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. 

Posted in Yuri Game, Yuri Visual Novel | 8 Comments »


Tokyo Journal February 2019, Part 2

February 18th, 2019

Wow, the last couple of days have been a crazy whirlwind, in part because they included peopling.

We did Akihabara and found that the Shosen Book Tower’s Yuribu has, if anything, expanded. My wife, who had not seen it before, was very impressed.  We followed that up with the Gamers, Animate and Toranoana, which still has a Yuri corner, but has shifted to all doujinshi.

 

 

Note please, the red sign. You will see it repeated here as a Valentine’s collaboration between all the different  Yuribu. 

So, notice that the Animate Yuribu is now in both Ikebukuro and Akihabara.  (This is the back side of the Yuribu table, so ignore the comics. The front side had Yuri. You can check out this picture set on Facebook.) I hit up Comic Zin and Melonbooks and scored Strawberry Shake Sweet 4 by Jesus Drug! Yay!

On Saturday, we spent most of the day with manga artist Nakamura Kiyo and her manager Hsu, two women for whom I have such tremendous respect. I had the hurdle of this ridiculous sandwich to eat. We dubbed it the bacon steak sandwich. How big are other people’s mouths? I had to eat this with fork and knife. Hsu was more successful than I.

After discussing important topics like manga and pie, we headed out to Harajuku to shop. At Kiddyland I found something I cannot *believe* I got. I cannot wait to show you, and a bunch of stuff at the Sailor Moon shop…but not the Sailor Moon frying pan, try as I might, the wife just didn’t want it.

We were going to go see the view at Sky Tree, but were so leisurely about dinner, we missed our chance. Why does Sky Tree close so early on Saturday night? The Empire State Building has last elevator up at 1:15 AM. Sky Tree tickets close at 9 PM? Ugh. other cities…people stay up later than 9 PM.

Sunday was Comitia. I know I’ve talked about it a lot here, because it’s so interesting. Comitia is for original work only. So your favorite circles who have made their name in parody get a chance to showcase their own stuff.  This year was an absolute delight, as we saw that Comitia was shifting way more towards design and art, along with original work and, as a result, slipping a little bit away from porn. (Because, let’s face it, most porn is pretty low on artistic skill and design. Not all…but most.)

Thanks to James, we were able to connect with Grace Ting, who is doing postdoctoral work on Japanese women’s lit, with a queer / feminist perspective and who is, an all-around super person to talk to! We walked through the larger-than-I-have-ever-seen-it Yuri section which took up almost all of ち and た rows. Then we wandered through some gobsmackingly great art. My wife and I bought a stunning Tarot deck and I bought a copy book from Aoki Mitsue, who was sitting in a row we called the “classics” section, as all the artists were older and I recognized some from 20 years ago. I did manage to tell her how much I liked her work.

We made people laugh every time we came to a screeching halt and said “Wow.”

This table, KSDB, got our award for best presentation of the show. They were so kind to let us take a picture. Check out their work on Tumblr.

We just stopped in our tracks and gaped at the presentation. The ladies behind the counter were excited that we liked it. We were excited that they did it. It was lots of smiles all around. 

My wife reminds me that every time we paid with a 2000 yen bill people just freak out. Our bank just acts like its normal, but no one here uses them and every single time we pay with one, people go nuts. It like “holy heck, its a legendary 2000 yen bill!”

Here’s a picture of the back of my head, doing some shopping.

 

We ended our day with some really lovely food at a local restaurant. I had soba and duck, which was amazing.

 

We have one last full day here and will be in full shopping mode. 

Be back soon with the Tokyo: The Unbagging!

Posted in Tokyo Journal | 7 Comments »


Tokyo Journal February 2019, Part 1

February 15th, 2019

Writing to you from beautiful Tokyo, where I have already dropped some cash on stuff I (and you) totally “need.”

We’re here for business and pleasure as usual. ^_^ Our trip began with a bit of light throwing money at the Japanese otaku economy, as we bought some things we couldn’t live without, but I can’t remember what they are now. (!!) And gashopon. The first day we headed out to Shinjuku to enjoy the “Manhole cover fair” at Tokyu hands. We did, in actual fact, buy some manhole cover design goods. Not these. I’m not paying $13 for a manhole cover coaster, sheesh.

We met James Welker for dinner and once again had an absolute blast. He’s always lovely to speak with over a yummy dinner. Meeting him gave us a chance to shop for Valentine’s Day chocolate for fun. 

The next day we headed over to Nakano to see what treasures we could find. I found a bunch of treasures, including the climax of Rose of Versailles in the original magazine. How cool is that? I also found a bunch of things I was not buying.

And this gorgeous thing that, should I have bought it, would have to remain unworn, because I don’t know why, but I kill watches dead if I wear them. But stilll…….I wanted it so much.

Most importantly….and really, this is quite important, Mandarake in Nakano now has a Yuri section. It’s next to the gay manga section, not the BL section and had a bunch of Yuri porn I didn’t recognize and a lot I did, and whole bunch of older Yuri from Yuri Hime, including all the novels I didn’t buy at the time because they looked meh.

We stayed local that night, but Book-Off *still* doesn’t have the second volume of Shitsurakuen, so I didn’t buy anything. There’s a lot-lot-lot more Yuri on shelves these days, even in the used book stores, but nothing I hadn’t already read, oh well. 

Today we took a trip to the Takako Shimura popup shop and mini exhibit in Yurakucho. It was sweet. there were framed prints for sale and some original works on display, a video of her working on one of the illustrations and a little “tools of the trade exhibit.” I picked up a bunch of stuff for Lucky Boxes of course and a few things for myself. 

 

Then we hit up Tokyo Station’s Character Street, then and headed out to Ueno. After dinner, we decided, because it is Valentine’s Day. we’d go see the Illumination at Shiodome. After watching way lots of light singing “Let it Go” to us, we finally curled up with some Houjicha and Strawberry Tiramisu Kit-Kats. The houjicha one tastes a bit like white chocolate covered ashtray and the strawberry one tasted like strawberry and a barful of alcohol. I think I like them. I’ll probably bring some home.

We’ve got a lot planned for the rest of the week, and I’ll report back in a few days. No YNN report this week, a I’ll be out having fun without you. ^_^

I’ll see you on the other side of Comitia!

 

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Yuri Manga: Now Loading…! (English)

February 14th, 2019

There’s an old chestnuty saying that “you should never meet your heroes.” In Mikan Uji’s Now Loading…! this is simultaneously true and untrue at the same time.

Takagi has scored her dream job at a small gaming company. As an independent game developer, she loves creating new stages, but has hit a plateau in downloads and ideas. Her boss, Sakaurazuki is pretty harsh, but when she learns that Sakarazuki developed her favorite game ever, Takagi is motivated to try harder. Takagi is pretty sure the boss hates her, or at least hates her work, until one day Sakarazuki kisses her suddenly.

The team they are on can see that they like each other, so while they are working overtime on the game, the team is also working overtime to set the two of them up. As the volume closes, they get it together and finally admit what literally everyone else in the office can see.

I find that I never reviewed the Japanese edition of this manga, although I know I read it. Having re-read it in English, I absolutely know why. While I acknowledge that stories, that is, fictitious works of workplace relationships can be fun, the reality is not good and boss/employee relationships are very not good….and relationships that begin with a boss suddenly kissing an employee without their consent is extremely not good. So much not-good that I find it hard to enjoy most narratives that begin that way. Worse, with “happily ever after” after that particular beginning premise.

As the anime industry is flailing with the idea of consent being a thing that everyone deserves in every single situation, this is a particularly difficult “cute” story set-up.

So, while I’d like to say that this is a cute workplace romance, which is how it is presented, it just comes off as a little tone deaf. Unless this particular situation is your boom…and then, by all means enjoy. I won’t judge, I like MURCIÉLAGO. ^_^;

Ratings:

Art – This is early for this creator so let’s give it a 7
Story – 5
Characters – 6
Service – 0 Not really
Yuri – 7 Two couples out of five characters

Overall – 5 I wanted to love this when it ran in Comic Yuri Hime. It could have been a 9 with a single change, but it was just too problematic for me to enjoy.

Posted in English Manga, Yuri Manga | 2 Comments »


Princess Principal Anime (English) Guest Review by Eric P

February 13th, 2019

Welcome to Guest Review Wednesday! Today we welcome back Guest Reviewer Eric P with a spy story. So let us please give him our attention. Take it away, Eric!

Early 20th-Century Albion (England in this universe) saw the discovery of an anti-gravity substance called Cavorite, making possible the invention of airships and other weapons, enabling Albion power over the rest of the world. This scientific revolution also gave birth to the London Revolution, where the oppressed rose against the elite. As a result the great London Wall was constructed through Albion, separating the Kingdom from the Commonwealth. In this divided world the Commonwealth tasks a special group of teenage female spies with Operation Changeling, to replace the 4th-in-line princess with one of their own due to their similar appearances and infiltrate the Kingdom. The Princess finds them out, but instead of blowing their cover she instead offers herself as a fellow agent to help in their missions, in exchange for their help in her claiming the throne so she can undertake her own mission in reunifying the country.

Princess Principal is a solid spy action series with creative steampunk elements, and the action scenes are fun enough to watch one does not care how over the top they can get (in the interview booklet of the Premium Edition, the staff admit that if anyone drove the cars of this era like these spies do, they would break apart rather fast). At a glance it may seem like another anime with moe-designed girls as femme fatale heroines, but in this story there really is logic applied to the importance of their age as well as their gender in the missions they get assigned, and they continually prove themselves capable in their unique ways.

There is the big sister of the group, Dorothy, a 20-year-old going undercover as a high-schooler (I swear this must be a self-aware inside joke), and the one who resorts to her assets when the situation calls for it. Chise is the token Japanese samurai whose fish-out-of-water culture clashes make for some humorous moments, but is by no means dumb. Beato, the youngest member and an amateur, proves useful with her artificial voice-mimic box, created from traumatic experiments done by her father. There is Ange, a consistent liar-by-nature who harbors the most deceptive, calculating mind of the group despite her placid demeanor. Then there is the Princess herself, Charlotte, who dons a mask of class and pride but like Ange also hides a calculating mind. It was Ange who was hired to replace Charlotte, but unbeknownst to anyone else the two share a history, and now they hatch a mutual scheme against their own sides to pursue an alternate route to the same goal.

In an ANN interview with director Masaki Tachibana, he was asked if the bond between Ange and Charlotte was meant to be seen as more than friendship, to which he responded, “For that, I say we leave that up to your imagination.” Ask this reviewer, and if you were to watch this series with strict hetero-lens, it is still not easy to pretend that Ange and Charlotte are just mere friends.

After a forced separation due to the revolution, their committed, even single-minded devotion to each other made their reunion happen after ten years. Ange shows her true face to Charlotte, and the very first thing she speaks of is for them to run away from the world and live out their lives together in an isolated house. But Charlotte puts that idea to the side and instead declares her own in restructuring the world so that no wall would ever come between them again. Since then and all through the series the two engage in affectionate talks that differ from the rest of the group (in the interview booklet, one of the staff expressed belief they were straight-up flirting). And in the very last scene of the last episode, Chise says, “I can never picture Ange in a romantic relationship”, to which an annoyed Ange replies with “I’ll have you know…” before she gets cut off. One might say that could imply anything, but watching Ange and Charlotte’s last scenes in the final episode really illustrates their true relationship, especially with the way it was put to the test toward the story’s end.

For those who are dub fans or are at least open to them, Sentai delivers a strong English audio track. There might be listeners who are keener on accents than I am, but speaking for myself the British accents felt true to the story’s time and place while also bringing distinctive charm to the characters. Chise’s Japanese accent in particular felt right without being overdone. The worst one can really say about the dub is the girls sound a bit more mature than their actual ages, which is often typical. Yet for those who feel the girls are a little too near-moe in design for one’s tastes, their older-sounding English voices do kind of help counterbalance that.

While the main story the series tells comes thematically full-circle in the end, the overall story remains inconclusive—the London wall still remains and the enemies our heroines faced against remain in play without getting quite the expansion one would expect, not to mention several other subplots they could have explored. But then, it was announced Princess Principal would continue via a six-part film series due out this very year. We might well get stories filling in the gaps the episodes did not cover, and perhaps a further exploration of Ange and Charlotte if we are lucky.

Ratings:

Art – 9 (they were going for Production I.G.-level quality, and it shows)
Story –8.5 (Told chronologically out of order, and requires suspension of disbelief in many areas—especially with how the spy network actually functions—but still makes up for everything with entertainment value)
Characters – 8.5 (The dynamics are strong and charming and each character gets their moments to shine—although the one episode that may rub viewers the wrong way is where Dorothy tries to find redemption in her past-abusive father)
Service – 3 (Aside from Dorothy’s seductive measures and Ange’s spy outfit that admittedly shows quite some leg, service is rather light. This is one of the rare female-centered action series where the heroines are overdressed rather than underdressed—a rather refreshing change in pace)
Yuri – 3 (the director will not confirm either way, but is openly not against the interpretation that seemed obvious to many viewers)

Overall– 8.5

Both the Japanese and English versions are available to view on HIDIVE and Amazon Prime Video. And, for the compulsive collectors with holes in their pockets (like me, admittedly) the Premium Edition box set comes with a pretty fabric poster, a storyboard book of the first episode, artbook, and near-ridiculously extensive interview book with the crew and cast. Assuming that Sentai will later license the film series, one could even remove the physical goodies and make room for six future blu-ray discs.

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