It’s almost like it’s a return back home.
There are times when the nostalgia factor is very strong, especially in a struggling genre such as visual novels, bishoujo games, and yes, eroge (erotic games). It is a timeless joke to say you are playing these games “for the plot”, but the influences of visual novels as a cultural genre cannot be undermined. Millions of people from inside and outside Japan have laughed and cried to the stories of many sad girls (and sometimes boys too), whether it be sad girls in snow, summer, or any kind of weather. Admit it, some of these stories and characters are riveting, emotional, and unforgettable. And so 16bit Sensation – Another Layer attempts to push that button of nostalgia, bringing classic golden-era visual novel references to a more modern audience. But of course, when nostalgia is only half the plot, you still need to fill in the rest of the story.
Our main heroine, Konoha, is a struggling video game illustrator who loves the bishoujo game genre. One day she finds very pristine copies of bishoujo games sold by some old granny, and finds out that somehow these set of games have the magical power to transport her to the past! And so she embarks on multiple journeys to when these games were released, and somehow using her knowledge of the bishoujo game genre, attempt to make her own creations that were way ahead of its time. And as with many back-to-the-past kind of stories, her effect on the overall timeline of the bishoujo game history is groundbreaking. But will she really want it to change that way?
As you can see, the time travel element will certainly trigger the nostalgia of any bishoujo game fan of almost every age. Kanon, Dokyusei, Comic Party. Mere mentions of these titles certainly trigger my nostalgia. Admittedly, even though I have not really played many of those games, anime versions do exist, and overall the fandom of the genre is very ripe for consumption even if you don’t have the time for hundreds of hours of visual novel reading. Add to that the side characters who are voiced by ToHeart and Fate/stay Night veterans, and really every bit of nostalgia toward VNs are here for you. This anime is so wholesome, that even if you know some of these games lean on the R18/adult side, it is really not the focus. Also, this anime features a game developer focus as well. Although VNs are relatively smaller scale video game development projects, you can definitely feel how intricate and dedicated those kinds of people are. Everything from the game engine, illustrations, how to design stories, music, are labors of love.
Unfortunately, this anime went way too far in the plot-twist theme and has a weaker second-half than expected. So, as Konoha and her past-game developer friends release more successful games, the more the timeline breaks, and the present/future has been changed. Akihabara has lost its games culture, AI is king of gamedev, there are wildly-westernized bishoujo games, moe~ got replaced by cuu~… It is a very dystopian timeline that Konoha and team inadvertently caused. This part of the anime is not engaging enough, and the nostalgia got reduced. I got honestly tuned out at this point.
All in all, 16bit Sensation – Another Layer is a definite watch for at least the first half of the nostalgia trip. Cherish those memories, because you’ll want to finish off the second half quicker than expected. I will still thank this anime for bringing bishoujo games back to the modern limelight, and it is really worth the effort to do so.
