Tag: Visual Novel

Editorial

Key and the Art of Tragedy

art-of-tragedy-4

Allusions to manly shooting games aside, I have noticed in my travels through anime and visual novels – particularly the romance-centric ones – that the device of tragedy is very common. Whether in male-targetted visual novels like AIR or more gender-neutral (or even female-targetted) stories like Saikano and Fruits Basket, tragic love stories are a common theme. However, this bleak setting has also received its fair share of criticism, particularly due to the predictable nature of the “genre”, if you will.

Consequently, it seems to me that tragedy is a sort of art. It is also personal preference, of course, but I don’t think it would be a stretch to say that some tragedies are more equal than others. So, with Toki wo Kizamu Uta still melancholically echoing in my ears, I’d like to take a closer look at these Sad Nouns in Season that I so adore and possibly figure out just why I adore them.

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

Review

A Beautiful Melody: May Sky Review

may-sky-2

With the conclusion of al|together 2008, eager English-speaking visual novel fans from around the world clamored to play the latest batch of doujin VNs, hand picked by the translation community and brought to us legally for free. While I haven’t played anything close to all of the translated VNs out there (although I have played quite a few things that no one ever mentions…and I can see why no one mentions them), there was one game this year that stood out in my eyes. It was nothing particularly special – nothing intriguing like Ballad of an Evening Butterfly, nothing dramatic like True Remembrance, nothing tear-jerking like Narcissu – but it was a fun experience nonetheless. It served as an excellent reminder to me that stories don’t have to be revolutionary to be good, and though May Sky was far from revolutionary, it was certainly good.

Read on for my spoiler-free review of the game, and a final statement on why you shouldn’t overlook it.

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

Miscellaneous

Fate/Stay Night 100% Translation Patch Released!

Ah, what a wonderful way to begin the month: with a complete, 100% English translation of TYPE-MOON’s Fate/Stay Night, courtesy of the diligent workers over at Mirror Moon. Grab the patch here, but remember, piracy is bad!

So as I pray…
UNLIMITED- *gets shot for attempting a bad UBW parody*

~ ETERNAL
つづく

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

Analysis

Remembering School Days – The Nice Boat Anniversary

On this day precisely one year ago, the 18th of September 2007, a legend of anime was born. After 11 episodes of mind-bendingly ridiculous “romance”, drama, and character interactions, after witnessing the actions of quite possibly the worst and most (in)famous harem lead ever, and after revolutionizing the way the world would see visual novel adaptations in the future, we came to a single jaw-dropping conclusion. Yup, that’s right, people. It’s Nice Boat Day.

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.