eroge – Page 3 – bluemist anime blog

Leaf/Aquaplus

Game
Aruru to Asobo!!
Comic Party
DR^2 Night Janki
Filsnown
Kizuato
Magical Antique
Routes
Shizuku
Tasogare
Tears to Tiara
Tenerezza
Tenshi no Inai 12-gatsu
To Heart
[To Heart 2->]
Utawarerumono
White Album
Kusari
To Heart 2: XRATED
To Heart 2 ~Another Days~

Related
Party’s Breaker
Queen of Heart

Anime
[Comic Party->]
[Comic Party Revolution->]
[To Heart->]
[To Heart ~Remember My Memories~->]
[To Heart 2->toheart2-review]
Utawarerumono
White Album
Tears to Tiara (upcoming)

Generic Disclaimer: Of course I wouldn’t know how the bishoujo games industry truly works, so some info below may be wrong or misinterpreted. This feature is from an outsider’s point of view, namely, my point of view.

Continue reading Leaf/Aquaplus

D.C. Onsen

Do you miss Nemu and Sakura already?

D.C. Onsen is a separate fandisk bishoujo game, where the story seems to be about Suginami inviting Junichi and some girls for some onsen “fun”. This is really a rather short game, and no save/load are possible.

I think you could insert this sidestory around the early stages of the first season. In this game, Nemu doesn’t know about Moe yet. Moe is Mako’s elder sister. Also, the Nemu vs. Sakura fights are still comic and petty, unlike the dramatic stuff of the later episodes.

Well, what else can I say? All the stuff here are typical “onsen” stuff. You know, the baths, the eating, etc. Nemu and Sakura vying for Junichi’s attention especially at dinner time. Some rowdy stuff happen like the rock-paper-scissors strip game between Junichi and Nemu. Ooh…

What I like most (of course) is the Mako part. She gets surprised when she’s been seen window-shopping over those souvenirs. Junichi bought her one, which made her blush a bit. YAY!

This is a [Summer of Bishoujo->] feature

Hirameki International

Slowly but surely, this company is getting my attention.

Last year, it caught my attention by releasing an English game called Hourglass of Summer, which we would know to be [Natsuiro no Sunadokei->]. While not as big-name as other visual novels of its kind, it had its share of popularity as a game and anime OVA. But more importantly, releasing this game (which is actually an interactive DVD played on DVD players) is a rather unprecedented move. Why? Almost ALL of the bishoujo games released in English are of the hentai/ero variety. This is probably one of the rare few non-hentai bishoujo game being released in English. And a moderately popular one at that. It was amazing, although I didn’t know of the company’s fate after that. Did they sell well with Hourglass, among with their other Anime Play DVD games? Seeing their lineup, it’s actually rather stellar.

Now, the company is back with a vengeance, and is seemingly doing rather good but risky business again. They are now launching big-name titles in their Anime Play PC division (this time games that can be played on computers). The highlight is Ai Yori Aoshi. The anime community definitely knows of the anime series, and so they would probably take notice of this. But the game that has caught me stunned was their upcoming release of Ever17! As they described, yes, Ever17 could be seen as on-par with the big ones. Demo downloads of both of these games are already available, by the way.

More importantly though is that this company is initiating the new wave of visual novels. Their big point is the non-hentai part. They seem to be on a mission to prove that visual novels are not just about the H, and that it can be seen as a viable form of mainstream entertainment, in the same way that anime is emerging right now on the western world.

Another big scoop here: (quoted from their site)

From July to September, HIRAMEKI International will be setting up a booth at conventions primarily along the west coast to demonstrate English versions of Japanese Visual Novel Games. We will be showing to the public for the first time, of course DVD format games, but expanding our line of products with games that operate on a Windows PC platform. Currently in Japan, “Kimi ga nozomu eien” and “Tukihime” have been made into many anime episodes and we’re sure that anime fans attuned to what is happening are dying to play the game that kicked off the craze these anime have created. Please be on the look out for news from HIRAMEKI, which was created with the objective of meeting the needs of these fans. We are working hard to see that we have some big titles on the horizon for you. If you would like to test a game, drag yourself out to one of the venues listed below and tell the HIRAMEKI staff exactly what is on your mind.

While I won’t believe that they could be licensing [Kiminozo->kimi-ga-nozomu-eien] and [Tsukihime->shingetsutan-tsukihime] anytime soon, this proves that they seem to have an eye out on anime fans, specifically, those who download fansubs. I think this can be a double-edged sword on them, mainly because it is both a risk and opportunity. Will international anime fans bite, and finally play the kind of popular visual novels the Japanese fans play? Are they heading for success, or failure? Time will tell. In any case, Hirameki International definitely has something good up their sleeve. I dig it.

This is a [Summer of Bishoujo->] feature

Season of Smiles: Summer of Bishoujo Project

[Season of Smiles: Summer of Bishoujo Project->summer-of-bishoujo]

Not again, what are you trying to do here?
Well, I’m gonna feature bishoujo! The animes, the games, and more importantly, the girls! Since it’s the season of D.C.S.S. and Shuffle, might as well make it the season of bishoujo!

Are you suicidal?
I’m quite regretful that I can’t present enough shoujo material in this blog (due to its under-representation in the fansub community as of late), so I’m gonna switch to the bishoujo game genre full-force for now.

Any details?
Well, the project is mostly for those animes that come from bishoujo games. For now I’m gonna compile the list of all the reviews that I have done so far. For the next few weeks I’m gonna look back to other animes of this genre and review them as well. Maybe I’ll feature some popular bishoujo games too, in one way or another. More details are already in the project page.

You can reach the project through this link:
[Summer of Bishoujo->]

Well that’s it. Expect content in the coming weeks… enjoy!

Comic Party Revolution

After [To Heart->], bishoujo game company [Leaf/Aquaplus->leaf-aquaplus] made [Comic Party->]. It was a moderate success, and for good reason. It is about a generally positive outlook on the realities of Japanese otaku culture, through a bishoujo game, and the main focus of course is doujinshi.

As some of you know, doujinshi is basically “fan comics” made by fans for fans. They are usually of the ero nature, and is visibly seen whenever there are anime and comic conventions. They also usually parody or purposely base their material on existing popular anime, manga, or game series. The Comic Party game and anime series highlights a group of individuals who are into these kinds of stuff, as well as give a viewpoint on how outsiders think about them.

The first Comic Party anime was a simple story about this guy named Kazuki and his entry into the world of doujinshi. Part of it is because he likes drawing, the other part is because of his friend Taishi’s plans for world domination. The bishoujos of the game are featured somehow, but the anime is mostly Kazuki’s viewpoint and story. Dunno if this had gone well with Comic Party fans, although I liked it quite a bit.

Now, can you believe that Comic Party Revolution was originally a 2-episode OVA? For some reason (maybe sales went well, or maybe fans crave for more), Comic Party Revolution had gone extended to 3 episodes… and then 4… and then now an entire 13-episode TV series run! Isn’t that amazing? Whether fan approval or sales made Aquaplus deliver a half-season worth of Comic Party, it’s all good for me! Why?

First, the animation is great! All the girls look beautiful and are consistently animated. Very, very unlike the horrible variety of [To Heart ~Forget my Memories~->to-heart-remember-my-memories]. Also, because of its doujinshi nature, there are bound to be parodies and spoofs right? Comic Party Revolution has LOTS of them! Everything from basic doujinshi and cosplaying to even entire episodes devoted to parodying numerous anime, manga, games, and other Japanese culture stuff! Wanna see a [Cardcaptor Sakura->cardmaster-peach] parody? Wanna see To Heart 2’s [Konomi Yuzuhara->konomi-cameo] before the anime comes? How about an entire episode dedicated to baseball and [tennis->princess-of-tennis] TV parodies? Want a direct reference to Gundam [SEED->seed-mode] again? Or maybe delve into [action->metal-gear-aya] and horror? Everything gets [mixed up->cardmaster-peach-vs-princess-of-tennis]! What’s more, each character gets her own time to shine! There are entire sequences or episodes dedicated to an specific character, so fans of each girl would definitely be delighted. Comic Party Revolution may not be too story based as opposed to the first series, but it’s definitely a “very entertaining show”. That’s what matters most.

This anime has one of the most stylish opening sequences I have seen from this genre. Also, the OP/ED songs are so great I have been anticipating them since over two years ago! (it only did get released during the 2005 TV series). The music may be forgettable but it complements each scene just right.

If you crave for a funnier, more colorful and slightly more positive version of [Genshiken->], Comic Party Revolution is the anime for you. Don’t forget to get the original Comic Party anime too, and try to play the game if you can. I can say that this is my personal favorite out of all the current series ending this season. Everything in this series has gone just right, I’m really, really satisfied with what Aquaplus has done this time (a better To Heart and more Comic Party please!!!). Oh, did I see a “To Be Continued?” sign at the end? I HOPE SO! I hope you watch and enjoy it, too.

This is a [Summer of Bishoujo->] feature

Cardmaster Peach vs. Princess of Tennis

Taken from Comic Party Revolution 13:

Who would have predicted this at all? This is Mizuki vs. Mizuki! Only in Comic Party Revolution!

Metal Gear Aya

Taken from Comic Party Revolution 9:

Aya-chan, you rock! The quiet and usually unnoticed doujinshi author becomes a tactical espionage specialist in this episode. Go figure.

Shuffle!

Shuffle Preview

SHUFFLE!

Be whatever this July!

Before you say this is just another bishoujo game based anime… well… nothing… say it now, it’s really just another bishoujo game based anime. In this one, there seem to be three races, humans, gods and demons. These three races live somewhat in harmony for now. So when two new neighbors arrive, one god family and one demon family, and they have a respective cute bishoujo girl each with matching elf ears, a boring male’s life will never be the same again. Not only that, you still have your childhood friend, a spunky girl next door, and a mysterious quiet girl too. Better love those cliches…

Anyway, looking forward to this, but from the prologue video I’ve seen, the designs look… inconsistent. There were shots of greatness and other shots of mess. The animation seems to flow smoothly though, due to a lot of in-between frames, which make it look OVA-style. What’s better is that it’s in WOWOW, so not only will we get high-quality raws, I could even have a chance to watch it myself direct from WOWOW! (some cable TVs here have WOWOW)

Here are some shots of the girls, along with their respective CG from the original game.

This is a [Summer of Bishoujo->] feature

Playing a Bishoujo Game is Futility Project: To Heart 2 edition

bluemist’s Ultimate “Playing a Bishoujo Game is Futility” Project

To Heart 2

Let’s just end this once and for all!

What are you trying to do here?
I will attempt the impossible by playing through a bishoujo game… in Japanese.

Are you suicidal?
This is just because of the extreme urge to somehow play a popular bishoujo game.

You won’t understand it at all!
Yes I know. For one, To Heart 2 is a Visual Novel. It has TONS of text which I won’t understand whe way I am now.

But because this is an attempt at futility, I have some tricks up my sleeve:
– I have a walkthrough.
– I have 5% knowledge of conversational Japanese.

Using the walkthrough, I’ll be able to get a proper ending with a specific girl… if I follow directions right.

And using my 5% Japanese words, vocabulary and sentence understanding, I may be able to understand the story.

This is ridiculous. You won’t understand the story without the text. Besides, the player is YOU. You are supposed to be talking, but the talk is only through the text. The girls and other people may be talking to you through voice-overs, but that means you are getting half the conversation only.
Yes I will get half the story that way.

Enough self-talk. Let’s see where this goes.

You will find my introduction and updates through the URL:
http://bluemist.animeblogger.net/toheart2/

Princess of Tennis

Taken from preview for Comic Party Revolution 8:

Yup, read manga about tennis and learn some impossible moves! dunno who that Ultraman-like being is supposed to be... moeteru~ Kazuki really said mada mada dane in the preview!
O MY GAWD…