Alright, might just as well replay it, because what else am I gonna do?

Well, if you are dead set on that I would not stop you either, but if you are in need of new content to read this is the right thread for you~
If you are interested in reading a yuri related VN that is on the list or if you have any specifications for what you would like to read I can assist. There must be something you haven't tried yet, right?

Well, I'm quite voracious when it comes to yuri VNs, but I'm also picky and quite snobbish, lol. Which means that if there's a VN on this list, then it means that I either read it already or not really planning to because it doesn't capture me with its premise and/or aesthetics (visuals plus narrative themes plus music plus the general, overall vibe that a certain VN or game gives off through its marketing materials).

I'm done with Kudan no Folklore. It's not FLOWERS by any means, not even close: the visuals are of high quality, but I don't really care for the clear-cut bishojo designs of the cast and the overall aesthetic of the VN. OST is just okay-ish, nothing to write home about. But Hatsumi is always, well, Hatsumi , even if the novel, as so many other "pretty good VNs", clearly lacks a strong, prominent directorial backbone behind it (which FLOWERS is graced with by Sugina-sensei's talents and skills). As per usual, her writing is charismatic, witty and, as always, full of relatable or quirky cultural references that highlight characters' interests or parts of their personalities.

Also, I have to scream about THIS (big spoilers for the true ending of Flowers -Le volume sur automne-, Automne drama CD and a very mild spoiler for one of KnF's endings):

THERE IS AN INDIRECT REFERENCE TO YUZURIHA IN ONE OF THE ENDINGS OF KUDAN NO FOLKLORE. Like, one of the characters casually mentions that she met a beautiful, dashing girl, who has silver hair and apparently is a photographer. Given the KnF's location, which is a coastal town, this makes me want to scream even louder.
I swear to god, Hatsumi, why are you doing this to us?!

Speaking of FLOWERS, I almost forgot to mention that the main composer for Aoishiro is also MANYO and OP/ED are also done by Shimotsuki Haruka (but in a duet with Rita, who is another extremely prolific singer and composer on the Japanese VN/gaming scene). tl;dr: the OST there is pretty great, even gorgeous sometimes.

last edited at Feb 11, 2022 3:27AM

Arcane · Unturning

Been a fan of this album for 5 years now, what an intelligently composed and at the same time incredibly humane, compassionate prog record. But holy crap if I'm actually stupid. It finally occured to me that the "bury hate with the coward" line in the lyrics corresponds to the "two graves" theme woven into the first half of the lyrics. That's what they are for in the end, not for the lyrical protagonist and the 'brother' character.

Also, the way line "I will dig two graves for us" and the rest of the chorus being delivered in this gentle, caressing tone gives me shivers every single time.

last edited at Feb 3, 2022 10:35PM

It doesn't deliver on the Yuri? I knew it was a plot focused VN, but with all the different heroines I thought romance would still play a major role. It would be a shame if such a high production game lacked in the most important (haha) aspect, but sometimes a good story makes up for a lacking romance.

Oh, no, I was talking about the true route/ending specifically. And maybe I'm just misremembering things. Do keep in mind that I'd played it more than a decade ago.

Alright, might just as well replay it, because what else am I gonna do? Wait for Fuyu-hen in lethargic idleness? Ah yes, sure, why not, I love to suffer so, so much, haha, , ahahahhahahahaahahhahahhahhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!

Hmm, I've been interested in playing Aoishiro for a while, but heard it is a bit bloated. I wonder if there is anybody who played it before and can recommend it to me? The sheer amount of routes and bad endings seems daunting, but also intriguing.

Wouldn't say it's bloated in terms of its length, but some of the routes and endings are...just okay. I had played it 12 years ago, so I don't remember much beyond the fact that the main route/true ending felt satisfying to me (but don't expect much in terms of yuri).
Otherwise, it's a good VN with really high production values, nicely written cast and engaging mystery. As a nice bonus, one of the main characters is voiced by Yuna Yatsushiro, uh, pardon, our queen and savior Kei Mizusawa.

last edited at Feb 2, 2022 11:33PM

Attention all FLOWERS fans! I present to you...uh, well, this.

This is kinda hilarious. I mean, the pejorative itself is not, obviously. But I simply can't stop imagining Chidori moving like an actual plover bird in her leotard and ballet footwear.

But, seriously, Hatsumi, please don’t tell me that it was something unintentional, lol. I wouldn’t believe that for a second, especially considering that ‘bird talk’ between Chidori and Yuzuriha in the yellow route of Automne, which already contains a few rather gloomy references to the culture of homosexuality, starting from mentioning Yukio Mishima's most recognizable work multiple times and ending on quoting the ever famous “queerness doesn’t matter” line from “Oz”, which directly alludes to the “friend of Dorothy” euphemism.

upd: I reckon that it's probably better to create a separate forum thread for discussing the series as a whole (and for hibernating until the western release of Hiver will eventually come out) before I will eventually flood this topic with my obsessive comments.

last edited at Jan 23, 2022 1:38AM

As for the prediction, well, I cannot say. All I know and this is a spoiler within this spoiler field, is that I saw a picture of Mayuri and Suoh's sprites on the same screen, with Mayuri wearing the distinct winter uniform. So whatever truly transpired, it is all but a given that she will at least return to the school somehow.

Yes, I'm kinda glad that I had "spoiled" myself about that by riskily reading some old archived threads on some random imageboard. (It wasn't as much of a direct spoiled as just someone asking "So, is she actually going to return in Hiver?" and someone replying to them "Yep, looks like she will be back".)

I wouldn't pressure you into writing a full-fledged essay of a review. Even just some simple thoughts like you gave in this thread would be appreciated. It would be wonderful if we could garner more interest for the series in any way. While I could write my own recommendation, I fear I have far too many other VNs to do it for and if I see someone who can wholeheartedly vouch for one of them in my stead it makes me happy.

Ah, don't worry, I feel no pressure, because I'd like to do it eventually. :) I feel blessed when a work of fiction moves and inspires me to such lengths as to write a free-form essay on it, especially if it's yuri, because, to be honest, even among the best yuri works there are only a select few of them that I consider also to be truly compelling literary/dramatic works.

edit:

I've only just realized what exactly the reliance upon European fairy tales as framing devices in Ete and Automne is heavily reminding me of. It's Liz to Aoi Tori, of course, but a couple years before Liz to Aoi Tori.

last edited at Jan 20, 2022 12:47AM

Yes, someone who has experienced the bliss and pain of the FLOWERS series! I am so glad to see someone who appreciates these outstanding works! Hiver cannnot come soon enough, so we may finally be rid of the eternal cliffhanger of Printemps~

I'm not sure how I'll survive until Hiver comes out this year (well, if it comes out this year, because no one can guarantee that; on one hand, the established release pattern indicates that JAST USA might make an announcement between April and June, and release the novel itself between July and late August; but on the other, with an ongoing pandemic their release schedule might be affected so much that it will change completely). The only thing that is currently saving me from the all-consuming anxiety about the finale of the series is a fact that my perfectly accurate and scientifically substantiated hypotheses and theories about the actual secret behind the final mystery of the academy and Mayuri's fate are telling me that everything will be...well, at least somewhat daijoubu.

EriChido/Chidorika (honestly the order seems neary irrelevant for these two, they are on equal footing) is the wholesome and perfect relationship in a drama series that you would not expect to last, but shockingly (and to my great delight) they stick around for the other chapters and are a stable and gratifying presence that tells us, yes, relationships can work out and don't require immense sacrifices all the time (looking at you Yuzuriha).

Aside from the fact that they completely steal a lot of scenes in which they appear, their presence is like the sunlight that shines through the dark clouds which are Yuzuriha's sorrowful brooding. Their relationship became her life-saving oasis in the desolate wasteland.

This may be entirely shameless on my part, but I created a thread specifically for Yuri Visual Novel recommendations. I listed the FLOWERS series, naturally, but if you would take the time to write a proper recommendation for them I would be infinitely grateful. Do not worry about structure or anything, just your own words would be more than enough. Though please do not feel obliged to indulge me.
https://dynasty-scans.com/forum/topics/19616-yuri-visual-novel-recommendation-thread

Ah, thank you for invitation. I have a whole bunch of thoughts on the series which I want to pour out in some form, so I would really like to write a thorough recommendation. But writing long posts/texts in English can be a bit too draining to me, and I've been kinda low on energy lately, so I won't promise that I will do it in the near future. This comment on Reddit is the only substantial thing that I've managed to force out of myself, lol. On a side note, I would like to recommend a great review of Automne that I've found just yesterday. It perfectly incapsulates a lot of my own feelings.

last edited at Jan 19, 2022 6:27AM

Did I miss something? When did MyAnimeList.com merge 'yuri' and 'shoujo ai' tags into 'GL'? When I was using it about half a year ago, everything was the same as before in that regard.

Alright, gotta congratulate the "mainstream" part of Western yuri community with the achievement of this truly incredible milestone. /s

On a serious note, while I'd prefer for them to just leave 'yuri' and remove everything else, I still much appreciate the removal of infamous 'shoujo ai'. So, it's not really a complaint. Hopefully, other large anime/manga DBs/aggregators will follow the suit.

last edited at Jan 17, 2022 11:12PM

After re-readig FLOWERS, specifically Printemps and Été, for the second time, I'm finally finished with Automne.

Let me put it this way in a relatively concise manner.

Printemps had crushed my soul into tiny shards and ripped my heart into thousands of bloody shreds.
Ete had made my soul whole again and mended my heart almost completely, even if some of the remaining scars were still aching.
...And Automne did those things multiple times over the course of 30 hours of me reading it.

What a masterpiece. Shimizu Hatsumi had absolutely outdid herself, and went above and beyond with deep, nuanced characterizations and painfully intimate introspections. I bow down in pure awe.

PSA: Even if the humankind and all of its' legacy will fall due to all-out nuclear war or massive CME hitting the Earth...Chidorika must be protected no matter the cost. One cannot, in good conscience, objectively and logically prove that there's anything more worthy of preserving in the observable universe.

Honestly, one of the most emotionally big moments for me was something as small as Erika encouraging Yuzu before the choir recital (while probably reminiscing about her very own special performance). It was as if she was talking directly to me, so deeply I was engrossed in Yuzuriha's inner world. It felt like an astonishingly intense surge of warmth, a blindingly powerful wave of bliss and exaltation was shivering through my whole body at this moment, with the aftershock that had been lingering for a few minutes. Sounds a bit much, probably, but I don't know how else to put those sensations into words without relying on dramatics. I myself was genuinely taken aback by sheer rawness of this experience.

Honestly, what the actual fuck is this game as a whole even.

last edited at Jan 16, 2022 11:44PM

You've heard of cockblocked now get ready for cookblocked

Wow, Erika, even for you that was a low-hanging fruit of a joke. Get out.

last edited at Jan 14, 2022 7:33AM

Not really sure circuits work that way, but okay.

last edited at Feb 10, 2020 7:24AM

Have you heard of our Lord and Savior, Canno?

unintelligible_noises.gif

I'm officially dead after reading the Star Wars chapter.

last edited at Sep 27, 2019 2:53AM

This chapter was so FREAKING HOT that my AC broke while trying to cool down my apartment. Anyone can help me with this?

Wait.
That's illegal.
This absolutely won't be tolerated.
WHERE ARE THE MOVIE SEQUELS, 3 HZ?! WHERE IS THE TRIGGER, ACTAS?!

wait
thats illegal

God, I love Shou's art style so much. It's detailed, yet very clean and striking.
Hopefully, this doesn't dissapoint in the story department either.

Yuki and the Authoress? More like "Bunny and the Fox".

Wait. That's illegal.

Life goals: achieve yuri friendship.

@Bugpope

Oh, why, it's Lots of sex.

last edited at Jan 17, 2018 10:32AM

This author reall likes writing about shoes. Also, drawing shoes is nice too.

last edited at Jan 16, 2018 3:21AM

Oh, wow. Sora yori mo Tooi Basho is such an unexpected surprise. I was grinning like a happy, blissful idiot the whole time. Going-on-adventure\coming-of-age story done right. No pussyfooting as in your typical CGDCT show. Characters actually do shit, not just freaking 'communicate' (i.e. blabbing without story development or any other outcomes). Voice acting is great (the toiled room scene almost wrecked me), visuals are reely gut. The main heroines are perfectly balancing between bright and cheerful, but two-dimensional tropes, and the infamous 'real people' with small quirks and sometimes unpredictable behaviour. Comedic timing is on point. Ishizuka Atsuko best woman. Madhouse fucking slay again.

Violet Evergarden. It's KyoAni. It's reely gut so far. It was expected, so no surprises. What do I need to say more?

Koi wa Ameagari no You ni is cute and sweet (but I still think that the main heroine's sniffing fetish is mildly not-so-cute, don't hate me for this, pretty please lol). We need more cute and sweet, yet mature shoujo-ish josei\seinen stories like that.

Kokkoku is...uh...uninspired. The initial premise in intriguing enough to keep me watching, and the atmosphere is bizarre and eery, but everything else is pretty boring, including the main female protagonist. The directing is extremely functional and color palette with this despicable gray filter on top reminds me of generic anime of the mid-2000s, which I honestly hated even in the mid-2000s.

Citrus being Citrus, I guess. Yuzu is a cute dork. Everything and everyone else is meh or worse. Fight me irl.

last edited at Jan 16, 2018 1:39AM

Anyway, it goes without saying that this is not itself yuri, however it is valuable reading as a meta-commentary on the industry. For us in the West, insight into the background workings of yuri as a commercial endeavor is very lacking, and I'm always grateful for anything that can shed more light on that aspect of yuri's production and trends. Thank you True Love Scanlations for continuing to work on this.

This.
Can someone elaborate on why exactly this series was dropped by scanlators?