Hated Takuma so much, yet I sympathized with him. Such a great character.

Not many characters in English translated VNs really fall into this category. There's Takumi in Chaos;Head. IIRC, it's mentioned that Taichi in Cross Channel had social anxiety issues until he joined the broadcast club. He never really shows it in the VN, though, because he's always with his close group of friends.

I've yet to read Chaos;Head, but I thought Takumi was done well in the show. Throughout it, he's always extremely nervous and awkward around people. He hesitates a lot and tends to lose himself within his thoughts. It's nice seeing these types as leads over the typical guys you usually see in VNs.

Warning: Massive Saya no Uta spoilers. Don't bother reading this if you haven't Played.

In Saya no Uta the Protagonist has a brain abnormality which makes every day reality look grotesque. To combat this unbearable reality he repaints his room into hideous colors which scare the hell out of normal people. I thought this mirrored well how NEETs set up their rooms with figures, wall scrolls, dolls, and figurines, as that too scares the hell out of normal people.

Further the only beautiful person in the protag's life is a loli from another dimension (possibly the second?) which others can only see as a repulsive creature which must be destroyed. Saya is the concept of waifus personified. Society thinks the practice is strange, one's parent's would probably be horrified even more so than if they found out their son was gay.

The ending is quite touching though, because of his waifu the world is reconfigured into something bearable for the protag and he is able to live on happily.

>>97
Takumi was just as great in the visual novel and since he's the narrator most of the time, you can also read his thoughts. The writers must have done quite a bit of research into otaku/hikikomori/anxiety disorders because I have never sympathized with a character more than him.


I noticed Takuma still had anxiety problems even after becoming a necrophiliac rapist lolo

>>102
I'm really looking forward to reading Chaos;Head. Won't be for a bit, though, because G-Senjou no Maou and Umineko episode 7 translation patches will be out soon.

Takumi is the character I've most identified with in just about anything. It was like someone took a snapshot of my high school life. Well, sans imouto and random chicks.

>>101
I'd never thought of it that way before, but it's an excellent point. I found myself identifying with the protagonist because of having suffered olfactory hallucinations whenever I left the house for a period in the past, but hadn't thought to interpret his disgust in a less literal sense.

>>103
I'd strongly suggest reading it when you get the chance. I tried to watch the anime after finishing the VN in order to see the action scenes near the end animated, but wasn't able to put up with how much more confident he seemed in posture and mannerisms than his descriptions in the novel version. Standing upright and looking people in the eye, where I'd always imagined him to be a curled up quivering mess, avoiding looking at other people at all costs, like myself. I do agree that he's the character I've most identified with, Shinji in Evangelion probably coming second.

I thought that they were trying too hard with Takumi from Chaos;Head. I AM THE TOP-LEVEL PLAYER ON THIS MMO, MOST POPULAR EVER AND I HAVE OVER 100 WAIFUS. It just felt like I was being pandered to.

The rest of it is done well, though; him being lost in his thoughts so much, being anxious, etc.