[Comyu Discussion]

I just have to add to the gushing here.

 

Overall this type of VN isn't one that I particularly like thematically and I found the moralizing a little bland (sorry, but after having spent a significant amount of time at university discussing natural law and human rights, the prose here comes off as pedantic and shallow).

 

That being said...

 

Kagome is fucking insanely awesome.

 

Everything that is bad, or poorly done, or shitty about this VN pales in comparison to the awesome goddess that is Kagome Hinaori. To me, she will forever more be the example by which all other deredere osananajimis will be held to. She is the gold seal. The standard of excellence. Quite possibly my favorite VN heroine (and I've been reading them for well over a decade). She's so plainly and obviously the star of this VN that you almost think that the reason why you have to unlock her route is because otherwise you'd just go for her and then drop the bloody game. 

 

I don't think it's possible for me to gush any harder about her at all.

 

About Kagome and Akihito - 

I disagree that Kagome isn't dependant on Akihito. I think that it's pretty obvious by the time you get to the end of her route, particularly when you hear her internal monologue at the ending, that her affection for Akihito is the only thing that actually tied to her to the world at all. In fact, her entire arc parallels Akihito's - they are both surviving, miserably, but they aren't living. Most people don't bring this up because Kagome subverts the osananajimi (childhood friend) trope really well, but her and Akihito also share that old standby the "childhood promise" too. One of the things that makes the writing here really good is that they reference it in the arc, but they don't bring it out front and center all the time, but if you re-read the ending monologue by Kagome, it nearly brings her to tears to remember it. It ought to be clear by the end of the VN that Kagome is a cynic filled with an enormous amount of self-loathing. In that light her interactions with Akihito makes a lot of sense - she continually belittles him and is rude to him, but persistently stays by his side and invades his personal space. She's both pushing him away because of her cynicism and as a way to test him, but stays close by because deep down inside she wants to believe in him. Her big character development, or the conclusion to her route, is when she admits that she can't be a "witch outside of the world" any more - which is what Akihito proves to her, amazingly enough (for once) through his own personal character development.

 

It's a really snappy piece of writing all around. There's not too many VN's where both the protag and the main heroine actually develop in meaningful and complimentary ways and I think this one is by far the best example I've seen in recent memory.

[G-Senjou no Maou Thoughts and Questions]

I've read this VN twice now in the last 6 months and I think I have probably asked and answered most of these questions already, so I'll offer my insight since it's still fresh in my mind:

 

On the suitcase scene in Tsubaki's route:

 

You're slightly misinterpreting the satisfaction of seeing the suitcase empty. From Kyouske's perspective this means that his plan to get Tsubaki's family out of their house will succeed, that's why he's happy. It's not Kyouhei rejoicing over getting the money - which as we find out later is actually worthless anyway because the share prices dropped. That's actually a plot point in the VN - as soon as Tsubaki's family put that money in those shares, they were always going to lose their house. Remember - this is one case where both Kyousuke and Kyouhei have the EXACT SAME GOAL (technically they are both working for the same people, but Kyousuke is "subcontracting" out via the Yakuza).

 

On Maou disappearing on all the side routes:

There are usually 2 significant events that happen at the end of each side route, or are alluded to:

1. Haru disappears or moves away within a few months.
2. Kyousuke re-establishes his relationship with his mother (she actually moves in with him and Tsubaki on Tusbaki's route)

In the case of the first event, we can assume that Haru either interrupts Kyouhei's plans, or eventually kills him (potentially even with the help of Gonzou, who is still alive in all the side routes). In the case of the second event we can safely assume that Kyouhei has no desire to kill his brother who is supporting his mother - which was Kyouhei's main complaint really about Kyousuke's behavior anyway (at least when he's not boning Haru). 

 

On Kyousuke being Maou

Obviously they want us to consider that he COULD be Maou as we read through the VN (and some people I talked to really sincerely believed he absolutely was!) but the biggest problem with this theory is Haru herself. To put it bluntly, if Haru actually though Kyousuke was Maou she would have tried to trap him at some point in the novel, or at the very least, had misdirected him about her intentions at several key plot points. It's obvious once we learn about her backstory why she doesn't do this (there is no way a young boy would be bombing opera houses in foreign countries) but from the readers perspective you have to rationalize this behavior prior to that reveal by thinking that Haru is falling for the "Selective Obliviousness" trope when it concerns Kyousuke, despite her repeatedly showing herself to be a brilliant detective and utterly dedicated to catching Maou. To be fair, I think the author put in several nudges to get people to have some cognitive bias in this direction, but this alone should have been the biggest signifier that Kyousuke wasn't Maou, because otherwise the narrative would have developed entirely differently between him and Haru as the game progressed

[Sekai Project Official Grisaia Translation?]

I made an account just to ask this question:

 

I want to back the kickstarter project at the level where you get all 3 games plus chiruchiru, but I can't tell from reading this thread if there is a clear disposition on the adult content in this game so I'm wondering if I should just wait and see instead.

 

Basically, if I back now - will I be getting the localized japanese PC release of the game with the eroge intact, or not? If the answer is not - then is am I going to have to buy again if they do release a version with the eroge? 

 

I pretty much just want to play the "normal" eroge version of each game. Can someone give me their opinions on what I should do? Back now? Wait and see? 

 

Thanks!