Plk_Lesiak

I think VNDB length is often set as the time you need for a single playthrough, rather than how long it'll take you to 100% the game. So it is 5-6 hours to get to your first ending but the route variation is pretty significant. :] And yeah, I very much like the more casual/tame storytelling that most otome games offer. I don't enjoy the romance itself as much as I do with yuri, but everything I've read for the "Otome Month" posts was very much enjoyable. I like using the blog to force some more diversity into my reading schedule BTW, it makes things more interesting. Thank you, I'll always leave a few of those between edits, so pointing that out is helping rather than whining.

Well, I'm doing that now I guess? I don't really put much attention to it now, it's a side thing that I can very easily manage alongside the blog, I was going to push it a bit more when I had more recommendations ready. I mentioned the lack of followers mostly to point out how surprising receiving that review copy was. :]

Uuuh... Does she only like puzzle/dating sim style things? When it goes to VN-like smutfests Demon Master Chris and Sakura Dungeon come to mind, both are simple dungeon crawlers, but really mostly just fanservice vessels.

Maybe... I have a lot of faith in its capability to create problems though. :> PS Is that a new signature? I approve. :3

Hello there Lovely, Lovely People of Fuwa! Today I've published a review of a game that I'm not sure I fully recommend playing, but which was very interesting to go through and shows a lot of promise when it goes to the development team behind it. It's also another freebie, so I encourage you to check out the article, to find out whether you might find it interesting enough to invest some time (and no money) into it. I also have a few announcements: surprisingly, my comically unpopulated Steam curator page received its first review request and a free copy of The Seven Districts of Sin: The Tail Makes the Fox, a quite overlooked, but interesting-looking comedy/romance VN. If it's good enough, I will try to publish a review of it as soon as I'm done with the Otome Month thingy. If not, I will make a short "bonus post" about it and publish it outside of the typical Friday schedule. In less optimistic news, I really wanted to review Cinderella Phenomenon for the otome event, but I've realized that there's no way I'll find the 30+ hours to go through it all and review it properly in the coming weeks, so I'm sadly postponing it indefinitely. Writing about it would make especially little sense soon after a great review of it was published by @Mr Poltroon on his blog, if you haven't seen it yet, do it now. In its place, a will write a post about a rather tiny, but quite interesting and unusual VN, that is worth looking at for completely different reasons than CP, but should be a lot of fun to write (and hopefully read) about nonetheless. For now, I hope you'll enjoy this week's post! Next week there's supposed to be another large Steam sale coming, so I'll try to provide another list of juicy OELVN discounts. PS Also, while definitely no one cares about it, I've corrected the final score on my Sepia Tears review to 3,5. I've realized that game deserves more credit for the things it does right and also doesn't really belong with other VNs I've given that rating to. Have a great week everyone!

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

Japanese people seem to have a lot of faith in the problem-solving capabilities of semen.

I chose "never", which is not precisely true, but is still closer to it than "sometimes". I mean, I must really expect (or experience) some problems to actually look into a Readme file, don't remember the last time when that happened.

Eeeeh, well, I'm not the most knowledgeable person in this regard, but how many prominent "VN" companies don't rely on h-content with at least some of their games and marketing? It would definitely be a huge hit for most of them.

Well, that's for sure, considering there would be no eroge in existance.

...?

Really? I don't know if I can enjoy my VNs fully without all those close-ups into the toilet bowl and high-detailed flushing scenes. I would be missing a crucial element of character's life and development.

So it's basically a scenario in which @Okami is the God-Emperor of Earth?

I decided to necro-post a bit instead of making a new thread, maybe someone will be able to help with this one: I'm still working on my project and reading into all the VN publishers' history, one thing made me wonder. While Sekai Project came out of a fan translation team and JAST seems to have its own ties to the VN fandom, MangaGamer is a rare case of Japanese VN industry trying to get into the West with their products. My question is: who typically works on translation projects for MG, do they also hire people from the fan community, or depend on gaming TL professionals? Anyone knows anything about it?

Yes! Althtough I have a feeling that Fuwa would become a very bitter and quiet place, so I don't like the tradeoff. ;p

Depending on how you look at it. I can only speak for myself, but after like 8-9 months of really prioritizing reading VNs over any other past-time I haven't got to fully reading any Kamige. They're just that long and demanding, especially for someone with unpredictable schedule and not that much of free time (or maybe just horrible time-management skills, it's the same effect in the end). So, for many, reading through Grisaia series and a few smaller titles might actually take months upon months of time - and even the relative "veterans", if you look at the "first 5 VNs I've read" thread, don't necessarily have 5+ years of experience and every major VN read. Plus I think people tend to be more active in places like this closer to beginning of their path, when they are excited about the new hobby and everything feels fresh. :> That too.

It's super-common for people to start with Grisaia or read it very early in their VN experience. After all, you can't say something's your favorite VN if you haven't read it yet (or you shouldn't at least). --- And well, still Analogue.

This one is still waiting on my to-read quoue after I've got through the prologue, but I've heard so many good things about it I really want to leave it for a moment when I'll have some free time and possibility to enjoy it to the fullest. :] Great review, there's just one thing I will diasgree with and that is the "yuritopia" of many Japanese VNs, in which everyone's gay by default and nothing has to be elaborated upon. No social stigma, no uncertainty. I mean, it's so far from any imaginable RL situations that it takes me out of the experience a little bit. But I guess it's part of the formula, just like BL traditionally didn't deal with gay identity in any tangible ways. I think it's changing though? @MaggieROBOT?

Improved my life? Disputable, although, if you count all VNs with cute girls, they led me to a hobby more creative/compelling than my past ones and slightly higher self-esteem. Made me feel better at a specific moment? Surely, but that can be said about harem anime too and its not like I have any respect for those.

More like "purposefully ignored its existence", it's like you normally don't mention Pornhub when discussing movie genres. And I was just joking, but Moege (especially if we define it narrowly, as fluffy romance games with multiple routes and focus on fairly lighthearted SoL content) do constitute this somewhat unfortunate core of very iterative, often rather boring and disappointingly shallow VNs. I don't have anything against the genre per se or try to take away anything from shit-ton of truly great VNs that fit into it, but I'm actually drawn towards titles that escape most of these elements and try to offer something different. I personally think that's where the most intriguing and compelling stuff lies - what doesn't prevent me from enjoying very standard SoL and romance both in anime and VNs.

I have a feeling that even in-context, that quote will be used against me one day.

Well, there's also all the games that escape the typical, multi-route fluffy romance scheme and differentiate themselves through artstyle, like pretty much all the Innocent Gray titles (yeah, after giving it a bit of thought I would argue that Flowers is definitely not a moege series, considering its story structure and main themes) and things like Danganronpa. Plus maybe some of the more mature-themed chuunige, like Dies Irae? There is a bit to choose from. :> Actually, I have a feeling if we would delete all Moege, JP VN scene would suddenly look very innovative and not dependent on overused tropes and juvenile sexual fantasies. I'm not joining the anti-moege squad though. I sometimes want to turn my brain off with something fluffy and colourful, and that Princess Evangeline copy awaits to aid me in my hour of need (EDIT: Or more like a week of need? That's one important reason I don't have many moege's on my VNDB list, they're all so frickin' long :<).

Oooohhh, I think it's a huge issue with all seiyuus - it's hard to express how happy I am when the female cast sounds like actual human beings in a JP VN or anime series. This goes to singing too, you can just contrast Kana Hanazawa singing with a somewhat natural voice and Kana Hanazawa impersonating a mouse. With all respect to all those liking Renai Circulation, I definitely prefer VAs not overdoing stuff.

I know it's slightly beside the point, but it's also mentioned in a way when it comes to character CDs... I'm always amazed by how many seiyuus are also competent singers. I don't get obsessed with voice actors (well, especially male ones, it's easy to imagine why), but a voice actress that's good at her main job and sings well will usually get me (moderately) excited. I guess I have a thing for people with multiple talents, probably because of how much I lack any artistic abilities whatsoever...

All those factions emerging, soon we'll have to set a legal framework and rules of engagement, before that total weeb war scenario actually ensues. --------- I wonder if I've even finished something that counts as a "pure" moege? Ace Academy and Fragment's Note would be the closest to that I guess? And maybe Flowers? How do you categorize Flowers? Anyways, I'll say Analogue and CUPID, for obvious-non-moege.