Archive for December 2015
Scarlet Fate II : Aterui (dOOmED)
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RATING
Story : 4.1/5
Character Development : 3.6/5
Artwork : 4.8/5
Technical : 4.5/5
TOTAL : 17/20 (85%)
COMMENTARY
Story ~ First thing, WHAT!!! NOT EVEN A SINGLE KISS!!! WHY?! Yeah, I get he's suppose to be like a main enemy (clearly stated in Gentoka's route), but that would make all the story all the better! That was an immediate deduction the moment I read it. *spoiler* Yes, they do confess love/care for each other, but COME ONE SHALL WE DATE, THE ENEMY NEEDS A LITTLE MORE LOVE THAN THAT!!! This fact pissed me off to no end, like SERIOUSLY I CAN'T GET OVER IT! And I felt the story started off WAY too slow and at the end picked up too fast. *spoiler* It was like he hated her two chapters before then and then suddenly he's like OMG, MC, I CARE ABOUT YOU AND I'M GOING TO LISTEN TO YOU (This is related to the story which I would like not to spoil too much)! While I read this, I was really worried how this would even turn out because of the slow relationship development between the MC and Aterui. Over all it would have been MUCH better if they balanced the pace of the story much more. But to be honest, it wasn't super bad if you can overlook those facts.
Character Development ~ Stop. OMG stop. Really, did Aterui become bipolar near the end of the story? Someone just please explain why he suddenly was squishy and mushy towards the MC and super attached to her. I'm sure this pretty much sums up the idea why I gave character development 3.6. Because this seriously pissed me off to no end. I would have expected him to be a more forceful lover than a soft, "okay, I'll do whatever you feel comfortable with". COME ON! YOU COMPLETELY PORTRAYED HIM IN A DIFFERENT WAY IN SCARLET FATE! Oh and the reason why he *spoiler* kidnaps the MC was basically, "how did you make Gentoka act all kind?! What kind of witchery is this!? I will kidnap you and take you hostage until I can find out!"
...
......
Please stop. I guess I was a little soft with this rating because I really like this character, well the idea of him anyway. If I were the writer of Aterui's story, I would seriously change how his character works throughout the story.
Artwork ~ I loved the artwork, very nicely shaded, defining the crevices. But. Yes there is a but. (heh, butt xP. Okay that's first off super old and way too immature for my age by now. Whatever!) The nose... Oh my god the nose... Okay, I draw myself and I'm a super perfectionist at it. So while most people would be like, "that's super good!" I would probably point out a million flaws. I mean, all I would do if I were the artist, I would just make it less pointy and make the shading less sudden. There isn't much I would change. Most of the time I didn't even notice the nose, I wouldn't have pointed this out if I hadn't actually sat down to observe the art. So overall, it's super well drawn.
Technical ~ Okay, there were barely any grammar mistakes, but, there was one scene where Aterui held his hand in a fist so hard he bled from the knuckles... ._. -_- (/_-). No, first off, his palm would start bleeding first because his nails would dig into his palm. And have you seen his nails!? Their flipping longer than most of the girls I know! Not to mention their sharpened to points too. I personally I didn't think it's possible to bleed from the knuckles from holding a fist so tight. Because- Okay I'm not going to go into a lecture about the human body so basically this is all I have to say about technicality.
Conclusion
In all honesty, if you seriously are interested in Aterui I recommend you go buy his story (4.99 USD). His story is surprisingly touching, I actually really liked it a lot. I just overlooked all the things that really ticked me off and I found it absolutely satisfactory. The only thing is I felt they should have written more for him. I felt those 10 chapters weren't enough for Aterui, I really hope they write some sequel or something extra for him. Maybe something with a bit more romance as the main story was completely lacking for any.
So overall if you can overlook any of the things I said above that tick you off or if anything I said don't bother you then I recommend you get his story. I really enjoyed it, I couldn't stop reading really, I mean, I really like the more forceful and sadistic characters from Otome games. So this story constantly kept me on my heels. The kind of lover Aterui turned out to be sorta was a disappointment from similar characters I've read before. But yet again, overall I recommend you get his story if you can overlook or don't care for what I said above. So yes, if you've been hesitant to get his story and you can do as I said above, go for it.
Written by: dOOmED
Butler Until Midnight: Aoi Shirafuji (Animete)
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"I want apples." ~Aoi Shirafuji
ratings
story: 4.9/5
character development: 4.9/5
artwork: 4.7/5
technical: 4.8/5
total: 19.3/20 (97%)
commentary
story - I found his story to be emotionally striking. Aoi has endured a rough past life and has lived for only one purpose, which has caused him pain. Also, I absolutely loved that his story revolved around a central thing, which is only two words: "our secret." Those two words eventually was the partial cause of the climax as well; Voltage did a good job on that. At first, he uses those two words for the MC, and then later uses them against her using sarcasm, and then back to being for her again at the end/resolution. It had a clear Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action and Resolution to create a well-written story. I just didn't like the sudden change of Aoi from being kind to a somewhat sadistic person keeping the MC in restraint.
character development - He had a rough past, and I can say that his past is what shaped him to be what he is today. Because of his past, he is an Ichijo butler. Because of his past, he wants more attention. However, even now, I kind of still don't know why he acted sadistic and loves-to-tease MC kind of person... I thought it was very abrupt and weird, but oh well. I haven't bought his "In His Eyes" story so that may clear things up, but still... it would have been better to make things more clear in the main story.
artwork - Eh, not nearly as good as Yuma's and Huedhaut. They were good, but if I were paying $3.99 just for his CG's, it's not really worth it.
technical - I have absolutely no major complaints to make. However, me being the grammar cop means me spotting grammar errors. You might not be able to spot it if you're just enjoying the story though since: a) they don't appear that often and b) they slip right out of your eyes because they're so minor.
conclusion
Well, to be honest, I would recommend Aoi more than I would with Yuma. Aoi's story has more climatic events going on and it resolves better. I love what Aoi said in the (somewhat) end of his Seductive Ending: "From now on, everything we do... will be our secret" (Seductive Ending).
If you're getting Aoi's main story, I'd also suggest getting the In His Eyes story to clear up any confusion you may have about Aoi and so you know why he's acting the way he is and stuff of the sort. The pricing is 3.99+1.99=$5.98USD (excluding tax).
Butler Until Midnight: Yuma Akagi (Animete)
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ratings
Story: 4.7/5
Character Development: 4.8/5
Artwork: 4.8/5
Technical: 4.9/5
Total: 19.2/20 (96%)
commentary
Story - Yuma's story kept me indeed entertained until both the Soothing and Seductive Ending. It involved changing each other in ways more than one. While the MC changed Yuma probably just by being herself, Yuma changed her by asking her of questions that required more observations in her surroundings, causing her to let meaning of things soak in. I'll also admit that I went a little mad at the beginning of his route when he brutally teased the MC. However, in the end, I don't regret buying his story, because his teasing came to be more cute than insulting; the cuteness is especially seen in the Soothing Ending.
Character Development - Although he's charismatic and quote-on-quote "two-faced", he is honestly such a cute guy to be with. People who have only gotten a taste of his first three chapters have only seen the mean side. His cute side will show up later, and when it did show up for me, my love for Yuma skyrocketed to the heavens.
Artwork - Like Huedhaut's CG's, I found Yuma CG sentimental... but not as sentimental as Hue. I've also noticed that Voltage created a center point in their artwork for this game by adding these little sparkles around it, so I thought that was very unique and a good idea. Kudos for them :3 Like Star-Crossed Myth, the MC has no eyes but it's something to get used to.
Technical - I spotted a few grammar stuff, but that was honestly it.
conclusion
Well... what I can say is that Yuma isn't for everyone. What I can say is that Yuma ends to be very likeable in the end. Everybody who "hates" Yuma hasn't seen Yuma yet, just keep that in mind.
For those who are thinking about getting Butler Until Midnight, it's definitely a recommended game from me! Yuma's story is also very much recommended; after all, Yuma is only a butler until midnight :)
Him as a man is one of my favorites :3. For those who do in fact like jerks, Yuma is the one for you! I thought his story was decently developed and thus deserved a high rating. It was worth the payment, folks :)
Star-Crossed Myth - Karno & Chocolate
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mc: "Oh. By the way, Karno, this is chocolate... it's chocolate, but it's supposed to be super spicy. You can have it if you'd like."
I take the chocolate out of my bag and hand it to Karno.
Karno: "Hm, spicy chocolate? Interesting..."
mc: "I hope you like it."
Ichthys: "It's chocolate, but it's spicy? What's that about?"
mc: "Do you want to try it too, Ichthys?"
Ichthys: "Nah, it sounds kinda gross."
Teorus: "Hmph... when did you two learn each other's favorite foods?"
mc: "Karno taught me a lot about chili peppers while we were in Kyoto."
Krioff: "Huh? We were worried about you two, but it sounds like you were having a grand old time in Kyoto."
mc: "Err, uh..."
Karno jumps in at once to help me explain.
Karno: "We hit a few bumps in the road, but I'm glad we were able to have a fun date."
Leon & Scorpio: "...!?"
mc: (A date...? He thinks of the trip as a 'date'?)
Leon: "Have you really been seduced by a lowly goldfish...?"
Karno: "Jealous?"
Leon: "Don't be stupid..."
Karno: "I'll give you a piece of chocolate, here."
Karno tosses a piece of super-spicy chocolate into Leon's mouth.
Leon: "...! *COUGH* "Wh-What is this poison!? What are you scheming, goldfish? Feeding Karno something like this..."
mc: "Uh, it's only chocolate."
Karno: "Yeah, it's really good."
Leon: "Did you just say... 'good?' Is the inside of your mouth incapable of registering pain?"
Ichthys: "Pain? From chocolate?"
Tauxolouve: "It must pack a punch."
Huedhaut: "Why don't you try some, Ichthys?"
Ichthys: "Huh? For real? You eat some too, Aigo."
Aigonorus: "..."
The gods try the chocolate out of curiosity.
Ichthys & Aigonorus: "...!?"
The second the two gods eat the chocolate, their faces go bright red.
Ichthys: *COUGH COUGH* "Owww... what IS this stuff!?"
Aigonorus: "...!"
Tauxolouve: "Hey. Aigo, you alive?"
Huedhaut: "It appears to be quite spicy."
Ichthys: "It's not 'spicy.' It's painful."
Partheno: "Water. Now."
mc: (Poor Aigonorus...)
Karno: "I thought it was pretty mild, just a little kick of spice..."
Aigonorus: "... Your taste buds are dead."
Ichthys: "Honestly. I don't know how you eat that stuff. Yuck."
Karno's tolerance for spicy things is evidently pretty impressive. Eating the chocolate, completely unfazed, Karno turns to me and chuckles.
Karno: "You have some icing on your face."
mc: "What? I do?"
Karno: "Look, right here."
Karno reaches out, wiping the icing from the corner of my mouth and then licking it off of his own finger.
Leon & Scorpio: "...!"
mc: (Oh my god...)
Partheno: "Does the icing taste better that way? Maybe I'll give it a try too..."
This moment is part of Karno's main story chapter 7. Are you interested? Download the Star-Crossed Myth app and purchase Karno's story for $3.99USD!
mc: "Oh. By the way, Karno, this is chocolate... it's chocolate, but it's supposed to be super spicy. You can have it if you'd like."
I take the chocolate out of my bag and hand it to Karno.
Karno: "Hm, spicy chocolate? Interesting..."
mc: "I hope you like it."
Ichthys: "It's chocolate, but it's spicy? What's that about?"
mc: "Do you want to try it too, Ichthys?"
Ichthys: "Nah, it sounds kinda gross."
Teorus: "Hmph... when did you two learn each other's favorite foods?"
mc: "Karno taught me a lot about chili peppers while we were in Kyoto."
Krioff: "Huh? We were worried about you two, but it sounds like you were having a grand old time in Kyoto."
mc: "Err, uh..."
Karno jumps in at once to help me explain.
Karno: "We hit a few bumps in the road, but I'm glad we were able to have a fun date."
Leon & Scorpio: "...!?"
mc: (A date...? He thinks of the trip as a 'date'?)
Leon: "Have you really been seduced by a lowly goldfish...?"
Karno: "Jealous?"
Leon: "Don't be stupid..."
Karno: "I'll give you a piece of chocolate, here."
Karno tosses a piece of super-spicy chocolate into Leon's mouth.
Leon: "...! *COUGH* "Wh-What is this poison!? What are you scheming, goldfish? Feeding Karno something like this..."
mc: "Uh, it's only chocolate."
Karno: "Yeah, it's really good."
Leon: "Did you just say... 'good?' Is the inside of your mouth incapable of registering pain?"
Ichthys: "Pain? From chocolate?"
Tauxolouve: "It must pack a punch."
Huedhaut: "Why don't you try some, Ichthys?"
Ichthys: "Huh? For real? You eat some too, Aigo."
Aigonorus: "..."
The gods try the chocolate out of curiosity.
Ichthys & Aigonorus: "...!?"
The second the two gods eat the chocolate, their faces go bright red.
Ichthys: *COUGH COUGH* "Owww... what IS this stuff!?"
Aigonorus: "...!"
Tauxolouve: "Hey. Aigo, you alive?"
Huedhaut: "It appears to be quite spicy."
Ichthys: "It's not 'spicy.' It's painful."
Partheno: "Water. Now."
mc: (Poor Aigonorus...)
Karno: "I thought it was pretty mild, just a little kick of spice..."
Aigonorus: "... Your taste buds are dead."
Ichthys: "Honestly. I don't know how you eat that stuff. Yuck."
Karno's tolerance for spicy things is evidently pretty impressive. Eating the chocolate, completely unfazed, Karno turns to me and chuckles.
Karno: "You have some icing on your face."
mc: "What? I do?"
Karno: "Look, right here."
Karno reaches out, wiping the icing from the corner of my mouth and then licking it off of his own finger.
Leon & Scorpio: "...!"
mc: (Oh my god...)
Partheno: "Does the icing taste better that way? Maybe I'll give it a try too..."
This moment is part of Karno's main story chapter 7. Are you interested? Download the Star-Crossed Myth app and purchase Karno's story for $3.99USD!
Star-Crossed Myth: Huedhaut (Animete)
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RATINGS
Story: 4.8/5
Character Development: 4/5
Artwork: 4.9/5
Technical: 4.9/5
Total: 18.6/20 (93%)
Total: 18.6/20 (93%)
COMMENTARY
Story - His story is one that will go in deeper on your life as a goddess because in the past (while the goddess was still alive), he had a relationship with her. So any confusion I had about the reincarnation of the goddess was cleared up all in Hue's route; I was confused in the other routes because it is noted that it's against the law to interfere with matters of life and death, and the MC being the reincarnation of a goddess means that someone had interfered with the death of the goddess. That 'someone' is Hue. However, as the story proceeded I felt confused for about three whole chapters on whether Hue was talking to the MC, the goddess, or both. Due to all this confusion, I took off 0.2, because three chapters isn't a very long confusion time... only about a half hour of me being confused.
Character Development - A brief overview of Hue's general personality is that he's level-headed, intelligent and logical. He doesn't believe in the concept of "destiny" because it's illogic. He also says things in a wordy and elaborate way, so sometimes it was a little confusing on what he was saying. However that didn't happen very often throughout the story so you don't need to worry about not understanding what he's saying. In addition to his exceptional intelligence, he also likes to tease you and sophisticatedly joke with you. However, I didn't really like that Voltage soon made him into some jumble-of-emotions god. At first he was confident in his decisions, motives and emotions... but a lot sooner than expected he started getting all lovey-dovey with the MC when it was most likely he never had any feelings for the MC, but rather the goddess. This disturbed me, and it happened multiple times throughout the main story so it ended up grating my nerves. It wasn't until the Blessed and Forbidden Ending that he was finally straightforward with his emotions once again.
Artwork - The artwork just gained a big "wow" from me; his CG's for nearly every story were colorful and sentimental. The colors were bright and vibrant in almost every CG, and they were honestly very beautifully drawn. This earns the exceptional award for the best artwork. The only thing is: there were some CG's were I was a little nervous; Hue was completely naked but from his waist down was below the water... and then Hue naked while making out with the MC... err, okay? (^_^")
Technical - Saw just a few spelling errors. Not very much and the story is still easy to read, so it's really no big deal. Grammar was decent as well. You will definitely not rage-quit just because of the technicality of Hue's story.
CONCLUSION
Well, the questions that MC asked about her "past life as a goddess" will be all somewhat thoroughly answered in Hue's route... in fact, if you're wondering which story to purchase first on Star-Crossed Myth, I would probably buy Huedhaut's route ($3.99USD) so then you can get a good foundation on MC's past life as a goddess.
I actually bought Dui (the god of Gemini) first... I think Hue was the third story I bought. Maybe I should've switched the order around, but oh well. His story was pretty decent for the most part.
It wasn't as dark as Scorpio but it wasn't as bright as Ichthys, so if you're one to not like going to the extremes with general atmosphere, then Hue is probably your character to read through ;)
Star-Crossed Myth: Scorpio (Animete)
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RATINGS
Story: 4.6/5
Character Development: 3.8/5
Artwork: 4.8/5
Technical: 4.4/5
Total: 17.6/20 (88%)
COMMENTARY
Story - Scorpio is a harsh character, and it certainly is a harsh story. It takes place in an extremely dark atmosphere and revolves around one of the most painful backstories I probably have ever heard in my life of reading Voltage stories. When I read his story, I felt like punching my phone screen, not because it was really bad... rather it's because when I saw the child soldier (also known as child assassin for a terrorist group) I was so angry that he was so quick to point a gun at an innocent soul. This is exactly what I mean by a dark story.
Character Development - Are you possibly wondering why I gave him 3.8? Well, tsundere characters are sometimes extremely difficult to develop, especially for someone as initially harsh as Scorpio. The times when that "dere" side awakens was way too quick and sudden; the MC didn't really do anything to really change Scorpio and then viola~ then he changed miraculously into this easily-embarrassed and vulnerable-in-front-of-the-MC type of god. However the part where his past shapes who he is today was very well developed, so kudos towards Voltage for that.
Artwork - Once again, no MC eyes. It sort of bothers me, but after reading four other Star-Crossed Myth stories, I've gotten used to it. The artwork was colorful and to me, represents mostly seriousness, if not darkness of reality.
Technical - All visual novels are translated from Japanese, so there will be errors. I found a lot of small errors, and sometimes those errors were pathetically stupid and could've easily been edited if Voltage were more careful. However there were not a ton of errors; you won't rage-quit, trust me on that.
CONCLUSION
Well, although I can't say Scorpio's story fit my style (that's why it didn't get a high rating from me), I can say that his endings are very entertaining! Also, if you want to see Zyglavis' kind side, Scorpio's story is the one to buy ($3.99USD)! (Zyglavis is the god of Libra, and is the semi-antagonist of the first season of Star-Crossed Myth)
Also if you do in fact like tsundere and gets easily embarrassed (like easily times one hundred), then I would also recommend Scorpio.
Scandal in the Spotlight: Kota Igarashi (Animete)
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RATINGS
Story: 4.9/5
Character Development: 4.8/5
Artwork: 4.8/5
Technical: 4.5/5
Total: 19/20 (95%)
COMMENTARY
Story - I felt like his story was very enjoyable to read through. It was also very unique in a way in which while Kota refused to help MC with the lyrics, he was also simultaneously helping her as well. To put it in other words, Kota was helping the MC by refusing to help the MC. Also the way MC changed Kota was very heartwarming in the end, and the story also does a really good job on reflecting reality that a famous person and a commoner dating could result in a huge scandal. My only complaint was enduring all those hurtful words Kota said at the beginning, but then again: it wasn't really bad.
Character Development - Kota is a sour yet sweet person, which I can definitely agree to. At first, he seems like a kuudere, but after he falls in love with you... he starts to gain an extremely obvious tsundere personality (which is shown very clearly in the Love Rivals main story). I enjoyed his general persona... but making him into some kind of gaming nerd doesn't seem to really fit with his idol and actor career. I'm not trying to say it's bad, but him gaming as a natural daily hobby as a man is sort of a strange hobby for someone who works as an actor and idol. To put it in simpler terms, there's a fine line between the occupation of a gamer, where it involves him being cooped up in his room and an idol/actor, where you appear constantly on T.V. and in the public, if not being complete polar opposites.
Artwork - To be honest, I feel like Ichthys had better artwork than Kota's. It feels like the artists didn't put as much effort into the setting as they did in Star-Crossed Myth. The thing that they did in which they didn't do in Star-Crossed Myth, however, is that they added eyes to the MC! They only added the eyes to the English version though, so I'm glad I got the English version.
Technical - There were a few spelling errors and grammatical errors (more errors than Ichthys; his story is probably one of the best stories I've read in terms of grammar and spelling). However - as expected of Voltage Inc. - they've done a decent job editing the story. I honestly wouldn't worry so much about it though; they're so minor sometimes you don't even notice that they had any errors at all.
CONCLUSION
Once again, a highly recommended story from me. This is a touching story with a great storyline to it, and if you do like tsundere characters, Kota is definitely one of the top 5 best (written and developed) tsundere!
His story is definitely worth the payment ($3.99USD) and just like Ichthys, he's recommended from me 100% and beyond! (Same applies to Ichthys).
P.S.: The only reason I'm comparing to Ichthys so often is because he's the only other review I wrote before this one and published, so you can refer back to that post for more information on Ichthys.
written by: Animete
Star-Crossed Myth: Ichthys (Animete)
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.
RATING
Story: 4.7/5
Character Development: 4.9/5
Artwork: 4.8/5
Technical: 4.8/5
Total: 19.2/20 (96%)
COMMENTARY
Story - Okay, this has gotten me into tears in the end. A touching story and one to treasure. However I felt as though that the fact that he had to leave and die was so sudden; this abrupt transition of atmosphere makes me a little upset. I was hoping for a more gradual kind of thing when reading his route. However, since this is something that could easily be overlooked, I only took .3 off the full 5 that it was potential of receiving from me. (dOOmED is a lot more picky as she is very good at critiquing characters)
Character Development - For a quick overview, Ichthys is a prankster (a huge one at that) and he's very easily approachable. These are by far my most favorite type of characters. The only very minor thing I didn't like was that Ichthys accepted death so easily. I was like, "Are you kidding me!? That's just so stupid!" He just accepted his fate and did nothing except play a bunch of pranks to make him forget it. What. The. Heck. Other than that though, he was honestly such a sweetheart ^_^
Artwork - I could tell that the artists put effort into Ichthys' CG's. They are colorful and I really enjoy the atmosphere and setting of the artwork. Especially his Forbidden Ending CG, it was colorful, vibrant and extremely cute. My only complaint is the MC doesn't have any eyes! What is this!? Why do you do this, Voltage...?
Technical - Well considering this story was translated from Japanese, they're bound to have grammatical and spelling errors. Well, yes. This story had grammar errors and no spelling errors as far as I remember. However the errors are extremely easy to overlook because they're so minor, so I wouldn't worry so much about it.
CONCLUSION
I definitely recommend this story to those who like a touching story and if you like to laugh, then this is the story to buy (it costs $3.99 USD). A playful character with a sad past is an interesting one too. His endings are really good as well. As for his endings, I would try going for the Forbidden Ending first; it's absolutely hilarious and entertaining.
In a nutshell, this character is 100% recommended from me ;) it will never cease to make you smile and laugh at how cute Ichthys can get.
written by: Animete
