edwd2 Posted November 8, 2014 Share Posted November 8, 2014 Visual novels are a medium of storytelling. They come in a variety of genres and styles, there's no point generalizing the works of any particular country or language when they differ so much individually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pabloc Posted November 8, 2014 Share Posted November 8, 2014 Okay, a line must be drawn here. Setting and culture are NOT the same thing. Accusing Katawa Shoujo of trying to imitate a Japanese story or automatically dismissing each and every OELVN that uses Japan as a setting as copycats are NOT valid complaints. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nohman Posted November 9, 2014 Share Posted November 9, 2014 I've been reading a few OELVNs in the past month and it's a road I'm glad I went down. I've noticed my critical reaction to OELVNs differ somewhat from how I usually gauge a Japanese VN. Since they are relatively short, particularly when compared to some of the more monstrous titles, I tend to view them in a similar lens that I would use for a movie or a short story. The elements of a story are weighted differently. For OELVNs, things like themes, narrative, and the presentation are at the front of my mind. Basically, did it tell a good story and did I comparatively enjoy it for the length it took? For a lot of the Japanese titles I've read (at least the lengthy ones), I'd probably rank characterization and setting as the most important elements. I want to get invested, I want to care about the characters, and I want to achieve catharsis through them. Obviously things like it being thematically interesting is important, but it's not as central to my enjoyment as it would be for a 2-hour title. Obviously length isn't exclusive to the national origin of a VN, there's plenty of short Japanese VNs after all. This is more of a personal observation on what I've been finding myself getting out of OELVNs vs JVNs. I haven't yet read an OELVN that I enjoyed more than some of my favorite JVNs, but I do find myself getting different things out of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 9, 2014 Share Posted November 9, 2014 JVNs have Clannad, OELVNs don't. Boom 1-0 Is there much difference besides the fact that the OELVNs are more likely to have better writing (authentic as in not translated) and JVNs better art and music because of the budget difference? Otherwise they are exactly the same. Just different people making them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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