starlessn1ght
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Posts posted by starlessn1ght
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11 minutes ago, Black Sands Entertainment said:
Vritra, King of the Asura – Before the internal fighting of the Deva, there were many families of the old bloodlines similar to each other. The Asura were one of those lines. They were most like the Deva in strength and technique but their ideologies were completely at odds. Vritra was a ruler who did not wish control over his people. Asura grew independent of each other and wished to integrate with humanity when they left the Rift. The Deva used the actions of a few of the wilder Asura to condemn the rest and consorted with the Anunnaki and Titans to destroy them. In an effort to save his people, Vrtira surrendered to the Deva. He knew his people stood no chance because they were not united under one cause. The Deva created a massive dimensional tare underground to house the most dangerous prison that ever existed and sealed all the Asura there for the rest of eternity. The Asura now knew the reality of their weakness from being such independent souls and if they were ever to get their chance again, they would unite under Vritra and put the Deva down for good.
Ok, so my choice is Silver. Based on his character, silver will give him a sense of balance and justice, as well as compassion, that are results of his wisdom. As silver is also closer to white, it also represents his kindness. Plus, it's the color that fits him best imo. I would prefer a lighter silver than the one on that image, though.
However, my suggestion is still valid. About those triangular shapes and sharp lines, I think you should consider making a few changes at least. Like, I think it would work if Vritra were a Deva different from the rest, with his exterior appearance representing his Deva origin, while still different on the outside. But since he is an Asura, I think those forms do not work really well. You can still convey strength using square forms, or try rounded triangles to convey power and at the same time kindness.
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Could you please write more details about his personality or about his character in general? There is too few information.
Also, what is your intention with his design? You say he's not evil, but the amount of triangular shapes and sharp lines he has says otherwise. If you are trying to 'trick' the player with something like "Jerk with a Heart of Gold" or subverting a trope, then it's fine. However, if your intention is not something like that, you should work again on his shapes before deciding any color. But then it's hard to say anything concrete unless I have more details about him.
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@TexasDice, right, I got your point. I just don't think it's good to label those kind of reviews objective, because people will understand something completely different (like the MAL elitists' definition of objectivity). A lot on my reviews is influenced by my personal tastes, and I'll try to make an effort to make what is heavily based on my tastes more clear next time I review a VN. However, personal bias will still integrate my ratings, and I don't think one should try to get rid of it. Because my tastes can be similar to other people's and sometimes people's opinion on a certain subject does not differ that much, with some exceptions.
Also, do you read Clephas' blog entries? His comments are exactly the way you want. He always makes it clear when there is a definite bias on his opinion on a certain VN. He hates moege, but calls some of them kamige, etc. Plus, his opinions on VNs evaluates them with its own terms and not with some pre-conceived-so-called-objective notions many anime fans use.
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26 minutes ago, Decay said:
If you want to be able to get across the subtleties of the differences between one game and another with the same rating, then you have to do so in the text of your review.
What if comparing it to other work doesn't fit in the review, but at the same time when readers see the two they will assume they are equal in quality?
I mean, people who've read lots of VNs also won't be comparing every single game they've previously played to the reviewed VN.
1 minute ago, Kaguya said:Because the way we're working doesn't allow it. I can only give it +0,5 or -0,5
Yeah, that's a problem.
(Hey, what is this salt thing? It's been here for quite some time, but I never understood it since the beginning).
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30 minutes ago, Kaguya said:
Then say there comes a game like, Erect, which I'd give an 8.7 to.
Well, normally, I'd just leave it be... But I can't do that. And so I'd usually end up taking it to an 8.5 - that's reasonable, right?
Why you cant leave it at that? It would solve all the problems.
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26 minutes ago, TexasDice said:
All I want, is that the author of a review considers a viewpoint that is different from their own. I am not asking anyone to censor their own opinion, all I want is people to throw in a few words for the people who wouldn't agree with you in addition to your subjective opinion. Because it makes it more valuable and gives the reader more insight.
What you ask seems fine, I just wouldn't call that objective or trying to be objective. Also, that is very hard to do, because one can't simply see through the tastes of other people. You can't recommend a space opera to anyone who likes space operas, as even those have specific tastes when it comes to that.
For example, I hate satires. If I watched a satire anime, I would dislike it. However, I can't simply say 'this anime is good for people who like satires', because satire fans have specific tastes I do not know on what constitutes a good satire. I, for once, hate Grisaia comedy, but tons of people love it. I cant just recommend it to anyone who likes comedy because lots of those people also do not like Grisaia's comedy.
That's why I think the reader should decide if the reviewer's points were legit and if he would like the work or not. It's easier that way.
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6 minutes ago, Kaguya said:
And yet it averages 7.6 on VNDB... Probably because of the lack of other games of the sort translated, lol.
Alright. I prefer to keep the scoring as is.
Why? Because while I'd like to have no score at all, as long as we have one, I prefer it to be as detailed as possible.
The biggest alternative I've seen so far would be a star system... And that'd really suck. 1~5 stars would make me want to kill myself while giving scores to things. There is so much difference between games I'd rate 7 and 8 that I wouldn't feel comfortable rating things.
If it were up to me, we'd go full 1/100, rather than the current 1/20 system we're running, too.
Take my first review, Haruka, for example. I thought it was too low for an 8 and too high for an 8.5, and I wanted to give it something in between because neither would feel right, but evil bats didn't let me
There's a world of difference between Rose Guns Days, Evolimit and Dies Irae in quality... And I'd hate the thought of lumping them together with the same amount of stars, for example.
A "recommended, maybe and not recommended" section would be better than the stars, but it also brings its own set of problems.
Ultimately, I prefer to keep things as-is. It's classy, calls more attention than stars and would prevent me a lot of headaches.
Kaguya, you share all my thoughts. Three stars are way too limited and can make up horrible equalities. I already hate the MAL system of no decimals (like it means I like Hibike!Euphonium as much as I like Black Bullet).
Japanese people usually prefer the x/100 as I've seen, and I endorse it as well.
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5 minutes ago, Nosebleed said:
If it all comes down to what do you replace the x/10 with, and "nothing at all" isn't an option, I'm sticking with my salt container idea.
I'd be ok with a salt container if it was sectioned in 10 equal parts.
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5 hours ago, TexasDice said:
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It's not too much to ask for a reviewer to step back and ask themselves "I didn't like this at all, but is there anyone I would recommend this to and why?" or "I really love this, but is there an audience who wouldn't?" in order to ensure that as many people as possible can take something away from the critique?
When people as for objective reviews, they don't mean to ask for a machine typing factual words, they just want the author to consider other perspectives, rather than stubbornly hang onto their own throughout the entire thing.
While this seems reasonable to ask, it is not in practice. Take my thoughts in SAO anime for example. I absolutely love it, especially the Aincrad arc. And I honestly cannot see why someone would dislike Aincrad, and yet tons of people do. I've asked myself a lot of times why people dislike it when it is, in my opinion, the recipe for making an awesome anime. The most reasonable conclusion I got from reading reviews is that people did not actually get the anime. I'm not gonna bother trying to explain it, but as it is, I simply cannot name a group of people that would dislike SAO. I think it varies too much from person to person, nothing that can be grouped categorically.
4 hours ago, TexasDice said:Throughout the three parts, the story develops from a classical "hentai-porn"-plot into an engaging story with strong character development.
You are not being objective here at all. What constitutes an 'engaging' story is very very relative and so is 'strong' character development.
Actually, most of the times you use an adjective on a review, you're being subjective.
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3 minutes ago, Down said:
Do you guys want me to split some posts in here into a topic about (non)objective reviews? I think batman is eating is keyboard atm.
Please, no. Do not turn Fuwa into MAL. Nobody wants to see that.
Objectivity just means one thing: people think their opinion is superior to everyone else's.
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15 minutes ago, Fred the Barber said:
@Down, you brought up serious reviews. I'm on board with that. Here's the New York Times book reviews: http://www.nytimes.com/section/books/review. The masthead for each is apparently "'Title' by Author", and the first paragraph. No read/don't read recommendation. Certainly no rating. Looks good to me.
Here. Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/batman-v-superman-is-so-desperate-to-be-taken-seriously-it-forgets-to-have-fun/2016/03/23/3fb28f10-f0f5-11e5-a61f-e9c95c06edca_story.html
1.5/5 stars
Detroit News, also. http://www.detroitnews.com/story/entertainment/2016/03/23/review-batman-v-superman-exhausting-showdown/82151448/
Grade C.
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1 hour ago, Fred the Barber said:
On the topic of Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic, and I'll add VNDB: these services are completely different from a single reviewer's score precisely because they are populist. Everybody gets a vote, and so you the thing I usually find useful to examine is the weighted average that these services put front-and-center. Granted, many people like to argue that masses of people are dumb, but in practice that argument doesn't usually hold water, and I'll point to the relatively rational average VN ratings on VNDB and relatively rational average movie rankings on Rotten Tomatoes as a good example of that.
Except you're not taking into consideration that many scores from Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes come from news sites and newspapers, and a lot of them only have a single reviewer's score.
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4 minutes ago, TexasDice said:
Because they can't. Visual Novels are not a genre, they're a medium. Comparing two things that have no similarities other than 2D-sprites and a bottom screen textbox without any regard for the intended audience is wrong and leads to an incorrect conclusion.
Both are forms of art, whose main objective is to affect the readers emotions and intellect. The comparison is just how successful they are in doing what they're trying to do. You can compare a math teacher to a doctor, for example, in how good both of them are in their respective professions, even though their jobs are different. (Plz dont say Imouto Paradise isnt trying to do that. It is. Even nukiges are. They are trying to bring the sexual arousal, which is an emotion, and every work of art has the ideas of its authors input, thus there are always messages and themes, no matter if its a nukige or a nakige).
9 minutes ago, TexasDice said:You can't compare a 30-minute long, narrated documentary about lions in Africa with something like Batman vs Superman.
That's only because documentaries aren't pieces of fiction or forms of art, a movie like BvS is.
9 minutes ago, TexasDice said:They can be. And should.
No, they can't. And should not. People will always be biased for their life experience, tastes, etc. When you're playing a VN, you're interpreting things you're way and you're experiencing it through your personality, that is shaped from your life experience.
Nobody is going to see a VN objectively, thus there's no point in attempting that either. VNs are meant to affect you personally, not follow a bunch of rules that can not apply every time, as the medium is constantly progressing.
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Just now, TexasDice said:
You say the people who would fall for a total scale a dumb, but at the same time compare two VNs in entirely different genres to each other, proving Nosebleed's argument.
Nosebleed implies they cannot be compared. I'm not proving his argument, because I think they can be compared, yes. Just not 'objectively', because such thing does not exist in reviews.
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5 minutes ago, Zenophilious said:
Ooooor, they could just like serious stories better than nukige without agreeing with your Puritanical ideology? I'm out, this is why I hate talking with you, you're incapable of not bringing this up any time you post here.
What? Dude, I'm not saying anything about my opinion, seriously. I'm not talking about my opinion on ero or ecchi, you've misunderstood me.
I'm just saying some people have the wrong notion a serious story is high art and ecchi/ero is low art.
EDIT: People who just prefer serious stories would not discredit the review score, because it's just a personal preference. People who think ecchi and ero are cancer, on the other hand, think a work of those is incapable of being better than a serious story, and anyone who rates like that is not reviewing things correctly or something.
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5 minutes ago, Nosebleed said:
But that's the thing, a lot of people don't really give a shit and just look at the scores and end up placing the numerical value above all else because that's the easiest thing to do, it happens and it's something you have to factor in whether you like it or not.
Okay, let's follow your first example. People who think an ecchi imouto eroge cant be better than a nakige probably dislike ecchi and think pandering and ecchi and ero are cancer to the industry. Now you rate Imouto Paradise an 8/10. The person just looks at the number and... Goes on? This person will not be interested in the game despite your rating because it's a genre he or she dislikes. They won't believe the rating in fact, for rating a work focused on imoutos so high. So taking off the rating will make no difference here.
5 minutes ago, Nosebleed said:What I'm arguing for though is the helpfuless of a numerical system as a whole, and to me it's not really very helpful in the grand scheme of things. It's much more helpful to have a final comment saying "I enjoyed this and you should buy it for these reasons" than to have a comment saying "I rate this game 7/10"
Why not both? Also, the pros and cons are pretty summed up and they already do exactly what you're saying.
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8 minutes ago, Zenophilious said:
Yeah, maybe, if you don't read the entire review and try to think as little as possible. You're also not mentioning situations where the score clashes heavily with the rest of the review, and it really makes little to no sense other than trying to generate interest and page hits with scores that will piss people off and make sure they comment.
I've never seen something like that, but to solve such a situation, it's simple: ask the reviewer to change his score or the review, and if he doesn't, remove the review.
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1 minute ago, Nosebleed said:
I might think Imouto Paradise is an 8/10 and Little Busters is a 4/10 in their own respective fields, but just looking at the scores makes it sound like I think there's one sole objective scale and Imouto Paradise is clearly superior to Little Busters when most people will think that's a dumb statement to make. If there were no scores however I could explain why I thik Imouto Paradise is amazing in its genre and Little Busters fails in its genre, listing pros and cons and not giving a numerical value to it, thus letting the reader evaluate it. That's the main problem with numeric scales, they're not all encompassing and are too subjective to give any real help as far as judging a game goes, it just says this person thinks a game is a 9/10 but I have no idea what a 9/10 means to them and more to the point a 9/10 to me probably means something else entirely.
Only if the person is dumb, he'll think this so-called objective scale exists. If Imouto Paradise is amazing in its genre and LB! is not, you're saying it is superior, obviously. There's no difference.
If you want to explain stuff, then do it. It is not necessary to remove the rating. You're trying to tell me an ecchi imouto work being superior to a tear-jerking coming of age story cannot be true, but I disagree. I love Little Busters!, but I don't believe there is such a distinction between high and low art, like many people do. Thus, an ecchi imouto story can be perfectly better than an emotional nakige, yes, if the first does what it's trying to do better than the latter.
But, as you said, many people would not believe in that. Taking out the score would make no difference. A score will not force people to believe your review, people who do that and think reviews are 100% objective are dumb.
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Speaking here because I felt it was necessary.
I am strongly against the removal of the scores, and yes, I think they are necessary. I mean, even professional critics use scores (just look at Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes). Without scores, you have no comparison, no scale, and the review will feel much more difficult to understand and comprehend what the reviewer really thought about the work. The review contains both positive and negative aspects of the work, but it's difficult for the readers to know how much those points actually affected the VNs.
Scores are a pattern that helps readers situate the work in a common scale, when comparing to other works. When I see a 9 I remember the best pieces of fiction I've read for example, and that would make me see how much the reviewer liked the game to give it such a big score. Scores help users understand how the reviewer really feels about the work in a scale that everyone can understand.
4 minutes ago, babiker said:but better than having them be mandatory, or at least make it be the reviewer's choice.
I think this is a good choice. Give reviewers the choice to do what they're most comfortable with. I was planning to submit a review soon, but with no scores, I would have no choice but to change my decision.
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On 3/10/2016 at 2:04 PM, Kiriririri said:
れでぃー means lady. It's the "joke" that Akatsuki is always saying about becoming a wonderful lady.
Shouldn't that be in katakana? since "Lady" is an English word.
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I guess the first sentence is: 一人前の. (Can mean a portion of food for 1 person, or something along the lines of "becoming an adult, or growing up, or acquiring traits of an adult", which I think it's more suitable).
The 2nd one, I dunno, cuz I'm at the beginning stages of jap (probably implying now he's grown up, he's able to deal with some stuff or do some stuff).
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NOTES BEFORE I BEGIN THIS: Although I left the forums, I decided to keep writing reviews here, because I liked it at lot last time. Also, I’m currently learning Japanese, but I’m still in an early stage. But this VN was very easy to be understood using Chiitrans, with ATLAS and the jparser, so even if your Japanese knowledge is limited you can play it. And, last but not least, I didn’t play the H-scenes, so you won’t find any comment about them in this review.
WARNING: This review contains light common route spoilers. The other routes won’t be spoiled, since I assume most people here did not play this VN. The overall section will be left completely spoiler-free.
“Kunimi Koutarou belongs to the literature club of his school with the goal of someday becoming a novelist. But there’s a type of story that he has never been able to write, which is a “romance story”. And that’s all because had a bad experience with first love when he was still young.
Now with the coming of spring his own school and 2 other schools in the region will turn unified, bearing birth to new encounters. For Koutarou it means that he now has the unfortunate luck of sitting next in class to his first love Sena, as well his former best friend Ayane.
Now his regular days suddenly turn into those like you would only see in romance novels…”Story (7.50/10)
SpoilerThis game’s common route is not “contentless” like a lot of common routes I’ve played. Thus, it gave me hopes concerning the game’s story.
The common routes features the protagonist in his new school life, in which other schools were integrated with his and his childhood friend returns. What is nice about the common route is that, not only it introduces the characters and leaves us curious about them, but also it features flashbacks about how the protagonist met two of the heroines (Sena and Ayane) and the quite ‘unresolved’ way things were before they got into his life again. Ayane was behaving strangely around Koutarou, and he assumed this was because he didn’t keep a promise to her. It was nice seeing they making up. Then, there is the ‘Literature Club’ that just has a single member, which is Koutarou. His club would get disbanded if he didn’t get more members. Then, Koutarou recruits Sena and Ayane, and they participate in a collaboration with the ‘Cinema Club’ to promote their club, that is making a movie whose scenario was written by the protagonist, starring Sena as the main actress.
Leaving the common route aside, which was a really nice start, the first route I played was Ayane’s route. Storywise, a complete disappointment. There is almost no way I can spoil that route, because simply nothing happens in it. It’s just ichaicha and raburabu. It began very nicely, though. The way the romance was developed was very praiseworthy. But, that’s a very small portion of the route. The rest is spent uselessly.
Next route I played was Yui’s route. The blonde loli. This is the only one that has a plot per se, but not the best one. Its common route branch is about a group that is trying to win the elections against the current student council president, Rinka. If they win, the flower bed that Yui takes care of every single day diligently will be demolished as well as the old schoolhouse. Yui’s route revolves around that conflict, but it’s not just that. There’s more to it than what it appears to be. The conflict is nicely developed, but too much time is spent with ichaicha and the romantic development is the weakest.
Then, Rinka’s route. The student council president. This was my favorite route. No, it did not have a plot, but it managed to be very good without one. First, the way the romance was enfolded was well done, not as well as in Ayane’s route, but still well done. The rest of the route is spent with mundane activities, but it was so well executed, it didn’t really feel like it. There were cool romantic moments, and even the ichaicha (which I’m usually not fond of) was nicely done. Despite not having a plot, this route has a lot of ‘character’. It’s mostly about the heroine’s development and it didn’t need conflicts nor drama to achieve that. In this sense, it was a very unique route; it proves that a route can be good even if it has no plot.
Lastly, Sena’s route. This one was written by Nijima Yuu, the one who wrote the famous VN Hatsuyuki Sakura. I thought this one would end up like Ayane’s route, but it did not. First, the romantic development was weak, like in Yui’s route. Second, the rest of the route was contentless and empty. That is, until certain point. This route was crazy. That is the most appropriate word I could find. Nothing happens, until a big plot twist near the end happens. It is very abrupt and the lack of proper build-up makes it even more unnatural. The plot twist explains some unanswered questions, but it turns the heroine into a dislikeable character. It’s just a really crazy route.
And then, there’s the true route (Last Episode), that ‘tries’ to make up for the craziness of Sena’s route. And it was good, in my opinion. It gave more dimension to the protagonist, and it had a satisfying ending. It is a nice conclusion.
The VN does a great job when it delivers its most impactful scenes. Some romantic moments, sad moments, bittersweet moments are undoubtedly remarkable. Each route has its own moments, even the ones whose quality isn’t that high. Ayane’s had a very romantic scene, Rinka’s had many of those as well, Yui’s route had one very sad scene and Sena’s route had some very happy moments and that ‘crazy’ moment. The Last Episode is only remarkable, though, when it comes to the ending.
Koikake has a ‘restart’ and ‘hope’ theme. It’s about despite loss and failure; you can restart everything and try again, you should do it, and you shouldn’t lose hope. The two routes that deal with this more intensely are Yui’s and the Last Episode. I honestly thought it would walk the cynical path, but this is a moege after all… Rinka’s and Ayane’s routes didn’t present the theme as nicely though, specially Ayane’s. The VN went to extremes to defend its message, thus some characters did what most people would consider dumb or crazy (not that they wouldn’t do the same thing). Honestly, though, it would be a lot better if the VN was more cynical.
Pacing was good, most of the times. The slow paced story helped to create a more soothing mood and relaxing. However, it got too slow paced sometimes, especially in the middle of Yui’s route and in the Last Episode.
As for the setting, it’s just fine. Nothing original, since it’s the same high school thing. But in this case, the game used a little more from its setting, since the town was a source of memories and inspiration to a certain heroine, and it directly affected the story. However, not much of the town itself is explored; there is some history about the town’s name and some places are visited by the characters, but that’s it. It would have benefited more if it explored more that department.
Another very good thing about the game are the dialogues. They aren’t as “inutile” as in many VNs. Like, some VNs spend lots of time with its characters discussing the color of one’s hair or how certain movie was one. There are those conversations, but they are usually a lot shorter, which is way more pleasant. Interactions and bonds between characters are nicely reflected through the dialogues, and it makes the whole experience more interesting, as there are a lot of impactful lines in different ways along the VN.
In the end, the story was certainly not that strong. But it was a lot better than what I was expecting after playing Ayane’s route. The routes had very different qualities because there were four different writers. This was better than giving everything to Ayane’s writer, for example, though. With that being said, it couldn’t achieve anything impressive, but it was satisfying.
Characters (6.57/10)
SpoilerThis is the weakest aspect of the game. It’s still decent, though.
The first failure of Koikake when it comes to characters was not leaving much space to the main cast in the Last Episode. Actually, it introduced a new character with a sprite who also didn’t have an important role. Only two characters are actually really important in the true route: the protagonist and one of the girls. At least, the other heroines were thematically relevant in their own routes, so it doesn’t get that bad. It’s easy to make this mistake, though. It’s the problem of a ‘main heroine’; writers assume the other girls just need romance and their own conflicts unrelated to the bigger picture and it’s fine, since they’re not the main heroine. Except it’s not.
Another failure is the lack of meaningful relationships among the girls or even side characters. Also an ‘easy’ mistake to make. Since it’s romance, writers will assume the only relationships needed are between each heroine and the protagonist. But it’s not. VNs in which the characters have bonds “among” them and also between the heroines succeed much more. Even in the common route, exploring the friendship between Ayane and Sena would’ve been a good idea, and it would create a friendlier atmosphere, like Rewrite (basically the only thing that Koikake’s common route is behind Rewrite’s). Koutarou plays a nice role in each heroine’s life, though; at least it succeeds in what it does.
And the worst thing about the characters is that they weren’t remarkable in any way. The most remarkable was the protagonist, and he is one of those so-called ‘nonentity’ protagonists… See what I’m talking about? This game lacks depth when it comes to characters; most of them do not have a ‘distinct’ backstory or something that stands out. Yui and Sena are the only ones who kinda have a backstory that is not about how they met the protagonist, but in Yui’s case it’s just too generic, and in Sena’s case it’s more to explain some stuff and not really to add it to her character. Besides, the characters’ personalities were not remarkable. There’s a tsundere, a kind osananajimi, a cute loli and a nice senpai. As generic as you can get. What stood out from the protagonist, though, was the fact that he was a writer and the way writing impacted his life and his self.
As for character development, the only character that had real development was Rinka. And it was nicely done. As I mentioned before, the route didn’t use plot and conflict to do it; it did it in a natural, mundane way, using dialogues mostly in its favor. I really like when character development is tied with the romance, and this was an example. The heroine evolved with the protagonist’s help and doing some things that could fulfill what she wanted. However, despite being nicely executed, in substance, it’s not much: her development isn’t that impactful or significant as it could have been.
Last but not least, when it comes to ‘liking’ the characters, it did a very good job. I did not dislike any of the heroines (except for…) and I came to like them more after their routes, specially Rinka. The best girl is Ayane, but Rinka is still very close. I didn’t really love any character, though, like bringing them to a special place in my heart or anything. The side characters were nice, and the protagonist was nice enough for a generic protagonist (at least he isn’t very perverted), the ‘writing’ thing makes him more interesting as well.
Art (8.10/10)
SpoilerBefore I begin discussing art, there’s a common misconception that I need to clear up. A lot of people seem to think that “pretty art = 10/10” when that is far from being true. Art is not just about being pretty. Art has an informative and emotional value and will shape the VN’s experience in many different ways. Of course, prettiness is still important, though.
First, the character design. Sena’s(the first from left to right) design’s strongest point is that it transcends cuteness when it comes to appeal. Her design calls attention and causes curiosity. It’s not the best one, though, when it comes to that. A pity, since she’s the main heroine. It also gives some good amount of information, but it could’ve done a lot more in this area. Her pink jacket adds to her a friendly, kind impression which matches with her personality. She has a blue thing ‘beneath’ her pink clothes, and this also works pretty well. Sena’s true colors will be revealed to the player later, and then she will be wearing full blue clothes. On her silhouette you can see some triangular forms, which is good, since it creates conflict, and she’s also full of circular shapes on the surface, that suggests her friendly nature. But beyond that, there isn’t much, the character designer (Kimishima Ao, I suppose) could have worked more on that ‘true colors’ thing. Sena’s easily recognizable both among other character from Koikake and among other VN girls, which is good, but her silhouette isn’t that remarkable, though.
Ayane’s design (the one in the middle) has two interesting things. First, her hair. When she was a child, she was stricter, thus her hair had a squared shape. She changed(besides the tsundereness) and her hair also did. The squared shape was abandoned and it gave place to the circular and triangle shapes. The second interesting thing are her clothes. In contrast with Sena’s design, she has the blue cloth ‘covering’ the light yellow one. And this is pretty appropriate, considering that she is a tsundere. Beneath the serious blue there is a bright yellow side. The pink choice for her hair has little to no meaning; pink hair is used for any archetype, so… And another weak aspect of her design is that is completely bland. She’s pretty, but that’s it. It doesn’t really call much attention and it’s not recognizable among other VN girls. It also doesn’t offer anything unique.
And then there’s Yui’s design. This one is the best among the heroine’s designs. First, her hair is all composed of circular shapes, even its tips are curved. This fits her well, since she is a kind, cute loli. And then, there are the flowers theme, that actually have a meaningful purpose, given that she takes care of the flower bed and it has an emotional connection with her. Her green ribbon reminds us of nature, and also fits her well because of the flowers thing. And there’s the black stuff. Her skirt is black, and she has black flower buttons. Her casual outfit is also composed of a black thing near her neck. I found this awkward in the beginning and I thought it was a bad choice. But after you learn more about her through her route, you’ll see that it was actually a pretty good choice. Her design is also the cutest, probably one of the cutest I’ve ever seen for a loli. In this way, it stands out among a lot of other characters. My only complaint is that her silhouette lacks a little more to be more recognizable. Also, something praiseworthy are her poses. They add much more cuteness and fit her well in her shy moments, happy, or sad.
Rinka’s design, however, is the blandest. First, the excessive amount of blue in her design makes the design monotonous and uninteresting. Second, there are plenty of girls that look similar to her, so her recognizability is close to zero. Also zero uniqueness and originality. And third, the misleading aspect of her design. When I first saw her, I was interested, not because her design stood out or anything, but because she looked like a kuudere, plus there was the student council president thing. But I was disappointed. The blue in her clothes and hair suggest a strict and cold person, which is the opposite of what she is. I imagined a very cold president, but she’s not. She’s one of those senpais that act like onee-chans. The squared shapes in her design, that also suggest seriousness and strictness, makes it even worse. Well, at least she’s pretty.
And the protagonist design is the worst. It’s pretty common to have this kind of design for VN protagonists, with no meaning, nothing outstanding. But it’s still a failure, as a nonentity protagonist also is. If you put a list of all VN protagonist’s images, I bet you’d never recognize him even if you keep looking to his image for one hour nonstop. Bland, weak, bad.
The side characters have all decent designs, the two best ones, being Shino’s and Natsuko’s.
When it comes to consistency, this VN does a good job. However, there are two major exceptions: Koutarou and Sena. As if it wasn’t enough to have the protagonist with a bland look, they also give him a hundred different faces. For example:
He looks like two different people. “Oh, that’s just because they want different looking otakus to all self-insert themselves.” Oh, then they should just give him two proper East eyes and black hair, it would have been way easier.
And then, there’s Sena.
Ao stretched her face in the first picture, thus making it look very awkward. It destroyed the CG. A pity, since a lot of Sena’s CGs would’ve been just perfect if they were more consistent. There’s also this one:
In that image, since she isn’t looking up her nose shouldn’t be right under her eye. Although we see her from the side, her nose should be lower than it is, because she is looking straight, the angle might give a different impression, though.
Here there’s an image of her actually looking up. And the nose is exactly where it should be. See what I’m talking about?
Rinka’s artist also had some small issues with consistency, but they were, as I said, small. So, they aren’t worth pointing out. Overall, the consistency was good.
The choice of using CGs at certain points was very well done in most cases. This VN had a lot of remarkable moments and the CGs did what they should do, that is make those moments even more remarkable and outstanding. It’s impressive how this VN can turn a simple moment into something special through the use of CGs. However, certain moments lacked CGs. For example, too much of Yui’s CGs were wasted with ichaicha and some other more important moments were left with no CG. And, the end of Sena’s route has no CG. It was a very impactful moment and it definitely deserved one. But the good thing is that most of the best moments each one had their own CG. In Yui’s case, for example, the lack of CGs for some moments in her route is compensated by CGs in the climax of her route, that was much more impactful than those other moments.
The color palette is also praiseworthy. I liked the mixture of pink and green in Ayane’s route. The green is very fitting in this VN, since it delivers a very soothing feeling. Something I haven’t mentioned before, this VN is quite ‘iyashikei-ish’, like those things that relax your mind and give you piece, like Non Non Biyori.(However, not fully iyashikei, since there’s the ‘crazy’ factor and the drama). The green adds a lot to it. And the pink of Ayane’s hair gave a lot of vibrance to the CGs, creating a very distinct beauty. Pink is also used a lot in other routes, because of the sakura thing. I know it’s cliché, but still the VN knew where to use it. It wasn’t overboard, or like in the backgrounds, which would be excessive and make players sick of it. It was used in very special moments.
The blue is also used in mysterious, enchanting moments. It was pretty well done the way it brought a feeling of nostalgia, and at the same time, curiosity and uneasiness. It also made up some pretty good romantic moments. One complaint, though, is that the game’s sunset is not very pretty; it’s a kind of sick, graceless orange.
Koikake also did well when it comes to lighting. Most of the game had a natural lighting, since it emphasized common day-to-day moments. However, the dramatic moments offered very pretty stylized lighting that gave much more impact to those moments. The composition was also nice mostly, for example:
This CG uses symmetry(not really that symmetrical, but still…) to create an uneasy mood, that is what the protagonist and the two girls were experiencing when they met after quite some time. It’s a very clever use of that resource. However, some CGs kept characters in the middle of the thing, which is not a good thing considering the rule of thirds. And the VN knew exactly when to use more bright or less, different degrees of saturation and etc. So, it was a very impressive job there.
Backgrounds have a weak and a strong point. The strong point is that they are pretty. Damn pretty. The streets, the classroom, the bedrooms, are all really really pretty. They create easiness and a pleasant feeling. The weak point, however, is that they don’t offer much information. There’s the protagonist’s room, which has a bunch of books, but that’s it. Overall, they are just classrooms and streets, which don’t have anything special to them.
When it comes to originality, this VN also does a good job in its art. It’s nothing like Steins;Gate, but the artstyle is distinct enough to stand out from other moeges.
And, finally, the artstyle is… BEAUTIFUL. Like, for real. This VN had the most gorgeous art I’ve ever seen in any VN. Simple moments become special and outstanding through the use of CGs. Like a certain kiss scene, which was the prettiest kiss CG I’ve ever seen. Actually, I decided to play this VN because of the art. Because it was so gorgeous I couldn’t help but play this. If you’re looking for something pleasant to the point you’d keep looking for the whole day, this VN is definitely the one. I have no words to express just how beautiful this VN is. Just… Gorgeous.
Acting (8.06/10)
SpoilerOverall, the acting was really nice. Toonoo Soyogi, particularly, could create a pretty cute loli, and she did a splendid job doing it. Tomotaka was a nice choice for Koutarou in the Last Episode, thus actually making a difference in that route. Abe Saku was also pretty nice for Sena, creating a very kind girl, despite the difficulty to portray that character, because reasons.
However, the point in which acting stands out the most is uniqueness. First, congratulations to Soyogi; she is probably the best loli seiyuu I’ve ever seen. Yui’s character had much more appeal and depth with Soyogi’s performance. At her most vunerable, happy moments, Soyogi gave that girl the definition of a kawaii voice. Then, there’s Abe Saku, which has worked in a lot of famous VNs, including “Shuffle” and “ef”. What stood out in her performance was how different it was from the others. It wasn’t trying to be anything special or overracting an archetype or anything. In this sense, it felt really natural and made Sena stand out as a main heroine. As for the other seiyuus, although they weren’t as ‘unique’, they also did quite the good performances. Haruka Sora, for example(Ayane’s seiyuu) , while doing a good job, she just played a typical tsundere, nothing else.
Everything was beliavable, even when the story didn’t really help at times, it’s clear the seiyuus did everything in their power to make those characters feel real. I’m going to talk a little bit more about Abe Saku, who played Sena. This was her strongest point. Sena felt just like a real girl. While still maintaining the appeal and cuteness of the voice, her voice was so natural it didn’t feel like a VN or anime voice at times. In a good way. And this is great, because it feels like she’s directly talking to you in real life. Every line of her mouth feels way more believable and truthful. While the other seiyuus weren’t like this, none of them felt forced or artificial.
And when it comes to portraying emotion, Rinka’s seiyuu(Nissan Serena) was the best one, and another reason her route was so good. When I first started reading the VN, Serena’s performance felt bland and generic. Just your senpai who keeps teasing you sometimes, and nothing else. But then there was the common route branch that focus on the elections and the campaigns. And then there’s Rinka’s route. Suddenly, there was a bump in quality. Rinka wasn’t just a boring senpai president, she had much more inside her. And her voice played that out damn well. Her emotions felt real, the romance felt more romantic, the sad scenes felt sadder and the development overall of her character felt more vivid. Her route was greatly benefited from Serena’s performance. Now, this is where Saku’s acting fails. While she portrayed Sena’s personality nice and felt very believable, she didn’t do much more than that. She didn’t go out of her way to try to bring that character’s emotions to life. It just felt like she was using the same tone and volume all the time. Her voice was static. Koutarou’s seiyuu, Tomotaka, also commited this same mistake. His voice fit the character, it was nice overall, but he didn’t do anything impressive to portray his emotions in its fullest.
As for the prettiness of the voices, they are pretty. None of them are really that outstanding, except for Yui’s (as commented before), but they’re all nice and none of them is particularly annoying to listen to. (I got I little tired of Nako’s voice, but still…)
Soundtrack (8.64/10)
SpoilerSoundtrack is Koikake’s strongest aspect. First, it’s amazing how well the soundtrack fits each scene. The iyashikei aspect of the VN goes to another level with the soundtrack. There are quite a number of pleasant songs that seem to make you float in the air. And the VN used well each one of those. Something also noteworthy is a very romantic song, very well chosen in romantic scenes, probably one of the most romantic songs I’ve listened to in any VN. My only complaint is that there weren’t enough ‘sad’ songs, and they used a kind of nostalgic one to the sad scenes sometimes, but then there aren’t many sad scenes, so it’s just a minor complaint.
Some songs are definitely unforgettable, though. Specially the two wonderful EDs: GLORIOUS DAYS and Azuma No Sora Kara Hajimaru Sekai. The transition of the ending to the ED songs is wonderful too, so that may count as a reason. And some of the BGM are also remarkable, because of their quite unique mood. There wasn’t anything like LB! soundtrack, though.
This is a graphic of my taste on the soundtrack. You can see it’s fairly solid. Most of it is either good or very good, with some awesome soundtracks as well. There wasn’t any annoying song or any I disliked and this was great, since almost every VN I play there are some of those, including Grisaia, which I reviewed last time.
OVERALL SCORE = 7.8/10
Honestly, it’s very hard to describe how this work felt, but it’ll try to use metaphors to sum it up. It felt like eating a nice strawberry cupcake, it felt like a gentle stroll in the park, it felt like the smile of your loved one, and it felt like a cup of bitter coffee. Everything together. And it’s very good. The soundtrack and the art make it worth. Even if some routes are weak storywise (like Ayane’s), if I said I disliked them I would be lying. Because the art and the soundtrack together give flavor to what was supposed to be a flavorless dish. And yes, this is a moege and it’s better than Grisaia. I recommend it.
- Deep Blue and CeruleanGamer
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Farewell, everyone.
You will be back in the future, I'm pretty sure so no goodbyes now
@Deep Blue, if I do, it's a sign my life has gone terribly wrong.
So, this is it. My last post in Fuwanovel. Thank you everyone for talking to me. I think it helped to improve my social abilities a little.
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I'll miss you too, dude.
I don't think my heart (or my brain) can take Okami, firecat, and starlessn1ght all in one week...
I didn't know they were gone too... O_O
Congratulations on becoming the very best like no one ever was.
May your journey to
become a pokémon masterfind happiness be successful.Thank you! I hope it will, lol!
Some stuff i didn't mention in the OP and I'd like to share with you guys: I found out I have a thing for ojou-samas (most girls I like in anime are ojou-samas, recently even Rize revealed she was one...) I also found out I'm a gray-romantic person (I didn't know there were other people like me).
Why would you make a post welcoming yourself back when you just plan to leave anyways?
Cuz I'm back! Not wrong to say I'm back cuz I'm rly back, even when I plan to leave soon.
The title is a little misleading.
That's why I wrote a post under it.
Removed
in Recommendations
Posted
For the pink sakura thing, see this: http://cdn-ak.f.st-hatena.com/images/fotolife/a/aki1127/20151210/20151210004251.png
If you like it, then try it. Also, it involves music and literature as themes.