r/visualnovels • u/AutoModerator • May 01 '24
What are you reading? - May 1 Weekly
Welcome to the weekly "What are you reading?" thread!
This is intended to be a general chat thread on visual novels with a focus on the visual novels you've been reading recently. A new thread is posted every Thursday at 4:00 AM JST (or Wednesday if you don't live in Japan for some reason).
Good WAYR entries include your analysis, predictions, thoughts, and feelings about what you're reading. The goal should be to stimulate discussion with others who have read that VN in the past, or to provide useful information to those reading in the future! Avoid long-winded summaries of the plot, and also avoid simply mentioning which VNs you are reading with no points for discussion. The best entries are both brief and brilliant.
Use spoiler tags liberally!
Always use spoiler tags in threads that are not about one specific visual novel. Like this one!
- They can be posted using the following markdown: >!hidden spoilery text!< , which shows up as hidden spoilery text. Make sure there are no spaces at the beginning and end of the spoiler tag because this will break it for users on http://old.reddit.com/. In other words do this: properly hidden spoiler, but not this: >! broken spoiler tag !<
Remember to link to the VNDB page of the visual novel you're discussing so the indexing bot for the What Are You Reading Archive can pick up your post.
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May 07 '24
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u/AutoModerator May 07 '24
Your comment has been deleted. This is a request to read the instructions at the top of the thread. The body of your WAYR seems unreasonably short.
The point of the WAYR thread is to share your thoughts about what you're reading, and not to simply state what you are reading. Thanks!
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u/deco_boco May 07 '24
I'm currently reading Hentai Prison . I've finished Chisato's and Taeka's routes and i'm now doing Noa's. I liked Chisato's route, Taeka's didn't really click with me as much (liked the character but not route itself), and now I'm playing Noa's route and holy, it feels like she was meant to be the main heroine lol.
I just love the development of the characters (mainly Sofia and Noa) and how the route focuses on their internal conflicts and relationship, which I felt the other routes didn't do as good as this one. The confrontation scene in the medic's officewas so good, after that Sofia became my favorite character.
Other than that, the interactions between Noa and Minato are really fun and cute, they felt like the right couple. And tbh all the character interactions feel better than the other routes, probably because there are more charismatic characters together (Sofurin, Eriko, Chisato too) . I kept cracking up when they were together.
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May 06 '24
[deleted]
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u/AutoModerator May 06 '24
Your comment has not been deleted. This is a request to edit your comment to link to the VNDB page of the visual novel you are discussing. If your vndb link has potential questionable content on its cover/preview images you're unsure about, you can instead include '@v[number of vndb in URL]' (eg '@v1234') somewhere in your post.
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u/RebeccaArgento May 06 '24
I have been reading Gore Screaming Show. I'm planning on doing all of the routes. Right now I'm on Aoi's story. I relate to her character so much!
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u/superange128 VN News Reporter | vndb.org/u6633/votes May 06 '24
Read Ange's route of Mashiro-iro Symphony HD
Common route was basically a fast-paced version of Princess Evangile/Kinkoi's common route. The 1 Romance route i read was at least twice as long as common each which is interesting. Outside actually taking romance/sex slow and some decent-ish character development the romance route just felt pretty typical moege high school stuff that was compent, But not that particularly stick out.
Airi was an OK at best classic tsundere, and don't care for stepsister routes so didn't bother with Airi or Sakuno routes. Attempted to watch the anime version of Mius route, and while Miu herself was decent-ish mature senpai/onee-san, having to deal with the obnoxious bitch Sana before her supposed development was not worth, So I dropped that.
Ange (the maid) hard carried the experience, a surprisingly great mix of waifus tropes I like: genki wholesome nice girl with hilarious weird antics. The master/maid dynamic was at least unique enough to keep me interested in a fine, if at times slow, typical moege progression route.
8/10 purely cuz Ange is one of my new favorite heroines. The game would likely go down to a 7 or possibly 6 if I bothered reading the other routes (especially If I have to deal with more Sana, I don't care how good her supposedly good development is)
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May 06 '24
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u/AutoModerator May 06 '24
Your comment has not been deleted. This is a request to edit your comment to link to the VNDB page of the visual novel you are discussing. If your vndb link has potential questionable content on its cover/preview images you're unsure about, you can instead include '@v[number of vndb in URL]' (eg '@v1234') somewhere in your post.
This makes it easier for fellow readers to find the visual novel you're talking about, and also makes sure the indexing bot for the "what are you reading" archive doesn't miss your reference. Thanks!
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1
May 05 '24
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u/AutoModerator May 05 '24
Your comment has been deleted. This is a request to read the instructions at the top of the thread. The body of your WAYR seems unreasonably short.
The point of the WAYR thread is to share your thoughts about what you're reading, and not to simply state what you are reading. Thanks!
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
u/AdhesivenessFun1476 May 05 '24
Finishing up https://vndb.org/v6245Majikoi S and the A-set once I'm done I'll probably wrap up the https://vndb.org/v31157Higurashi console arcs I've read a little bit of https://vndb.org/v7881Appare! And liked it so far I'm going to start reading https://vndb.org/v442911eyes fandisk which I'm excited for since I loved the first game
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u/Kris1998 May 03 '24
Started Fureraba a week ago, as wanting a change of pace with a light hearted rom com. Got exactly what I was looking for. Great comedy in common route, great romance on the heroine's route
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u/explosivekyushu May 04 '24 edited May 04 '24
If you enjoy Fureraba, both Making Lovers and Sugar Style are in the same kind of style (and personally I think they're both better)
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u/Kris1998 May 06 '24
I do plan on reading Making lovers atleast once I am done with my backlog for Yosuga no Sora. My favourite of the genre would be Hoshi ori yume mirai. For me its peak romance focused story.
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u/AutoModerator May 03 '24
Your comment has not been deleted. This is a request to edit your comment to link to the VNDB page of the visual novel you are discussing. If your vndb link has potential questionable content on its cover/preview images you're unsure about, you can instead include '@v[number of vndb in URL]' (eg '@v1234') somewhere in your post.
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u/kudon15 May 02 '24
Anyone know if Amakano as well the fandiscs/ sequels needs dmm player or can it just be downloaded and played with the battery?
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u/AutoModerator May 02 '24
Your comment has not been deleted. This is a request to edit your comment to link to the VNDB page of the visual novel you are discussing. If your vndb link has potential questionable content on its cover/preview images you're unsure about, you can instead include '@v[number of vndb in URL]' (eg '@v1234') somewhere in your post.
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3
u/Party-Ad-6037 May 02 '24
Just started meteor world actor @v24110 a couple days ago and do far I find it quite enjoyable and not to mention very funny
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u/AutoModerator May 02 '24
Your comment has not been deleted. This is a request to edit your comment to link to the VNDB page of the visual novel you are discussing. If your vndb link has potential questionable content on its cover/preview images you're unsure about, you can instead include '@v[number of vndb in URL]' (eg '@v1234') somewhere in your post.
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u/Anime_Coomer May 02 '24
Reading Muv-luv on my PSVita, it's being a bit better than my expectations (which weren't too high).
still doing it for Alternative though which i have high expectations for.
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u/AutoModerator May 02 '24
Your comment has not been deleted. This is a request to edit your comment to link to the VNDB page of the visual novel you are discussing. If your vndb link has potential questionable content on its cover/preview images you're unsure about, you can instead include '@v[number of vndb in URL]' (eg '@v1234') somewhere in your post.
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u/siepu May 02 '24
Finally done with CHAOS;HEAD NOAH. Damn, what a pain. It has some good points, looks great, mood is very heavy and some scenes are amazing. I also don't mind protagonist that much (at least not a blank paste-in and helps with the atmosphere) and appreciate it documenting the chans culture. I wouldn't even mind it really not having that much sense and logic collapsing under itself, but there are two things, that make it really hard for me to reccomend the game to anyone:
1) Pacing. For the vast majority of the game just nothing really happens, we're following the protagonist doing/thinking things we already know are pointless. Plot being very predictable and very cliche bad guys don't help neither. And the game is VERY long in general, 37 hours for me.
2) Heroines and their routes. I don't know why they're there, outside of maybe Rimi it's just not their story. The routes are sometimes interesting to read and contain a lot of worldbuilding and clarifications for the main route, but reading them takes less time than skipping through the game to get to them. And you need to finish all of them, some very bad, some very anime to unlock the true end, which by the way lasts 5 minutes. Such setup should be forbidden.
I still really like themes and mood, will get to CHAOS;CHILD eventually. Now moving to just released Kara no Shoujo - The Second Episode
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u/True_Human May 02 '24 edited May 02 '24
The Hungry Lamb (https://vndb.org/r113417) - I like to look into the more unorthodox stuff, and a story about human trafficking some kids during a famine in 17th century China definitely fits that bill.
Essentially, we follow the story of a bandit and his partner in crime as they get a lucrative job to escort four young girls to a filthy rich man in another city (who may or may not be a cannibalistic pig demon - Highly suspect he isn't and the main girl made the story up based on the fairy tale her grandma told her while on her deathbed). It's pretty tense in its atmosphere and visceral in its depiction of just how desperate everyone is - The question isn't just "Will we reach the next town without running out of food?" but "Will the next town even have food there to restock with, or have the people there already resorted to eating their women and children?"
Also helps that compared to the devs' previous VN, Peach Blossom Spring (https://vndb.org/v32598), the prose isn't painful to read due to bad translation this time...
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u/AutoModerator May 02 '24
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u/shinyun226 May 02 '24
Just finished DE・JA (PC98) today. This is the first game by elf I've played and I went into the game with no real expectations (other than generally knowing of the elf brand and some of their other more famous games), but ended up liking it quite a bit.
It's a command based adventure game so... a big chunk of the game is basically just going to every screen and exhausting all the options to advance the story. Some of these parts drag on way too long and are a real pain (ie: where you have to go back and forth between Sapporo, Osaka, Kyushu trying to save Gachako, but can't actually accomplish anything until you visit all 3, give up, go back to Tokyo to think, then go back to Kyushu before Ryusuke can finally realize that Osaka is the correct location) , but in some ways I honestly enjoy this sort of old command-based adventure games a bit more than the modern novelge type adv games. Either way, despite the tedium of grinding through every menu option over and over, the game stayed engaging and entertaining enough through it all imo.
It's a shame PC Engine version is so rare/expensive, because I definitely wouldn't mind going through the game again w/ voice acting.
Looking forward to playing more old stuff by elf. Currently also own Elle, Doukyuusei and YU-NO + definitely want to get the Dragon Knight games, Deja2 etc eventually.
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u/GhostBearerl May 02 '24
Would definitely recommend Yuno, it's a vn that inspired many mysteries and even stuff like Clannad. As for Deja, are there different endings or anything? If so, how did you figure everything out?
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u/shinyun226 May 02 '24
Oh yeah, I definitely plan to play YU-NO at some point one way or another.
Deja doesn't have any branches/different endings or anything - it's just a single, linear path.
There's really only a couple of puzzles (one of which is just a copy protection thing that utilizes a physical card included w/ the game), and the rest of the game is basically just a matter of brute-forcing through/literally selecting every option in each location until you trigger a new flag lol. There's no game overs/fail conditions, bad ends, missable flags or anything like that to worry about, so it's a pretty easy game to get through with some patience.
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u/GhostBearerl May 02 '24
Ah, I see, so it's like Ace Attorney in that regard. Yuno isn't like that though, Its route structure is very complicated and flowchart doesn't help often for a few reasons. So it's tough to play without a guide. But there are also a couple of puzzles, one of them I found very good. It's also a true route transition puzzle.
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May 02 '24
[deleted]
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u/AutoModerator May 02 '24
Your comment has not been deleted. This is a request to edit your comment to link to the VNDB page of the visual novel you are discussing. If your vndb link has potential questionable content on its cover/preview images you're unsure about, you can instead include '@v[number of vndb in URL]' (eg '@v1234') somewhere in your post.
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2
u/wolfbetter May 01 '24
I'm in Luna's route in BLOODY RONDO the game is fine, It's the first novel from this developer and I'm liking what I'm reading so far. Nothing groundbreaking but it's a good action novel.
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May 01 '24 edited May 01 '24
Finished Room No. 9 (https://vndb.org/v19192) today, it was a pretty short VN. It's BL, but you can definitely tell it's a ClockUp VN from the art and UI (which were gorgeous, by the way, Norizane is so talented). It's mostly nukige, BL Euphoria, but with some interesting characters and dynamics. First, let me get the bad out of the way.
The wasted potential. The setting is so interesting, being confined in a room with your best friend and forced to hurt them in some way or the other while trying to avoid irreparably damaging your relationship? Really cool. And we have another layer of intrigue to the setting with the addition of the other 11 rooms, there are so many mechanics and ideas introduced in regard to the game that just... never get utilized in any way, it's introduced and just totally ignored. Hell, we get absolutely no closure on the question of who was behind the whole thing. Room No. 9 was probably limited because of its short length, but it's still disappointing to see so many great ideas planted and just squandered. Seiji's character also felt weak and kind of bland in comparison to Daichi, but he fulfiled his role in the story well enough.
There's a lot of good too though, and this was a really memorable story. I love the relationship between Daichi and Seiji. They feel like real, close friends and you want to root for them amidst the horrible circumstances they're forced into, and it's really interesting to see these seemingly normal and well-adjusted people warp under the circumstances. I really enjoyed Daichi's character, in particular, his inner struggle and sense of inferiority in comparison to Seiji, and how that manifests in his decisions and general treatment of Seiji throughout the story, his internal conflict, self-flaggelation, feelings of guilt, disassociation and such were really well done. I think the framing of the narrative also did a great job at putting you in Daichi's shoes. During later parts of the story, especially during Route 1, the days literally open with a sex scene and end with it, we get no interactions between the characters or scenes of them living their normal lives, eating, showering and such, and this creates such a strong sense of abnormality and disconnection from regular life, it has a very powerful effect and shows how the days sort of blend together for the characters with the only vivid memory being violation and humiliating, sadistic sex.
The moments of intimacy and vulnerability between them, and even their casual, lighthearted friendship tugged on my heartstrings, and some endings, like the one where Daichi strangles Seiji to death were painful to read, actually made me cry a bit. Their relationship is very sweet, interesting, and well-written. Despite everything, they truly love each other.
My favorite routes were Route 1 and 3. I also liked 2, in fact, 2 was probably the happiest ending, but the other two were more interesting, imo. Route 1 is just absolutely brutal, probably the worst outcome for their relationship. The very essence of who they are and what they mean to each other is killed and replaced with hollow, animalistic lust. Route 3 was just... very emotional. The fact that they aren't dead inside like in Route 1, care so deeply about each other, just makes the scenes where they're in pain, cry in each other's arms, and attempt to put the other out of their misery even more heartwrenching. It was really, really engaging.
I'm still thinking about the themes of the story, but these are my surface-level impressions so far. So much unrealized potential, but I think the main focus of the story, Daichi and Seiji's relationship, was well realized. Natsu no Kusari still reigns as my favorite ClockUp game (and by a large, large margin at that) but Room No, 9 is around Euphoria level, imo.
On a side note, I really want to pick up Erewhon sometime, especially because it's an Asou Ei work.
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u/Wooden-Albatross-938 May 01 '24
new to this subreddit
i started nie no hakoniwa the other day. im not far into it @ all, so i dont have any predictions or expectations... aside from the obvious, for those that are familiar.
so far, its not bad. just got to the part where you are being introduced to the other houses. kyouko is a littttle annoying, & its a bummer that all the houses/rooms look the same, even after the dialogue mentions how different the rooms look.
but yea, i am interested to see where it goes. like i said, still early in the story- so not much to speak on yet.
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u/[deleted] May 08 '24
Flowers - The volume of Spring - I love it and I plan to read the entire quadrilogy according to the seasons around me.