Weekly VN/Route Appreciation Thread

[Funyarinpa]

I think we should have a thread where people can weekly share a piece about a VN or a route that they think does not receive enough attention (be it in general or on Fuwa). Each week, a random pick out of a pool of volunteers will publish a small text or an article explaining why they think a particular route or VN deserves more attention than it gets. 

 

There are several rules you should follow when making a post:

 

Application

-You can apply to make a post via sending a PM to me. Every month, I'll randomly pick four people (one per week) from the applicants to write up something for the thread.

 

-If your post gets published, you cannot reenter the applicant pool for six weeks. If you are elected in a month where your six-week cooldown period ends partway, you'll be placed back in order (If you have two weeks in the cooldown for example, you will have the third-to-last or last spot, depending on the cooldown periods of other writers).

 

-You will need to tell me which VN you will write about in your application. If you want to change your VN, you can do so via a PM to me until one week before your due date.

 

-Please do not circlejerk by saying "F/SN is soooo underrated!" or anything similar. The thread aims to shed light on unpopular VN's and routes, not to praise already popular VN's.

 

 

Formatting Guidelines

-It should be between 100 and 1500 words (for anything larger than 500, please state the game outside the spoiler tag and put the rest in a spoiler).

 

-As we might have many texts in a single page,  please put any images larger than 400x400 in spoiler tags.

 

-Before your post, please write the full title of your VN (As well as the route, if you are writing about a particular route), linked to its VNDB page.

 

-The font should generally be size 14 and the default typeface. If you want to use emphasis or something similar, feel free to change things up a bit though. (This DOES NOT mean you can post a 1500-word essay written in 46-sized cursive font outside a spoiler tag!)

 

Spoiler Policy

-For VN's, you cannot post any explicit spoilers (things like "The mysterious killer was the main character's best friend all along!"), character names and rough characteristics at most. You can still say things like "abrupt endings" or "amazing plot twists near the end of the VN"  since those are commentary and do not explicitly state what happens in the story.

 

-For routes: You will have to put your post in a spoiler tag. Besides that, feel free to talk about spoilery stuff!

 

The reason there is a difference between a VN and a route is because it is very hard to talk about what makes a route good without spoilers, given how a route focuses on a particular character and/or particular events.

 

Thread Guidelines

-Only article posts and feedback/questions regarding the articles are allowed. Posts like "Man, when will my turn come?" or "I want to participate next month!" will be deleted. 

 

-Please keep discussion respectful. If you have anything to say regarding spoilers, put it in a spoiler tag no matter what.

 

-To avoid clutter, do not quote the article you are giving a feedback on (in your post). If you want to comment on an article written more than a week ago, state that it is that article you are responding to.

 

For any questions or feedback about this thread, send me a PM!

 

Article Index

 

Week #1- Remember11 (Funyarinpa)

 

Sample text below. 

[Funyarinpa]

Game: Remember11 -The Age Of Infinity-

 

Remember11's big brother, Ever17, is the VN that receives far more attention. However, I actually prefer Remember11 overall. That is because Remember11 has actually made pretty much everything better than Ever17 did. I really like the pacing of Remember11- It is a roller coaster of tense, exciting, sad and happy moments. I also really like the settings: the asylum SPHIA is very... artificial and mysterious while the mountain cabin hosts a wonderful battle between nature and humanity. In my opinion, Remember11 rarely drags on. My biggest complaint is that it has 33 endings and at least 20 of these are insignificant. Given the context of the story, they DO make some sense but unfortunately trying to get them all is a pain. The endings are disappointing, but the voyage until then is AMAZING. I can easily say this is the Umineko of sci-fi VN (in terms of mindfuck and plot twists). The soundtrack is also amazing. The OP song (Little Prophet), All Or None and Chaining are some examples.

 

Overall, I think this VN is underrated and deserves greater recognition.

[Wonderfullyevil]

Game: Higanbana no Saku Yoru ni

When it comes to 07thExpansion works, several things come to mind. Creative, fun ideas that manage to be structurally deep, mind screws, creepy lolis, a good helping of gore, horror, incredibly hammy evil laughs, wonderful music, and shitty art with even shittier meat mittens called “hands”. In Higanbana, the music is still wonderful, and the shitty art is slightly less shitty. The other elements, if even present at all, are rarely seen however. I mean the synopsis even shows that the setting is an elementary school! It even mentions school mysteries which sound like it belongs in a SoL anime, courtesy of KyoAni. Well, okay it also mentions bullying, molestation, and death, but it doesn’t stand out one bit, even after reading the first chapter. The lolis aren’t creepy, the gore is only present for like, 2 chapters, my mind was only blown once, and the idea isn’t fun at all. So, what is it that makes Higanbana worth reading? The answer lies in its messages and horror.
 
Higanbana is separated into chapters, each chapter being its own self-contained story. Each of them involves one student and his or her problem and how it is solved with the help of Youkai, and how said help affects them. That’s it. Nothing special. Unlike When They Cry, I wouldn’t say Higanbana is entertaining because it is an endless string of cruel events. It doesn’t make you think the same way WTC does either. Because of this, the themes it presents are done so heavily and straight-forwardly. While this may be a good thing, one could argue that Higanbana lays it down TOO heavily, and I’d completely agree. Not to mention its theme, “Bullying is bad” has been done countless times. What makes Higanbana’s presentation outstanding in comparison is that it never holds back on the cruelty and the bitterness on the subject. Things are never all daisies and rainbows on the subject. You’d probably only enjoy this if you’re sadistic (like me!)
 
In terms of horror, it’s done really well. It knows how to be subtle yet gruesome. I know I said the art is shitty but it still adds to the experience with a “less is more” approach. It’s never overblown or narmy due to distorted facial expressions and the like. When it comes to horror, the atmosphere should be the cause of the tag, and not actually being scared, as the former requires effort in comparison and Higanbana succeeds in this aspect. The music is also a boon to it. Ranging from the mysterious, to the elegant, to the unsettling, it enhances every scene like every OST should.
 
In terms of the actual stories, they were well-written. The scenes are impactful and good enough to keep you reading. However, don’t expect a constant quality. There are definitely ones a lot more outstanding than the others. Those are REALLY good; I would even say Higanbana is worth it for those chapters. In terms of characters, they all display good growth. It’s set on a scale matching their trials, never too drastic, if not a little dramatic. They feel human and are relatable, but not necessarily likable.
 
If you want a VN not here to entertain, then this is a good example. It's pretty short and sweet too.
 
Overall, I think this VN is underrated and deserves greater recognition.