[Gollgagh]

Originally Posted by HalcyonSpirit

Out of curiosity, would you guys be okay with me posting a purely visual novel write-up in this thread?

(I have the feeling Darke will shoot me later, but)

do it

[Meteo Xavier]

Well I'm attached to this topic, I may as well obligate my annual question:

Does anyone have any suggestions for full-length anime features or short OVA series of space/fantasy action series from 1986-1994? I have a weird sort of spiritual fetish for this particular brand of anime and the story behind why I must seek out as much as I can is pretty difficult to explain, but its a thing I must do before I die.

I'm looking for things kinda like Iria, Garaga, the Final Fantasy V OVA series, Toward the Terra, Project A-ko, etc. I have all those, I love them, and I must have more.

And I'm not looking for the best of the era (ie, OMGMiyazakiOMG), in fact, the more obscure, cliched and standard, the better. There's just something about the underlying general style of that era that appeals to me and I want it all.

Thank you!

[Top Gun]

It's not short by any stretch of the imagination, but Legend of the Galactic Heroes. It's space opera at its absolute finest.

[Emperor Charlemagne]

Originally Posted by Meteo Xavier

Well I'm attached to this topic, I may as well obligate my annual question:

Does anyone have any suggestions for full-length anime features or short OVA series of space/fantasy action series from 1986-1994? I have a weird sort of spiritual fetish for this particular brand of anime and the story behind why I must seek out as much as I can is pretty difficult to explain, but its a thing I must do before I die.

I'm looking for things kinda like Iria, Garaga, the Final Fantasy V OVA series, Toward the Terra, Project A-ko, etc. I have all those, I love them, and I must have more.


Thank you!

a lot of what i listed last page would be good for you.

This is a bit lazy, but on another forum I go to we were talking about good 80s OVAs so some good recommendations cropped up.

Some good classic 80s ovas within.

[Meteo Xavier]

I love you Charlemagne. Please let me buy you a drink and let you father my children.

[Emperor Charlemagne]

just doin' my job.

[HalcyonSpirit]

Since I've been given the go-ahead by a few of you, I'm back with a write-up for a visual novel by itself. I've done partial reviews of visual novels in this thread before (specifically, Kanon and Ef: A Fairy Tale of the Two), but both with the accompanying anime adaptation. This one has no such adaptation, and frankly... I hope it stays that way. For good reasons, mind you.

I should note that it's actually two visual novels; the original and the prequel that came after. Both were released for FREE and the pack containing the english translations of both can be found here: http://www.neechin.net/narcissu/. There's also a third visual novel, composed of several stories in the same world and tone of the first two but unrelated to the story written in them, but it is an actual commercial venture and so is NOT free. Since those stories are not directly connected with the first two, I'm not going to worry about putting them into this write-up (that, and I've not read them yet; don't even know if they've been translated at this point).

Anyway, here we go.


Narcissu
Narcissu is the product of the doujin group stage-nana. It is the story of two young adults that have found themselves at a dead-end: both are terminally ill and have been transferred into a hospice to live out their remaining time. The story opens with narration from Setsumi, one of the protagonists, beginning in 1996 and continuing on for "many seasons." Then we get some background information from the never named second protagonist, henceforth referred to as "Unnamed," starting in 2004 and continuing to January of 2005, when he is admitted to the hospice and meets Setsumi. It is there that the real story begins and we get to know the life they have to look forward to. However, they come to decide that their choice of where to die, either at home or in the hospice, is not good enough. They take the third option and leave for someplace, any place, that isn't those two choices. The rest of the story is the journey of these two hospice escapees.

This visual novel leans deeply into the minimalist side of storytelling. The readers follow the story largely through the perspective of Unnamed, with some interludes told from the perspective of Setsumi at an unspecified time in the past. Few details are given; we aren't shown or told much at all about either of the protagonists, especially Setsumi. We aren't told what their illnesses are, just that they are terminal and that both have undergone chest surgery of some sort. In addition, the visual aspect of the visual novel is largely shots of the environment they find themselves in. We never see Unnamed, and the very few images of Setsumi we do get are often shown quickly before disappearing. Aside from a few shots, the images are all very wide and narrow, giving it a cinematic feel. The music is the only aspect that isn't explicitly minimalist, but it still errs to that side much of the time. Even so, the music is very beautiful and does its part very well in helping to carry the story. Finally, Narcissu is intentionally given to you with two versions: and unvoiced version and a voiced version, with the narrative within each tweaked to best fit the chosen style. As I recall, only Setsumi is voiced in the voiced version. The author of the story intended the readers to read the story both ways, because according to him, the focus of the story changes just from the inclusion or exclusion of voices. I have to agree with this assertion and his recommendation of reading it both ways.

Because of the minimalist style Narcissu takes, the presentation quality rides almost entirely on the journey the story takes us on. It is a relatively short journey; as far as visual novels go, this one is fairly short. It's entirely possible to knock it out in a single night. But in that short time we're treated to a very well-done, concise journey. Nothing ever seems irrelevant, and at no point are we lost. The music always suits the tone of the scenes, and even though we hardly ever see the characters (or rather, Setsumi), the images we do see do just as well at setting the tone. Perhaps better, even, given the writing style.

There are, of course, flaws. Every work has them. But the flaws here are hardly noticeable and truly nitpicky. There are areas where I felt it was good be could be improved, mostly in the transitions between scenes and some aspects of the characterization. However, the more I think about it, the more I feel as though these areas shouldn't be perfect. It is a minimalist style, after all, and since we're not privvy to many thoughts of the characters, it's hard to really pin down what type of people they even are.

Indeed, we're not given deep looks into the characters' thoughts or feelings, just glimpses of them as they continue moving. We as readers are not made to be participants in their emotional struggles, but are merely silent observers nearby. I got the sense, even, that the author specifically crafted the story so that we would not empathize well with the characters. "How are we, as 'healthy' people, supposed to connect with those condemned to death?" is perhaps the question the author asks. It isn't answered, either. We're merely given a window into which we watch and form our own conclusions about them. At most, we're told of a parallel between their story and that of another that partially gives Narcissu its name, and we're left to ponder on that point.

I won't spoil the ending, but I do have to mention that the way it was presented initially jarred me. It was sudden, almost matter-of-fact; something you might not expect given the subject matter. And yet, I quickly came to feel that it just fit. It fit the story told, the tone of the narrative, and the characters involved. I didn't expect it to happen, even though I should have; perhaps I actually did, but refused to acknowledge it until I saw it. Either way, it was powerful. It was powerful, but not in the tear-jerking way. It wasn't written to be that way, even though some may still react as such. Without explicitly saying so, with very few words, it tears right into you and asks of you a very fundamental question. It's a question that's personal to each reader with its own answer.

Narcissu presents the story, it presents the reality, and that's about it. It isn't even a philosophical story, in a sense, yet it manages to evoke such questions and feelings. It is a visual novel that is told in a way I hadn't yet encountered until now. It isn't a romance, mystery, or an adventure. It just is. That's the feeling I get from it, and it works.

Not everyone will get the same thing out of it. Some may not get anything out of it. That's the nature of Narcissu. I won't give it a rating for that reason; it's too dependant on the reader and where they come at it from, and giving it a rating feels out of place for a work like this. That said...

More than anything I've reviewed previous, this comes with my highest recommendation for reading. I've enjoyed many other stories more than I did Narcissu, but this one is simply different in the way it impacts you and really should be experienced at least once.



Narcissu -Side 2nd-
Narcissu -Side 2nd- (henceforth Narcissu 2) is the second story in the series. It is really a continuation of the first story, except that it is a prequel. It is another tale of two people, this time told from the perspective of a younger Setsumi, and in this tale, though she is ill, she has not yet progressed to terminal illness. During a visit to the hospital, she meets a woman named Himeko, a terminally ill yet energetic and cheerful resident of the hospice. Seemingly reluctant at first, Setsumi comes to befriend Himeko and continues to visit her at the hospice quite often during the summer months while grappling with the life issues she faces at home. She and Himeko must also face the future that is sure to come. The story forms the basis for the character of Setsumi in the original Narcissu.

Narcissu 2 is a much larger body of work compared to the original. Whereas the original could be read in a single night if one so chose, Narcissu 2 requires several more hours of reading to complete. It is closer to the length of the average visual novel, and brings with it a larger team producing content. It even has an opening animation, something the original lacked and is somewhat standard in visual novels. In fact, those of you familiar with some of Key's work, such as Clannad, will likely recognize the singer for the main theme played in the opening video: the group Eufonius, and their vocalist Riya, provided the main theme for this visual novel, just as they did for Clannad. Several more people lended their voices for the voiced version of the story in their spare time, as well. In short, Narcissu 2 feels more like a complete commercial visual novel than the original, despite it still being released for free.

The story is presented in much the same way as the original. The artwork continues to largely avoid showing any of the characters, the music continues to be beautiful, there are voiced and unvoiced versions of the story, and the story continues to follow the trend of not providing very many details. It is more refined though, what with the larger team producing the content. More characters have voices in this story; I can only remember one character that did not have a voice, and that character only had one or two lines. This contributes to expanding the cinematic feel that the original had a bit of, and that is brought even further by the fact that the story has an auto-advance function so that the readers don't have to do anything other than read and listen.

Much like the original, Narcissu 2 seems to attempt to do its best at preventing the reader from empathizing too much with any of the characters. However, this is hampered a bit by the fact that the story runs for much longer and more glimpses of their thoughts and feelings are provided to the reader. Because of this, Narcissu 2 ends up being a much more emotional story by the end, though it still is very muted compared to what it could have been if it had been in the hands of a producer such as, say, Key. The emotions are not the point of the story. The story is the point of the story, and in this case, unlike the original, the characters also end up being the point. Intentionally or not.

Setsumi's journey from the girl she is here to the girl she is in the original is played very well. At a glance, one might not realize that she's ever different from what she will be; the difference's are a bit subtle. However, they're magnified as the story advances and tie-ins to the original are brought into the mix. There are some inconsistencies between the stories, which I hear are fixed in the subsequent releases of the original, but despite this, the story does well to tie everything together.

Himeko's part of the story is different from Setsumi's. While Setsumi is at this point merely sick, Himeko is terminally ill. Despite this, she's cheerful and energetic. We're presented with a more traditional storyline with her in that we get to learn about Himeko just as Setsumi does. The choices she makes and has made, why she acts as she does, learning about these and more are what her story comprises of.

Characters beyond the main two are also given much more prominence in this story. In particular are Setsumi's mother and Himeko's sister. Having them interacting with the main characters gives them a much more filled out personality, one that is easier to empathize with. There is a third character that plays an important role, but I will not name that character for reasons of spoilers, despite it being pretty obvious early on.

Many of the themes present in Narcissu also show up in Narcissu 2, including making parallels between their stories and another, though the story given as a parallel is different this time. The connection is also made much more strongly and explicity, so we're left understanding it much more clearly. It is one of the central themes that is brought up over and over: we as people only have three choices of who we'll be. Some of us can choose who we want to be; some won't get that choice.

In the end, like the original, the ending is abrupt and to the point. In a way, it's even more impactful here than it was in the original, simply because we can connect with the characters here more, so having their stories end so quickly and without detail really drives the point home that the story is a statement of reality. Questions are asked again, and again, no real answers are given. It's where the ultimate power of this visual novel comes from. There aren't any frills given to you, so you have to make of it as you will.

Even with the greater length, the more complete character personalities, the more traditional storytelling, Narcissu 2 still feels like the original Narcissu. The tone remains muted and the narrative still feels intentionally somewhat impersonal. It still asks questions of the reader without actually asking anything. It's a worthy addition to the story of the original in that regard, and the fact that it corrects many of the minor flaws of the original simply makes it that much better. Both should be read, and you can even choose what order to read them in. I read the original and then Narcissu 2, but according to the author, he intends for Narcissu 2 to be read first and then the original after, now that both are out. That would significantly change the tone of both, knowing what the other contains and what the characters end up being or had been beforehand. The way both can cut into the reader would be significantly different, too. Reading them in one order or another has their advantages and disadvantages, but neither is the better way.

Narcissu 2 has a "better" story being told in the traditional storytelling sense, but that isn't nearly as important as the fact that both are an experience. Narcissu 2 impacts the reader just like the original. As such, I again give my highest recommendation for reading to this visual novel. You may not get anything out of it, or you could be impacted greatly by the messages it sends, but it should be experienced at least once regardless.

[HalcyonSpirit]

So apparently this is going to be a new anime at some point in the future. Don't know when, but it's on its way.

Any thoughts on the premise? I don't know if it's going to end up good or bad or what, but it's now on my radar, at least.



In other news, by now you'd have expected another anime review from me, perhaps, and I also expected that. Alas, despite having acquired several recently, I haven't actually watched anything new since reading Narcissu because I've put a self-imposed restriction on myself: I have to make actual goddamn progress on my goddamn novel before I'm allowed to watch any more anime. I've been in a writing rut recently, so yeah.

BUT... there's no such restriction on my for visual novels, since reading them is helpful for my writing. I've recently gotten a hold of Planetarian, so you may or may not see a review of that in the near future.

[Moomba]

Originally Posted by HalcyonSpirit

So apparently this is going to be a new anime at some point in the future. Don't know when, but it's on its way.

Any thoughts on the premise? I don't know if it's going to end up good or bad or what, but it's now on my radar, at least.

It's slated to air this Fall. It seems pretty interesting given that the entire premise is based around parodying the console war between Sega and Nintendo.

So for the fun part, how many of these parodies can you identify? Bear in mind only the top row is Sega and the rest are Nintendo.

[Flash Strife]

First and third top row are Sonic and Nights? 2nd row is Mario, Luigi, Link, Kirby and a Fire Emblem character? 3rd row is an Earthbound hero, Samus, Pikachu and someone else? That first row is the hardest to get. =/