I haven't read any VNs in a while but the last one I made progress in is NekoMiko and so far I don't like it.
The heroines this time aren't quite as nice. The black one likes to make negative assumptions about you, which start reasonable at first given the context, but also insults you sometimes. Both of them are quick to abandon you because you didn't buy them food even after you took them shopping for clothes, books, and games. If you choose the choice that makes them abandon you then it gets dark and they stay with you because they're scared of being attacked or something but that doesn't change the fact that they walked out on you even though they are the ones who decided to stay with you to get rid of your misfortune. If anything, you could probably say it makes it worse.
I am still very early in the VN but with characters like this I'm not as eager to continue like I was with Kukkoro or Nin Nin. The scenarios aren't as fun either, which I was fine with given the context where they are basically homeless because the shrine they live in and gave them power was falling apart. I'm assuming they will get better but like I said, the characters don't make me eager to see the rest. Anybody could say that Kukkoro or Nin Nin were probably budget VNs made purely for wish fulfillment but despite the fact that they are probably right they were at least fun VNs and didn't make me feel like whoever wrote the script hates otaku, a pet peeve I voiced in my Kukkoro post. Maybe I'm just making a big deal over nothing but it's harder to enjoy something with uncaring or ill-intentioned characters that interact with you.
I think the characters are written the way they are so that they might be more like actual cats in personality but it comes at the expense of my enjoyment and it just reminds me of 3d. Or maybe it's to appeal to masochists or something. Also I'm not sure how or why but something about this one feels a little phoned in compared to the other ones. Like the staff didn't try as hard this time. Maybe that's just me.
I'll read the rest someday since I feel like I have to make a post to /vn/ about it and I did spend money on it too but that day might not be soon.

>>2202
I'd be interested in whether the reasons as to why the girls become affable or ingratiate themselves with the MC is justifiable or sensible. Because if so, then their initial, untenable behavior makes for some nice progression. (As an aside, a VN where you train a set of gyaru to be pleasant has potential.)

>I'll read the rest someday since I feel like I have to make a post to /vn/ about it and I did spend money on it too but that day might not be soon.
I don't see the point finishing something you don't like. After all, you spent something in the ballpark of $10, right?

I'm "reading" a Nurse Witch Komugi VN. While it is in visual novel format, it really feels more like a lost episode of the anime. It's fully voiced and there's no narration. Definitely a must if you like that anime, it's great fanservice.

I'm not the biggest fan of her personality so far but damn, aren't she cute in this and the following H-scenes.

>>2204
Didn't know this existed.

I do like the moe-gauge, although I should have researched this before starting because apparently you will get your taste graded at the end:
https://web.archive.org/web/20080915212506/http://www.kid-game.co.jp/kid/game/komugi/moe_ren.htm

>>2201
Currently replaying Kanon for the nostalgia, forever a classic.

I'm probably to cranky and old to enjoy this (now resolved) conflict, but this is still pretty cute.

>>2214
They can in my dreams.

I'm conflicted about this bipolar imouto-like childhood friend. She would be perfect without all that jealousy.

The second and final hill to climb was predictable but cute. Not sure if I care about the other heroines to actually finish the VN in totality. They're all missing the ❝ですわ❞ I love so much.

>>2216
But that's what makes her cute, right?

I needed something set in Fall and Winter, so I chose Bokuten. It's alright, but the common routes' chapters didn't make me feel anything--except the last one. I laughed pretty hard when the girl's craving for cock lead her to have an orgy with hobos. Ended up on Naruko's route, and the big reveal of the red thread of fate and the angels' mechanics is stupid as it doesn't make sense to me. How does anybody stay married? Finally, the choices that lead to some of the branching are odd.

Naruko's endings left me somewhat empty inside. I had assumed that a loophole would be found to resolve things, but instead one must choose between two conclusions that come with their own benefits and deficiencies. What's interesting is that the sadder ending could have a potentially brighter future, but perhaps my selective optimism is coming into play.

>>2220
Adding to this, after embarking on another route, and choosing new destinies for the common route's couples, I realized something: why did the disappearance of the red string of fate for these couples not drastically alter reality like it did for the MC and Naruko? This and Aine's complete absence towards the end of Naruko's route seems like two fairly big holes in the script. I feel like I was taken to arbitrarily saddening conclusions.

There are not enough trap-yandere-neechan-miko in VNs.

This is the worst font rendering I've seen in my lifetime. Could be because I'm running it on Linux.

Also, Sana is the cutest.

>>2229
Reverse searching it gave me this.

>>2230
The name of it is Tenshin Ranman Lucky or Unlucky!? and no, it's not supposed to look like that.

>>2231
I figured. I just thought it was funny that I managed to find the same line.

Must be nice to hold hands with a childhood friend.

I'm reading Cross Channel right now. Easily the hardest thing I've read, and it's hard to tell whether the prose as such is intentional, or there's actual depth behind it, but I'm probably only half-way done.

Continuing with Cross Channel, and finally struck with its beauty as it has effected an emotional response commonly associated with the solicitation of a translucent adaptive-form substance from the eyes.
Despite the interference and noise; dialogue and monologue that is both garrulous and littered with odd diction befitting of madness' manifestation, befitting of the point; the messages are clear. Beings that primarily interface via these boards will easily find understanding within the informational packets strung together textually, pictorially, and thoughtfully.
Nearing the apex and subsequent precipitous vestige of the future of a particular instance of a physical phenomenon, the existence of a solitary husk composed of disparate but multiplexed feelings whose significantly differentiated self starkly dichotomizes the affected man is prognosticated by the latter half.

Closing in on the end. There was a prolix explanation of the phenomenon affecting the students, but I can't tell if I'm being lied to by the writer, lied to by the character, or given an honest-to-God reason. Either way, strange particularities aside that are either due to the MC's insanity or narrative mistakes (Both?), I'm loving every second of this.

The crossings of myself and persons through various anonymous message boards from the ostensible beginning of time, I cherish them--good or bad. Over and out!

Since I know most of you have read Cross Channel (long ago), do you think the story is actually the result of SF or some magical component, or are you of the opinion that Taichi is having a maniac episode, and the looping is a coping mechanism or some such thing? Also I'm wondering if I should have used Amaterasu's TL instead of GHS' rewrite, but I've read both of them don't do CC justice.

It's unfortunate that an imouto-like cousin this cute is delegated to the role of a side heroine.

>>2245
Over and out, anon!

>>2248
Side-heroines are usually better than their main counterpart.

Wind -A Breath of Heart-. Typical bishoujo but nonetheless enjoyable. I much prefer the aesthetics and music that the VNs of this time period exhibit.

>>2256
I really liked Wind. The story itself was a bit full of holes, but the atmosphere and overall feeling was fantastic. And that one scene in Minamo's route is one of my favorites just in general.

Once you've finished, you may enjoy checking out the music albums that were released. They have some nice remixes, plus Tsutomu's amazing image song.

>>2257
Nice to know that Minamo's route has such a nice moment. Just finished the imouto's, so I'll be moving onto that shortly. Though I will say that the story development was rather rushed and bit disjointed. Not surprised about there being holes considering it's all a dream or something.
Thanks for mentioning the albums, I'll indeed take a look when the time comes.

I started Little Busters, finally. Bought some tissues and a durable rope for when things get bad.

>>2256
VNs aren't exactly a thriving medium these days. The only big recent work I can think of is the Tsukihime remake.

>>2261
VNs might be past its days of glory, but I am certain that they're still alive and well.

The baseball minigame is pretty fun.

>>2262
If the bars keep going up then do we get finally get to some great VNs again? Is that how this works?

Powerful word.

I'm currently reading through Little Busters, though at an extremely slow pace because of work and my PC constantly killing itself.
I really enjoy the characters, who aren't shitty walking cliches, and manage to perfectly create the atmosphere of a fun highschool life with their constant banter.
>>2204
For some reason it never once occurred to me that there could be a VN, I'll make sure to play through this when my Japanese is at an acceptable level.

I'm finally playing another route. I miss these 'unyu's!

I love imouto abuse!

Dreams and hope of every man.

There's really nothing more immersive than having a relatable protaganist.

>>2294
I just started Chaos;Head, pretty relatable too.

>>2261
It kind of sucks because I've hated takeuchis art since ~2008 or so. Shit, I don't think I've really liked any TM content in the last decade and a half. Something about remaking Tsukihime in the 2020s just feels wrong, like heresy. It shouldn't come out of its decade.

After rereading Saya no Uta I started thinking about the nature of VNs. The combination of visual and audio elements (with looping soundtracks in the style of a video game) being accessories to the typical written style of a novel, along with the 18+ rating that most of them have which allows them to let loose and go in more interesting directions compared to the typical anime or manga which is often hampered by pandering to juvenile demographics. The combination of these elements allows for a level of immersion that far surpasses any other medium.

There's nothing that I've come across with compares to the haunting atmosphere and immersivity of a nitroplus VN (and Tsukihime too, now I come to think of it), and then there's also nothing like the romcom to melancholy to joyous atmosphere of a key VN, and there's also nothing that really creeped me out as much as the early chapters of Higurashi. I struggle to pin down exactly what is so enchanting about them. I often feel that I am being inspired by the muses when I read them, and that doesn't happen when I read/watch anything else.

>>2297
VNs are great. Too bad they're like a sub-medium of a dying medium(novels). VNs are a logical progression from novels without the drawbacks of shorter form media. Not enough people have the patience to read anymore though.

It's odd getting back into VNs again
I used to read them almost as much as I possibly could around ten years ago, this was when the landscape was totally different in terms of what translations were available - things were a lot more limited than they are now.
It's just odd how much things have changed. These days I'm reading them in Japanese with a dictionary but even then far more stuff is translated than before

It feels similar to the way anime is these days, back when you'd wait and see if / who were TLing it each season as opposed to now where it being released is just a given..

>>2297
One more point about Saya while it's still on my mind: I really approve of the spirit of the characters. I believe that there are a lot of VNs that a more morally didactic than any other medium, and it fills me full of fighting spirit. The way that Fuminori manages to find something to live for even when every moment is a living hell, and also the way the he calmly exits the stage when he has no reason to live anymore. Same goes for Ryuoko in the way that she perseveres in her quest to destroy Saya and accepts her death when it comes to her. Dr Ogai's commitment to his research. The beauty of Saya, a superior lifeform utterly dominating through a mere act of biological neccesity and force. I really like the way that this style of chuuni elevates the soul beyond the routine interactions of experience. I hope to be able to cultivate such resolve too.

>>2298
I spent most of my childhood doing nothing but reading and drawing, and so it just comes naturally to me as the most enjoyable entertainment medium. When I tell people my age or younger that I read for fun, they treat me like some kind of alien or old man. It makes me kind of sad, because there's a world of imagination inside reading that you just don't get anywhere else. There are no better graphics than the graphics in a book.

Yume Miru Kusuri is as much of a story about exploring societal issues manifesting itself as girls and their respective circumstances as it is about a boy who finds something to protect and cherish, fights for it despite mental and physical abrasions, and becomes a man at the end, escaping stagnation and monotony. It's endearing and wholesome despite some of the imagery and scenarios.
You never begin as a good man: you become him.

Muramasa. It's a bit gloomy though, so I'm only half enjoying it. MC- kun is a massive moralfag and there are many speeches about the absolute value of justice. I consider myself an enlightened ubermensch who is beyond good and evil, so such sentiments seem incredibly naive to me. As usual in these cases I always think that the perspective of the villains is more reasonable. Especially that of Sorimachi. He's right when he says that if Kageaki hates killing so much then why is he the protagonist of this VN? He should lay down the sword and live a normal life in that case.

I've only finished Ayane's route so far. I find it interesting that at the end of this route Kageaki admitted that there was no such thing as "good" but he still clung to the existence of evil. Perhaps this means that he will come to recognise that evil is also nonexistant in the course of time.

I'm reading Snow Sakura now. I've been finding it pretty enjoyable all in all. It doesn't seem like anything special, but it's a lot of fun.
I enjoy the juvenile humor. This scene in particular gave me a very good laugh.
While it isn't a masterpiece, I don't regret reading it. I think I focus too hard on consuming only the best media, when really, most things are pretty enjoyable if you let yourself.

I've also been reading Clannad here and there. I watched the anime not long ago, but I decided to pick up the VN to get more Kotomi. I'm not very focused on it, however.

>>2332
I've never been able to find a Japanese copy of Yukizakura for some reason.

>>2333
Yeah. Weird, isn't it? Even places you'd have to buy it from lead to dead ends...
Maybe someone will get their hands on a physical copy and upload it somewhere.

>>2332
Glad to see somebody else enjoying this old story. It won't instill beauty over its course, but as you said, it's quite a bit of fun with a nice group dynamic. Pairs really well with a warm drink in the Winter.

>>2334
I hope so. It'd be weird for only the english version to be available.

>>2337
It seems it can be bought on JP Amazon, as well as DLSite. I couldn't find a place to pirate the Japanese version though I only checked Sukebei, archive.org, and skimmed through Japanese google results. I also checked for the compilation that it was rereleased with, to no avail.
I really wish the Japanese would upload things more often. I suppose their file sharing laws are taken more seriously...

I finished my goal for the day very early, so I decided to read some more Clannad. I finished Kotomi's route, which was very nice. I'm doing Kyou's route now. Unsurprisingly, the single OVA it got wasn't enough to do it justice. I never really cared for Ryou before, but she ended up growing on me a bit. Of course I like Kyou more. It's pretty harsh. I think everyone has experienced the conflict of the route in one way or another. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

I've been reading Kanon. I like it more than Clannad so far, which I really, really enjoyed. It's still early to declare it my favorite. So far I've done Mai's, Nayuki's, and Shiori's routes; in that order. I didn't expect much from Mai's and Shiori's routes, but I was wrong to feel that way.
Mai is a really lovable character and the initial encounter paints a striking scene along with Girls' Prison playing. I had no intentions of going her route first, but I don't regret it. Sayuri is also fun and makes for a great foil to Mai.
Shiori seemed pretty uninteresting at first. I expected a boring and shy girl that didn't do anything. However, that's far from the case. I think her route is really interesting as from what I can tell it's the only one where the past isn't that important. It makes sense, of course, but it makes it stand out from the rest.
Nayuki is... perfect, really. She's the best, even outside her own route. Despite everything, she does so much. It also helps that she fits my tastes just about perfectly, in terms of her character as well as having a very cute design. My only complaint is that she didn't wear the frog PJs.
I'm doing Makoto's route now, and ending with Ayu Ayu. After that, I'll probably watch the anime to wrap things up until I get the urge to replay someday.

Wanko to Kurasou

I love that replaying introduces more content. Kengo's awesome.

I finished ef - a fairy tale of the two and I'm about to watch the anime adaptation.
I really liked it. The fact the arcs get more and more fucked up (in my opinion) as the game(s) go on is appealing. Culminating in a final utsuge-like arc and an honestly anticlimactic death. Despite how fucked up the last arc was, I honestly was more emotionally affected by Chihiro's route, the scenes just after the h-scene where the clock is ticking and dawn steadily approaches still give me the chills, even though I know how it ends. Chihiro's route is probably my favourite.

one thing I have to mention is that, once it was revealed that the second game takes place in Australia, there is a glaring mistake. As an Australian, I have to say that it definitely does not snow here. Considering the town seems to be located right next to the coast, it definitely would not snow like that even in the winter. Plus, the VN mentioned that Shuuichi and Mizuki's relationship was "almost criminal", here it would be very criminal. I'm not complaining though.

I just finished the "bad" route of Lucy ~The Eternity She Wished For~. The story isn't anything special, but a theme in the game is the relationship between humans and androids and where the line of what is acceptable is drawn. It paints a decent picture of the person that would fall in love with an android, and also of the people that would never even consider it. It hit a little close to home in a way I didn't really expect going in.
I'll get the good end some other time. The game broke when trying to skip through all the repeated stuff so that killed my motivation to go ahead and finish it.

There is nothing, and I mean N O T H I N G, better than dropping your annoying childhood friend, whom everybody has assumed will be your future wife, in favor of her best friend, the one that subdues her own love out of consideration for others.

The lady in question is Mii-chan, and she deserves happiness for being such a good girl. Her caring and lovely self gives comfort to those who suffer from striking blights; the light she exudes in the darkest of nights guides the listless souls to purpose; and her soothing warmth is second only to that of the love of Jesus Christ.

Though my time with her will be brief, and her existence but a fiction, she will nonetheless impress upon me, into perpetuity, a beauty that'll never die.

Slowly but surely, I'm trundling through Little Busters. For some reason or another, I never felt compelled to read it until now, and after finishing Rin's (bad ending only of course), Komari's, and Kurugaya's routes, I felt I was indeed not missing much. The common route is good, but the aforementioned ones ranged from just okay to odd (Kurugaya's), I didn't feel my heart swamped nor my eyes moistening, although Komari's did every so softly tug one of my heartstrings. Perhaps Refrain would be the only part that'd deliver what I so desire? But then I finally got to Haruka.

What's funny is that I was not looking forward to doing her route, as her character and antics didn't appeal to me thus far. In fact, that's applicable to three of the main girls, with Komari being one; but given that her story made me like her a bit more, I held out hope for our violet miscreant. Thankfully, that hope was not misplaced: while some aspects of her tale are over-the-top and ridiculous, the core of it was strong enough to keep me going, and in the end, she endeared herself to me; to see the happy tomfoolery return after the ordeal was resolved brought a smile to my face. I must also mention that requiring the reader to keep some modicum of their wits together, lest they fall to chicanery, was cool.

With this welcome turnabout, I'm hoping Kud's route will deliver a similar change of mind. She's cute, yes, but will she force me to care about her? That, I will find out soon. At the very least, I get to enjoy one of the best OSTs to ever grace a VN.

>She's cute, yes, but will she force me to care about her?
The answer is an emphatic "Yes!" Her route is certainly the most intimate and cute of the ones I've played thus far, although it's also accompanied by what is by far the most dramatic plot. That said, I think her character conflicts are more interesting despite this.

What's more intriguing, however, is its implications vis-a-vis the world in which the game plays out. I recall Kurugaya's route being rather ethereal near the end, and Kud's also has this quality, particularly given her good ending. The way in which things are phrased and ordered implies precognition or things having already occurred: are we continually rewriting reality or dreaming another version of it? One can reasonably suppose there's some kind of grand act if we don't take for granted the changes in the common route as you complete the other ones. And then there's the ever enigmatic Kyousuke.

If there is indeed something bigger at play, that it's more than a nostalgic trip through school life with some supernatural flourishes, then I'm really looking forward to reading more. It's just sad that I didn't suspect anything until now. I take things way too literally.

Anyway, I'm late to the party, and most of you reading this are probably smirking right now at my nativity or poor deductions, but I can hardly blame you!

>>2511
Having read it many years ago I enjoy seeing the impressions of someone reading it for the first time. I won't say much else, enjoy the ride.

I reread everything following the decisive choice in Kud's route, and some things jumped at me.


1) Her true ending seems to be about Riki making Kud confront her immense guilt and self-hate, convincing her that she isn't a selfish wretch for finding happiness, and in the end, allowing her to move onward, knowing her family loved her regardless.

2) If there's indeed an original world, and the one in which the game takes place exists for exploring possibilities and attempts at rectification, then Kud's bad end looks to be the real one, and it might imply she eventually kills herself, being unable to forgive herself for not being with her family at such a crucial moment. She's the misshapen cog trying to be a normal one, but failing to realize a regular cog isn't what her family loved, nor what other people truly wanted.

3) Without knowing whether this other world actually exists and has any effects on the original (e.g. overwriting reality), then the original or real one is composed of little tragedies affecting the heroines. At best they're either incomplete, and at worst, heading for disaster. As for the boys, I'm not even sure they're alive except for possibly Riki and Kyousuke. (Then again, this seems way too heavy for Key.)

4) I don't recall the school trip that's the inflection point for Kud. I can only assume this school trip will be included in subsequent playthroughs like with other happenings.


One might reasonably say I'm getting ahead of myself since I've yet to reach Refrain, nor even finished Mio and Rin's routes. But what can I say? If these assumptions are even partially true, then the girls' routes are much more compelling and beautiful, particularity their bad endings. Many of the odd and strange moments throughout the common route are no longer mere flourishes, but suddenly have weight; Riki's disorder is consequential.

I originally perceived Kud's route as being too much and thus was unable to bask in it, but now, I find it damn solid, enough to even feel like crying. Finally.

>>2512
I'm sincerely happy that you posted this, and that my ramblings have given you some amusement. Knowing those who've long since read these novels are still present, is wonderful.

During my initial playthrough, I quickly decided to put off Mio-chan's route for as long as possible; her appearance and character convinced me to save the best for (nearly) last. But having played through Kud's route, and made those subsequent inferences, I pondered if my impression of Mio-chan would change, and how her story will be affected through the lenses of those revelatory thoughts.

I'm happy to write that I'm still very captivated by Mio-chan, and her tale was the most interesting and mysterious — which is quite fitting, by the way — especially in light of whatever the Hell is going in Little Buster's world. Once again, wishes are brought up, and the one made by Mio-chan follows in accordance with the other Heroines'; once again, Riki is seemingly in the role of facilitating a rewrite, either by imposing a new interpretation, or by composing a new one. Failing to do so gives us a fade to black, proceeded by an admonition.

As with Kud's dilemma, one ostensibly cannot take it literally, but unlike hers, I'm unsure how to interpret Mio-chan's backstory and conflict. There's a few possibilities, but I'm afraid that I simply don't have the mental acuity to choose one, if any of them are even viable. I curse my retardation, I really do. With any hope, Refrain will provide the elucidation I need. As for now, while I pray that Mio-chan's alive, I'm pessimistic.

Having felt our amber-eyed girl's ardor, Rin's good ending should be unlocked: another step closer to the truth.

Post edited on 26th Jun 2024, 2:56pm

She really did a number on me.

Looking back at the heroines with whom you get involved, there appears to be a continuum in which they and their paths may be placed by their dissociation with the world. On one end, you have Komari's route that's constructed as if to misdirect the naive reader with its straightforwardness, where its bad ending is its conspicuously incongruity. On the other, Mio-chan herself exudes a dreamlike aura, complacent with a peaceful silence unfamiliar to our reality; her narrative bellied with poetry, metaphors, and the supernatural; it concluding in a sweet but lonely mystique.

I can't help but be reminded of Entre Nous:

>We are planets to each other
>Drifting in our orbits
>To a brief eclipse
>Each of us a world apart
>Alone and yet together
>Like two passing ships

If Rin's route is a prelude, then the other girls' were merely setting the stage. Indeed, her burden as a heroine looks to be an indirect impetus for the state of Little Buster's world, which little by little, is becoming clearer along with its purpose and creator.

As for Rin herself, she caused me much trouble when I first walked her path to its mandatory bad end those many months ago, so much so that it's a reason why I have only now seen the rest. As far as heroines go, she's an oddball; one might call her genuinely autistic or on the spectrum; her salient nativity and childishness making any relationship be one of supervision rather than of true friendship or romance. Even her other ending I just finished, and the changes she experienced that lead to it, leaves her in an incomplete state. Refrain appears to be, among other things, her final arc: her coming of age.

It's time to get to it.

Christ. I should have just completed Refrain before making that post. I'm not going to say everything I wrote about Rin was wrong quite yet, but it appears that most of what I thought was, let's say, very optimistic. Not even thirty minutes in, no less...

It's funny: many of my inferences and suspicions were simultaneously right and wrong, even the ones from >>2521. But what proved to be undoubtedly correct was what I feared the most. However, knowing this makes the time I spent with those girls all the more wonderful: seeing their hearts mended, doubts erased, and given, along with the boys, a peaceful, final departure by the main duo.
There appears to be more after the credits, but I'm not going to get carried away.

Post edited on 28th Jun 2024, 4:51pm

Refrain: Done
Smiles: Restored
Little Busters: Worth It

There's a lot to say, but I'm tired right now.


I just hope what transpired between the five heroines and Riki during their respective routes weren't totally forgotten post-Refrain. There seems to be vague feelings, but not much more than that. Rin got her "true" ending, and I'd like the others to have theirs as well, although I suppose Kurugaya might have one.


As of now I'm trying to decide whether to take a break, or go straight to the three new routes that were unlocked. It's a good thing there was a good ending or I wouldn't be able to enjoy them.

Went ahead and started another playthrough since I might as well ride this wave. Problem is that wave seems to have already crashed, because as it turns out, definitively knowing the "secret of the world" makes everything uncomfortable. I did, however, learn something new: the ripple visualization is absent when starting a new game after Refrain. How that's interpreted is beyond me, and frankly, I'm not sure I want to think about it too much. The implications could be disturbing.

I also gave some more thought to Kud's route in light of Refrain:


Her epilogue looks to take place after Refrain. It references the infamous school trip and the items she received before and after it, whereas in the "other world," the tragedy involved neither their school nor them. In other words, Kud got a very nice ending. Again, wish the other heroines were allowed the same benefit.

Furthermore, the warped dog tags and piece of rocket wreckage that were boxed away in the "other world" seem to be the counterparts to the dog tags and rocket component given to Kud prior to the school trip. Not only is it a manifestation of her feelings and guilt, but also a connection to their original world, giving us another hint that actions that occur in the "other world" have consequences elsewhere.

I wonder for how long they were on the school trip before the incident? It really does that it was during the trip that Kud learned of the events that were occurring on the island, which means she was indeed dying with such grief.



More on Refrain's effects:


With there being some supernatural force at work in the universe, I suppose one can look at a route like Mio-chan's in a more literal fashion: maybe she really does have a doppelganger, and Mio-chan really did disappear for a time? It's certainly not anymore outlandish than what the reader witnessed in the end. (Speaking of Mio-chan, her being a bit of a fujoshit feels like humorous commentary on how fucking gay some of these scenes and lines between Kyousuke and Riki can be.)

The "other world" starts on the 14th and ends on the day the incident happens, which is never specified to my knowledge, only that it's before Summer. After all, the top-left calendar disappears when entering a heroine's route. Gives a certain ambiguity to the girls' events, sans Rin's and Kud's: they occurred in the "other world," but some parts could happen "again" in their original world after their Summer trip. It's wishful thinking, I know.


Maybe I should just play a moege to refill my emotional reserves. God knows that backlog doesn't shrink.

Post edited on 29th Jun 2024, 12:08pm

Almost four months later, I'm still thinking about this fucking novel. I'm on the verge of finally doing one of the post-Refrain routes.

I don't know whether it's Sekai Project's localization, the actual writing, or my own illiteracy, but I found more than a few parts whose meanings were difficult to interpret to the point I was drawn out of scenes, losing my emotional connection with what's happening. Whichever it is, it doesn't change the fact I completed Kotori-chan's route in Rewrite.

Unlike Little Busters, the central plot is front and center even if you're not privy to all that entails, minimizing the romantic elements. This could very well be specific only to Kotori given her horrific situation and relationship with the MC, but the event that delimits the common route's end makes me think otherwise. Speaking of endings, hers frustrated me with its abruptness. The credits is a time of reflection while a beautiful song plays to maximally exploit your emotional high; instead I was left extremely wanting. One presumes the novel's true route will rectify this, and I certainly hope it will.

Rewrite, from its references to the technology featured therein to its OST, exhibits the transitory period between the aughts and '10s that affected most mediums. This isn't at all a demerit, but something was lost during that time. But this fool is ill-equipped to define it.

Post edited on 6th Oct 2024, 10:29pm

>>2555
>I don't know whether it's Sekai Project's localization, the actual writing, or my own illiteracy
It's the fact that you're reading a translation in the first place.

>>2556
Obviously. But that's less than helpful.

I'm very happy to report that at least one of the post-Refrain routes is pretty good so far. Putting aside the greatness (and cuteness!) of Sasami-sama, you get to see more of the incident's effects on the characters and what memories persist.

Nine days later, and I am done with Sasami-sama's route. Truthfully, I read most of it in two days; problem is I couldn't bear to finish it as that would mean concluding my experience with this wonderful girl. But if there's anything to learn from Little Busters is that time must march on and things will pass.

Story-wise, the mystery was simple but nonetheless touching. The majority of it was spent focused on your cohabitation with Sasami-sama with enough intimacy and cuteness to make the two big emotional moments properly hit. Because of this, her route had me in tears where the other girls' either didn't or merely made my eyes moist. (Although I will admit I quite like her as a character so that plays a considerable factor!) I loved why her story had to be post-Refrain other than the obvious: it required a battle-hardened Riki to render care and support for Sasami-sama to solve the matter at hand, and eventually, win her favor. Funnily enough, she refers to him as a "sissy" at one point as a tsundere is wont to due when honesty cannot be had. Just replete with fine moments overall.

If I were to lay a few criticisms, one would be that the good and bad branches might have worked better merged into one where the consequences of the latter are overcome leading to the finale of the former but with even greater emotional payout; another would be extending the good ending, showing the solidification of the MC and Sasami-sama's relationship; finally she deserved a unique song for the credits.

I really look forward to the other post-Refrain routes now. But I don't think Sasami-sama will be leaving my mind any time soon. If only I could physically hold her.

Post edited on 21st Oct 2024, 10:31pm

>>2333
>>2334
>>2337
>>2338
I had this problem as well but then I eventually found a copy of it on this Chinkese site -> zi0[DOT]cc

>>2568
I posted that first one. Since then somebody's posted it to animebytes but I still haven't read it.

>>2569
>animebytes
Lucky...

>>2568
I found a torrent on sukebei uploaded in 2012. It seems to stay stuck at 99.8%
https://sukebei.nyaa.si/view/181996

Post edited on 19th Nov 2024, 12:59pm

>>2570
NTA but I'm pretty sure the path from RED is still open as it always was.