VN Reading Club - November (Ayakashibito)

[CLuBLioN]

I'm really a slow reader but I think I'm almost at the end of the first route This game is awesome I love all the characters <3

[M.Gladstone]

God. You people read fast.

Or it's just that you people have a lot of time in your hands.

...I hope I finish Kaoru soon.

[Kosakyun]

I've been reading this at night instead of a few hours of sleep and periodically throughout the day in short bursts.

 

If I did that (which I did), I would be asleep in some subjects in school. I did sleep in school though. I think I'll be able to finish Kaoru's route today. That gives me one more route to worry about ---- Suzu's.

 

Anyway, things developed really fast huh.

Or it's just that they haven't lost the feelings they had for each other these past ten years.

[Clephas]

I'm sure some of you hadn't played Ayakashibito before are now starting to notice this, so I thought I'd go into more detail about 'paths transcending heroines'.

 

Touko- Touko is based off of a fairly common type of heroine in VNs, that of the self-sacrificing yamato nadeshiko.  In moege in particular, this kind of heroine is usually used as a counter or a foil for a classic tsundere or genkikko.  She has the added qualities you all know about now

wielding that huge katana as if it were a feather, sharing a body with her brother

but the base of her character is rather common in VNs.  So what makes her part of Ayakashibito so good?  To be blunt, it is the scenario.  When I talk about using cliches/archetypes/tropes well, I generally mean games like this. 

Possession by an evil force? Temptation based on self-repressed desires? Self-sacrifice and deep love...?

  The fact is, all of the virtues of this path are cliche... and yet somehow the path completely transcends those cliches.  The more you play VNs, the more you'll realize how often cliches will be included into the story... in the end, it is how a cliche is used that defines the quality of the plot, in most cases.

 

Tonya- Tonya's character is a little less common... the apparently disinterested heroine who

works as a spy and is given an excuse to indulge in her love for the protagonist... in exchange for the knowledge that it will all fall apart in the end.

  Nonetheless, this has long-since achieved the level of a cliche in more serious VNs... and yet, Tonya's path still manages to touch the heart of a jaded bastard like me on the third playthrough.  The addition of

a fight with someone she loves who is no longer that person

adds another level of cliche to the path... and yet it is still undeniably a great path.  Why?  Because the way it was written transcends cliches and the heroines themselves.

 

Kaoru- This is perhaps the path in which 'heroines being transcended by their paths' is most obvious.  To be blunt, about half the people who play Ayakashibito are going to hate Kaoru.  There are lots of reasons for this

such as her betrayal of Soushichi as a child, the way she doesn't even consider leaving Dominion until it is beyond the point of no return, and - this is for idiots - because she isn't a virgin. The idea of a heroine as 'tainted' as Kaoru disgusts some people, which is inevitable for the fans of a medium mostly composed of moege.

  However, a lot of the people who absolutely despise her character reluctantly admit that her path is great... again, why is this?  Simple, because the path's story transcends her faults as a heroine.

 

Suzu- I'm going to be blunt here, despite being a long-time Suzu fan (and having a kitsunekko fetish).  Objectively speaking, Suzu is your classic 'girl with a special power that everybody with ambitions wants to use'.  The fact of her intimate family-like relationship to the protagonist is also very common in this type of scenario.  Anybody who has played Tales of Symphonia or a number of other jrpgs will recognize the basic scenario archetype... and yet, hardly anybody denies that this is the best path in an already high-quality VN.  For those who read this path... can you honestly disagree with the fact that you stopped caring about the de ja vu moments (if you noticed them at all) after only a short time into the story?

 

Edit:  You'll see this in practically all the paths in the good Propeller games and good chuuni games in general... in Bullet Butlers, the elf girl is probably one of the worst heroines I've ever come across... and yet her path maintains the same level of enjoyment I encountered in the paths of other, more interesting heroines in the same game. 

[Keaton]

Is it too late to join or not because I would like to join if possible it looks like fun.

I will probably wait until the next VN tho. 

[Kaguya]

Is it too late to join or not because I would like to join if possible it looks like fun.

I will probably wait until the next VN tho. 

Nah, you can join whenever. There's already a discussion thread for this month, if you want to read Ayakashibito. Otherwise, see you next month~

https://forums.fuwanovel.net/index.php?/topic/7267-ayakashibito-first-impressions-vn-reading-club/

[Kosakyun]

Nah, you can join whenever. There's already a discussion thread for this month, if you want to read Ayakashibito. Otherwise, see you next month~

https://forums.fuwanovel.net/index.php?/topic/7267-ayakashibito-first-impressions-vn-reading-club/

 

So that's the official thread for Ayakashibito's discussion huh.

I thought it was something for the ones who read it early or something.

Oh well.

[Rilarion]

I've finished Ayakashibito yesterday and it didn't dissapoint til the  now waiting for the 21st

[Kosakyun]

I've yet to finish it.

Encountered Suzu's first scene in her route.

...I now know why the title's Ayakashibito.

Very good.

[CLuBLioN]

I finished all Touko endings and Tonya ending so maybe I will be able to finish this vn before the 21st day comes.

Man I loved Tonya ending that was bad ass B)

[Kosakyun]

I finished all Touko endings and Tonya ending so maybe I will be able to finish this vn before the 21st day comes.

Man I loved Tonya ending that was bad ass B)

 

You have a lot of time, huh?

Kudos to you.

I'm stuck in Suzu's route.

[M.Gladstone]

I didn't think I would finish it in time but I devoted most of today to reading Suzu's route.  Wow, that was an amazing ending and a very enjoyable ride.

[sirjabberwock]

I am loving the comedic elements of the visual novel... Every time one of the main characters comes on-screen, I find myself laughing uncontrollably ^ω^

[Kosakyun]

Oh yeah. I finished Suzu's route.

It was beautiful.

The last battle was kind of funny too.

 

Anyway, has anybody completed the scene gallery?

If so, then can you tell me what scenes are on the second column, first and second cell?

I'm missing 3 CGs and 2 H-scenes.

[Shimakaze]

Overall, I really like Tonya's route, after all, how can you not hnnnnnnnng in front of

 

Tonya after receiving a letter from her "sister"

[Kosakyun]

Overall, I really like Tonya's route, after all, how can you not hnnnnnnnng in front of

 

Tonya after receiving a letter from her "sister"

 

I couldn't hnnnnng after

 

she read the letter from her sister in the end. I could only cry.

[Rilarion]

I couldn't hnnnnng after

 

she read the letter from her sister in the end. I could only cry.

 

I think shimakaze mean't her cuddly mode

[Kaguya]

This thread will assume you're part of the VN Reading Club and you've finished reading Ayakashibito. If you want to discuss the early half of the game, you can do it here. There is no need for the use of spoilers in this particular thread, except for offtopic discussion.

 

So? What did y'all think of Suzu's route?

[Zakamutt]

Might want to add [spoilerS] to the title, idk though.

 

I liked Suzu's route, but the real takeaway for me is the final battle. Goddamn that shit is badass. There are decent reasons for it being on rails instead of clickable, but I have problems with auto as I sometimes miss things and have to randomly re-read stuff for whatever reason. As such I didn't exactly like that aspect, but it wasn't a huge problem. Bigger thing for me in fault's initial demo.

 

The various plot reveals are fairly cool too, though you could argue that the gradual ayakashibation of jinyou that even the diluted aya-blood was supposed to cause isn't really shown much. A decent amount of planning went into the setting, at least!

[Nimbus]

Let me start out by saying that I loved this visual novel.

 

The story was really well executed and I appreciated how the writers actually expanded on the universe and allowed the story to delve into it rather than just teasing us with it (I'm looking at you Comyu).

The characters are perhaps the strongest element, all of them are fleshed out with their own stories and personalities but what really makes the characters memorable is how nearly all of them re enjoyable, even the ones who start out as people you hate by the end you can sympathises with them such as the dominion members (excluding Ichina who was just the worst). Even Keijirou was introduced as a bit of a dick but quickly became awesome.

 

An interesting thing I found with Ayakashibito was how each route actually dealt with all of the major plot threads (dominions hunt, tens plans etc.). I assumed that this would be similar to Hishozora where plot threads are resolved as you go through each route with the final one bringing all the resolutions together so I was pleased to get something a little different to what I'm used to.

 

Favourite route would have to be Touko's with the second ending. I loved how the protagonist become possessed and delt with such dark thoughts and Prez's final farewell was just heartbreaking so much so that I actually felt bad for not being able to develop a bond with him in later routes.

 

My favourite moments would have to be Karito's moment of glory in Tonya's route (Karito was actually my favourite character as well so it was a pity they didn't do more with him) and Kuki's final moments in Suzu's first ending (I cried a little inside and I'm not sorry).

As far as criticisms go I really don't have much. It did take me a while to become invested into the story so it was something of a slow start for me, I'm not sure if anyone else had this problem.

Overall I loved Ayakashibito, great story, brilliant characters and an interesting world that I can be invested in.

[Clephas]

I already made my comments in the other thread... and I'm too sick to think right now, so...

[Yukiru]

All in all, I only liked Tonya's route, the common route felt slow to me, the heroines are not particularly interesting, and the plot could be a lot better.

 

To say the least, it was fun to play and the chu2 was awesome--the boost in overall quality when those chu2 and sometimes H scenes appeared was pretty notorious.

[sirjabberwock]

I will post here when the time comes I'm in the middle of Tonya's route rn and it's been a great ride so far. Hopefully Kaoru-oneechan's route doesn't make me hate life too much (it honestly looks awful given what I've seen so far about her), but I've reaaaaally enjoyed the other heroines, their routes, and a large majority of the supporting characters ^ω^

[Nimbus]

All in all, I only liked Tonya's route, the common route felt slow to me, the heroines are not particularly interesting, and the plot could be a lot better.

 

To say the least, it was fun to play and the chu2 was awesome--the boost in overall quality when those chu2 and sometimes H scenes appeared was pretty notorious.

[Kosakyun]

Well then.

 

Ayakashibito was a fun ride. I went in not expecting anything. I finished it and I was satisfied with it.

I'm not regretting using up a lot of my time on the novel, since it was very good. The start pulls in the audience by describing the current situation in the visual novel. The escape of Takebe Ryouichi and some unknown girl was indeed mysterious. Of course, to find out what really happened, the audience must continue reading the game. That in itself reels in its readers. I was one of the victims. It was really intriguing, since it started out really dark and stuff.

 

The part where they spent their time with Gramps was beautiful. It was like a family setting, only that Suzu was continuously hostile towards Gramps. Especially when he discovered that Ryouichi was a Jinyou. I wonder why he didn't die immediately though. Fast forward to Kawakami City's entrance, and their last goodbye with Gramps. It's kind of sad that they had to erase Gramps' memories, but I guess it's for the best, especially since Dominion was able to track them, leading them to Gramps. The little girl being abused outside Kawakami City shows us a clear example of how Jinyou are treated by normal people. They are ridiculed, discriminated, hated, and a lot more.

 

Enter Kawakami City, and welcome to school life. It was kind of unexpected, since the VN started all dark and mysterious. Of course, school life is something that visual novels will never get tired of showing. And of course, the novel introduces the characters that will play a big part in the story from that point onwards. Tonya, Keijirou, Io, Shuugen, Touko, Kotarou, Yatagarasu, Karasu, Miu, Sakura, and Aino. I was really relieved to see some action after a number of days in the novel though, embodying itself as the fight between Soushichi and Karasu. It was really refreshing, since I really wanted some action in my action visual novel. The fights after that were also entertaining. Of course, they all become happy in the end of that conflict. Suzu and Soushichi are now members of the Student Council.

 

From here on out, the novel will start indicating the split of routes. The routes, as we all know, are split into four. You can enter either the route of Touko, Tonya or Kaoru. These are the three that are initially available to you. Suzu's will be unlocked after finishing the three.

 

Now, let's talk about the different routes.

 

The first one I did was Tonya's. Why? Well, Tonya was cute. That's my only reason. From the start, Tonya was already introduced as someone foreign. To be exact, a foreign exchange student who happens to be a Jinyou too. A Jinyou with a weird organ called Kikimora. Tonya's route was easygoing at first. It was sort of like a comedy. The serious part is hinted right after Tonya cooks for Soushichi for the first time. Vladimir hints that they are observing the boy. It means that they have some ulterior motive. What might this motive be? It got me more interested in the route. In the end, Tonya's route brings up the bond between siblings. A bond that is especially present between Tonya and Sasha. The bond that can be felt through their letters. Letters that they did not receive. In the end though, it's nice that Tonya finally got to read one of Sasha's letters. A letter that she'll truly cherish as a memory of her sister. Overall, the route was pretty nice. The action scenes were nice too. They actually killed people, huh. It was kind of late though. And to think that Dominion would show up at the worst time... They actually live up to their villainy.

 

Next route I did was Touko's route. Touko is your typical shrine maiden with a twist: she shares a body with her big brother, Shuugen. They view this as a problem, and therefore find it hard to reveal to others. After all, Shuugen is admired by the girls, while Touko is loved by the boys. What now if they share one body? They are then discriminated. Others hate them, but others just become awkward after knowing that. There are some who stay though. These people are the embodiment of Touko's strength. The people who accept her and Shuugen as who they are. Touko's route was beautiful, especially after the part where Hounan enters Soushichi. Don't get me wrong. I loved Touko and Soushichi's lovey dovey scenes. But oh my god. Tonya was comedy gold here. Especially that little skit in Soushichi's house. Very very good. Anyway, seeing Soushichi transform into something that he despises was really entertaining. He didn't want to submit himself to Hounan, but he also didn't want to die. That created a new presence: an unnamed Ayakashi. This unnamed Ayakashi was awesome. The battles were pretty intense. I also like this route since Kuki is given another chance in life. And that's just beautiful. Overall, I loved the route, since the unnamed Ayakashi was awesome.

 

Now comes Kaoru's route. I guess it was the fastest route for me. It was simply regaining Kaoru-san and making her realize that Dominion is not for her. Something like that. Kotarou was awesome here. He's a real badass, knocking over a car with his bare knuckles. Also, Soushichi actually trains himself in this route. Training himself under Katou-sensei and Karasu, he tries to learn Yata Raiten-ryu. He doesn't master it, but is able to incorporate it into his foundation ---- Kuki-ryu. The fight between Dominion members were well done. I was disappointed in Ichibee and Reina's fight though. Very un-action like. The fight between Kotarou and Kuki though. Sensei versus sensei. It was great. I think this is the route I liked the least. This was the route that showed Kuki's transformation into a fiend though. Very good.

 

Suzu's route. It was undoubtedly the best for me. Like, the best. Everything was great. My heart would split into pieces whenever she'd deny Soushichi after she lost her memories though. I also like the fact that the term Ayakashibito was actually incorporated here. An Ayakashi Human. To sacrifice one's afterlife to be with the one he loves. It was beautiful. There were a lot of happy moments, but what was most notable here in this route was the number of action scenes. After Suzu's kidnapping, the action scenes don't stop anymore. Well maybe it does in the hospital. Anyway, the fighting scenes man. The fighting scenes. Soushichi's fight against Teruyoshi. Touko against Ichibee. The high speed vehicle chase. Kuki versus Soushichi. Everything was really nice. That's why this was my favorite route. Suzu was practically useless here though. I also didn't see much of Shuugen, but oh well. He had his spotlight in Touko's route. Basically, this was the route that gave Ayakashibito its ending. A route that sealed all loose ends. Well, at least supposedly sealed them. The ride was fun though. The last fight was also nice. Didn't think that they'd both turn into foxes. That really surprised me.

 

Overall, Ayakashibito was a great visual novel. I definitely didn't waste my time reading it, and I'd definitely recommend it to other people. I just hope I get the chance to complete the gallery though.