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Armed with a few character designs from Watanabe Akio (Bakemonogatari), Kajitsu comes in as the first of three visual novels in the Grisaia trilogy. Fairly hyped and rated high on VNDB, it’s also a series that’s receiving an anime adaptation later this year. All things considered, it’s only fitting to dust off the memories and change things up a bit with a quick retrospective of what ended up being a pretty enjoyable experience.
| Gameplay: |
When it comes to Grisaia no Kajitsu’s gameplay elements, one can generally summarize it as your standard visual novel affair. Following the viewpoint of the main character, Kazami Yuuji, you’ll spend most of the game reading from a series of dialogue text boxes and occasionally making choices that may or may not affect the route you end up taking. The notable thing about Kajitsu however, is that there actually aren’t many choices to choose from, which is partially a byproduct of its long common route, which can last up to about a third of the game’s approximately 50 hour overall game play length. Only a handful of choices end up being significant, and they’re choices that will either immediately put you on a specific heroine’s route or determine whether or not you receive a good or bad ending with that heroine.
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5 heroines. 10 endings. |
Put together, there are five heroines and two endings for each, totaling 10 possible endings. Each heroine is given their own unique ending theme and sequence and the general story line starts in late May 2011 and lasts until as late as November 2011 depending on the route taken. There are multiple H-scenes for each route, ranging from two to five depending on the heroine. A walkthrough (there are no plot details within, but some of the choices themselves may hint at certain scenarios, so it’s not 100% spoiler free) can be found here.
Last but not least, there are a few recommendations for players who intend to play:
| Story Summary / Characters List: |
Story-wise, Grisaia no Kajitsu focuses on Kazama Yuuji, the newest arrival at Mihama Academy. In seeking a “normal student life,” Yuuji joins the five previous inhabitants of the Academy, which was established as a closed learning environment for students with special circumstances. The first and only male student at the school, his arrival disrupts the normal routine of the school, and sets into motion a series of events that could allow the girls to overcome their respective pasts and seize back control of their respective lives. That is, if Yuuji is able to face his own past—a past that could very well be the weightiest one of them all.
Character-wise, the five heroines compose of the innocent and carefree Irisu Makina, the always responsible Komine Sachi, the “tsundere” Matsushima Michiru, the box-cutter wielding Sakaki Yumiko, and the big sister type in Suou Amane.
| Impressions: |
In starting the game for the first time, the thing that struck me immediately was how Grisaia no Kajitsu was playable in widescreen, which made quite a impact visually. The fact that Watanabe Akio—one of my favorite artists and the man behind the character designs in Bakemonogatari and The World God Only Knows—is behind some of the character designs here (can’t forget that Fumio also did a great job with some of the designs too) only helped this aspect, and there’s something to be said about how gorgeous some of the scenes are in this game.
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Welcome to Mihama Academy. |
In regards to the story itself, I must say it was quite interesting how long the common route was in comparison to many of the other novels I’ve played previously. To say the least, they took their time easing you into the story and introducing the setting/characters, and it was something that ended up being executed fairly well. It takes a little bit to get into the thick of things and the individual characters don’t necessarily scream unique (personality wise on a day-to-day basis during the common route), but the fact remains you’ll inevitably find yourself dragged into their pace. One of the things Grisaia no Kajitsu does well in particular are the interactions between the cast, and there are a boatload of enjoyable (and occasionally hilarious) scenes throughout the first third of the game.
The true meat of the game however, lies within the remainder of the game, which refers to the point after you embark on one of the heroine’s routes. There was clearly extra effort put into each of the heroine’s respective routes in comparison to the common one, and it ends up quite amazing how much each of the character has to their back story. That’s not to say the common route is bad or anything—it’s quite solid—but it’s quite clear the heroines’ stories are the focus here, and once you get into each of their respective past traumas and/or the circumstances they’ve had to deal with to end up at the Academy, you won’t be able to hold yourself back.
Of course, as with any story with multiple heroines like this, some stories end up having more impact and content than others—Amane’s and Makina’s respectively are perhaps the most loaded and important of the five—but each of them ultimately has a very unique reason for being where they are now, and each of of those stories are worthy of being given a go through. One word of warning though, they’re stories that are anything but of the happy variety, and they range anywhere from cruel to downright messed up. Depending on who you are and the experiences you’ve been through, it’s quite possible a few of the routes could bring you to tears, and if not, it’ll at least make you emotional in one way or another.
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Yes. That is what you think it is. |
The beauty of it all though, is how well they execute the contrast between the common route and the respective heroine routes. Serious and comedic moments mix together almost seamlessly to produce an emotional release that make the game more than worth playing, and it only helps that our main character’s past leaves him with… certain skills from which to help each member of our cast try to face off with and potentially overcome their respective pasts. I can’t go into much without getting into spoilers, but let’s just say there are explosions involved, frozen chickens are thrown, cars are stolen, and well… you’ll just have to find out the rest. The lengths that Yuuji goes through to assist ends up hands down insane, and that in itself plays a large part in the game’s enjoyment. Additionally, each route gives you bits and pieces to Yuuji’s mysterious past, and there’s a lot to be had here in terms of story content.
It must be said however, that there is no “true ending” here with this first iteration of the Grisaia trilogy, and it can be said that Kajitsu’s intent is merely to serve as an introductory segment to everything. That goes without saying because it’s the first of three visual novels, but it also holds true in the context that the other two iterations don’t play off of any of the respective heroine routes. That is, the other two games that come from this don’t continue from the end of any of the routes you end up choosing. Rather, it plays off a particular choice within the story and continues from there. This does not mean that the individual routes end up far from useless in the grand scheme of things though, but that’s something more for when the other visual novels end up covered at a later date.
The Verdict: It’s not the best visual novel I’ve ever played and there are clear pacing issues from time to time, but there’s a lot here that make it worth playing despite the exceptional 50 hour length (and the fact there’s two other games after this). As long as you stick with it, Grisaia no Kajitsu easily lands within the good to great tier when it’s all said and done, but it has to be said not everyone will feel the same way due to the nature of each heroine’s story and the length of time it takes to develop them. Needless to say though, it’s worth playing if you can find the time, and here’s hoping this retrospective has played at least some part in helping you decide whether or not you will.
| CG Scene Samplers: |
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I RIKE FISH.
Oh god. I remember that. I fell off my seat when they were doing that. Lol
“Lover of rubber? A Dutch Wife?”
I died
After watching this, it’s set in stone that I must play and finish this game.
And I thought we italians were bad in english, but japanese people blow it really hard.
The wind is troubled today.
Still waiting for the 2nd VN to be TL so I can continue the story 🙁 Doesn’t help that I accidentally spoiled myself with a pretty big revelation (but I did expect it after hints given in Amane’s route).
Amane was my favorite here, followed by Sachi. Sakaki and Michuru were next, and lastly Makina’s route.
T’was a very entertaining visual novel. Long, but hilarious. I’m currently reading Hoshimemo 😀
Rumour has it we might get the second completely tl-ed and patch ready by the end of the year. Here’s hopin’ it works out.
koestl (the TL for the Grisaia) posted on Twitter that he plans to release the full TL patch for Grisaia 2 by the end of this year, but as with all fan projects of this size, release dates should be taken with a grain of salt and be approached with a ‘when it’s done’ attitude.
Also, the translator got a job for translating an Official VN for a company, so the translation of Meikyuu will be on hiatus for now.
Well for some reason I stalled this VN for life purposes. The common route gets hilarious until you entered a specific route, its having a Genre Shift. H scenes isn’t necessary at all in this series.
Watanabe Akio is also chara designer for Bakemonogatari? No wonder Sakaki Yumiko resembles Senjougahara so much.
After playing Amane’s route, Show Spoiler ▼
How about that box-cutter?
And yeah, lol, same here. -_- Though I don’t see why I’d ever willingly go to one in any case.
@Kusabi, that’d be “Angelic Howl” and is the best flashback segment in any VN I’ve ever played. (I’ve read quite a few.) and it easily makes Amane a runner up for the best route in the game.
Grisaia is indeed one of the most celebrated VNs from these past few years. I would like to see them just go through and adapt all three volumes, but some of these heroines have lengthy and dramatic enough backstories that are quite similar to the entire plot of some other VNs. Might be tough to do properly, but there’s a lot of potential here for some damn good anime.
I’ve currently just started Amane’s route, and well, she’s my favorite because I’m a sucker for mature/onee-san types.
Definitely one of the key routes among them all. Be sure to go through both endings for her especially, because there’s some important bits that are found in one that isn’t in the other.
Going to play just because it’s 18+,
K, I’m kidding. Was looking for a good novel to read after finishing Muv Luv Alternative (and waiting for the translation of the Days After ;_;). I’ll give it a try.
Finished all the routes except for Michiru. Lost interest and got distracted by other stuff. I enjoyed Amane’s route the most. Mainly because of the survival story Show Spoiler ▼
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Perhaps I’ve just been spoiled from having played too many VNs of considerably shorter length, but I just couldn’t bring myself to finish Grisaia. After slugging it through the common route for goodness knows how many hours, I asked myself that age-old question: “Do I care about these characters?”
Roger, would you care to take it from here?
And, given how much I liked the demo – which I did quite a bit – it’s difficult for me to say that, but it’s the truth. Grisaia starts off well enough, but it just keeps dragging itself through the same repetitive sequences over and over and over. . . -several hours later- and over and over and over again, all the while sprinkling little tidbits of info to try and keep your interest, but never really giving you a reason to be invested in these characters, their reasons or their motivations.
No, I’m expected to slog my way through to each of the respective character arcs to get my answers, but by that point my interest has been so thoroughly demolished that I don’t even care what those answers are anymore. I’m bored now, these characters are putting me to sleep and if I have to suffer through listening to Michiru’s voice one more friggin‘ time, I swear to Almighty Shinobu that I’m gonna hafta strangle someone. >__<
All in all, Grisaia is just too long for its own good, betting its ultimate success or failure as a stand-alone VN almost entirely on those who are willing to stick with it for better or worse. Sorry guys, but that’s just not my game. Take it as you will.
Mmm, there were some parts that did drag on somewhat longer than they should’ve, so I can understand where you’re coming from. Definitely something where individual preferences and patience comes into play here. Worth it in the end if you can get to it though, at least that’s the way I saw it.
But yeah, this was one of the reasons I didn’t end up elevating this to the spectacular/masterpiece level overall.
Honestly, I don’t blame you, even if I do maintain that Grisaia is excellent and worth the time. The common route was a bit excessive, and there were (in my opinion) a handful of scenarios that I just didn’t give a damn about. However, I should share the experience that while I found none of the characters particularly interesting at first (even getting quite annoyed with Makina and Sachi), I grew to really enjoy them all immensely. And it’s hard rectifying a bad first impression, you know.
I have to admit that the same is true for me. I started the VN with high hopes due to the outside feedback, but… I couldn’t make it past the prologue. After 5-6 hours I gave up (well.. I decided to “take a break” and never restarted).
Truth to be told, it’s because I’m a Character-driven player. I want characters I care for and who I find interesting.
The oneesan was likable – I would have played her path. The grouchy abrasive ojousama would have probably made the cut, but only since I generally like ojousamas. All other girls were instant no-gos. The pseudo-meido without a shred of common sense. The token loli with nothing but loli going for her. The horrible twintail tsundere who is so fixated on being a twintail tsundere that it hurts. And – worst of all – the male lead character which you yourself are playing. Based on the many hours I spent on him, he is the most unlikable arrogant asshole that I ever head the displeasure of witnessing, and lord knows that I’ve played many LNs. I guess that in the various girls’ paths he is going to redeem himself somehow, but the desire to punch “yourself” in the face combined with hours of seemingly irrelevant trivial gameplay does not mesh.
What did I miss? Or is my taste really this different to the mainstream?
BURN. BURN THE WITCH.
What did I miss?
Based on what you said,nothing at all. Don’t get me wrong,it’s still decent & all but eh,you know how it goes,just “decent” isn’t worth forcing yourself to play through it.
I don’t regret playing Grisaia,even thought I feel similar about it,but I wouldn’t regret if I didn’t play it either as I sometimes used it as a timer killer & nothing more.
hmm… try to think this way, this first vn is just the introduction of the trilogy (the true end is in Rakuten) and what you played can be something like the introduction of introduction (that lasts 20h more or less D=) and the true strenght of this vn lies within the characters routes, there you will learn why the characters act the way they do (for example why the the maid has no commom sense at all etc), and the reason for all of them isn’t a good one, even the mc, but sadly if you didn’t liked the mc you will hardly change much your opinion i guess, because his “reasons” were just hints and the reader can only grasp the overall concept (the exactly details are in Meikyuu).
Fish guts! Fish guts! Fish have guts!!
(I hope the anime does not just end up being Yumiko’s route. Or focused on Yumiko’s route. I like Yumiko, but her route was pretty weak compared to the others. I hope they animate Angelic Howl. No matter what route(s) they adapt, they should be able to incorporate it; Yuuji doesn’t need to be dating Amane to learn her backstory.
And most importantly of all, I hope the anime does Tunafish Man justice.)
Yeah, the major problem with this VN was the pacing. It’s very bad.
Coincidentally, you should totally go play a VN called Sharin no Kuni. Similar in premise to this, only much, much better.
And you get Norio Wakamoto to voice your antagonist. Can’t go wrong with that.
Yoooooooooooo.
I completely forgot that we get VN posts every once in awhile.
I had to stop playing (can it really be called playing, lol) this after I got two routes done but I liked what I went through. Just another casualty of my ADD (I swear to got I am, I jump between things like crazy, even if I’m thoroughly enjoying them) induced backlog, lol.
Still can’t help but wonder when that anime is coming (was announced just before this even came out iirc). It might reach Duke Nukem Forever territory at this rate.
Lol yeah I like sneaking the occasional VN post when people least expected it. Geh heh heh.
And hmm… now that you mention it, it has been awhile since we got news about it.
I completely forgot to ask this the first time (since I was rushing a bit before I had to bolt), but if you’re willing to take suggestions for future posts you should totally do some of the Urobutcher’s early stuff. Particularly Saya no Uta.
The only problem would be that they’re kind of short.
You forgot to mention how enjoyable and full of character Juicy Yuuji is compared to other protagonists in this kind of game who are usually of the milquetoast variety. His interactions with the girls are as funny and full of chemistry as the girls interactions with each other.
Oh, right, it’s an eroge. I should talk about the girls. Mitcher stole my heart and her bad end crushed it.
I felt like it’s best to let peeps find out themselves just how awesome he is. Tried to hint at that with the frozen chicken picture, haha.
“Fairly hyped and rated high on VNDB, it’s also a series that’s receiving an anime adaptation later this year.”
Is there news on when the anime adaptation will be aired?
Oh, right, I totally forgot that they were talking about releasing an anime adaptation at some point. Well, I’m willing to wait for years because if they rush the whole thing and don’t do justice to the characters and plot, I’m pretty sure we’ll all be pissed.
It doesn’t help that the “latest” news I could find (on ANN at least) regarding the Grisaia no Kajitsu anime adaptation was from last year…
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2013-03-07/le-fruit-de-la-grisaia-adult-game-gets-anime-green-lit
I don’t know if there’s been any recent news on that since then.
Anime was announced in 2010 http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?t=98679&highlight=Grisaia and we still waiting.
Totally agree, look what happened to Umineko no Naku Koro ni. People raged on that show and didn’t sell, and now that the VN is done we likely won’t get another anime for a long time if that because the companies think no one wants it.
I rather be checking RC in distant future and see this in one of the season previews and done well. usually it takes a good 4-6 years after VN complete to find a company willing to do a good adaption.
Yeah, sadly it’s been awhile since we got any news about it. -_-
I loved this visual novel, and it’s just ridiculous how much I want to play it’s sequel since the sequel actually gets into Yuuji’s back-story.
Some people thought that the first part of the game was way too long, but man, I enjoyed every part of it. It was like you were reading an awesome slice of life comedy. The web of how all the characters interacted with each other were all hilarious and I came to slowly love every character individually over the course of the first 1/3 of the game. Of course, my favorites are Sachi, Amane, and Sakaki, but let me say, the character development they get for the actual heroine routes are amazing. It makes you just fall in love more with the characters. While some routes were definitely better than others and some dragged on for too long at points, they all had their charm.
I loved Yuuji as a main character in this game. The witty dialogue, and the way he simply does things is like a breath of fresh air compared to other visual novels. The other person I want to see in a visual novel is Kyon from the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya because of his sarcastic monologue.
Perhaps because I’ve probably poured like 80 sum hours into this game, I got really attached to these characters and loved them more than I probably should considering that there are much better visual novels out there, but the connection I have with the characters in this visual novel are almost unrivaled. Grisaia no Kajitsu is definitely in my top ten list if not in my top five with Muv Luv: Alternative, G Senjou no Maou, Fate/stay night, and Steins;gate.
Holy, this post appeared a day (or two?) after I casually mentioned that it’s been a long time after the last visual novel review in RC. Didn’t expect it to popped up this fast :p
Well, Grisaia. I’ve been interested in playing it for a long time, but the collosus length (especially if we count the sequels) hinders me in doing so (well, too many RL things to do). Probably I will just wait for the second series to be translated before starting.
I’m looking forward at seeing another brilliant main protagonist, though. Also, I am still waiting for you to review any translated AkabeiSoft2 works, Zephyr. They are my personal favorites :3
Well, it just so happens that I’m on break this week. I had some free time and your comment actually got me thinking well, why the heck not, it’s been awhile, so I went ahead and conjured this up. Was planning to release Monday, but ended up finishing it in one day so there ya go.
I’m planning to review the remaining LN’s I’ve played at some point (G-Senjou, Katawa Shoujo, Chaos;Head), but yeah it’ll be subject to time, so it’ll likely be another random “when you least expect it” thing. Haha.
Yay, gotta review dem all, Zephyr! :3
While you’re at it, play Sharin no Kuni too. I think you have saw several mentions of Kenichi and his badassery, so I think I’ll join the hyping wave :p (Not to add that it also got Norio Wakamoto!)
I think at this rate I sadly won’t be playing another VN for a while. I got a bunch of things to do IRL (job searching and the like) and a bunch of games (Child of Light, Transistor, Drakengard 3, Tales of Xillia 2) coming out soon/through the summer I’m probably going to drop everything to find time to play. Heh.
Lol, of course take your time, Zephyr. We are just adding fire to your (presumably) long backlog…Hahahaha…
Gotta do the RL things waiting there, and so am I… sigh… (~=w=)~ *returning to some boring paperwork*
Uh,oh,Grisaia. Yea,a good VN but definitely not great. I had two main issues with it:
1.Yuji:
Of course I liked him at first but while he’s not a bad MC,the guy’s borderline flawless with a VERY low self-esteem,which he makes sure to frequently remind you of. Eventually,that started to annoy me. Also…
Show Spoiler ▼
2.The terrible pacing:
For a VN that likes telling you nearly every single mundane activity of the characters,you’d expect that they’d slow down on the epilogues.
Anyway,my thoughts on Amane & Yumiko’s routes,which were the only ones I played & completed:
Since Grisaia lacks a true route and there’s no main plot to tie all the routes together like in G-Senjou no Maou or Sharin no Kuni,I was only looking to play the routes of my favorite heroines,with Amane being the 1st choice(I think it’s hard NOT to like her). To my surprise,I ended up liking Yumiko’s much more. Goes to show you that going for your favorite girl doesn’t mean that you’ll get your favorite route(of course you still have to like the heroine quite a bit and Yumiko was my 2nd favorite,initially that is).
Show Spoiler ▼
By “mundane activity”, do you mean the “slice of life” in the common route? If so, I can see where you’re coming from. Having to trudge through the slightly funny, but ultimately mundane everyday life before getting to the meat of the story is rather annoying and off-putting. Muv Luv/Alternative was a prime example of this
But this happens in most other VNs too. Did you find problems with pacing in Key works such as Clannad, Little Busters!, Rewrite, Kanon, etc? I almost fell asleep while reading their common routes. But strangely, sometimes it clicks with me and I enjoy it quite a lot, like with Majikoi, Sharin no Kuni and G-Senjou no Maou.
By “mundane activity”, do you mean the “slice of life” in the common route?
Yea,but it’s more due to the fact that it’s not paced properly. I wouldn’t mind all the slice of life if the main plot was better integrated in it since as it stand’s,you get long hours of purely slice of life then nothing of the sorts afterwards(and it was the same when entering Amane’s route).
I got bored to death with Muv-Luv and the pacing was just one of the issues I had with it but I didn’t find it to be as much of a problem in Unlimited and Alternative. I didn’t play Clannad,Little Busters or Kanon and won’t since I’m not interested in playing VNs that already have adaptations since I usually prefer anime(I wouldn’t have played Grisaia either if I knew it was going to get an anime back when I started it). I’ve heard that they drag on for ages though,especially LB. I’d probably have to be a die-hard fan of the characters in order to follow their every activity for hours & hours and even then I wouldn’t exactly like it.
I can like characters initially to a degree but I’ll really start liking them after I find out more about them and as we all know,in Grisaia that doesn’t really happen until you enter a route.
Part 2 of the trilogy is about MC’s past.
Final is the best.
This may just be me, but I have to say that I’m one of the people who loves simply watching/reading the mundane activities that people do. The way they do things and react to the simplest of thing shows character and gives you a feel for how they are as a person. For the people who don’t like this, it’s a huge turn off, but for people who like slice of life elements where people simply live life… this is heaven sent since it’s done well even if it was prolonged at times.
My next point of discussion is that why do you think Yuuji has low self-esteem? From what I’ve seen, he’s quite confident in his ability to do things, but he’s probably overly cautious to the point where some could consider it cowardice. I mean, even in his description it says that he is a coward, but I don’t really think he is. It takes a lot of balls to do some of the things he did. For example, Show Spoiler ▼
The other thing is that Yuuji has to be confident in himself and his abilities for the job he does. Sure, what he does isn’t exactly spelled out completely, but we have a good hint about what he does. If you lack the confidence in yourself and your ability to do things, it clouds your judgement and you hesitate. Hesitation could mean death, so I’m just saying that I don’t really see him as a guy with low self-esteem even with the way he simply carries himself. Yuuji had a ton of training both physically and mentally from his master, and I don’t think his master would have put up with him being a person who didn’t have confidence. You can see the effect his master had on him emotionally and mentally with how much he references the person. Yuuji is also a person who expresses his views and opinions clearly and is straight-forward a lot of the time with the other heroines while still maintaining secrecy. To put it short, he seems confident in himself with the way he acts even if he thinks that he’s a person who probably doesn’t deserve the things he has for the things he did in the past. We can say that he has insecurities, but even then, we all have insecurities. Yuuji seems much more confident in himself than a majority of people and characters out there.
a worthless person like me,she’s too good for me
He say’s such things a few times and,seeing how borderline flawless he is,I wouldn’t like to see him saying that at all. It’s more of a nitpick actually,since he doesn’t say it all that often. I’m just not that fond of nearly perfect characters.
The every-day-activity of the characters is often meant to get you attached to them and while it mostly worked for me too,I think they went overboard with it. I do enjoy slice of life just not as much as some people like you do 😛
I should correct myself when I said I’m not fond of flawless protagonists. It’s more like I’m not fond of flawless protags that are too serious and/or gloomy,unless the circumstances REALLY demand it. It’s similar to what Stilts said about Tatsuya in one of the Mahouka posts as in that it’s okay to have overpowered characters as long as they’re entertaining.
One of my favorite VN protagonists ever is Morita Kenichi from Sharin no Kuni, Himawari no Shoujo who’s pretty damn overpowered but he’s a really fun guy who would,IMO,be hard not to like.
Do you not realize that Yuuji is meant to be a character, and as a character it wouldn’t make sense if he didn’t have insecurities or problems. A truly flawless character would just be boring, but Yuuji isn’t truly flawless. He’s frank, tests peoples patience and is rash at points and does things others would be considered as a weakness instead of a strength. Yuuji is too careful, and isn’t the most thoughtful person out there when it comes to personal feelings of others. There’s also the part of him that doesn’t look at a person’s point of view as much because he just speaks his mind to a person in what he believes to be right and true. The way he relates to people also isn’t the best because of his background and it would probably take special people (like our heroines) or very, very understanding people to get along with a person like Yuuji. He isn’t the most relatable person out there, but we can see that he tries. There are numerous other things that I could nitpick to show you that he isn’t a flawless person. Sure, Yuuji can do a whole lot of things, but that came with a whole bunch of training and real life experience. He worked hard to get where he is. He isn’t a Gary Stu.
Yuuji is by no means a perfect character, and he has his flaws. It’s unreasonable for you to demand that Yuuji can’t spout out his insecurities from time to time because he is not a flawless or perfect character. Besides, it’s no fun just watching someone so perfect. I’d have a character with insecurities than one with out any in entertainment because they always prove more interesting.
He’s a nearly perfect character with a annoying know-it-all personality,and not the nice or hilarious type either. Once again,it would’ve been okay if this was a darker VN where a serious and/or sarcastic personality would’ve been right at home,but it’s not – at least not for the most part. And…
“Sure, Yuuji can do a whole lot of things, but that came with a whole bunch of training and real life experience. He worked hard to get where he is.”
Like I said,that’d be all fine and dandy if it was actually shown and not just talked about. I know you find out more in part 2 of the trilogy but the urge to find out more about a certain character isn’t really strong for someone who never managed to get attached to said character throughout the course of a long VN.
Anyway,our opinions on the matter seem to differ greatly(which is perfectly fine) so we should leave it at that. I rarely get into long arguments,lol.
Still playing that one.
I’m on Michiru’s route atm, finished Makina, Amane and Sachi before.
Personally I like most of the characters (except Makina… don’t know why, she just doesn’t click).
Sachi’s route I liked the best so far. And I got a little moist eyed at the letter in the end I have to admit. Also, Sachi is voiced by Shimizu Ai and it’s been a while since I heard her.
Amane’s route was also great, but it was a little to predictable what was going to happen to the group in the forest (Thank you, Lord of the Flies!). Kazuki was nice. Show Spoiler ▼
Yuji is an ok protagonist. A little in the direction of Kenichi of Sharin no Kuni, but not as awesome and a little too gloomy.
Well, let’s see how Michiru’ and Yumiko’ routes will end. Final verdict after those.
And I definitly will play the prequel game once it’s translated.
Zephyr, if this isnt the best VN you have ever played, what is?
I’d say it’s hard to top Muv-Luv Alternative for me.
Oh, wow! Didn’t expect to see a post about Grisaia here. That’s great!
It’s not the best but surely one of the better ones out there.
Though I didn’t like it or the girl the most, Amane’s route made quite an impact on me. Didn’t expect the game to head into that direction…
And Yuuji is definitely a step above the common protagonist. Badass is a nice change from the usual undecided and wimpy. Like someone mentioned made me recall the utterly awesome Kenichi of Sharin no Kuni.
If I need to make a complaint it is that Chizuru didn’t get enough appearance time XD
Still, Lemon for best girl <3
I'm really hopeful (but hesitant) the upcoming adaptation will give the game the proper treatment that it deserves.
Btw, the character design was split between Watanabe Akio and Fumio. He didn't do the whole game.
Right. I’ve modded the post to incorporate Fumio as well now. XD
Somehow chasing a plane while hanging out of the window of a super car, all while holding a roast chicken, was the best plan they could come up with.
Pure geniuses.
I played through the prologue and have to admit that it disappointed me. The slice of life is dragging and it didn’t help that I didn’t care about characters such as Makina.
I am more of an “action VN guy”, I guess. I loved both Fate Stay/Night and especially the Muv Luv trilogy, so I don’t know if I should give the main story of Grisaia a try or just accept that it’s not my kind of game. Zephyr mentions the pacing issues, so it doesn’t look like the main game is any “better” in that regard.
Well, if you can get past not caring about Makina (personally, she was my favorite), her route has some great action. Including a sequence involving Yuuji making a bomb out of her virtual pet.
Yuuji’s “solution” to Sachi’s problem involves explosives, too. Every heroine route except for Michiru’s, come to think of it, involved either fighting or blowing shit up at one point. That’s just the kind of guy Yuuji is.
My main reason for trying out the prologue was actually Amane’s seiyuu who also voiced Muv Luv’s Sumika. 🙂 So might be that I’ll just play through her route to see if it’s any good.
Well, Amane’s route is great, too. The main writer of Grisaia, Fujisaki Ryuuta, wrote Amane and Makina’s routes, and imo both are a cut above the other routes. Amane’s route starts out with more of that slice-of-life comedy you found boring, plus a lot of sex (but given her personality, that’s to be expected) — but once you get to her flashback, everything from that point on is really absorbing.
The other routes were decent reads, but Amane and Makina’s routes are the only ones with relevance to the main story — the only ones you need to read before proceeding with the other two installments.
@Zephyr: will this be a one time post about VN/EG? or will you or the others will do something like this again?
Well I’ve done three so far and I intend to do more on the VN’s I have played. The thing that’s up in the air is just more so when I can find the time to do additional posts of this nature, heh.
As for the others, I think a few have played a few VN’s, but I don’t know about anyone else taking up such posts in the near future.
Grisaia No Kajitsu is definitely one of the greatest VNs I have ever played.
This is probably one of the few VNs that relied heavily on its interesting characters to keep me entertained for hours on end. I dont really understand why people have problems with the pacing of the game. If anything, I think the slice of life part of the game really brought out the beauty of the characters.
The only real gripe i had with it is the Sachi’s and Michiru’s ending.
Following my fetish for tsunderes, I really hoped that Michiru’s story would be a good one…. It goes without saying that it fell flat on its face. It was still a good emotional roller coaster ride but nowhere good as the others
Next would be Sachi which tickled my meido fetish a fair bit. Once again, while it did play my emotions a fair bit, it still was a fair bit disappointing.
I guess it was obvious that the writers didnt give the two much thought, seeing how Amane, Makina (Vagina!) and Yumiko routes were so much better.
Most English-speaking fans (and, apparently, most Japanese fans, considering this) seem to love Michiru’s route and think she’s the best girl. I liked her as a character, but I totally agree about her route falling flat. It still got me emotional, but I didn’t think it was very well-written. Especially when compared to Makina and Amane’s routes, both of which have some really, really powerful writing.
Shes a fake Tsundere and i alot of people love Tsunderes. =)
Yeah the twist in her story was not the best but her character was awesome and unique.
Oh gods. I know it’s just an April Fools prank but I would watch this! I would watch the hell out of this!
The world needs more Mahou Shoujo Chiruchiru! Fund it!
While I didnt like how they handled Michiru’s route, I must say that Michiru is definitely my favorite character. Whenever she gets a bit of screen time, she pretty much steals the spotlight. She is a grade A comedic relief and I love her for that
@gustave154
It’s actually not an April Fool’s prank. Idol Mahou Shoujo Chiruchiru Michiru is an actual vn Front Wing is going to make, apparently. I look forward to it as well!
Hmm… is its common route longer than Hoshizora no Memoria’s common route?
I would say that you couldn’t pay me to play a bad end for one of my girls (and by the time I’m playing a VN, any girl whose route I’m doing is “my” girl), but that’s probably not completely true. I won’t go lower than 1 million US dollars for doing something so evil to one of them, however, so how much are you willing to shell out? 😛
Not quite familiar as to how long that common route is, but this lasted around 15 hours if I remember correctly, with some variability depending on reading speed.
And lol, I’d pay ya zero cause I don’t have the funds. 😛 I’ll just say you’ll definitely miss out if you don’t do at least the bad end in Amane’s route, because there are plot important details for Kajitsu and the other two in this series within that.
One of the best VNs i ever played in my entire life.
Thanks for the review =)
Meikyuu and Rakuen next?
Welcome.
Meikyuu and Rakuen would have to depend on when they inevitably get TL-ed and then when I can find time not only to play them, but to post them. Doesn’t look like that’ll happen for Meikyuu for at least another year though. =/
VN…
Yeah, when i was younger i played some of them. But today? I think i have not the patience anymore to read trough all this Text.
Anime and Manga fits now better for me..
Oh, i think my first VN was something with a Guy want to be a Cook in an Restaurant, guided of some Female. And both of them visit the Same School and class…
i forgotten the name, but some nice Memories still lives in my Mind
I wouldn’t trust VNDB’s ratings too much, but then again, pretty much every website out there loved Grisaia at some point, so it’s certainly worth checking out.
I kinda put it on hold because of my studies, but now that I’ve got more time on my hands (and the game’s translated into English, too), maybe I should actually finish it now. Michiru, Sachi and Makina are too good not to.
(Nanoyosa~)
After seeing this post, I decided to replay Grisaia once again. 1 hour in and I was reminded just how awesome they portrayed the characters.
Makina is the personification of loli
Michiru is the butt of all jokes
Sachi is the ultimate maid
Amane is the walking sex bomb
Yumiko is Senjougahara reincarnated
Seriously…. how I missed this VN so much
Out of curiosity, how many of the writers here read visual novels?
Late reply, but I know me, Zanibas, and Passerby do.