Funnerific

Appreciate the explanation. I was new to Japanese at the time so I probably missed it. This sure is late though wow.

https://vndb.org/v/all?q=&fil=tag_inc-900.tagspoil-0&rfil=&cfil=&s=title&o=a

Kotori is pretty unique, so it's a really hard request... I think my best suggestion would be https://vndb.org/c11642 Not energetic/cheerful, but should fit the other criteria. Sorry if I missed the mark.

Exclusively VNDB.

This game has some BGM with what I think is hip-hop elements, but that's the only hip-hop element it has. https://vndb.org/v4906 Unless I'm misunderstanding the genre... You can judge the one with the most "influence" for yourself: https://clyp.it/gfzknzot By the way, Akatoki is my biggest "general" recommendation. A VN that is likely to be enjoyed by the widest possible audience.

No, G-senjou doesn't have any SF or fantasy elements.

Suisou Ginka no Istoria is a really strong utsuge... until the true route comes and kind of ruins everything. YMMV though.

While I really liked the game for the most part, the open ending killed it for me. Such a shame.

Where were you looking

me

There's countless issues with your post, but I'll only ask one thing. What the hell does this mean?

A lot of youtubers show their real selves though?

I watch Kizuna Ai like most people, but she doesn't release as many good videos as she used to. I think she uploads so often she burnt out early on. Recently discovered Earth-chan though - apparently the only Russian Vtuber out there so far. She's great, though I wish she uploaded more often Don't forget the subs (English/Japanese, as well as apparently Chinese of idk quality)

Don't simply read through a grammar guide, you should make notes for everything to quickly refer to them later (plus it stimulates your memory as you write it down). DO NOT learn vocab using JLPT N's, aside from N5 and N4 just to get you started, unless you specifically need a JLPT certificate for something. You should read untranslated material (without machine translation), no matter how slow it goes at first, and add words you find to your vocabulary. You can use Memrise or Anki for that, as they would be very helpful in revising those words in a way that you don't spend too much time on those you remember and spend enough time with those you struggle. I personally would recommend grinding 2000 kanji in heaps before any vocab as that would let you overcome the biggest wall, but if you don't want to bother with that then simply use some program that adds furigana to text (idk which one to suggest, I've never used one but I think VNR does that). Never, ever use machine translation.

1. 2004 or older 2. Wouldn't read anything <2000 3. If 2001 itself doesn't count, then only Air. Hated the plot btw. 4. On the technical side of things, obviously not. Story-wise, in my experience, the closer it gets to the 2000 mark the worse it has aged. 2005 and above are generally safe.