I'm serious even as I'm laughing) Planetarian Rose Guns Days Sekien no Inganock Gakthun Sharin no Kuni Shikkoku no Sharnoth Shin Koihime Musou (apparently tl is at 100%, so I'm including it) Sorcery Jokers (Senri!!!) Tears to Tiara Tokeijikake no Leyline series Venus Blood Frontier (whenever it comes out) Wanko to Kurasou Eden* Untranslated Akeiro Kaikitan Ikusa Megami series Soukoku no Arterial Fuukan no Grasesta Madou Koukaku Silverio series Tiny Dungeon series Zero Infinity Electro-Arms Soranica Ele Kikan Bakumatsu Ibun Last Cavalier Komorebi no Nostalgica Devils Devel Concept Karenai Sekai to Owaru Hana Evolimit Bullet Butlers Tokyo Necro Soukou Akki Muramasa Ou no Mimi ni wa Todokanai Shugo no Tate series Amatsutsumi Floral Flowlove Aoi Tori Mirai Nostalgia Bradyon Veda Draculius Gensou no Avatar Abyss Homicide Club Hyper→Highspeed→Genius Inochi no Spare Hatsuru Koto Naki Mirai Kitto, Sumiwataru Asairo yori mo Konata yori Kanata Made Kanojo wa Tenshi de Imouto de Jingai Makyou "Hello, World" Natsu no Owari no Nirvana Otome ga Tsumugu Koi no Canvas Rui wa Tomo o Yobu Ryuukishi Bloody Saga Vermilion Bind of Blood Satsukoi Sinclient Tenshi no Hane o Fumanaide Suisei Ginka Yurikago yori Tenshi Made Izuna Zanshinken Tasogare no Sinsemilla Valkyrie Runabout Sekai o Sukuu dake no Kantan na Oshigoto Haru to Yuki Semiramis no Tenbin Tsukiakari Lunch Tsuisou no Augment Kamikaze Explorer Prism Recollection Houkago no Futekikakusha Izayoi no Fortuna Natsuzora no Perseus Minamijuujisei Renka Ojou-sama no Hanbun wa Ren'ai de Dekiteimasu Yami to Hikari no Sanctuary Sakura no Mori Dreamers AstralAir no Shiroki Towa Irotoridori no Sekai Senren Banka Reminiscence Akagoei series Soshite Hatsukoi ga Imouto ni Naru Harumade Kururu Haruru Minamo ni Kin'iro Loveriche Love Rec. Natsuiro Recipe Shuumatsu Shoujo Gensou Alicematic Sakura Nikagetsu Iroha ~Aki no Yuuhi ni Kagefumi o~ Campus's Uso series World Election (seriously push this one for fantasy charage lovers) Curio Dealer Kami no Ue no Mahoutsukai Lamunation Sora no Tsukurikata Hikoukigumo no Mukougawa Sakura, Sakimashita Amairo Islenauts Blade x Bullet Gouen no Soleil Dekinai Watashi ga, Kurikaesu Doushite, Sonna ni Kurokami ga Suki na no?! (more charage with some plot) Boku ga Tenshi ni Natta Wake Butterfly Seeker Fake Azure Arcology Re:Birth Colony Gekkou no Carnevale Hatsuyuki Sakura Gurenka Hikari no Umi no Apeiria (this guy's personality is so out there you wouldn't even be able to tell if anything effected him, lol) Hotel. (this is also a joke from me that I can share only with those few who have read it, lol) Kamigakari Cross Heart Kimi to Boku to no Kishi no Hibi Witch's Garden Kono Sekai no Mukou de Kouyoku no Soleil Lovesick Puppies (more food for charagamers) Toppara Zashiki Warashi no Hanashi Naka no Hito Nado Inai Natsuiro no Nostalgia Ojou-sama wa Gokigen Naname Onigokko Otomimi Infinity Para-Sol Prima Stella Paradise Lost Kajiri Kamui Kagura Sanzen Sekai Yuugi (only Otomege I know of that fulfills the prime condition) Primal x Hearts Tayutama (original only) Shinigami no Testament Shogun-sama wa Otoshigoro Stellula Eques Codex Tasogare no Himekishi (seriously, the protagonist is subject to some interesting stuff, like akuochi and/or corruption of characters) Toki o Tsumugu Yakusoku Unjou no Fairy Tale Yuganda Uso no Koi to Letter Yoru Meguru, Bokura no Maigo Kyoushitsu Tsuki ni Yorisou, Otome no Sahou Request includes G-Senjou no Maou Aiyoku no Eustia Watashi no Real wa Juujitsu Shisugiteiru Shirogane no Soleil Root Double Edit: A lot of these characters stand out due to personality traits or quirks, as much as anything else. The key point is that the protagonist is a 'person' instead of a cipher or catalyst. For those who wonder why I didn't include Tsuki ni Yorisou, Otome no Sahou 2, the reason is pretty simple... in every path, the protagonist's individuality vanishes and he becomes enslaved to the heroine's character needs.

I really respect Nekonyan's attitude.

Good to see that it's still continuing off screen, and as for Hoshiori so far it's been good with currently it's already ~60% translated. As for contraception pill, now that I'd already finished Misa's route I remember that they (Ryousuke and Misa) use condom twice before finally not using it at the third time seeing that Misa is already past her period to be pregnant, and that all of the other heroines already know that the two are dating by the time they'd have sex as well. I see that the writer did going further by introducing contraception pill there, so no condom for Bethly and Yukito first time (Well they need to be very cautious after all). Speaking about Misa her seiyuu did act as Momo-chan-sensei, and for addtional cast Yuzuki's seiyuu is also act as Meguru back in Hoshiori. Look forward to your next readthrough there.

If you felt offended by that, then I'm apologise for it. What I mean no GL or BL here is pretty much only heterosexual one, and I think it's pretty much most people here (At least in Indonesia) considered as normal. I can try to explain the cultural difference here, but I think it could be going out of control so let me rephrase my post here that 'there's no BL or GL sex in Makeover'.

Anything released by Sekai

Have you tried playing KEY games? I'd recommend Clannad and Air. I also see that you haven't read Koi to Senkyo to Chocolate, and from your list on VNDB this is the best option for what you are looking for.

Looking at it's VNDB page, it fills that criteria. Initial game is a just a romance with the heroine of your choosing. The fandisc is just extra content for each heroine. No harem endings as far as the tags go.

I'm kinda with you on the SoL scenes. It's not that I didn't expect them at all, but due to months of anticipation and elevated expectations from its opening scenes, I felt extremely drained after that initial shift. But you know, that's kinda my fault for letting my expectations get the better of me; and now that I think about it, I was being way too harsh with my standards. And now that I know what to expect going in, I think I'll be able to put in a little more effort into reading further.

I really liked all 4 routes, but it starts to get truly great by Marie's route. Kasumi and Kei have damn good routes, but Marie and Rea have some of the best routes I've ever read.

It gets good when you finish it and start KKK

Playing Little Busters, aiming for Nishizono's route. But the real drama has been the Battle Rankings! Here's what's happened...... * Rin defeated Sasami, and Riki got Sasami's Perfume. * I challenge Kengo at the first opportunity. Thanks to the Perfume (and a bit of luck), I defeat Kengo in the very first match! * Rin defeats Sasami several more times, giving me even more Sasami related items. As a result, I'm rather overpowered (with sky high Agility in particular). * I would defeat Kengo another TWO times in a row. And Rin. Before the story demotes me to last place.... * At the bottom of the rankings, Kurugaya hands me my first loss. I would defeat her in the rematch. * Komari would basically curbstomp me twice in a row. I BARELY got past her on the 3rd try.... * I steadily climb the ranks. Rin briefly manages to become #1. She gets demoted, but reaches #1 again! * After Kengo is demoted, I defeat him AGAIN! Placing me in the top3.... * Masato knocks Rin out of the top spot .... again. Meanwhile, Kyousuke makes it to 4. While Komari basically falls to the bottom. * I finally knock off Masato and claim the #1 spot! * ........ and the very next thing that happens is ...... Mystery Man!! First time I've ever seen him.... * "Saito" debuts against Komari ....... AND KOMARI WINS SOMEHOW!!!!! * Kengo continues to be a joke, losing to Kurugaya twice.... * "Saito" defeats Komari in the rematch (SHE ALMOST WON AGAIN!). Then he starts zooming up the rankings.... * Kyousuke would take the #1 spot from me, then I'd take it back. Kurugaya attempts to demote me from #3 to #5 at one point, but I got VERY lucky.... * In a VERY clutch matchup, I defeat Kyousuke again, and become #1....... * ........ while Saito becomes #2, knocking off Masato (Masato would have won, except he slipped on his own Soap!). * Me vs Saito then happens!! AND I WIN with a KO on the final round!! Luckily Saito had a rather useless weapon (mousetrap). Who needs "KEY Magic", when RNG can script the Battle Rankings, and create awesome drama that way! I'm sure the KEY Magic comes later.....

Idk if you're still looking but I've really enjoyed Newton and the Apple Tree the whole VN and the tsundere are great! She is quite a unique character and tsundere... I can't recommend this VN enough!

koikuma is nothing but a moedriven nukige (not neccessarily bad), koi ama bland as it could be & maitetsu a boring behemoth, not even counting in its issues upon release. though not even being its biggest fan, i´d definitely put walk among zombies leagues above the aforementioned in terms of quality/writing.

After the initial extraction from the ws2, the tool gives you a text file and a bin file. In most cases, you can leave the bin file alone. Here's a how-to if you want it.