MaggieROBOT

Introduction

 
Welcome, fellow Fuwamembers, to the FuwaRecognition thread. Starting this March, we’ll be highlighting some of the best contributions made by our members each month. From snazzy blog articles to delicious forum threads, and perhaps even a few things more on the shitpost part of the spectrum, we'll keep an eye out for the cream of the crop. And then we'll gather them here. Just for you.
 
*holds up giant APPLAUSE sign*

 
A-hem, so this is the first time we're doing this and it might be a bit rough; next time will be at the end of March. Anyways; without further ado, let's get to our highlights. 
 
By @Zakamutt.
 
Threads
 
Our first highlight on threads comes from two Ask Me Anything topics posted in the span of this month: from our dear provisional Tay, @Kaguya, and from the anti-moege task force founder himself, the saltlord himself @VirginSmasher.
 
It’s now Kags’ fifth year on these dear forums, and members of new ’n old had a lot of questions, climbing over to 50 comments, almost unheard of in this day and age of lacklustre forum interaction. Even after the glory days of lolis long passed, Kaguya still swears close to his heart how they indeed are the master-race that rule over this weeb-dom, mostly in nukige form. Charming.
 
@VirginSmasher’s AMA, on the other hand, is mostly an appreciation of past glory and his good friends, met before he died out, but he also remembered some newer members who are already becoming an integral part of these forums of today. Quite a lot of internal banter and jokes flew here and there, but it is quite touching to see even older members returning from long breaks of apparent irremovable death.
 

 
As you might have seen, we have a new EVN on the horizon, or rather, KickStarter: One Last Crane, developed by @Blissful-Works This visual novel is being developed by an Indonesian team with some members over at Tokyo, Japan, and it has a an odd goal amount of 10,052 dollars, though this is due the publicization of the project being handled from Japan, which also makes the whole project page ask all money in yens. A risky play, let’s see if it pays out for them.
The novel is planned on being released for four languages: English, Japanese, Chinese, and Indonesian. Quite the amount for still quite a small goal, but we’ll have to see how it pans out in the end, at least they are in no shortage of ambition.
While the art-style itself is quite generic, it does look modern and does its job as presentation well enough, not to mention that the KickStarter page itself is quite stylish, but only time will tell how it’ll go over. All we can do is wait.
 
@EastCoastDrifter has done something unique on the forums that no one would even think of. He loves space, and he has extended his love to the members of the Fuwanovel community by creating a Fuwanovel Solar System. Using a program called Space Engine, Drifter has taken the liberty to name all planets in this system after very prominent Fuwamembers. It’s a great tribute to the community and you should really check it out. Furthermore, Drifter says he’s not done, and has plans to create more Fuwa solar systems to feature more members in the future. If you want a planet named after you, feel free to post in the linked thread or contact Drifter personally.
 
By @Arcadeotic and @EastCoastDrifter.
 
Blogs
Hi I'm Zaka and I'm the only one that cares about blogs on the team. Maybe. I didn't actually ask the other guys. Shit. So uhh, here's my recs...
 
@Clephas writes accessibly about (for the most part) untranslated Japanese visual novels. This time, we have some posts about the recently released third VN in the Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru series, of which the first actually has a translation by MangaGamer. Unfortunately, the second is where people think it actually got good. We start with a more general note on the series, then move on to a review of Otoboku 3 itself.
 
While Clephas has been writing for quite a while, @MaggieROBOT is a bit newer to the scene. She focuses on Otome and BL VNs, and for this post we'd like to show you her post on an upcoming BL visual novel (fresh from the pot, baby. That thing is probably the first blog post to come right after this one. Oh yeah. That's how we roll. - Kaguya) as well as her review of the robot-romance Otome VN Sakuya. Go ahead and look for her post complaining about a trap in a moege not having a route if you like things on the more humorous side of the spectrum

 
Just For Fun!
 
During the process of writing this post.
 

 
Well you know I’m all about that nepotism baby. That's right, this is just for you. Rising 1.8% female readership (thanks Maggie) local GM and blog post connoisseur Kaguya here. To close the blog review section up, we’ll be highlighting the post where I wonderfully delve into the mind of writer Setoguchi Ren’ya, explaining his past and his involvements with the little-known work The Shawshank Redemption as well as how that work affected the VN industry, finishing things with a bang as I explain his history and the hidden messages within Swan Song.
And finishing things off in a suitable grand scale, much like a writer who traps himself into writing continuously larger powerlevels until his shounen manga gets to a point where it doesn't even resemble the original, we will be looking at two posts made by Fuwanovel's current closest figure to Jesus, @Kiriririri (Who unlike our creator, did revive. How about that?)
He died for our sins as he bravely made two deep posts about the current state of the VN community that were completely hidden by the evil staff... Until now. Gaze upon them and marvel, this is the true work of a genius!!

February is over. We bled. We sweat. Friendships were broken and renewed, and old members revived from their graves and mingled with the new pringles to take us where we are now. And the community persists, as glorious as ever. 
March is here. And in this rewind, I declare FebruaryFuwa absolutely Fabulous! 

Octave Review

To Be Someone (Didn't We Have a Nice Time)
(For a change of pace I have decided to review a manga this time around. Hopefully, the Fuwa Gods will not strike me down for this transgression. If they end up doing so be sure to honor me like the hero I have always been. You know I deserve it.)
The Setup
Who doesn't dream of greatness, of achieving fame, wealth, and adoration? The dream of being someone, to be admired and known for what you have achieved. Countless lives have been spent in pursuit of that aim, with a precious few actually reaching that mantle. Yukino Miyashita, had a quick taste of that fame that so many hunger for when she joined the idol group She'sN. Unfortunately for her, that moment in the spotlight turned out to be exactly that, and both the group and her dreams proved to be short lived. She left the hustle and bustle of Tokyo back to her quiet hometown, back to a high school that did not understand and assumed too much. Yukino, unable to endure the rumors and slander was forced to drop out. Now at eighteen years of age she decides to return to Tokyo to be a talent manager. All she wants is to regain some of her lost pride and find a boyfriend. Her life takes a turn though when she becomes involved with the beautiful Iwai Setsuko.
The Story
With yuri themed media it seems that a lot of it simply revolves around cute girls being cute. Usually, it is set in a all girls high school with nary a male face to be seen. The girls are free to pursue romance and love for the sake of love without a care to spare. Most of the time they are free from the unfortunate hardships that often accompany the simple act of romantically pursing the same sex. This isn't a bad thing in fact it is one reason I like the genre as much as I do. Sometimes though it gets kind of repetitive and I find myself wanting something a little more realistic, something with more bite to it. Octave, written by Akiyama Haru proves to be the very thing that I was looking for.
This is not a cutesy lovey, dovey tale. There is a lot of weighty themes present in Octave; depression, loneliness, judgment, jealousy, it's all present here.
The romance in Octave feels organic, and believable without any trite cliche's or nonsense. There is a aching tenderness to it that is quite wonderful. The sex, which is prevalent throughout the manga is very passionate yet restrained. It's not used in a exploitative way and it displays the need the two feel for each other. There is a lot of drama in this story and some of the time it can come across as being overtly melodramatic but for the most part it feels grounded. It gives the characters the ability to grow from out of a many of these unfortunate experiences.  Which brings me to the characters.

(Setsuko up top, Yukino Bottom)
The Characters
Both Yukino and Setsuko make a great pair and when they are together they complement each other well. Setsuko is probably my favorite character in Octave, she has a very calm and cool headed demeanor and I was instantly charmed by her. Like Yukino she has had a moment in the limelight, which she has been able to turn into a career as a freelance composer. Setsuko is a alluring, dependable, and loyal woman. Despite that, she is not without her faults. At first Setsuko just sees Yukino as a lonely girl that is looking for affection.  This causes some problems down the line for their relationship. Setsuko occasionally says the wrong thing, or makes a lapse of judgment, but for the most part she is a very stable character. Yukino on the other hand, is quite the opposite. She constantly blurts out the wrong thing or makes bad judgment calls. For the most part, it feels natural for her character but it can feel excessive at times. She is a very lonely, very morose character. I wouldn't say she is broken but she was definitely knocked down by her experiences. Her story is all about her trying to pick herself up again. She cries a lot, and there were a few times that her angsty whining really annoyed me, so much so that I just wanted to shake her. Thankfully, she does show a remarkable amount of growth throughout the story. I found myself feeling sympathetic to her plight. I often second guess myself or others and I'm fantastic at assuming the worst, and taking things the wrong way. I'm also overly concerned with what people might say about me when I'm not around. Yukino's depression felt real and I could relate. Still it's a real toss up if you'd like her character or not, and that's another reason I enjoyed her. She is a challenging character. She is not some sweet moeblob that was birthed out of sea foam. It is important to also note that Yukino is only eighteen, and this is her first romantic relationship. It is easy to make dumb decisions and have crippling self doubt at that age. Setsuko, meanwhile, has the advantage of being several years older than Yukino and of having more life experience because of it. There are also a surprisingly large cast of side characters, both male and female, that make up the story as well. Some of them are more well developed than others and for the most part they are able to offer their perspectives, which frequently crash against Yukino's often misguided perceptions.

(Love That Lovage, Baby)
Final Thoughts
I loved this manga, it felt new and fresh to me. There are a few times that the romance in the manga and visual novels that I have read and played felt overtly idealistic, and simplistic. In those eternal love seems self assured and the relationship trials that they must go through are virtually nonexistent. I didn't feel that way with Octave. One small criticism I have for it however, is that the art was not as detailed as I was accustomed to. It did it's job but I was not blown away by it. Overall, it was a wonderful experience and I hope that this has a picked up for a English release at some point in time because I think it deserves to be read by a large audience. There is a growing amount of yuri themed manga that has had it's time time in the sun and so to does Octave. It is a great story of a lonely pair growing together, through each other.

Well, as of thirty-nine minutes ago, it is officially my birthday (as of the time I checked at the beginning of making this post).  I have a lot of things to reflect on this year. 
I am now thirty-six, settling into the beginnings of middle-age, knowing my lifestyle will probably kill me before I hit fifty. 
I'm a sugar addict, I love fatty foods, I make my own alcoholic drinks (this year, a mixed fruit wine that actually turned out well and was much easier than the rum and hard root beer I did last year). 
I sit on my ass eighty percent of the time, I am hugely fat...
... and I'm surprisingly happy.  I won't say I don't have my down moments.  Looking back, I regret not going for more athletic pursuits while my knees and back could still stand them.  I regret not trying for a more regular and less... frustrating line of work.  However, I can honestly say that, for all its frustrations, I actually seem to like being a fat, balding otaku who has pretensions at being  some kind of VN guru (lol).
I do wish that I could fit into a plane seat, lol.  If I ever go to Japan, it is going to have to be a sea trip, since buying two plane tickets for one person is both embarrassing and more than a little expensive.
I hate my work, but I'm good at it and, in good times, it pays well, so I keep doing it.
So what would I change? 
Honestly, it is hard to say.  I won't pretend I'm all love and joy when it comes to life.  I have too much toxic waste going through my brain for that (I just happened to have gained just enough maturity not to feed the trolls constantly *smiles dryly*).  I'm fundamentally a passive person once I set foot outside my hobbies, preferring not to do anything I don't absolutely have to do.  I'm also negative and misanthropic... but is that stuff I actually want to change?
*shrugs*
I've never been any other way, so it is impossible to say.  However, every year I hit this day and wonder what could have been, which probably says everything that needs to be said about my experiences with life, for all my proclamations of relative happiness.
 

In my previous review I was writing about a NaNoRenO OELVN-contest entry that definitely bit slightly more than it could chew – a large scale project that, due to its short development cycle, came out rushed and deeply flawed, not reaching the full potential its premise and characters offered if handled properly. Today, however, I’m dealing with a game that could be seen as a bit of a counter-argument to my thesis on what can and cannot be done within NaNoRenO’s tight timeframe – a visual novel made mostly by a single person, which used the event as a starting point, delivering an extensive demo and expanding on it afterwards in a rather spectacular fashion. 
            CUPID, created by Fervent Studio and released for free in March 2016, was a rather unusual and surprising addition to the OELVN niche. This gothic romance/horror story with a female protagonist is pretty far detached from any established subgenre on the VN market, probably owing the most to the classic Western literature. However, its mature, dark themes and extremely competent execution makes it potentially attractive for many types of readers, as long as they’re not easily discouraged by highly unsettling and potentially depressing content. It also introduces a few spins on the typical visual novel formula and unusual storytelling techniques that make it stand out from most Western and Japanese titles, creating a unique, memorable experience on a market dominated by rather generic, trope-driven products.
Read the full article at evnchronicles.blogspot.com

It took me only a minute to come up with my random username. That is because I love stories with robots, even more if they are love interests. Their struggle with the fact they are not human despite looking like one or acting like one is something I really enjoy to read, and cry while doing so. And that's what pulled me towards this otomege by Tetrascope. The complete story of this game is split across 3 games: the free edition, that have the base story and it was translated by people from Fuwa; the paid edition, that adds 18+ content and one additional route, untranslated; and the short append story called "Sweet Present for Shin", also untranslated. I checked all of them, and my experience with them was mostly pleasant, even if not all three parts were absolutely necessary.
 

From the intro movie
 
The story starts in distant future Tokyo, where robotic engineering is advanced enough to have robots indistinguishable from real people around. Although, when I say indistinguishable, I meant physically, since most of them don't possess any way of make rational decisions or emotions. They all follow the strict program built into their heads. Our hero Sakuya is the sole exception. Created by the genius scientist that also the father of our protagonist Akane (you can change her name, this is the default one), Sakuya is so human-like that the biggest robotics company don't waste a chance to strike a deal with our girl to buy him for science.
The setting is pretty well crafted, with topics like unemployment, sexbots, and anti-robots movements on the rising being touched at least once in the novel. Sadly, the novel is short and its focus is in the romance between a human and a robot, so all of these questions are pretty underdeveloped. We know those problems exist, and that they are too big to tackle in a novel so short, but not much discussion about it is done either.
The romance in the first route, the one in the free edition, in the other hand is pretty sweet and satisfying. Sakuya is simply the cutest boy in terms of personality I ever met in a VN. And he's not even human. He's pure, gentle and caring, sometimes naive and sometimes mature. It's easy to forget that he's an android, and that also happens with Akane and Sakuya himself. And the fact that he's not human, but also too emotional to be a robot, it's the biggest source of drama for our characters.
 

Sakuya's asking to hold hands, WHERE'S THE CHOICE SO I COULD SAY YES???
 
As Sakuya struggle with what he should be... Our protagonist Akane takes the long and dense road. She acts like our usual shoujo manga protagonist, with all of the "what is this feeling?" type of things... except she's supposed to be 23, so usually she comes across as childish. In fact, Sakuya constantly gets right what she's feeling and the only thing about human interaction he knows is mostly through movies. So yeah, originality is not her strongest asset.
Last but not least is Shin, Akane's childhood friend. At first you'll think he'll provide some love triangle drama, but that not happens here. Instead, he serves as a good foil for Sakuya. While Sakuya is a robot who looks like a human, Shin is pretty much a human who looks like a robot. He's always calm and composed, almost emotionless. His sprites have very little variations in expression. Even when he's talking about his memories or feelings, he's as blank as ever. The game is not voiced, so we only have to imagine how monotone he must be in those scenes. But despite all that, he does provide some interesting interactions with Akane.
 

All flashbacks are in this style, making everything even more cute
 
Now, let's cover what you'll get in each version. The free version is the essential one if you're interested in this game. It covers pretty much everything I said up to this point. There's no sex scenes in this version, but they are implied, and that's more than enough in this game. The paid version adds not only the porn, but also a new route and three new extra stories (that you can access in the extra menu after clearing certain endings). Is it worth though? Short answer: no.
The porn that was added in the free version route is alright. We can see both Akane and Sakuya on screen, and Sakuya is as gentle as you would expect of him. But let's remember, he's a robot. Even he says at some point that he doesn't feel any physical pleasure from the act. So his face is mostly lacking in expressions, except when he reacts to Akane's reactions. It's porn that focus only in the girl again, but this time the boy really cares about how she's feeling it.
The new route... it's very subpar. Most of all because of the route structure, that tricks you into thinking it's a route for Shin when it's not, and it's ending, that shift the tone of the novel to the point that I wondered if the author even cared about the character development they build until said point of the story, because they shattered it to pieces in an absolute ex Machina way. Good thing I read this first, I would have hated to finish the game in this route. Needless to say, the porn of this route is just as bad. The extra scenes are fun though, but you won't lose much if you decide to pick the free version. This version is only recommended if you want to support Tetrascope, the game is just 800 yen on DLsite, it's pretty cheap it won't hurt. It's untranslated, but the free game section subs did appeared for me even in the paid version.
 

Young Akane, Shin and Sakuya in "Sweet Present for Shin"
 
And finally we have Sweet Present for Shin. This is the closest of a route for Shin we'll ever get, and it was as sweet and cute as the original game. It happens 5 years before the main game, but it's better appreciated if you play after it. Finally we can see Shin a bit flustered! It's very short, but still have three endings and one epilogue that ended my time spent with Sakuya, Akane and Shin in a pretty heartwarming note.
Sakuya had everything that I like: robots, robot drama, cute characters and romance. Even if the paid version route was pretty bad, it wasn't enough to diminish my love for this game. Moe robots are the best!

It took me only a minute to come up with my random username. That is because I love stories with robots, even more if they are love interests. Their struggle with the fact they are not human despite looking like one or acting like one is something I really enjoy to read, and cry while doing so. And that's what pulled me towards this otomege by Tetrascope. The complete story of this game is split across 3 games: the free edition, that have the base story and it was translated by people from Fuwa; the paid edition, that adds 18+ content and one additional route, untranslated; and the short append story called "Sweet Present for Shin", also untranslated. I checked all of them, and my experience with them was mostly pleasant, even if not all three parts were absolutely necessary.
 

From the intro movie
 
The story starts in distant future Tokyo, where robotic engineering is advanced enough to have robots indistinguishable from real people around. Although, when I say indistinguishable, I meant physically, since most of them don't possess any way of make rational decisions or emotions. They all follow the strict program built into their heads. Our hero Sakuya is the sole exception. Created by the genius scientist that also the father of our protagonist Akane (you can change her name, this is the default one), Sakuya is so human-like that the biggest robotics company don't waste a chance to strike a deal with our girl to buy him for science.
The setting is pretty well crafted, with topics like unemployment, sexbots, and anti-robots movements on the rising being touched at least once in the novel. Sadly, the novel is short and its focus is in the romance between a human and a robot, so all of these questions are pretty underdeveloped. We know those problems exist, and that they are too big to tackle in a novel so short, but not much discussion about it is done either.
The romance in the first route, the one in the free edition, in the other hand is pretty sweet and satisfying. Sakuya is simply the cutest boy in terms of personality I ever met in a VN. And he's not even human. He's pure, gentle and caring, sometimes naive and sometimes mature. It's easy to forget that he's an android, and that also happens with Akane and Sakuya himself. And the fact that he's not human, but also too emotional to be a robot, it's the biggest source of drama for our characters.
 

Sakuya's asking to hold hands, WHERE'S THE CHOICE SO I COULD SAY YES???
 
As Sakuya struggle with what he should be... Our protagonist Akane takes the long and dense road. She acts like our usual shoujo manga protagonist, with all of the "what is this feeling?" type of things... except she's supposed to be 23, so usually she comes across as childish. In fact, Sakuya constantly gets right what she's feeling and the only thing about human interaction he knows is mostly through movies. So yeah, originality is not her strongest asset.
Last but not least is Shin, Akane's childhood friend. At first you'll think he'll provide some love triangle drama, but that not happens here. Instead, he serves as a good foil for Sakuya. While Sakuya is a robot who looks like a human, Shin is pretty much a human who looks like a robot. He's always calm and composed, almost emotionless. His sprites have very little variations in expression. Even when he's talking about his memories or feelings, he's as blank as ever. The game is not voiced, so we only have to imagine how monotone he must be in those scenes. But despite all that, he does provide some interesting interactions with Akane.
 

All flashbacks are in this style, making everything even more cute
 
Now, let's cover what you'll get in each version. The free version is the essential one if you're interested in this game. It covers pretty much everything I said up to this point. There's no sex scenes in this version, but they are implied, and that's more than enough in this game. The paid version adds not only the porn, but also a new route and three new extra stories (that you can access in the extra menu after clearing certain endings). Is it worth though? Short answer: no.
The porn that was added in the free version route is alright. We can see both Akane and Sakuya on screen, and Sakuya is as gentle as you would expect of him. But let's remember, he's a robot. Even he says at some point that he doesn't feel any physical pleasure from the act. So his face is mostly lacking in expressions, except when he reacts to Akane's reactions. It's porn that focus only in the girl again, but this time the boy really cares about how she's feeling it.
The new route... it's very subpar. Most of all because of the route structure, that tricks you into thinking it's a route for Shin when it's not, and it's ending, that shift the tone of the novel to the point that I wondered if the author even cared about the character development they build until said point of the story, because they shattered it to pieces in an absolute ex Machina way. Good thing I read this first, I would have hated to finish the game in this route. Needless to say, the porn of this route is just as bad. The extra scenes are fun though, but you won't lose much if you decide to pick the free version. This version is only recommended if you want to support Tetrascope, the game is just 800 yen on DLsite, it's pretty cheap it won't hurt. It's untranslated, but the free game section subs did appeared for me even in the paid version.
 

Young Akane, Shin and Sakuya in "Sweet Present for Shin"
 
And finally we have Sweet Present for Shin. This is the closest of a route for Shin we'll ever get, and it was as sweet and cute as the original game. It happens 5 years before the main game, but it's better appreciated if you play after it. Finally we can see Shin a bit flustered! It's very short, but still have three endings and one epilogue that ended my time spent with Sakuya, Akane and Shin in a pretty heartwarming note.
Sakuya had everything that I like: robots, robot drama, cute characters and romance. Even if the paid version route was pretty bad, it wasn't enough to diminish my love for this game. Moe robots are the best!

It took me only a minute to come up with my random username. That is because I love stories with robots, even more if they are love interests. Their struggle with the fact they are not human despite looking like one or acting like one is something I really enjoy to read, and cry while doing so. And that's what pulled me towards this otomege by Tetrascope. The complete story of this game is split across 3 games: the free edition, that have the base story and it was translated by people from Fuwa; the paid edition, that adds 18+ content and one additional route, untranslated; and the short append story called "Sweet Present for Shin", also untranslated. I checked all of them, and my experience with them was mostly pleasant, even if not all three parts were absolutely necessary.
 

From the intro movie
 
The story starts in distant future Tokyo, where robotic engineering is advanced enough to have robots indistinguishable from real people around. Although, when I say indistinguishable, I meant physically, since most of them don't possess any way of make rational decisions or emotions. They all follow the strict program built into their heads. Our hero Sakuya is the sole exception. Created by the genius scientist that also the father of our protagonist Akane (you can change her name, this is the default one), Sakuya is so human-like that the biggest robotics company don't waste a chance to strike a deal with our girl to buy him for science.
The setting is pretty well crafted, with topics like unemployment, sexbots, and anti-robots movements on the rising being touched at least once in the novel. Sadly, the novel is short and its focus is in the romance between a human and a robot, so all of these questions are pretty underdeveloped. We know those problems exist, and that they are too big to tackle in a novel so short, but not much discussion about it is done either.
The romance in the first route, the one in the free edition, in the other hand is pretty sweet and satisfying. Sakuya is simply the cutest boy in terms of personality I ever met in a VN. And he's not even human. He's pure, gentle and caring, sometimes naive and sometimes mature. It's easy to forget that he's an android, and that also happens with Akane and Sakuya himself. And the fact that he's not human, but also too emotional to be a robot, it's the biggest source of drama for our characters.
 

Sakuya's asking to hold hands, WHERE'S THE CHOICE SO I COULD SAY YES???
 
As Sakuya struggle with what he should be... Our protagonist Akane takes the long and dense road. She acts like our usual shoujo manga protagonist, with all of the "what is this feeling?" type of things... except she's supposed to be 23, so usually she comes across as childish. In fact, Sakuya constantly gets right what she's feeling and the only thing about human interaction he knows is mostly through movies. So yeah, originality is not her strongest asset.
Last but not least is Shin, Akane's childhood friend. At first you'll think he'll provide some love triangle drama, but that not happens here. Instead, he serves as a good foil for Sakuya. While Sakuya is a robot who looks like a human, Shin is pretty much a human who looks like a robot. He's always calm and composed, almost emotionless. His sprites have very little variations in expression. Even when he's talking about his memories or feelings, he's as blank as ever. The game is not voiced, so we only have to imagine how monotone he must be in those scenes. But despite all that, he does provide some interesting interactions with Akane.
 

All flashbacks are in this style, making everything even more cute
 
Now, let's cover what you'll get in each version. The free version is the essential one if you're interested in this game. It covers pretty much everything I said up to this point. There's no sex scenes in this version, but they are implied, and that's more than enough in this game. The paid version adds not only the porn, but also a new route and three new extra stories (that you can access in the extra menu after clearing certain endings). Is it worth though? Short answer: no.
The porn that was added in the free version route is alright. We can see both Akane and Sakuya on screen, and Sakuya is as gentle as you would expect of him. But let's remember, he's a robot. Even he says at some point that he doesn't feel any physical pleasure from the act. So his face is mostly lacking in expressions, except when he reacts to Akane's reactions. It's porn that focus only in the girl again, but this time the boy really cares about how she's feeling it.
The new route... it's very subpar. Most of all because of the route structure, that tricks you into thinking it's a route for Shin when it's not, and it's ending, that shift the tone of the novel to the point that I wondered if the author even cared about the character development they build until said point of the story, because they shattered it to pieces in an absolute ex Machina way. Good thing I read this first, I would have hated to finish the game in this route. Needless to say, the porn of this route is just as bad. The extra scenes are fun though, but you won't lose much if you decide to pick the free version. This version is only recommended if you want to support Tetrascope, the game is just 800 yen on DLsite, it's pretty cheap it won't hurt. It's untranslated, but the free game section subs did appeared for me even in the paid version.
 

Young Akane, Shin and Sakuya in "Sweet Present for Shin"
 
And finally we have Sweet Present for Shin. This is the closest of a route for Shin we'll ever get, and it was as sweet and cute as the original game. It happens 5 years before the main game, but it's better appreciated if you play after it. Finally we can see Shin a bit flustered! It's very short, but still have three endings and one epilogue that ended my time spent with Sakuya, Akane and Shin in a pretty heartwarming note.
Sakuya had everything that I like: robots, robot drama, cute characters and romance. Even if the paid version route was pretty bad, it wasn't enough to diminish my love for this game. Moe robots are the best!

It took me only a minute to come up with my random username. That is because I love stories with robots, even more if they are love interests. Their struggle with the fact they are not human despite looking like one or acting like one is something I really enjoy to read, and cry while doing so. And that's what pulled me towards this otomege by Tetrascope. The complete story of this game is split across 3 games: the free edition, that have the base story and it was translated by people from Fuwa; the paid edition, that adds 18+ content and one additional route, untranslated; and the short append story called "Sweet Present for Shin", also untranslated. I checked all of them, and my experience with them was mostly pleasant, even if not all three parts were absolutely necessary.
 

From the intro movie
 
The story starts in distant future Tokyo, where robotic engineering is advanced enough to have robots indistinguishable from real people around. Although, when I say indistinguishable, I meant physically, since most of them don't possess any way of make rational decisions or emotions. They all follow the strict program built into their heads. Our hero Sakuya is the sole exception. Created by the genius scientist that also the father of our protagonist Akane (you can change her name, this is the default one), Sakuya is so human-like that the biggest robotics company don't waste a chance to strike a deal with our girl to buy him for science.
The setting is pretty well crafted, with topics like unemployment, sexbots, and anti-robots movements on the rising being touched at least once in the novel. Sadly, the novel is short and its focus is in the romance between a human and a robot, so all of these questions are pretty underdeveloped. We know those problems exist, and that they are too big to tackle in a novel so short, but not much discussion about it is done either.
The romance in the first route, the one in the free edition, in the other hand is pretty sweet and satisfying. Sakuya is simply the cutest boy in terms of personality I ever met in a VN. And he's not even human. He's pure, gentle and caring, sometimes naive and sometimes mature. It's easy to forget that he's an android, and that also happens with Akane and Sakuya himself. And the fact that he's not human, but also too emotional to be a robot, it's the biggest source of drama for our characters.
 

Sakuya's asking to hold hands, WHERE'S THE CHOICE SO I COULD SAY YES???
 
As Sakuya struggle with what he should be... Our protagonist Akane takes the long and dense road. She acts like our usual shoujo manga protagonist, with all of the "what is this feeling?" type of things... except she's supposed to be 23, so usually she comes across as childish. In fact, Sakuya constantly gets right what she's feeling and the only thing about human interaction he knows is mostly through movies. So yeah, originality is not her strongest asset.
Last but not least is Shin, Akane's childhood friend. At first you'll think he'll provide some love triangle drama, but that not happens here. Instead, he serves as a good foil for Sakuya. While Sakuya is a robot who looks like a human, Shin is pretty much a human who looks like a robot. He's always calm and composed, almost emotionless. His sprites have very little variations in expression. Even when he's talking about his memories or feelings, he's as blank as ever. The game is not voiced, so we only have to imagine how monotone he must be in those scenes. But despite all that, he does provide some interesting interactions with Akane.
 

All flashbacks are in this style, making everything even more cute
 
Now, let's cover what you'll get in each version. The free version is the essential one if you're interested in this game. It covers pretty much everything I said up to this point. There's no sex scenes in this version, but they are implied, and that's more than enough in this game. The paid version adds not only the porn, but also a new route and three new extra stories (that you can access in the extra menu after clearing certain endings). Is it worth though? Short answer: no.
The porn that was added in the free version route is alright. We can see both Akane and Sakuya on screen, and Sakuya is as gentle as you would expect of him. But let's remember, he's a robot. Even he says at some point that he doesn't feel any physical pleasure from the act. So his face is mostly lacking in expressions, except when he reacts to Akane's reactions. It's porn that focus only in the girl again, but this time the boy really cares about how she's feeling it.
The new route... it's very subpar. Most of all because of the route structure, that tricks you into thinking it's a route for Shin when it's not, and it's ending, that shift the tone of the novel to the point that I wondered if the author even cared about the character development they build until said point of the story, because they shattered it to pieces in an absolute ex Machina way. Good thing I read this first, I would have hated to finish the game in this route. Needless to say, the porn of this route is just as bad. The extra scenes are fun though, but you won't lose much if you decide to pick the free version. This version is only recommended if you want to support Tetrascope, the game is just 800 yen on DLsite, it's pretty cheap it won't hurt. It's untranslated, but the free game section subs did appeared for me even in the paid version.
 

Young Akane, Shin and Sakuya in "Sweet Present for Shin"
 
And finally we have Sweet Present for Shin. This is the closest of a route for Shin we'll ever get, and it was as sweet and cute as the original game. It happens 5 years before the main game, but it's better appreciated if you play after it. Finally we can see Shin a bit flustered! It's very short, but still have three endings and one epilogue that ended my time spent with Sakuya, Akane and Shin in a pretty heartwarming note.
Sakuya had everything that I like: robots, robot drama, cute characters and romance. Even if the paid version route was pretty bad, it wasn't enough to diminish my love for this game. Moe robots are the best!

Or: These game characters should learn to stop worrying and love the dong
 
Disclaimer: The following opinion is genuine. But I like to express myself in creative ways after so many mostly serious posts, so shit ensues. A review will be up next week, please keep supporting this blog.
 
After so many dicks, I looked back to my complete VNs folder and tried to do one of the most dumb things a fan can do: compare not completely alike games. Bl games comes in all kinds of packages, with different plot genres and structures, but as long as they are under the same umbrella definition of BL, I noticed they all share the same types of mistakes. Misses that I found in BL anime and manga too. Of course, when I say all I don't mean AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALL of them, but I'm trying to raise awareness of the problems that I usually spot in the majority of the popular releases. I already saw every one of those pitfalls being avoided in mangas, so there's hope in this world. 
Since Fuwa surely love some top X, I'll organize it in some top 5 countdown fashion. Do notice that I'll not tackle what I see in doujinshis here, because seriously, who wants to fix the fantasy world of short doujins? Hell, if everything they did there had 100% realism, instead of 17/20 pages of porn we would get 17/20 pages of (trying to) pay bills.
But enough sadness, let's get this over with!

5) Girls
Okay okay, maybe lots of people don't want tits in their BL works, but unless we're on a prison/gang/old army/all-boys school/world where mpreg is a thing (90% of the games are out already...), we need some of them! Of the works I read, if I happen to see some girl, one of the following happens:
She's some character's mom. Then she dies/is murdered and the guy angsts; She's some character's sister. Then she dies/is murdered and the guy goes into a roaring rampage of revenge (in both cases, she dies within the first five minutes of the novel); She's the main villain. She eventually dies; Plot twist, she's actually male! Because of this maaaaybe she can survive.
She totally confused me for a second...
I would love to see some day a BL story where the MC have some female best friend and they talk about boys together aaah~
 
4) Porn that doesn't sound like your average BxG h-scene
Seriously, if some games didn't keep reminding me that both participants have dicks, I would think that I was reading some R18 otomege. Even some CGs seems like the guy on top is totally hitting the wrong place, artists, please get basic anatomy right thank you. I wouldn't copy a whole scene of this type here because effort, but it's as full of "yameteeeee, yaaaaaaa, Ryou-kun (random name) dameeee" as you're expecting.
And what's the deal of only the guy on the receiving end feeling it? Draw some expressions on the other guy too! It almost looks like that while the uke is having the time of his life, the seme suddenly realized that he'll probably die before Kentaro Miura finishes Berserk. Probably he and all of us, actually.
 

Not BL, but I'll never forget Akihito pulling a Sad Affleck in the middle of the porn years before Sad Aflleck was a thing! 
(Image edited by ESRB)
 
3) Characters that actually identify themselves as gay/bisexual
Okay, we get that social stigma exists and all that... But BL VNs are usually more "edgy" than Yuri ones... Sometimes society collapsed already, what are you waiting for, you dummy??? "Oh, I'm totally not gay, it's just because it's you!" Yeah sure, Jun-kun (random name) only liked Kou-kun (random name), not a single woman (they exists? See point 5 above) or guy before. Or after. You're really not gay, Jun-kun, you're Kousexual apparently.
The scenario is even worse for bisexual characters. Remember any? Exactly.
 

Just kidding, I remember him! In fact... Everyone is bi in this pic. This is one bitastic game!
 
2) Condoms
Eeeer, just because none of you guys can become pregnant (if mpreg isn't a thing in their world, that is) doesn't mean it's all okay... But maybe if they DID try to use one, the following could happen, so guess in the end it's all the same...
 

FINISH HIM!
(ESRB attacked again, thank you for your understanding)
 
1) Lube
Dude, seriously, ouch. Just... ouch.

Or: These game characters should learn to stop worrying and love the dong
 
Disclaimer: The following opinion is genuine. But I like to express myself in creative ways after so many mostly serious posts, so shit ensues. A review will be up next week, please keep supporting this blog.
 
After so many dicks, I looked back to my complete VNs folder and tried to do one of the most dumb things a fan can do: compare not completely alike games. Bl games comes in all kinds of packages, with different plot genres and structures, but as long as they are under the same umbrella definition of BL, I noticed they all share the same types of mistakes. Misses that I found in BL anime and manga too. Of course, when I say all I don't mean AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALL of them, but I'm trying to raise awareness of the problems that I usually spot in the majority of the popular releases. I already saw every one of those pitfalls being avoided in mangas, so there's hope in this world. 
Since Fuwa surely love some top X, I'll organize it in some top 5 countdown fashion. Do notice that I'll not tackle what I see in doujinshis here, because seriously, who wants to fix the fantasy world of short doujins? Hell, if everything they did there had 100% realism, instead of 17/20 pages of porn we would get 17/20 pages of (trying to) pay bills.
But enough sadness, let's get this over with!

5) Girls
Okay okay, maybe lots of people don't want tits in their BL works, but unless we're on a prison/gang/old army/all-boys school/world where mpreg is a thing (90% of the games are out already...), we need some of them! Of the works I read, if I happen to see some girl, one of the following happens:
She's some character's mom. Then she dies/is murdered and the guy angsts; She's some character's sister. Then she dies/is murdered and the guy goes into a roaring rampage of revenge (in both cases, she dies within the first five minutes of the novel); She's the main villain. She eventually dies; Plot twist, she's actually male! Because of this maaaaybe she can survive.
She totally confused me for a second...
I would love to see some day a BL story where the MC have some female best friend and they talk about boys together aaah~
 
4) Porn that doesn't sound like your average BxG h-scene
Seriously, if some games didn't keep reminding me that both participants have dicks, I would think that I was reading some R18 otomege. Even some CGs seems like the guy on top is totally hitting the wrong place, artists, please get basic anatomy right thank you. I wouldn't copy a whole scene of this type here because effort, but it's as full of "yameteeeee, yaaaaaaa, Ryou-kun (random name) dameeee" as you're expecting.
And what's the deal of only the guy on the receiving end feeling it? Draw some expressions on the other guy too! It almost looks like that while the uke is having the time of his life, the seme suddenly realized that he'll probably die before Kentaro Miura finishes Berserk. Probably he and all of us, actually.
 

Not BL, but I'll never forget Akihito pulling a Sad Affleck in the middle of the porn years before Sad Aflleck was a thing! 
(Image edited by ESRB)
 
3) Characters that actually identify themselves as gay/bisexual
Okay, we get that social stigma exists and all that... But BL VNs are usually more "edgy" than Yuri ones... Sometimes society collapsed already, what are you waiting for, you dummy??? "Oh, I'm totally not gay, it's just because it's you!" Yeah sure, Jun-kun (random name) only liked Kou-kun (random name), not a single woman (they exists? See point 5 above) or guy before. Or after. You're really not gay, Jun-kun, you're Kousexual apparently.
The scenario is even worse for bisexual characters. Remember any? Exactly.
 

Just kidding, I remember him! In fact... Everyone is bi in this pic. This is one bitastic game!
 
2) Condoms
Eeeer, just because none of you guys can become pregnant (if mpreg isn't a thing in their world, that is) doesn't mean it's all okay... But maybe if they DID try to use one, the following could happen, so guess in the end it's all the same...
 

FINISH HIM!
(ESRB attacked again, thank you for your understanding)
 
1) Lube
Dude, seriously, ouch. Just... ouch.

Or: These game characters should learn to stop worrying and love the dong
 
Disclaimer: The following opinion is genuine. But I like to express myself in creative ways after so many mostly serious posts, so shit ensues. A review will be up next week, please keep supporting this blog.
 
After so many dicks, I looked back to my complete VNs folder and tried to do one of the most dumb things a fan can do: compare not completely alike games. Bl games comes in all kinds of packages, with different plot genres and structures, but as long as they are under the same umbrella definition of BL, I noticed they all share the same types of mistakes. Misses that I found in BL anime and manga too. Of course, when I say all I don't mean AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALL of them, but I'm trying to raise awareness of the problems that I usually spot in the majority of the popular releases. I already saw every one of those pitfalls being avoided in mangas, so there's hope in this world. 
Since Fuwa surely love some top X, I'll organize it in some top 5 countdown fashion. Do notice that I'll not tackle what I see in doujinshis here, because seriously, who wants to fix the fantasy world of short doujins? Hell, if everything they did there had 100% realism, instead of 17/20 pages of porn we would get 17/20 pages of (trying to) pay bills.
But enough sadness, let's get this over with!

5) Girls
Okay okay, maybe lots of people don't want tits in their BL works, but unless we're on a prison/gang/old army/all-boys school/world where mpreg is a thing (90% of the games are out already...), we need some of them! Of the works I read, if I happen to see some girl, one of the following happens:
She's some character's mom. Then she dies/is murdered and the guy angsts; She's some character's sister. Then she dies/is murdered and the guy goes into a roaring rampage of revenge (in both cases, she dies within the first five minutes of the novel); She's the main villain. She eventually dies; Plot twist, she's actually male! Because of this maaaaybe she can survive.
She totally confused me for a second...
I would love to see some day a BL story where the MC have some female best friend and they talk about boys together aaah~
 
4) Porn that doesn't sound like your average BxG h-scene
Seriously, if some games didn't keep reminding me that both participants have dicks, I would think that I was reading some R18 otomege. Even some CGs seems like the guy on top is totally hitting the wrong place, artists, please get basic anatomy right thank you. I wouldn't copy a whole scene of this type here because effort, but it's as full of "yameteeeee, yaaaaaaa, Ryou-kun (random name) dameeee" as you're expecting.
And what's the deal of only the guy on the receiving end feeling it? Draw some expressions on the other guy too! It almost looks like that while the uke is having the time of his life, the seme suddenly realized that he'll probably die before Kentaro Miura finishes Berserk. Probably he and all of us, actually.
 

Not BL, but I'll never forget Akihito pulling a Sad Affleck in the middle of the porn years before Sad Aflleck was a thing! 
(Image edited by ESRB)
 
3) Characters that actually identify themselves as gay/bisexual
Okay, we get that social stigma exists and all that... But BL VNs are usually more "edgy" than Yuri ones... Sometimes society collapsed already, what are you waiting for, you dummy??? "Oh, I'm totally not gay, it's just because it's you!" Yeah sure, Jun-kun (random name) only liked Kou-kun (random name), not a single woman (they exists? See point 5 above) or guy before. Or after. You're really not gay, Jun-kun, you're Kousexual apparently.
The scenario is even worse for bisexual characters. Remember any? Exactly.
 

Just kidding, I remember him! In fact... Everyone is bi in this pic. This is one bitastic game!
 
2) Condoms
Eeeer, just because none of you guys can become pregnant (if mpreg isn't a thing in their world, that is) doesn't mean it's all okay... But maybe if they DID try to use one, the following could happen, so guess in the end it's all the same...
 

FINISH HIM!
(ESRB attacked again, thank you for your understanding)
 
1) Lube
Dude, seriously, ouch. Just... ouch.

Or: These game characters should learn to stop worrying and love the dong
 
Disclaimer: The following opinion is genuine. But I like to express myself in creative ways after so many mostly serious posts, so shit ensues. A review will be up next week, please keep supporting this blog.
 
After so many dicks, I looked back to my complete VNs folder and tried to do one of the most dumb things a fan can do: compare not completely alike games. Bl games comes in all kinds of packages, with different plot genres and structures, but as long as they are under the same umbrella definition of BL, I noticed they all share the same types of mistakes. Misses that I found in BL anime and manga too. Of course, when I say all I don't mean AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALL of them, but I'm trying to raise awareness of the problems that I usually spot in the majority of the popular releases. I already saw every one of those pitfalls being avoided in mangas, so there's hope in this world. 
Since Fuwa surely love some top X, I'll organize it in some top 5 countdown fashion. Do notice that I'll not tackle what I see in doujinshis here, because seriously, who wants to fix the fantasy world of short doujins? Hell, if everything they did there had 100% realism, instead of 17/20 pages of porn we would get 17/20 pages of (trying to) pay bills.
But enough sadness, let's get this over with!

5) Girls
Okay okay, maybe lots of people don't want tits in their BL works, but unless we're on a prison/gang/old army/all-boys school/world where mpreg is a thing (90% of the games are out already...), we need some of them! Of the works I read, if I happen to see some girl, one of the following happens:
She's some character's mom. Then she dies/is murdered and the guy angsts; She's some character's sister. Then she dies/is murdered and the guy goes into a roaring rampage of revenge (in both cases, she dies within the first five minutes of the novel); She's the main villain. She eventually dies; Plot twist, she's actually male! Because of this maaaaybe she can survive.
She totally confused me for a second...
I would love to see some day a BL story where the MC have some female best friend and they talk about boys together aaah~
 
4) Porn that doesn't sound like your average BxG h-scene
Seriously, if some games didn't keep reminding me that both participants have dicks, I would think that I was reading some R18 otomege. Even some CGs seems like the guy on top is totally hitting the wrong place, artists, please get basic anatomy right thank you. I wouldn't copy a whole scene of this type here because effort, but it's as full of "yameteeeee, yaaaaaaa, Ryou-kun (random name) dameeee" as you're expecting.
And what's the deal of only the guy on the receiving end feeling it? Draw some expressions on the other guy too! It almost looks like that while the uke is having the time of his life, the seme suddenly realized that he'll probably die before Kentaro Miura finishes Berserk. Probably he and all of us, actually.
 

Not BL, but I'll never forget Akihito pulling a Sad Affleck in the middle of the porn years before Sad Aflleck was a thing! 
(Image edited by ESRB)
 
3) Characters that actually identify themselves as gay/bisexual
Okay, we get that social stigma exists and all that... But BL VNs are usually more "edgy" than Yuri ones... Sometimes society collapsed already, what are you waiting for, you dummy??? "Oh, I'm totally not gay, it's just because it's you!" Yeah sure, Jun-kun (random name) only liked Kou-kun (random name), not a single woman (they exists? See point 5 above) or guy before. Or after. You're really not gay, Jun-kun, you're Kousexual apparently.
The scenario is even worse for bisexual characters. Remember any? Exactly.
 

Just kidding, I remember him! In fact... Everyone is bi in this pic. This is one bitastic game!
 
2) Condoms
Eeeer, just because none of you guys can become pregnant (if mpreg isn't a thing in their world, that is) doesn't mean it's all okay... But maybe if they DID try to use one, the following could happen, so guess in the end it's all the same...
 

FINISH HIM!
(ESRB attacked again, thank you for your understanding)
 
1) Lube
Dude, seriously, ouch. Just... ouch.

( In a galaxy far, far away. )
The Setup
It all started with a flash game. It's hard to believe that my love affair with Visual Novels and my dalliances with manga and anime all sprang from the same source but it's true. Of course, I had watched anime before on both Fox Kids when I was real little, and on Toonami when I was older. The thing of it was I never really tried to seek it out on my own. If a show that I was watching stopped being aired then I stopped watching it. That all changed when I played the Galaxy Angel Sim Date when I was still a freshman in high school. It was on Newgrounds, which was at the time the most popular site for dumb flash games and videos. Of course, being the pervy high schooler that I was, I wanted what was in the adults only category. That's where I found Galaxy Angel Sim Date. Now I don't know exactly why but for some reason I really came to love that game, and I was very interested in finding what it was based on. That led me eventually to the anime, the manga, and much later to the visual novel. The internet can be a weird and amazing place.
The Story

(Tact Mayers, the man himself)
The Transvaal Galaxy has been gripped in terror! Exiled Prince Eonia and a huge fleet of unknown vessels have undertaken a massive Coup d'état against the Emperor of Transvaal, and the White Moon! Hope is not lost however, the famed Angel Wing has managed to escape with the last of the royal family aboard the Elsior. Now the fate of the entire galaxy is up to...you, apparently. You are Tact Mayers, a greenhorn layabout who usually leaves all the important work to your adjutant, Lester Coolduras. Unfortunately for your dreams of sloth you are chosen for a daring rescue mission. It's not all bad though as you are also given command of the strongest strike force in the galaxy, powered by only cute girls. Life, it takes and it gives. Basically, the plot is that you must attempt to outrun Eonia's forces for as long as possible. At first, the Angel Wing might not trust their new fresh off the boat commander but who knows, it's a long voyage, anything can happen, even dare I say it, love. Galaxy Angel is without a doubt a pure space opera. It wears it on it's sleeve and dances with it in the dark. It might not be the most intricate of plots but it is still filled with a lot of powerful moments. But just who are the mystery girls?
The Characters

(Forte and Mint to the left, Vanilla and Ranpha to the right, and Milfeulle in the middle)
Characters are important to any story and in my humble opinion these are some of the best, even if they might not be the most well developed. More than that I've grown up with these characters so I know them backwards and forwards. Each Angel pilots their very own Emblem Frames, which are one of a kind ships powered by the fabled (and convenient) Lost Technology. Here is a breakdown of the characters and what they pilot.
Mifuelle Sakuraba: She pilots the Lucky Star and is the epitome of a air headed girl. She loves to cook and is gifted with a unholy amount of reality breaking luck. Milfeulle also happens to be the "main" girl of the VN.
Ranpha Franboise: Ranpha pilots the Kung Fu Fighter and is basically your typical energetic, and tsundere girl. She works out a lot and loves fortune telling.
Forte Stollen: Forte pilots the Happy Trigger and is in many ways the older sister of the group. She is obsessed with ancient firearms and is an avid collector.
Vanilla H: She pilots the Harvester and is the youngest and most quiet of the troupe. Vanilla is able to control nanomachines incredibly well and is an excellent healer.
Mint Blancmanche: Mint is the pilot of the Trick Master and the source of all good things in this world. Mint is a telepath and because of this does not trust anyone easily. She is obsessed with cute and sweet things.
The story is centered around them with each chapter centered around a specific member of the team. This gives you a chance to get to know each of them while getting closer at the same time. At a certain point the story it is possible to choose a character and their specific route opens up. There are also quite a few noteworthy side characters like Lester Coolduras who engages you with a galaxy spanning bromance. By some weird design the combat effectiveness of the Emblem Frames are determined by the mental states of each pilot. Your job as the commander is to basically make nice with them or else their performance will suffer. This leads me to one of the more unique aspects of Galaxy Angel, the gameplay.
The Gameplay


(Combat Inaction)
The gameplay is pretty basic but it works. After every mission you briefing you give the Angels their orders and they engage in ship to ship combat. Each Emblem Frames have their own special advantages and weakness. For example the Kung Fu Fighter is the fastest but has the weakest shields while the Happy Trigger is the slowest but with the most firepower. Each ship also has a special ability that can be used effectively once a certain bar is filled up. When it does you can give the Frame a command and they will use it against the enemy. (The only one that does not is the Harvester, Vanillas special attack heals all the of the Frames.) Like I said before the gameplay is very bare bones though they often throw some new elements in play like stronger enemy types or more complicated objectives. There is one last ship that I have yet to bring up which is the Elsior, which is another piece of lost technology and the flagship that everyone resides in. It has extremely weak firepower though it mostly makes up with that by having the power to completely heal each Angel Frame. It's poor combat effectiveness and slow speed is easily the most annoying parts in the game. With it's awful firepower it is always advisable to keep it way out of enemy range. While that may be easy enough at first there are several missions when you must escort it through enemy lines which can be incredibly frustrating. The graphics also reflect the fact that this Visual Novel was released in 2002 so don't go expecting that much in that way. Still, the battles can be very thrilling at times and I think it would be quite a loss if the gameplay was not present. The later games really improved the mechanics quite a bit while keeping to the core concept. The second aspect of the game is moving around the Elsior and talking with the crew. This improves the relationship and combat effectiveness. It's pretty basic stuff and it is real easy to see just how each angel thinks of you.

(Oh yeah did I mention that this is all determined by a telepathic space whale?)
Final Thoughts
What can I say Galaxy Angel is still one of my favorite Visual Novels and I have a great deal of affection for it. It might not have the most compelling of stories, but it does something extremely well and that is make you feel invested with the characters. It can be pretty powerful stuff when they start to actually like and trust you. This is the first part of a great trilogy and it serves as a wonderful jumping off point. The only problem with the game is that since it was released in 2002 it is quite difficult to get working on modern computers. Despite that setback I would really recommend checking out. You might come to love it too.

Hey there! Today let's talk a bit about drama CDs, a kinda add-on to the stories of some visual novels that's super popular in otome and BL fandoms. I'm talking about these two particular fanbases, but it's not uncommon for light novels, manga and anime series, or video games from all kinds of genres to have side stories released in this format. And we even have original stories released like this.
Drama CDs, or audio dramas, are exactly what it says on the tin. An audiobook of sorts with dialogues, inner thoughts of characters and narrations, read aloud by the voice actors of the media in question. Visual Novels without the visual aspect. The perspective can shift from character to character from time to time, and you'll know when it happened when other person starts narrating. If the main character is unvoiced in the main game, common in otome for self insertion reasons and such, these drama CDs are our chance to finally hear their voices.
The big otomege japanese companies, like Otomate and Rejet, release drama CDs for most of it's popular series. And they are frequently announced in their big events, with the presence of the voice actors in question, to the fangirls' delight. I must admit that, since I started following these things, I learned quite a few names of voice actors and even when they use alias (more common in BL than otome, whyyyy is thaaaat), they don't fool me anymore.
 

Related links given to me by CDJapan when I was looking for drama CDs. Not only I recognize four of these names, but I also know a bunch of previous roles of three of them.
 
There's some different types of drama CD as well. Some features interactions between characters with a short and simple storyline. They are usually called talk CDs. Some otome games that have this type of drama cds are Amnesia (CD's name is "Meido no Kuni no Amnesia"), Hakuouki ("Chizuru Yuukai Jikenchou") and Arcana Famiglia ("Il dolce Regalo").
 

Cover of "Chizuru Yuukai Jikenchou". The harem is strong with this girl...
 
We also have the otome CDs that, unlike the talk CDs, have only one guy speaking with you or his inner thoughts about you. I mean, the main character. So yeah, an entire CD of your favorite guy whispering in your ear, I can see the appeal. You can usually recognize one by their name pattern: "Series name Vol. X - Character name". So just pick your favorite character and press play to enjoy! Series that have this type of CD are Diabolik Lovers (for masochist girls) and Norn9 (this game have three MCs, so the drama CDs are divided by girl, a track for each one of their love interests)
Together with the otome CDs, we also have the character CDs, that features one of the guys singing instead of talking. Sometimes we have duets, but it really depends on the series. The naming pattern is similar to otome CDs, but it usually have "character CD" specified. As examples, we have Collar X Malice and Code Realize.
 

Cover of Norn9 Trio Drama CD Vol. 1. Guys of all ages to please everyone!
 
Now if you want something more... spicy, they also got you covered, with the R18 otome CDs. If you didn't press ctrl in all h-scenes you came across, you know what to expect here. Moaning, kissing and all those other background sounds. I never came across any game that had an extra CD like this, maybe they didn't wanted to ruin the pure maiden image, it's more common for these CDs to contain original stories. But I did saw the opposite happen actually, an original R18 CD turned into an otomege. Meet Jooubachi no Oubou!
For BL... we have pretty much the same things except the otome variation. The biggest BL company, Nitro+CHIRAL, sure love to make comedic and ecchi ones, but Karin Chatnoir Omega released even the singing variation for their series Omerta.
As one can guess, all of them are in japanese only. It's a fun way to practice your hearing, but never fear! We also have fantranslations for some of these titles, so don't let it discourage you!
 

Just don't do like fujoshi Kotone Fujisaki from Keijo!! and listen to your precious BL drama CDs in public. Unless you control very well your reactions...
 
Now that I informed you about this world of voice actor fangirling, let me share my opinion about this. Yes, eargasm is really important in my games. I play lots of unvoiced stuff, but damn, a good voice acting can really make some okay scenes be a lot better (looking at you, Togainu no Chi). And I can count two times when it was a great deal for me...
First time: I usually research a lot about my game before buying because I hate to waste my time and money in things I know I'll dislike halfway through it. The one and only thing I didn't look about too much was Code Realize, and I even paid almost 40 USD for it, because a) I love steampunk; b) art is gorgeous (art is a big deal for me); and c) Suwabe Jun'ichi was in the cast. Yeeeeeep...... And it was worth every cent in the end, thanks nihon gods.
Second time: I just started playing Omerta, the game was casually showing us the boys and stuff, that usual prologue stuff. Then this blond god appeared before my eyes...
 

My nose sustained major damage by excessive bleeding
 
Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn, he seems like a good candidate for best guy of the game. It was already good, but then he started to speak (voice sample)...
Holy shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit, the flood, I didn't even need a h-scene, take meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
*Cahan*, forgive me. And what about you guys? Do you have any voice actor you like a lot? Share with me while I hear this cover of a Vocaloid song by DMMD Ren's voice actor nonstop!

Although a significant portion of VNs produced in the West is published for free on platforms such as Steam or Itch.io, most of them are very short and simple projects, often made by starting-out developers or as quickly put-together entries for contents such as Yuri Game Jam. Still, from time to time, it’s possible to find a VNs on a completely different scale also available as free-to-play releases – AIRIS, created by Ebullience Games for NaNoRenO OELVN event and published on April 2017, is definitely among the most expansive games of this kind, with proper route structure and impressive story variation, that will require you many hours to fully experience.
            While at first glance this otome might look like a generic fantasy romance, it offers a few fairly unique ideas (which I will not spoil in the review) – and those go far beyond its loudly advertised inclusivity, expressed through various LGBT+ themes. While not straying far from the typical formula of the genre, AIRIS indeed offers both a fully-fledged yuri romance route and another one focused on a non-binary character. More importantly though, it takes the somewhat overused trope of MMORPG and gives it an amusing spin – one which created some really interesting storytelling opportunities, even if their execution often left something to be desired.
Read the full article at evnchronicles.blogspot.com

For various reasons, this is one of the rare occasions when I didn't aggressively look forward to a Light game.
The first reason is that the setting/story descriptions in the Getchu and homepages were vague and of no real use.  The second was that a crossover was announced between this and Nemurenu (the recent Clock-up title with Kurashiki as the writer) recently. 
The artist for this game (at least the character design, anyway) is Ueda Metawo, the artist from Gore Screaming Show, Mindead Blood, and Yami no Koe.  So, it should come as no surprise to anyone that there is a guro/no guro setting in this game. 
This is atypical for Light.  In general, Light avoids actual guro content, preferring to stick to visual blood effects and shadow slayings (the shadow-figure beheading from Vendetta, as an example).  This is actually typical in chuunige in general, with the rare exceptions including mostly Nitroplus games and a few Akatsuki Works games.  As such, my first thought was, 'This doesn't feel like a Light game, and I only just started.'
That feeling seemed to be betrayed, initially, by how the story begins, with a classic Masada-style protagonist monologue full of pathos and dark emotions.  Unfortunately, it was soon apparent that the brief spark of hope I felt was going to be betrayed, as the horribly-paced prologue/first arc began.
First, within ten minutes, I was watching a loli gang-rape scene.  Second, things flash into vicious combat mode with no real intro to the characters, however limited. 
All of this is atypical of Light.  The pacing of the early game is easily the worst I've encountered from this company, and that particular negative is endemic to the game as a whole.  I can't really say I got to like any of the characters before the path split, which is unusual in a Light game, to say the least. 
Pacing might not seem like a huge issue to people accustomed to the often uneven pacing common in charage, but chuunige are, in many ways, games whose quality is based at least in part on their pacing (story, characters, and setting being the top three).  Even Masada, who is terrible at slice-of-life, still manages to use it to give you a sense of what the characters are fighting for.  However, with this game, Kurashiki failed even at that most basic of tasks... Nao remains two-dimensional outside of Sachi's path, and you never really get a full impression on any of the heroines. 
Kamori's path is short, brutal, and fades out with a whimper.  I honestly liked the combat scenes, but it felt like this path sort of fizzles at the very end.  Oh, there was a truly great guro scene with weird results that would normally have served as the first-class centerpiece for a first-class path... if the whole thing hadn't fizzled at the end.
Yachiru's path is much stronger than Kamori's path... but it is also a bit more unpleasant.  To be honest, I wasn't surprised that the path written solely by Kurashiki would be significantly better than the one written by by Marimo.  However, this path is still atypical of Light in some ways... that I can't get into without spoiling it.  However, like Kamori's path, it fizzles at the very end.  This is part of the story, and it is understandable in a 'true heroine' chuunige, but it felt like this path began and ended with using Yachiru as a punching bag (and as annoying as she is at times, she didn't really deserve that).  I will say that, despite this being stronger than Kamori's path, it is still a marginal path, at best, as chuunige paths go.  The battles are awesome, but...
Sachi
I'm going to be straight with you... the favoritism for Sachi is blatant, even at the beginning of her path, and it is this path that is probably the reason for the guro warnings.  I made this a separate section because, compared to everything else in the game, this path is unnaturally higher in quality.  Kurashiki obviously was only interested in telling this story from the beginning, and it shows.  For those who have played other Light games, the action scenes are pure crack, and the descriptions of the characters' feelings vivid. 
This path has two endings... a classic 'bad end with story' (it is actually kind of a nice read, though it is bad for humanity, lol) and a final end that feels... a lot like a bad end for Nao.  Seriously, this game's final ending feels a lot closer to Nitroplus's style than Light's, which will probably bother some fanboys. 
Conclusion
However, it makes me wonder... just why the hell did he insist on making the other two paths so mundane?  Oh, if I were to compare them to a charage path (which would be unfair to both), they can't really be called 'mundane'.  However, the sheer carelessness with which the common and other two heroine routes were treated, the poor pacing, the lack of a solid base to judge the characters... it feels inept, compared to this company's other works.  As a result, I'm giving this one my lowest rating for a Light game on vndb, and also saying that I wish Sachi's path could be transplanted into another game, where it could really shine, lol.

(Love Autopsy)
The Setup
Way back when I was in High School I thought I knew what I was going to be. I was destined to become a Lawyer and have my own firm. Now, almost ten years later I look at the wreckage my life has become and say; "Boy, what was I thinking?" Asuka Osachi has similar lofty goals for what she wants to do; she wants to be a Nurse. The former Jellyfish Club President found a book that she once loved as a child and written on the back is a declaration from the past. "I want to be a Nurse!" While most people would pass it off as a passing fancy, a sort of memento from the dreams of childhood. A time when things were hopeful, sweet, pure, instead of cold, bleak, and grey. Not our Auska! She takes it as a rallying cry from the past, a call to arms! Even though she has no idea why she wrote that down so long ago she is determined to become one. Which is weird isn't it? I mean my brother wanted to be a hobo when he was a kid! Can you imagine that? My brother, decides on pursing a life of vagrancy and hardship because that was his childhood dream. What I'm trying to say is that children are stupid and the purity of their dreams don't always make for advisable career options. Auska, who is a complete moron still manages to get over her first hurtle and is accepted into the prestigious Teito Nursing Academy. At her side is her ride-or-die, self titled sweet sister Nao Osachi who is determined to follow after her older sister and her stupid goal. There at the Nursing School our heroes will encounter many strange characters and face many trials. Auska just might obtain her childhood dream but she might find something else, something she was not expecting, something called, love.
The Characters

(From right to left Nao, Auska, Sakuya, Itsuki)
So like I said before you are playing Auska who is a huge airhead and general goofball. At first I wasn't sure quite what to think of her. I thought she was going to be so ditsy and air-headed that she would launch into the sky. Thankfully, she was not nearly that bad and she really grew on me as the story progressed. I also like that she was at least slightly self aware and capable of some form of rational thought. That's a big plus in my book. She ended up surprising me and made for a great protagonist.
Next up is your little sister Nao and if I had to have a favorite character I think it would be her. She is almost attached to the Auska's hip and has followed her all the way to a nursing school. Now that's dedication! She is the epitome of the adorable sister that you never knew you wanted, but what I really liked most about her were the glimpses of a different side of Nao. Such as when she would tell a ghost story, or when her delinquent past is uncovered. Those different parts really made for a great character. Just, try and stay on her good side. Okay?
Coming in third is Sakuya who is voiced by the lovely Tamura Yukari is also a easy favorite of mine. I adored Tamura's voice in Galaxy Angel so it was a pleasant surprise to hear her here. At first Sakuya comes across as having a haughty princess like personality but as the story progresses she starts to show a much gentler side. She does still retain her biting personality though, thankfully. I liked  watching the bond between the two characters grow. Sakuya is also really good at giving hugs.
Arriving in fourth is Itsuki and frankly she took a while for me to start liking her. I can't exactly put a finger on why but maybe it had to do with how secretive and horrendously vague she can be at times. Maybe it's just because she wears glasses. In any case, eventually her manipulative personality won me over and by the end of her route I just wanted to eat her up.
Last but certainly not least is Kaede your teacher. She is your nursing instructor and the person you want to become. She is poised, confident, and reportedly turned down the prestigious Nightingale Award. She has a unexpectedly really adorable side to her and her route is pure cuteness.

(How dare you make me feel things!)
The Story
One of the things I liked most about the story was the setting. Teito Nursing Academy was such a departure from the typical setting that I'm used to. There was evident care in making sure that this didn't become just a school life simulator. Nursing School is hard and incredibly focused and I like how real they made that aspect feel. Auska learns first hand just how hard it is when she struggles just to learn how to specially make a bed. It seemed very real to me. Of course when the characters routes take off the nursing school aspect understandably takes a backseat but it was nice to have while it was there. I also really loved how the yuri was handled in this Visual Novel. Specifically, I like how they did not treat the fact that two girls could love each other as anything strange or weird. Which was nice because a lot of times it's something that the story draws a lot of attention towards. Here, it's treated as a natural thing which I really appreciated. Each route is very different and well crafted and takes the story in many varied and often unpredictable directions.
My Two Cents
Overall, I loved it. I enjoyed the story, tone, characters, atmosphere, the whole kit and kaboodle. Nurse Love Addiction truly surprised me and in the best way possible. If I were to give it a score I would give it a high 8 because I had a excellent time with it all the way through. I would recommend this to anyone regardless if you are a yuri fan or not. it's just a good story and I'm sure you will enjoy it. Oh and one last thing..

Hey there! Today let's talk a bit about drama CDs, a kinda add-on to the stories of some visual novels that's super popular in otome and BL fandoms. I'm talking about these two particular fanbases, but it's not uncommon for light novels, manga and anime series, or video games from all kinds of genres to have side stories released in this format. And we even have original stories released like this.
Drama CDs, or audio dramas, are exactly what it says on the tin. An audiobook of sorts with dialogues, inner thoughts of characters and narrations, read aloud by the voice actors of the media in question. Visual Novels without the visual aspect. The perspective can shift from character to character from time to time, and you'll know when it happened when other person starts narrating. If the main character is unvoiced in the main game, common in otome for self insertion reasons and such, these drama CDs are our chance to finally hear their voices.
The big otomege japanese companies, like Otomate and Rejet, release drama CDs for most of it's popular series. And they are frequently announced in their big events, with the presence of the voice actors in question, to the fangirls' delight. I must admit that, since I started following these things, I learned quite a few names of voice actors and even when they use alias (more common in BL than otome, whyyyy is thaaaat), they don't fool me anymore.
 

Related links given to me by CDJapan when I was looking for drama CDs. Not only I recognize four of these names, but I also know a bunch of previous roles of three of them.
 
There's some different types of drama CD as well. Some features interactions between characters with a short and simple storyline. They are usually called talk CDs. Some otome games that have this type of drama cds are Amnesia (CD's name is "Meido no Kuni no Amnesia"), Hakuouki ("Chizuru Yuukai Jikenchou") and Arcana Famiglia ("Il dolce Regalo").
 

Cover of "Chizuru Yuukai Jikenchou". The harem is strong with this girl...
 
We also have the otome CDs that, unlike the talk CDs, have only one guy speaking with you or his inner thoughts about you. I mean, the main character. So yeah, an entire CD of your favorite guy whispering in your ear, I can see the appeal. You can usually recognize one by their name pattern: "Series name Vol. X - Character name". So just pick your favorite character and press play to enjoy! Series that have this type of CD are Diabolik Lovers (for masochist girls) and Norn9 (this game have three MCs, so the drama CDs are divided by girl, a track for each one of their love interests)
Together with the otome CDs, we also have the character CDs, that features one of the guys singing instead of talking. Sometimes we have duets, but it really depends on the series. The naming pattern is similar to otome CDs, but it usually have "character CD" specified. As examples, we have Collar X Malice and Code Realize.
 

Cover of Norn9 Trio Drama CD Vol. 1. Guys of all ages to please everyone!
 
Now if you want something more... spicy, they also got you covered, with the R18 otome CDs. If you didn't press ctrl in all h-scenes you came across, you know what to expect here. Moaning, kissing and all those other background sounds. I never came across any game that had an extra CD like this, maybe they didn't wanted to ruin the pure maiden image, it's more common for these CDs to contain original stories. But I did saw the opposite happen actually, an original R18 CD turned into an otomege. Meet Jooubachi no Oubou!
For BL... we have pretty much the same things except the otome variation. The biggest BL company, Nitro+CHIRAL, sure love to make comedic and ecchi ones, but Karin Chatnoir Omega released even the singing variation for their series Omerta.
As one can guess, all of them are in japanese only. It's a fun way to practice your hearing, but never fear! We also have fantranslations for some of these titles, so don't let it discourage you!
 

Just don't do like fujoshi Kotone Fujisaki from Keijo!! and listen to your precious BL drama CDs in public. Unless you control very well your reactions...
 
Now that I informed you about this world of voice actor fangirling, let me share my opinion about this. Yes, eargasm is really important in my games. I play lots of unvoiced stuff, but damn, a good voice acting can really make some okay scenes be a lot better (looking at you, Togainu no Chi). And I can count two times when it was a great deal for me...
First time: I usually research a lot about my game before buying because I hate to waste my time and money in things I know I'll dislike halfway through it. The one and only thing I didn't look about too much was Code Realize, and I even paid almost 40 USD for it, because a) I love steampunk; b) art is gorgeous (art is a big deal for me); and c) Suwabe Jun'ichi was in the cast. Yeeeeeep...... And it was worth every cent in the end, thanks nihon gods.
Second time: I just started playing Omerta, the game was casually showing us the boys and stuff, that usual prologue stuff. Then this blond god appeared before my eyes...
 

My nose sustained major damage by excessive bleeding
 
Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn, he seems like a good candidate for best guy of the game. It was already good, but then he started to speak (voice sample)...
Holy shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit, the flood, I didn't even need a h-scene, take meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
*Cahan*, forgive me. And what about you guys? Do you have any voice actor you like a lot? Share with me while I hear this cover of a Vocaloid song by DMMD Ren's voice actor nonstop!

Disclaimer: This was the first purely GxB otome game I’ve ever played and my experience was most likely very different from that of a fan of the genre. While I stand by my conclusions, they’re definitely written from an unusual perspective.
Locked Heart is a game I’ve encountered pretty much by chance, while randomly browsing VNs available on Google Play. As a nice-looking, free title it quickly found its way into my wishlist, but belonging to a genre I usually don’t play (and apparently following a very standard otome formula), it was never very high on my to-read list. Only another coincidence, leaving me stranded in a café for multiple hours with nothing but my tablet to accompany me, compelled me to run it and discover that I’ve stumbled upon something rather exceptional – definitely when it goes to Android games, but maybe even in a broader sense.
            Developed by Dicesuki, a small studio which later created the highly-regarded Cinderella Phenomenon, and published for Android in July 2016, Locked Heart quickly became one of the highest-rated mobile VNs out there, gathering an impressive 4.9/5 score among Google Play users and a decent VNDB rating. Of course, standing out positively on a marketplace full of horrible shovelware and shameless cash-grabs might not be a huge achievement by itself – in the case of this small otome however, this enthusiastic response from the readers seems to indicate a bit more than just contrast from the absolute trash that dominates mobile platforms.
Read the full article at evnchronicles.blogspot.com

Despite there being a few good editing blogs on Fuwanovel, there doesn’t seem to be much in the way of translation blogs. I think part of the reason for this is that editors in the fan translation scene are often doing things the translator could very well be doing themselves, often to the detriment of the final product. Look at, say, the “big back” entry Fred wrote. Now tell me why this issue couldn’t be avoided back at the translation stage.
There are two reasons why you would do this: one, you don’t know Japanese well enough to understand what is actually meant, so you put down whatever it says literally. In this case, the sane way to handle the issue is to ask someone who knows Japanese better than you for advice. Two, you’re just lazy. Who actually thinks “the date changed” sounds right in English? An edge case of this is prioritizing speed; Ixrec and MDZ* both prioritized speed and neither had very good results to show for it, but they did complete things. Personally I still think this is ultimately lazy; it is significantly more simple to translate literally than to try to actually write well. In this case, ask yourself if you really want to produce a shitty translation.
What I’m trying to get at is this: if you actually want to produce something good, you can’t just leave writing the thing up to the editor. Editors are not miracle workers; they have to deal with what they’re given. Furthermore, many editors working on fan translations, and well, translations period, are not very good at the job. Any time you leave something bad in, there is always the possibility of it sticking around in the final product. I’m not saying you have to be perfect. I’m saying this: for the love of visual novels, try.
If you ask me, before you hand your script to the editor, you should have already done an editing pass on it. Or two. The lines should connect with each other rather than float like islands in a sea of prose, there should be at least an attempt at character voice, and all ugly stock translations should be kawari-fucking-mashita’d, much like the 日付 at midnight, with extreme prejudice.
Sometimes you’re still going to come up short. Sometimes it just won’t sound right whatever you try. That’s when you should pray that your editor knows better than you – leave a note at the line explaining the problem, move on, and hope to hell that your editor is actually good enough to work it out. That’s what the editor is for. The editor should not be translating from weeb to English. The editor should not be doing your job.
*Its not just the fan translation scene that does this, by the way – there are companies, like Aksys, which demand its translators write a colorless literal translation to be punched up by superstar editors later. Unsurprisingly, they’ve put out some real stinkers; I have a lot of respect for Ben Bateman’s work on 999 for this reason.

View the full article

Villains have always fascinated me for as long as I can remember. Maybe it was the way they operated, the way they moved. Their goals always so divergent from the heroes or so eerily similar that it made you question who you were really rooting for. Almost every story has em' or inserts something to take their place, such as society, nature etc. A villain right can give you someone to really root against, or for if you are so inclined. They can drive the story along like no other and pull the hero into the most strenuous and exacting endeavors. A villain done wrong however, can have all the impact of a wet fart in a scorching plain. What makes a good villain? I think a good villain is made up of five things appearance, presence, voice, power, and goal. I think these are essential for a villain to work in a story. Without these traits you might as well just drag up from the earth your cliche mustache twirling villain and prop him up for all to see. So without further ado here are my favorite villains and why. This isn't a comprehensive list and the order is nonessential.
1. Slade

Slade was a incredible villain and he is essential to why I still count Teen Titans as one of my favorite shows. He had everything I wanted in a villain. What I most loved about him was voice, power, and presence. First off was his voice, Ron Perlman did a amazing job with the voice of Slade. He lent Slade a voice of menace and absolute confidence that broke time and time again upon the Titans backs. His power to was impressive. He could go toe to toe with any of the Titans and beat them and it took all of their power to stop them. His presence was also incredible he dominated every single scene that he was in without question.
2. The Joker

Joker is the perfect villain and I think he shines the brightest in the animated series. He is a perfect counter to Batman in every way and is the absolute opposite of everything that he wants to protect. I like the animated Joker the best simply because of Mark Hamil. I truly believe that voicing him is the best thing that he has ever done.
3. Vernon Schillinger (OZ)

Schillinger easily represents everything I detest in a person. He's an out and out Nazi, and as cold and callous as they come. Yet it was his detestable nature that made him such a good villain. In a show that's known for it's brutality he was easily the most vicious. What really made me like him was the brief glimpses of something resembling humanity that he would show. To this day it is hard to look at JK Simmons and not see Schillinger, no matter how many goofy Dads he plays.
4.Frank (Once Upon a Time in the West)

In the movie this is how Frank is first introduced it's such a brilliant and brutal scene that really impacted me
This early act of callous cruelty gives him a malignant presence in every scene he is in. He's completely willing to do anything and everything to get what he wants. Henry Fonda gives him a air of quiet detachment and a sense of invincibility.
5. Perfect Cell

I love Perfect Cell because he is such a amazing antagonist. He has the abilities and weaknesses of all the greatest warriors. He is confident and arrogant without overdoing it. So many villains like him are just over the top that it just becomes laughable. It was great to see him evolve from his imperfect state to his perfect one. I also like that his goal was simply to find a worthy opponent to test his power on.
6. Mr. Dark (Something Wicked This Way Comes)

Mr. Dark is another good villain that is so understated and yet so powerful. He operates a carnival that promises people their deepest wishes and feeds on them. Jonathan Pryce does an amazing job of giving him such a threatening edge with just a few words.
7. Cluny the Scourge

Now Redwall had a lot of great villains but Cluny is always going to be my favorite of them all. He is such a perfect adversary he is ruthless but also clever, brutal yet cunning. His mere presence inspired instant fear and his drive inspired hundreds.
8. Kirei Kotomine

Kotomine was a perfect villain in Fate/Stay night and a great foil for Shirou. What really made him a great villain in my eyes was seeing his corruption in Fate/Zero. I also like that he sought the grail for the shear curiosity of what it would spawn.
9. Maou

Maou is a great antagonist because he is constantly two steps ahead of everyone. He has plans within plans and he sets himself up as the adversary of Haru just for the shear joy of it.
10. Jack Of Blades (Fable)

Jack Of Blades is one of my favorite villains simply because of his appearance and voice. That alone makes him such a menacing villain. I also loved the mystery behind his mask and background. Who was he before he found the mask? That question goes unanswered witch makes the allure of him all the more powerful.
Well that's all the villains I can think of at the moment I will probably add to it later. What are your favorite villains? Let me know!

Hi, ladies and gentlemen! Today, I bring you a bit of history and information about the origins of some BL related terms. Of course, I'm not the supreme autority in japanese BL culture, very far from that, in fact I did a lot of research for this post, so feel free to correct any mistakes, I would love to learn more about it!
 
Let's start with the main one. What's Yaoi? In the west, is the most generic term to describe works that have romance and usually sex between two males. By now, you must have noticed that I never use this term, be it in this blog or around the forums. Why's that? Because it's a short for the expression "YAma nashi, Ochi nashi, Imi nashi" that roughly translates to "No climax, no ending, no meaning". Pretty much our classic "porn without plot". It was a term used by two manga artists in the '70s to dismiss poor quality doujinshis, and this was appropriated by early BL authors when the genre started to go beyond fanfiction of popular shounen series. Yeah, sure, the low quality and no plot parts are pretty much true for tons of male on male doujinshis I found around in the internet, but BL as a genre now is a lot more than just this! It's natural to distance itself of this old label now. Even if the fans accept it by learning how to laugh at themselves... I still prefer a serious label any day. Japanese sites that sells games and manga magazines all tag those works as BL now, so yaoi is way less used over there, except for refering to parody doujinshis and such. Here in the west, on the other hand, I see the term all the time used by either long time fans that didn't bother to switch out the term they got used to or by people outside the fanbase. Looking around here on Fuwanovel or VNDB, places where the bishoujoge fans far outnumbers the BL fans, like pretty much any other VN discussion place, I see the yaoi term being used quite a few times. Okay, in VNDB maybe it's because the tag is named like this and it could be too much unnecessary work to try to change it now, so they're forgiven for now.
 
Now now. What if a work have romance between two guys but no sex? Yaoi was for porn without plot, but what should we call the works that don't have porn either? Are you guys familiar with the expression Shounen Ai? Here in the west, that's exactly how we call these kinds of work! Well, too bad it's not exactly right. You see, Shounen Ai was a term to describe manga that were inspired by tanbi literature. These stories (both Shounen Ai and tanbi) were about the pursuit of beauty in the form of romance between a older man and a pure and innocent younger one (read as: teens, late teens or young adults. Younger than this is shotacon), with flowery language and unusual kanji. Meaning, the term Shounen Ai in Japan actually refers to pederasty (and that means "love of boys" in greek). Sure, these manga didn't exactly have any porn in it either, but the association of "no porn" and this term was never a thing in Japan. And they don't even use this term anymore, since this is pretty much a dead type of manga style anyway, much like tanbi. They call everything BL and the rest of the tags that gives away if it have porn or not.
 
But what about Bara? The even-more-niche gay romance works, usually created by gay men for a gay audience, full of very masculine guys? Are they also known by the name of BL in Japan, even if they are so different of their female oriented counterpart? No, they aren't called BL... and not Bara either. Bara probably comes from the name of a early popular gay magazine (that's not sold anymore) called Barazoku (translates to rose tribe). But that magazine didn't focus only in manga, it also contained news, short stories, interviews, pornographic pictures and even some space for personal advertisement to search for a romantic partner. It was the first gay magazine to be sold in popular bookshops of Japan, so that's maybe why the association was made. Hey, even BL was once called June, because that was the name of one of the earliest magazines for BL works! Well okay, that was some milestone, but guess japanese publishing industry don't use the association. So, what are more masculine guys romance games/manga called? Guess... ML, or Men's Love. Yep. Although, for manga, they also use Geikomi (as in gay comic). So yeah, if you ever want to look for this type of content in japanese sites, you know what you need to look for.
 
Not BL, but still interesting to mention, maybe the origin of the Yuri term... was a column of Barazoku that tried to appeal for lesbian readers named Yurizoku no Heya (Lily tribe's room) back in the '70s. And yes, Shoujo Ai is used in a similar manner than Shounen Ai, to refer to works that deals with pedophilia (I never saw a yuri manga with a lolicon girl though... but I'm still a yuri noob, there's still much for me to see). Unlike all other BL terms though, Yuri is vastly used in Japan, but GL (or Girl's Love) sometimes pops up here and there.
 
And now, to wrap things up, what's my opinion about all this terms mess? Frankly, I'm a bit torn... I really dislike the misuse of the terms, but how can little me do something to change such widespread terms in the west at this point? I'll also not even try to correct every single person that uses yaoi instead of BL, but now you know that it kinda annoys me a bit. The most important thing is that we can understand each other, even if we use different terms, but at least I tried to raise awareness so you don't embarrass yourself in your trip to Japan. Cheers!

Mystery/romance might not be a rare formula for VNs in general but seems especially popular among Western developers – this probably shouldn't be surprising, as it's very compatible with shorter, linear stories that indie devs usually aim for. Just like One Thousand Lies, which I've reviewed last month, Sepia Tears is a free visual novel available on Steam and mobile devices, which offers a fairly deep, complicated intrigue, relying on its mystery elements to keep the player emotionally and intellectually involved. It's also one of the better known free VNs produced in the West, at least partially thanks to its release date – in early 2013, when it first came out, quality visual novels made outside of Japan were still few and far between, while the official market for localized JP titles was pretty much only starting to develop. The game found its way to a content-starved Western VN community and was pretty highly appreciated. Does it stand the test of time though?
Read the full article at evnchronicles.blogspot.com

Campus Notes-Forget Me Not (Aka The Adventures of the Pointy Teeth, the Spade, and the Beret)
The Setup
Campus Notes immediately stood out to me because it is one of the few Visual Novels that actually is set in a University. In a medium dominated by the stale and overused High School setting it was a breath of fresh air to say the least. Your characters name is Yuta Kiriha and he is a new transfer student of the University of Tsukuba. Typically, College is supposed to be a time of finding your path, forging lifelong friendships, spending many sleepless nights studying last minute for a test, and getting irresponsibly drunk and puking all over yourself. Unfortunately for Yuta, after the opening ceremony he instead runs afoul of several oddballs and a strange doll like girl. Such is the spinning turmoil of fate. Yuta awakes the next morning only to find out that for some unknown reason nearly everyone on campus has completely forgotten who he is. If that wasn't enough after every day they forget him all over again. It is up to Yuta and his merry band of oddballs to uncover the truth behind the lost memories.

Why do harbingers of doom always look like cute girls?
The Characters
Yuta is not the best protagonist I have ever encountered but he is far, far, from being the worst. Yuta is aided in his quest by the three oddballs from before and his new pal Fuma. They all bizarrely have the same struggles that Yuta has so they decide to band together in order to get to the bottom of this phenomenon. The oddball's names are Togi, Sion, and Kaen and they are some of the most unique characters I have experienced in a Visual Novel so far. They are the primary draws of the VN and they are just so much fun! Togi, Sion, and Kaen all have their own quirks and peculiarities and yet they all balance each other out. They're very fleshed out and not your typical tropey VN girl in the slightest. All of them are pursuing science degrees and it shows in their outlook and their theories on the situation. Togi is sarcastic and cynical and easily my favorite. She has a sweet side about her and she is the most overtly flirty one of the group. Sion is brash and the more intellectual of the group. She also loves her line, "I believe only what I can see for myself." Kaen loves gardening and cute things, is pretty tomboyish, and has a bad habit of referring to herself in the third person. Yuta as I mentioned before is decent enough and he has some pretty good lines even though he is often overwhelmed by the strength of the girls personalities. Fuma is a good platonic friend character and I liked how realistic the way Yuta and Fuma met each other came across. Each heroine has their own mini route which gives us a lot more insight into the girls background and backstories. The mini routes all stem from each girls theory of what exactly is the cause of this phenomenon.

(From right to left Sion, Kaen, and Togi)

(Oh and this is Fuma who is busily cursing the fact that he is but a sidekick)
My Two Cents
The mystery in Campus Notes does a pretty good job in moving the story along but it was the weakest part of the Visual Novel for me. What really makes it what it is are the characters and the dialogue between them and Yuta. The dialogue is something that I really loved and a lot of it reminded me of all the weird conversations I would have with own friends. The main problem with Campus Notes is that it is pretty short at most 15 hours and that's only if you really take your time with it. This is most noticeable in the girls routes when they abruptly come to a premature end. It makes sense within the context of the narrative but it still felt unsatisfying. The second problem I had with it was that there are a hardly any cgs in the game. Each girl only has two devoted to them which I thought was a real shame because there were a lot of scenes in the VN that I felt could have easily warranted their own cg. Lastly, there is the problem of the side characters. From what I have been able to determine a lot of these characters are in fact from the other Visual Novels that 4th Cluster has published. I had no idea who these characters were and it felt a bit off when one of them would suddenly appear. It did make me want to play their other releases however, though they have yet to be translated. The ending to the story itself felt a bit anticlimactic after all the setup but I wasn't too terribly disappointed. Despite its faults, it does enough things right for me to want to give it a hearty recommendation. My final verdict for it is a 8/10 it's by far not the best VN I have ever played but I'm still really glad I played it.

Cinderella Phenomenon is a FREEeeee Otome game which you can get on Steam or itch.io. This is the story of Lucette (or whatever you choose to name her), the Crown Princess for the Kingdom of Angielle.
Like all other Otome games I've played, this game has an ongoing mystery and a plot, and so I'd actually recommend the following route order: Rod Karma Rumpel Fritz (locked at start) Waltz (locked at start) Turns out this is also the order the developers recommend. Such a shame I only noticed this today, after having already played it.
Common Route (Light Spoilers):
One idea I've always found interesting is the idea of having a Tsundere be a protagonist. Not those cheap Tsunderes who are only violent to hide their embarrassment. I mean the real Tsunderes who, for one reason or another, have a distaste for people and are generally verbally or physically aggressive towards most others. Do not take 'Tsundere' to be a degrading term that marks the protagonist as a simple 2D cut-out with no real personality. A person may be a Tsundere for any number of reasons. That is what 'depth' is. Her motivations, desires and thoughts are what makes her a character, and not simply the way she acts.
Lucette is called 'Ice Princess' by the denizens of her Kingdom, due to her icy cold heart. That should give you an idea of what kind of protagonist we're dealing with. Because of this protagonist, however, the story was truly unique to read through. It is not often that one gets to see the inner workings of a Tsundere, and I was astonished by how mean she was to everybody, and how selfish she seemed. Towards the start of the game, I quite disliked Lucette, but it's interesting to note this dynamic: Seeing a Tsundere from the outside makes me want to gain her trust, become her friend, melt her cold interior. But seeing her from inside her own head? Knowing her thoughts and thought processes? More often than not I was sad or mad at her. How could she be so... not good?
Regardless, this common route also contained most of the funnier moments of the game. It's always interesting to see Lucette dishing out the sass and verbal abuse, and she even has worthy rivals in the sarcasm department. There's also something quite charming about a Princess struggling with a broom.
A number of characters are introduced during the common route.
Parfait is an incredibly powerful person that, unfortunately, overworks herself to no end, and this is reflected in her sprite, being the most sickly-looking character in the cast. I actually really like that they were able to convey this tidbit through the character sprite. She is a very good person, which makes it all the more hilarious when her honesty lets slip certain scathing comments about people.
Delora is perhaps Lucette's only true rival in vitriol, though perhaps without any real ill-intent. Capable, witty, and, most infuriatingly of all, generally right.
Waltz is a young boy that does puppet shows in the streets, gathering tips in the process. Also known as resident nice guy.
Karma is a person whose narcissism is immense, comparable only to their apparent laziness.
Rod is Lucette's step-brother, who has generally avoided interacting with her.
Fritz is Lucette's personal knight and perhaps the only person she doesn't actively degrade. What a feat.
Rumpel is an amnesiac. He is also an unparalleled flirt. One of the main sources of comedy in this story.
(From here on, spoilers in spoilers, silly)
Rod's Route:
Rod's route is the route which least delves into the real intrigue of the story. For this reason, it is the recommended route to start with.
I just feel bad for the writer. Writing 'Emelaigne' so many times must have been hard.
Karma's Route:
In this route we're given some pieces of the puzzle, but are left mostly in the dark.
Rumpel's Route:
This route throws all the pieces at our face and then doesn't do anything with them. It's great for teasing stuff, I guess.
For the love of god, don't start with this one.
My favourite romance in the whole Visual Novel.
Fritz's Route:
I really like knights. There's something about servitude and dedication... Wait, that doesn't sound good for a healthy relationship.
Waltz's Route:
The culmination of everything. Highly recommended that you read all else first. It will definitely better your experience.
 
Cinderella Phenomenon's greatest feat is perhaps how the story forms a coherent whole. It is a story of stories, and in each of those stories different characters are given the spotlight. This makes it so that, by the end of the entire experience, you have had an opportunity to know everyone, and bond with everyone. Each route is as if a chessboard were laid out with only slightly a different arrangement of the pieces, and we, once again, watch the game slowly play out. At the start, we don't know anything about the other pieces or the board. But as we play through the routes we start learning where the other pieces are, and what they are. We become capable of telling in which direction the game is going, but we have precious little control over it. Lucette may be the protagonist, but we do not truly command her.
It's precisely this feeling of wanting to unravel the mysteries that could become a weakness. I failed to follow the recommended route order and started with Rumpel. Unfortunately for me, Rumpel's route reveals far more of the setting than the other two routes available at the start. While this made Rumpel's route extremely satisfying as my initial experience, it is now hard for me to tell if starting with Rod's route would have made the overall experience more satisfying.
As I said, though, each route tries to tackle different characters and turns of events, meaning that even if you know a lot about the overall mystery, there's always little mysteries and backstory to find in each route that you'll come across in no other.
But I'll be honest. The main reason I read this story, as with most others I read, was for the romance. This game delivered.
Because Lucette is a Tsundere, these are some of my favourite romance stories: melting the ice queen. With cute and kissing CGs to go with them, each romantic interest had a dynamic with our protagonist. I felt some had more chemistry with her, but that is likely just me and others would think differently. The romance is not always the focus, but it is there, and it makes me happy.
And so, by mixing all of the events together, by knowing everybody's stories and ambitions we can choose the perfect story for ourselves. Who did she end up with? With whom did she interact? None of the events is necessarily stuck to any one route, and the possibilities are limitless. If you're willing to, you can imagine your own perfect world, in which you decide what Lucette and those around her did, and how the events unfolded.
If I were to come up with a negative, then it'd be that the choices have no rhyme or reason to them. I didn't even notice I had made the wrong choices until suddenly everything was dead and I got an achievement for it. Thankfully, they have a system specifically for preventing this, so you don't have to consult external guides to get a good ending, and it can even be quite interesting to see how dialogue changes depending on your choice.
Speaking of negatives, the Common Route is an essential component of the story. What this means is that your first route will be better specifically because you can better judge the main character's character growth. Once you finish the first route, if you skip the common route, you'll have 'forgotten' how Lucette was at the start of story, and her growth as a character won't be as vivid and heart-warming in future routes.
 
P.S. I've had this post sitting as a blog Draft for over a week. Only know did I get to finish leaving a few spoiler comments (You can probably tell which ones by how much I don't remember any more).