In Defense of the Ace Attorney Anime

The Trial of   Gyakuten Saiban: Sono “Shinjitsu”, Igiari!, more commonly known as Ace Attorney is now in session. The prosecution has been ready since April of last year, cooking up a case for why this anime is a disgrace to the beloved video games.

However I, the defense, am also ready

I know the image is from Dual Destinies, before anyone says anything

The facts in the case are simple. Our anime on the slab came from a surprise smash hit amongst gamers: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (better known as Gyakuten Saiban in Japan). This puzzle/visual novel DS game told the story of the dorky yet righteous Phoenix Wright (Naruhodo Ryuichi), a rookie lawyer who comes back around and proves the most impossible of clients to be innocent, and finds the real culprit at the same time. The plot may have been banal, but it quickly won over fans with its over-the-top characters, high impact cases, and a game mechanic so famous it spawned its own meme several times over.

After several sequels and spinoffs, Capcom finally got around to making an anime in 2016. However, the reviews were anything but glowing.

The anger is real

In a beautiful review of why Phoenix’s fans are so devoted, Jacob Chapman describes the fan response as “subdued at best, outraged at worst.”

Fans were, according to a review on Anime News Network, “subdued at best.”  Fans expected their wacky, histrionic video game to be just as it was on the big screen, and did admittedly get the same cases almost line by line. However, they were hit with bottom-shelf animation and a speed-run of the story, and people were absolutely outraged. As such, the anime was labeled a failure.

After viewing parts of the series myself, I believe that a rash judgement has been made. After a review of the evidence I believe that the series can stand on its own merits not as a direct adaptation of the beloved games, but as a tribute that simply needed a second revision. This puppy isn’t DOA, not yet.

We aren’t down and out just yet

 

• Testimony 1: The Rushed Cases

 

The first claim to be tangled with is the cases, trimmed down so far they barely resemble their source material. However, could it be that these cuts were made for the better?

To elaborate, each game in the series usually contains four or five cases which break down to three trials and three days of investigation. The actual story is spread between those six days and the player solves all the adventure game type puzzles in between. You gather evidence, meet some kooky witnesses, tear them apart in court, than start again the next day. Angry viewers claim that the animators, due to a strict budget or to save time, stripped down the cases and rushed through them, taking away their impact.

I believe the question here is not what they took out, but what they decided to keep. They took out annoying side quests, extraneous gags, and pieces of evidence that had little to nothing to do with the case. They kept the core pieces of damning evidence, most of the characters, and the pieces of testimony that made the trials exciting. This may result in cases feeling rushed, but they feel focused, and provide a great preview of the games  to new fans.

Cause let’s face it: these leaps in logic didn’t make any more sense here than they do on TV

 

• Testimony 2: Stiff Animation and Lack of Energy

 

When it comes to the story of Ace Attorney, there were risks aplenty. How many people wanna read about a lawyer making his case in court that isn’t Law & Order?

Plenty, and that’s because of the hyperbolic but beloved cast of characters, and the game’s insane energy. Nothing in this game is very subtle, from it’s melodrama to its parodic characters, and it draws people in with its charming insanity. But this anime lacks the absolute hysteria of the games, feeling far more subdued than it should. The animation is stiff and slow, and the plot itself lacks the punch of excitement the games always delivered.

Ah, but where the madness has gone, a new challenger has arisen. Where this anime lacks in absolute chaos it has oddly delivered in emotional impact. There are genuine powerful moments between characters that will catch the average viewer off guard, and some delicious cheese at moments of heavy drama. I still prefer the madness in the video games, but I won’t abandon the show simply for going its own direction.

 

• Final Verdict

 

This particular court finds the defendant not guilty of killing a franchise, or of failing to represent it. It follows the story as faithfully as it can, and only seems to suffer from a lack of budget and poor adoption in places. The choppy cases can get on the nerve of the most adamant fan, but I still recommend giving it a try. Because I found myself smiling and waxing nostalgic the whole time, and I’m sure others will too.

Did you enjoy Ace Attorney? Or was it so bad you can’t believe how I’m defending it? Whatever your opinion, feel free to share in the comments below. And don’t forget to like and follow below for more content just like this.

 

 

The Otome Review: Halloween Otome

Twice now we’ve delved into the world of Otome,  and twice we’ve played RPG: The Romance Edition. But, sometimes, we aren’t interested in building stats and relationships. Sometimes you just want a good story you can slip into and forget all your worries.

Thankfully, Otome has that covered too. Welcome to the land of visual novels.

Visual novels, or VN’s for short, cover a broad range of games that immerse the player in an interactive story, where their choices shape the outcome of the plot. The goal is to make the correct choices, plot wise, to get the ending you like best. This kind of game put me off for the longest time, due to the lack of gameplay, but one particular title changed my mind. Created by the Tumblr duo Synokoria, Halloween Otome made me reconsider the world of visual novel, all thanks to some real good writing.

 

• Plot

 

Plot is a no-brainer in this situation, as you don’t call yourself a “novel” without a long, complicated story behind you.

You are Emma Cee, or whatever less forgettable name you decide to enter. You’re an everyday girl with a voracious appetite, a playful personality, and a wicked sense of humor. But, more importantly, you’re the lucky girl who just won a free trip to the mansion of the famous and eccentric actor, Erik Valdemar, for his Get-Away Halloween Spectacular (trademark) You’ll be surrounded by celebrities for a full ten days, you lucky scamp.

Cropped in an attempt text readable…

What’s a literal poor girl to do? Well this girl finds herself an archer costume and heads on out. And, as it turns out, this get-away is a contest, and you have three enigmatic partners: Mr. Bandages, a cranky and competitive model; The Count, a charming actor with a very odd sense of humor; and Mr. Wolf, a shy, easily-frightened singer who feels like an outsider. It’s up to you to make the right choices to both win the games and win one of these strapping gentlemen’s hearts. But will you succeed, or will you leave with a bitter taste in your mouth?

As mentioned, the game-play on visual novels is not very extensive. Players are given a story to read, snippet by snippet, with illustration accompaniment. The scenes unfold in the form of a large, hand-drawn background, with character portraits that change expressions and positions accordingly. Every so often you’ll be asked to make a choice that affects the story, and each choice is final. But, thankfully, most also feature a save option, meaning you can reload and try again if you make a mistake.

Each choice you make in game affects your “affection” level with one of the three eligible men, and affects how well you do in the competition. You have a dossier of their skills at all times, and it’s up to you to figure out which man is right for each task.  Make enough right choices and you’ll get what’s called a CG, or Character Graphic, which provides a more detailed illustration of what’s going on. Make enough right choices and you’ll get your man in what’s called The Good Ending. Fail to raise their affection levels, and you’ll walk away all alone.

But Halloween Otome features one more thing that made it interesting to me. Since the story revolves around a Halloween competition, you occasionally get to play a minigame. You solve a maze, a puzzle, or some other obstacle, and earn points for solving it quickly. The points are actively tallied at the end of the story, but the story only changes minimally if you win or lose.  But if you’d rather not mess with the minigames, you can always turn them off at the start of the game. But this leaves your fate in the hands of random chance, something I do not recommend.

 

• Art

We finally get ourselves into an Otome with some professional-grade Art, and the results are fantastic.

Synokoria take a long time to produce their games, and I attribute part of it to the absolutely gorgeous artwork they have. The anime style is crisp and sharp, with lavish backgrounds and very distinct looking characters. The CG’s range from chibi to warm and inviting, making this an absolute feast for the eyes. If you can handle everything being super bishi and shojo-esque, you’ll be all aboard.

• Love Interests (and my suggested playthrough order)

Mr. Bandages

Once again my luck has me testing the ring with the biggest jerk of the game, and this one will test your patience. Mr. Bandages, the photographer turned model, is cranky, conceited, arrogant, and absolutely worthless if forced to survive out in the wild on his own. But, if you’re not laughing at how easily he gets lost, you’ll find yourself enthralled by his oddly sweet attempts at flirting and his protective nature. He’s rough, real rough, but may just need someone to bring him back down to earth for a little while.

 

 

Mr. Wolf

But maybe you’re not into men who are clawing and argumentative. Then the sweet and adorable Mr. Wolf may be more your cup of tea. Almost constantly blushing and afraid of making people upset, this up and coming singer feels like he’s constantly lost under makeup and wigs, and feels he’s nothing special. But if the right girl gives him something to fight for, he’ll find his courage.

 

 

 

The Count

My personal favorite of the group turned out to be the last one I tried, and it was well worth the wait. Count is the traditional charmer, constantly dropping Casanova style lines that ring hollow when you realize one thing:  he says it to all women. Traditionally, the player has to push through it and draw the real person out, but Emma has a third problem on her plate: What happens when her secret comes out? Would he make it work? Could they make it work? But it turns out The Count is hiding a secret of his own, one that I really should have seen coming in the long run.  

• Final Verdict

With beautiful music, great art, and well written characters, Halloween Otome is a great gateway VN for anyone on the fence about the genre. The added bonus of the Halloween competition, plus the engrossing story, create a fun experience with easy replay value.  It’s a nice, fine balance between game and story, one which I still remember fondly to this day.

Next Time: Heartstring Bugs

Was this your gateway to the world of Otome? Feel free to comment below! And don’t forget to like and follow for more just like this.

 

 

What Makes a Good Anime Villain

As writer, I believe there is one character far more important than the rest: the villain.

 It’s their job to drop that first pebble in the water, causing a fun series of events to ripple out. If there were no Iago to terrorize Othello, the war hero would have lived a happy life that we’d never read.  When you get down to brass tacks, there really is no story without an antagonist… or, at least, there isn’t a very interesting story.

Beyond actually having a villain, having an interesting fiend is just as essential; You wouldn’t see as many comic sales if Batman chased regular robbers all day. Nowhere is this more true than in anime, where weird and interesting have a vice-grip. In fact, I dare say anime fashions some of the most heinous, horrifying villains I’ve ever seen: Father from Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, The Millennium Earl in D. Gray Man, and others. 

Why yes, I did decimate half of London and start a Vampire Apocalypse, why do you ask?

But what makes a good Villain in anime? Because for every master assassin, or every genius mad-scientist, there’s the sad bad-guy who’s better left forgotten. So, for where they fail, how do others succeed? As always, I have a theory.

• Style Is God

Let’s put on the Captain Obvious cape for a sec and make this known:  Anime is a Visual Medium. Second universal truth: a stylish villain is always a win.

Humans judge by apperance, whether they like it or not, and will gravitate towards a character that’s well dressed. Even if that character is slicing heads and throats right and left, we will follow if they know their way around a wardrobe. Even better, if the character sports a ludicrous monkey-style, I.E like they get dressed in a clothing hurricane, we’ll follow and remember that character much more. and it makes us gravitate towards characters who sport more ridiculous styles than others.  Because the more flamboyant and frilly, the more people will hunker down and rubberneck like highway drivers at the scene of an accident.

 

Now enter Anime, the visual medium mentioned. Enter second Mr. Solf J. Kimblee  from Fullmetal Alchemist (above) and Jango from One Piece(To your right).One sports a crisp, sharp look while causing murderous explosions; the other looks like a hellish combination of Micheal Jackson and Ozzy Osborn. Both are very different specimens but both make an positive impression in your brain.

 

 

• It’s Nice When You Enjoy Work

There’s something rather charming about a bad man who loves his job.

If I may venture outside of anime for a brief moment, one of my favorite baddies is a fellow we call The Joker, the Clown Prince of Crime. The Joker has gone through many incarnations, but one thing tends to remain true for all of them: he adores the work he does. Because hey, if he doesn’t get a kick out of being evil, why should anyone else?

Steering back to anime, the best villains are villains who love the terrible things they do. There’s something to be said about the stone-faced  baddie who commits mass-murder with a deep-cut frown, but there’s just something fun about watching the Millennium Earl dance and sing while forcing an Akuma into the skin of their loved ones. When the villain is having a good time, everyone else will follow suit.

Let’s REALLY put a smile on your face

• Challenge Me, Sempai!

The point of any antagonist is to challenge the main fellow, in one way or another. This can be a simple challenge of skill, a la a sports rival, or a moral challenge, where the line between good and evil is all blurry. Either way, there is no story without the villain there to act as an obstacle, allowing the protagonist to strut his/her stuff for a captive audience.

 

Anime has to accomplish this too, but they have extra baggage to go with it. Most  Shounen needs to carry viewers for well over three seasons, keeping the attention span of a youngish audience for years. Thus, big baddies that make earth-shattering challenges are their bread and butter. Best example comes from Dragon Ball Z, the Grandfather of Long-Running Shounen anime, which produced about three large baddies in total, not counting GT (I.E Freeza, Cell, and Majin Buu).  These three carried the show, allowing writers to build them up before knocking them down in the most glorious of ways.

• I Wanna Hate You for What You Do, Not Who You Are

A terrible villain, terribly written that is, will often be the source of abounding hatred. A villain who does terrible things, but written as best as the writer can, will be hated and loved all the same time.

Since the antagonist is often the source of attention in any story, a figure to be seen many times over, it’s essential that the audience be one of two things: afraid of them, or in love with them. An audience who hates your character, hates the very ground they walk on, will not be as excited to see them. Sherlock would fall flat if the fans hated Moriarty, and Avatar: The Last Airbender would be a thing long forgotten if Ozai or Azula were met with terrible press.

This, at the end of the day, is the key to making a villain in anime who will be remembered, feared, and loved all at once. None to me make this more obvious than the terror that is Envy from Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, a cold monstrous creature who will murder without question and gleefully use humanity as a series of test subjects. Whilst I will always feel anger at the sight of Envy, I feel begrudging respect for his well-written character, and that makes him one of the best written villains anime has ever had.

 

What do you think makes a great anime baddy? Leave a comment below, and like and follow for more material just like this.

Otome Review: My Cup of Tea

Before we begin today’s dive into synthetic social life, I’d like to take a moment to commemorate this day. Because, this Wednesday, we officially reach the fiftieth post on the Otaku-don. As proud as I am for making it this far, I wouldn’t have been able to do it without you guys. We are small but we are mighty, so thank you for giving an ear to this over-excitable nerd. This celebration is for you.

You guys are the best, all my love, more than I can ever give.

Now, onto today’s topic: Kathleen Lieu, better known as Nummyz on Deviantart. While Pacthesis was my gateway drug into Otome games, Nummyz was my steady dealer for quite a few years.  I loved her quirky but cute aesthetic, and her easy to play titles made for an addictive experience.  Today we start with her very first title, which I discovered a few years after I’d been a fan. My Cup of Tea is her weakest title, as most first attempts are, but it still set the stage for the stronger pieces that I loved so much. 

• Plot

When it came to her later games, Nummyz always boasted a unique story with her shojo-esque asthetic.  As such, My Cup of Tea feels like your standard shojo anime, but doesn’t really make an effort to go above and beyond.

You are Sara Biea Affen, a silly teenage girl who’s awkward, cute, and obsessed with chickens. Sara’s goal is simple:  land herself a boyfriend by the end of the summer, I.E, 30 days from now. It’s up to us, the dedicated player, to see how her Summer of Fun unfolds,  be it everlasting love or perpetual loneliness.

And sadly, that’s all we get. We do feature characters from Kathleen’s other original stories (including Jenna Moonlight, who would get her own game later) but, if you never read these stories, then the plot is gonna feel sparse and lacking.

• Gameplay

Like our last entry, the goal here is to get one of our in-world contestants to fall madly in love with you by summer’s end, or 30 days from now. You have 50 HP to spend on either talking with your crush or working your part time job at the Creamery with your hot coworker, who’s also a romantic prospect.  If you’d rather not progress the plot, your home base also features a tiny dress-up game where you pick Sara’s clothes, call her friends on a novelty chicken phone, or keep track of gifts your date gets you. No matter what you do it’s gonna make the music start, stop and loop at the weirdest places, so I recommend muting the tab.

Onto the meat of the game. To win your crush, find them at one of three possible spots and get to talking their ear off, spending ten HP per chat. Unlike Festival Days this gets monotonous real fast, as your date will repeat the same phrase several times until they reach a new level of affection for you. But oh you better pay attention to what they say because, once you reach 200 points, you can try to “Impress” them by recalling details about themselves they’ve mentioned.

Onto the meat of the game. To win your crush, find them at one of three possible spots and get to talking their ear off, spending ten HP per chat. Unlike Festival Days this gets monotonous real fast, as your date will repeat the same phrase several times until they reach a new level of affection for you. But oh you better pay attention to what they say because, once you reach 200 points, you can try to “Impress” them by recalling details about themselves they’ve mentioned.

But if you answer the questions correctly, and give them two of three possible gifts, you earn the option to go on a date with them. You can go to the mall, where your date will buy you something and possibly make out with you, or you can go to their second location, where you’ll get a rather stilted romantic scene that will end in a Big Ole’ Kiss.

 

Now I mentioned before that Nummyz makes her games easy to play, and fairly easy to get the best ending, but here I found myself at a lost. I did all of the above, earning some pretty high relationship numbers, but wasn’t able to get the best ending. I have a guess that it requires getting the numbers up to 1500 or more, but certain mechanics take up whole days to get done, making that number almost impossible to reach.  Between working to afford the expensive gifts and taking a whole day for the date, I just didn’t have enough time.

• Art

Kathleen takes pride in the fact that this was drawn with a free-hand mouse. And while this does make the art suffer slightly, it somehow fits the mood of the game as a whole.

The free-form art feels loopy and unstructured, and I have a distinct feeling that I could throw water on it and wash it all away. That being said, the silly, cartoony feel of the art fits with Nummyz’s self-aware, self-deprecating style of sim. It’s trippy and innocent in its own right, and I think it works well for a younger audience.

Impressively, this comical and wacky style does not translate to the date-able characters, who look decent for free-form mouse. They may all be sporting the spiky bishi-hair, but they look attractive enough to be desirable targets.

• Our Prey

Liger Trey

Once again I find myself starting with the cold jerk, but this time I am not sticking around for seconds. Liger Trey, besides being the only sod lucky enough to get a last name, is an odd specimen. He claims his sexuality is “ambiguous” while occasionally dressing in feminine clothing. All the while, he calls you a “stalker” and insults your appearance, eventually caving via constant exposure. For all Liger’s pretty features and sexual ambiguity, I can’t find anything to balance out Liger’s uptight demeanor.

Kyle

Kyle is our blond surfer boy, with little else to add to the party. He’s fun and easy going, with a bland sense of humor and those beautiful blue eyes. Admittedly, Kyle is funny and likes to have a good time, but I didn’t have much else to peg down when I played his route. Thus, I recommend him for players who haven’t played titles like this before. He’s pretty easy (heh) and provides an excellent tutorial.

 

 

 

Ian

Just looking at Ian, and then interacting with him a bit, I sense he was supposed to be the “give-no-fuck, cool” type, with the half-lidded eyes, punkish jewelry, and lazy smile. That being said, the only thing about Ian that struck me was how shy he was, and how blase his dialogue sounded.  While one could argue that Ian was the best looking of the boys, he certainly isn’t any more unique.

 

 

 

Sasha

Our surprise/secret date is a lesbian, making this our first same-sex option on this series. I’m not a lesbian myself but I played Sasha’s route  and, surprisingly, found her to be the most well written. She has a personality that’s pretty well defined: relaxed, assertive, and protective. It’s all very subtly written but it’s more than we get from the others. I also may have just been a big fan of her flashing eyes… they speak to me, heh.

 

• Final Verdict

My Cup Of Tea ultimately feels like a rough draft. It has the bones of a good story, the bones that can make great structure for a more fleshed-out trail, but ultimately fails to deliver on the fine details. It’s a simple and clean dating sim with silly images, cute dates and a rather repetitive sense of game-play. It’s clear that it hasn’t aged well, but further titles also make it clear that Kathleen sharpened her skills. This game may have fallen just short, but it became the stepping stool to much greater things.

Was My Cup of Tea your cup of sweets, or was it not the right flavor? Feel free to share in the comments below. Don’t forget to like and follow for more content like this.

Next time: Halloween Otome

Top 5 Craziest Anime Hair Styles

Hair is something I was forced to learn a lot about. It’s also something infamous when it comes to anime.

Make no mistake about it, bloggers that came before me have made it clear that anime takes frequent liberties with the laws of physics, genetics, and chemistry when it comes to hair. The Rule of Cool has a iron-clad grip on the medium, and the top of character heads are no exception. The results that follow range from poke-your-eye-out to “Do you have wire in there, or are you an octopus?”

So we’d be remiss not to take a moment and to admire the pinnacles of follicle insanity within Anime. There’s always the obvious options, be it Goku’s Hair-Spikes or Yugi’s tri-colored tresses, but I think there are five other specimens whose Hair Magic deserve some real admiration… and possibly some scrutiny.

This is my Top 5 Craziest Anime Hairdues. As always, this is just my list, feel free to add your own in the comments.

Prepare to be dethroned, boys

5. Jessie – Pokemon

You can look at it from any angle you want, you’ll see the exact same thing, literally.

Jessie was the ultra aggressive half of Team Rocket, the perpetual failing villains of Pokemon:Indigo League.  She came up with most of the plans, pushed her teammates to do more ridiculous stunts, and genuinely abused them should they incur her wrath. But no one remembers Jessie for her energy, oh no: they remember that gigantic hair of hers.

Not only does this hair remain stationary no matter how she moves, but you see that gigantic curl in the back no matter what angle you’re looking from. This mean this baby has to be stretching out at least one foot from her head, which can’t be practical. The only time I ever saw this red hook ever move was when everybody was barreling down the tracks of a semi-abandoned roller coaster.

4. Kenpachi – Bleach

If you’re gone enough, this one will make noise. No joke.

So Kenpachi was one of the few characters from Bleach I was able to remember, cause the dude stands out pretty bad. Kenpachi is a Shinigami, meaning he fights bad souls and allows good ones to pass one, and currently stands as Captain of the 11th Division. The show established him as a bad-ass pretty early on, and nothing cements that further like hair that puts Goku to shame.

The hair in question reminds me of an explosion, what with the flat back and spikes pointing in various directions. But if these sharp spikes weren’t enough – and you weren’t already confused by the zig-zag hairline – there are little bells at the end of his hair that are only visible to certain people. That fact keeps me from taking Kenpachi too seriously, but such things quickly dissolve when you watch him fight.

3. Franky – One Piece

So what’s weirder than hair that refuses to move and perpetually defies gravity? Try Hair that never stays the same shape.

Cyborg Franky is a later addition to Luffy’s crew, one of many oddball misfits to be adopted into The Straw Hat Circle of Dreams.  His body is capable of shifting and changing in a variety of ways. So, of course, why not his hair?

This coif changes frequently, going from standard hairstyles (buzz-cut, pompadour, pigtails) to the downright crazy: a fabulous set of wings, spikes, and the canon you see above.  It takes a lot to stand out in One Piece’s crazy-character-generator, but Oda-Sensei once again proves that nothing is impossible.

2. Bobobo-Bo Bo-BoBo – BoBoBo-Bo Bo-BoBoBo

It should always feel like cheating to include this one. Nothing in this show is solid fact, at all. It’s all subject to random change, and Bo’s afro is no exception. But even with the show’s strange aesthetic… it’s all just too weird to let go of.

Bo lives in a random-world where soldiers are going around and stripping people of their hair (name subject to change via translation). Our titular character strikes back using his nose-hair (which he controls like whips) and the large blond afro you see now. But if you think that’s weird enough, sit down, cause it’s gonna get better.

To start, that fro is made from 24 karat gold. It also routinely gets split into two pieces and anything and everything under the sun gets yanked out of it. So far we’ve had an entire student body, two squirrels, a father duck, side-kick Don Patch, and other random sundry. I never thought I’d see a Mary Poppins bag on a man’s head, but anime continues to surprise me.

1. Sunny – Toriko

I will come clean;  I have not seen this anime. However, after doing some research, and watching a clip, I believe I have the perfect candidate for our # 1 spot.

The show’s wiki describes Sunny (or Sanni) as “one of the “Four Heavenly Kings” (四天王 Shitennou) and Rin‘s older brother.”” He sports what the show calls a “sensor power” which comes from the super-sensitive strands of his hair. He can feel things through hair-feels that can stretch for miles, which each strand color-coordinated.

The hair is even capable of changing Super Saiyan Gold as his “Satan Hair” power, which floats around him like golden tentacles. After watching this guy in action, I can safely say Sunny’s hair is anime incarnate: weird, wild, and just plain bizarre. 

 

What was the craziest anime hair you ever saw? Feel free to leave a comment below. Don’t forget to like and follow for more content like this.

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The Otome Review: Festival Days

I have a guilty secret, besides being obsessed with Japanese cartoons. I am also thoroughly engrossed in, and a huge fan of, Otome Dating Sims.

Completing the stereotypical circle of the introvert-shut-in, I’ve had a fascination with Otome games since I was at least thirteen. After thoroughly ripping into the likes of Harvest Moon and Rune Factory I was looking for something around the same lines and discovered the joy that was Dating Sim games. Those led me to finally try Visual Novels and other titles under the frilly Otome Umbrella, and now they’re a normal part of my game library. Everyone always takes the time to tell me the games are “weird” but it’s hard to hear them over my Romantic Choose-Your-Own Adventure.

This series will take the time to review Otome-style games. The Saturday posts will still be happening though, never you mind. But, today, we’re starting with a name that should ring a bell to any like myself: Pacthesis.

Also known as “Amy” on Deviantart, Pacthesis has built a name for herself by making different Dating Sim games for free both there and on Newgrounds. They have a specific feel and art style, and always play about the same way. But she and one other woman were my gateway drugs to this feel-good insanity, so it only fits we climb back up the rabbit hole and start at the very beginning. 

I’m excited if you can’t tell

Because you never forget your first time,  we start with her very first title: Festival Days. 

• Plot

Welcome to Cigam, or a tiny square map of it. You are Mayu, the innocuous protagonist who loves to cook and treats everyone with the same sweet sincerity. Your school is holding a big cultural festival at the end of the month, and your friend suggests getting yourself a boyfriend.

Now Yumi of course says this is just a rumor, and that the only deciding factor in a happy life is compatibility and luck, but Video Game logic knows better. You are now charged with the task of getting Mayu a partner and having the best relationship possible by the end of the month. It’s the most simple and basic of scenarios for these kinds of games, making it neither outstanding nor bad. It just is what it is.

 

• Gameplay

 

I like to think this first title was Pacthesis testing the waters, stretching the fingers and seeing where it took her I say this because the gameplay mechanics, mechanics that will carry into her other titles, feel very introductory. The simple, easy to use mechanics lack much in refined detail or polish, but they work great as a testing ground for how people play.

Lots of screenshots ahead. Pardon the awful quality, I only have MS Paint.

You get a simple map of “Cigam”, your sleepy city with the never-ending piano tune and the five buildings to visit. You’ve got fifty stamina points to spend however you see fit, and 30 days to make the magic happen or face eternal loneliness. Here you can work to earn money, chat with useless NPC’s, or try to solve some of the hidden puzzles located about. You also have a home base/home screen, conveniently located at the only house on the map. Here you can sleep to move onto the next day, look at the items you have, or check your stats. You also have a kitchen where you can make Bento Lunch Boxes or Cookies, which will raise your skill stat.

Your romantic quarries are hiding on the map. To ensure -er, win – their love you must track’em down and talk with them, using ten stamina per conversation. Each time you chat them up you have two replies to choose from. One will set their heart all aflutter, earning you relationship stats; the other will make them wonder if the exit is nearby. But worry not, my duckies. If your foot finds its way into your mouth, another chat will give you the chance to pick the right option instead. But you don’t just get to talk to your crush, oh no: you can also give them gifts. In fact, when you see the blue text pop up, that’s a prompt for you to give them a specific gift.

Once you’ve gifted and chatted them high enough, you get to go on a date. On this date you have to build up a “mood” meter, which is done through talking, giving gifts, and taking a picture. This whole mechanic threw me off the first time I ever tried, as I never brought a gift to my dates, but one failed date was all it took for me to get in gear. Now each person has specific gifts they like, which you have to learn through trial and error. My advice: stick to the homemade food and soda from the vending machine. It’s cheap and your date won’t mind in the slightest.

Now I won’t spoil where the story goes but, needless to say, if you earn about 1000 relationship points and deplete their dialogue tree, you’ll get the best ending, earning yourself a free rom-com moment and a sense of achievement.

 

• Art

 

As previously stated, this Pacethis’s first game. As such, these are her early drawings with flash animation, and they have not aged very well. The designs are so lackluster when you compare them to her newer work, which has so much more shading and detail to it. But I’m not here to scold an artist for her first work being her worst.

So, putting them in a vacuum, the art here is not bad for a free online game, especially an Otome title. The male designs are just cartoony enough to be interesting but just realistic enough to be arguably good looking. With some bright and cheery colors splashed in as well, you’ll find the game easy on the eyes at the very least.

 

• The Prey – er, Love Interests

All images from Pactheis’s website.

 

• Akito

 

I decided that if I was really going back to the old days, it only fit that I begin with my very first target: the nice, friendly Cafe worker, Akito who…. Turned out pretty bland on this retrospective, I must say. Not that any of these choices will be all that complex, since this was a first try, but Akito seemed like he didn’t have much going for him at all. I suppose if you’re a fan of the easily approachable type, he’ll be right up your alley.

 

• Kaoru

 

As per usual in my plays of these games, after I complete the path I like best, I tend to go through the others in a way I deem to be the “proper order.” In this case I just went in a circle and went with the fellow closest to our house, Kaoru the Otaku. He’s the nerd, meaning he likes Video game and MP3s and makes comments about how he’d rather be playing video games than being at school. He’s rough and tumble and likes to call himself a rebel, though the closest thing you’ll see is him punching the snot out of the Secret Option. Even so, I’m not against the Nerd-Love Fantasy, so I believe this one is solid.

 

• Mako

 

He’s the athlete with an ex. But don’t worry, no home-wreckers here.

Arguably, Mako is the “better looking” of the simple flash drawings, what with the long hair and the big green eyes. That being said, his strongest character trait is a downright obsessive love of soccer and the fact that it’s causing tension between him and his current girlfriend, Hana. Because this game revolves around getting a date, that relationship is, of course, bound to crash and burn. Thanks to some good writing, you are not part of the crash but you are part of the recovery; the girlfriend even gets a redemption in the end. Otherwise, Mako is a very down to earth fellow who’s easy to talk to, so he’s another solid option.

 

• Secret Option: Ren

 

Ah, the Moody Jerk, my new standard first choice. Says a chunk about me, I’m sure. Ren is inconsiderate and cold for the beginning of the game, and it’s up to sweet little Mayu to invade his personal space and make him a nice person with the power of love.

Joking aside, Ren is a great character idea that just needs a little polish. He’s what they call the “secret” or “hidden” option, the one that isn’t apparent and has to be ‘unlocked’. In Ren’s case, you have to go on Kaoru’s path for awhile until you see the blue text about him forgetting a lunchbox. Make one and give it to him and you’ll unlock a cutscene which unlocks Ren.

 

• Final Verdict

 

Tracking this game down and playing it again was more fun than I thought it would be. I expected the game to be lacking, given the better titles Pacthesis has now, but something about this game still held up. While it’s clear the game hasn’t aged well while other titles in her library are far better, I still had a good time.

And, at the end of the day, that’s all that matters.

So my final thought on Festival Days is a rosy-tinted one. It’s a game that feels like the first draft of an Otome, with the bare-minimum personalities on the guys and it’s simple mechanics, but it holds a special place in my heart. It’s a good game, despite the wrinkles, and a great place to start if you’re unsure about Otome in general. I recommend anyone curious give it a try, and see where the path takes you.

 

 

Next Time:

My Cup of Tea – Dating Sim

 

Anime New Year’s Requests

Happy new year my Otaku-Darlings… one week late.

Making plans for the new year after one week of 2017 feels a little like insider trading on the stock-market, but real life occasionally leaves time to sit down and be all deep and self-reflective. Either that, or I desperately wanted to talk about how great Ouran Host Club was and forgot. It’s a fail either way, but we shan’t fail anymore.

Back on track I go

It’s time to sit back and think about what we hope to see in 2017. As reexamine what was popular, both this year and years prior, gives me an idea of what I’d like to see this 2017.  While I can’t speak for all of us (and I pity the person who tries) I can offer what I would love to see.

• Focus Always on the Plot

Attack on Titan did really well this year. AOT was an oddball series that really hit home with both anime fans and non-anime fans. It’s a brutal, graphic story that would have been shut down several years ago, but now it thrives, why?

Because the writing is just that good; the setting is exciting; the action is fast-past, all that good stuff. But above all, because the plot betwixt all of this is gripping and people wanna see how it ends. The biggest mistake of new anime, which causes far too many of them to fall into decay, is the tendency to put all the pieces together with nothing in between to bind them. But if you can find that plot-glue, you can put just about anything on screen.

Case in point, HBO runs a series where rape is common and people drop like flies. All the time. Because if you want shock-value, you need that plot to be near perfect.

Make it good, and I’ll watch the whole world burn

• We’ve Seen It All. Be Aware of That.

Two  series that took off  in s years past were One Punch Man(2015) and Puella Magi Madoka Magica(2011).  The former made people laugh, the latter made them cry, but they were effective at one thing: Lampshading their respective genres.

Your audience has now seen a lot of anime, An understatement that should you scare creators.  Thanks to the wide canyon of knowledge that is the internet, anime is now an overflowing commodity.  The audience now has  a visual library to rival the local branch in town; thus they know when you start repeating yourself. Hence, when series like One Punch Man points out some stereotypes, mercilessly mocks them, then presents them up to eleven, it’s gonna resonate. Resonance will equal views.

Beyond the monetary incentive, shows like this really flex the creative muscles and lead to plots that are interesting and experimental. By doing more Fourth-Wall Breaking series (non-obviously we hope) we’ll see more crazy stories that will leave us in tears, laughter or fist-pumping.

• Fantasy Anime Is a Great Crowd-Pleaser

When it comes to people who watch anime but insist that they “aren’t really into anime” I often find they’re watching some kind of Fantasy anime: Attack on Titan, Fullmetal Alchemist, Fairy Tail  and the like. In short, the non-fan fans will gravitate towards things that are more universal than traditional, and that’s a market that needs to be tapped more.

Fantasy is the key to getting more viewers because it reaches far more people than your traditional Shojo, Shounen, or even Harem anime. Every culture can appreciate the fantastical, the strange, and the downright amazing. It reaches all types equally, and the added cartoon animation makes it harder to limit the fantastical scope strictly to the imagination.

Take from the show with literal plot armor

 

• We Love you, Love us Back

I know, and I think we all should just admit it, we are a finicky lot. We’re a difficult to please lot and making something for us is never an easy task. That said, all we ask of you, really, is for the art we love to love us back: give us the effort, plain and simple.

Anime is a saturated medium with so many series littering it just for the sake of TV time. We don’t want something to fill the empty air, we just want a story that had real thought nestled in the bones. If you can do that, you’ll have the fan legions that legends speak of. It’s a new year, so go out there and make something exciting.

Do you have any new year requests? Feel free to share in the comments below. And, if you like what you see, tune in Wednesday for a new post every week as well: The Otome Review,  where we review romance games for girls. And don’t forget to like and follow for more content just like this.