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starlessn1ght

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    I can't even login anymore

    in Archive

    Posted

    And I thought that only I have this problem... Can't login from Chrome, right now I'm on IE... But if you're saying that clearing cookies etc. won't help I guess I won't bother then.

    Would be nice if it'll get fixed soon.

     

    @edit

    Oh I guess I'm pretty tired then... Well, time to eat some cookies.

     

    I can't automatically login after I close the Opera window... Even when I ticked the 'remember me' box three times...

    "The Fruit of Grisaia" Review

    in Visual Novel Talk

    Posted

    this review is based on the +17 ver right? I think if you have played the +18 I bet the score would have been much lower because the eroge in this particular vn, it ruins the plot specially in michuru's route,

    she was buried alive for 3 days and just as soon as she gets out, remember she didnt drink, eat, she shit herself literally all that for 3 days, and the first thing she does after that is having sex...that was the most moronic thing I've ever seen in a vn.

    "The Fruit of Grisaia" Review

    in Visual Novel Talk

    Posted

    thelabyrinthofgrisaia1.jpg

     

    WARNING: This review contain spoilers. If you don't want to be spoiled, jump to the "Overall" section in the end.

     

    "Mihama Academy - on the surface, a closed learning environment established to nurture students who find themselves at odds with the world around them; in actuality, an orchard-cum-prison built to preserve fruit that has fallen too far from its tree.

     
    Whatever the circumstances behind its establishment, Mihama Academy is at present home to five female students, all with their own reasons for "enrollment." For better or worse, each girl has established a routine obliging of her current situation; life moves at an idle, yet accommodating pace within the walls of Mihama.
     
    Yet with the arrival of the institute's first male student, the nearly preposterously opaque Kazami Yuuji, the students at Mihama begin to fall out of step with their predetermined rhythms. Will Yuuji prove to be the element the girls around him needed to take hold of their lives once more, or will the weight of their pasts prove too steep a wall to overcome?
     
    And in the first place, just who is Kazami Yuuji? While the true nature of the "job" he is wont to alight to at the most haphazard of moments remains shrouded in secrecy, one thing is for certain - his encroachment upon the quiet orchard known as Mihama Academy will prove itself momentous in one way or another. And of course, one cannot discount the possibility that perhaps Yuuji himself carries the weightiest past of any of the students..."
     
     

    Story (7.42/10)

     

    Spoiler

    GnK’s common route was boring. I know many strongly disagree with me, but that’s how it felt to me. It was just skit after skit. It resembled Kiniro Mosaic season 1 for me, but even Kinmoza was much better: it had more focus on feminine friendship and was way cuter… However, the common route fulfilled its role, which was, to introduce the characters. All their ‘distinct’ personalities, and also gave some hints to their backstories, but nothing that kept you hooked to know further. The only thing I really liked about it was spending time with my two favorite (initially) girls: Yumiko and Makina. (After reading her route, Michiru is now my favorite one).

    The first route I read was Yumiko; and unfortunately, it was the worst one. This is really bad, because it had a huge potential in my opinion. First, they started with a silly conflict and expected the reader to feel somehow sorry for Yumiko: it was just about Yuuji beating up guys in black suits… Then, there was the flashback, which was the best part of the route and the best of the flashbacks in the whole game. Okay, later Yumiko almost gives up but Yuuji saves her with a “stupid turkey”. Everything in this scene was stupid. Then, they start living together, Yumiko screws up the apartment, and then Yuuji has to clean her mess. And then, Yumiko calls her father, and then Yuuji has to “clean” her mess again. At this point, I realized how stupid this girl was. From here on, storywise, things get a lot better. We get some good romantic scenes, we get a nice resolution to the conflict, and a good epilogue… If only the rest of the route had been good like this…

    Then, I went to Makina’s route. The “revelation” of her past is very very early, and not well handled. I would have preferred if Yuuji found it out through Makina herself, or if we got through a flashback when Yuuji’s reading her files. From here on, the route is very slow-paced. It consists mostly of Yuuji teaching Makina his skills and ‘playing’ with her. It was long and boring at some times, but still a good start. Then, when the actual conflict is presented, the route keeps switching between happy and sad moments, scene after scene. It doesn’t build the atmosphere of the conflict, which was supposed to get heavier gradually. And the bad ending didn’t make sense at all, unless that “pregnancy” was psychological only. What I most liked about her route is that it made me like Yuuji more, and we got to know more about him.

    Michiru’s route was really good. The beginning was interesting enough, the relationship between Yuuji and Michiru was well handled too. The backstory was interesting and done at the right point, and the climax was also good. I didn’t like, however, how it dragged the story after the climax; it got quite tiresome. Some people dislike the route because of the conflict, which may seem unbelievable, but I had no problems with it. I think it’s something personal.

    Amane’s route was the best as a whole, but considering the story alone, maybe not. The beginning of the route is… Full of perverseness, but I enjoyed it. No, not because of the ecchi, I don’t even like Amane’s archetype. I will explain below, but here I’m just going to say it made sense. Angelic Howl was very good, specially because of Kazuki, although some parts of it were boring. After Angelic Howl we see who is really Suou Amane, and then I started liking her more. There was that quite “God angst Machina” conflict, but it was fine. Later, there was the epilogue, which was one of the most romantic and beautiful.

    Sachi’s route wasn’t as good as I thought it was, but this was more due to other stuff I will talk about later. Storywise it was quite good. The beginning was the best of all the routes, the middle was sweet, and then it got to what I thought was the climax. It had potential to be a climax, however, the conflict doesn’t stop there. Part of it was solved there, but part of it still remained unresolved. It had the same problem Michiru route had, it kept dragging the story after that. I would rather have it with a “true climax” that killed two birds with one stone. The route felt broken. But the good ending was the most heartwarming of all. I could say the bad end was the best as well.

    The romance was good in some but bad in others. Yumiko’s romance had a terrible development: Yuuji wasn’t even certain about his feelings, and then confessed to Yumiko and asked her to have sex with him. That’s how it started. Makina’s route didn’t even have romance, but there was sex. Michiru’s and Yuuji’s interactions were really interesting and their romance was well handled as well. Amane’s romance… Made sense. Unlike Yumiko’s, it was fitting to her personality and they were constantly revaluating their relationship, which made it more interesting, besides it was related to her backstory. Sachi’s romance was very sweet, full of heartwarming moments, and well developed as well.

    This VN definitely had some outstanding scenes. I don’t know, however, it this will improve on the next two games of the series, but the action scenes were quite lacking. None of them was particularly outstanding.

    The flashback sequences were all really good. Some true “horrible” stories and were effective to make us understand more those girls, and how much they’ve gone through. My favorite was Yumiko’s, as I already mentioned: not only it had a good length, but it also had some of the most dramatic moments. Makina’s was short. Amane’s was long and it lacked what Amane’s route lacked as a whole: true remarkable scenes. Sure, there were some very dramatic moments, but they were weak compared to others in the game. However, it still was very good. Michiru’s was very good, specially because of the whole focus on friendship, which is a theme I’m particularly fond of. Sachi’s was, well, definitely very very sad and impacting.

    There were some true heartwarming moments, particularly in the epilogues. The best one was Sachi’s epilogue, which got me close to tears.

    And what Yumiko’s route got right but none of the routes did, was the presence of true romantic moments. Yes, moments. The “amusement park” scene was one of the things that saved Yumiko’s route from being a complete waste of time. However, there was no scene in the other routes similar to that one. Sachi’s romance was definitely good, as well as Michiru’s, but it was mostly because of the couple’s interactions. It lacked a little salt. It lacked remarkable romantic moments.

    Although the game’s story may be bad developed at times, its themes were certainly well explored. The Fruit of Grisaia was a story about social anomia. Girls who could no longer live peacefully in society because of certain circumstances. Each route dealt with those circumstances, and how they affected them, changing who they were drastically, setting them apart from the environment.

    Yuuji had to help those girls realize that the problem lied within themselves. Not that they were the problem, but they were creating it. They thought society couldn’t accept them for what they were or did, but Yuuji was there to prove them wrong. They were the ones who had to accept themselves, not society. To emphasize that, a common motif of the expressions “I’m sorry” and “Thank you” appeared in almost every route. Yuuji asked the girls to replace “I’m sorry” for “Thank you”.

    Yumiko thought she hurt everyone because she was born a girl, Makina thought she was the source of all the pain people around her experienced, Michiru thought she was a bad person and no one liked who she really was, Amane thought she was selfish for letting everyone die and being the only one who survived, and Sachi thought the reason her parents died was because of her being a “bad girl”. Yuuji helped each of them destroy the problem by themselves and gain more self-esteem to do so.

    The game also dealt with “selfish suicide” in Michiru’s route very well. It showed someone can’t simply “vanish” from the world, because it will affect other people intensely.

    To be fair, most of the game well paced. However, there are two routes that suffer from slow pacing: Makina’s and Amane’s. Makina’s route began very slowly and it seemed it would never finish or begin the real conflict. Amane’s problem was in Angelic Howl. The first days were slow-paced, and it was boring at some times. But, the last days had it right.

    The common route is the one who suffers the most. Very slow paced, and it seems to go on forever. In an average VN, in the common route you follow the footsteps of the protagonist, through his daily life: day after day, morning, afternoon, night. GnK just jumped from scene to scene while slowly making Yuuji approach the girls. It was very big. I myself would prefer a standard, day-by-day, common route that was shorter. Rewrite, on the contrary, did have a big common route, but it never got boring for me.

    GnK’s setting wasn’t that great. It was supposed to be a “normal” school until some point, but it has some particularities in fact. It has only six students, and all of them are unable to live in society due to some circumstances about their pasts. In this sense it works like a prison. But in the end, it’s just a normal school.

    Because of it, it gets boring with time. The game doesn’t do much to explore the school (the reader knows very few places in the school itself), or build a connection to it. Regarding the last aspect, it was essential in Sachi’s route. I think if the game had worked more on it, “that” moment would have had more effect.

    The town itself is very peaceful, and I think it was fine as the environment the school was set in.  With this being said, I think the school had still a good role on approaching the characters, as ‘lonely’ as it was.

    The dialogues were one of the game’s weaknesses. Sometimes the perverseness was too much to be tolerated. Aside the perverted jokes, the game inserted some of those lines in the middle of a serious moment, taking out all the atmosphere. The major culprit was Amane. One thing I did like, though, was the fact that the heroines usually didn’t praise the protagonist, I hate it when it happens, like in Konosora.

    The ‘romantic’ dialogues lost part of its appeal, because of Yuuji’s personality. He’s very ‘down to business’ and ‘direct’. Everything is just casual, like, he proposes to Sachi just after marriage first pops in his head in the middle of a playground. Yuuji’s ‘confession’ to Yumiko was the worst, though.

    Even though the dramatic dialogues weren’t all that good either, the dialogues were a good way to define the characters’ personalities and traits. They were responsible for the chemistry and uniqueness of the interactions among Mihama Academy students.

    Overall, the story was fine. Not something overwhelmingly good, but I don’t think the strength of the game lies in its story. And also not as bad as some people put it. It did have routes focused on its contents, it just wasn’t strong enough to impress me. But it was still a fine story. 

     

     

     

    Characters (9.04/10)

     

     

     

    Spoiler

     

    Here is where GnK “shines”. Initially, I didn’t understand what made Grisaia so popular. But after playing more of it, I realized. Grisaia plays with common character archetypes, giving them depth and justifying them. It shapes its deep characters with popular otaku tropes. The tsundere, kuudere, maid, loli, etc. All of them are commonly used to appeal to the readers. The story usually doesn’t explore why is the character that way. Not only it is a little meta, but it uses those tropes as devices of the story. Grisaia explains why the character became that way. After all, those archetypes aren’t really “normal”…

     

    Each character developed in the way they were in the common route because of their circumstances. Yumiko shuts herself against people because she thinks she can’t be loved by anyone. Makina acts as a child because her brain suffered a trauma and couldn’t develop normally. Michiru acts as a tsundere to make people laugh, as she thinks is the only way people can like her. Amane acts as a slut to Yuuji, because she wants to punish herself for letting his sister die. Sachi obeys everything she is asked because she thinks the reason of her parents’ accident was her being a “bad girl”.

     

    Every character was useful to the story, specially the heroines, whose development was their means to ‘go back’ to society. Yuuji helps all the girls, by doing all he could to make them realize the real source of their problems, while developing a romantic connection to them.

     

    Chizuru was useful to help Yuuji deal with each heroine’s problem, as she had a certain ‘debt’ to him. She’s also the school director, who gives Yuuji the opportunity of a ‘normal’ school life. JB has a similar role to Chizuru, but sometimes she was on the “opposite side” of the road, although she never meant to harm Yuuji.

     

    The characters definitely worked really well as a group, offering some colorful dynamics. You could really feel how well they matched each other’s personality. Makina was the spoiled child that disturbed everyone, Amane was the big sister who took care of the others, Michiru served as a comedic relief, Sachi helped everyone with what they needed, and Yumiko tried her best to hide her will to be with the others. Some had a special connection, like Amane with Makina, and Sachi with Michiru. Yuuji was the object of passion and desire of all the girls.

     

    It was good to see how they helped each other, even when they weren’t fully aware of the circumstances. From giving some love advices to creating a plan to discharge a big businessperson, they were always there. I’ve seen better ‘groups’, but they were still very united and interesting.

     

    Yuuji had a good chemistry with most of the girls. It was interesting to see how Yuuji worked with Michiru. He was serious, she was playful. There were some cool dynamics between them. Yuuji and Sachi also had chemistry. Like, how Yuuji was always willing to help her and when he patted her head… Yumiko had a very interesting relationship with Yuuji in the beginning, but it ‘faded’ away quickly. Yuuji and Makina were… Quite good in the beginning, when Makina grew slowly attached to him and he was constantly asking himself about her peculiarities. Then, it became boring. I don’t think Yuuji and Makina’s relationship in her route was coherent to his personality nor was it interesting. It was somewhat artificial.

     

    Given the way they were explored, the characters are quite unique. The game did exaggerate and subvert some tropes in Michiru’s and Sachi’s cases, setting them apart from other tsunderes and maids. As for the other three, they didn’t have very unique personalities, but their ‘circumstances’ made them different.

     

    The most memorable one would be the protagonist, Kazami Yuuji. Despite the fact that I don’t like him that much as a protagonist, he’s still outstanding. The VN offers some insight on his character, from his personality to a little of his background. He has very ‘formulaic’ concepts and ways to judge people. He may seem tough because of his military past, but he is still ‘broken’. He is also determined and willing to help others. When he dealt with the girls’ problems, he knew he couldn’t be direct or try to solve their problems by himself. He didn’t try to change them when he knew there was no way to do it, like Amane’s case. But still, he found a way to “take her back”.

     

    Character development is a central piece in the VN. It was what the routes were all about. It was Yuuji’s main goal: to change the girls so they could be ‘normal’ and could live peacefully in society. To make them accept themselves. Mostly, it worked very well.

     

    The best example is Sachi, in my opinion. Her personality was one of the strangest of the group. With her backstory, you know how the accident affected her, in a way that she put all the weight over her shoulders. She tried to ‘fix’ who she was, and she thought it had worked, thus she didn’t even have more nightmares. She probably considered herself a normal person. However, Yuuji started dating her, and making her slowly realize that the real Sachi was hiding somewhere inside her. He then helped her to fulfill a certain request, and by doing so, Sachi could finally realize her so called ‘selflessness’ was actually destroying her. “You can stop being a good girl now.” But after that, the nightmares got worse, because there was something Sachi still needed to fix. She was afraid of her parents’ feelings and she still considered herself the main culprit. Then, Yuuji showed her that workshop, containing her parents’ real feelings. Sachi, thus, could finally live peacefully, with no weight on her heart.

     

    Sachi also had some changes in the way she acted. The girls noticed how different she was acting. But, Michiru and Yumiko were more evident in this sense. Yumiko, because it was her own ‘dere’ side. She thought no one could love her, and if someone loved her, he would leave her. Yuuji proved her wrong, bringing her real ‘dere’ side on, leaving that cold-hearted nature on the past.

     

    Michiru also had a significant change in the way she acted. She wasn’t exactly a tsundere, because she was faking it, but she still had a ‘dere’ side. She blamed herself, she tried to suicide, she was depressed for half of her route. Yuuji helped her realize she shouldn’t be living for other people, but for herself, and that she was loved by her friends and by him. We, then, saw a real happy Michiru, satisfied with her life, and thus could finally live peacefully.

     

    Now, Amane and Makina didn’t really develop. Makina still was dependent on her Papa, and couldn’t get over his death. The problem was solved on the surface, because Yuuji was still with her on the good ending, and she imagined the same thing on the bad ending. Amane only accepted she didn’t need to be punished on her final moments. The problem was also solved on the surface, as Yuuji offered himself to be her punishment, so she could live happily punished.

     

    As for my personal opinions on the characters, there’s no one of the main ones that I particularly ‘hate’. I thought Yuuji was very irritant in the beginning, because he was rude, sexist and too full of himself. But after reading Makina’s route, I started liking him more.

     

    Firstly, Yumiko was my favorite heroine, but I got very annoyed by her stupidity on her route. Makina was always cute. As for Michiru, I found her annoying in the beginning, but she became my favorite girl after reading her route. Amane’s and Sachi’s routes made me like them more as well.

     

    But, as for Chizuru and JB, they are extremely annoying. I dislike both of them and I wish they never appeared in the whole game.

     

     

     

    Art (6.90/10)

     

     

     

    Spoiler

     

    4540.jpg7613.jpg4541.jpg

     

    I’ll start commenting on the character design, one by one. First, we have Makina. She has a very childish look, fitting to her personality. Her head is big compared to other girls, but I think it serves to make her little body look even littler. She also has those cute clothes, which look good on her. Her design isn’t particularly original, though, and those big eyebrows bother me.

     

    Now, Amane. I do think she is pretty and all, but her head is just very small. The detailed and big hair can make you think otherwise, but her head is indeed small. This for itself isn’t the problem, actually the problem is that she has a very big body compared to the head. Maybe this is used to emphasize her body like in Makina’s case, but it’s ugly in my opinion. And it becomes more evident when she is taking a bath. It seems her body was taken from someone else and transplanted; and the shadows on her body in contrast with her pale head help to accentuate it. Her clothes and appearance still match her character though, but aren’t very original either.

     

    Sachi has a very cute design. I also think the color of her hair was very well chosen, because it fits well her delicateness. Her maid outfit is also justified and well employed. Also, she has the best swimsuit… I just have three problems with her design: the eyebrows (too big and thick), she has one of the blandest faces, and some expressions, especially when she’s scared don’t match her personality or her voice. Most of her expressions, though, are very unique and fit her very well. The one I like the most would be when she crosses her hands on her chest and smiles softly…

     

    4542.jpg4543.jpg4539.jpg

     

    Michiru is my favorite on this category too. Not only her design is more original, but it’s also beautiful, matches her personality and doesn’t have those big eyebrows. Michiru shows many expressions that fit well comedic moments, but also fit well her sadness and most painful moments. The color of her hair and that pink purse make her stand out even more as well. Her design doesn’t really match her ‘other’ personality, but I think this was purposeful. Thinking about it... Her design isn't that original:

     

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    Yumiko’s deisgn is my least favorite. I think it’s mostly something subjective, but I think it’s ugly. It’s different, but ugly. Her big nose is probably the main culprit. And there’s also that weird line above her mouth… She does show some cute expressions, and most of them match her well. Her eyebrows are okay, but I don’t really like the shape of her breasts. As for her clothes, aside the uniform, they’re bland. They don’t add much to her in my opinion.

     

    Yuuji’s design is strange. It’s hard to know how he really is because there’s so much inconsistency when he’s in a CG… But I think his eyes are strange, his nose too… However, it still fits his personality. I like the watch on his arm, and I think most of his expressions are fitting (most, not all of them).

     

    The other character’s designs are mostly okay. Chizuru’s is weird, but fits her well. JB too. Kazuki is bland, but also fits her. Makina’s mother’s design is very opposite to the way she is; it’s probably hard to draw someone with that personality but at the same time resembling Makina…

     

    GnK’s biggest problem regarding art is consistency. I don’t know who it is, Fumio or Akio, but I’m almost certain Sachi’s and Yumiko’s CGs were drawn by the same person. Because the number of abuses committed on those was absurd compared to the other girls’ CGs. Whoever it is, he or she must have a strong crush on fat girls.

     

    2u0s090fdfs98j0zg.jpg

     

    Right here, for example, a big part of Yumiko’s hair is occupying her head. This is different from Yumiko’s original design, in which the hair covers just a little part of it. Her eyes are too square here and too far from each other. Maybe she looks better this way, however this is not how Yumiko looks.

     

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    Oh my God. I think this is the worst one. This was a common mistake in Sachi’s CGs, and the reason I think the artist has a crush on fat girls. Not only Yumiko’s face is more oval here, but the distance between her mouth and her chin is absurd compared to Yumiko’s normal design. This is what makes her look fat. It looks like a totally different person if it wasn’t because of the hair… 

     

    b2g59lx8dathp94zg.jpg

     

    This one is also very ugly. Her face is too thin, and everything looks so ‘compressed’. Her right eye is almost on her ear, her face is square on the right, and her waist is too large. Not to mention Yuuji, whose eyes are smaller and asymmetrical. Ugh, just ugh.

     

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    Sachi’s CGs were the biggest problem of her route, and the main reason I rank her route behind Amane’s and Michiru’s. Okay, her face is okay here. But look at her hands. Those fingers are as thick as an elephant not to mention how small they are compared to the whole hand. A common problem in Sachi’s CGs, the weird ‘fat girl’ obsession, also mentioned above in Yumiko’s CGs.

     

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    Again, but the problem here is on the face.  Her nose and mouth are too close to her eyes, leaving a considerable portion of her chin empty, which differs from Sachi’s design. Also, her nose is damn weird here.

     

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    Here the problem is not in Sachi, but in Yuuji. Compare the height of her shoulders to his. Almost the same height, but Sachi’s head is higher than his head. Notice how Sachi’s shoulders come from under her ears, but Yuuji’s shoulders come from almost above his ears. This makes him look fat or like some kind of hunchback. Seems like the artist not only like fat girls, but also fat shotas…

     

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    This is the worst one in my opinion. I had to stop the game at this point for a while, because it was really bothering me. This was supposed to be a cute romantic moment, but was spoiled because of this inconsistent CG. You can put a whole city between her mouth and her chin. And her hands look more like balls, round as they are here…

     

    The game had those problems, but thank God it was only really evident on those two routes. Makina’s, Michiru’s and Amane’s CGs didn’t suffer much from it… Michiru’s CGs did have some mistakes, though…

     

    There are moments that deserve a CG, and others that don’t. CGs will make some moments more remarkable than others. GnK was decent in this aspect, but in some cases it could’ve been better.

     

    The most noticeable example is Makina’s CG set. It is mostly bland. It doesn’t offer much content. Her route was like that as well, but there were moments that deserved CGs but didn’t have any. Like the trip in the mountains and some action scenes…

     

    Other absurdity was the stupid Turkey Shoot. They wasted 4 CGs there. 4 CGs. Not that they were good anyway. Sachi did have a lot of CGs, but at least they were more well-chosen, probably to compensate the other mistakes.

     

    Grisaia used its vibrant colors such as blue and green to emphasize the calm and happy atmosphere of the common route.

     

    Orange was used to refresh, to give a sense of a serene atmosphere. It was commonly employed in Sachi’s route, particularly on heartwarming moments. In contrast, Sachi’s route also had a lot of scenes at night, with black and gray giving strength to the saddest and most impacting moments.

     

    Michiru’s route’s colors were mostly bright to reflect her ‘fake’ personality. On the other hand, Yumiko’s route used a lot of blue, especially the dark one. It wasn’t appropriate in some moments, but in others it reflected her cold-hearted nature.

     

    GnK’s CGs had some small problems with exposure, but nothing too extreme. Some VNs go to far on overexposure, your eyes hurt just from looking at some CGs. However, it had some problems with white balance, saturation, and angles…

     

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    (Obs: The darker image is the original one. The other is how it should've been. ) I’m not going to complain about the dutch angles, because I don’t think it’s fair since a lot of VNs use them, probably to fit most of the characters on the screen. But the dutch angle here tricks the player into thinking Yuuji’s position is alright. But it’s not. The CG is inclined to the left, which would make Yuuji inclined to the same side as well, but instead of it, he’s inclined to the right, like he’s falling or something. The second problem of this CG is the exposure, which is a bit low. Some areas, especially around Yumiko, are very dark. And the third problem is the white balance. This is a scene that serves to show that Yumiko is slowly attaching herself to Yuuji, it has a calm atmosphere, despite the circumstances that surround it. The temperature is too high: a lower temperature would have had a much better effect.

     

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    This one got ruined because of Yumiko’s expression. It’s just… Ugly and unnatural. Looks like she is trying to eat a big sandwich or something. If the artist erased this and worked better on her expression, it would’ve made it a lot better.

     

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     This is one of Sachi’s best CGs. It’s consistent, her cheeks are lightly blushing, giving a more delicate tone to her face. And it’s also taken from a high angle, reflecting the inferior position Sachi puts herself in relation to others. We get also closeness to her face, since it’s bigger than the rest of the body.

     

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    This, on the other hand, was a terrible mistake. First, they made no use of the setting, since it was a rooftop. Second, Yuuji adds nothing to the image. Not only his face remains terribly expressionless, but the focus of the moment is on Sachi. And third, they didn’t show the object Sachi had in her hand, which had a big role on that moment. Another angle would’ve been much better.

     

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    Here we have an oversaturation of Amane’s face. You can clearly tell from her design that Amane’s face is very pale. It would be okay to have it a little more saturated, but here she looks like a Latin girl. Amane’s CGs were definitely the best ones, but unfortunately, the best CGs were on the first part of the route.

     

    i6m83edq20pb8m1zg.jpg

     

    This one is a quite good CG, but it could’ve been better. First, the sun is too bright. From its position, the sun shouldn’t be that bright and it definitely would’ve looked better if it wasn’t. The sky could vary more the colors, with more pink and purple tones. And second, it isn’t obeying the rule of thirds. The portion of the sky shown is too tiny. It should’ve been bigger.

     

    The focus on most CGs was okay and the light was so so…

     

    Regarding art, the backgrounds were the game’s biggest strength. Most of them were very beautiful to look at. I loved the sunset in the bathroom, especially when Sachi’s BGM was playing… The sea Michiru loved to gaze at was also wonderful… I also liked the school at night, when there were those lights illuminating it…

     

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    I also liked the fact that the game wasn’t ‘economic’ with the backgrounds. Some games definitely lack a lot of backgrounds, and put just the sky when one is needed. Almost every place in Grisaia, even those that appeared just in a single route, had their background.

     

    Grisaia’s art, however, isn’t very original. It doesn’t have an outstanding artstyle, but it is still okay.  The art is similar to other Frontwing games, including the character design, but also similar to most VNs. Nothing sets it apart, but still, it’s not particularly bad.

     

    Overall, Grisaia art is decent. I don’t think it’s impressive nor bad, but certainly more good than bad. Some CGs were very beautiful, some were painful to look at… Grisaia doesn’t add much glow to them, creating a sense of 3D like Key CGs, for example, but there’s still a little of it. Maybe art is one of the game’s weakest points, but it’s still not bad.

     

     

     

     

    Acting (8.87/10)

     

     

     

    Spoiler

     

    Voice acting is very good in GnK. Makina’s voice fits well her character, and Tamiyasu Tomoe does a fairly good job in portraying her emotions, from her cheerfulness to her most fragile and sad moments. It was not as good as some other girls, though.

     

    Taguchi Hiroko gave definitely life to Amane’s personality. Not very outstanding on the most dramatic moments, but Amane’s monologues were the best in my opinion. She also portrayed Amane’s personality very well, despite changing a lot from Angelic Howl to the present.

     

    Michiru’s seiyuu was my favorite, though. Kaori did a wonderful job on the comedic scenes, portraying Michiru’s fake ‘tsundereness’ by making it sound very artificial, but at the same time making it very funny. And she could also give the same strength to Michiru’s most dark and sad moments, talking with a soft and fragile voice. All Michiru’s moments, the romantic ones, the funny ones, the sad ones wouldn’t be half of what they were because of this seiyuu. I don’t know if she voiced “the other girl” as well, but if she did, congratulations!

     

    Sachi’s seiyuu did also a very good job. The soft and humble voice of the girl matched her personality very well. Ai voiced this character well on the romantic moments too. Unfortunately, the dramatic moments weren’t voiced as greatly as other girls, and the monologues weren’t very good too. But still a good job.

     

    I don’t think Tanaka Ryoko’s voice was very appropriate for Yumiko’s personality. Sure, it’s cold just like she is, but it’s still very masculine, as opposed to Yumiko’s femininity… But it does portray her feelings and emotions very well, though.

     

    A notable mention would be Kazuki’s seiyuu, which, despite acting in just one route, was very good in my opinion. It must’ve been very difficult to voice Kazuki’s lines with those tones…

     

    I liked most of the voices, especially Amane’s, Makina’s and Sachi’s. Makina had a cute voice, Amane had a kind of balanced one, and Sachi’s voice was so soft I could float just from hearing it… I loved Michiru’s voice on her ‘dere’ side, but her ‘fake tsun’ was kinda annoying to listen to.

     

    The only one I hate is Chizuru’s voice. Sure, it fits her well, but it’s extremely annoying. I just didn’t disable it because I think it would be kinda strange…

     

     

     

     

    Soundtrack (5.60/10)

     

     

     

    Spoiler

     

    The soundtrack is one of Grisaia’s weaknesses. Most of the songs did fit the mood of the scenes; however, it lacked songs for dramatic and impacting moments. Most of the songs used on those moments were more appropriate for ‘building tension’ and not for the moment itself. The best fitting songs were either the comedic ones, the common ones or the heartwarming ones.

     

    GnK’s songs aren’t very remarkable. There isn’t any of them that left a strong impression on me, like some other VNs.

     

    One of the problems is that there are many “similar” songs. Songs that express the same feeling are fine, because the game can vary more, however, this isn’t good when it is lacking some songs, like I mentioned above. Most of the best songs had other songs very similar to them. For example, I loved “Days Flow by: Sweet Fruit Memories”, but “little clown”, “Until the New Day Dawns” and “toHappy” are all similar to it. Those songs aren’t even used with much frequency in the game, so just one of them would be enough.

     

     “The Final Fractal” has some interesting lyrics, referring to the girls using the fruit symbol, while emphasizing Yuuji’s need to get over his past in order to save the girls.

     

    Most of the EDs dig well into the girls’ feelings, especially Makina’s and Yumiko’s ED. Michiru’s on the other hand is kinda shallow. Sachi’s ED “Kono hi no Mama De” is the most romantic of the endings. 

     

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    That is a graphic I created to show my tastes in Grisaia’s soundtrack. The biggest portion of the songs is “decent”, something that is adequate to the feelings it tried to convey, while not being bad, but still not impressive.

     

    The “meh…”, “annoying” and “very annoying” songs are almost the same in number compared to the “good” and “very good” songs. A soundtrack is considered good for me when it lacks annoying songs and has very good songs. Grisaia’s soundtrack has some very good songs like “in the air” and “Holograph”, but it still had some songs that made me want to throw the PC on the wall (the most annoying one is probably “code: xxx”).

     

    Most of the game’s good songs were the heartwarming ones. It failed especially regarding the action songs, which were some of the worst from the list. I just hope Meikyuu manages to bring a stronger soundtrack. Therefore, overall, Grisaia’s soundtrack is just “acceptable”, nothing very bad but nothing awesome as well.

     

     

     

     

    OVERALL SCORE = 7.6/10

     

    Overall, “The Fruit of Grisaia” is a good visual novel. It has a quite good story, strong characters and voice acting, and okay soundtrack and art. Not as bad as some people claim to be, but not a masterpiece. It’s not better than Rewrite, like I’ve seen some people put it, because Rewrite beats Grisaia in all those aspects, except maybe characters… However, I recommend it and I’m anxious to play Meikyuu

    What are you playing?

    in Visual Novel Talk

    Posted

    Playing through Sachi's route in GnK. OMG, the art is killing me. It's close to Yumiko's in ugliness, but I still think Yumiko's is worse up to now. I dunno who is the responsible, Akio or Fumio... At least storywise, the route is succeeding. 

    Non Non Biyori Fandom: ARE YOU READY?

    in Anime/Manga Talk

    Posted

    AH...

     

    Another lovely episode! I just can't... Describe how much I love this anime! It just performs its task SO DAMN WELL: it's relaxing, heartwarming in a way I've never experienced before. NonNon is a masterpiece! It has such a lovely cast, so many wonderful moments, the perfect setting... I also like the fact it doesn't come from a 4koma manga. Not that 4koma adaptations are bad (Gochuumon is also wonderful); it's just that I think the fact it doesn't have to rely on skits every time makes it flow better... Since I like it more the more I watch it, I think it'll soon become my favorite anime...

     

    I am just afraid of what will happen to me when this season ends... But better not think about it now and enjoy that NonNon is here...

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