akaritan

Though it isn't particularly graphic, Umineko has some murders and a general tone that might suit your tastes? From the same people, Higanbana is also pretty charming, though I wouldn't call it grotesque. And then there's Swan Song, which isn't necessarily explicit but is nonetheless both dark and good.

In an effort to revive my fried brain, I read a few shorter VNs over the past week. The first one was Sakura no Ki no Shita ni wa. I saw it on vnts a few weeks ago, and was a bit curious. I didn't hear anyone talking about it and it was short and free, so I decided to give it a shot. Sadly, I was sorely disappointed. It's basically an adaptation of a poem, so it's very short and only took me a few minutes to finish. I guess all I can say in its favor is that the visual/sound presentation isn't bad... it's probably much better in Japanese, but the English translation is grating and difficult to read, which really is a game breaker for a poem. It wasn't good, but at least not much of my time was wasted. Then I went on to Harmonia, which I didn't love, per se, but I most certainly didn't hate. The soundtrack was quite gorgeous and although I don't like Key's art style at all, the costume design itself was really nice. I generally had a good time with it, but the pacing could be a bit slow in places where it shouldn't have been and I found a few plot twists towards the end to be pretty predicable. It could be pretty hard to get attached to the characters as well, which made the tearjerks towards the end far weaker than they are in key's other works. My other main issue with the story was just that I felt like I had seen similar worlds and premises, and Harmonia didn't necessarily do anything for me that made it special. In spite of all that, it was generally quite nice as a whole and seeing as it's short anyway, I would definitely recommend it to the sort of person who likes that kind of story. After that, I read Highway Blossoms, and it was a real breath of fresh air in a lot of ways. The art is absolutely gorgeous and it probably has the best production values I've ever seen in an OELVN. And contrary to many OELVNs that go out of their way to imitate Japanese VNs in storytelling, Highway Blossoms was a road trip story set in the southwest. The characters were all really charming and even if they weren't necessarily deep, they were still a lot of fun to watch. The romance arc was really standard formula, but I thought it was executed fairly well. It was definitely a worthwhile way to spend my Saturday afternoon. And then, just a few minutes ago, I finished Sonohana Remembering How we Met. Honestly, I don't have much to say about it other than you probably know if you'll like it before you play it. It gave me diabetes and I'm not sure why I even picked it up but I like to think that it will make Himawari all the more satisfying in a few days, ahaha. Now I'm going to play the newly released Sonohana. By the time I'm done I'm not even sure if I'll ever be able to read yuri again. I really need something to distract me from the imminent Himawari release or else I'll go insane. Thanks to anyone who actually put up with and read this entire text wall

Thanks, you're the best!

If you would be willing, I'd be very grateful. Use whatever number you think would look best～.

I should be practicing writing and speaking more than I am... writing is by far the hardest thing to do in Japanese though, and every time I've attempted it I've felt that I failed miserably and given up. I have really bad motivational issues.

I really, really want to read Sayonara wo Oshiete. The art looks beautiful, especially for its time, and it's story and themes sound right up my alley. In a similar vein, I would love to read Iwaihime and Fairytail Requiem. I love both 07th and Liarsoft. I already know that Ryukishi is good at that sort of thing and I would absolutely love to read a horror from Liarsoft, which might be my favorite VN producer.

I think that it's normal to focus on the girls more (except when you're reading an otome), ahaha. I know that I normally do that, even if I am a girl. I think that the vast majority of male characters, especially in bishoujoge, are really dull. But Michel from Fata Morgana is one of my favorite characters in anything. Contrary to the many eroge protagonists that all feel like copy-pastes of each other, he's incredibly well-fleshed out and unorthodox as a character.

Hi! You can link your list from your profile edit if you so desire. But looking at it... wow, you've read a lot of VNs. Regardless, if you want any recommendations, feel free to ask! Welcome to the forums, and I hope to see you around～!

No problem, I hope you like it if/when you pick it up!

If you have to ask about that, I don't really think I'd recommend it. I didn't think it was that bad, but a lot of it came out of nowhere and there's one scene later on in particular that isn't necessarily very explicit, but man was that some weird stuff and I can easily imagine it making someone of weaker constitution feel uncomfortable. More details in spoiler, I wouldn't look if you think you'll read it but if you're not sure it might be a good idea. I'm sorry if I was over or under detailed, I hope this helps!

In spite of the terrible "good end", I'm glad you liked Swan Song, it's one of my favorite VNs. I would honestly recommend treating the normal end as a true end. It's very clear that the good end was tacked on just because there needed to be one, while the normal end fit the tone of the rest of the VN perfectly and was satisfying and beautiful in its own way, even though it wasn't a happy ending, to say the least.

I just finished MYTH, and I liked it, though it definitely isn't for everyone to say the least. MYTH is very, very confusing, which is either a selling point or a huge turn off. I found it to be a selling point- I had a lot of fun thinking about and trying to understand the numerous interwoven plotlines (something that I can't say I've succeeded at, even now). The music is also excellent. But the thing about MYTH is that if those things don't matter to you, or you outright dislike them, you're going to dislike MYTH too, because those two things are really the only reasons you'd read it. Sadly, I found the characters to be subpar and there was a lot of slice of life in the beginning where there didn't need to be, which kept me from liking it a lot more. It also very much feels like a doujin game. There is very little voice acting (a few segments towards the very end have partial), photographic backgrounds are used, and the sprite artwork can be a bit unpleasant to look at at times *cough*. With all that said, I found it to be a very charming and even cathartic, if also flawed, experience as a whole and I sure won't forget it anytime soon. Now that my brain is fried, I'm probably going to read a few lighthearted things to recover, ahaha. Maybe I'll pick up the new Sonohana, it looks really cute even if that isn't necessarily my thing most of the time.

I thought that Ozmafia was quite competent. There was quite a bit of slice of life from what I recall, but quite a bit of story as well. The characters were cute and it had all-around great production, so if it looks good to you I'd say give it a shot.

Oh, it's ps3, I misread it and feel kind of dumb now, ahaha. My Japanese is still subpar but I'm very likely to pick this up down the road if I get the chance, I really wanted that Akari route.

It was really over the top and in your face, and I'm really fond of phoenix wright-esque gameplay. I'd 100% agree that the character's weren't good, there's only one that clicked with me and really, she appeals directly to my tastes. The courtroom scenes were fun to me, but like eclipsed said, I never found them to be remotely difficult. If you've only played half, you should definitely drop it. It's not like there's some kind of shocking genre-shift, the tone and style are consistent throughout and if you don't like it now you won't later.

Oh my god, there's a release where best girl has a route? I don't have a vita, is it possible that I can use an emulator for this? I need

Hi! I've been studying Japanese myself and it's really cool that you're fluent. As for the profile thing, I think people prefer to keep their anonymity, especially on a site where eroge are frequently discussed, but it's by no means a "rule" or anything even close. What's your favorite VN?

This makes me really happy, haven't been able to pick these two up because I don't use consoles. I look forward to playing them, even if it might be a while.

I love feeling like vomiting my guts out! Sold. Even if the good parts are scarce it tonally seems like something I like and if the music's good my tolerance shoots up anyway, so I'll give it a go! Thanks.

Haven't had much time to read VNs since school started... But alas, I'm managing to take time and play Danganronpa 2. I'm towards the end of chapter 4. They're such wonderful games. They're stylized, in your face, and such a blast even if they aren't deep at all, ahaha. And even if there aren't really any great thematics to chew on the mysteries are a lot of fun to think about and each time when I think I've figured something out, I'm surprised and I turn out to be wrong. The second game is better gameplay wise and for the most part character wise, but I love the little nods to the first game and while I like the idea of a bunch of students getting trapped in a school more conceptually, the island seems more thought out and diverse as a whole. The lack of text speed options continues to grate on my nerves (I read really fast so it's irritating), but I'm soldiering through. The first game didn't have a great ending but I found it to be more than sufficient. Also

Any good so far?

Just got released. Is anyone planning on getting it? When I'm done with Danganronpa 2 I want to read it, but it would be nice to hear opinions first.

It's really Gothic and tonally feels more like a cross between Shakespeare and Poe than anything. It's not really scary at all, it just has a really somber tone and can be very depressing, which is only amplified by the (gorgeous) music and thick atmosphere. It's not necessarily depressing in the same way a Key work would be, it feels more utsuge and when/if it pulls tears it isn't necessarily because it was trying/being manipulative so much as what's happening is sort of just tragic and miserable, haha.

Buy Fata Morgana, it's basically the second coming of visual novel christ but don't take my word for it take the 100% positive on steam, the numbers do not lie

Assuming that I have absolutely no interest or aversion to H scenes or large-breasted heroines, and all I care about is the story, should I pick this up? From what I hear, it's nukige to its core, so I wasn't planning on reading it, but people seem to like it quite a bit for other reasons.