XReaper

Unedited interface of the trial.
Hello guys. I'm back from my short vacation so I'll continue to post the progress weekly as always. Hasa's latest update was because I went MIA for a week, so yeah, sorry about that.
Team matters are going extremely well, I hope things keep being the same as they have been for the last weeks. Progress this week has boomed due to several lines of a number of scripts being repeated, which made their "translation" fairly easy and fast. The editing in the prologue has been finished and the proofreading as well as the TLC are almost finished (When I say editing, I include TLC'ed lines too.).
I'll be probably posting a very big announcement regarding our team plans fairly soon. We've gathered enough man power to be able to host 2 projects at the same time. The second project has been decided, and it will involve our team taking over a project that has already been started. I will not tell what game/project it is until the preparations are done, but what I can say is that it has been up for several years if I'm not mistaken and that is currently stalled. If everything goes well and negotiations go smoothly then I'll present our secondary team for the project as well as giving a huge breakdown talking about what will you expect of us when we take over said project.
About the prologue patch, the only things left to do are:
1. Translating the interface and inserting the new images. (Currently in progress.)
2. Beta testing/QC.
We'll release the patch for both the full game and the trial (although I recommend the latter for this one).
I'll post it here, in the project thread and in the website, but if by some chance you're interested in applying for the position for Beta Testing of the patch then either post a comment in the website or PM me through here. The job is fairly simple: play our prologue patch and give us feedback about the quality of the translation/editing, both good and bad aspects as well as some advice about which areas should we improve. I'll open 2 slots for Beta Testing. By the way, the reviews have to be somewhat complex, I'm not looking for something simple like "It has good/bad English, I approve/disapprove". They will sort of be QC's but not fully.
Other than that I'll post the progress. DISCLAIMER: Do not expect this speed for normal weeks, this one has happened to be rather special.
Translation:   6866 (17,0762%) - PROLOGUE FINISHED
Edit:          4296 (10,6844%) - PROLOGUE FINISHED
Proofreading:  FIRST PASS  OF THE PROLOGUE FINISHED (20/20 scripts)

Now... I know you've heard me bash charage/moege before.  That isn't the purpose here, though.  I've played plenty of VNs of the type over the years, and a decent number of them have actually managed to make it pretty high on my list of recommendations, despite the genres' flaws.  I've also mentioned before that VN quality has fallen drastically in the past two years... and I still think that, despite a few seriously stand-out works this year in general and this month in particular.
The reason why I'm focusing on charage/moege right now is because I just played one great one, one average-quality one, and now I'm playing a mediocre (but pretty-looking) one.  Having seen, just in the last few weeks, the variance in the genre in detail... I've had it thrust in my face that my conclusions, which were previously just instinctive (thus I thought it was at least in part because I was tired of the genre/s in general) and thus had the possibility of not being entirely justified, were not entirely off the mark. 
To be specific, I'm somewhat bemused at the degree to which people have been pushing/hyping the one I'm playing right now, considering how pathetic this writer is at using the tools available to him. 
It isn't the first time where I've encountered a mediocre VN with great visuals that gets pushed by the Western community (mostly by people who haven't played it but voted on it anyway... or ones who just extracted the CGs or used a save file to read the h-scenes) like crazy.  However, it is the most egregious example of this particular social pattern I've seen recently. 
Now, leaving aside my outrage at completely unjustified hype and recommendations...  I have to ask, why is this VN, which probably never would have made it to production three years ago, is still somewhat better than the baseline of what I've experienced in the last two years?
Thinking about it, the answer came to me startlingly quickly... it is because it satisfies people's nether-regions and their desire for idealized slice-of-life with a few quirks without actually having a personality.  The very reason I hate it is the reason it has caught the interest of some in our community, and I find myself smiling wryly as I realize that most of the people who play it are only interested in fapping to archetypical moe-heroines. 
Understand, I actually don't have any objections to non-extreme fap material or moe fap material.  I don't have problems with others' sexuality in general (as long as they don't inflict it on me or create victims along the way).  However, I do have to wonder why these same people don't hit up one of the dozens of moe-nukige that get released every year instead, lol. 
Obliterating all twists and scent of personality from a VN story is reemerging as a habit in VN makers, after a very very brief hiatus, and it is coming back even worse than before.  On the bright side, it makes the gems stand out more... but it also means that I have to listen to people fawning over mindless drivel that isn't even good by genre standards.
I actually should have seen the signs long ago... considering Sougeki no Jaeger (Propeller's last VN) and the sudden reappearance of the previously endangered beast known as the 'pure moege' in the last two years (though only a few of them, thank god).  The problem now, as it was thirteen years ago, is that the market is saturated with VNs in general and charage/moege in particular.  Because of this - the Japanese being the most conservative businessmen on the planet - the various VN companies have started to 'go back to basics', trying again the sort of tactics that succeeded before.  The fact that the average otaku ero-gamer in Japan is perfectly willing to shell out $120 for a crappy game that happens to have a cute (and preferably half-nude) dakimakura attached actually makes this trend worse, as it is creating an artificial (and very temporary) inflation of a stagnant market (and not for the first, second, or even third time).  It is almost like the real estate market here in 2007... everybody knew the bottom was going to fall out eventually, but people kept putting their bets on making a few more bucks before it did.
Worse, even if the market does collapse, it is unlikely to result in better VNs, lol.

Hello guys. Fourth weekly update. This'll be a short one compared to the others. Basically the progress has been steady this whole week and things are progressing nicely. If you haven't seen our plans for the prologue patch in our project thread I'll just copy-paste what I wrote there here:
"We decided to release a patch of the first 4298 lines of the game, which is essentially the real prologue of the game (until the OP pops up). Qoobrand released two trial versions. The first of those trials covers exactly that amount of lines until the OP, so we'll release the patch among with the trial version (which is completely free, we will set up a download button in our website for it) so you guys can experience what would be essentially a piece of the final work and what should you expect of our complete patch. Expect also the game's interface translated too."
The prologue is almost completely translated (It'll probably be finished this week, no promises though) and I've resumed editing again since I'm on summer vacation now (yay). Fred has also started editing on his side. We have very similar writing styles and I do think our difference won't be noticeable. Darbury has started proofreading on his end and TLC is progressing nicely as well. We'll start looking for QC's once the prologue has been completely polished by both the Editors and the Proofreader. Anyways, that's everything I can say on my end. Have a nice day everybody.
Progress
TL: From 7% to 11% - (4303/40394)
Edit: From 3% to 5% - (2039/40394)
Proofread Prologue Scripts: (6/20)
 

I got asked what I was doing for this blog this month just today, by several people (probably because this is the longest time I've gone without posting since I started this blog). So... I suppose I'll go ahead and tell you.
First, the two titles I'm reading on request (though I was planning on doing one anyway). 
Sakura no Mori Dreamers (reading now)
Ruri no Ie (yes, it is not exactly something I would normally bother with, but he was insistent... sort of like with Maggot Baits)
The rest of the releases this month I'm considering playing:
Soshite Hatsukoi ga Imouto ni naru
Seiken Tsukai no Proposition (by a new company, might suck, might  not)
Natsuiro Kokoro Log (this is by Hearts, a company infamous for producing kusoge, lol)
Tarareba (by Aries, that makes decent to horrible charage)
 
Personally, from what I've played, if they don't screw it up, I think Sakura no Mori Dreamers will probably end up being the best.  However, my past experiences with Moonstone's rare attempts to be serious tell me that that feeling isn't really trustworthy.  Clear started out good but went downhill with terrifying speed, for instance.  Their single best game is Maji Suki, and that was seven years ago...  though Natsu no Iro no Nostalgia was pretty good, for Moonstone.

Ren   \/
Hello guys! Third weekly update. Things are progressing smoothly and everything's going accord to plan for now. Recruiting is going well, we managed to fill the position for the proofreader (might open another position for it in the future, but not for now) and a new translator came aboard, making the total of five for now. Welcome @Darbury (Proofreader) and @frogstat (translator) and thank you for joining us!
Okay, so since several people have asked me this already I'll do a short Q&A answering the questions that some concerned people might ask.
Q- You guys have 5 translators for one game, isn't that going to mess up the quality/style of writing in the end?
A- Not really. Since we only have 1 Editor (a.k.a me) all of the different styles that the translators possess will have to pass through me, unifying the style in the end and making it readable and fluid. We do care a lot about the player experience regarding that aspect.
Q- Why do you have an open slot for a new Editor since you're constantly saying that you're the only one? Wouldn't two Editors mess up the writing style?
A- This one is a toughie. First of all, I'm not just the Editor. I take care about everything that happens outside of the team as well as Editing (Recruiting mostly) in order to ease everyone's work inside as much as possible, since I want them to focus to their positions only. Having another Editor helping me would lift a heavy weight from my back. About the writing style, I am a very selective person when it comes to English, so when an Editor gets recruited we'll both make sure to keep everything as smooth and continuous as possible so the player either doesn't notice or barely notices our styles.
Anyways, the progress:
TL: 5% to 7% (2965/40394)
Edit: 3% (1180/40394)
Due to school and homework issues @frogstat will start translating next week by thursday. Almost all of the scripts belonging to the first part of the prologue (before the game OP pops up) are finished. I'm still trying to figure out a way to promote the game legally without having to spend 100 bucks in Amazon, so if you somehow find a legal way to buy the game cheaper please let me know.
This is all for this weekend. Have a nice day and see you soon I guess.
(By the way, there has been no edit progress whatsoever because I've been very busy with life in general and team recruitment.)

So... I can't sleep and since I was really bored I decided to write this tips about doing a translation in general (or ramblings whatever you want to call them xD ) this is aimed for those who are starting a project or want to start a new one.

*I'll start by saying that If you really want to translate something just do it, don't pay attention to anyone just do it, nobody can stop you from doing it aside from yourself! (and maybe a C&D letter but that's a whole different topic that I wont address right now xD). 
*Before starting a project be sure that you LOVE the vn you want to translate or you are  getting paid for the job in that case what you want it doesn't really matter xD , you are going to work hours with the same text, fixing errors, reading over and over the same lines so if you don't actually love the vn you are working with sooner or later you are going to give up and drop it.
*This point might sound silly having the previous one but read the vn at least 2 times before starting the translation, you really need to know the plot and every little aspect of it, if you don't understand the plot or some parts of it, how a character thinks or why he/she acts the way it does etc you wont be able to do a good job, this is essential!

*Internet is you friend, if you don't understand something google it, you will find the answer sooner or later, if you search in Japanese is better, most of the time someone in yahoo or some similar website already asked that question (yes I've seen japanese people asking for some really basic stuff there!) there are tons of webs where you can find examples of a word if you don't understand how it works in some specific context (weblio for example) and last you have fuwa and some great users who are always willing to help you out. I hate asking for help so I try to avoid it as much as, also the satisfaction for achieving something for yourself is much more rewarding than just asking and having the answer served for you.

*Work a little bit every day, eat the whale one bait at a time.

* And last but not less important, have fun while you are doing it, if it's not fun then it's not worth it! Most importantly translate for yourself! Don't translate something because someone else might like it or because is really popular (I'm looking at you moe vns), you are wasting your time, this might sound selfish but if you don't enjoy what you are doing, eventually you are going to drop it.

Now this is something I asked myself a lot of times and I was sure I had the answer but I didn't...
Did I improve my Japanese because of the translation aka "Do you learn Japanese by translating something"? It's hard to say, I did learn several sexual terms, if that counts for something... even some really obscure ones that I want to forget Overall I don't think so (yes Decay was right on this one) if you get stuck too often then it's probably a good idea to postpone the translation for a few months, learn more and get back to it later on. (This is what I did the first time I started translating this vn 4 or 5 months ago)
And that's pretty much it 

I want to thank everyone that helped me throughout this project, Schwarzstorch who hacked the game, edited most of the images and helped me out with pretty much everything (he worked for more than 2 hours with a picture of a dick lol sorry dude!!)  Outofthebox for helping me out with the editing (oh boy did I bother him xD) to Arcadeotic for editing the text too, XReaper for all the amazing advice, MikeY91 for being the first beta tester and Tyrosyn for testing the patch and giving such an amazing feedback, finally to all the guys who helped me in the Japanese help thread.

Until next time じゃあな

Visual Novel Translation Status (05/28/2016)
Sorry for late blog post here. For the title, this week I choose ultimate title (You knew what I mean if you play Dangan Ronpa) and since the image header was from Homeless School Girl VN, so I'd use Homeless Girl (I'm not using school since the synopsis indicate that the girl couldn't attend school) from the VN title. Okay, about the VN itself, I'd read the VNDB discussion and let's just said that the girl was suffered many rape and humiliation, especially from her step father. Oh, and by the way thanks for translating Homeless School Girl, Deep Blue even though maybe the VN wasn't too much cheery for me and too heavy (Also quite dark from VNDB discussion).
Welcome to my VNTS Review for this week here. For catch up from last week, I'm sorry to said about Angel Beats (AB) translation team who must stop their work for translating it because Visual Art decided to translated AB by themselves. Oh, and by the way we also had news about Ixrec working to translating Rewrite + VN. As for my comment, maybe Rewrite was kind of divisive, but since we'd promised that there will be improvement about the scenario I wonder what kind of reaction we'll see later. AB once again not interested so much right now because it was only volume one, while KEY obviously will add more AB volume in the future. Let's see it later.
For fan translation project, we had another one established here. As for the progress, right now it was quite hard to said but the translator promised us that the moment he update the progress, it'll be at least around 75%. For the VN itself, it was some sort of nukige with fantasy world setiing and loser MC. And for the woman, we'll had big breast one. Not on my list of looking forward though, but good luck on the project though and hopefully this VN will satisfied any big breast fan in the future if it's translated.
About Indie Go Go (IGG), looks like it'll be trend in the future for localizing VN. At least it was had advantage over Kickstarter with flexible fund ie if the project didn't managed to get funded in time, the project itself could be extended compared to Kickstarter which couldn't be extended if it's failed (I guess). Also, apparently it was more flexible for the project with 18+ content ie not as restrictive as Kickstarter in term of adult content. For the report, this week we had 2 projects entering IGG (Corona Blossom and Princess Knight).
For Corona Blossom, right now it was gathered around 8,329 out of 30,000 (Half of it thanks to some backer who backed at 4,000 though), and while the goal was quite small some member here said it was probably for promotion for the VN itself. And this time Princess Knight was very surprisingly almost achieved the goal, with 10,864 out of 12,000 funded. Both VN was said will be delivered at this year, and both of IGG still had one month left for deadline. Let's see it later for both of IGG, although obviously Princess Knight will fully funded first obviously. And before forget, my condolence for Princess Knight MC seiyuu, Mochi Yomigi here who passed away at 30 years old.
Sekai Project
Well, not much here other than Maitetsu picked up again at 15.68% translation progress and WEE at 86.52%. And I think I'd said enough about Princess Knight above. For Darekoi and Memory Dogma, it was had some nice progress (78.75% for Darekoi and 42.15% for Memory Dogma) although I'm still not interested with those 2 though. And for 2 new announced VN here, Sekai was surprisingly fast at translating it (Although the VN length for those 2 was short though). By the way, the progress for both new announced VN was at 50.11% for 2236 AD and 47.08% for Love, Guitars, and the Nashville Skyline (Don't know much other than it was probably about guitar play thing). Other than those progress, not much ie no Chrono Clock and Tenshin Rahman progress once again.
Mangagamer
For 2 weeks update roundup we already had Kyonyuu (Or Funbag) Fantasy was fully translated and edited, Kuroinu at 70% translated, Imopara 2 at 46% translated, Pygmalion was at 100% translated, MYTH was about entering beta testing, and Da Capo 3 was at 94.7% translated and 91.3% edited. For nukige progress, no comment other than the progress for Kyonyuu was very fast for just recently announced VN (Or maybe Mangagamer was already did all the work, including partnering with Waffle and keep it secret before announcing it). For Pygmalion, let's see how much fast the editing will be, although hopefully it won't be too long. For Da Capo 3, actually it was had the true route translated and what's left is only epilogue/omake thing. Looks like Da Capo 3 translation will definitely finished before July, and hopefully in next 2 weeks we'll see 100% at translation progress for Da Capo 3.
Fan Translation
For Astral Air, after crazy progress from last week, it was slowed down again at 0.95% progress from last week (I'm still grateful of course) bringing the overall translation progress to 79.71%. Koiken Otome, looks like the VNTS was wrong although we had the QC update though from 86.71% to 87.71%. For Koiken Otome itself, although the game might get not so good review, just try to low your expectation very low in case you want to play it ie not expecting action like Tokyo Babel even though the premise was quite promising for that of course. Hanasaki, after reading Clephas review (He was slightly dislike it though) I think the prologue was indeed mean common route and right now it was 100% translated. About the next route for Hanasaki, they said they'll translated Hikari's route next according to this post.
Majokoi translation team just had the update after VNTS was finished, so I'll report the progress here. For the progress, it was at 5% translated and 3% edited. This is definitely good progress if I may said. Tsui Yuri, since Dergonu was faced the challenge with the name Math test (I understand) the progress was not much compared to last week, although it was still good though (3% progress, and the translation progress right now was at 25%). For last update, since Arcadeotic also busy with exam, there's not much progress in Bishoujo Mangekyou translation (The progress was at 4.7% translated for 8th script). Well, not much progress, but nevertheless good job for updating it even though both of you were busy.
And last word for Fan Translation progress, there is another new translation project for VN called Mahou Shoujo. Here's the page, and if some of you want to offer help just ask Chronopolis there.
That's all for my VNTS Review. And I think this week was quite usual ie not much excitement after many crazy time in April (I mean back in April we'd had many big release for translated VN). See you next week in my VNTS Review. Oh, and thanks for your interview with Sekai Project, Decay.

So I know @Deep Blue made one of these a little while ago, but I really wanted to get one out myself as well. (I am also including pictures. You are too lazy man!  ) Now that the game is released, I feel it really deserves some coverage! 
(Note that I read the beta version, and so some improvements will have been made to the final release. Also, I wrote this review in a littel bit of a subjective style, really because I want to get through my personal feelings that I experienced when I read the VN. It might make the review seem slightly biased, but I hope this doesn´t make the review seem less serious. I played the game with a completely objective state of mind, and this is just my honest opinion of the game. Anyways, on to the review:) 
 
 
One thousand lies is a 5-10 hour OELVN made by Keinart Lobre, (@Keinart.) The VN is about a group of friends goofing around as they get closer to graduating from high-school, though there is a lot more to the novel than what initially meets the eye. 
(Note, the novel has both a Spanish and English version. I read and proofread the English version.) 
 
In One Thousand Lies we meet Ciaràn Endyein, a slightly delinquent-like teenager who, along with his best friend Ausse Ealdwine, pull of silly yet harmless shenanigans that always end up getting them in trouble. The two are also accompanied by the pretty and intelligent Ziva Shani, who constantly try to psychoanalyze Endyein. 
 
At the beggining of the story, Endyein recieves a strange, mysterious email, telling him to go to a certain place without any more detailed instructions. The sender appears to have stolen a package Endyein was waiting for, so confused and angry, he decides to do what the email says. (With some persuasion from his friends.) This sends him down a fairly heavy psychological, yet heartwarming and slice of life-like journey. 
 
Story and writing
The story in the game starts of really light and funny. It´s a slice of life story that has refreshing and entertaining humor; it doesn´t use overused clichès that you have seen 100 times before. As you get further into the story, you will start to notice that not everything is exactly how it seems. It´s hard to talk about this without spoiling the entire story, so we are going to keep it short. The story is well written, has pretty good pacing and does a good job of hiding the real kicker until the very end. 
The writing in the novel is, like I´ve already mentioned, really good. It is every editor´s dream, going through a novel that has essentially no mistakes, and that doesn´t repeat itself over and over, but instead offers new, refreshing words and phrases for each sentence. The language was almost a little bit too complex at times, as I felt it was unnecessary to use such big words for a normal, every-day setting. Still, the novel does use a lot of psychology terms and the likes, so it´s not like a complex language is a bad thing for it. 
There isn´t much else to say about the story, as the novel is quite short, and giving any more information could possibly spoil it. All in all, story and writing is very well done, and deserves a good 9/10 rating. 
 

 
Characters and art
The characters in the novel are all diverse and interesting in their own way. You have Ausse, the slightly dumb but lovable rich kid who might or might not be the MC´s friend because of his financial situation. 
Ziva, the beautiful and determined female friend who constantly gets on the MC´s nerves when she tries to diagnose him with different psychological disorders.
Claire, the cute and shy girl who only opens up when in the presence of Endyein. 
Luce, the playful and energic joker who always has a funny remark that will put the MC in his place. 
And finally Diniz The Sloth. (I think that title should be sufficent in describing him.) 
 
Each character has nice and well drawn sprites with several facial expressions that feels natural. 
The CG in the game is very pretty, though certain facial features gets a little less "natural" in the CGs compared to the character sprites, especially Luce´s. Regardless of this though, the CG is very nice and well made. 
The backgrounds are kind of like a painted sketch, which is a unique but interesting style that I personally found quite enjoyable. 
 
The only complaint I would have about the characters is that Diniz seems to have very little screen time compared to the others, and therefore he has little time to become a part of the main cast. 
Characters, 9/10, 
Art 7.5/10
 
Music and atmosphere
The music in the novel is pretty good overall and seeing as the game is not voiced, this is a good thing. There are several comfortable soundtracks that helps bring out the emotion reflected in the scene, especially during the more enigmatic and mysterious situations the novel has to offer. 
The music did not take me by storm, but it still did its job very well in filling the "silence" when playing the unvoiced game. 
Not much more to say about it. Music gets a 6.5/10 score from me. 
The atmosphere in the game is quite hard to put into words. During the reading experience, it is obvious that there is something there that is more than just a few teenagers messing around. There is some kind of heavy undertone in the writing that clearly tries to tell you something more, but its written in such a way that what exactly that is, doesnt become apperant until the very end. I think that the way this was done is really quite impressive. Each character has a part to him or her that helps hint to this, and each scene does put out tiny clues, though in the end, figuring out what the cause of such an atmosphere is before the credits roll is not easy. 
This part of the game gets a clear 10/10 rating from me. It was quite the ride. 
 
Conclusion:
In conclusion, OTL is an entertaining and innovative OELVN that doesnt try to do all those things we have already seen in Japanese VNs, but instead it uses original humor, exceptional writing and an interesting and thrilling psychological aspect to make the entire reading experience a blast. 
I had no idea what I was getting into when I started reading this, and simply voulenteered to proofread / test the game because of Deep Blue´s interest in it. Needless to say, I was not dissapointed. 
Final rating: 9/10. 
Here is a link to the thread for the game here on Fuwanovel:

 

First, this VN is done in a similar vein to that of the Chuushingura VN, in that it is historical fiction with elements of fantasy.  In this case, the protagonist is Okita Soujirou, the infamous Shinsengumi swordsman (in this case a trap, lol, since the Shinsengumi are all women). 
For those wondering how they chose to do this VN, it is pretty interesting.  I have so far played three of the four end-story arcs (Hijikata and Kondou share the same arc, as do the Saitou/Sanou and the Sakuma/Higo pair).  The 'true history' arc is Kou's ending, which follows the same basic story as the original history, with the minor addition of the fantasy element.  In this one, the protagonist's fate follows history exactly, as does that of the Shinsengumi.  The other paths I've played are the Sakuma arc and the Sakamoto Ryouma arc.  Sakamoto Ryouma, who was infamous for his (in this case her) neutrality and what were considered wild ideas by many, was assassinated after he succeeded in making arrangements that might have brought about a peaceful end to the Shogunate, were it not for certain events.  This arc is something of a what-if story, where Ryouma wasn't assassinated and you get to see how that alters history.  It is a threesome ending, with the infamous Tosa assassin Iori as the other part of the triangle, lol.  Sakuma was a famous scholar and scientist who advised the Shogunate in the years leading up to the war and was eventually assassinated, leaving the shogunate without its primary scholar of foreign technology.  This is also a what-if story, where Sakuma survives to alter the fate of Japan.  Sano and Saitou's ending is basically an alternate epilogue that is a part of the same path.  The last arc, which I'm playing at the moment (I will edit/update this post when it is done) looks like it focuses on a Hijikata and Kondou, and I'm interested to see how they'll handle that. 
A few comments on the story in general... one thing is that this VN, like Chuushingura, gives you a lot of insight into an era that is a bit overly romanticized, retaining a strong element of that same romanticism while at the same time going into the gory details of what went on (both political and literally gory details, lol).  The degree of detail in this VN will probably be overwhelming for the average person, and I can see that they are lining the story in general up so that they can later create a 'true ending' fandisc, if the VN is well-received.  To be honest, the linguistic difficulty of this VN stays around a 7-9 throughout its length, and I honestly can't see it being comprehensible for someone who isn't at least familiar with the historical outline of what happened in Japan between 1861-1868. 
Another thing to understand is that anyone who reads this with even a slightly objective point of view should be able to see how this era eventually resulted in the birth of the insane nationalism that defined Imperial-era Japan before and during World War II, and it does indeed touch on many of the underlying issues that created the antagonism toward the West in Japan.  It doesn't gloss over economic or political issues (in fact, those are central to the progression of the story), and as a result, it can be a bit confusing if you've only heard one side of the story (the average western textbook doesn't mention the unequal treaties, the bombardment of Ezo, Satsuma's brief conflict with Britain, or the element of proxy war between France and England involved in their internal civil war). 
For weaboos, this is pure crack, just like Chuushingura.  Sure, it is bloody, violent, and shows off the less romantic side of the fall of the shogunate... but the Shinsengumi fights are as wonderfully violent as you would expect from the legends (even up to the recreation of the infamous Ikeda-ya incident).  As a VN, it is also probably the most solid VN, from a literary perspective, written this year, simply because they simply added on and breathed life into the existing history and romanticized events of the era.  What-if stories about Sakomoto Ryouma surviving aren't uncommon in jidaigeki historical fiction, but this is the first time a VN has gone into this much detail on the era.
PS: Will update this later.
Edit: Ok... first, the Hijikata/Kondou paths are both split out of the Kou path (so naturally, the protagonist's fate doesn't change), but in exchange, the endgame changes greatly, diverging from history (where Kondou was executed and Hijikata died in the battle for Hokkaido).  Nonetheless, the story is definitely a tearful one, with the more traditional 'tragic hero of the losing side' feeling that you generally expect from Shinsengumi-related stories.  The actual storytelling between Kondou and Hijikata's paths doesn't change much, though the actual end result does indeed change. 
Overall, this VN was a good experience for me... I got deeply emotionally involved with the characters, weeping over their suffering and glorying over their triumphs, and I honestly felt that it did justice to the writer's expressed intent 'Shinsengumi with an element of steampunk fantasy'.  Shuuri's path (Sakuma's arc) touched the most deeply on the steampunk elements, for those who are interested, and honestly, I preferred the Ryouma and Sakuma arcs over the Shinsengumi ending arc.  Nonetheless, the VN as a whole was immensely enjoyable.
However, I do think this needs a true ending arc, and I honestly hope that Takaya Aya (the main scenario writer for this VN and most of Caramel Box's other VNs) will produce a fandisc to fulfill that desire for me, lol.  That said, this was an immensely satisfying VN with no real downsides, save that the protagonist was only partially voiced (probably due to budgetary constraints). 
Edit 2: Just so no one mistakes my feelings about this VN, the endings and the paths themselves are satisfying.  My single complaint - that there isn't a unifying true ending and it felt like there should have been - is mostly because I was put into that kind of mood after an experience that was in someways similar to Chuushingura (except the protagonist kills LOTS of people, lol).

Izuna Zanshinken is one of three pretty high-quality VNs made by Akatsuki Works Black during the period of a single year.  I say 'high-quality', but it was more for the pleasure levels rather than literary value.  Izuna Zanshinken and Yurikago yori Tenshi Made are both what I like to call 'perfect examples of chuunige crack' that are also readable by people who aren't translators or native Japanese.  Of course, there are hard moments, but in comparison to the normal ruck of chuunige, they are relatively easy on the brain.  The third VN is Hotel, a post-apocalyptic utsuge based in a post-war world where for some reason, all life is slowly dying out for no apparent overt reason.  It is a story about how a small community of survivors live their best amidst the growing realization there is no salvation coming.  It is a melancholic VN that had me crying repeatedly and hit me with a mild mindfuck revelation at the end, while at the same time ending on a highly emotional note.
Izuna Zanshinken is the story of Musumi Kotarou, a young boy trained from birth for the sole purpose of being a 'kept' vigilante assassin.  Kotarou's style integrates basically 'whatever works', though he prefers to use katana, claws, kunai, and his bare fists.  Since his style is specialized for killing with no element of 'sports' to it, it is pretty brutal at times, lol. 
Mmm... to be blunt, this VN is drenched in blood.  There is more raw violence and bloodshed in this VN than in any other I've ever played.  I don't mean the kind of magical violence that you see in a lot of fantasy VNs, where people are wiped out without a trace... I mean people being cut down, strangled, stabbed, cut open, dismembered, etc.  Both the CGs and the writing are kind of graphic at times, and for those not used to blood, this will probably put them off. 
However, because of the nature of the protagonist's work, there is always good reason why people have to be killed by him, at least... and his killing are generally pretty cathartic.
The musical style of this VN is almost exclusively variations on classical Japanese music with Japanese or Chinese instruments.  Everyday scenes will sometimes have more western additions, but even those will include at least some Japanese instrumentals.  Indeed, in many ways they were basically reinventing the 'jidaigeki' style in a VN based in a modern era. 
Visually... think lots of blood?  The style itself is pretty and there are a lot of CGs in this VN, not just H ones. 
Content-wise... other than blood, there is some rape (no heroine rape though).  There are also other objectionable concepts introduced such as human slavery, cannibalism, and lolis with bone fetishes.  Most of the VN is done in episodic fashion, with single incidents making up a single chapter.  The paths are distinctive, with the 'introduction' or 'common' route helping you to get used to the atmosphere before you go into the heroine routes.  In the heroine routes, romance generally isn't the focus, though it is an element.  One of the more enjoyable things about the routes is how they shape things so the protagonist plays a different role with each heroine.  With Suzuka, it is the protector, servant, and confidante, with Shinobu, it is the role of the mentor and partner, and with Hikaru it is the role of friend and eventually an ally.  'Choices' in this VN are actually mostly choices of what scenes you want to watch (except for a few bad-end/good-end choices at the end of each path).  For instance, in one scene you might get one focused in a slice of the protagonist's daily life interacting with the heroines or people at school (though school doesn't play much of a role, overall).  However, the other choice might be a Socratic-style lecture from a teacher, where the students debate recent events and issues, like the recent abolishing (fictional) of the death penalty and its effects on society (this issue is actually a central social theme of the VN as a whole), or a scene told from the viewpoint of a victim, an assailant, or an antagonist. 
Perhaps my biggest objection to this VN is that it was designed with a sequel in mind.  You can tell because of the way the secret ending (accessed by filling in the rest of the flow chart) is done, leading you to think that matters are nowhere near their conclusion. 
Overall, this VN is one of those that I think everyone who can stand the sight of blood should read, just so they can have the experience.  It isn't a kamige, but it is a highly cathartic, highly emotional trip down a bloodstained road inside the experiences of a vigilante assassin.
Here is one of my favorite CG progressions, for those who want to have a idea of what it is like (spoilers)

Mmm... first of all, this is by Onamatope, a company previously known only for its harem-ge from the Mecha-con series.  The Mecha-con series fell somewhere into that thin area between a nukige and a moege, and it was actually pretty decent for something in that area of the VN universe.  So, keeping that experience in mind, I went into this VN with a more open mind than some people probably would have.  Fortunately, this VN wasn't a disappointment, precisely because I wasn't looking for it to be something out of this world.
Ok, first... this is a chuunige, in the sense that it follows a format I think most people will be familiar with... this young guy is transformed and forced into a world where he has to fight to survive, with many pretty girls around him... sound familiar?  It should.  That right there is the basis for about ninety-percent of the entire 'gakuen battle' type chuunige sub-genre.  In a few ways, this VN definitely borrows from Draculius, which I still think is the best non-superviolent vampire VN.  There are a lot of differences between the two... but they share the commonality of allowing for a coexistence of slice-of-life and comedy with a more serious background story. 
I'll say it straight out though... there should have been an Iris path.  I don't say this because I'm a lolicon (though the protagonist and his ancestors all were, apparently) - as I'm not - but because Iris was, at first, second and third glance, the most interesting female character in the VN.  All the heroines had their moments... in fact, I was really, really surprised at the degree to which they managed to balance all the paths and gave the heroines an equal amount of story.  Due to the fact that the first half of their paths are the same, you might think Aoi and Lycoris got a bit screwed over, but their events after the split are distinct enough - and long enough - that I can't really say either got screwed over by the scenario designer's choices.  In that sense, this VN is something of a triumph of the art of scenario design, which was one of the areas in which Onamatope generally shined in its near-nukige Mecha-con series as well (one of the reasons my impressions of those games were positive). 
In terms of raw writing... the battle writing is actually some of the better non-Light and non-Propeller I've seen.  That isn't to say it is first class, because it isn't.  The protagonist is way too much of a hetare when it comes to dealing with his vampirism, and the fact that they chose to make all the heroines, sub-heroines, and the protagonist a bit 'baka' was a bit of an odd choice that had moments where it fell flat.  The regular narrative writing is better than you generally see in a nakige (which generally get favored with the best moege-variant writers), and I can honestly say that the pacing didn't throw me off very often, though there were some shaky moments midway and early on.
In terms of visuals... this VN definitely needed more combat CGs.  I knew they would cut corners on this, as Onamatope is not a company that can afford the kind of budgets for visuals that monsters like Will and Light can.  There was a bit too much reuse of the same tachie poses to simulate combat, and the best I can say is that they gave the protagonist a face and a tachie for once, which was a huge plus.
... unfortunately they didn't give him a voice.  Perhaps one of the biggest no-nos with a modern chuunige is to fail to give the protagonist a voice.  The simple reason for this?  Because the protagonist in a chuunige is always intended to be an actual person, rather than a simple self-insert.  As such, it is rather ridiculous to give into that particular convention when even using a random staff member would probably satisfy most people. 
Generally speaking, the music in this game is... generic-sounding in the sense that chuunige music can ever be generic-sounding.  That means that the tunes are ones I suspect get sold to every company intending to make this type of VN, with a few twists and changes in the rhythm to make them sound different to the ears of someone who doesn't listen.   On the positive side, there is no point in this VN where I felt like the music was misused, which is a far bigger flaw that simply reusing music tracks from other games.
Overall, what can those of you looking forward to the localization look forward to?  I'd say that if you want some slice-of-life with vampires merged with a low-level chuunige story, this will definitely be something to look forward to.  On the other hand, fans of more serious chuunige will not be satisfied by this, as the game is just to light in the slice-of-life scenes and the protagonist is a bit too much of a near-hetare when it comes to the vampire issues. 

*** astro has shared contact details with Joe. ***
Joe: Hi astro, I'm wondering can u pls translate Aiyoku no Eustia?
 
Me: sorry I really don't have time to take on more projects right now
 
Joe: But it's a rly good game
 
Me: I'm sure it is. look, I hope that you're not asking me to do it for free at the very least - I don't even know who the heck you are
 
Joe: Well how long will it take u to do it? I can pay u $2000 at most depending on how long it takes
 
Me: ...Do you have any idea how long the game is?
 
Joe: No idk japanese so I've never played it before
 

 
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Well, this isn't really Tay's fault, but my rule of thumb is to always blame Tay. taypls

This rant stemmed from a conversation on Twitter. I'm posting this here purely because posting this line by line on Twitter seemed retarded, and I'd disable the forum notifications for this post if I could. You can dig through my recent Twitter replies if you want to see the context. Have fun.
***
The problem is a bit more complicated than "some people don't like what I have to say". Sure, there's that, but the majority of detractors don't like how I raise my voice to be heard through the din. The majority of eroge fans are content to stay within their walled communities and gossip amongst each other. A few bloggers have appeared, but again they keep to themselves and expect their audience to come to them.
I've challenged this status quo. I've decided to be the black sheep that actually promotes his content: after all, why would anyone devote any amount of effort to writing for the smallest audience possible? I write to make a difference. I write to be recognized as a community leader. I'm not content with just being heard by a single insular community of hardcore fans. I can't accomplish anything like that.
I consider myself an industry activist. I do what the industry refuses to do: market and promote itself. In a community where freeloading is the norm, active promotion is very much frowned upon. Yet spurring people to buy stuff is incredibly important if eroge fans want to have a say in English localization. I want to be the facilitator that bridges the gap between eroge companies and the VN community. I want to be the voice for eroge fans when companies cross the line, thinking that sales are more important than the wishes of the fanbase. I can't do all of this by just whining in threads on Fuwanovel about the success of the Sakura series while games like Seinarukana remain in obscurity.
Mainstream activists make a living off what they do. I do what I do almost entirely for free, with the simple request that people click my affiliate links when they buy a game because of the content I provide. I would say that criticism of me is hypocritical, yet I realize that only a year ago I'd probably have said that what I do is distasteful. If things would get done without me, I'd be willing to pass the baton and go back to an online life of obscurity. If good content promoted itself, I wouldn't need to try to so hard to get the word out. But well, life isn't fair, honest effort isn't necessarily rewarded, and mediocrity is the formula for success. If I don't promote my content, no one else will. That's just how it is.
Long rant. I'm not going to post this on Twitter line by line.
Note: This is meant to be a conversation between me and my followers. If you say something unconstructive or just piss me off, I'll start deleting comments without warning. You have been warned.

Introduction:
 
When it comes to reading VN's in Japanese, required skills can be grouped into four areas: Vocab, grammar, basic parsing skill, and kanji skill. In this post, for each area I'm going to explain:
-what knowing skills in the area are good for
-how you might study them
-how much you'll need to start reading.
I'll also give some related tips.
 
The requirements mentioned below are a conservative estimate. I've known people who've jumped in to playing VN's with less or much less, but I'm giving a safe estimate. A level which at most people, without any special knack for learning languages through immersion, should be able to gain traction. If you learn this much before starting an easyish VN, the amount you are completely lost should be significantly less than the percentage you are able to pick up and improve from.
 
This is not a comprehensive how-to guide by any means. Just an informative post.
 
------------------
 
1. Vocab
 
Knowing enough vocab to study your grammar resource without being bogged down by vocab:
-About 30 verbs and 50 other words for Genki 1/ Tae kim Basic.
-By the time you get to Genki 2/Tae Kim Essential you'll want a good set of verbs (about 100), and maybe about 300 total vocabulary.
-~600 words about how much you'll want to be able to study N3 grammar without getting bogged down in vocab.
 
Having enough vocab to start your first VN:
-I recommend over 1000, but anywhere from 800-1300 is good. I remember trying Clannad with only 800, and I felt like ramming my head into a wall. It's also important to pick an easy title. It will still feel hard no matter what, but an easy title will be much more helpful and rewarding to play. You also must just translation aggregator and ITH. They are the reason why Visual Novels are the best medium for learning Japanese out of anime/books/movies/drama/etc.
 
Vocab Lists:
There's a dedicated verb list here: http://nihongoichiban.com/2012/08/13/list-of-all-verbs-for-the-jlpt-n4/
Verbs are helpful to learn, because they are often the most important part of the sentence AND you need to to have stuff to conjugate.
In general JLPT-based vocab list is here: http://www.tanos.co.uk/jlpt/jlpt5/vocab/
 
Regarding English definitions:
Be mentally open and flexible. If the english definition doesn't quite add up, don't try and think about it too hard. Focus instead on associating the word with the situations where you see it.
For example, you might be confused by the word 都合 and it's unhelpful definition J-E definition, but if you seen 都合がいい used in a situation where you know it means "is convenient for me" from context then remember that occurence. There might be (there are, in fact), other usages of the word 都合, but that doesn't hurt you in anyway. The next time you see 都合 you can pair it against this meaning and see if that makes any sense.
 
2. Grammar Skills
 
With N5+N4 grammar you will be barely able to start making your way through a VN. Without N4, you will have quite limited gains in the long term from reading visual novels. (Equivalent to Genki 1+2.)
-Required to be able to play VN's
 
With N3 grammar, everything will feel a lot clearer, the amount of grammar you'll understand will exceed 60%. (Equiv. to Intermediate approach to Integrated Japanese). Highly recommended to study this before or soon after you start your first VN.
 
N2 grammar further cuts the amount of unknown grammar you face in three.
 
N1 is kind of like a bonus that gives you a lot of uncommon or formal expressions. It's NOT comprehensive at all, in terms of covered all Japanese phrases. From my experience, some of the phrases you learn in here show up often in novels (ばかり、んばかり), others quite less. Good to know, though
 
Expressions not covered in JLPT
There are a lot of patterns and phrases not covered in JLPT that you will see in typical native reading material. Examples (社長に議長, phrases like なんだと！？ Xってなんだ？　ですって！？　～てくれないかな。 オレって、なんてバカなんだ ) Not to worry, many of them can be picked up as you go. For the rest, once you get settled into reading, you can start noting down those phrases you don't get and google them or ask other people.
 
Imabi for grammar
You can also try studying from http://www.imabi.net/. It's a phenomenal reference, it's just goes into tons of depth, too much. I think there's 2 or 3 times as much information there is covered by JLPT up to JLPT 1. As such it's going to be overwhelming for a beginner and is much better suited as a reference for intermediate or advanced learners.
 
3. Basic Parsing Skill
 
Knowing the different types of words (Covered by doing a vocab list of about 100 verbs, and then the JLPT 5 list. You also have to have done or be doing Tae Kim's Basic Guide, since he explains what na-adj's, i-adj's, and other word types are, etc.).
-(nouns, suru-verbs/nouns, verbs, na-adj's, i-adj's, adverbs, temporal adverbs)
-Required to be able to play VN's.
 
Knowing the basic sentence structure and how words can modify each other and fit in a sentence.: (adjectives modifying nouns, verbs).
The knowledge is covered by Tae Kim Basic + a mix of Essential Grammar and Genki 1/2. I personally find Tae Kim's explanation good even though the learning curve is steep and his lessons aren't good for review like Genki books are. He tries to convey to you the big picture.
-Required to be able to play VN's.
 
Being able to breakdown sentences and spot the different types of words based on their position.
-you can practice this by reading bits of text in your genki textbook, but more likely, the first time you really gain this skill is going to be the first month in which you read a visual novel with TA. Heavily practiced during your first month or two of reading VN's.
 
4. Kanji Skill:
 
Learning to spots radicals in kanji (could be covered by doing the 214 radicals, about 1 month. You could also do this ongoing basis, learning how to spot the radicals that make up a kanji, for the words you learn.)
-not needed to read VN's with TL aggregator, but extremely helpful for learning new words which have new kanji.
 
Learning to remember kanji, ie. start recognizing when words share the same kanji. (it is a long ongoing gradual process. You can start doing this with the vocab you learn once you are comfortable learning vocab. You can also pick out words you see in vn's and check whether they use the same kanji by typing them out (example 朝（あさ）　and　朝食（ちょうしょく）　use the same kanji.). Oh course, to be able to easily produce the kanji you want to compare you need to remember how to spell a word that contains it (in this case 朝). So, as your vocab expands, you'll be able to compare more kanji. Note that to be able to do this comparing you must be able to spot radicals in kanji (previous level skill).
-moderately helpful for learning vocabs. The same way remembering radicals helps learning with kanji: if you know the kanji clearly, you can remember a word just by the two kanji it uses, which is very precise and doesn't take a lot of mental bandwidth. It also means that you will much more rarely confuse words which have similiar looking kanji.
 
The following two skills are for more advanced, they won't be particularly useful until much later. You might not notice the problems they solve until later as well. I include them mainly for completeness.
Learning on-yomi for many of the Jyouyou kanji (start when you are intermediate-advanced, a medium-long process)
-helpful for exactly what it is, reading kanji words and compounds correctly.
-don't need to worry about this. From learning vocab you might pick up some of the common ones, but there's no need to pursue this actively for a while.
 
Learning kanji meaning: (start when you are advanced, and can use a J-J dictionary)
-suffixes like 府、省、性、症, as well normal kanji whose different meanings apply to clusters of words.
-helpful for kanji compounds which won't directly show up in dictionaries
-helpful for developing a native level understanding of vocabulary (not everything can be learned by exposure). A lot of literary words are fairly influenced by their kanji meanings, though sometimes consulting the word differentiation explanations can be more helpful.
 
 
 
One last topic...
 
On learning enough grammar and jumping into works too difficult for you.
Reading a VN isn't the best way to learn basic sentence structure. However, it's a great way to reinforce grammar points you've learned. It's also a great way to get an understanding of conversational patterns you won't find in textbooks or JLPT. But you won't have the presence of mind to pay attention to that if you are bogged down by not knowing basic grammar.
There are benefits for venturing early into native material or difficult vn's, but you wouldn't give a grade two student Tolkien, or even Harry Potter to improve their English. All the fancy prose and unusual concept would distract you from the more immediately useful things like, say: basic sentence structure.
There are works which are the right level, and there are VN's which you really want to read. For the best experience, it's best to find some combination of the two.
 
------------------
 
Ok that's all for now. Feel free to ask any questions: I didn't really go into the details of how to study, instead focusing on the, well, skills involved. But it's also hard to remember what it's like for someone just starting out. I remember parts of studying very clearly, but I forget the thousands of things I used to be puzzled through varying stages of understanding but now take for granted.
The process was all I could think about for the longest time. Now I don't give it much thought, it's just a regular part of my life, reading and a bit of studying. It's not bad idea, to just find a type of study that you know is helpful, stop thinking about all the right ways and wrong ways and magic tricks which don't exist, and just do it, for a while. Regularly. For a month or three.

Pop quiz, hotshot.
There’s an untranslated (i.e, romaji) word sitting there in the script you're editing, staring right up at you. It’s been left like that because the TL team figured people ought to know what it means. But will they really? And what are the ramifications if they don’t? You’re running out of time, and patch release day is breathing down your neck. What do you do?
WHAT DO YOU DO?
In the case of KoiRizo, I ended up relying on a journalistic standard commonly called “the first reference rule.” Here’s how it works.
Visual novels for all!
Let’s say you’re a journalist writing an article about efforts to improve educational standards in underdeveloped nations. At some point, you might find yourself needing to refer to The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, aka UNESCO. But if just you dropped the acronym “UNESCO” in there, most people wouldn’t know what the bloody hell you were talking about. And if you went with “The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization” every time, your prose would be about as ungainly as me at my prom. So a compromise gets struck: you explain the term on your first reference to it, then use the shorter form thereafter.
An example first reference:
“The director-general of The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), pledged to make visual novels part of the global curriculum by 2025.”
Or:
“The director-general of UNESCO, the UN agency focused on international education efforts, pledged to make visual novels part of the global curriculum by 2025.”
At this point, you’d be free to use “UNESCO” in any future references, since you’ve already explained the term. Everyone wins: the reader understands what you’re talking about, and you only have to use one word instead of eight.

Ojousamas for all!
The same holds true for visual novels. Let’s say an untranslated term like “ojousama” shows up in your script. if the reader has consumed a fair number of anime/manga/VNs, they might know this describes a young woman of certain means and refinement. It’s a common VN archetype, after all. But a relative newcomer to these genres would have no way of knowing that. They’d be lost if you just started dropping O-bombs out of the blue.
So the first thing to do is determine context. Is this a one-off reference? If so, you can probably just fully translate the line and be done with it. (“She takes a limo to school? She must be an ojousama” becomes, “She takes a limo to school? She must come from money.”)
In the case of KoiRizo, however, the word “ojousama” is used several dozen times. In fact, a character’s ojousama-ness becomes the focal point of an entire route. It would be a fool’s errand to try and excise it, particularly when there’s no one English word to replace it. So we apply the first reference rule.
The initial mention in the translated KoiRizo script reads:
“Because she's an ojousama, it'd be a given that she wouldn't worry about matters like money.”
It hints at the meaning, but doesn't quite go far enough. So applying our rule, we update it to:
“She's a proper young lady of means — an ojousama — so you'd expect her not to worry about things like money.”
We’ve now defined the word “ojousama” in context and set the stage for its future use. This will make the rest of the VN flow much more smoothly for both new readers and purists who prefer their tropey terms untranslated. If several hours go by without us using the word again, it’s common courtesy to provide a reminder of its definition, but otherwise we should be good to go.

All for gruel!
You can even apply the rule in reverse. Here, two characters are about to spend 50 or so lines talking about a certain home-cooked dish. Original translation below:
A: “Okay ... What's in the pot?”
B: “Rice gruel with egg broth.”
We don’t want to spend the next 50 lines saying “Rice gruel with egg broth.” Nor do we want to just say “gruel,” which sounds like something ladled out in a Depression-era orphanage. In fact, this is a steaming bowl of Japanese comfort food deliciousness. So we apply the rule in reverse, and bring back the untranslated term from the original script:
A: “Okay ... What's in the pot?”
B: “Ojiya — rice end egg porridge.”
Now we can safely use the term “ojiya” for the next 50 lines. This ends up working better on several levels: it makes the dish sound more traditionally Japanese, it strikes the right emotional tone, and it helps us shave extra words from our lines.
P.S. - If anyone knows where I can get a really good bowl of ojiya in New York City, I’m all ears.

I’m a research junkie. Before taking on any new venture, I tend to waste stupid amounts time reading up on whatever it is I’m about to tackle. So when I got it in my head earlier this year to try editing a visual novel, the first thing I did was start googling like mad:
“visual novel editing tips”“visual novel editing advice”“visual novel editing examples”“should my baby’s poop be this color?” (Okay, I was multitasking. The answer is “yes,” by the way, but call your pediatrician if it stays like that for more than two or three days.)

It didn’t look good. I stumbled on a blog post Moogy had written on VN editing way back in 2009, but that was pretty much it. Still, to paraphrase Cadillac cribbing Brené Brown quoting Teddy Roosevelt, better to dare greatly and fail than just sit around and whine. So I dove in head-first … and landed head-first. I’d been hoping my experience in writing and editing ad campaigns would help me make short work of things. I mean, how different could it be?



Very different, as it turns out. I made a ton of rookie mistakes, followed by a bunch of slightly less rookie mistakes, topped off by several “Did you seriously just do that?” whoppers near the very end. Yet somehow, 36,000+ lines later, I managed to stumble across the finish line, just having edited my first visual novel. The result, MDZ’s translation of Koisuru Natsu no Last Resort, turned out pretty nicely, all things considered. (It should be releasing any day now. I’ll link to the patch when it does.) Of course, I still can’t read any of the scripts without obsessing over the countless things I wish I’d done differently.

Which brings me to the point of this blog. Back when I first started, I couldn’t find any good resources on VN editing. Don’t worry – this won’t be one either. I’m still a rank amateur by any standard, so I wouldn’t presume to offer authoritative advice to anyone. But what I can do is discuss the various editing challenges I faced, my approach to them, and the many, many different ways I fell flat on my face. I might not have the right answers, but at least I can point out some of the things you might want to start considering if you’re planning on editing a VN.

Here's another way to think about it: In the (insanely great) Dark Souls games, there are bloodstains scattered throughout the game world marking places where other players have met their demise. Activate one, and you can see a spectral re-enactment of their final few seconds. Point being, if you see a bunch of bloodstains massed around a door, you can be sure something there’s something truly nasty lurking on the other side. It's probably a good idea to stop, watch, and learn from others' mistakes before going any further.

Let me be your Yoko Ono bloodstain. 

Bless of Dragon is the second VN in the Tiny Dungeon series (see http://forums.fuwanovel.net/blog/46/entry-727-tiny-dungeon-black-and-white/ for my comments on Black and White). The picture above is of Fon, who is one of this VN's two side-heroines (Opera the maid is the other). She is a half-dragon, half-demon girl with her own major issues that come out into the open in this VN, which is focused on Ururu Kajuta, the loli-dragon princess.
 
Ururu is technically what would be called a 'loli-babaa', because she is in the latter of her second century of life. It says a lot about her that her base personality that she is still childish enough that she willingly calls the protagonist 'nii-sama', for you moe-freaks out there.
 
Hime, as always, grows a lot during the course of this VN, exceeding the expectations of those around him at every turn, though he isn't some kind of 'I am powerful!' type, but rather the type that improves through solid hard work and constant consideration and learning.
 
The serious (deadly) action scenes in this VN are a bit more plentiful than those in Black and White... but in exchange, the emotions surrounding them tend to be more intense (though the last confrontation in Black and White outmatches all of those in the other two 'heroine' games). In addition, the usual comedy is offset by the sheer tragedy of certain events... This is a characteristic you will probably be familiar with already, if you played Black and White before this one, like you were supposed to.
 
Ururu also shows herself to be an individual worthy of the insanely (a cross between half-religious zealotry and obsessive idol-worshipping fandom) loyal dragon race that is under her rule, which will probably surprise the heck out of those who are used to thinking of her as lolicon bait. This shows off perhaps one of the things I like most about this series... the characters do confront their individual problems, at some point in the series, and that grants a definite sense of substance to the whole thing.
 
For those who follow my Random VN part of the blog, I will be going through the other two VNs in the main series as well as a second playthrough of Endless Dungeon in the near future, so look forward to it.

First, I'll give you a quick run-down on this game... it is a game by 3rd Eye, a company known mostly for producing chuunige that are more moe-influenced than is the norm. This game is actually more of a mystery/chuuni/action/conspiracy type than a 'pure' chuunige. The world in which it is based is a future where, ten years before the story began, magic appeared on the scene. Large numbers of people became capable of using magic, and a new branch of science was built up solely for the purpose of utilizing magic as new energy source. The result of this is a society that is somewhat divided between the magical 'haves' and 'have-nots', though that isn't the focus of the story, despite what you might otherwise anticipate.

The protagonists

Senri


Senri is your classic 'bad-ass antihero protagonist'. He is clever, intelligent, and overall highly capable, with a razor-sharp mind and battle instincts that would put a Navy Seal to shame and make Golgo 13 look incompetent. His cold-blooded pursuit of his own interests, which are very opaque through most of the VN, is his primary defining feature... Oh, and he lies... a lot. He makes the protagonist of Sharin no Kuni seem honest.

Haruto

Haruto is a somewhat less beloved type of protagonist in chuunige... basically a 'justice freak' combined with being 'a young man driven against his will by the tides of fate'. He is a natural optimist and a believer in fairness above all. Unfortunately, he also has that bad habit a lot of similar chuunige protagonists have... of sticking his nose into situations he doesn't really need to get involved in. He grows a great deal during the course of the VN (as is typical of this type, if the writers don't suck), and by the end his viewpoint on the world has... been sharpened a great deal by experience. He is more likeable than a lot of similar protagonists, but it still isn't a type I prefer.

The Heroines

Fiona


Fiona, at first glance, seems to be your classic clutzy/innocent nun-type heroine. She works as a nun at a run-down church in the city's... less reputable area and is well-loved by the delinquents who frequent the church. However, she, like most of the characters in this game, is hiding a lot of secrets... She is one of Senri's two heroines.

Noa

An innocent, pure-hearted girl who is seen mostly as a ghost throughout the first part of the game. She has a really unique way of speaking, born partially from Senri's half-hearted efforts at education (mostly through handing her magazines and letting her watch AVs). To be honest, in the reading of this VN, interpreting her weird speech patterns was a bit difficult at first (she cuts apart words and puts them together in weird ways). She is the second of Senri's two heroines.

Asahi

Asahi is... a bit weird. Her personality itself is quite straightforward and honest, and she hates lies and general dishonesty with a passion. However, she is also compassionate to a fault and unwavering in the pursuit of her goals. Unfortunately - at least so it seems at first - there are a few loose screws rolling around in that head of hers. Even more so than Haruto, she is an eternal an unrepentant optimist and probably the single most trustworthy individual in the entire VN.

Riku


Riku is, throughout the VN, perhaps the least expressive individual other than Senri himself. She almost never displays her emotions on her face, and she has an almost unnatural tendency to think objectively about anything and everything, including herself. That the writer managed to grant her so much depth without making her a protagonist was an impressive feat in and of itself... and one of the reasons why her interactions with Haruto and Asahi are so amusing. She really is almost as detached as she seems most of the time, which is one of the reasons it hits so hard when she does become emotional.

The VN

Sorcery Jokers is definitely VN of the Month material. I'll say that right off the bat. The depth of the story and characters is incomparable with previous games by this company, and while it falls slightly short of a kamige, it is nonetheless something worth taking note of. Normally, I can't stand dual protagonists, as many have heard me mention. I hated Subahibi for that, amongst a number of other sins, and one of the biggest reasons it took me so long to play I/O was because I don't like going into VNs with multiple protags.

Fortunately, I managed to get past that, simply because the differing approaches to the story were the only thing that made it possible to grasp something even approaching the whole of the story as it happened. A single perspective wouldn't have done a bit of good as an approach to this VN's story, simply because there are too many things happening at too many different points for a single perspective to handle.

The VN's structure is basically that of a kinetic novel, with the illusion of choice through a flow chart (for the first chapter, at least) where you pick and choose which events you want to see next (though you have to see them all anyway). To be honest, I could have done without the flow chart entirely... flow charts in general are an irritation more than a help, especially if they are made a central part of progressing the story. That said, as the actual switching around mostly ends after the first chapter, it isn't really a big deal (though it does make me wonder why they had a flow chart at all).

The story's mystery and conspiracy elements feel a lot like peeling an onion, as there are layers within layers within layers. What you thought was the root of things turns out to be just another layer, more than once. As things come together near the end, the knowledge you've gained through the character perspectives deepens the experience nicely, making this one of the few part-mystery VNs I've played in recent years that I didn't immediately have 'read' relatively early on.

That isn't to say there aren't points where the VN stumbles. Haruto, because of his role as the 'kid chuunige protag', is the game's Achilles Heel, as all protagonists of the type with his kind of temperament tend to be. However, his growth is enough to offset the cookie-cutter aspects of his character enough that I approved of his role... in the end. Asahi also threatens to tilt the balance of the VN into the realm of the silly a lot early on, simply because of her 'weirdness'. However, because that silliness is a vital ingredient in her growth as a character, it can't really said to be a true weakness, though it can be irritating at times.

The endings are all branches off of the true end, one for each heroine (Noa or Fiona with Senri, and Asahi or Riku with Haruto). I had no problems with the epilogues for Noa or Fiona... but I thought that Haruto had devolved a lot in his heroine epilogues, which kind of brought me back to why I didn't like him in the first place.

Overall, I felt that this VN is one of the more solid chuunige made in the last few years, especially in the sense of 'balance'. Silverio Vendetta, while it is a lot more exhilarating, also had the difficulty of disproportionately focusing the writer's attention on Vendetta, which weakened the other two paths greatly. Bansenjin suffers from reusing an uninspiring cast and being relatively boring throughout most of its length. In terms of a constant sense of tension and in terms of pacing of events, this VN definitely is the winner of Chuunige VN of the Year so far, though it isn't chuuni-crack in the sense that Silverio was. I'm actually quite proud of the fact that this company has evolved so much since its somewhat... unimpressive beginnings (Bloody Rondo), and I'm glad I stuck with the company. It is always nice to be surprised pleasantly by a VN.

The fandisc for the entire series actually brings all the characters - plus a new cast of one protagonist and three heroines - together, including extensive after-stories for both the first and second generation of characters (Gakuen being the second generation and the others the first). The new cast is based in an era fifty years after the events in the second generation, when most of the characters are elderly or deceased (with the exceptions of near-immortals like Suiku). The three heroines are the endlessly greedy baphomet (demon) Meti, the shy chimera tapir-girl Lettuce, and the dryad (whose name I didn't bother to remember).

Overall, like most of the entries in this series, the standout aspects are the writing quality and the comedic character interactions. It is especially hilarious to see the casts of all the VNs (including the nukige) from the first generation interacting with one another to bring about the setting of Gakuen. Since the main story doesn't change at all (except for h-scenes) depending on which heroine you pick for the new protagonist, I went with Meti... and didn't regret it. I've always liked weird/insane heroines, and she definitely fits the bill.

That said, the story in this VN is structured really weirdly, due to the fact that the protagonist and his friends are basically looking into the past and interfering with it... and if you aren't paying attention, it can be easy to miss important details. However, that is the mark of a well-written story in any case, as a detailed story usually means a good one, though not always.

There is one VN in the series I haven't touched, other than the Alraune nukige... the mermaid one, but that is supposedly based after the events in all these games (though I only got that through some vague hints) so I am not all that focused on it (in total the games so far have covered over seventy years of history, after all).

Final thoughts

To be honest, I never expected to see this much detail out of what is essentially a low-cost series created by a company that originally produced only nukige. From a visual perspective, the VNs aren't excessively impressive, and the backgrounds are reused in each game where appropriate, for instance. Nonetheless, it is an impressive series of games purely from the perspective of writing, and if you don't mind feeling like you want to puke at some of the H scenes... this is a great choice for an experienced reader who is bored with normal romance and moege romance.

Well, the answer to the above question is simple... I saw the monster girl anime for this season's first episode and got curious about what kind of content these games had... to be honest, I was planning to drop it inside the first few hours, using it as a break from more serious content before starting Baldr Force.. but I was surprised to find just how good the writing in these games is.

That said, the early games (the Lamia and Alraune games) are nukige, as presented... and the H scenes are kind of guro in a lot of cases (to be honest, I can't get into the H in this series at all, lol). However, I was kind of stunned at how good the writing is in the ones I've played and how they created a sense of connection and continuity between all the VNs in the series. First, you have to understand that all the VNs prior to Monmusu Gakuen are written in the same general period of the setting's history and Gakuen is written in a period fifteen to twenty-five years after those (the kids from three of the VNs are heroines in Gakuen).

The most solid of the VNs as a whole is the Arachne/Harpy/Cyclops VN, which focuses on Hibiki, a guy who basically gets summoned from Earth by Ariane the Arachne on a whim... The speed with which he adjusts to his new lifestyle is a bit unreal, but the interactions between him and the heroines are endlessly amusing... and the actual story of each path is touching enough emotionally that I cried, despite the fact that I had to skip past the H to keep from being ill in some cases (you can tell that the writer is basically acting out his fetishes with enthusiasm...).

The Scylla/slime VN is the second most solid, with a somewhat... free-spirited pirate as a protagonist. The slime is a total moron who believes anything the scylla maid says... which wouldn't be so bad if the scylla's hobby wasn't making her look like an idiot. I spent most of this one just laughing... endlessly laughing. I laughed until my jaw hurt with this one. The general absurdity of the VN's premise doesn't in any way take away from the comedic character dynamic or the emotionality of the heroine paths (there is pretty much nothing emotional until you actually get on those two paths).

Monmusu Gakuen is the weakest of the three I completed (three VNs in two days) and it retains a lot of the atmosphere of the other two... but in exchange, the H is even more guro and the number of heroines kind of dilutes the emotionality of the paths in several cases. Nonetheless, it is easy to get attached to them, simply because of the protagonist's point of view as their teacher.

I came out of curiosity and stayed for the writing.

I'm just curious... why is it that some of the best VN writers are the weirdest kind of pervert?

Edit: I almost didn't write anything on these... but I felt I owed it to the people who might actually be interested in this kind of interracial romance story to at least say something about my experience. I just also felt the need to warn you that... if you have imaginings about the H, it is actually probably a bit worse than you imagined.

From the beginning I'm going to be blunt and say this VN is going to be a bit of a hard sell for most readers. There are several reasons for this.

1. Rapid genre shifts (this thing jumps through hoops for at least four genres and shifts rapidly from serious, to sad, to scary... so rapidly most people will probably lose track of what's going on)
2. There is a surprisingly large amount of rape and H in general for a VN that is only about five to six hours long for me (and about twelve to fourteen for slower people).
3. The rapid-fire pacing and sheer number of meaningless choices

Ok, first of all, this doesn't really function very well as a mystery, save for the first path. On the first path, you have no idea whatsoever is going on, and at the end of it, anyone with a brain will have figured out at least some of what happened. Second, this VN frequently slips into comedic turns (particularly because the protagonist is a perverted skirt-chaser who is utterly incapable of lying) that are often followed up by sad or mildly scary ones.

There are a lot of points where this feels like haunted house horror (without the murder), and there are even more points where it feels like everything is just put there so the protagonist can make you laugh. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if most people feel the way I did when it ended... that the entire thing was a joke, collectively speaking.

I can't really say who this would appeal to, because for every person that this hits the sweet spot, there is bound to be eight or nine who can't stand it. That is because it is so frenetic and weirdly structured. The true ending is fairly hilarious and actually quite pleasant... but people who go into this expecting straight-out mystery/horror will probably come out dissatisfied. If there were more VNs like this out there, I'd probably be able to define a new genre with this, because everything it pretends to be it doesn't quite match, hahaha.

VN of the Month Announcement

VN of the Month, June 2015 is: Love Rec by Alcot

To be honest, the harvest for this year so far has been kind of... less than impressive, to say the least. The best VN I've played this year so far was Silverio Vendetta, and even I think it would have been much better if it had only contained Vendetta's path. I'll come straight out with it and say there aren't any solid candidates so far, even though the year is almost half-over. Last year, by this time, there were four solid candidates - though the later part of the year blew most of them out of the water, and all the candidates from 2013 were concentrated around the beginning of the year.

It is kind of worrying how little in the way of exciting VNs has been released so far this year, and while I am holding out hopes for the new game from Tigre Soft and one or two other possible releases, my experience so far this year is that all the major companies seem to be trying to spit out games that will make them a quick buck for small amounts of effort (fandiscs, shorter games than usual with fewer cgs, using newbie writers, etc). To an extent, that was true last year as well, but it has gotten worse since this year began. For someone who is basically plowing through an average of four or five new VNs every month (or six or seven, like last month), this is not just a minor issue but a real problem. While I found Silverio Vendetta in February to be immensely fun, there really hasn't been anything that blew me out of the water so far.

Understand, this isn't a case of my standards being too high (normally, I would suspect that, but looking at the ones I've played so far objectively...). Rather, it is a case of the bar being lowered overall, by the companies doing the releasing. As an example, Giga released yet another visually impressive but somewhat subpar moe-battle VN near the beginning of the year with an obvious eye toward imitating (poorly) some of Majikoi's more enjoyable aspects, combined with some from the Ikki Tousen anime's concept. Normally, this VN would have been exciting, and it did have all the elements necessary to make a good VN... put together in such a manner that it turned out to be surprisingly bland.

Sanoba Witch, which I had some rather high hopes for, also disappointed me somewhat. For all Yuzusoft's flaws, that company has always tended to understand where the line between serious and joke needs to be drawn in each of its games (ie Dracu-riot). Unfortunately, there was only one path in that game that I could unreservedly praise, and it definitely wasn't kamige material.

Combine that with a poor showing by Minato Soft and barely acceptable works by Pulltop and a few other companies, and I have to wonder exactly what is going on in the eroge business right now.

I know I sound unnecessarily condemnatory, and you would be right to say I'm being pessimistic. However, the fact remains that it hasn't been a good year so far, and six months without a kamige is downright depressing. Of course, you usually can only expect one or two kamige in a given year... but most of the best companies have been producing disappointments, so I think my pessimism is well-deserved, personally.

"Nico Nico nii..." Nosebleed looked at himself in the mirror. So... Beautiful... The clothes, the hair, the body, the makeup: all he's always dreamed of. He looked perfectly like his beloved idol. But one thing was missing: a crown. To fulfill his dream of becoming as beautiful as a princess. He took the diamond crown from the table and put it on his wig, smoothly.

Someone opened the door.

"It's time to settle things up, NOSEBLEED." Whore said it firmly while entering the room. That female troll was the ugliest and most dangerous of all.

Nosebleed was taken by surprised. He turned around, with a mix of fear and embarassment on his face.

Whore blushed immediatly when she saw Nosebleed's cosplay. She didn't know what to say.

"What are you doing here?!", asked the trap princess, ferociously.

"I came to tell you I am going to tell all the Fuwa nobles about your loli kidnapping!". Whore still blushed, but she faced Nosebleed firmly.

"Do it, then, you stupid troll!! Go ahead with your stupid lies! I am going to ban you from this kingdom forever!"

"Not if I kill you first." Whore spoke with an almost unhearable tone. She took a knife from her fur, and passed it through her paws. Nosebleed shook of fear, he stepped back taking a sword from the table.

Whore advanced, trying to hit the trap's neck. But Nosebleed moved quickly, as he had been trained by the best sword teachers, and avoided the attack. Whore shook the knife above her head, pushing it in Nosebleed's direction. Nosebleed tried to block with his sword, but whore sent it away with her knife. Nosebleed was unarmed.

"Heeeeeeelp!!!" Nosebleed screamed. No one came.

Whore's knife hit Nosebleed's wig, messing up all the hours of work on that hairstyle Nosebleed spent. "You loser! You are envy of me!", said Nosebleed. Whore, angry, tried to push her fist into Nosebleed's face, but Nosebleed rolled with her on the ground to catch his sword. He then, pointed it to whore's heart.

Whore had lost it.

"Last words?", asked Nosebleed.
"...", whore thought for a little... "N-nice outfit."
"You think?!" Nosebleed was surprised. The two of them were still on the ground, with their bodies over each other. Nosebleed was confused.

Then, something strange happened.

Something warm and soft... Touched Nosebleed's lips.

"...!" He was out of breath. What touched his lips were whore's lips. And he... Liked it!
The two faced each other. Whore sighed, waiting for her death. She closed her eyes.

But then, Nosebleed held her face with his two hands and kissed her again. Their lips floated on each other, beautifully, like sakura petals.

"Senpai, I'm sorry.", said whore. "I... Love you."

In this moment, whore's body started to glow. She was floating in the air. Nosebleed was stunned, too much adrenaline in those last five minutes.

That beast become something totally different... Whore was no longer a troll... She was a princess, as beautiful as Nosebleed in his costumes.

Nosebleed's eyes shone. "I no longer want vendetta. I want.. you"

Nosebleed couldn't be happier. He showed a big smile. "Nico Nico nii."

Haruka
Haruka is the traditional 'older woman' heroine that used to be included in just about every VN, as a token to those who preferred that type. Of course, they don't come out and say how much older she is, but considering that she was in her teens when Tsumugi was a toddler...

Anyway, she is a spiritualist/youkai hunter who comes to the town with the intention of hunting down a man-eater that is supposedly hidden in the populace. She gets wrapped up in the events of the main story in the common route and ends up settling in the town (and incidentally falling in love with Yukiya).

She has some serious emotional scars, and overcoming those is a big part of her path. In this case, most of the obstacles that tend to be put in the path of her type of heroine and a younger protagonist don't exist, so don't expect much trouble from the outside about their romance. Rather, this path centers around her work, her personal traumas, and how she overcomes them with Yukiya's help. Like Minagi's path in the previous post, her path's ending is quite excellent and extends several years after the actual ending of the story, which left me feeling satisfied, needless to say.

Anna
Anna is the protagonist's younger cousin (who of course calls him oniichan, lol). She is a bright, energetic young girl with an eternal smile. Her path tends more toward the mundane, with a focus on rejuvenating the town through her and the protagonist's activities. The drama in her path is less tear-worthy than Minagi's or Haruka's, but in exchange you get a really hilarious scene in which the path's antagonist gets his just-desserts.

Perhaps the funniest part about this path is the clashes between her father and Yukiya, though, lol. Similar to the other paths, it touches on events well-along the line after the endings, when Yukiya and Anna have settled down and begun living their non-student lives. Not only that, but it ends on a really sweet (cute-sweet, not cool-sweet) note that I'm sure soft-VN lovers will like.

Midori

Midori is the mayor's daughter and the story's serious, straight-laced heroine (of the 'iinchou' type). She is the most negative toward the youkai of all the heroines, and her start with the protagonist is about what you could expect with a lucky-sukebe event and a straight-laced girl, lol. The actual path is focused on the need - and it is present - to balance the needs of the forest and the youkai that live there with those of the people of the town. This search for a middle path is the source of most of the drama in the story, and it leads to some tense moments. Similar to Anna's path, this one isn't really tear-worthy, but it has enough laughs and normal emotional ups and downs to satisfy most readers.

Her path goes the least distance from the end of the story and is thus the least fulfilling, from the perspective of those who love after-stories.

Tsumugi

Tsumugi is your typical 'wannabe' spiritualist. You know the type that you see in various anime/manga/VNs that love the occult and want to get involved with it but have absolutely no talent for it, right? Well, she's the typical one of that type.

Similar to Haruka's path, this has a focus on the spiritualist side of things, and there is plenty of foreshadowing for those who are used to the typical patterns of VNs in modern fantasy settings. That said, it is carried out well, and the characters, setting, and events are all used to paint a really good picture. You'll probably cry at several points near the middle of her path, and the ending is quite satisfying (and adorable, lol). Like all the paths but Midori's in this VN, the after-story is quite satisfying and emotionally fulfilling.

Overall

The word that comes to mind with this VN is 'complete'. It is fairly rare to come across a VN that a company obviously has no intention of fandiscing to death or even hinting at some sort of side-story addition. This VN is designed to be one complete set of heroine stories, and it does everything it sets out to do about as well as you ever see. Those who like fantasy mixed with romance but without the intense violence of a chuunige will like this VN, as will those who like nakige.

This is also my current prime candidate for VN of the Month (though Sumire would have been worthy if this hadn't been around). I know that most people will go 'eeeh, but I thought you disliked this kind of obvious moe-appeal VN?!' However, the fact is that any VN genre can be pleasurable if it is done as well as this one was.

Before I start this, I should probably explain the company known as AXL to the newbies. AXL, which is known for Shugotate, as well as a number of other high-quality VNs, is an 'old-hand' company that was started pretty soon after the turn of the century. They developed an extremely beautiful art style, as well as a penchant for high-quality fantasy and romance stories. The thing most people will notice upon playing any two AXL games is that the art-style is exactly the same... it still possesses somewhat thicker lines than is the norm for VNs nowadays, and the actual character faces and poses tend to be reused heavily between games. The saving grace of this is that the actual quality of the original art is so high that it still looks pretty today, so you find that you don't really mind, for the most part.

Common
The common route of this game is a lot closer to what you would have seen in their best games, in that it is heavy on the story and the character development. From the very beginning, you are encouraged to enjoy the protagonist breaking out of his shell and developing a relationship with the heroines, the youkai, and his new male friends. The youkai, looking like adorable stuffed toys for the most part, are mostly comedy elements, and the protagonist's relationship with the tanuki Shouji is perhaps one of the most consistently amusing aspects of it all.

There is a definite serious element to the story (AXL doesn't believe in completely drama-free main stories, apparently), but that makes for much better character development during the common route. It certainly made the heroine choice about something more than who had the biggest breasts or the cutest nose! lol (this was nice after the somewhat... disappointing heroines that resided in most of the VNs I've read so far from May)

Minagi
I'm regretting, in some ways, choosing Minagi first. Why? Because I can't imagine a better heroine to have picked for the main/true one, haha. Minagi is the VN's 'fushigi-chan', a girl who prefers the forest to school and who avoids others' company like the plague. However, underneath her lonely mask, there lies an incredibly adorable girl that is unbelievably easy to love.

Her actual route is actually one that would not have been out of place as a true one, in another VN. Right from the beginning, straight through the end, you are learning more and more about the setting, about Minagi, and about how she and the protagonist are related to it all. The drama that takes up the last part of her route is particularly fitting for a canon/true/main heroine, and I honestly think it was worth it to play this, even if just for this route. Most importantly, the ending/epilogue actually goes into detail about what happens to the heroine and protagonist afterward, concluding better than five years after the events in the main story.

If I had to classify this game so far, I'd have to put it in the 'nakige' category, simply because of how deeply emotional it gets at vital moments and the fact that I spent most of the ending and epilogue crying (in a good way).