For Veterans: Which heroines do you still love even now?

[Clephas]

I saw this thread

and wondered... just how many heroines do I remember and love after all this time?  I've played literally hundreds of VNs, so, quite naturally, I've lost track of more heroines than I remember.  So... which heroines do you still remember fondly even after a year or two without playing the game in question?

My List:

Donoko, Miyabi, and Shino from Uruwashi no- I have played better than fifty nakige since I started playing VNs, but Haruka ni Aogi, Uruwashi no remains the single best one I've ever played.  The struggles of these three heroines continue to be my gold standard for nakige paths everywhere, even now.

Kagome from Comyu- I love Kagome.  Her contemptuous smile, her ruthless pragmatism, and her fondness for her kukri knives remain in my memory to this day... along with her nude Y-shirt look.

Ami from Semiramis no Tenbin- If there is a heroine I can honestly call 'evil' and still love passionately, this is her.  Ami is manipulative, cruel (at times), and bitterly contemptuous of standard morality.  Despite this, she is very protective of those she happens to care about, and she is a great deal more accepting of people's faults than you'd think.

Shizuku, Ritia, and Kazuna from Evolimit- Yes, all three heroines from this, one of my permanent top ten VNs, are objects of love to me even now.  Ritia's duality of adorableness and charismatic military leadership; Kazuna's mischievousness and absolute sense of responsibility; and Shizuku's frontier spirit (combined with that insane love of anything 'wa') make me smile to this day.

Kotori from Nanairo Reincarnation- Kotori seems like your standard 'wannabe ____' heroine at first, but the depth of her story and its uniqueness will break your heart. 

Chitose and Vendetta from Silverio Vendetta- Most Light games aren't defined by their heroines, and this one is no exception.  However, Chitose and Vendetta are both as memorable as they come.  Chitose for her odd combination of fanatical devotion to duty with a recognition of herself as a woman at heart, and Vendetta's loving devotion to Zephyr (often expressed as insults with a sadistic smile) will never leave my memory.

Reika, Kaoru, Tsuki, Anzu, Moe, etc from the Akagoei series- Akagoei's characters in general are memorable... and its heroines even moreso. 

Aki from Reminiscence- Aki is unique in my experience of little sister characters, expressing a genuine loathing for her big brother... which makes her path all the more interesting.

Suzu and Tanya from Ayakashbito- Anybody who likes this VN will know why.

Selma from Bullet Butlers - A rise from the ashes story in the best tradition of the type.

Kanata and Mutsuki from Devils Devel Concept - Strictly speaking, I love all the heroines from this VN, but the ones that have the strongest impact are these two.  Mutsuki's hedonism combined with a moralism unnatural to her race, and Amatsu Kanata's arrogance and intelligence give them both a permanent place in my heart... even though they would probably squish me like a bug if we met irl.

Yayoi, Maia, Keiko and Saki from Hapymaher- Hapymaher is a story of grief, partings, deep love, and the acceptance of loss and pain.  The VN as a whole breaks my heart every time I play it, its every word designed to enhance the 'setsunasa' of the story. 

Kaze no Ushiro ni Ayumu Mono from Jingai Makyou- Jingai Makyou was the first VN I played in Japanese, and Kaze no Ushiro ni Ayumu Mono was the first heroine whose story I read in Japanese.  On the surface, she is your standard genkikko. However, she is a wolf at heart, and it is that part of her nature that defines her as a character.

Marie from Dies Irae- Marie, a girl who was born at the foot of the guillotine during the bloody era of the French Revolution and who went to the guillotine without ever having known the touch of another human being.   Her gentle innocence and capacity for boundless love are so powerful that she created the impetus for the story of the game as a whole.

... thousands of heroines, and I could probably name another three dozen, but these are the ones that came to mind immediately.

[Okarin]

Since in an average VN-reading career you'll get hundreds of heroines, they have to be really special to stick.

Me, I haven't felt the urge to replay older novels, I'm only moving forward.

[Rose]

Not a veteran but 

7 minutes ago, Clephas said:

Suzu and Tanya from Ayakashbito- Anybody who likes this VN will know why.

can confirm, I know why ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) 

[fun2novel]

Marie from Dies Irae.

Raziel, Sorami, Lilith from Tokyo Babel.

Tsugumi from Ever17.

Yuuri, Yui, Mashiro from Root Double.

Ibuki, Mikan from Danganronpa 2.

Ril from Paradise Lost.

Claudia from  Dies irae ~Interview with Kaziklu Bey~.. 

Not everyone here is very memorable but I think those are good heroines non the less.

[Soulless Watcher]

Not quite sure if I'm eligible for the thread since I have only read around 75, but I have a few that hold a special part in my h(e)ar-em.

Ayamine Kei from Muv Luv - Tall, womanly, and more than able to kick my ass in any timeline Ayamine Kei stole my heart with her don't give a fuck attitude and how she communicated more with facial expressions than actual dialogue. 

Yosomiya Tsuzuriko from Kara no Shoujo - (sigh) In this rather quite depressing VN Tsuzuriko was one of the few lighter parts of my reading experience. Full of energy and personality I came to feel much more attached to her than Touko, who came across as bizarre and chuunibyouish. 

Aoki Touji from Cartagra/Kara no Shoujo 2 - I admit this one is nearly 100% her character design. A albino, one armed, mob boss that beats up people with a tonfa.... fucking badass. 

Yuubana Mayuki - It has been awhile since I read Couq and I have nearly forgotten every route except Mayukis'. It really stood out to me as most of the other routes focused quite a bit on the world and politics, but her's was completely character based and all the complex stuff was set in the background until the end. There was just something about her route and the natural way she grew closer to Akihito that felt more authentic than most, than again I shouldn't be commenting on "authentic romance" considering I'm a lifetime loner .

Toosaka Rin from F/SN - O come on, do I really need to explain this one? Rin is a classic.

Rune from The Fault Series (or my profile pic ) - 

Spoiler

I have always had a fascination with the idea of the "reformed monster", not someone who was simply a criminal and decided to give that up, but someone that had something horribly broken in their head, the type of person that you have a hard time believing was even human, but was somehow able to obtain their humanity and feel guilt for what they have done. 

Every heroine from Grisaia - Love it or hate it, there is no denying the characters in the series are brimming with personality, complexity, and charm. 

Urushibara Ruka from Steins;Gate - This harkens back to the beginnings of my descent into otakudom and when I was still very religiously conservative. Yes, I was one those people who didn't quite have the most favorable view of homosexuality and transgenders. I had to rethink my stances on many things after Ruka made my heart throb.

Edited December 1, 2016 by Soulless Watcher

[Ariurotl]

Yuka from Crescendo, OH MY GOD. She was my favorite for ages back in the day when my heart wasn't a black hole of infinite hate and bitterness.

Also Riho from DEARDROPS is my absolute favorite right now, but the VN is a bit recent, y'know, relatively.

Hmm, who else... Mami from Canvas 2 is genuinely someone I'd absolutely fall for IRL. A girl who has her shit together, gets my shit together and is prone to hilarious fake sarcastic daydreaming (uhh, you pretty much have to read it in order to understand what I'm talking about)? Sold.

Tomoko, also from Canvas 2, is great as well.

Who else? I used to like Chisato from X-Change 2, Anzu from DC2... Pretty sure there were others from oldey VNs, but I can't remember right now.

[mitchhamilton]

kotori from da capo. this may have been the first vn i played with a dere dere character of this level. i love her voice, her arc, and kotori love exp.

 

kotori from if my heart had wings. i swear the name kotori isnt my fetish. loved her tough exterior at first and it wasnt because of the usual character tropes of just being a tsundere but because she was scared of getting close to people and pushed them away despite wanting friends.

 

yuka from crescendo. absolutely my favorite route in the vn because of how crazy it gets. there are some pretty shit stuff in this route but overall, i like it and her.

 

mayumayu from comyu. yes kagome is fantastic but mayumayu is also great. probably one of the best loli's ever.

 

hmm, cant think of anyone else atm. maybe later ill add morez

 

[Chronopolis]

lol for veterans is the best click bait. Gets me everytime.
Jokes aside...

I don't usually carry a burning passion long past having finishing a VN, but I do still think strongly towards them and remember them either treasuring their existence and/or being moved by their actions.
My current list is probably:

• Flourite from Komorebi no Nostaligicia {Her AI nature, frankness （素直さ）, and amazing sincerity}
• Eusurize from Gurenka　｛The way she gives consideration to lesser beings than her. Even though she isn't bound by a knightly code nor is a particularly charitable person. Also her backstory is a little wistful.}
• Rizuberuru from リズベルルの魔 (recentish) {very cute, considerate, more girly than childish. Not often that a little girl character gets to be of the main characters of a plotge. (most of the time they are not as developed as the rest of the cast and do not play much a role)
• Noel from All the way we go (recent) {Really left an impression, having gone through her good ending. Her pained clarity, her actions, the things she appreciates, her way of being.}
• Lily from 魔法少女 (recentish) {To introduce her, she's a half-English (half Japanese) person who nonetheless cannot speak English. She strives to emulate certain ideals of Japanese beauty (ie. Yamato Nadeshiko). She also happens to be very good-looking (美人). While the other characters find her a little strange and it hard to interact with her, by the end of the story, she might have been the most valiant of them all.}

Past favourites which have faded over the years:
Lily from Katawa Shoujo
Minami from Soshite, Ashita no Sekai Yori (though as a sweet girl (a little mischievous, but caring) who likes to dream, I can't say she isn't my type.)

Honorable mention to Maimi from 無限煉姦 {Not really a love intersest, but there were a bunch of moving parts in the VN. In particular I remember being so god damn relieved when it got to chapter 2.}

Edited December 1, 2016 by Chronopolis

[Suzu Fanatic]

There are three that have stuck with me over the years, to varying degrees.

1. Suzu (obv.)

2. Tohsaka Rin

3. Hanako (Katawa Shoujo)

 

Bunch of small and large reasons, could write a full-page essay -but to sum it up - they each possess a certain strength of character I am drawn to. And yet they are not "perfect", as they still possess times of weakness/doubt. Makes it easy to empathize with them and feel personable.

 

That, and Suzu has the best smile in the world

[Nandemonai]

I've played more VNs than many, but not nearly "hundreds".  And being restricted to English VNs, means many of the ones I have played are from the dark days of official localizations, when mainly crap yarugee was being localized.  Ones that stick out particularly:

- Yuka from Crescendo.  (I swear, I was going to pick her before I saw two other people in this thread do it.  I was into her before she was popular, god damn it! )

- Sora from Ever 17. 

 

Gotta love someone who, when she tells you she's a terrible liar? She's lying.

- Sari from Nocturnal Illusion.  (Big surprise, I named someone from a game I liked enough to work on.)  She's probably the most memorable of the game's cast, for reasons I won't elaborate on (the game's so old that so few who have played it are still fans that it's come back around to spoiler territory!)

- Sei from Koihime Musou.  Pretty much everything she does is memorable, and half of it is completely hilarious.

Edited December 1, 2016 by Nandemonai
formatting weirdness

[Norleas]

Luna from Tsuriotsu - Luna it's the sole reason that i endured tons of fashion talk and a protagonist that is more passive than a some sex slave heroines from certain nukiges.  She deliver some funny moments when she teases Yuusei/Ursule, she is a genius of the fashion world, without mention that she is albino and the leader of the guild. It's not coincidence that she wins 2/3 best character prizes.

Komomo from Hoshimemo - She is my favorite heroine from the first vn that i read, her tsundere personality is one of the betters and in my opnion she has the best route of the game (call nostalgia factor or anything else, but i overrate hoshimemo a lot).

Hiyo from Asairo - White hair and deredere, you cannot go against this characteristics, her punishment mode is very funny too and she symbolizes to me the best vn that i read so far.

I have some more heroines in mind but i'm too lazy to write big texts now.

 

 

 

[Conjueror]

21 hours ago, Clephas said:

Donoko, Miyabi, and Shino from Uruwashi no- I have played better than fifty nakige since I started playing VNs, but Haruka ni Aogi, Uruwashi no remains the single best one I've ever played.  The struggles of these three heroines continue to be my gold standard for nakige paths everywhere, even now.

Seconded.

Also Aqua from Himawari, Mitoko from Damekoi, Yuuko from ef, Kohaku from Tsukihime, Tsugumi from Ever17, Yuumi from Sakura no Uta, and Yukari from Gore Screaming Show in my case.

Edited December 1, 2016 by Conjueror

[Eclipsed]

Makise Kurisu, we all know how fun S;G is, and it was like my 3rd VN, and so as soon as she gave that wtfmux infodump lecture on time travel and whatnot I instantly uhhh yeahhh gogo CELEB SEVENTEEN!@#
I don't get it


Kozuki Kazuna, alotta people dislike her(?) for being that excessively bright energetic light in the middle of dark and somber Cartagra, but I enjoyed E.V.E.R.Y. M.I.N.U.T.E. of her presence. Was so fond of her character, that I completely broke and become depressed for several days during Kara no Shoujo.

Yes. Now LIE DOWN!!! 
 

 

Maizono Sayaka, more of a lingering regret, that still lingers, but it's an amazing regret. She really gave me that empty void feeling throughout my time with Danganronpa series, when I would occasionally think about what could've, and should've, been.

Anythin' for you, beb </3

 

Ionasal kkll Preciel, Heheh, always gotta mention my absolute ultimate secret bias favorite, idk, Ar Nosurge just resonated with me so well, maybe it's cuz you're literally a part of/involved in the story helping these characters, and Ion herself has such a great, grand story when you think about it that it's hard not to want to cheer her on. One of these days I'll do the master Japanese so I can fking play Ciel Nosurge and get some Ion goodies

YO FK YOU, IT'S YOU THAT'S ON THE OTHER SIDE OF A SCREEN
 

 

Tohsaka Rin, my latest guilty pleasure and current-most-likely-permanent recordholder for best tsun-tsun because capable and magicks, I'll say it again if I had read Fate/Stay early on instead of 2 years into my VN career my avatar would've been Rin. I guess it's good though, since she's obvs super pops and so me being Louise gives me that sense of individualismness on the forums not that that matters.

Shit, caught redhanded, my b

[Suzu Fanatic]

@ConjuerorI can understand choosing Kohaku - she was my favorite as well.

@Eclipsed 3 out of 5! They def. rank high with me (Rin, Sayaka, and Kazuna) I personally really liked Kazuna's bubbly nature in Cartagra - it really left me guessing, and kept me on pins and needles wondering what to expect from her/the story. (was it an act? was it real? etc)

KnS spoiler:

Spoiler

Screw that noise, that was such a rough shock to me Somehow, I felt robbed of the "victory" I earned in Cartagra~

 

[yorikbad]

Usame Haru from "G-senjou no Maou". She was my first "love" and she still is one of the favorite characters from vns. Genious, mysterious, loyal, sharp-tongued. And I'm really fond of her voice.

Special mention to: Tezuka Rin (Katawa Shoujo), Hagana (WEE), Ritona Reighnvhasta (Fault), Kurisu-chan (S:G) and a certain naughty witch from the one cursed mansion...

I guess, I prefer when my heroine is smarter than me