akaritan

Sorry for the late reply. Thank you so much! This is incredibly helpful, and I'll take all of it into account.

Hi @akaritan! I think the correct board for this post is Fan Translation Discussion, which I will (try to, I don't think I've ever used this mod tool before... oh well) move it to after finishing this reply.
I do think Fuwanovel is an appropriate place to recruit members, though I would also consider concurrently searching in other places such as aarinfantasy as it's more specialized in BL VNs (full disclosure, I haven't checked aarin out for years). There might also be communities on tumblr that could help, though my knowledge of that realm is basically zero. On Fuwanovel, the board to use would be Translation Projects, specifically a general thread in the top-level forum and a recruiting thread in the Recruitment subforum. To be honest this looks kind of complicated to me, but it's in the guidelines to split into a progress/presentation and a recruitment thread and We The Current Fuwanovel Management haven't really looked at making any changes to that.
Boring administrative stuff over, you do seem to have an idea of the usual process. First, you need to get the text out of the game. Then, you translate in a way that makes it easy to put the text into the game again, optionally getting editing, tl check, etc. Finally, someone needs to put the translation back into the game. Usually, putting things back in again is harder than getting it out; this is good for you, since it's relatively low effort to help you get the project started, and if things don't work out, it's not a big deal. That said, this depends a lot on the engine, but you might be lucky here: vndb indicates that Bara no Ki uses the System-NNN engine, which is covered by an existing tool. That doesn't mean it's guaranteed to work, but if nothing else the tool author might be able to help you with adapting the tool.
You have one big advantage in this: you're the translator. As long as you have some way to get scripts, you can make translation progress. You're also a natural candidate for team leader, and in many ways you don't really need anyone else if you can get past any technical hurdles.
You do also have a disadvantage in the title picked. A thirty-hour title is a massive undertaking, especially for a graduate student. It will likely take several years to complete (though adding more translators to the team can alleviate this somewhat, it also adds communication burdens and compromises quality — finding anyone actually good at both Japanese and English writing that also translates enough to matter can be very difficult). Ultimately, you like what you like, but passion has a tendency to die in the grinding years of work needed to complete a translation. Starting with a shorter title first — maybe five hours or less would be my pick, though I'm influenced by my own total lack of discipline here — is a wise option, as it gives you personal experience of the process, your limits, and your abilities, not to mention translation experience which will help you produce a better product in your next project. Maybe Jisatsu Shigansha Doumei? I never ended up finishing reading it, because I am an absolute executive function wreck, but it's by the same writer as my current long-neglected translation project, and it has that same sensibility Shinimasu does. Or maybe you think it's trash, that's fine too, the point is short = good ong fr.

Wotakoi is a good choice

The Skewed Throne series by Joshua Palmatier. 
The Malazan Book of the Fallen series by Steven Erikson. 
The Elantra series by Michelle Sagara.
The Honor Harrington series by David Weber.
The Black Jewels Trilogy by Anne Bishop.
The Others series by Anne Bishop.
The Vorkosigan Saga by Steven Brust. 

If you want a anime/manga, Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan or something like Yotsuba to, really relaxing. If you want vns every title from Asa Project.

For comedy manga, I simply love Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun (4koma that pokes fun at shoujo manga tropes and clichés) and Grand Blue (more dumb but pokes fun at college life, no high school for once!). Not comedy, but Jojo can be quite fun too, in it's own bizarre shounen way.
For anime, I recommend Carnival Phantasm (if you enjoyed Fate/Stay Night or if you just want to see those character acting full retard) and Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou (anime about pretty much nothing, just teen boys being dumb, but holy shit it's so fun).

To me, Dog Days is pure, unadulterated fun. Don't expect it to have much in the way of clever writing, but the characters do provide some substance to the anime (especially Millhiore). I've never experienced a dull moment while watching it, and there is little to no focus on drama at all. Oh and the romance between Cinque and Millhiore is adorable. :3

To read: I would recommend you check out the Kase San series; it's very sweet, cute, warm, and gentle. The art is very vibrant and detailed and a lot of the expressions are just wonderful. Plus, it's just a great romance story with a couple who are just really into each other.
 
To watch: I would recommend you check out
My Love Story!! It's a great anime about a intimidating looking guy with a heart of pure gold and the really sweet romance that develops.
Galaxy Angel: I'm talking about the anime specifically, it's just pure dumb fun the whole way through 4 seasons. It's really funny and it doesn't matter from what point you pick it up on because their is no story. It's my favorite anime ever and you need to watch it!
 
Movie wise I would recommend you check out  Forgetting Sarah Marshal, I Love You Man, Music and Lyrics and Oh Brother Where Art Thou
 

Comedies with a reasonable degree of ridiculosity:
https://myanimelist.net/anime/114/Sakigake_Cromartie_Koukou
https://myanimelist.net/anime/24/School_Rumble
https://myanimelist.net/anime/12321/Thermae_Romae
https://myanimelist.net/anime/11843/Danshi_Koukousei_no_Nichijou

I would recommend https://myanimelist.net/anime/36296/Hinamatsuri?q=hina which is airing this season. It is an absurd comedy with just some great wtf moments.

I second this. Carnival Phantasm had me in tears from laughing so hard. 

Yuru Camp △ and Flying Witch are both superb slice-of-life anime. Entertaining and funny, but most importantly peacefully pleasant, gentle and maximum comfy.

-this one is haruki

As the man who managed to get Asonn to buy this after getting it myself, I can only echo this recommendation. Menhera shoujo is p legit.
As for more classical lit though I haven't read a lot but I liked both The Collector (read in school and not hated) and the previously suggested Crime and Punishment (as well as The Idiot by the same author, but I think I prefer the former).
For something that's not French but at least originally romance language, though... The Garden of Forking Paths, part of Borges' Ficciones, was apparently an inspiration to many IF writers - I know Alexis Kennedy at Failbetter (Fallen London) likes citing him sometimes. VNs are often branching stories, and it might provide an interesting look into the subject.

And then there was none - Agatha Christie
The Passage trilogy - Justin Cronin
I could recommend a lot of books, but just these four would be enough for at least a month or two. The problem on recommending books is that there are millions to recommend (and on my shelves, waiting for my free time), so it really depends on what picks your interest. Vns are easier since they are pretty limited when considering english translated ones.

Have you ever read anything by the Marquis de Sade? 
EDIT: Thought more about old French stuff I've read. I really like Marie de France's poem "Bisclavret."

The witcher saga <3

Crime and Punishment is pretty great.

They're not classical at all but the Wind Up Bird Chronicle and IQ 84 Haruki Murakami are two really superb books. I would also suggest the Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolano just because.

Not exactly classic lit, but I always like to suggest Catch-22.

Les Misérable.
War & Peace.
Pride & Prejudice.
 

If you're asking Fuwa clearly you need this... 

 

灰色少女の声 -「メンヘラ少女」
This is by far my favorite book of all time.

I'll be biased for my country and recommend "The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas", because it has the greatest 4th-wall breaking of all time IMO.

The Boats of the Glenn Carrig