Archive for the Yuri Visual Novel Category


Okazu Top Yuri of 2019

December 31st, 2019

As we wrap up this year, the 100th anniversary of the Yuri genre, I like to imagine what Yoshiya Nobuko might think, if she were to spring to life and see Yuri anime, manga, novels, games…stories of women in love with women, in both fantasy and “real world” settings and bookstores around the world with Yuri titles and manga stores with dedicated Yuribu.  I’d like to think that once she got past the confusion of it all, she’d be pretty pleased about it. ^_^

For the 15th year in a row, I’m wrapping all the best Yuri people, companies, trends and titles up in one big old package and presenting it to you as the Okazu Top Yuri of 2019. ^_^ Please note there are no numbers, as this is not a countdown. Everything here is equally notable.

We’ll start with some well-deserved kudos to the pieces of the industry that set the places at which we sit and lay the feasts we enjoy.

 

Yuri Publishers & Yuribu
In this 100th anniversary of the genre, something almost miraculous occurred. Manga, anime and light novel publishers in the US and many of the major Japanese publishers are now investing in Yuri as Yuri.

My sincere thanks to everyone at Yen Press, VIZ Media, Seven Seas Entertainment, TOKYOPOP, J-Novel Club, UDON Entertainment, Kodansha Comics, Denpa, Lilyka Manga and in Japan, Ichijinsha, Futabasha, Shueisha, East Press, Seidosha, Hayakawa Shobo, Kadokawa Shoten, Akita Shoten and, at long last, Shogakukan.

Additionally, Japanese manga and bookstores have finally recognized that Yuri is a genre that does bring in business and have developed Yuri Clubs to help funnel money their way. ^_^ So thanks to Animate, Shosen, Gamers and Futabasha (again.) Toranoana has no Yuribu, but their Yuri Corner in the flagship store in Akihabara is worth noting, as well.

All these companies have recognized the potential of the growing LGBTQ and Yuri markets and responded to it with money and promotion (and in the case of US companies, care and attention,) which gives us hope for even more and even better Yuri in the year to come!

 

Yuri Webcomics
Webcomics have been an important arm of indie comics since the early 2000s and the last few years has really seen the growth in online platforms for comic artists.

Pixiv has quite literally changed the game for indie artists in Japan like Nagata Kabi, and Webtoons and Lezhin have been among newer platforms that opened up a whole new audience to the joy of Yuri manga and comics.

Artists like Ratiana Satis (Pulse) and Kuru of Color_LES (Mage and Demon Queen) have changed the landscape for how – and where and by whom – people are able to find Yuri.

I think this kind of work is very exciting and very entertaining and always look forward to more new independent artists breaking out!

 

Yuri Visual Novels/Games
I’m not going to lie, the visual novel landscape has a lot of problems, Steam’s inconsistent and obscure rule changes looming large among them.  But the industry is full of energy and creativity that is worth talking about.

In 2019, Studio Élan created a whole new game engine for putting out innovative, unique, and original work. What I have seen has impressed me so very deeply. Indie creators gather annually for the Yuri Game Jam which gives space for smaller creative teams and individual devs to work on their idea and for you to try them out. Itch.io has quietly become a significant independent resource for game and VN developers and players.

Even if I will never be the audience for them, there are some really excellent VNs and games being made and I think they absolutely deserve a place on this list this year.

 

Yuri Creators
There are so many creators of Yuri these days that it almost seems insulting to highlight a few names, but this year there has been some outstanding work by a few individuals, that I really believe it’s worth highlighting and celebrating them.

These are creators whose work has created change in the Yuri landscape: Yoshiya Nobuko (Yaneura no Nishojo) for setting in motion the creation of an entire genre by living her life and writing the stories she wrote;  Riyoko Ikeda (Rose of Versailles), for having conversation about gender presentation and sexuality 40 years before anyone else had words for them;  Takeuchi Naoko (Sailor Moon) who twenty-five years ago created characters so timeless, that we’re only now realizing just how important they are; Kabi Nagata (My Solo Exchange Diary), for her heart-breaking honesty – I know many of us want her to be healthy and happy; Takashima Hiromi (Kase-san and Yamada) for breaking Yuri romance out of high school where it had been locked for so long; Go Nagai (Devil Lady), for being a pioneer of queer women in his Devilman sagas;  Takemiya Jin (Itoshi Koishi) for walking us along the path with a young woman who wants to be out and open with her friends; Ameco Kaeruda (Sexiled), for writing a feminist power fantasy that is empowering, delightful and funny; Morishima Akiko (Conditions of Paradise) who at long last in 2020 will get the English-language recognition as a Yuri manga artist that she deserves.

Breakthroughs often pass unnoticed until long afterwards. I will note that 2020 will mark the end of one the most important decades in history for our genre, as well as the end of the first century for the genre. Some of these names created a solid foundation for us to build upon and some are among the leading lights as we head into a new decade. They most assuredly deserve our thanks and a place on this list.

 

Okazu Readers and Patrons
You, my Okazu readers, are critically important to our mission here. It is a testament to your engagement that so many of you have become writers for Okazu and a testament to your personalities that so many of you have become my friends. ^_^ My very sincere thanks to every one of you who reads and comments on and shares our content.

My very special thanks to Okazu Patrons for making it possible for me to celebrate this year with reviews and lectures and panels and events. Your financial and social support helps us pay for guest writers and reviewers. Every year you make this list, and once again this year I can say with all honesty, I could not have done it without you.

 

Light Novels & Novels
This year saw a veritable explosion of Light Novels and Novels in both digital and print. While as a genre LNs can be inconsistent, Yuri fans have been horribly spoiled by the high quality Light Novels we’ve seen.

J-Novel Club opened up their Yuri line with a salvo of truly excellent Yuri titles, including Last and First Idol,and Side-by-Side Dreamers. Seven Seas picked up what are extraordinarily good series-extension Bloom Into You, Regarding Saeki Sayaka. But the Light Novel that really blew my hair back was the totally-on-point brilliantly topical and deeply satisfying Sexiled series by Kaeruda Ameco. Those books scratched itches I didn’t know I had. If you haven’t read these, you should. Just go read them.

Will Yuri fans continue to be spoiled with top quality fantasy and science fiction Light Novels while everyone else has to deal with “the protagonist has no pants, hurh hurh” as a main plot point? I sure hope so.  ^_^

 

Now as we enter the final few of of our end-of-year roundup, I want to take a moment to note a few series that just deserve a moment of reverence and thanks for all they’ve done and all they will continue to do.

 

Our Dreams at Dusk Shimanami Tasogare
As I have repeatedly noted, this series is not Yuri. Instead, there is very real-world queer identity here; real problems faced by real people in the real world, which makes this series, if not unique, then at least extraordinary.

This story about self and community and creating a space in a world that isn’t welcoming…and then taking up that space and owning it, is a lot to ask of a work of fiction. Heck, it’s a lot to ask of life! Not only does Our Dreams at Dusk: Shimanami Tasogare succeed at that, it does it beautifully.

This is the kind of LGBTQ work I hope we’ll see more and more of from increasingly open queer manga artists.

 

 

Sailor Moon Stars
Every year I joke that if there is a Sailor Moon out that year, it will find a way on to this list.  ^_^ Well this year a Sailor Moon that has never had an official English-language release is out and it so very, deeply, queer that it seems almost fantastic. Sailor Moon Stars is the final piece of the original series, and we’re looking forward to the Sailor Moon Crystal 4th season movies in the years to come.

Let me offer a toast to Sailor Moon Stars and to the permanent – and official –  partnership of Tenoh Haruka and Kaioh Michiru – and welcome to the the next iteration of Sailor Moon fandom. Here’s to cafes and night drive parfaits and anniversary albums. May we all be together once again for the 50th anniversary.

 

 

Rose of Versailles
The wait has not been in vain. It *just* squeaked onto this year’s list by having a limited release in December. Don’t be surprised to see it back again in 2020. It’s almost 50 years old but we have an official English language release of The Rose of Versailles at last and it is a truly magnificent thing. UDON has really gone above and beyond for this release.

Oscar’s struggle with gender and class expectations, with the pressures of a society in which she may not be the person she wants to be, takes us through love and loss and the overturning of an ancien regime in a story that is terrifyingly timely.

This story of the French Revolution seen through the eyes of Oscar François de Jarjayes is so very, very extra.

A classic manga just in time for our 100th anniversary. What a year we’ve had. Our Yuri shelves are already full to bursting, with even more amazing stuff to come in 2020!

 

 

Kase-san and Bloom Into You
Both the Kase-san series and Yagate Kimi ni Naru/Bloom Into You were relatively typical high school Yuri series. Both series managed to take the typical tropes of their origins and turn them into something interesting, unusual and ultimately,  original. Both had animation that went above and beyond the manga and both had a global impact.

Once upon a time, all we wanted was a genuinely happy ending for a Yuri love story, an ending that showed our characters moving into the future together. This year, we got two. Moreover, neither series is riding its fame into the sunset, yet. Takashima-sensei’s Kase-san is ongoing and we’re getting some post-series work from Nakatani-sensei in anthologies and artbooks and I desperately hope to see signs of a third Sayaka novel soon.

These series have made it onto both of the other lists and it seems only reasonable to just say this plainly – both these series were tops for 2019.

 

I’ve mentioned this repeatedly during these lists (and have to tell you, we’re not done yet…) but this year was an amazing one, for me, for the Yuri genre, for all of us. Which brings me to the very best Yuri thing this year.

 

100 Years of Yuri

Yuri Events were through the roof this year. It began with the an amazing time at TCAF and took me along, one fun Yuri-filled event to another. We did Yuri-focused Yurithon. We held the 100th Anniversary of Yuri Tour with a few like-minded friends, during which we spent time with the Sailor Senshi, and ate lunch with Fumi, flipped 500 yen coins at a shrine with Kuraku Asuka, bought Yuri goods and Yuri doujinshi and Yuri manga and glutted ourselves on food and threw money at Yuri artists at Girls Love Fest.

This celebration of Yuri’s 100th anniversary has been exhausting and amazing. I’ve met so many folks, got to meet new Yuri manga artists and see old friends and done so many presentations and had so very much fun.

The number one top Yuri thing of the year was…the year.

It’s been 100 Years since Yaneura no Nishojo (屋根裏の二) codified how we think and talk about Yuri. Thanks to Yoshiya Nobuko and thanks to all the people and companies on these lists. Thanks to all of you, my readers and commenters and my patrons.

Here’s looking forward to 2CYE (Common Yuri Era) in which the the fun is not over, as we extend the celebration into 2020 for the final 100th anniversary project here on Okazu. ^_^ Tune in tomorrow! And here’s to the next 100 Years!

 





Yuri Visual Novel: Heart of the Woods, Guest Review by Yurimother

February 20th, 2019

As you know, I have had some very positive things to say about Heart of the Woods, and I am looking forward to working my way through it eventually, but I thought you all might be interested to hear from someone else. Today we have returning Guest Reviewer Yurimother, with her take on Studio Élan’s first effort. Please welcome her back! Yurimother, the floor is yours!

There are some spoilers in this review, so be warned.

 

 

When I first heard about Studio Élan’s debut visual novel, Heart of the Woods, I was very excited and eagerly anticipated its arrival. When it was finally released I immediately purchased it and quickly finished two full playthroughs for the game. I can happily report that it did not disappoint!

Heart of the Woods is a fantasy-mystery Yuri visual novel revolving around four characters, who include paranormal vloggers Maddie and Tara who travel to the isolated village of Eysenfeld at the behest of their perpetually tired and slightly creepy guide Morgan. They quickly become entangled in a centuries-old curse and the wondrous magic of the neighboring forest. Along the way, they meet the cheery and energetic ghost Abigail who helps them on their journey.

The visual novel is highly polished in almost every aspect. The astounding art immediately captivated my attention. Everything from the beautiful CGs to the detailed backgrounds is enthralling. The backgrounds often include slight animations, such as the rumbling of a train or the falling of snow, which helps to bring them to life. However, the most astounding achievement here is in the character models (with one minor exception). They look natural against the backgrounds thanks to being drawn with soft lines. This helps them feel like part of a cohesive experience rather than just cutouts, something rarely seen in visual novels. Each of the models for the four main characters contains numerous alterations to facial expression and body position which change naturally throughout every scene giving them a life-like quality.

The story was also extremely compelling. The central plot unravels naturally and contains some excellently built tensions, and satisfying payoffs, something every good mystery story requires. There are plenty of emotional and pulse-pounding moments to be found here. The game contains several logical but still exciting twists to the story that often had me gasping and on the edge of my seat. I found only one of them to be obvious (painfully so), although the revelation did make sense and served its purpose in the narrative.

While mostly kinetic (linear) there are three choices throughout Heart of the Woods which have very minor changes on a few scenes and result in one of three endings, two bad one good. These choices share one of my most common complaints with other visual novel choices in that there is no real logic to them, and one has no idea if their choice will lead to the good or bad results. However, the impact of the choices is mostly insignificant here so I cannot fault their presence too much.

The narrative switches between the perspective of the four main characters, each of whom has a distinct tone of narration. This really helps to establish each of them with their own voice and creates some excellent dramatic irony. The dialogue feels realistic and serves to further both the plot and the characters. One of the key strengths of the writing lies in the humor. The jokes, often told by the headstrong Tara, land particularly well. Dialogue and narrations work together to organically construct the relationships between the characters.

On the note of the characters, I found each of the characters extremely well written and the relationships between them (romantic or otherwise) dynamic and well-constructed. Maddie is an intelligent yet somewhat distant skeptic which contrasts nicely with Tara’s brashness and lighthearted behavior. Tara’s love interest, Morgan is mysterious yet oddly calming. Much of the truth of Eysenfeld is revealed gradually through Morgan’s interactions and narration. Finally, there is Abigail, Maddie’s love interest and easily my favorite character. While I initially feared that she would be the typical naïve-childlike character archetype I was pleasantly surprised to find her to be a gentle and beautiful spirit (pun intended). This is especially true as she exposes Maddie to the mystical beauty of the woods.

My only real complaint here is that Tara, while hilarious, was somewhat of a stereotypical jokester used to provide comic relief, even in moments where it may not have been appropriate. However, this is eclipsed by the way in which her identity as a transgender woman is handled. This is only revealed as she discusses her past with Morgan, and it is said in a very natural way. It is not mentioned again in the visual novel in a choice I think was appropriate. Tara transitioned years ago and now her being trans is just a piece of her person, it is not her only or even most significant trait.  I found her portrayal to be refreshing and thoughtfully written.

Some particularly strong scenes include when Maddie and Abigail first meet and begin to become close. They cannot verbally communicate at first (wonky magical ghost reasons). However, they are able to bond through gestures and Maddie reading aloud in a tender and loving moment. Another exceptional scene comes later in the story as all the main characters discuss their future together once they deal with the crisis at hand. It is a simple but touching moment of levity and joy between the four. It is in moments like these where the superb writing truly shines.

There is optional adult content found in a separate patch containing two scenes for Maddie and Abigail, which feels like a missed opportunity to have one with Tara and Morgan. The models and CGs are again well done here and the sex scenes are competently written if slightly over the top in the way that most smut is. Overall, they add little to the characters or overall story, so much so that I skipped them on my second playthrough. However, they are sexy and written in a genuine way, so I found them to be an enjoyable and welcome addition.

Even without these adult scenes, there is plenty of flirting, kissing, and expressions of fondness between the characters. Yuri fans will not be disappointed here. The relationships of the couples, while oddly paced at times, feel natural and are well developed. At the end of the game, I wanted to see more of these characters just living their daily lives together as partners and that is always a good sign for me.

While I loved this visual novel, it would be remiss of me if I did not point out some of its shortcomings. While most of the game is highly polished, a few spelling errors did slip through and at one point the animation that normally accompanies a shift in narrator did not play despite the story clearly shifting perspectives. Lastly, there was one odd moment in my first playthrough where two characters decided to advance their relationship and become girlfriends. However, in a later conversation, they act as if this did not occur and essentially repeat the interaction and agree to become girlfriends… again. This issue did not appear on my second playthrough because of the choices I made, and they only became girlfriends once. Fortunately, Studio Élan does seem dedicated to fixing at least some of these issues and is active in receiving bug reports. Ultimately these issues were minor and did not negatively impact my time or enjoyment of the game.

Finally, the game contains an excellent original soundtrack that is varied and suits every scene well. It has some memorable tracks along with some more standard ones. Additionally, there are multiple accessibility options for people with dyslexia and auditory or visual impairments, something which is always appreciated.

Heart of the Woods is one of the best visual novels, Yuri or otherwise, I have ever had the pleasure of playing. I cannot wait to see more from Studio Élan. The game and soundtrack are available for purchase now on Steam and itch.io for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Ratings:

Art – 10
Story – 8 (9 if you just look up the options for the good ending so you can ignore the choices)
Characters – 8
Service – 6 (7 with adult scenes)
Yuri – 9
Music – 8

Overall – 9

Erica here: Thank you, again, Yurimother for this review and now I’m looking forward to reading this even more. Send me a link for the “good end” choices, please. 





Interview with Yuri Visual Novel Studio Élan

February 10th, 2019

Hello and welcome to a very special interview. After the release of Visual Novel Highway Blossoms (which has the honor of being one of two I have actually enjoyed), creator Josh Kaplan launched a brand new venture – Studio Élan, dedicated to creating Yuri Visual Novels.

On the cusp of their first major release, Heart of the Woods, (my review of the first chapter demo looked pretty good), we took some time to talk to Josh and his team about their work.

 

 

Q: You launched Studio Élan right after completing Highway Blossoms, what was your motivation in putting together a VN studio focused on specifically Yuri Visual Novels?

A. There are a couple reasons! The most plain is simply that I think it’s a comparatively underrepresented genre in the west, compared to otome and bishoujo games. Admittedly, the number of yuri games available in English has really skyrocketed in the past couple years. Still, it’s definitely a smaller genre, and there are also very few developers devoted exclusively to it.

Aside from that, though… We’ve been really fortunate with how well-received Highway Blossoms was, and I wanted to use the opportunities its success has provided to be able to carry on its legacy, so to speak. That is, to continue to make games with a similar sort of wholesomeness and attitude. In addition, I wanted to help give a platform to other creators. The vast majority of our team consists of LGBT+ women, which is a pretty far departure from the HB dev team.



Q: There’s a surge of Yuri VNs inside Japan and in the West right now – what do you see as areas that haven’t been explored…and should be?

A: For one, I think it would be nice to see more stories that feature older characters, even if it’s college aged as opposed to high school. In Japan in particular, the majority still tend to fall within the “high school romance” category. Of course there are notable exceptions like Seabed, but still. Also, games that include characters who are trans or nonbinary.

Finally, while this is more of a personal taste kind of thing, it would be great to have more games where the romance isn’t the central part of the story, but more of a subplot, similar to most mainstream media nowadays. In fact, that’s one element that we make sure to incorporate in all of our own games – the fantasy aspect is just as important as the romance.



Q3: In Heart of the Woods, the story is a “ghost story” but is not a scary one, what did you want to explore with this work?

A: We really wanted to go for a fairytale feeling. There’s a certain whimsy and wonder to the stories that you hear growing up, where you don’t necessarily question everything that’s happening but instead let yourself get wrapped up and pulled along. We took a lot of inspiration from Disney movies as well, both in tone and aesthetic. I used Disney as a sort of guideline as to “how dark” the story could get. My barometer was always “could I see this happening in Frozen or Snow White?” Although we do have a couple different endings for the story, it was always crucial to us that the “real” ending is a happy one.



Q4: This is a question for adirosa, your game designer:  What was your inspiration for the look of Heart of the Woods?

adirosa: For HOTW, the direction I was given for it was to keep it simple and modern. I’ve always been very invested in game accessibility and giving players a comfortable reading experience, so I decided to couple these together. Queen at Arms and their option to change font sizes + Autumn’s Journey‘s alternate font options is what inspired me to start this, and I’ve been trying to expand on the accessibility options in the games I work on.

I was also given the direction to make it clear who the POV character was for each scene, so I did heavy colour theming. Persona 3 Portable‘s alternate GUI colour scheme based on the male/female protagonists and idol culture’s character colour theming is what inspired me to take this approach with HOTW, and I’ve taken that approach to marketing materials as well to tie it in. (Fun fact, the HOTW game theme colour is the dark teal of the trees in the logo!)

I’m personally a huge fan of the rococo and art nouveau art movements, and I try to incorporate elements where I can! The inspiration isn’t heavy in the HOTW UI but there are little bits (like the NVL border and the cover image border) that will tie the Élan games together lightly. I’m super extra and I can’t stop putting those elements in.



Q: Music is also very important to helping set the mood for a VN. Sarah, tell us a little bit about the place the music has in Heart of the Woods.

Sarah: Heart of the Woods is a magical fairytale, but one where magic isn’t something to be taken lightly. I wanted to reflect that in the music I contributed — you’ve traveled out to an unfamiliar town in the middle of nowhere in the depths of winter for a paranormal investigation, and you don’t know what you’re going to find there. There’s a lot of uncertainty and trepidation, and you’re starting to realize it might be more dangerous than you anticipated when you left home. You don’t know if you’ll make it back safely.

The first piece of music that I wrote for the Heart of the Woods soundtrack was “Into Another World,” which was used for the opening train sequence, though I didn’t initially know where it was going to end up in the story. It was my audition for the project, and I wanted to try figuring out exactly what Heart of the Woods should sound like and really define it in one song. It ended up being a sort of template for the wintry and spacious sound of a bunch of the other music on the soundtrack, enveloping you with icy orchestral strings as twinkling piano and chimes echo off into the distance.

“Why Am I Here” is one with a bit of a personal story behind it. It was written during a period in my life where I was evacuating from a storm while also dealing with a sudden emergency, and for a few days found myself unexpectedly alone and adrift in an unfamiliar city wondering what in the world I was doing with my life. It was written in one sitting and was basically just me pouring out my emotions into music, though I didn’t really recognize it as such at the time. It ended up being adopted as Maddie’s character theme because it really mirrors a lot of what she’s dealing with after Tara has dragged her along to Eysenfeld.

Of course, this isn’t just a bleak and depressing story, it’s still a romance VN and there are pockets of warmth and comfort to be found here too! There’s a bit of that warmth mixed into the soundtrack in places, such as the character themes for Morgan and Abby. Morgan is an odd one but she means well, and I wanted her theme “Restless One” to make you feel like “ah, this girl is someone I can trust!” when you hear it.

Meanwhile, Abby’s theme “Communion” is a song where I tried to do a lot of things at once, with feelings of isolation and angst and love all rolled together in a string quartet arrangement that took forever to get just right. Visual novels can be a lot of hours of reading and so there’s not much avoiding having to hear to the same songs on repeat a few times, so I really like it when a song can be versatile and carry different emotions depending on the context it’s being used in.



Q:  What’s the structure of Studio Élan like, and how do you all work together?

Most of us wear a few different hats. minute went from being “just” the programmer to also being an editor as well as contributing some creature designs and background art. adirosa not only does the GUI for our games, she also created our new studio logo, graphics for promo materials, our trailer, and more. Plus, every member of the team is encouraged to give feedback on the story, release plans, pretty much everything. It was really important to me that really feels like part of the team, rather than just being instructed on what to do.

 


Q: Heart of the Woods seems to me to be a step forward in reader engagement with sound and movement integration. Can you speak to some of the enhancements you’ve made to the VN experience with Studio Élan?

minute: The scripting for Heart of the Woods is very much my love for visual novels coming through. It’s honestly one of my favorite mediums- its accessibility, format, and history means a lot to me as both a creator and avid reader.
That said, it’s also a medium with a lot of room to grow. In the past few years visual novels have been extending into the western audience in a great way- so many new, incredibly skilled creators are pushing the boundaries of genre and target audience with their work. HotW is scripted with these new advancements in mind, but with the classics of VNs very close to my heart. I wanted to make the characters feel alive, with tiny movements or subtle expression changes to offset the limits of a traditionally-styled VN. It’s a process of making sure the game is both fun to play and easy to read, which I hope we’ve achieved so far!

The sound design is a constant back and forth – you’d be surprised how many variants of “tree branch snapping” we can go through to find the right one. But in the end, as a team we are all focused on trying to make every aspect of Heart of the Woods enjoyable. To that end, it’s also why our accessibility options are so extensive! adirosa and I spent a long time trying to make sure every option is equally viable for every reader – so no matter how someone chooses to play, we hope they’ll have a good time.


Q: What creative work has inspired you, personally and artistically? Are there any games, VNs, comics, animation that has informed your work on Heart of the Woods?

minute: Fate Stay/Night is my biggest inspiration for choreographing and visual directing!

Sarah: For this particular soundtrack, Yuki Kajura and Ryou Mizutsuki were my biggest influences.

adirosa: I draw a lot of inspiration from the English visual novel community in general. The HoTW UI was inspired by the more sci-fi UIs Auro-Cyanide used to do (such as Break Chance Memento) and Dischan’s UIs in general like Dysfunctional Systems Ep.1 and Juniper’s Knot.

Josh: Aside from what I mentioned above, I get a lot of inspiration from music like Nightwish, as well as the book series The Enchanted Forest Chronicles.



Q9: What does the future hold for Studio Élan?

Hopefully, a lot! Every one of us is in this for the long haul. We already have our next couple VN’s planned out. We’re going to be starting a comic for our Patreon, and we also hired a merchandise designer to help out with, well, merch designs. Eventually, we’d like to try making games other than VN’s, as well as other forms of media in general.

We have a couple long-term, grand dreams as well. First and foremost, it would be wonderful if we could do this for a living, rather than a hobby. Additionally, like many if not most other western VN devs, we’d love to be able to find some success in Japan.

Ultimately, for me at least, I just want to continue making stuff with this particular group of people. We have really great chemistry and, while there have definitely been some stumbling blocks, I think we have the potential to make something truly great. I hope that someday, there will be people out there consider us their favorite developers, and who get excited when we announce a new project. I hope that the stories we tell can have an impact on someone the same way that the books I read and games I played help shape me as a person today.

 

Thank you very much to the folks at Studio Élan for their time and we look forward to the full VN of Heart of the Woods, which is being released this week!  Check out the Studio Élan website for details of the VN. From the Studio Élan Twitter feed:  Heart of the Woods is also going to be a participating Steam Trading Card game as well! So take a look and let us all know what you think in the comments. ^_^





Yuri Visual Novel: Heart of the Woods, Chapter One Demo

January 30th, 2019

“Tara looked at me with more pride than a rainbow flag.” This line made me laugh out loud. ^_^

You know how I always say that Visual Novels are not for me? This is not an arbitrary statement. I don’t have some elitist disdain for VNs (well, in theory, I don’t, but I’ll cop to often finding issues in individual VNs that strike me as…infantile.) But to be clear, the reason I generally don’t like VNs is because they are not good games and they are even worse as novels. Dialogue is often unrealistic and banal and while I actually like the idea of reading a picture book, I still expect the book part to be worth it. Above all other things, I have not yet read a VN where the game mechanics worked and also let me move forward with ease. And, again on my side, I do not wish to choose my own adventure, I want to be told a good story. The decisions are usually either pointless, or so convoluted that I can’t actually get anywhere in the narrative. 

All this said, I was genuinely surprised and pleased at Studio Élan’s Heart of the Woods, Chapter One demo. 

To begin with…the sprites do not look like paper cutouts, flipping awkwardly, blinking convulsively like they have something in their eyes. Yay! Seriously, VN fans, I cannot understand how that does not make you twitchy.

The characters  move a little more naturally and their expressions actually vary, with smooth transitions. That right there, made the whole thing much easier to tolerate. I am a harsh master, though, and will still insist that, if a movement is important enough for it to be described in the text, it should be important enough to visualize. Moving sprites back and forth is fine for proximity, but if you can animate a character touching their face, you illustrate that character touching another character’s arm. I swear, I’m gonna harp on this forever until the entire industry gives in. ^_^ Show and tell. That’s the whole point.

The rest of the illustration, backgrounds and ambience on the game were, IMHO, excellent. There’s a number of small, but significant touches which increase player engagement; motion within scenes, a video recorder toggle, very good sound effects that match well with the visuals.  And the music is top-notch. I was reading the demo while my wife was home and just let the music run, because both of us found it pleasant and not at all repetitive.  Top marks for the music! I’ve got the fully voiced Kindred Spirits next on the list and I cannot express to you how much I am not looking forward to hearing that same 2-minute musical riff over and over again.

Then we come to the story. It’s slow to get going, I’ll be honest, but the payoff was exceptional. There’s a fair amount of setup and atmosphere. And implied but not explicated, backstory. The tensions are clear, but the reasons for them are not, yet.

There’s a lot of Chapter One. So much, that I wish there has been a progress meter as I went along. In some of the slower bits, I would have liked to know how much further along I had in that scene, and in the chapter. This will become especially important to the larger game, since I don’t know how many Chapters there will be – or how long they will be. Chapter One was pretty long, in my opinion.

Above all other things, I really liked that there were no decisions to make. I appear to be a minority of one in this. On the Studio Élan forums, people were bemoaning that there were no choices. The Studio stated clearly that there would be choices in the full version but, they would not change the romance paths.  So, like Kindred Spirits, I think we can look for choices that don’t change the larger narrative. I’m kind of sad that there are any choices, I know I’m alone in this, but I find them utterly exhausting and tedious. Tell me a story. 

I’m not going to talk about the characters, I’ll wait for the full game to do that. I think there will be a lot to talk about, then.

In the meantime,  I recommend the Heart of the Woods Chapter One demo and ask you to look forward to the full version which will be released in the middle of February!

Ratings: 

TBD when the full version comes out, but let’s call it a tentative 8 for now.

I am genuinely looking forward to the full version. That’s should count as a victory for the folks at Studio Élan.





LGBTQ Visual Novel: Heaven Will be Mine, Guest Review by Louise P

January 16th, 2019

It’s our first Guest Review Wednesday of 2019! Please welcome back Guest Reviewer Louise P for a look at a new Yuri Visual Novel for us. Take it away, Louise!

Heaven Will be Mine is a visual novel that starts right at what would be the climax for any other super robot story. The three factions have all their players, two super prototypes are finally operational and everyone is headed to the moon for the big final confrontation. There the future of humanity in space will be decided; or rather the future of humans who already live in space will be decided. Do they ‘return’ to Earth, live in space or cease to be human at all? These conflicts will be solved both with giant robots (called Ship Selves) and sexting in equal measure.

Heaven Will be Mine ditches a great deal of unnecessary visual novel tropes. There are no ‘heroine’ characters instead we have three protagonists, all equally important. There’s Pluto: the idealistic leader of Cradles Graces who finally has a ship self that matches her own overwhelming power. Luna-Terra: the jaded veteran of Memorial Foundation who has now broken so many hearts in space that it is finally catching up with her and finally Saturn, a pilot who totally gets this is a game about relationships and space robot battles and jumps into merging fighting and flirting so naturally it’s a surprise to hear that it is her first time in the pilot seat.

The story follows all three in their journey from the outer solar system to the showdown at the moon from the perspectives of Pluto, Luna-Terra or Saturn. While we begin right in the thick of things and there’s a lot of back story hanging over the characters and we are given enough credit to piece it together ourselves, as we see events from the perspectives of each leading character and their supporting cast. Emails often fill us in on the back-story, while the pilots live-chatting with their comrades provide some of the biggest laughs in the story.

But center stage is taken up by the confrontations between Luna-Terra, Saturn and Pluto. I do mean confrontations, because each character is an ace pilot for one of the three factions warring for the future of space; they’re supposed to be enemies. Like many other giant robot stories, this is fantastic ground for romantic tension and unlike many other giant robot stories, Heaven Will be Mine is doing this deliberately and it all pays off in the end.

What Heaven Will be Mine manages to create is a genuine sense of chemistry with the three main characters. Luna-Terra and Saturn slowly open up and learn to be vulnerable with each other. Pluto and Saturn learn about each other beyond their status as psychic celebrities and see each other as people. Luna-Terra and Pluto start with a tonne of baggage from the beginning but gradually work and fight through it. It’s a real delight to read as each scene is a blend of two of these unique voices that give a face to some very real queer experiences.

But while we may see these characters move from fighting with each other to falling for each other, that is not what we as the reader get to influence. Instead we decide what faction gains an advantage from the protagonist’s confrontations. What this really means is that we don’t decide who falls in love with whom but who makes the best case for what society that love has to live within.

Because, what everyone is fighting for in Heaven Will be Mine is whether or not they return to an Earth that sees them as something alien. Every character already knows what is at stake, but eventually it becomes clear that aside from the cool robots and space colonies, space is a place where it is easier to be a queer person. It is a place unencumbered by the history and preconceptions on what it is to be human, which allowed the people in space to have the bodies they have, the relationships they have and, most importantly, the power to shape their own destiny and make political decisions.

In space a queer trans woman can be accepted not just as a the woman she is, but as a leader of an entire movement. This looks alien to the majority on Earth, and so terrifying that Pluto and everyone like her are thought to be worth purging, either through exile or extermination. No one will care if the alien dies.

We look for lesbian characters with society and agency here and Heaven Will be Mine not only has those but makes the formation of a LGBTQ friendly society and what shape that will take, the climax of the story. Even though there doesn’t exist a route where everyone gets everything they want, everyone does agree to work to make it the best it can be.

 As Pluto says: “We don’t need a true ending. Whatever it is, we’ll make it the true ending.”

 

Ratings:

Art – 10
Story – 9
Characters – 10
Yuri – 10
Service – 3 (but also kinda 10)

Overall – 10

 

I am not saying that Heaven Will be Mine is perfect, it is exactly what I needed to read at exactly the point I needed to read it. Thinking about this story and its characters makes me a happier person and that’s why the score is so high. It is available on itch.io, Steam and iTunes.

Erica here: Wow, this sounds appealing, if this kind of thing ever appealed to me. ^_^ Thanks for the review!