Tokusatsu and eroge are not necessarily the first two things you might think of combining together but they actually complement each other better than you would think. Dengeki Stryker mixes in tales of hot-blooded courage with transforming cyborgs and combines it with sexy time adventures. I first became aware of this series when Mike Dent mentioned it in his Friday Ace podcast. The opening video with a song by Masaaki Endoh of Jam Project and animation directed by Shinichi Watanabe immediately told me this was something to watch out for. Since MangaGamer does some rather robust demos so I was really looking forward to what they would release for Dengeki Stryker since they were doing the English adaptation. After playing it I learned it was not exactly the game I originally thought it would be. The question was did I enjoy what I discovered it to be.

Yuuki Yamato is your standard superhero obsessed boy. He has a bold heart but he does not have the iron body to back up his love of justice. One day a mysertious man offers Yuuki a bargain. The old man will give him the powers of his cyborg hero, Stryker Zero in return for all his memories. When Yuuki awakes he only remembers being Stryker Zero and cannot understand why he is now trapped in a child’s body in a Japan he does not recognize. Ten years pass as Yuuki awkwardly waits for the forces of the Balbora Empire to attack. When Yuuki moves to Tokyo for High School the day he has been preparing for arrives. But it seems his lost memories are catching up to him when he runs into his forgotten childhood friend Haruna Hongo. What exactly was the price of becoming a hero?

At first I assumed Dengeki Stryker was going to be something like Golden Knight Garo. Since it was a tokusatsu visual novel I assumed it was going to be serious, mature, and sexy with lots of hoot blooded fight scenes. In all actuality Dengeki Stryker is best summed up with Full Metal Panic! + Excel Saga. It is first and foremost a silly comedy. That is not to say that there is not some exciting tussles filled with physic powers, mechanical maneuvers, ninja techniques, and manly courage. Like Full Metal Panic! while the comedy is strong there is also some solid battles to keep things interesting. But they are mostly there to pump you up in between comedy scenes.

It turn out that like Excel Saga the opposing sides actually live right next to each other. Since Yuuki  in living on his own in Tokyo he only has his shoestring allowance from his mother to make it in the big city. This means he lives in a super economy apartment complex next to the invaders from the Balbora Empire. Despite being god like psychics their lack of funds and need to keep a low profile have them living just as impoverished as their crime fighting neighbor. This means the hero and the villains spend more time clipping coupons and hunting down discounts then they do fighting each other.

The main gag is that despite having paper-thin disguise no one seems to be able to recognize each other off of the battle field. Yuuki sees the people next door as the upstanding foreigners who work hard and play even harder. He often mentions how he has to fight hard so he can make Japan safe for everyone including stand up immigrants like his new friends. The Balbora troops on the other hand frequently remark that when they conquer Japan they hope all their new citizens are as kind and virtuous as the wonderful boy next door. But when they only are in their oh-so-very-slightly-different looking costumes they are fighting each other at full power.

At the same time Yuuki is doing his best to fit in at school but much like Sousuke Sagara he is very bad at staying undercover. While he thinks he is blending in perfectly most people at school think he is a grade A psycho. The only people who interact with him are his child hood friend, her exasperated friend Sayaka Ichimonji, and Rin Kazumi a Balbora spy who is just as horrible at blending in. Yuuki instance of calling anything even slightly personal a piece of classified information is the tip of the iceberg with his clumsy attempts to live a double life.

The main trio has a distinctly Full Metal Panic! styled love triangle. Yuuki is the oblivious solider. He only lives for protecting people and therefore all other concerns are secondary. He is a kind-hearted boy but his single-minded worldview can make him good to know when you are in trouble but very difficult to get close to. Haruna is the gentle former girl next door who is desperately trying to get Yuuki to remember her. She is Yuuki constant ally despite their years apart and his constant odd duck behavior. Haruna is the Tessa of the two girls. In turn Sayaka is the Chidori. Sayaka constantly busts Yuuki’s balls when he acts like a moron but obviously has a soft spot for the guy. Her family runs the cafe that becomes a hang out for both sides of this little war.

Along the way Yuuki gets a rather unusual roommate by the way on a ninja named Jack. Jack is from Texas and came to Japan to be a ninja. Jack is also a huge clueless weeaboo who has a very warped view on the homeland of ninjutsu. Jack winds up getting saved from starvation by Yuuki who then finds this little mooch in his service. It is also rather quickly obvious that Jack is actually much more of a kunoichi than a ninja if you catch my drift. With Gemini Sunrise being the samurai cow girl from Texas, Cathy McMahon the cowgirl pilot from RahXephon, and Jack King the cowboy mecha jock from Getter Robo the Japanese sure love their cowboys from America.

The Balbora soldiers are pretty much secondary main characters from how much they appear in the story. Overall they seem like stand up people if they were not using their powers to overthrow the government. They are a motley crew of everything from a dapper gentleman who controls gravity, to a visual kei styled pyrokinetic, to a super intelligent talking dog. When they are not devastating downtown they most seem like a lovable if slightly dysfunctional family. They are very Florsheim in that manner. Their intelligence officer Rin Kazumi has no powers so they sent her undercover to the local school to find out Stryker Zero’s secret identity and try to seduce him. Colonel Mirror is the only member of the crew who lives on his own and he seems to have some secret agenda. He clearly know more than he lets on and is the only one who can see through Yuuki’s flimsy disguise.

Overall being from OVERDRIVE it means that Dengeki Stryker has very strong production values. Crisp and colorful character designs, rousing music, and a surprising amount of animated clips. It is hardly an anime with a lot of text but I was impressed that they had at least one animated scene per chapter of the story. A bit more surprisingly was there were very few choices to make in the demo. All the decisions seemed to revolve around either favoring Haruna or Sayaka. I wonder if there are any actual choices that effect the plot or does it all just come down to who you get in the sex scenes.

I find it amusing that other than the obligatory bath scene with all the beautiful girls (from both sides) there was not that much nudity and absolutely no sex in the demo. In return the teasers at the end of the demo made damn sure to show you that there would be some sexy time scenes if you got the full version. They clearly know how to sell these games. I think the story is strong enough that it does not need the sex but they also know that is a major reason people play these games.

I’m not usually one to complain about it but Haruna and Sayaka have a bit too much of the same face phenomenon. I can always tell everyone in Hayate the Combat Butler and Gundam SEED apart but I find myself confusing Haruna and Sayaka on occasion. Sometimes it a plainly obvious which is which but other times I have to just have to check the text so see who is talking. The thing is that Jack, Rin, Hiruko are all distinct in their character designs from each other and the main two girls. The guys all look nothing like each other. There could be a plot reason for it revealed later on or it just might be a Betty and Veronica thing.

I have to say that MangaGamer is fairly savvy in making their demos. They distinctly give you enough so yo get the overall mood of the story, the cadence of the writing, and a grasp of the characters. At the same time you don’t feel like you the rug was pulled out from underneath you feet too far into the game. A distinctly healthy portion. I think the ultimate decided factor merely comes down to watching the opening to the game. It will easily decide if you are going to like the game or not. If you are not instantly won over then nothing well sell you. But if you like romantic comedies with a manly twist this game will be one to get when in comes out on June 22nd. If the ending is as strong as the opening I am hoping MangaGamer will consider getting Chou Dengeki Stryker as well. We need more hot-blooded visual novels.

SPOILERS! I played the Mahou Tsukai no Yoru demo and enjoyed it immensely. I know this is s shocking development that no one could have seen coming but it is true. Mahou Tsukai no Yoru is the newest Type-Moon visual novel that comes out on April 12th. Mahou Tsukai no Yoru is based on an early unreleased novel by Kinoko Nasu and takes what can be seen as the foundation of the Type-Moon universe and turns it into a visual novel. It stars Aozaki Aoko and looks at her before she became the force of nature that is the Magic Gunner Miss Blue that we have come to love in Tsukihime and Melty Blood. Type Moon recently released a demo of the upcoming game that got a surprisingly fast English patch. I finally decided to sit down and test it out before the game came out.

My goodness this is a gorgeous game. It is worth checking out just for the beautiful backgrounds. The majority of the story seems to revolve around the house on a hill where the three main characters live and it is an amazingly little mansion with a breathtaking view. It might be blasphemous to say that it has Makoto Shinkai levels of delicate and beautiful backgrounds that make the setting a character of its own but I will say it anyway. There is also a good deal more animation in the visual novel as a whole. The character sprites move more and there is more of a sense of visual direction. It is still more of a picture book on the computer than an anime but it takes more advantage of being on a digital medium. The opening shows how far Type-Moon has come since its humble origins. I am a little sad to see that Takashi Takeuchi is not doing the main artwork but Koyama Hirokazu has been with the company for a while now and can draw quite the attractive character.

The demo itself goes out of its way to give you a broad idea what the game is about with spoiling any major plot points. It has five segments of the story. Interestingly enough the opening is the last story to be shown. The other 4 segments each focus on one of the three main characters.  It gives you a good sense of who the characters driving the story are and the setting without giving away too much of the story.  You know that Aoko and Alice are witches who hide their supernatural talents and have a somewhat Odd Couple banter.  Sojuro is a sheltered boy from the mountains who has inadvertently got mixed up with these two women. There will also be some magical ass kicking going on. But the overall arc of the plot has still not been revealed. I have to say it is a pretty smart way to do a demo. It gives you enough of the feel of the setting and the pattern of the writing to know if you are going to enjoy the game but allows you to go in with many secrets to learn.

While we don’t see much of them we do get a decent impression of the main cast of Mahou Tsukai no Yoru. Aoko is still a student of life and magic in this game as opposed to wizened mentor we see in Tsukihime. But at the same time she still has the vibrant ferociousness she had when she met Shiki. She has that earnest charm that made her stand out in her first appearance but with a distinctly fresher look on life. Alice on the other hand took a little more for me to warm up to her character. She comes off as a very flat Rei Ayanami styled character but as the demo goes on it is clear that she is a quirky multidimensional character. It just takes a little time for her nuances to unfold. If nothing else she seems to be a powerful summoner. Sojuro is pleasant enough if somewhat well-worn in his naive but hardworking stereotype. I am curious how much his martial arts skill will factor into things. You don’t really see it in the demo but it has the distinct ability to make his character more interesting. The only other character we get a real look at is Kumari Kojika. She really reminded me of Taiga Aisaka from Toradora. Since Mahou Tsukai no Yoru is the far older story I have to wonder if the similarity is a coincidence or did they modify Kumari’s character to be more like Taiga for this adaptation?

It is nice to see after several delays that Mahou Tsukai no Yoru is finally done. Type-Moon fans have been aware for quite a while that there was a detailed back story to the enigmatic Aozaki Aoko but now it is finally being revealed to us. I am most curious about the fact that Aozaki Touko will be in this story. The story of the sisters falling out is often hinted at but has never been fully explained. I am also curious if we will get the details of what exactly is the 5th True Magic. I wonder if we will get the full story here or just more hints. Either way I enjoyed what I played and cannot wait to tear into the full story.

There was no way my apartment was not getting the Mass Effect 3 demo the day it came out. I will avoid spoilers but I am sure some people are going to be upset that I mention you fire guns and fight Reapers. That aside the demo lets you make a temp Shepard with the normal amount of customization and you even get to make a few key previous game choices. You play through the first mission that is a basically a tutorial and then it jumps ahead to the earlier E3 demo. The first part is very cinematic where the second half is a good sample of the new game play. Since the second half is further in the game they give you more weapons to play with and more power points to see how the new abilities feel. A few quick notes. The cool down for powers is extremely short in first part and terrifically slow in the second half. They clearly want you to experience the new combat shooting system with minimal power use in the second half. The new game plays is even more run and gun than the previous games. I think it is a bit harder but you still have the power wheel to pause the action and a story mode if the action is too frantic. I also noticed that you could not upgrade your weapons like you could in the E3 demo. I also have played a little with the Mass Effect multipalyer. The mode is thankfully cooperative. I would not want to step foot into a competitive version of the game. So far the gameplay revolves around  surviving waves of enemies with a few random mini missions to break things up. 11 waves of increasingly tough enemies is fairly grueling. But once you get the hang of it the game is fun if a bit brutal. Expect to fail missions a lot. They do give you a good amount of experience even if you fail. You use the money you earn in missions to essentially buy booster packs of upgrades and items. The items you get are random so you can expect to grind quite a bit. The only lame thing is to play as an aliens race you have to randomly unlock them buying the expensive version of the booster packs. Over all the demo made me look forward to the game in March and made be not worry about the multipalyer so it accomplished its mission.

I had the pleasure of seeing the premiere of Justice League: Doom at a special event held at the Paley Center here in NYC. The movie is based on a famous Justice League storyline from the comics known as The Tower of Babel in which Batman has contingency plans on how to take out each member of the JL stolen and then used against them. The basic premise remains the same, but the ways in which each member is neutralized as well as the ultimate villain are different in this new animated film. And it is executed fantastically. All of the stories are being told simultaneously which brings in a lot of tension as we switch from hero to hero. The writing is snappy and of course Batman has all of the greatest lines but it meshes well with the serious nature of the story. It gets very dark and what happens when Batman realizes what is going on as well as how the JL take that information is an excellent, thoughtful finish to the action packed story. This is a great addition to the DC animated library and a wonderful swansong for late great writer Dwayne McDuffie.

Much to the consternation of Tsukihime fans it seems that the Fate part of the Nasuverse is the part that always gets all spinoffs. Himuro no Tenchi Fate/School Life is not exception but it is one of the strangest spin-offs yet. It is a 4 koma comic all about the daily lives of some of the extremely minor characters at Shiro’s school. The comic most revolves around Himuro Kane, Makidera Kaede, and Saegusa Yukika but most of the school based main characters make guest appearances. Thankfully while the art is sort of crude and very gag manga based it is also wacky like a proper 4 koma. So that means punchy little jokes as opposed to more sedate Hidamari Sketch styled slice of life humor. That means Kinnikuman jokes, demonic family pikes, and some obscure historical references. But it is still wacky girls do wacky things without a hint of anything supernatural. Also did you know there is an Indonesian version of soccer played barefoot with a flaming ball? Thanks Fate/School Life! It is worth just reading the third and fourth chapters just to learn about all the odd sports they mention. Also Tchoukball is the most un-American sport ever.

I caught the first episode of Kevin Smith’s new reality series Comic Book Men which follows the clerks at Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash. Smith is also part of the program as him and the guys talk in a podcast setting interspersed throughout the episode. I’m not a big Smith fan, but this seemed like worth checking out. It is unscripted but at the same time seems really scripted. One example is when another clerk asks a question like “What is Robin’s origin?” which I can hardly believe they don’t already know the answer to. I realize this is for the benefit of more casual viewers but they need to figure a way to integrate it better. Also the customers they deal with in the store were all selling, not buying, which felt unnatural. Maybe it is just too difficult to tape a regular time at the store, like new comic day, because of release forms? In any case it just made things seem really empty and slow. As for the personalities of our cast everyone is fine except Bryan who just comes off as a real asshole. The first episode is quite stiff and unsure of its formula, but this doesn’t surprise me with a reality show. I will probably give it at least another episode to see if it can get into a grove but it doesn’t seem promising.

I decided to check out Sekien No Inganock as it was recommended to me by a reader. It is a steampunk visual novel which caught my attention. While steampunk is the flavor of the week nerd obsession of late in the English language world I was curious to see the Japanese take on the subject. Otaku are hardly into steampunk as much as Americans but there are things like Gear Antique that prove that they are aware of the genre. I will warn anyone interested in the game that there are an unusually high amount of anthropomorphic characters in this game.  While I would be hesitant to call it a furry game I would preface it with the statement that if you can’t stand anything with furry content this will instantly turn you away. The main love interest is at cat girl named Ati so your mileage will vary on that fact alone. Other than that the game has an intriguing premise. The city of Inganock much like Paradigm City was a prosperous steam-powered city until an incident sealed away the area during a disaster everyone cannot remember. Now the majority of the population is mutating while being hunted by invincible mythical beasts. The protagonist is a doctor who has taken in a strange girl who seems unaffected by the affliction plaguing the cursed city. The game play is mostly your usual long stretches of reading with a few key choices to make but there is one twist. About half way through each chapter there will be a section where you get to hear the thoughts of all the major players in the chapter. Unlocking one characters thoughts will let you see more of what the other characters are thinking. It is a nice bit of interactivity but it can be argued it is just a very complex form of making you read a linear story. The art has a very pastel vibe that makes it feel unique and gives everything a dream like quality. This is a game with pornographic content but I have not run into any of that in what I have read of the first three chapters. There was an unexpected scene of toplessness fairly early on but since then everything has been tame. Things still have the ability to go downhill since I am hardly an expert of how Liar-soft constructs their games. The plot seems to be made of episodic chapters that are all building to reveal the grand mystery behind what happened to Inganock. It is a promising start so I am interested to see where it goes.

I finally read the science-fiction / detective mash-up The Caves of Steel. It takes a future where Earth’s relationship to robots and the rest of the universe known as the Spacer Worlds is a tumultuous one. The culture of Earth live in domes and their environment as well as their lives are very set out for them. Tensions are high as robots become more advanced changing people’s livelihoods. Elijah is a middle-aged detective who must work with advanced robot Daneel to solve the murder of an important figure in the changing policies between Earth and the Spacers. This is a fairly short novel that attempts to pose philosophical questions during this imagined future. We learn quite a bit about the world surrounding Elijah as he travels around investigating and his perspective changes as he interacts with Daneel. Some of it is engaging while some of it feels shoehorned or tangential. And if the novel shows its age anywhere, it is the dialogue which is very fond of the words like Jehoshaphat. The mystery itself is a good one which I could not pick out the culprit in despite not having very many suspects.

This is an open letter to any companies that are either currently localizing visual novels or are interested in getting into that market.

Imagine this. Some company like Manga Gamer or JAST USA that already adapts Japanese visual novels into English wants to bring out Fate/Stay Night. It is a highly demanded title with a ravenous and dedicated fan base. The problem is the licensing price on a high-profile game like Fate/Stay Night is equally high to the point where it would need to sell more copies than any other visual novel ever has in the English-speaking market to break a profit. Despite the number of people who say they would pay there is a readily available fan translation of the game from Mirror Moon so the question always is how many of them will actually buy anything. I know there are manga that English publishers won’t pick up because they feel the scanlations make them worthless to license. How many people will buy a game they already played for free?  I am sure many companies have run the numbers and discovered that the risk to reward ratio is far too great to take a chance on the title. As it is it might not even be viable at all. I myself can’t blame them. They just want to keep the lights on.

But now that Kickstarter has created a viable method of getting funding and support to what would otherwise be high risk niche projects. I wonder if a title like Fate/Stay Night could be viable. I am not going to even pretend like I am an insider. I don’t know what the licensing fee on visual novels are nor how much the assorted overhead costs are with releasing a title like Fate/Stay Night. Even with a Kickstarter it might still be ridiculously prohibitive to even attempt such an undertaking. But I feel a well orchestrated and promoted Kickstarter just might be able to make this a feasible idea. It removes a good deal of the risk involved in licensing such a big named title and lets the companies involved get a real sense of how many people would buy such a title before any money exchanges hands. It is a great time to run a kickstarter for such a project and a title like Fate/Stay Night will definitely get people talking. No one is assuming you are every going to raise Double Fine money but you could easily make Barbara money. And that just might be the boost the game needs to actual make it to its English-speaking fans.

I can’t help but be fascinated with this idea. If any one has any idea of how to make this happen let me know. If any company wants to take this idea I am leaving it on the table. If any company was toying with the idea before I wrote this post then I am showing that it has some support. Otherwise if you support this idea just leave a comment below and pass this post around to show this idea has support among the fans.

It has been a long journey so see the conclusion of Umineko no Naku Koro ni. The story started in 2007 and finally concluded with 8 visual novels being released over the course of 4 years with over a dozen extra side stories being release up until the last Comic Market in December. It was a fun journey along the way that allowed me to try and figure out what was real, what was fantasy, and where the truth lied on Rokkenjima in October of 1986. When I finished Requiem of the Golden Witch I was filled with a mixture of hope and dread. The penultimate game was amazingly powerful so that I was hopeful that the end of the series would be just a great but at the same time I was worried that it could not live up to the expectations it had set.

So when Twilight of the Golden Witch came out to some rather negative reviews it was hard to tell if this was part of the normal cycle of Umineko reactions or if it was a horrible ending. The problem was when a new Umineko game came out there was always a flood of spoilers. When everything was sorted out due to fake spoilers and mistranslations there was invariably a negative reaction that the story had gone down the drain. But usually when the translation patch came out most everyone saw the story in whole new light when they actual read the story. But this time that negative feeling did not seem to go away. Many people (including myself) seemed rather frustrated with the ending as provided by the spoilers for a lack of answers. But now that I have finally played the game and seen the ending through I am going to give my spoiler filled thoughts on the ending and the series as a whole. This is a mixture of catharsis and celebration for a pretty wild ride. If you were curious for a simple spoiler free review then it is simply that I do not regret playing this series.

Even if you utterly despise the vagueness of vital parts of the ending you have to admit there are some great moments in Twilight of the Golden Witch. Anything involving Lambdadelta is just a wonderful mixture of thrilling and charming. She earns her 3rd place in the final chapter popularity poll with this chapter. Bernkastel and Erika Furudo prove themselves to be the unrepentant villains of the story and do their job well. There is also a good deal of meta commentary on mysteries and mystery fans. It has always been present in the series (and in Ryukishi07′s writing in general) but it is full display in this chapter. The goats attacking the island is hardly a subtle meta commentary on the fandom. Your mileage will vary on how much you think it is a clever jab at the reader and how much it is a bitter rant. Perhaps it is yet another case of, “Without love, the truth cannot be seen.”

It is also a powerful send off to the Ushiromiya family. They were all a mixture of horrible traits that had a human core at their center. It reminds me of that deleted scene from High Fidelity about the Top 5 Worst things you have done. Taken out of context the top 5 worst things anyone has ever done makes them seem like a monster. And in a way this final chapter reminds us that we have seen everyone involved with Rokkenjima at their worst as well as their best. But in the end while they have some major sins on their hands they were all just human. OK. Some of them came off a bit worse than others. It is hard to really find fault with too much that Hideyoshi or Jessica did in contrast Kinzo commits some unforgivable sins even compared to the rest of the family. Their crimes cannot be excused but perhaps they can be forgiven.

The most controversial part is the ending itself and what few things it does address and what it keeps a mystery. To say we get no answers is clearly a lie. On the other hand there are some major questions that go unanswered. As for the little mysteries we are given all the tools to solve them. To figure out who killed whom in the first 6 chapters we are given five important pieces of information. The most obvious pieces are the red text. While it is often deliberately misleading it is the first place to start looking. The second is that Beatrice, Shannon, and Kanon are all the same person but can be “killed” when their personality is killed. The fact that they are all the same person playing different roles makes many of the mysteries disappear. The third is Willard H. Wright black sword fight with Bernkastel. There are plenty of hints on how all the tricks were done through that. The fourth is Bernkastel’s purple truth puzzle game. It gives clear rules on how to use the fantasy and mystery sections to figure out what is going on. How the things we see in mystery scenes are the truth we need to examine when solving mysteries and how to figure out when characters are lying. The final clue is the Our Confession booklet from Umineko no Naku Koro ni Hane. It is pretty much a walk through of a mystery so you can see how they are done if the other clues were not clear enough.

The problem is there is no answer sheet. At no point does Ryukishi07 give the reader a simple breakdown of how everything was done in case you get stuck. This lets people write countless FAQs that use the rules to figure out how things were done but unless the author gives his definitive word you will always have people arguing the details back and forth. While this replicates some of the experience of the Witch Hunters in the game it will possibly always be a point of contention just the same. As Ryukishi07 himself said in Higurashi When They Cry Kai there is always something vaguely annoying about puzzle books that don’t give you the answers. I am not exactly sure why he broke his own rule in this case.

The biggest point of contention will always be that we never really know what happened on October 5th of 1986. We know that the only survivors were Battler and Eva. But how everyone else exactly died is a mystery. Thematically that is part of the story. It ends with Rokkenjima being a sealed mystery. If we consider Ange the true protagonist of the series than the whole story is about her learning both how to move on and let things go. Therefore sealing the mystery away is a vital step for her. While this makes thematic sense for her it does not make the blow of never truly know what happened to the player any less harsh. I know many a player just feels like there never was an answer and the conclusion and what we got was to cover up to this fact. Ambiguous answers are inherently controversial.

In the end this article was actually therapeutic. It has helped me work through a good deal of my conflicted emotions on the series. I went into Umineko with a good deal of anticipation due to my love of Higurashi. Each episode played only ramped up the expectations. So the bitterness I initially felt with the conclusion was equally harsh. It was almost like a betrayal. But after actually playing the conclusion and sorting out my feelings in this post I feel better about the whole experience. As I stated before my enjoyment of the first seven games could never be taken away by the eighth. They were just too much fun. But Twilight of the Golden Witch determined my overall feelings for the series as a whole. In the end while I did not agree with how Ryukishi07 played everything out I am glad that I experienced this story. In reflection many of the pieces of the ending were telegraphed from the start but part of me did not want to believe them. But perhaps the way things ended were for the best. We were never going to get a super happy Higurashi ending. I could have done with some more conclusive answers but that is the mystery of Rokkenjima. If nothing else the positive feelings outweighed my reservations about the conclusion and the bittersweet ending. If it can do that than it did its job. I close the lid on this cat box for now and hope that one day I may open it again get the same enjoyment and perhaps some new insights in the future.

Carnival Phantasm has come to an end. The grand Type-Moon cross over even ended with some little cameos by the cast of Fate/Zero, Kara no Kyoukai, the Mobile Site, and some rather minor Type Moon characters. The they even gave some love to Notes with V/V. But at the very end after the credit a mysterious woman picks up the phone to introduce the bonus movie. This woman is Sajyou Ayaka who is the original protagonist of an early draft of Fate/Stay Night. To celebrate the end of Carnival Phantasm the extra goes back to the origin of the Type-Moon universe with Fate/Prototype. This video is an animated version of some of the notes to the original unfinished story that would be used to make Fate/Stay Night.

There are some major changes that this prototype story went through before it became the game known as Fate/Stay Night. The most famous change is that originally Saber was a man and the young witch known as Ayaka Sajyou was his master. Takeuchi Takashi felt that visual novel fans would not like to play as a female protagonist to the genders were swapped. Ayaka Sajyou seems like a mix of Rin and Shiro with a bit of Enjou Tomoe thrown in for good measure. She is much more powerful and knowledgeable than Shiro but she has his softhearted nature while having the gloomy edge of Enjou. Also the religious theme around the Holy Grail War are much more pronounced. All the Masters have a different choir of angel they are connected to and the Grail itself has far more of a twisted Christian connotation. In fact the final secret Avenger style Servant is the Beast itself. Rider is certainty a new man and his master is equally different (as much as we might have wanted Shinji to be bed ridden.) Phahn Sancraid is definitely a creepy priest like Kotomine but he looks and feels creepy in his own unique way. Also while Saber was involved in a former Grail War this time his Master was Ayaka’s sister and she was not a very nice person.

On the other hand you also see many of the seeds that would go on to make Fate/Stay Night what it is. The basic framework is unmistakable. The structure and cyclic nature of the war is the same. The hidden tainted nature of the grail is still in the background. Ayaka and Saber’s relationship clearly went on to inspire Rin and Archer’s relationship. Also taking Ayaka and combining her with Misaya Reiroukan gets us the Rin we know in Fate/Stay Night. Saber’s tragic participation in a previous iteration of the war with his new’s Master’s family is also the same. Gilgamesh is still the same Gilgamesh. Also Saber’s battle with Gilgamesh was giving me vibes from the Saber and Rider’s battle from the Fate route.  Gilgamesh looks a bit more primitive but he is still spamming swords and wearing golden armor. He is still an arrogant king of nonconsensual relationships only this time he wants Ayaka instead. Lancer also looks different but he is still Cu Chulainn. I am sure being Lancer is still suffering. He even hunts down Saber’s master impaling them through the heart as the catalyst for summoning her servant. That results in a first meeting of Master and Servant that would be reproduced in Fate/Stay Night. And as the Type Moon wiki points out Manaka Sajyou looks like evil baby Arturia Pendragon.

It is fascinating to see how Fate/Stay Night morphed to become the visual novel we see today. While the basic structure might be the same you can see the initial concept went through many changes when it was adapted to another form of media. In the end I am somewhat divided. Part of me would love to see this expanded into its own series. Seeing how everything would have originally played out if it had stayed as a linear novel would be a great insight into how Nasu has changed as an author. There seem to be some very interesting concepts here that never made it into the final product. At the same time I wonder if these changes were not made for very good reasons. It is easy to forget the value of editing that takes a messy raw concept and refines it into a more complete product when done correctly. Maybe many of the ideas and plot that were changed were changed with good reason. Without the adaption we would not have the sexy sex machine that is Rider. Then again that scene of Ayaka getting out her witches’ broom seemed pretty cool as well. Overall while I would buy a full length Fate/Prototype series it would not break my heart if it were never made. This is a good enough sample for now.

I am making my way through Twilight of the Golden Witch, the final chapter of Umineko no Naku Koro ni. As I am still not done I will save my final review for the chapter and the series as a whole for a later date but I do think there is one major fact about the game worth mentioning. When this game was first released the reaction was divisive to say the least. Going mostly on spoilers it seems that there was a very vocal community of people who felt that Ryukishi07 shot the pooch with the ending. I may or not be related but it has taken quite awhile for the English patch of the game to come out. Purposefully or not this might be for the best. It has given people (including myself) sometime to distance themselves from that initial reaction and judge the ending on its own merits outside of the initial hype for the ending and then the backlash when the ending was finally revealed. So far I am enjoying it with some time to divorce myself from the initial reactions. A prime example is the Professor Layton style puzzle section is nowhere near as horrible as it first sounded. It has some of the most powerful scenes if you get the puzzles right. It gives a little insight into how everyone in the family was still a human despite the many horrible things they had done. That is thematically important given how I think they are building up this ending. It does not shy away from the terrible things they have done but if you think anyone there is a complete monster than it makes the ending somewhat disingenuous. I look forward to reading the ending and weighing on the series as a whole now. I think I would have been far more brutal if I did not have some time away from the series. This really shows the benefit of some time away from the gut reaction of a community.

After talking about Uta no Prince-sama Maji Love 1000% in my year in review, I decided I’d better watch some more! I watched up through episode 7 which is a good half way point before everyone goes to idol summer camp (oh yes!) and decides on their partners for their final exams. Each episode has focused on one of the guys who through Haruka’s positive attitude helps each feel more confident/find his voice/etc. Of course she isn’t able to melt the frozen heart of Tokiya upon first try but we do learn quite a bit about him and a few secrets are revealed. He gets a lot more attention for the obvious reason that he is the “true path” more than likely in the original game. It continues to be a far-fetched fantasy that knows it. Also the headmaster may appear infrequent but remains entertaining as Norio Wakamoto lends his voice to the bizarre antics. I’m hoping that perhaps they will focus on Haruka’s roommate in an episode but that may be unlikely in a show like this.

I enough people praising Chihayafuru has gotten me to go back and try to catch up with this series. It seems like one of those shows that has a small but vocal fanbase. I watched the first 8 episodes in which we finally get back to the present and watch Chihaya build a karuta team at her school. I have to wonder how much of the extremely Japanese nature of Karuta is responsible for this show’s reputation. It is so steeped in a Japanese game that all but the most dedicated anime fan will avoid the show but everyone else will eat it up. It also has to be well done to earn that fanbase but if it is competent it will get a highly devoted following. Plus since it is about such an obscure sport it can use many sports show story tropes without raising so many flags that it is using such techniques. But overall the show lives and dies on Chihaya’s manic energy. The show only shines if you are drawn into her vibrant personality but fortunately for the show she is a hard character to hate.

Twin Spica vol. 10 has a very sobering effect on a story that is full of youthful exuberance despite its melancholy reflections. As the kids reach another summer break and return to Yuigahama, we as well as them are starting to wonder, to question, who will really see this dream of space through to the very end. The realization that only a few can actually make it into the space program has long hung over the entire series, but this is more the internal conflict, doubts, and truths that all of them must face.

After a long hiatus Liar Game recently started up again. It seems to me that the current arc (chs. 139-144) that is starting up seems like filler to me. No new elements added. Mostly just a new game to show how Nao has grown but also needs to keep growing. It is early enough that I might be wrong but I do have to wonder if the series has just gotten popular enough that Shinobu Kaitani need to pad out what was initially planned to be a shorter series. I don’t really mind. As long as the game are exciting and logical then I will stay along for the ride. The break was also helpful because you do not want these games to be made up on the fly. The only way this series works is with a good deal of plotting out of the games in advance. This all does make me wonder one thing. Is the fact that VIZ never licensed Liar Game’s a great folly or a brilliant move. Was not releasing it just after Death  Note ended foolish because everyone would have picked this up when they were hungry for more Death Note? Did they let that audience slip away? Or would everyone have just unfairly compared it to Death Note never letting it gain its own legs. At this point Death Note will probably always come up whenever Liar Game is discussed but at least enough time has passed that it is a casual talking point and not the focus of all discussions about the manga. At this point what is done is done but it is an interesting thought experiment.

I watched the first four episodes of High Score which is based on an energetic shojo 4-koma. It centers around a bunch of strange individuals, many in relationships, at a high school. The main characters are two cruel narcissists who are also in love with each other which causes endless hilarity. They are surrounded by bizarre friends, enemies, and total nonsense. The jokes and incidents fly by in the 3-minute length which I realize may be the way to get to me enjoy 4-koma anime.

I have made another guest appearance on The Digital Bug’s Visual Novel news podcast, the Eroge Bus. This time I go on to talk about the one subject that seems to be the most natural choice for me: Type-Moon. It is more an overview than a dissertation so I mostly touch a little on the history of the company and their more famous titles. If you were hoping for a lecture on Akasha, the Throne of Heroes, and Tohsaka Nagato you will have to request I come back for a more in-depth episode. Greg and I also chat about the latest news in the visual novel industry. Greg is the expert. I mostly make silly commentary. But it is a great podcast to see what is going on in the US and Japan when it comes to eroge.

Eroge Bus Episode 6

When Rango first came out, I was skeptical, but great reviews poured in. Finally, I got the chance to decide for myself. Rango is the story of a great big fake who becomes a great big hero. Amazingly, when we meet our scaly friend we don’t know his name, and actually still don’t know it, because “Rango” he makes up along with a series of amazing exploits that he sells to the folks in a little desert town called Dirt. This is a town in trouble as their water supply is drying up and the mayor is plotting something. Rango is the stranger who appears and changes everything. All things after the accident that puts Rango into the desert is a riff on the classic Western almost as if he has been thrown back in time (though of course he hasn’t). There is a clear knowledge of the reference material and it gives a little bite to some of the twists that you expect as well as great humor. The animation is all out incredible, there is a particularly flying scene that blew my mind with detail. Great film and certainly one of the best animated features of the year. Oh, and the owl mariachies are the best. I need a shirt with them.

I just read Princess Knight volume 1. When Narutaki and I read volume 2 we will probably do a full length editorial about the manga as a whole but I thought I would throw out a few thoughts before then. The oddest thing about Princess Knight was that Osamu Tezuka almost seems of have ADD with his storyline. I always knew that Osamu Tezuka liked to do episodic series like Black Jack and Astroboy. When I read the somewhat scatter brained plot of Swallowing the Earth I assumed that the fact that the plot was all over the place had to do more with Tezuka being new to Gekiga. But in Princess Knight jumps from plot line to plot line without really ever stopping for a breath. It is very clear to me that he is making up Princess Knight as he goes along while borrowing from Disney every step of the way. The main character goes from trying to hide her gender, to being a prisoner, to fighting a witch, to being on a pirate ship with hardly any transition. I think he clearly Tezuka had a beginning and an end mapped out but everything in between seemed to be decided as he was writing it. You can’t ever say you are bored by the book but it does feel a bit disjointed. Still the story is worth reading for the fact that it is a major milestone in manga history. While it was not the first shojo manga it was highly influential in the foundation of the genre. The book is just best enjoyed if you know going into  it that the book reads very young and has a scatter shot plot. I think I enjoyed the book a bit more than Narutaki because I went in with a more informed view of the book and knew what to expect.

The new special Happiness is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown premiered on television Thanksgiving night. This story focuses heavily on Linus and his security blanket which most everyone is trying to relieve him of. Lucy and Snoopy are the biggest antagonists in this. Peanuts is built on a dry humor and mean-spirited undertone but I’m not sure this special hit a sweet spot. It just felt a little too torturous of everyone.

I finally finished Kara no Shojo. I was on a podcast with Greg about the game but I has not finished it at that point. What said Greg was right. No matter what happens you get a pretty depressing ending for a majority of the characters. Fortunately you can save the characters from Cartagra but otherwise everyone else except for one or two people you meet in Kara no Shojo is going to up dead or seriously messed up. Playing through the whole game did make me realize a few things. The first is that video game mysteries have a delicate balancing act even more than most mysteries. There is always the dance between showing the culprit too much and therefore making the mystery too obvious or not showing the culprit enough and making their guilt seem like it came out of nowhere. With any video game where you can run around and investigate it becomes even more insane. It is a hard enough to keep the culprit in focus the right amount when the writer has full control of the audience’s attention in a book or film. When the player has much more control of the camera it becomes insanely difficult to control how much they can see without the grand reveal seeming either cheesy or obvious. In Kara no Shojo there are three main murder mysteries. I felt that the two main mysteries were fairly obvious if you were paying attention. The grand mystery would really takes multiple play thorough to get unless you just happen to suspect one location of being up to no good and repeatedly go there to see a pattern. But actually the best way to play the game as a detective is to play through once and save before any investigation scene and then go EVERYWHERE using saves and loads. Then with all that information in your head play through again with a bigger picture of what is happening. But the game really demands several play throughs as it is. I still stand by my positive review of the game but it is not without reservations. Only after finishing the game did I realize it has an odd misogynistic streak. Most of the time if you pursue one girl in the series her sex scene is just before she gets murdered. That is not the case for everyone but it is still some really messed up sexual politics when you get right down to it. It made me really uncomfortable when I though about it. It is a good series, a solid mystery, and generally a more substantial than your normal eroge but the darkness will understandably turn some people off and that is perfectly understandable.

Sailor Moon vol. 2 reminds me how much faster this story moves than the TV series. That’s a good thing by the way. Our five main guardians have come together and now they are tasked with protecting the princess and finding out about the Moon Kingdom. There are a few parts of extreme expository dialogue thanks to this. This volume also propels the relationship of Usagi and Mamoru ten-fold and the melodrama is concentrated. As the true goal of Queen Beryl comes to light things become tense with less one-off “we are making humans into our minions” plots. There is an interesting balance of pure evil vs. manipulated to evil which gives some depth to the story.

As an old Sierra adventure game player I decided to check out The Silver Lining. It is a fan made game based on the King Quest series that attempts to be a 9th game that ties everything up. It is planned to be five parts long with four parts already being released. It is very much a fan made game for better and for worse. For a game that is entirely made by fans and is free it is quite an accomplishment. The graphics are impressive, there is full voice acting, and clearly a good deal of love and respect for the original series. On the flip side the puzzles in the first two parts are horrifically simple, the voice acting can be wonky and amateurish, and the story sometimes unmistakably reads like fan fiction. That said it clearly an insane amount of man hours went into this and it shows. As I understand the next two parts have much more complex puzzles because the only time I had any difficultly was because I did not notice an out-of-place necklace popping up in location I had previously been. In the end I suppose it is better to err on the side of simpler but understandable rather than challenging but nonsensical seeing is that is often considered one of the things that hurt the adventure game genre back in the day. I also know some people were complaining continuity and retcon issues with the game but I never noticed them. Then again it have been over a decade since I played the last King Quest game so I only remember the broad stokes of the plot and characters. The nit picky details are firmly lost on me. And this is coming from someone who used to own the King Quest Companion. If you are a fan of the adventure game genre it is worth playing if for nothing else a nice taste of nostalgia with a price you can’t beat. I am curious how it will stack up to the upcoming official new King Quest game from Telltale Games.

Over the years as an anime fan I have picked up a few skills from just watching enough anime. They include the ability to notice animation errors, an eye to detect directorial styles,  and an understanding of Japanese trends and tropes. You always have these abilities to some degree but the more you watch the better you are at it. The one skill that Narutaki and I have never been that great at no matter how much we watch anime is the ability to instantly recognize voice actors. We are far better at it then when we started the blog but honestly that is because the only direction we could head was up. We have the basic detect Norio Wakamoto and recognize Rie Kugimiya skill set but we are far below the proficiency of any decent seiyu aficionado.

But there is one voice actress I can always recognise and it is very unsurprisingly Ayako Kawasumi. While I remember her playing Melfina in Outlaw Star but she really caught my attention as Lafiel in Crest of the Stars. She has played roles I love like Megumi Noda in Nodame Cantabile and Kanako Ohno in Genshiken. She also starred in shows I have much less love for like Mahoro Ando in Mahoromatic and Aoi Sakuraba in Ai Yori Aoshi. But to cut to the heart of the matter the character that trained me to recognize her voice is very clearly Saber. If there is any character that is going to make me remember your voice it is her. So when Fate/Extra came along they announced that while the playable Saber maybe very familiar looking she would be a very different character to the point where she would be voiced by Sakura Tange. So hearing this new Saber leads me to an odd bit of cognitive dissidence which is what this post is all about.

Past this point is spoiler country. While I assume the identity of Fate Stay/Night Saber is firmly entrenched in the “No. *I* am your father ” territory for anime fans the identity of Fate/Extra Saber is far less a piece of common knowledge.

In Fate/Extra you are given the choice of three different servants one of which is a red clad warrior of the Saber class who is similar to the iconic blue themed King of Knights. But if you choose this red swordswoman the difference is made very clear very quickly. The original Saber is stoic and reserved. A woman of duty and honor she is very spartan in her lifestyle. While she can be very proud she can be very humble depending on the circumstance. She is not a big talker and prefers deeds to words. She goes out of her way to be gender neutral and is very reserved in her few dramatic emotional moments. Even then is usually small changes in tone and speech. While Fate/Stay Night Saber is revealed to be Arturia Pendragon the Fate/Extra Saber is in fact Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus and their personalities are like night and day. Fate/Extra Saber is a hedonist who does everything with an overindulgent gusto. She fights like a demon when she is on the battlefield and indulges herself in vice twice as much when at rest. She is very openly bisexual saying the only things she cares for is what is beautiful. She is loud and opinionated often butting into conversations, throwing around advice, and insulting your enemies as she sees fit. She boisterous and arrogant and all her proclamations are that of an empress that is partially divine. Each seiyus puts that unique character into their respective performance. Ayako Kawasumi plays Saber in a very understated manner with a regal but reversed tone. She allows occasional variations to sink in when appropriate but has them be understated so they are noticeable but not out of character. Sakura Tange on the other hand is just eating up the scenery in her performance. I often felt like she is channeling Megumi Hayashibara’s performance of Lina Inverse. I mean just compare the two and see how frighteningly similar they are.

This all leads to the odd surrealness to my current media. Ayako Kawasumi is ingrained in my head as the voice of Saber from anime, movies, visual novels, video games, drama CDs, image albums, and variety of other places where they can stick a talking Saber. So hearing a strange voice coming out of Saber even is if is Permanent-Panty-Flash-Saber™.  It is like meeting your best friend after a week’s vacation as hearing them with a different voice and personality like some silly soul swapping episode of a series.  I got used to it after a few battles but I was surprised how much it threw me off at first. I never realized how I had imprinted that character design with that voice. It makes me understand a little better why people get so up in arms when the seiyu for the drama CD is different from the seiyu for the anime.

Several people have asked me how can there be two Sabers. I usually give them a rather long explanation of how the Holy Grail system work in Fate/Stay Night but I won’t bore you with the detailed explanation here.  Sufficed to say it is like a Dungeons & Dragons character class. Saber is merely a class like fighter or rouge. Any one can fill the slot as long as they meet the requirements. So there can be any number of Sabers. But why do they both look the same? If I want to be cynical I think it is because the Saber character design is one that sells. I have heard several people say they love Saber by looks alone but have never seen anything of the Type-Moon universe. But the fan in me wants to believe it is also partially to invoke this reaction I just explained. Giving you something you think you know but changing it enough that it becomes a strange but intriguing new flavor. Hoping for a Cherry Coke reaction and not a New Coke disaster. Overall I think Fate/Extra Saber is not as divine as the original but she is not a flavor I mind sampling from time to time.

Finally a podcast where I get to talk about Fate/Extra CCC for an hour. Oh wait. That would be horrible. So instead I did an appearance on the Eroge Bus podcast with the Digital Bug from Reisen Goes to School by Bus. The main topic is Kara no Shoujo which I already discussed the demo of on the blog but now we talk about the full release from MangaGamer. It is an unusual erotic detective visual novel with a strong emphasis on the player actually solving the mystery. We also discuss visual novel news and upcoming releases in the visual novel world. Also since it is me Type-Moon comes up like 20 times and we discuss Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney. I might also eat up the news that Key’s Rewrite sold way below expectations like sweet candy.

Eroge Bus – Episode 3

I suppose I should have a picture of what I actually spent a bulk of my time talking about.

I am always a bit hesitant to start visual novels. I don’t mind some sex in my story telling and I know that the way the Japanese PC game market works is that the conventional wisdom is that you have to throw in some sex to get people to play. I just want to play something with more story than sex and the sex should not make me throw up in my mouth a little. I was interested in Kara no Shojo because it is a historical murder mystery set is post WWII Japan. The question in my mind was is this murder mystery with some sex thrown in for flavor or a sex game with some murder mystery for an air of legitimacy. So when the demo came out I was curious to test the game out to see how much of an impression I could get.

Reiji Tokisaka is a Private Investigator who is investigating a series of brutal serial killings of young women as a consultant for the police. To crack the case Reiji goes undercover as a teacher at a the Ouba Girls Academy where two of the girls disappeared from. At the same time a student at the school named Kuchiki Toko asks that Reiji to take the puzzling case of finding her true self. Who is killing these girls? Are these murders related to the death of Reiji’s fiance years ago? How does Kuchiki Toko’s missing self tie it all together?

To MangaGamer’s credit they give 5 and a half chapters play so you get a good feel of what it is like. The game is somewhat in the middle of the plot vs sex divide but there is a strong enough narrative that is perfectly acceptable to play this for the plot. For one thing you actually have to play detective. You get a notebook that keeps track of what you have learned about the cases you are working on. You often have to use that information to decide who to talk to, what leads to follow, what to focus on at crime scenes, or what information to research. From what I have read about the game there are many endings some of which depend on making the right investigative decisions during the game. So you can’t be asleep at the wheel to get the good endings or the true ending. The mystery itself seems intriguing and ties in with the Divine Comedy so it seem to have some degree of substance to it as well.

In what I played there was only one sex scene although apparently I could have gotten another one had I hunted around for it. It seemed a bit gratuitous but there was nothing objectionable about the scene and it was consensual. It did seem like the scene could have been removed and flow of the story would have been unharmed so I wonder if they ever had console adaptations in mind with this title. I can clearly see several other girls who you are surely going to sleep with (it is centered around serial killings at a Catholic girl’s school) so there are clearly going to be more sex scenes in the future. So while there is a strong narrative you have to be willing to put up (or conversely just enjoy) with several sex scenes to play this game. On the flip side of the controversy coin the gore is present but much more graphic in the descriptions than in the visual. There are mutilated bodies and some sinister events narrated but while the graphics are bloody they don’t go into any amount of detail I could not handle. The text descriptions are far more gruesome but I am oddly more comfortable with that.

As someone who has mostly played doujin visual novels I have to say that Kara no Shojo has a professional feel. There is a distinctly classy vibe to the audio and the visuals. The graphics are fairly elegant and have a soft warmth to them. Most of the characters have realistic features so almost all the girls have black hair which given the art style can making figuring out who is who a bit of a challenge at first. I got used it quickly and most of the girl stand out due to personality if nothing else. The music  set the mood well and is well composed. It is very atmospheric and gentle. Not as great as the Umineko soundtrack but what is.

A quick note. This game is actually a one story in a series of games by Innocent Grey. As far as I could tell this is a stand alone story and  no previous knowledge of the earlier games in the series was needed to play this game. Shugo and Kazuna from Cartagra are minor characters but they are more there as a nudge and a wink to anyone who played the previous games.

Overall I have to say I was reasonably impressed. It is something I look forward to picking up when it comes out to see if it lives up to my initial expectations. My overall verdict would depend on how well the mystery plays out but that is only something I can judge with the completed game.

It is confession time. For all my Type-Moon discussion on the blog there was a distinct hole in my studies of the translated works of Kinoko Nasu in the fact that I had never played Kagetsu Tohya (Ten Nights of the Singing Moon). When I first checked the status of the translation it was incomplete and so playing the game slipped my mind. But I finally got off my duff to play the game for my Type-Moon panel. Kagetsu Tohya is as sequel to their original visual novel Tsukihime but it has a different feel and mechanic to it than the original which is a trend that would carry over to Fate/Hollow Ataraxia as well. Unlike Tsukihime that has 5 different paths than are mostly linear within their own storyline Kagetsu Tohya only has one path but it branches and loops in a variety of ways. It also has quite a bit of side stories and bonus materials that you can unlock as well.

Shiki Tohno has been experiencing some strange days.  Recently he finds him self in a bit of a haze as he can’t remember what he has been doing for the last few days. Everyone he meets seems to be slightly confused as he is and claims to have seen him in multiple places at once. While Shiki tries to regain his memories he learns that there has been a rash of murders in town like last year but they seem not to be vampiric in nature. On top of that he learns that he is trapped in a Groundhogs Days style time loop. What does his fuzzy memory, a doppelganger, and endless day, and a mysterious but familiar girl in black all have in common?

After the opening you find yourself stuck in a loop every day. You get to make several choices and if you are killed, trigger certain confrontations, or go to bed the day will end and you will find yourself back at the main screen. You soon learn that while it seems you are making no progress in fact by triggering certain scenes will be given new choices or given different results to old choices that will eventually lead you to a way to break out of your endless nightmare. The main game if played optimally is rather short. By making all the right choices to unlock all the content with a guide it only took two days for me to play through the main storyline. Since you are stuck reliving the same day again and again much of the text can be auto-skipped after a few iterations. The story is about equal the  one path in the original game. The main problem is that while you will eventually find the right events to get to the ending it is very possible to miss unlocking content unless you have a guide. So it comes down to a choice of discovering things for yourself or being sure to get everything as it is not that hard to miss some of the side material.

As you play though the main game there are a bunch of side stories you can unlock.The content covers a wide variety of material including canon stories like Red Demon God and Crimson Moon that contain valuable world building side stories,  Imogirisou and Hisui-chan, Inversion Impulse! that are mostly gag stories, and Flower of Thanatos which is salacious story involving everyone’s favorite twin maids. There are also some cute little summer festival stories and hidden story if you unlock everything. On top of that there are little daily message screens when you load up the game  or go back to the title menu. Apparently there are over 200 of these and contain everything from information about unseen Dead Apostles to who was the first Kohaku cosplayer.

When all is said in done there is a reason this is not called Tsukihime 2. Everything in the game including the main story of Twilight Glass Moon, Fairy Tale Princess feels like a side story. That does not mean that Kagetsu Tohya is superfluous. About half the material from Melty Blood come from here and if does round out many of the characters  (unless your name is Yumizuka Satsuki) and the Type-Moon world in general. Also most of the stories are great. The main story is told in an interesting manner and does have some major changes for a few characters.  The Tohno Family Con Game was my favorite story with its mixture of humor and sentiment especially for any Kohaku fans. The sex scenes are even a little more wonky than they are normally for Nasu but the translation patch lets you cut them out if you want so you can enjoy the game without those interruptions and the fact that there a not that many naughty scenes all in all in this game. Definitely worth a look especially considering how quickly you play through it if you set your mind to it. My only regret was not playing this sooner.

I would like to proudly announce that recently I finished off two video games in one day. Although I started them on different days  coincidence made it so I finished Galaxy Angel and Radiant Historia at the same time. Finishing both games back to back made me realize one thing. I would easily recommend both games so the next statement comes from someone who was thoroughly satisfied with his gaming experience (although if the last mission of Galaxy Angel were not an escort mission I would be happier.) Both games are sort of thin when it comes to their characters. They were enjoyable but in realized that had these character been from an anime or manga I would have considered them much weaker.  We simply accept a smaller amount of characterization in video games than we do from any other medium of entertainment.

We all know that video games have changed and evolved quite a bit over the years, but its been in many different directions. Even excluding the change in graphics capability and the potential length of games, plenty of growth in how people perceive games and how the creators make them has happened. They are a new and special type of storytelling, they are art to some and entertainment to many, and by any standard they have become integrated into the fabric of people’s lives on some level. But let’s go back to the storytelling element, certainly there have always been goals and structures for games, but we’ve seen epic stories come to life, too. And things just seem to grow more complex, with bigger ideas, and greater casts. But how characters develop in the story and through the player is still another idea all together.

Even as a huge Galaxy Angel fan I am the first to admit that the girls from Galaxy Angel seem like they come from a cynical boardroom meeting of Broccoli executives trying to cast their net as wide as possible. It that sense they are very reliant on their archetypal personalities. But when you interact with them in the game they come more alive despite being somewhat defined by simple personality quirks. When you put those same characters in the Galaxy Angel manga it is much more obvious what simple characters they are. I have to wonder if that is why so many anime and video game adaptions are so reviled. When they are adapted you see exactly how much the narrative and characters relied on interactivity to fill in the gaps. I many of the same ways Radiant Historia has a very intriguing plot involving time travel and politics but the characters equally broad stereotypes. Many of the characters personalities and back stories are only really learned through hunting down optional quests and what could be argued as the main romance in the game can be missed entirely. It can be argued that even with those little details that you can hunt down there are still only half as fleshed out as rich as even a shallowly explored anime or manga character. Since you have to hunt down these side missions and little asides it gives them a more rewarding feel. You attach more significance to finding out this information when you find it on your own.

My own experience with video games stems mainly from RPGs through the 90′s (okay, and Professor Layton of late) so those are really my core for talking about character. One of my (and many other’s) best-loved characters, Link from the Legend of Zelda is someone I love because of the adventures I go on as him; in the beginning he was your vessel and you got out of him whatever you put in. But as the game’s started to expand, so did the character. He has friends, motivations, and a past depending on what game you’re playing. Despite A Link to the Past being my favorite iteration, it is impossible to say that Link was all that fleshed out as a character. What he is thinking or feeling that is still up to how you interpret him and what you want out of his actions (or your actions). I would say Link has the most personality in The Wind Waker; I’d describe him as rather jaunty in that title, and subsequent ones in that world. But if you recall The Wind Waker had a ton of backlash initially because it didn’t look as serious as people had hoped when riding on the coat-tails of Ocarina. Who we had come to believe Link was being reinterpreted.

The greatest example of how much the interactive experience fills in gaps is any game with a silent protagonist. While this is very prevalent in RPGs it can also bee seen in almost every genre of game. This character is almost always a tabula rasa with a majority of the dialog provided supporting characters, a few characters reacting to unsaid lines, or the protagonist’s minimal dialog. One one hand this allow almost complete self insertion or visualization. The player is either able to imagine themselves as the main character or  make a personality for the character out of whole cloth. This explains the popularity of characters like Master Chief and Link despite the fact that they are hardly verbose. Many RPGs so far as to have you name the character so that you truly can make the character your own. In and anime or manga a silent protagonist is almost utterly unforgivable. Even some of the most closemouthed heroes have their moments to shine with memorable lines and stories.

All forms of story that I enjoy, I want to be engrossed in, feel connected to it, be apart of. And that is the key, in a video game you are connected immediately because you are playing, you are in control. If you lose that inactivity, you’ve lost everything. But I don’t think that means you must refrain from creating fleshed out characters apart from the player. A title like Tales of Symphonia comes to mind for its little conversations that happen while traveling the world map giving everyone their own quirks. It isn’t really about uniqueness as much as the game telling you a bit of who they are. The danger zone seems to occur when a pre-existing character becomes too fleshed out at the expense of the experience, the reactions to the latest Metroid game for example. In any case, it is a balancing act. Do I want to know more, yes, but do I need to know more to think a game is excellent, probably not.

As much as I might seem to be very critical of video games I must point out that I often play and enjoy the stories and characters of many a video game. Every medium has its strengths and weakness as well as narrative techniques. The way that a book, graphic novel, movie, or game attach us to someone vary on how we interact with it. The level to which things are given to us and how much we have to fill in for ourselves changes our expectations and reactions to each medium. Even silent blank slate characters can connect deeply to an audience. Crono and Gordon Freeman are beloved characters making many a top ten list. Fighting game characters and the entire cast of the Touhou Project games are iconic despite the fact that we only learn a sliver of information about the cast in their games. Games like Mass Effect and the Ultima series are famous for their stories and characters. This is less a condemnation and more of an examination of the medium.

When I think about video game’s many fanbases, two passionate ones came to mind in regards to character development: Touhou fandom and the general fighting game community. Besides being very vocal and large groups, both of these territories have games where much of the story, lore, and characters are filled out by the fans themselves based on hints, small details, and of course character design provided by the actual games. Many times supplemental material is created later (or never), to varying degrees of success, but in the meantime plenty of discussions and fan-fiction go on. Of course these communities originated out of playing and enjoying the games, but have since grown to include vast other topics. It’s that interactivity that seems to allow characters to function at a different level in video games. The blanks don’t feel blank when you are playing.

While not revolutionary HeartCatch PreCure! was one of the best crafted magical girls series I have seen in quite a while. In many ways, Suite Precure the newest entry in the Pretty Cure franchise, has impossible shoes to fill. I have already seen some negative reactions to this series which I think is slightly unfair. With any series this long you are going to have your ups and downs and some parts are going to be so great that you could show them to anyone, some are going to be watchable only by super fans, but most will be in the middle.  Suite Precure is a simple show where evil bad guys want to capture magical notes to the ultimate song to plunge the world into despair. Hibiki and Kanade are two friends who are recruited by a talking cat to become magical girls and use the notes to make beautiful music together. To enjoy Suite Precure you must go in with reasonable expectations about it. If you are predisposed to magical girls shows I think that Suite Precure is enjoyable. The fights have the energy and fisticuffs the Precure series is famous for which is always very welcome. The main characters are simple but fun. On the other hand other than that it is all very formula and anyone who does not like or is burnt out on magical girl shows is not going to find much to be hooked on. I am curious to see if they will have the plot take any major turns. The series should run about 50 episodes so they have plenty of time to throw in a few curve balls if they want. If nothing else I am curious to see if they add any new girls as the show progresses. There is already a masked girl in the opening who looks like she could easily be a third Precure.

The first three episodes of Suite Precure are fairly typical magical girl fare done very straight-forward. Since I haven’t seen HeartCatch Precure, I don’t have any over-high expectations going into this new series. The world is all music-themed as should have been easy to guess, but it makes for some rather silly names throughout (i.e. the animosity between Major and Minor land). I was led to believe these Precures would be more like rivals and I imaged perhaps some face-offs and competition when trying to collect the notes that have been scattered across the land. But that is not the case, though I do find their strained friendship a little refreshing and not as generally displayed in these series but nevertheless important and true. I really enjoy that they have to transform together and attack in harmony. You can really see the push for understanding each other more so than normal through Suite Precure. At the moment Suite Precure is a good magical girl show, but not excelling in any direction yet. Though with a long run series that can sometimes come a bit later on.

There are a few games that I have always wanted to play but the cruel barrier of not knowing Japanese has kept me from jumping in. Last year I finally got to play a Sakura Wars game but there is even one series that I have wanted to play even more. I always joke that this is the Type-Moon and Galaxy Angel blog but I hardly talk about Galaxy Angel. Despite this my prayers were finally answered with a translation patch for the long running Galaxy Angel series. I am ecstatic to finally be able to sit down and play though the first game in the series. It like the previously mentioned Sakura Wars games this is a visual novel and strategy game hybrid. The bulk of the game is a story mode where you see the story and talk with characters but the meat of the game is your character commands fighters in real-time space battles. So far the battles have not been that hard but if I remember correctly the first game is considered the easiest. They are fun and a good break from all the dating sim elements but they will not tax anyone like they were playing StarCraft. The characters are mostly simple characters but I have always found them fun and energetic. They are moe before it was really cool to be moe so anyone who can’t stand that element in their games will despise this game. On the other hand my love for Forte is an easily documented fact but I enjoy the antics of all the characters in the game. If nothing else Tact remind me of Captain Tylor and that is no faint praise.  I did notice that there is a good deal of the crew of the ship that never appears in any of the spin-off material such as the ships doctor and chief mechanic. Since most of them are cute women I would have thought they would have been talked about more. I would like to thank the owner of Tenka Seiha for translating this and Moonlit Lovers which I will surely play when I am done with this. I really appreciate his efforts and the splendid job he has done. Also on the off-chance that anyone who runs a convention is reading this I have always wanted to see Kanan as a guest at a convention. I just figured I would throw that out there.

After reading the first two volumes of Otomen and knowing its popularity, I’m surprised it doesn’t have an anime yet. In any case, these books are a lot of fun and just over-the-top enough. It centers around manly Asuka who secretly likes cute things plus enjoys sewing and cooking. He ends up falling for Ryo who is a rather masculine and dense girl and they both end up wanting to protect the other. Inserted in the middle of this is playboy Juta who is a manga-ka writing his popular story, Love Chick, based on Asuka (but as a girl) unbeknownst to anyone but the audience. Yup, totally ridiculous in a very delightful way! Most of the stories revolve around Asuka trying to win Ryo’s affections. Some highlights include the times when he meets her dad. And Asuka is kinda too perfect to be believed because he is pretty manly even if he does get scared sometimes. I hope to pick up more soon!

After countless people recommended  it to me and enjoying Durarara!! I finally decided to watch Baccano!. Like Galaxy Angel it was thankfully something that lived up to the expectations I had going into it. The show has everything that made Durarara!! so good with none of the flaws of the second half of its successor. The show is a series of intertwined stories set mainly during the Roaring Twenties in America. Baccano! has quirky and somewhat psychotic but always fascinating characters, great action, wonderful twists, a cheeky sense of humor, and a very unique setting. I don’t want to spoil too much but there is some great supernatural action along side mysteries, crime drama, with a dash of romance. I guarantee there is at least once character that you will get attached to and for everyone that character will be someone different. There is a reason that it was one of the most recommended and universally loved shows for Secret Santa last year. This show is great for anime clubs and even some people who are not normally into anime. It is a show you should watch on Hulu if you have not already done so.

I read Jiro Taniguchi’s Ice Wanderer which incorporates some of Jack London’s life as well as his stories plus original narratives into an anthology of man vs. nature tales. Four take places in very cold weather environments such as the Yukon during the gold rush of the late 19th century. While one takes place at the seaside in the summer and then one more takes place in a city where I’m not sure of the season. This one in the city about a manga-ka doesn’t feel like it fits the theme of the book and as it takes place between stories it felt jarring. Despite that, each story is thoughtful and very harrowing (minus the manga-ka which has a different feeling all together).

If anyone knows me they know I could not resist making this the picture of the week:

Since the 7th game of Umineko is so game changing I am going to try to just discuss the essence of the episode without giving away major spoilers especially for people who read the blog but are a few games behind. The two new characters seen in the portrait above are Willard H Wright and Lion Ushiromiya. Lion is a fascinating character that is essentially several huge reveals just by existing. Will is the Battler stand in for this chapter and I thought his big entrance was fairly entertaining and cool. Lion and Will’s interaction is playful although all the butt pinching going on has solidified that they will be shipped forever. When we get into the meat of the story we learn Kinzo’s back story, the identity of Beatrice, Battler’s sin, get some hits as to the solutions to some of the locked room mysteries, and the probable confirmation of one of the mostly hotly debated theories in the series. We also get some powerful scenes that I thought were quite moving. Also unless we are being misled there is some seriously twisted relationships in Umineko and the people involved do not realize are as twisted as they are.  It probably makes me a weenie but I found parts of the end of Requiem of the Golden Witch really hard to read. If you have come to love these characters the last chapter is brutal. Although how authentic how authentic that ending is has yet to be seen.  When the last game comes out I will probably do a total spoiler filled review of the series a whole but until then I just have to wait to see what answers 2011 finally gives us with Twilight of the Golden Witch.

I picked up How to Train Your Dragon in a Black Friday sale but didn’t get around to watching it till the Christmas holidays. The animation of the film really stands out, especially from some of the other Dreamworks properties, it was lush and gorgeous; the dragons were very animated and their designs were quirky; plus the flying scenes were breath-taking. The story is a simple one of trying to fit in to your dragon-killing village of vikings (we’ve all been there, right?) but Hiccup is much happier inventing things which often gets him into trouble. After one of his inventions actually works and takes down a rare dragon, their fates become intertwined when he realizes he can’t bring himself to hurt the creature. This story has a classic feel of acceptance, growing up, and having the bravery to do what is right. While I did find the relationships between Hiccup and the other kids a little too easier resolved, it was enough. I found it a very enjoyable ride! After seeing it, I do imagine it will be an Oscar contender this year.

The next chapter in Higurashi is Tsumihoroboshi-hen or the Atonement Chapter. Like the previous Eye Opening Chapter this chapter got cut in the anime and is much more effective in the visual novel. As always we are able to get to know the characters and see their mental break downs much clearer in the visual novel than in any other form. This chapter is a departure from the chapter it is answering but it still gives resolution and explanations to what happened in the Spirited Away by the Demon Chapter. In fact this chapter gives much more answers than the anime ever did. This chapter is downright mean because it throws out a lot of information that is actually vital for understand the greater story and then makes you think they were merely red herrings when Rena’s theories go into a layer of total insane paranoia. But as always the biggest trick is this chapter seems to have a somewhat happy ending until you read the afterward and find out despite the hard-won ending it turns out everyone dies anyway because the underlying causes of the tragedy of Showa 58 has still not been discovered. This was another chapter that was distinctly worth the money for anyone who is a fan of the series for the greater insights it gives you. I will say that the author’s afterward is this bizarre public service announcement that seems to come out of nowhere. So very odd.

I finished up Yumeiro Patissiere Professional TV. After the gang returns from their stint in New York City, they feel ready to take on the task of opening their own store. But before things can really start, alliances are changed and (new, new) Team Ichigo must revise their tactics. To make the stakes higher, Miya and Johnny make bets about dating Kashino and Ichigo respectively. Henri is notably absent in importance through these last episodes as well. Once again we aren’t privy to as much baking and creative endeavor with more of a concentration on business. As one would suspect things turn out for the best, sort of, but without any resolve to the love relationships going. This sequel really didn’t hold a candle to its predecessor.

After seeing a few intriguing ads for 999: 9 Hours, 9 People, 9 Doors I decided to pick it up because I am always interested in translated visual novels. 999 is the story of 9 people who were kidnapped and placed on an ocean liner as part of a mysterious revenge plot by a masked villain know only a Zero.  They have bombs in their bodies that can be triggered in a variety of ways so they are forced to solve puzzles in groups to survive. As they try to escape they also discover a murderer among them that is taking them out one by one. The game itself is hybrid visual novel puzzle game. You solve puzzles in an Myst style fashion to get to the next block of visual novel text and decision. Overall the game is entertaining but there are some really annoying things that way it down. First of all there are multiple endings depending on paths you take. To get the best ending you have to get a particular bad ending that unlocks the best ending. When you replay the game to get a new ending you can fast forward through text you have already read but that a still takes a bit of time. You have to replay all the puzzles you figured out which is really annoying since they are major time sinks. The puzzles are not that hard but the 5th time you have to do the puzzles in the first room are 3 times too many. If you don’t have a guide to do everything effectively it could be even a bigger pain. It is a fun game and the story is interesting but that repetition can be brutal enough to make some people walk away.

I was surprised to see the first live-action Nodame Cantabile movie available with English subtitles on my flight back from Europe. This is the first of two movies that will conclude the fairly lengthy romance story of aspiring conductor and accomplished pianist Chiaki and eccentric pianist Nodame plus the merry band of misfits they call friends. I have read a good portion of the manga so I had a decent understanding of what was going on, but this isn’t the place to start if you are new to the franchise; nothing is explained and this is the (beginning of the) final stunning conclusion to it all. However, this is the first time I’ve seen any of the live-action adaption. I was surprised by the cartoony additions like people getting bonked on the head and animated little things, which work fine in manga form but have potential to throw you out in live-action. But what I found most jarring was Chiaki’s personality portrayed as much more tame which only made Nodame seem annoying and petulant. I mean, Nodame is petulant, but when Chiaki is a crazy, controlling, ego-maniac it all balances out; that balance wasn’t happening. The music was quite a highlight though, as it should be, and was played in full for most sequences. I’m curious how the story ends but I’ll be picking up the manga to find that out rather than the films.

Two Birds. One Stone.

Bihada Ichizoku is, sadly, a show that most people never watched. I remedied my ignorance over the Christmas holiday. These 12 8-minute episodes follow the two Bihada sisters, a family that “battles for beauty,” as they become rivals for the most beautiful skin in the world. Yes, I swear that is the premise, and I also swear it is perfectly executed and hysterical. The show was created to promote skin care products. The show is a near-perfect riff on all things shojo from the 70s; from the character designs to the expressions to the desperate seriousness of it all. Sara acquires a mysterious benefactor, who leaves her a random assortment of objects such as purple sweet potatoes, and teaches her the ways of skin care in order to defeat her sister in the final battle! There is hardship, death, doomed love, and so much more; Bihada Ichizoku plays it straight and entertains amazingly well. And at this length you can shoot through the whole show in less than 2 hours!

I decided to delve back into the work of Kill em’ all Tomino with the first 15 episodes of Aura Battler Dunbine. This story does not start with much foreplay in the regular world before throwing the protagonists, Shou Zama, in the magical world of Byston Well. Byston Well is a medieval fantasy land with insect like mecha called Aura Battlers. Shou finds himself pressed into the army of Duke Drake who plans to rule the world with an elite fighting force of pilots from Earth. Apparently people from Earth have massive amounts of spiritual power in Byston Well and can power up any device they control exponentially. After a few battles Shou find himself fighting on the side of the rebels. The fact that he is keen of the red-headed Marvel Frozen who is also part of the resistance is no small part of his decision. This feels very much like a Tomino work despite its fantasy setting.  You will notice a very standard Tomino style of pacing and characterization for better and for worse. So far Shou is a solid lead with a good mixture of knowing when to be aggressive and when to be passive in his personality as opposed to other Tomino leads. Neal Given has really only gotten on my nerves so far and I am still undecided on Marvel. All the villains so far are pretty despicable and we don’t really have a gray Char like character so far. So far Garalia is the most over manipulative and the top insanely evil character but Shot Weapon looks like he is saving his full crazy for a later date. I am curious to see how the Tomino does his version of Escaflowne over a decade before Escaflowne.

Finally had a chance to watch Gundam Unicorn ep. 2 and following in the footsteps of the first installment, it didn’t disappoint. As hotly anticipated, a familiar face (or should I say mask) appears and it is unclear whether he is the real thing or not. He has the attitude, the fighting capability, and the mindset of Char. My opinion is to believe he is indeed the true Char, but I truly don’t think it will ever be revealed one way or the other (unless he decides to tell a story about how awesome Char is); it stays more exciting and interesting not knowing. Seeing him back in action was fun (gotta get me a Sinanju model kit!) and of course he shows these kids a thing or two. Another series of great battles in this episode with stunning visuals as Banagher gets more acclimated to the Unicorn. The conflict is really starting to boil so I’m looking forward to more in the, regrettably short, series.

Since they were on sale I decided to finally buy the 4 chapters that make up Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai. I started with Meakashi-hen or the Eye Opening Chapter. It is a retelling of the second story if Higurashi now from Shion’s perspective where we learn what actually happened during the Cotton Drifting Chapter. So far while all the visual novels have proved to be more in-depth than the anime or manga they have spun off this is the first chapter that is hands down infinitely better. Shion is just a deeper and more engaging character in original. We spend much longer with her in the beginning of the story so she is far more sympathetic than she was in the anime.  We also get a clearer sense of the whole Shion/Mion relationship dynamic which helps with the end of the chapter. Her relationship with Satoshi is expanded upon so when things start to go wrong we get a clearer sense of how and why she slowly goes mad and that she had been in a downward spiral for some time before the whole doll incident. When when everything falls parts we empathize with Shion but still realize she is still quite evil. I also found it interesting that we got our first solid mention of Hanyuu even if the audience at the time would have missed it. Just a huge improvement on every level. I do miss the little comedy cast ensemble pieces where the characters discuss the chapter and give you hints for dissecting the mystery. They were always very amusing. Instead Ryukishi07 gives his thoughts on chapter which are insights into the story but I would have liked some crazy antics on the side as well. This was a real treat and is making me look forward to the other solution chapters.

Finished up Legend of Legendary Heroes, a show that I held out hope for but was let down. The entire show teeters on the edge of good but never makes it over the hump. The mishmash of characters and relationships swings the gamut from engaging to utterly annoying. Ryner and Feris’s interactions get better as the series progresses; though Shion remains the most dynamic character of the bunch, they drop the ball with him nearing the end. As Ryner’s past is revealed more it starts to get a bit contrived. Not only does he have a bevy of childhood friends, everyone in the show has super tragic pasts with the meanest people in the lands. Also for a guy who can copy magic, Ryner’s repertoire is sadly bland as he only uses a handful of spells the entire show. The plot has many pitfalls including a completely nonsense ending and few explanations to go along with any of it. Legend of Legendary Heroes was a fantasy show with potential that never comes through.

I knew that Mirai Nikki OVA was going to be a test for how people would react to a full length Mirai Nikki TV series but I did not expect it to be nothing more substantial than a really long trailer. It introduces you to the bare-bones plot and quickly rattles off all the key players and then teases you for a  real first episode. Despite an introduction to many key points there is never the weight or feel of a full episode. It reminds me of X: An Omen in that respect. If you are curious about the series it is worth watching but it is nothing to go out of your way to import. Your better off just waiting for the actual TV series and then watching the first episode.

Sorry, not too much Bihada Ichizoku fan-art out there, so I’m going with Gundam Unicorn!

First off we got the announcement of at least 3 Type-Moon based anime next year. In an unexpected twist the first announcement was for Eri Takenashi’s Take Moon. I have always enjoyed Eri Takenashi’s writing when she worked for Type-Moon and have been entertained by what I have seen of Kannagi so it was a no-brainer for me to check out her parody anthology Take Moon. I found it both very silly but also very amusing so I am glad to see it animated. Plus for some criminal reason  no one every translated the second book with Saber on the cover. Eri Takenashi is also the character designer on the somewhat mysterious Girl’s Work anime. The project was announced back in June of 2008 and since then only a few scraps of information have been released. The story is being written by Meteor Hoshizora, formerly of Lair -Soft, so that means for better and for worse we don’t get Kinoko Nasu’s trademark writing. I am curious how that turns out without Nasu behind the wheel. I am glad to see ufotable as the animation studio since they did such a wonderful job on the Kara no Kyoukai movies. Bu without a doubt ufotable’s most important contribution next year will be the Fate/Zero anime. Fate/Zero was originally the well received light novel prequel to Fate/Stay Night all about the 4th Holy Grail War. It has been something I have been eagerly hoping would get an animated adaptions and it seems my wish has been granted. I mean it has Saber in a suit. The anime is being released along side the Fate/Zero manga for a big multimedia push as well. What more can you ask for?

On the game front Mahou Tsukai no Yoru should finally come out after being delayed this year but I already spoke about that. I just want the sexy adventures of Aozaki Aoko. Also we can assume that if the anime adaption is coming out then Girl’s Work visual novel should also coming out sometime next year but like everything related to Girl’s Work we don’t have a good deal of information. Also the apparent success of Fate/Extra has prompted the development of another joint project between Type-Moon and Image Epoch for the PSP. I am very curious to see what that will be. In the meantime I hope that someone picks up Fate/Extra for US release next year.

And last but not least was the semi-controversial decision for Aniplex of America to release the Kara no Kyoukai Blu-ray box set in the US. The controversy is that it costs $398.98 for the Blu-ray disks from Japan with English subtitles. That is $398.98 for 7 movies, the bonus box set movie, a disk of extras, and a hardcover book with translations. On one hand that is 200 dollars less than what the Japanese had to pay but it is still a huge investment from an audience that is reluctant to pay for anything. I know I am certainly on the fence. I want to support the release but $398.98 is no small chuck of cash. Does buying such an expensive release show your support for more Type-Moon in the US or does it just show that you will take whatever they give you?

It is a wonderful time to be a Type-Moon fan. So much great material is coming out and it seems to be really high quality. Perhaps we will even seen an adaption of Heaven’s Feel, an estimated date of release of the Tsukihime remake, or even a translation or an adaption of Fate/Hollow Ataraxia . But even if none of my predictions pan out I am more than happy with how next year is shaping up. The only thing that will be sad is me looking at my bank balance.

They started off the announcement blitz with the fact that Alchemist was porting the game over to the PS3. This means updated graphics and CG and voice acting with the cast from the anime while at the same time keeping all the original story and music. In other words exactly what you would want them to change while keeping everything you loved about the original. The previews only make me salivate more. There is a group trying to get the PS3 version localized. I am not sure how effective they will be but I figured I would mention them here because I would love to see them succeed.

That being said if you want to play the original games with a translation today you can download the first four games by an authorized online download service and get the translation from the Witch Hunt. As the Witch Hunt translation is officially sanctioned it can be used guilt free as long as you use a legitimate copy of the original Japanese game.

The biggest announcements came just this weekend with the title of last game is Twilight of the Golden Witch. But 07th Expansion also announced the along with the 8th game they would be selling Umineko no Naku Koro ni Tsubasa which is a collection of all independently released Umineko side stories in one bundle. Those will be very nice to get all in one place and we might finally get a translation of Arigato For 556.

The biggest surprise had to be the announcement of the Umineko fighting game Ougon Musou Kyoku. It looks like a fairly nifty little 2D fighting game with tag team play from the previews. I am always amazed how much information about game play fighting game fans get from a few screen shots but such is fighting game fandom. Hopefully this will play well so this can turn in a Melty Blood style series. Goodness knows there are enough Umineko characters to fill up several sequels without breaking a sweat. The real question is are you secure enough in your sexuality to main the bisexually ambiguous Ronove?

I guess the main purpose of the post is to shake out some of the excessive energy I have in anticipation of the finale of the series. In many ways the final denouement is what makes or breaks most mystery series so I am curious to see how it all get wrapped up. No matter how good or bad the ending is I have  enjoyed the ride to this point and look forward to whatever in next in the When They Cry series. This conclusion mostly determines if this series get a mild recommendation or thunderous applause.

Higurashi is a series of visual novels with supernatural elements and unreliable narrators, but its narrative followed rules which can be discovered, as the killings and supernatural elements are related but solvable mysteries in their own right. Umineko is a story that uses the rules of the mystery genre to tell a tale of mystery novels. Therefore unless Ryukishi07 has been misleading us, the core mystery follows Knox’s Decalogue and is a properly solvable mystery just like Higurashi. It is a story written by a mystery lover for mystery lovers.

Zaregoto on the other hand goes out of its way to break the rules without the same love for the conventions of the genre. Nisio Isin loves to play with tropes and ideas of a genre, and then constantly provide a twist on what you would normally expect. The Zaregoto novels so far have been a deliberate attempt to break the conventions of mystery novels. I would go as far as to say it comes from the angle of a mystery story written for people who are bored with mysteries.

And therein lies my problem with the two series. I believe that rules like Knox’s Decalogue are a vital element of the genre, and I don’t see them as unnecessary boundaries, but as helpful tools for making a story feel satisfying. In Umineko Battler, Virgilia, and Dlanor A. Knox have a long conversation about the nature of mysteries. The analogy is made that a good mystery like a good relationship and is built on mutual trust: the author and the reader trust each other to play by the rules, so when the reader comes to the end of the book, they do not feel that the ending was a dirty trick. They may not have figured out the ending, but at least feel like they COULD have. Nisio Isin goes out of this way to make the ending extremely obtuse in Zaregoto by twisting and breaking the rules. To use the Umineko analogy, I feel like the Zaregoto books are a cheating partner, and I want a mystery novel to be on an equal relationship with me.

Finishing Dawn of the Golden Witch has just made me anticipate Requiem of the Golden Witch even more than I already did. This seemed like a shorter chapter than most but we got some great scenes so all is forgiven. Battler is now the Golden Sorcerer and running the game with Erika Furudo as his opponent. Beatrice is back but she is clearly not the same Beatrice as before. This chapter really centers around George, Jessica, Shannon, and Kanon. I will say the is a decent amount of evidence for the Shannon equals Kanon theory but I have to hope that it’s all a red herring. Otherwise there are some very unobservant members of the Ushiromiya family. In the end we get another suspended game that ends during the second twilight. I am assuming at this point that if we had all the games go to the end it would be much more obvious who the culprit is. As it stands these game are just supposed to be hints that when pieced together with the first four games give us who is behind all the murders on the island. I still think my final denouement stand the test of the 6th game but we shall see. Part of me wonders if I am like Battler and I am just in denial that one of the 17 could be the murderer. Another part of me feels that many of the themes point to me keeping this seemingly blind faith. We shall see what is revealed in the penultimate and ultimate game soon enough. As a side tangent I now wait for the part in every chapter for a part where Beatrice’s demon hooligans make some trouble for someone. Ryukishi07 has done well in making them lovable characters.

I started watching the TV anime adaption of CLAMP’s X (eps. 1-8). After the first couple of episodes that have plenty of action and foreboding, then we start to learn about each of the stars little by little. Kamui is hard to like at first, but his tortured mind is easy to recognize. Sometimes these episodes can feel a little slow, even though they are interesting, they take away a little from the present circumstances of characters that you haven’t quite gotten attached to yet. Lucky for me, I already have a great love for the cast. However, each moment in the present is exacting, telling, and dramatic pulling you in further and further into this complex and twisted story of destiny. 

I recently read Zettai Karen Children book 1 though 22 in a crazy marathon of avoiding doing other things. I have very mixed feelings about the series. I like it a lot but I have a hard time recommending it. The humor is very funny, the psychic battles are  well done, and the characters are easy to like. The main problem is everything is covered in a thick lolicon vibe which makes it sometimes uncomfortable to read. It is never nearly as bad as Kodomo no Jikan. If Kodomo no Jikan is your house burning down to the ground and everything you own is destroyed then Zettai Karen Children is only a fire that destroys one-quarter of you possessions. While it is clearly not as bad most people would avoid both of them all together. After the first big time skip the manga is far less horrible as at least the girls are post-pubescent but you have to read quite a bit to get there. In the series defense it does have a solid overarching plot about a clairvoyant prophecy and a war between epsers and normals. The plot is constantly being touched on so you never feel it has the wrong amount of prominence but the minor story lines are solid as well.  The villainous organizations are also pretty well fleshed out and entertaining as well. I really want to recommend this series but it makes it impossible with Kaoru almost always getting a fan service shot in ever chapter. I suppose you can trick yourself with Carl’s theory on the manga.

I watched some more of Occult Academy (eps. 2-6). We’ve had some more wacky and slightly creepy occult action; there is a nice feeling of slapstick at points in this show. We’ve also learned of the greater plot, the search for Nostradamus’ Key, which the fate of the world rests on. I am happy with the plot and pacing thus far. However, I can’t say the show has lived up to the promise of the first episode thus far. Mostly at the fault of introducing, and then spotlighting, Bunmei way more than anyone could possibly wish. He is certainly important, but Maya stands out as a character and is by far what really brings the show to life, making Bunmei really seem like he should be at the side like the rest of the cast. By episode six, we are no closer to the key but a sort of truce has been reached between Maya and Bunmei that I assume leads us into the next phase of the story. I feel like I am teetering with this show, but six helped so I will continue on.

To go from a series with kids and less than decent intent we go to one with nothing but only the purest of motives. I watched the first 26 episodes of HeartCatch PreCure!. It is a delightful magical girl show that plays to all the strengths of the genre without falling to the clichés as well.  Tsubomi and Erika hardly spring from the most original templates but like everything in the show their growth and progress as characters makes them feel fresh and sympathetic. Also Tsubomi and Erika start off as the weakest Pretty Cures but as they progress towards their personal goals of improving themselves they also grow stronger as Pretty Cures. As per the formula people that they know get turned into monsters but most of those people pop up again even after they are saved giving them a feel greater than throw away fodder for being the monster of the week. As the series progresses their friend Itsuki becomes the third Pretty Cure. And you knew she has to be a potential Pretty Cure because all the normal people have regular color hair and Pretty Cure candidates always have neon colored hair. Even when they have not transformed. She has been a martial artist since she was but a babe so she comes in slightly stronger than her friends despite the fact that they have grown since the start of the series but for a legitimate reason. Cure Sunshine gets an Itano circus as her main attack so you know she is powerful. Yuri the fallen former Pretty Cure who acts as an ally and to the girls is clearly going to come back to her full power sometimes later in the series as everything points to this fact so it seems we will have 4 Pretty Cures overall. Overall if you want a solid magical girl show with a fresh visual style and a feel good vibe in the characters and story I cannot recommend HeartCatch PreCure! enough.

Started watching Crest of the Stars (eps. 1-8) with what seems to be turning into “Sci-fi Wednedsays.” I know this series is held in great regard and I often hear it mentioned when speaking with other Legend of the Galactic Heroes fans, so I was pumped to start it. So far, I am really enjoying what I’ve seen. Lafiel is wonderful the moment she steps on screen with her stature and courage, but is grounded by her viewing things very simply. Jinto has a lot to taken in as he starts on his journey with her and I really like the slow familiarity between them that often occurs without them realizing it. I can see that each will really change the other. This space opera has a much  more personally feeling to it thus far, but the politics is there as well as some solid space action. As an aside, I am disappointed the series doesn’t have a proper opening sequence.

Since they are the prominent new characters in Dawn of the Golden Witch I present to you two of the odder named demons from the Lesser Key of Solomon. It’s Zepar and Furfur:

As a special treat the ED has been announced to be Hoshi ga Matataku Konna Yoru ni (This Star Sparkling Night) by Supercell. You can already buy the single that also contains the 14th Naruto Shippuden Ending. Also lvlln at Borderline Hikikomori was nice enough to post an English translation of the song as well. Unless this utterly bombs I cannot see why we would not get an anime adaptation somewhere down the line as well especially considering how well the Kara no Kyōkai movies have done. If you are any sort of Type-Moon fan this will be the release of the year. You should preorder it if for nothing else it comes with an art book which is always a wonderful thing.

In an unusual twist I will have an actual Final Denouement as the this month’s Final Denouement. I’m going to use this as a sounding board for my crazy theory on what I think is going on in Umineko and even point a finger at who I think the the main mastermind behind the deaths on the chessboard is. I’m mostly curious to see what other people who have played the games think of my theory. I’m sure there are holes in this theory that I’m not seeing and I welcome any criticism. Of course this means if you have not read up to episode 5: End of the Golden Witch you should wait until because I will spoil parts of the story like nobody’s business.

My theory is that the killer is Battler Ushiromiya. Now you might quickly point to the fact that in episode 5 we are told that Battler-kun didn’t kill anyone. But we have also been told that multiple people can have the same name and this is the key to my theory. We are given hints throughout the series that there are two people named Battler. We know for a fact that the Battler we know is not Asumu’s son. We also know that before he dies in several games Rudolf mentions wanting to tell Battler something about his birth. From what I understand we also learn that Battler is in fact Kyrie’s son in the 6th episode. Which then begs the question. What happened to Asumu’s son? My theory is that for some reason we will probably not learn until the 7th episode that the two babies were switched.  This leads to them both having the name Battler at one point in time. The killer is the original baby named Battler Ushiromiya. The person we have be introduced to as Battler is in fact not the original Battler.

This would explain a great deal about some of the most confusing piece of red text in the game. Many of the murders that seem to have no one capable of committing them are much easier to solve with this idea. Lets look at two of the most head scratching mysteries in the whole game. It seems that Nanjo’s death at the end of the 3rd game and Battler’s death at the end of the 4th game could not be committed by anyone who was still alive as anyone who was still alive has an alibi or is stated in red as not being the killer. But if we allow for two people named Battler to be active then it explains how Nanjo was killed when everyone seemed to be accounted for. Battler #2 is being watched by Eva but Battler #1 is free to kill Nanjo. It also explains why Battler can be murdered when the only person on the island is Battler. Battler #1 kills Battler #2.

I assume that they use some sort of word play to count both people who can claim the name Battler as one person for the sake of head counts. This also get around the number of people on the island and lets someone operate at points where there should be no one able to do so. I also think this second Battler was on the island before the start of the game. In the side story Notes From a Certain Cook we see that Gohda has been finding magic circles around the mansion shortly before the conference has started. I think that this is supposed to be a major clue that the killer had snuck onto the island to set up their plan before the conference started.

My crazy conspiracy theory is that Juuza Amakusa is the original Battler. I admit this part of the theory is a bit strange but bear with me. For my theory to work it has to be someone we meet before the 5th game because they make a big deal that Knox rules are being used. That mean the killer has to have been mentioned before that point to still be valid under the rules. It’s interesting that they mention the rules very early on but only implement the rules over halfway though the game. But it makes sense if they had to wait to introduce someone in the 4th game. People also say that Juuza Amakusa character design makes him seem an awful lot like Battler. Another curious fact. Ange is listed as dying in 1998 at the end of episode 4 which seems strange all in all considering how the game ended. I think that it can’t be too hard to imagine that Juuza Amakusa is the person who kills her after she learns a little too much about the events on Rokkenjima.

I will admit I have yet to play Dawn of the Golden Witch. From what I have heard there is some evidence for the “Shannon and Kanon are the same person” theory but I will not believe that until I read that. I will admit while I have no idea what is going on with Hanyuu 2.0, who Beatrice really is, how Maria plays into things, or how any of the other magical portions tie into everything. I will also admit there are parts of this theory I just don’t have answers for. I easily admit I might be utterly wrong. The point of this article is to try to get people to try to think about the murder mystery part of the story while getting this theory off my chest at the same time. Please tell me what you think if you have played the games.

I rewatched the beginning of the Raoh Gaiden TV series and then finished it off. It stays pretty much insane and hilarious all the way through as we learn the story of Raoh before the beginning of Fist of the North Star’s main plot. We follow him through his first upheaval and declaration as king as he builds an army, meets Kokuoh-go, imprisons Toki, and bests many foes. Though it doesn’t have as much fighting as you might imagine since Raoh pretty much wins every time within 5 seconds. The exception to this is the last fight between Raoh and Souther but clearly that can’t end with either one’s death! There are new characters for Raoh’s story including some love interests, yes for real, not that Raoh every engages in such romantic actions. This becomes doubly funny with the ending animation seemingly implying this series has a really romantic slant. Reina as one of the ladies is hard to swallow as never being talked about in earlier works considering she is both Raoh’s childhood friend and a general in his army. The series is about Raoh so of course it is entertaining and of course I enjoyed every minute, but I don’t think it will appeal to anyone who doesn’t already have this feeling in their heart!

I decided watch one of the cornerstones of shojo history by taking on the 115 episode beast that is Candy Candy. After 25 episodes it is obvious why this is such an influential and celebrated work. Candy Candy is the story of the spirited tomboy Candice White who starts life as an orphan with nothing but her good nature to her name. She tries to keep in contact with her best friend Anne and find the Prince of the Hill who won her heart. She is thrown into adversity after adversity including the various machinations of the family that adopts her. Whenever it seems like the plot is going to drop into a predicable formula they will shake things up by doing something like sending Candy to Mexico. I have to say the end of this arc is quite surprising. If this is any sign of things to come I will say Candy Candy is anything but predictable. I feel a little bad for Archibald and Stear because they are really cool gentlemen who are obviously in love with Candy but everyone including them know they are always just going to be in the friend zone. I am very curious to see what the next 25 episodes have to offer.

With much eagerness I watched the Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated pilot episode. In case you were unaware, I am and have been a big Scooby fan since childhood. This new series has a really promising start with a mixture of the familiar but some new feeling as well. You can already see in this pilot that there will be more character and relationship focus. Both Daphne and Velma are showing their interests in Fred and Shaggy respectively plain as day. The traits of each character have been magnetized but not to complete parody bringing some great humor from Velma’s sarcasm to Fred’s oblivious-nature to the sheriff who can’t stand the gang. The mystery is very much in line with previous shows being a case that seems supernatural really has a logical explanation. However, the biggest surprise was that a clue Daphne picked up didn’t have to do with the current case, as the episode was coming to a close the gang received a mysterious phone call pertaining to the item. The implication that there may be arcs of story is a really exciting one! I am really anxious for this series to start in July.

I finally finished the last two episodes in the Higurashi sound novel. I have been dragging my feet for two reasons. First, Satoko is the star of the third episode but she is also my least favorite character. And second, I wanted to space out some time before I had to pony up cash for the next set of games especially since MangaGamer is releasing the last 4 chapters individually at a higher price point. Tatarigoroshi-hen continues the tradition of giving you a good amount of red herrings, misleading clues, but also important facts to help you try a figure out what is actually going 0n. The sound novel was a better at getting me to sympathize with Satoko although it did not make me like her any more than I did before. Having watched the anime and now how the world works I think I have a better understanding of what exactly happened in this chapter. Also the most important events in all of Higurashi occurred, Chie-sensei finally got a sprite (cool kids in the know will understand why this is important). Himatsubushi-hen is very short but they make it clear that this was originally just a bonus chapter however an important bonus chapter. Even if it is expensive I really look forward to buying the rest of the series. The original sound novel is strong enough to make it worth reading even if you watched the anime or read the manga. As a side note does anyone know where I can get a summary of extras that were cut between the Japanese and English versions of the game?

I started watching Robin Hood no Daibouken (eps. 1-3) from 1990, it has Robin Hood in it so I am 100% likely to take a look and, if isn’t painful to watch, also finish. It is a mixture of the many Robin Hood legends with some original characters and stories that center around Robin and friends as youngsters. The series starts with Robert Huntington and his siblings being attacked by the baron of Alwine’s retinue in their family home, they flee seeking refuge in the woods but not before Robin wounds the head of Alwine’s group. While there he runs into Little John and his band of thieves along with Frair Tuck and even Maid Marian so we are getting an origin story as Robin hasn’t become Hood yet. Robin has great skill with his bow but it may have magical properties and we’ve seen glimpses of his father who may have been Robin Hood, too. It has plenty of silly kid friendly moments, but things continue to grow intense and it will be interesting to see how Robin fares once he becomes a leader.

I decided to indulge in one of my favorite guilty pleasures by reading Maria+Holic 3. There is something just sort of pleasant about its upbeat mean-spirited humor that appeals to my inner craving for schadenfreude. We learn the reason for the rift between Mariya and Ayari, we met a strange priest, and Nanami gets a stalker. Overall, Kanae the strange priest was amusing if for nothing else his use of archaic proverbs is quite delightful to me. Kanako is still silly and sort of the most horrible depiction of a lesbian ever. Mariya is still a horrible human being. But I still think that Minari Endou writes snappy dialog and amusing situations. Also the Ghost in the Shell joke had great build up for a priceless delivery.

How could it be anyone else when I was talking about Raoh?

I will admit that of the three main heroines of Fate/Stay Night, Sakura firmly ranks third on my list. But I find her a hard character to hate. If anything Sakura might remind me a little too much of myself for me to be anything but slightly uncomfortable about her. Our positive and negative qualities are scarily similar. But she has many traits that people who love visual novels tend to look for. She is shy, sweet, hard working, and loyal. In the normal ending of Heaven’s Feel she dies patiently waiting for Shiro to come home even though she knows that day will never come. Fans usually eat that up like chocolate, bacon, and Ambrosia flavored love. Sakura is strong with the moe side of the force which earns her points as well. And the fact that she is very buxom cannot be overlooked as well.

And yet people hate Sakura despite the fact that all signs points to her being a fan favorite. They call her a whore because her moe purity is broken when you learn she has been raped. She has been sexually assaulted for years by her brother Shinji. It is made painfully clear that Shinji has an abusive and dominating hold on her and all sexual activity between them is nonconsensual. The mere concept of blaming a rape victim for the crime committed against her angers me to no end. To punish her on top of that compounds my fury one hundred fold. While Sakura might come onto Shiro very aggressively in Heaven’s Feel I still find the accusation of her being a slut uncalled for. Since she is no longer a virgin she is no longer worth affection? Because she can be aggressive she is no longer worth affection?

People are free to dislike Sakura for any number of valid reasons. But if you hate her for being a “slut” then I feel free to dislike you. It might seem odd to get worked up about a fictional character but it is not so much the hate for the character that annoys me as much as the attitude towards women and sexuality that gets under my skin. I feel it is a sign of deeper sickness and misogyny in parts of the male anime fanbase that makes me ill. As long as it exists I will continue to complain when it rears its ugly head.

Round Three visual novel logo designs! In the last two posts we looked at the two most easily spotted designs for visual novels: crying girl games and bishoujo games. Our last article is about fantasy games, being that Fate/Stay Night is in this category I obviously have a good deal of interest in the topic. Fantasy visual novels usually have more complex and intricate plots than other visual novels. I will admit it was harder to get logos for this section compared to the 200+ logos I downloaded for the other two posts. I had to call upon twitter to get enough logos to feel comfortable about writing this. I would like to thank ClarissaG, Rainbowsphere, animeiscartoons, janaiblog, and wildarmsheero for all suggesting titles and saving me from having to pour through The Visual Novel Database for hours.

When comparing all three logo posts side by side, it becomes immediately obvious that each approach is very different. And that is what you want to have happen! Logos are meant to tell you something and give you an immediate feel to what you are going to be seeing (using, eating, whatever, etc.). Overall I saw a little more variety in the fantasy visual novel genre but you can see glean some common properties from them. There is a feeling of complexity to these logos that is composed of not only the many pieces involved by each piece having a flair of it’s own.

The first thing that stands out about fantasy game logos is they always have huge symbols in the background. They are usually ornate and just as important as the title as part of the logo. Where in other games any background symbol is usually merely an accent or a mascot the symbol in a fantasy game in an equal partner with the logo. The games usually have the title with bold and heave lettering with much smaller type for the subtitle. The gravity and darkness of the game is usually identifiable buy how dark the lettering on the logo is. This text usually appears on a straight line with only a minor bit of flair to the writing to make it stand out. Fate/Stay Night is a good example. The red and black command symbol in the background tells the reader that the game has a darkly mystical feel.  The letter of the text back this feeling up but mostly lets the symbol do the talking.

Color palette plays less of a role in these logos, you can see everything from pink to blue used, but there is a darkness creeping in to them. This move from dark to light can give a ominous feeling to the logos and establish that perhaps the story seems light or starts in a mild direction but opens up to something deeper. The type itself has a sharpness to it, either in the letters themselves or the formation they are in or both. Then there is the tell-tale symbol with the logo, in these cases that symbol usually represents something in the series rather than being an abstract object to establish feeling as seen in the previous visual novel posts. I see the complexity and layers of the logo as a representation of the story being told throughout the series.

I am always curious if other people agree with our observations or have other good examples to add to our case files. Other than that I leave the next part up to our readers. The 4th most obvious category for visual novels is horror games like Higurashi no Naku Koro ni and Saya no Uta but I could not come up with a common design aesthetic for their logos. If anyone wants to try and find a common design I am curious what they find. Also if anyone can find logo similarities in other types of visual novels I would like to hear about that as well.

Visual Novel Logos: Part 1 Part 2

This past weekend with some friends in toe I went to the Tatsunoko VS. Capcom event being held at Nintendo World in NYC. Usually at these little gatherings you can get a copy of the game early, but not so this time around. Though you could win a copy by beating out everyone else in the game tournament. Of which there were tons, or atleast I think there were, maybe they were all just in line for the autograph and poster as seen above. In any case, talk about packed! Luckily we caught glimpses of the game as we were waiting in line. I am happy to report many people playing as Joe the Condor (as they should be!) who is basically the reason I want to play this game myself. Actually I was happy to see everyone really playing an array of the hefty cast. I did get to play for a minute at the end where I doubled up with Joe the Condor and Viewtiful Joe and promptly got trounced by Gold Lightan! Looking forward to this release so I can try again.

So begins the end of Umineko with the first part: End of the Golden Witch. I devoured this episode over the course of two days and loved every second of it. It picks up the ball from where it landed after the ultra dramatic end of part 4. With Battler initially sitting the game out we get the introduction of Erika Furudo as the new detective. She starts off as the text book definition of a Mary Sue. As the episode goes on we slowly learn that she is not the nice person she might first appear to be. She is a detective without love and sort of psycho at times. Any worries that she would become the new main character and sweep Battler to the side are utterly blow away by the end. I’m not exactly sure if she is supposed to be a tool to explore the story or if there is some deeper hints in her appearance in this stage of the game. I was a little surprised that I liked Dlanor A. Knox infinitely more than I initially thought I would. The Internet made her seem much crazier and more useless than she was in the actual visual novel. I hope to see more of her. Battler himself is utterly epic when he finally gets his head back in the game. I will say this new set of chapters seem to ramp up the meta commentary to the next level. The conversation about how a good relationship is like a good mystery novel and the use of Knox’s rules was so delightful.

I continue on with Yumeiro Patissiere with much glee, the series continues to be a very nice, energetic, and happy shojo series. And with the new element of the baking contest it has thrown in some shonen tournament style! Ichigo has the proper balance of self-doubt mixed with gusto. She doesn’t miraculously get better as a patisserie, she truly works hard. There was also a nice scene where she realizes that one of her seniors who is considered a genius is not just natural ability either as she puts in long hours in the kitchen after others have left for the day. The tournament is going to be a fun romp and I expect it will take up a good portion of the next maybe 10 episodes, maybe more. I’m really looking forward to see what kind of strides the team makes!

In preparation for Gundam Unicorn I decided to brave one of the more infamous Gundam series: Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ. I know people did not like the first part of because it changes the tone of the series from riveting war drama to slap stick mecha comedy but it really is a shift that has to be seen to be believed. Most everyone who survived Zeta from the Argama is back but now they are two hundred times more incompetent. It is best summed up by the fact that Yazan Gable, who is one of the deadliest characters in the Gundam series, is nothing more than a goofy comic relief villain who attacks a Gundam on a scooter with a metal pipe. Also they attack Bright with fruit. Oh how the mighty have fallen. Judau Ashta is a shady teenager who does salvage work. He is a likable energetic young chap in contrast to the previous Gundam antagonists but he is sort of dumb as a box of rocks. The rest of his crew is a decent band of nogoodniks but none of them stand out too much. Roux Louka is the shinning reason to watch the series. She was a breath of fresh air when she comes swooping in to save Judau. So far she is practically a magical girl because she has an amazing power that no one else has so far. She has common sense. I will say the Rainbow Bright stars on her outfits are sort of odd but I also find them cute because she is definitely my type of lady. I am going to stick with ZZ but I could see what would get people so upset at this series. It is almost a parody of Gundam at this point. And I have not gotten to the Moon Moon colony yet.

I sped through Swan 10-14, if I had anymore than that I would have kept going! But since 15 won’t land on my doorstep till next month, I’m out of luck. We some major hurdles overcome in these volumes from much of the cast, though also some heartbreaking down falls, it truly is an amazing rollercoaster ride look at a highly competitive field. Masumi really starts to stretch herself in the later books and as she makes a major move and starts to get a look at the world of modern ballet we really she her constitution toughen and her resolve set in. There are a couple of new love interests, one of which I really like, but I’m still anxious to see how Aoi will eventually fit into her life as is my fervent wish that he will. The drama never ends, and I don’t want it to! I have to talk about Swan as much as possible because it truly deserves it and is probably one of the best series currently being released in English.

If there is one reason to watch ZZ it is the lady right here:

Ah, Tachikoma, how I longed to have you for my own for so long. Okay, so he is a little far from having the real deal, but I’ll take what I can get. He is die-cast metal, I was a bit worried there would be a balance issue what with that huge back end, but no problem! The articulation in his legs is good and his feet and hands are fully poseable. As you can see his crouching position is quite nice. However, his arms don’t fair as well. If I try to give him a sort of excited yatta Tachi pose, they don’t really reach high enough and tend to pop off. But overall he is a good size and detailed making him one of the best I’ve seen avaliable. He also comes with software that allows his to say phrases and light-up and move a little. Though the CD is for Japanese PC only (which of course you can get around).

I recently got a copy of Stolen Hearts by Miku Sakamoto from CMX. Shinobu Okuma is a super short girl who accidentally spills milk all over an expensive kimono that the frightening Koguma brought to school with him. He shames her into working at his grandmother’s kimono shop where she slowly sees that he’s a sensitive guy and not the wannabe Yakuza everyone thinks he is. It is a cute story. I was a bit surprised that by the end of the first chapter Shinobu and Koguma are a couple. Part of me wonders if this was supposed to just be a one shot story that was popular enough to get turned into a series. The first chapter could so easily be self-contained. The characters are solid and entertaining. Everything works really well when Shinobu and Koguma are interacting. My main problem is the story tends to lean on shojo tropes too much and whenever it does so it is at its weakest. The story really shines when its characters are doing something a little outside the mold. It’s a fun read but it is not going to win over any new fans to the genre. I did find the teen rating on the back quite curious. This manga is super chaste. Maybe it gets racier down the line but so far the most anyone does is some hand holding. The only fan service is traditional Japanese clothing service.

I finally got around to reading Yotsuba&! after an interesting debate sprang up on Twitter about the innocent or not so nature of the series as a seinen title. So after making my way through five volumes I am here to tell you: If anything in Yotsuba&! strikes you as pervy, YOU are the pervert. The series is quite funny and amusing with that quirky nature that made Azumanga Daioh so enjoyable. The exact humor is what saves if from it’s slice-of-life roots that everyone should be aware I can’t stand. I even made myself a Yotsuba&! wallpaper featuring the noir revenge chapter from book 2!

For some reason I cannot easily explain, I had forgotten to review the last Garden of Sinners movie. It is particularly bizarre because I really liked A Study in Murder Part 2, it was an excellent conclusion to the series that brought everything to a proper crescendo. Chronologically movie number five is the story line conclusion to Garden of Sinners. It ties together all the events and explains why the various support characters did what they did. The final movie is the conclusion of the main characters’ story. It is the climax of Shiki Ryougi and Mikiya Kokuto’s relationship as well. Part 2 ties the events that occurred just before Shiki falls into a coma together and gives us the final bit of insight into both main characters’ motivations. It also finally finishes up the mystery of all the murders from Part 1. The action pieces were as good as any previous part of the series. That one scene in the warehouse was a little over the top in it’s odd sexuality but overall it was emotionally satisfying. This story is the emotional climax of the heart of the film and therefore a good place to end on. As I understand, they will release an additional piece soon that acts as a falling action to everything based on the series epilogue but the exact details are not yet known to me. I still hold out hope that someone will release the novel so I can compare the two.

I received a copy of The World I Create from CMX this week. I wasn’t crazy about the cover (the Japanese one is cute though!), but the interior art looked cute enough though kind of a hybrid style mostly shojo but a little shonen feel mixed in. And once I started reading, the stories proved themselves to be a cute as the art. The World I Create is a collection of sweet relationship tales that all take place at this magic school where the students learn how to create illusions using unique lanterns for a profession called “Projectionist.” All of the stories involve this talent in someway, some it is central to the tale while for others it’s just a piece of the characters lives. As the series goes on you’ll see all the characters are linked (if only a little bit) but each couple has a different story and nature. Everything is done up in a mostly humorous style, and so nothing in emotionally moving, but it’s a cute and chaste set of love growth. The good-natured quality of the series has also made me curious about Ayami Kazama’s other works. As a side note, CMX confirmed on their Twitter account that this is a one book series despite the confusing #1 on the spine.

I have finished the first two chapters of the Higurashi no Naku Koro ni visual novel. I have been taking my time with series mostly because I have already watched the anime and a good deal of the manga. But there is still a lot to get out of the original. Plus it makes it much less of a wait for Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai. The first thing I noticed is since this is a visual novel the story takes its time more. This lets everything build slowly and more delicately. In the first two chapters the paranoia builds at a slower pace than anything else in the franchise. We are grounded longer in Keiichi’s normal life so when things start to go south they are more of a shock. In Watanagashi-hen we get much more insight into Shion and Mion before we learn they are twins. Also the descent into madness is more gradual as well. In Onikakushi-hen, distrust of Mion and Rena happens at a more realistic pace. The biggest difference I have seen is the original Higurashi visual novel is a mystery with horror elements in it. The anime is horror that reveals that there is a mystery underneath. Being that this is a blog called the Reverse Thieves you can tell which sort of story I prefer. With the all-cast review section we see Ryukishi07 pushing the reader to try to figure out the mystery of Hinamizawa and the endlessly repeating summer of June 1983. As always I have to point out that Ryukishi07 is clearly not an artist as his main talent because the character designs leave a lot to be desired. Still the story is strong enough that it carries the weak art. Just image the characters you see in fan art and you will be good to go.

We return for round two of our analysis of the commonalities of  visual novel logo designs. Last time we looked at the similarities of crying girl games. This time we are looking at fun/comedic bishojo visual novels. This was the second type of logo that stood out just as strongly as the sad girls in snow games. They too have this distinct easily recognizable formula to their logo design that instantly tells you what sort of game you are picking up before you see anything else.

What originally struck me about bishojo game logos was that even though they are marketed for guys, the logos are distinctly what you would image seeing for elementary/middle school girls or you could even image them being drawn by said young girls. This sent me on a quest to compare the two.

These are the happy fun visual novels usually based around comedy. Unlike the crying girl games which are supposed to invoke a feeling of the beauty of sadness these games are supposed to be an energetic tribute to hot girls. And having sex with said hot girls. The lettering of the logo is always big and bold with rainbow colored letters. There is then a subtitle with smaller uniformly colored text but if tends to be just as neon crayon colored as the title itself. The lettering seems to bounce around. Although how asymmetrical it is varies from logo to logo. There is usually a colorful abstract shape in the background and/or mascot along side everything else. The Shuffle! logo is a perfect example with it’s pastel rainbow colored logo, colorful whirlpool in the background and it’s uniformed colored arrow and much less rainbow colored subtitle. Overall I feel that the logo is supposed to invoke a lighthearted festival feeling. They are meant to invoke a fun, energetic, humorous feel. I have to agree 100% with what Narutaki said about the designs looking like they were draw by an artistically talented elementary school student or at least something aimed at said student.

You can click the image above to show more logos and also see a comparison to logos made with young girls as the target audience, more on that in a few. What hits you first when looking at these bishojo game logos side by side is the overall color palette which immediately brings out a light-hearted feel and removes even a remote possibility of worries (unless you’re worried about having too many girls to choose from). Even without the mascot or icon that many like to add in to these designs, there is a sense of fun and energy present. The actual type can vary but it always has a boldness to it and the use of a double stroke, usually a white or light thick stroke around the type followed by a black or dark thin stroke. The color palette here is bright, but when looking at the logos for young girls, you can see they are in the same vein but tend to be more saturated. The visual novel logos are actually more feminine, more girly than the ones actually aimed at girls. If I may be philosophical for a minute, it’s like the difference between what girls are like and what guys think girls are like. But commonalities should be clear including the boldness, the off kilter line of type, and the use of strokes. They actually evoke the same feelings (well, minus all that fan-service)!

I am once again curious if other people agree with our observations or have other good examples to add to our case files. The next one should wrap this series up unless someone wants to provide some examples for different distinct genre design. Please look forward to our next visual novel logo article.

Visual Novel Logos: Part 1 Part 3

This all started with a random observation. Narutaki and I were looking over what shows we wanted to sample from the new season of anime. While researching one title we had not heard of we went to the series’ homepage and I instantly knew the anime was based on a visual novel from nothing more than the title treatment. This sparked the realization that there was a common design theme in visual novel logos with similar content. I then researched over 200 visual novel logos to assess the commonalities in design.

In a rare, though interesting turn, we take a look at the logos of visual novels purely from the point of view of design. Even though the famous saying is “don’t judge a book by it’s cover,” you can actually tell a lot from them! This is less of a conversation and more of an observation. Unfortunately, we can’t for the life of us remember what that show was that started this whole thing! But thank you show, wherever you are.

The first major group we discovered is centered around “crying girl games.” Crying girl games, as exemplified by Key games, usually send the player through an emotional roller coaster and are famous for getting their audience to cry during the most tragic scenes. First take a look at all the crying girl game logos we have at the top. They usually have thin blue letters sometimes with black or green as an accent. There is usually some type of subtitle included. There is usually an item in the background, feathers were particularly popular but other light symbols or abstract shapes were used as well. Overall I feel this design aesthetic is trying to invoke that same feeling of the beauty that can be found in sadness and loss that the game attempt to do. The logo for Wind: A Breath of Heart is an exemplary example if this aesthetic style.

Oh, you can click that image up and there and you will see a bunch more logos to examine. The first thing that hits me is the color palette and an almost exclusive use of the color blue, of course often associated with sadness, as the primary and then green coming up sometimes. The type is rendered in thin, clean strokes with a tendency towards flourish or script styles. While the color palette is rather gender neutral, the type seems distinctly feminine but possibly in an innocent form. I also included the three most popular Key game properties to show some differences. Take the Kanon logo, with its use of pink it really stands out and it also looks much more childish. The Air logo falls close to the others in its field. Then the Clannad logo, while still holding on to the thin strokes falls much more to modern and minimal, practically giving away nothing about itself in its design. The feeling of these logos evoke to me is whismy, softness, and a hint of melancholy.

I am curious if other people agree with our observations or have other good examples to add to our case files. And this is only the first in the series! Please look forward to our next visual novel logo article.

Visual Novel Logos: Part 2 Part 3

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