#Denpasoft

[sl33py-g4m3r]

Visa Mastercard Censorship Comes for Denpasoft! How Can It Be Stopped?

a bit late for finding this type of stuff~~ I think I also saw a video from Rev Says Desu about this kind of thing too~~

why’re card companies trying to decide for us what types of art we can or cannot enjoy?

I think the Rev Says Desu video I saw on this was about mastercard and visa pulling funding for pixiv or melonbooks or some other anime/manga sites? idr so the only way to pay on whatever site that was is by japanese card companies or whatever funding platforms are on the site...

just let us buy the thing as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone~~ only thing that’s wrong with fictional art is papercuts and hand cramps from writing/drawing for a long time....

or censoring japanese games but allowing similar or worse stuff in western games, like a “it’s ok if we do it” ..... T_T;; the main thing I’m thinking of in that regard is all the customization and nsfw in “baulder’s gate 3″ yet the anime/manga/visual novels get censored??

not angry but why does this double standard for east/west media exist? censorship is a slippery slope~~~ didn’t like it when 4kids westernized the japanese culture out of childhood anime that I watched, and it seems to be getting worse~~

[anievo]

Denpasoft Terpaksa Hapus Game Dewasa: Dampak dari Permintaan Bank!

[warpshipping]

The daki guru has returned for another anti-bootleg post ✌🏻

And boy, it’s a long one.

AnimeDakimakuraPillow (also known as ADP) is the most famous bootlegger of anime body pillows in the Western sphere. This is the company you’ll always see when you look up the keywords “__ dakimakura” and/or “__ anime body pillow,” in which the blanks represent a franchise or character.

They’re also known for reaching out to YouTubers who base their brand on anime to review their subpar products. The cases and inner pillows they send to these reviewers are better quality than one’s you’re more likely to receive when actually ordering them.

My Experience

Two years ago I ordered one of their grand Siberian inner pillows, and paid extra money to have it stuffed more so that it doesn’t flop around like in the review videos.

These are the options I chose. $120 total. The one I received was... disappointing. It was as floppy as it would’ve been if I hadn’t paid the extra $20 for more stuffing.

Proof of price difference:

I apologize that I don’t have pictures of the pillow; it was 2 years ago, as I mentioned, and I wasn’t aware of ADP’s thievery and fraudulent business until the middle of 2019.

ADP’s History of Stealing Designs:

It came to my attention mid-2019 that ADP frequently steals designs from daki artists via low resolution screenshots they take from, say, Google images or the original product site, and tracing over the lines for sharper printing. Here’s an example of them tracing someone else’s work:

As labeled, the original is on the right, and ADP’s knockoff (see the watermarks?) is on the left.

Here’s their full watermark on one of the other products on their site shown below.

Sayori is the artist behind the Nekopara games, and subsequently the artist of their merch the company they work for (Denpasoft) releases to promote the games.

Here’s another example of them taking someone else’s work.

This is Cuddly Octopus’ Mashu design, drawn by Ayul.

This is Ayul’s Pixiv page for proof of creation. (I colored the surrounding pieces bc they were bordering on N/SFW)

Aaaand.... the same design on ADP’s website, below.

It’s been discussed on the Dakimakuras discord chat that Cuddly Octopus has given NO consent for this design to be sold on their store. CO commissions these artists like the Ayul shown above to create designs for their shop.

(If anyone needs screenshots of this particular piece of proof, just ask!)

Some of CO’s other designs are currently being sold on ADP’s site as well. I can screenshot more comparisons of websites, including the original artist if requested to do so!

Ta-ta!💞 Coconut (from CO) bids you farewell and a lovely night uwu

[englishvisualnovels]

Denpasoft Opens Pre-Orders for The Ditzy Demons are in Love With Me

Note: This post contains links that lead to NSFW content.

Pre-orders for the 18+ version of The Ditzy Demons are in Love With Me are now open via Denpasoft for a 19% off discount.

The Ditzy Demons are in Love With Me will be available on Denpasoft and Steam on October 26th. The all-ages version of the game will be available via Steam.

Relevant Links:

Where to Buy (Digital): Denpasoft (18+ ver.)

Steam Page

Features, via Sekai Project:

Five beautiful heroines to romance

CG Gallery unlocked upon completion

Music gallery to listen to your favorite in game tracks

Stand gallery to make customs scenes with the characters

Partially animated sprites

Beautiful art by the talented artist Sayori (Nekopara series)

Scenario by Kou Kikuzuki, Hiro Kobayashi, and Yukihito

Subroutes for Reika Kiritani, Aifa Ryuusenji, and Rin Shibasaki

Synopsis:

Ren’s virginity is in danger! His childhood friend Riria was frantically trying to take off his clothes and begging to touch him. The truth is that she’s actually a succubus and was embarrassed not having any sexual experience at her age.

He was suddenly pushed into the school’s special dormitory. It was a girls’ dormitory full of useless demons: Yuu, the yuki-onna who was extremely sensitive to the cold; Arle, the mummy girl who is uncomfortable with tightness and loves the feeling of freedom; Emiri, the hopeless angel who has no sense of modesty and who is also his step sister; and, Miyabi, the witch who passionately develops a love drug to bring happiness to the world. The dormitory was built to rehabilitate them and since he was mistakenly moved there, he was assigned as an assistant to watch over them. His happy and troublesome days as a teacher for these cute but incompetent demons has begun.

[operationrainfall]

(18+)REVIEW: Re;Lord 2 ~The witch of Cologne and black cat~

(18+)REVIEW: Re;Lord 2 ~The witch of Cologne and black cat~

Title Re;Lord 2 ~The witch of Cologne and black cat~ Developer Escu:de, Element Publisher Sekai Project, Denpasoft Release Date November 19th, 2021 Genre Visual Novel, RPG Platform PC Age Rating 18+ Official Website It’s been a bit since I got to check in with the wild crew for the Re;Lord franchise. I was pretty excited to what sort of craziness Wilfried would come up with in Re;Lord 2…

[yurimother]

The Best Yuri of 2020

2020 was hell in every way, and many of us are looking forward to new possibilities and advances in 2021. However, the year brought us many small moments and gifts worth celebrating. Among these, the explosive growth and change within the Yuri genre are among the most precious and most outstanding achievements. This second century of Yuri opened with a bang, as phenomenal new works, creators, and moments made their mark and helped change the future genre.

This annual list is a celebration of just a handful of the fantastic titles, people, and events in Yuri. There are likely some even greater ones that did not make the list because there is so much content in both English and Japanese that even I cannot keep up. However, among the troves of treasure, these titles stood out as shining examples of Yuri excellence. Some were released this year, others were recently adapted into English, and still, others are established titles that rose to prominence to dominate the conversation and my mind this year, but every one of them is worthy of being on this list and in your heart.

Here is the Best Yuri of 2020!

15: The Curse of Kudan Remastered

Japanese Yuri visual novel developers show no sign of slowing down as they continue to push to new heights and try new ideas. These are the same amazing people who brought us the delightful educational Yuri game The Expression Amrilato and the hilarious and surprisingly queer OshiRabu: Waifus Over Husbando’s. However, this most recent release, The Curse of Kudan Remastered, is their best work yet. Released near Halloween, this game brings a new edge of dark mystery and the occult to Yuri audiences worldwide.

The Curse of Kudan is available on MangaGamer, JAST USA, Denpasoft, and Sekai Project.

14: Adachi and Shimamura

English audiences were finally treated this year to Hitoma Iruma’s long-running and wildly successful Yuri light novel series, Adachi and Shimamura. Although the story struggles to gain traction, dedicated readers’ have their patience rewarded with a sweet tale full of gay pining. Alternatively, you can jump into its stellar anime adaptation, with gorgeous visuals and realized characters you will actually be willing to put up with the annoying Yashiro just to see where the title characters go. The series shows no sign of slowing down either, as the manga adaptation is coming to Western audiences next year.

Adachi and Shimamura is available to stream on Funimation. The light novel series is published by Seven Seas - https://amzn.to/3rTSZTK

Honorable Mention: Happy Go Lucky Days

The OVA adaptation of Fragtime got most of the attention this year. Still, director Takuya Satou and Pony Canyon also gave us this much-overlooked “love is love” anthology movie based on Takako Shimura’s manga (Sweet Blue Flowers, Wandering Son). The first short in the film, “Happy,” is easily the best Yuri anime of the year. It follows the beautiful yet realistic queer love story of two women hooking up at a mutual ex-girlfriend’s wedding, only for the relationship to blossom and warm viewers’ hearts. Sadly, while stylized, the budget demanded the animation cut a few too many corners. Additionally, the subsequent stories are at best tedious and at worst alarmingly problematic, which is why Happy Go Lucky Days only gets an honorable mention.

The OVA is streaming on HIDIVE

13: Mieri Hiranishi

The Yuri scene has many colorful creators with a breadth of different ideas and stories in the genre, yet few have provided as much humor and joy as Mieri. This talented creator spectacularly tumbled into the scene with her manga essay The Moment I Realized I Wasn’t Straight, which embodies the brutal honesty and realism of Nagata Kabi and matches it with exaggerated hilarity. She continues to chronicle her painful struggles of being a butch girl in love with butch girls in the monthly series The Girl that Can’t Get a Girlfriend. Alternatively, you can follow her on Twitter for just as much heart and laughter.

Read The Girl that Can’t get a Girlfriend on Tapas and Webtoon.

12: My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!

My Next Life as a Villainess has what can only be described as volcanic bisexual energy. Every character protagonist Catarina Claes encounters is entirely enthralled by her. Of course, she is far too preoccupied with her quest to avoid doom flags and change her ultimate fate to notice any romantic interest. The series is rewarding and well structured, as views are just as focused on how Catarina plans to avoid certain doom as they are with the various romantic misses her band of companions cooks up. While the “friendship ending” did not capitalize on its Yuri potential, it was perhaps the most satisfying possibility for this crazy harem, at least until season two comes out, which looks, unfortunately, to be significantly less queer.

My Next Life as a Villainess is streaming on Crunchyroll

11: Love Me for Who I Am

Kata Konayama’s manga series is less Yuri than a general LGBT work, but it has a lesbian character and explores her identity and struggles in great detail. Few titles before have captured the exciting and nervous waves of emotions that young people feel as they explore gender and sexual identities and try to find themselves. This heartfelt and extremely queer series rubberbands between cute moe dress up to tragic and gripping backstory, keeping readers on their toes the whole time.

Love me for Who I Am is published by Seven Seas - https://amzn.to/3rTSZTK

10: A Summer’s End – Hong Kong 1986

Oracle and Bone’s debut visual novel, A Summer’s End, is set in a vibrant and electric 1980’s Hong Kong. Drawing inspiration from classic Asian cinema, music, and fashion. The worlds of Michelle, a young office worker, and a free-spirited woman named Same collide. The two struggle to comprehend and accept each other’s feelings just as they struggle against society’s expectations and prejudices. An incredibly thoughtful and touching adventure, the creators incorporated vital contemporary elements include Asian LGBTQ rights and growing political unrest in Hong Kong, into this illustrious game.

The visual novel is available on Steam.

Honorable Mention: Goodbye, My Rose Garden

In the same vein as A Summer’s End, Goodbye, My Rose Garden is a beautiful period piece that incorporates LGBT views into its shattering narrative. The story follows a bright-eyed immigrant, Hanako, wanting to make a new life in England as an author at the dawn of the twentieth century. She takes a job as a maid to noblewoman Alice, but their relationship takes a turn when Alice asks Hanako to kill her. This poignant tale is beautiful and an honest depiction of love and its conflict with responsibility and society.

Goodbye, My Rose Garden is published by Seven Seas Entertainment - https://amzn.to/3hFSyaG

9: Shio Usui

Usui’s hit Shaikaijin Yuri manga Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon could easily take this spot even though it is not even out in English until February 2021. The manga is already making waves and receiving constant praise. The characters and their journey to discover love and self-acceptance are as charming as they are relatable and grounded. However, it is the creator, Usui, who really deserves acclaim. Not just for their work on Doughnuts, but having a second serialized story, Onna Tomodachi to Kekkon Shitemita, in monthly Yuri magazine Comic Yuri Hime simultaneously. It is even more remarkable when you consider these two iconic stories are Usui’s first long-running works, as they only contributed one-shots before.

8: Bloom Into You: Regarding Saeki Sayaka

Bloom Into You is possibly the most iconic Yuri series in the past decade, and while the manga deserves its own place on this list, the best thing to come out of the series as a whole is easily the light novels. This trilogy by Adachi and Shimamura creator Hitoma Iruma dives deep into supporting cast member Sayaka. Readers are treated to a delightful journey as she discovers her sexuality, experiences heartbreak, and finally finds herself breaking free and falling in love. With the help of gorgeous illustrations by Nakatani Nio herself, Iruma masterfully captures Sayaka’s unique voice and emotions in this wonderful series. Whether a fan of the originals or not, every Yurijin must check out Regarding Saeki Sayaka.

The light novel series is published by Seven Seas - https://amzn.to/3hFSyaG

7: Our Teachers are Dating

The best a Yuri can get. This workplace romance follows two teachers at the start of a new relationship taking nervous yet enthusiastic first steps, including saying I love you, going on their first date, and even sleeping together. It is so heartfelt and salacious that readers will squeal the whole time. Additionally, our heroines are supported in their relationship by everyone they know, their students, colleagues, and even the principal. It is a perfect world for these two lovebirds! Our Teachers are Dating would easily be number one or two in any other year, but the competition is fierce in 2020. So even though this is only number seven, it is still a master class Yuri manga.

The manga is published by Seven Seas Entertainment - https://amzn.to/38XY3O9

6: Amongst Us

Who would have thought that a comedy alternative universe story spinoff of a fantasy action series would be the single best Yuri webcomic this year? Shilin’s astounding artwork illustrations the hilarious and irresistible journey of girlfriends Blackbird and Veloce. These two eccentric young women get into all kinds of everyday mischief that bounces between tender and touching romance, completely outrageous comedy, and downright thirst-inducing sorcery. Seriously, you should buy the first volume for Veloce’s back muscles alone. The storyline skips between time, but both their established relationship and their meeting as teenagers are adorkable and captivating.

Amongst Us is available online free on Webtoon and the comic’s website. The first volume is in paperback on Shilin’s site.

Honorable Mention: Éclair

There are a lot of Yuri anthologies out there, and they have done some beautiful things. Many focus on themes like Syrup. Others collect a series of stories by an author into one bound work. However, out of all of them, Éclair is the most successful. ASCII Media Works took some of the genre’s most extraordinary creators and let them do whatever they wanted, and the results are spectacular. The incredible talent behind Éclair somehow packs a full volume’s worth of story and character into just a few pages with every chapter. While the first volume came overseas a few years ago, Yen Press gave Yurijin a gift this year by releasing the entire rest of the series in which readers can get lost.

The anthology series is published by Yen Press - https://amzn.to/38XY3O9

5: I’m in Love with the Villainess

A small trend of isekai Yuri with villainesses emerged recently, and I honestly had few hopes of I’m in Love with the Villainess. The series is pretty popular, but I often find that this does not denote quality, and with isekai having some institutional issues, I suspected this would fall flat. Then the volume three cover showcased an incredible accomplishment, allowing for a lesbian relationship to blossom into a family with children, and it blew me away. Finally, I read volume one and realized that the series has incredible character, some of the best world-building I have ever seen in a light novel, thoughtful discussions of inequality and societal issues, and most impressively, open and frank discussion of queer identity and life Yuri has ever seen! This one is something special.

The series is published by Seven Seas Entertainment - https://amzn.to/3nedvdZ

4: The Last of Us Part II

Yes, I know this one is not Yuri and that a portion of the population despises this game and will likely be exceptionally angry at me for including it. However, I maintain that it was an incredibly challenging masterpiece. Naughty Dog did not take the easy route out and delivered one of the most devastating media experiences I have ever seen. As I said in my article about the game, playing it changed me, and it sticks with me to this day. The Last of Us Part II earns its spot on this list because it pushed boundaries more with LGBTQ inclusion than any other AAA game. From brave inclusion of LGBTQ themes to queer characters and storylines at its center, the game changes gaming and it will never go back.

The Last of Us Part II is available on PlayStation 4

3: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

She-Ra feels like the culmination of all the LGBTQ progress western cartoons have made over the past few years. From The Legend of Korra to Steven Universe, young people are finally seeing more LGBTQ people represented on the small screen. This epic fantasy concluded with an amazing and powerful lesbian romance, delivering on its queer promise and revolutionized representation in a trope-defying crescendo.

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power is streaming on Netflix

2:  The Conditions of Paradise

The greatest single Yuri work of all in 2020 was the English release of Akiko Morishima’s breakthrough manga, The Conditions of Paradise. Initially released in 2007, this anthology detailed the love between adult women. It was in every way a manga ahead of its time, and seeing it finally get a small piece of the recognition it deserves overseas is a true gift. The fact that we can own this legendary piece of Yuri history and Morishima’s other anthologies is nothing short of a blessing from the Yuri goddess.

The Conditions of Paradise is published by Seven Seas Entertainment - https://amzn.to/38bh4xq

Honorable Mention: Otherside Picnic

This eerie sci-fi horror series combines the best of pulse-pounding thrillers, complex and intelligent hard science fiction, and exciting Yuri romance. Author Iori Miyazawa spends as much time crafting a well-paced and intriguing narrative about a mysterious world where occult creatures roam as he does establishing two believable and grounded heroes in Sorawo and Toriko. The romance between the two may be slow to start, but their chemistry is undeniable and as the stakes and story build, so too does their relationship. Not only are the light novels incredible, but the series’ manga adaptation is coming soon to the West as well as an upcoming TV anime in early 2021.

Otherside Picnic is streaming on Funimation. The light novels are published by J-Novel Club - https://amzn.to/3niiv1g

1. Yuri subgenres

For a long time, Yuri was not a genre of its own, but elements of romances or bonds between women found in other works. Now, thanks to an increasing library of works, the advent of social media, and a wider audience, Yuri is a genre on its own, with many creators telling different stories in different styles. However, 2020 saw the continued emergence of something extraordinary, subgenres. Yuri is now so vast, we can actually categorize the works within. Depending on their characters, like classic schoolgirl romances or spicy shakaijin office affairs, their world, such as fantasy or isekai series and thrilling science fiction adventures, and even other elements within. One of my personal favorites is the feminist Yuri that emerges from titles like Sexiled, where women celebrate the accomplishments of other women and dismantle power structures stacked against them. Now, no matter what kind of Yurijin you are, there is something for you to love.

I am happy to leave 2020 behind, but I bring with me a renewed love and admiration for Yuri. 2021 looks to be a somehow even better year for the genre, and I am thrilled to experience every minute of it that I can. Yuri has transformed into something far greater than I ever thought it would be, and let us all enjoy its evolution and expansion together in 2021.

[kamadaeva]

yo since the grisaia series is on sale on both steam and denpasoft do you have a version you would recommend?

if you enjoy h-scenes of your faves, go with the denpasoft version, if you dont care bout h-scenes, go with the steam version. unless steam has the 18+ content then just get that. good series. great characters

[otome-obsessed]

Manga Gamer Golden Week Sale

Otome on sale

Fashioning Little Miss Lonesome $24.99 $14.99 (-40%) OZMAFIA!! $34.99 $20.99 (-40%) Steam Prison $34.99 $26.24 (-25%)

Click here to look at other games in the Manga Gamer catalog that are on sale.

Sale Ends May 6th.

The links above are for the steam version. You can buy the version directly from Manga Gamer, just please note that Manga Gamer’s website is NSFW.

Update: Denpasoft is also having a Golden Week sale.

The Bell Chimes for Gold - 30% Off

18+ Ver ($10.49): https://denpasoft.com/products/the-bell-chimes-for-gold

All Ages Ver ($6.99): https://store.steampowered.com/app/824200/The_Bell_Chimes_for_Gold/

Please note that the All Ages version is cheaper because it does not have sexual content. If you want the sexual content, you MUST buy it directly from Denpasoft as the game had to be completely redone to remove the sexual content and there is no way to patch it to add it back.

[oneangrygamer]

How to Raise a Wolf Girl Heads To Steam And Denpasoft On October 11th

How to Raise a Wolf Girl Heads To Steam And Denpasoft On October 11th. R18+ Patch Will Be Available At Launch | #VN #VisualNovel #BonerCulture

I don’t know if it will make it to the finish line, but Sweet & Tea and Sekai Project’s How To Raise A Wolf Girl is set to release on Steam and Denpasoft starting October 11th, 2019. We’ve seen some visual novels get their store pages approved on Steam but then end up getting banned right on the eve of their release, which is what happened to Lilith’s Taimanin Asagi, where it was bannedjust…

[englishvisualnovels]

Craft Items, Get Rich, and Find a Husband — The Bell Chimes for Gold Now on Sale on Denpasoft and Steam

Developer: OTUSUN Club Publisher: Sekai Project (All-Ages ver.) & Denpasoft (18+ ver.) Release Date: April 6, 2018 Platform: Windows Age Rating: All-Ages & 18+ Price: 

$9.99 (All-Ages ver.)

$14.99 (18+ ver.)

Note: This post contains links that may lead to NSFW content.

Earlier, Sekai Project released The Bell Chimes for Gold on Denpasoft and Steam. The 18+ version is available through Denpasoft while the all-ages version can be purchased through Steam.

The Bell Chimes for Gold is an indie otome RPG/visual novel hybrid developed by OTUSUN Club. To celebrate its launch, fans can purchase the game for 10% off until April 13th.

Sekai Project and Denpasoft are also running a drawing where winners will receive a cloth mousepad featuring the characters from The Bell Chimes for Gold. Please note the giveaway is available to only residents of the United States. The giveaway ends on April 12th.

Relevant Links:

Where to Buy (Digital): Denpasoft (18+ ver.), Steam (All-Ages ver.)

Official Site

Launch Giveaway

Sekai Project

Denpasoft

Features, via Sekai Project:

Woo the hearts of 5 potential middle-aged grooms with tough and unique personalities.

Explore through different dungeons such as forests and mines to collect materials.

Make useful items in battle with Maria's Herbalism skill or you can sell them for money to add to your funds.

Contribute to your favorite character with your hard earnings to unlocks special scenes.

Enjoy your favorite love interest speaking to you in full Japanese voice-over.

Replay through your favorite scenes  with the Memories section.

Switch between English and Japanese languages in-game.

Synopsis:

Maria is a plain old herbalist training diligently under the watchful gaze of her loving mentor.

Her skill in crafting items gets her within arm’s reach of her goal of getting enough money to marry. But then, her mentor who she was supposed to be a happy couple with suddenly marries his pretty childhood friend!

“With your skills in crafting, you can just buy any man you want.”

After getting turned down with such cruel words, Maria resolves herself and declares:

“I’m gonna make a buttload of money and marry someooooneeeee!!!”

What encounters are in store? Earn, save, and marry. A happy end awaits you ♪

Cast:

Maria Scissorland (Name cannot be changed.)

The main character; a highly skilled herbalist.

Because she is so dedicated to her research and her craft, she has almost no chances to get into contact with men.

The only man she’s had a relationship with is her mentor. Without ever having done the deed, he broke up with her.

The items she makes are first-class, and fetch a high price.

Samuel Double Voiced by: No Name

Although well-built, muscular, and a great warrior, he destroys his body with alcohol.

His main weapon is a great sword. However, it’s currently being pawned. Has has so many tabs running with bars that he’s on the verge of running dry.

Though he’s not really a bad guy, he’s still a drunkard of an old man, so there aren’t many prospects for him. He can often be found sipping on booze at bars.

Ben Koo Voiced by: Shiraiwa Kazuma

A thief, and compulsive gambler.

His luck in anything related gambling is as exceptionally horrible as he is excellent in his other skillsets. The debt has piled up so much that he isn’t even allowed into any casinos or gambling dens. In fact, his own life is already at risk.

A dagger and sling are his primary weapons. He often sits in dark corners of bars so that he doesn’t stand out.

William Bloom Voiced by: Takeda Naoto

An elven ranger. He is also a skilled user of the spirits, as well as being skilled with the bow, but he is so naive that he is easily fooled.

Having been tricked into shouldering a debt from a complete stranger, he is always chased after by debt collectors. Also, he has a problematic tendency to just give money away whenever he sees anyone in need. His main weapons are his mythril short sword and his bow.

He can often be found in the adventurers’ guild, looking for work.

Ben Starly Voiced by: Sugiyama Atsushi

A priest coming from fallen nobility. Though he grew up well, his family had lost all of its assets due to his father’s debauchery.

Despite being absurdly poor, he can’t help but show off. He dreams to one day buy back his family’s estate, furnishings, and treasures.

His main weapon is a mace.

Often, he can be found in the adventurers’ guild looking for work.

Walter Pleasant Voiced by: KK

A necromancer dedicated to his work. He has been placed under special surveillance, and is not allowed into cemeteries. His primary theme of research is to create zombies who retain their conscious reasoning. As a practitioner of his craft, his skills are top-notch, at a level where he can make use of the undead, prolong life, and even restore youth. He has no interest in anything but his own research, so his social skills are terrible.

He has no sponsors so he is extremely poor. Because his research deals with raising the dead, he was kicked out of the sorcerers’ academy, and so he can’t get a job. He can often be found rummaging around the garbage bins around town.

[yurimother]

Lesbian Supernatural Game ‘The Curse of Kudan’ Makes Surprise Halloween English Release

On October 30 Yuri visual novel developer SukeraSparo released the remastered version of supernatural Yuri game The Curse of Kudan (Folklore no Kudan). The remastered version includes for the first time English, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese Support. The Curse of Kudan Remastered is available in the West on MangaGamer, Sekai Project, JAST USA, and Denpasoft.

SukeraSparo describes the game:

There's a rumor going around about the urban legend known as "Kudan."

They say that it takes the form of a woman in mourning dress, her face covered by a black veil, her right severed at the wrist... They say that those who lay eyes on her are doomed to have misfortune befall them within seven days...

Feelings start to bud between student Sakuya Kudan and culinary teacher Touko Shima after coincidence brings them into one another's orbit. However, their peaceful everyday life is abruptly shattered when Touko sees Kudan, the harbinger of calamity. The hours tick down as Sakuya rushes find a way to combat the curse, and her search brings her to the academy's Occult Research Club and its president, Koto Ashinaki. Now she must face off against the unknown in order to protect the people she loves...

The all-ages visual novel features character designs and 11 pieces of CG artwork by Hanekoto. The script is written by Flowers writer Shimizu Hatsumi. The Curse of Kudan stars Japanese voice talents including Fukuhara Ayaka (The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls) as Kudan Sakuya, Naganawa Maria (Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid) as Akinashi Koto, and Iwami Manaka (Fruits Basket 2019) as Shima Touko. In addition to English and Chinese support, The Curse of Kudan Remastered increases the game’s resolution to a full 1080p HD, a jump from the original releases 720p.

Meru, who previously translated the English edition of SukeraSparo’s OshiRabu translates the game into English in this edition.

A manga adaptation of Folklore of Kudan premiered in the August issue of Comic Yuri Hime. The manga is illustrated by Nijiru and follows the events of the game.

You can get The Curse of Kudan with a 10% launch discount in English today on JAST USA, MangaGamer, and Sekai Project.

Purchasing and downloading games legally helps support publishers and developers.

[ebi-hime]

The Language of Love, my cute BxG VN, has been released! It’s a love story with (optional) 18+ content, that follows the slowly developing relationship between a single mother and a prospective university student. LoL contains comedic slice of life scenes, and it’s about the importance of family! You can buy it on Steam here, for $11.99! It’s also available on Mangagamer, Denpasoft, and itch.io. Enjoy! ☆

[englishvisualnovels]

Sekai Project Launches Steam Page for The Bell Chimes for Gold

The Steam page for the all-ages version of OTUSUN Club’s The Bell Chimes for Gold is now available to the public. Sekai Project will release the 18+ version of the game through Denpasoft, their adult game brand.

The Bell Chimes for Gold is an upcoming fantasy otome visual novel/role-playing game hybrid that is “coming soon,” according to Sekai Project’s official Twitter account. An exact release date for either the all-ages version or the 18+ version has not been announced at this time.

Relevant Links:

Where to Buy (Digital): Steam

Official Site

Features, via Sekai Project:

Woo the hearts of 5 potential middle-aged grooms with tough and unique personalities.

Explore through different dungeons such as forests and mines to collect materials.

Make useful items in battle with Maria's Herbalism skill or you can sell them for money to add to your funds.

Contribute to your favorite character with your hard earnings to unlocks special scenes.

Enjoy your favorite love interest speaking to you in full Japanese voice-over.

Replay through your favorite scenes  with the Memories section.

Switch between English and Japanese languages in-game.

Synopsis:

Maria is a plain old herbalist training diligently under the watchful gaze of her loving mentor.

Her skill in crafting items gets her within arm’s reach of her goal of getting enough money to marry. But then, her mentor who she was supposed to be a happy couple with suddenly marries his pretty childhood friend!

“With your skills in crafting, you can just buy any man you want.”

After getting turned down with such cruel words, Maria resolves herself and declares:

“I’m gonna make a buttload of money and marry someooooneeeee!!!”

What encounters are in store? Earn, save, and marry. A happy end awaits you ♪ 

Cast:

Maria Scissorland (Name cannot be changed.)

The main character; a highly skilled herbalist.

Because she is so dedicated to her research and her craft, she has almost no chances to get into contact with men.

The only man she’s had a relationship with is her mentor. Without ever having done the deed, he broke up with her.

The items she makes are first-class, and fetch a high price.

Samuel Double Voiced by: No Name

Although well-built, muscular, and a great warrior, he destroys his body with alcohol.

His main weapon is a great sword. However, it’s currently being pawned. Has has so many tabs running with bars that he’s on the verge of running dry.

Though he’s not really a bad guy, he’s still a drunkard of an old man, so there aren’t many prospects for him. He can often be found sipping on booze at bars.

Ben Koo Voiced by: Shiraiwa Kazuma

A thief, and compulsive gambler.

His luck in anything related gambling is as exceptionally horrible as he is excellent in his other skillsets. The debt has piled up so much that he isn’t even allowed into any casinos or gambling dens. In fact, his own life is already at risk.

A dagger and sling are his primary weapons. He often sits in dark corners of bars so that he doesn’t stand out.

William Bloom Voiced by: Takeda Naoto

An elven ranger. He is also a skilled user of the spirits, as well as being skilled with the bow, but he is so naive that he is easily fooled.

Having been tricked into shouldering a debt from a complete stranger, he is always chased after by debt collectors. Also, he has a problematic tendency to just give money away whenever he sees anyone in need. His main weapons are his mythril short sword and his bow.

He can often be found in the adventurers’ guild, looking for work.

Ben Starly Voiced by: Sugiyama Atsushi

A priest coming from fallen nobility. Though he grew up well, his family had lost all of its assets due to his father’s debauchery.

Despite being absurdly poor, he can’t help but show off. He dreams to one day buy back his family’s estate, furnishings, and treasures.

His main weapon is a mace.

Often, he can be found in the adventurers’ guild looking for work.

Walter Pleasant Voiced by: KK

A necromancer dedicated to his work. He has been placed under special surveillance, and is not allowed into cemeteries. His primary theme of research is to create zombies who retain their conscious reasoning. As a practitioner of his craft, his skills are top-notch, at a level where he can make use of the undead, prolong life, and even restore youth. He has no interest in anything but his own research, so his social skills are terrible.

He has no sponsors so he is extremely poor. Because his research deals with raising the dead, he was kicked out of the sorcerers’ academy, and so he can’t get a job. He can often be found rummaging around the garbage bins around town.

[bunnyadvocate]

Analysing VN fans on Steam

To what extent do JVN and EVN fans on Steam overlap? How many VNs do they buy? Who spends more? Which fandom is more elitist? As an update to my last analysis post on VN sales on Steam, I trawled 100k Steam profiles to find out. Here are my results~

Data collection and definitions

Using the Steam API, I checked over a million steam profiles and collected public game lists on just under 100k users. I then used Steam's "Visual Novel" tag to identify which of those games were VNs. As Steam tends to be more lax on its definition of what a VN is, I cross-referenced this with VNDB.org and only included those games that had a VNDB entry. VNs were then split into three categories:

JVNs: non-free VNs created by a Japanese company.

EVNs: non-free VNs created by a primarily English speaking developer.

Free VNs: free VNs created by either a Japanese or English developer. Unlike the non-free categories, users are only counted as "owning" a free VN if they have logged some time playing it.

Those of you who follow my twitter may notice a few of these graphs are different to what I teased earlier. When investigating the overlap between VNs, I consistently found one group of VNs that were an outlier in terms of their fanbase overlap with other VNs, their userbase size, and their average price. It was always the Chinese and Russian VNs. So in the interests of better analysing the English language VN fandom, I restricted the dataset to only those VNs developed originally in English or Japanese.

Results

Let’s start simple and just see how widespread we VN fans are on Steam:

While VNs remain a niche, they seem to be widespread enough among the Steam userbase that most users should at least be familiar with what they are. EVNs are penetrating Steam better than JVNs, perhaps due to bundles and lower prices. But they’ve also been on Steam longer than JVNs, with Analogue: A Hate Story being released back in 2012. Overall, 37.9% of Steam users either own or have played a VN of some kind. But owning one VN doesn’t necessarily make you a fan, so let’s see how many VNs these users own.

The dramatic drop for free VNs show how dependent it is on a few VNs that reach more mainstream attention. 26.5% of free VN users have only played Doki Doki Literature Club for example, and only 53.2% of free VN players have ever bought a VN. This suggests that free VNs might not be an effective strategy for promoting a later commercial release as so few of these users buy VNs.

EVNs drop at a faster rate than JVNs, showing that EVNs’ wider userbase doesn’t necessarily mean they have more users who would identify as VN fans as they tend to only own a couple of VNs. However once we get past the casual crowd, we see EVN owners seem to be more prolific purchasers than JVN owners. EVN owners purchase more VNs on average (5+ EVN owners own 23.7 EVNs on average, whereas 5+ JVN owners own 17.1 JVNs each). This may be because there are 66% more commercial EVNs on Steam than commercial JVNs so there’s more to buy, and they cost far less (the average EVN is £7.31 vs £14.00 for JVNs). So let’s try comparing the average spent on VNs next.

These prices assume users paid full price so are overestimating the total spent, but the relative value between JVNs and EVNs should be fairly accurate.

Here we can see the influence of those higher JVN prices. While EVN fans may buy more, they spend less. On average, EVN owners spend £60.87 while JVN owners spend £81.12. The richest 10% of spenders have a disproportionate influence on the industry, accounting for 60% of all EVN revenue and 53% of JVN revenue. This is broadly in line with the Steam average, where the top 10% of spenders account for 61% of all revenue. So far we’ve been treating JVN owners and EVN owners as distinct entities, as if they were two warring tribes. But are they actually the same users? Let’s investigate the overlap~

Given that 86% of free VNs currently on Steam are by English developers, I expected the free VN fanbase to overlap more with EVNs, but it’s actually JVN owners who play free VNs more frequently, as 62.1% of JVN owners play free VNs but only 52.9% of EVN owners do too. Perhaps it’s because there are more EVN owners who are only lightly into VNs so are less aware of other free VN releases.

Equally surprising is how many JVN owners also own EVNs: 75.2%. Despite the reputation of JVNs being the elitist community, it’s EVNs owners who are less likely to try JVNs where only 52.4% of them own a JVN. "But what about bundles” I hear the comment sections cry. Perhaps some EVN/JVN owners just picked up one in a bundle and aren’t really fans of them? OK, let’s retry this overlap with only those users who have at least 5 EVNs/JVNs/Free VNs in their library.

The biggest drop in size is the free VN category, who lose 88.5% of their users. Meanwhile, the overlap between EVN and JVN fans has only grown tighter; with 60.1% of those who own 5+ EVNs also owning at least 5 JVNs. So it doesn’t seem like bundles explain the strong overlap between JVN and EVN fans, but let’s try another test. If someone picked up a VN through a bundle that they aren’t interested in, they probably wouldn’t play it. So let’s try only counting VNs that have been played:

There’s been a slight drop in how many JVN players also play EVNs, at 67.6%, but it’s still a significant overlap. So while bundles likely do inflate EVN numbers slightly, there’s no denying how linked the fandoms are. Overall, 59.3% of owned JVNs were played, while 56.2% of EVNs were. The lower EVN percentage is perhaps due to user’s owning more EVNs on average. Although both played stats were higher than the Steam average, where only 49.2% of owned games have any recorded playtime.

So what explains the lingering lower JVN ownership among EVN fans? Are EVNs perhaps catering to a wider audience? One thing the EVN scene is known for it its profusion of otomes (VNs with a female protagonist pursuing male love interests), so let’s compare their overlap.

Rather than being more insular, otome fans are even more willing to try VNs developed in another language, with 81.2% of EVN otome owners also owning a JVN, and 90.3% of JVN otome owners also owning EVNs. However the overlap between otomes fandoms is smaller than EVNs/JVNs overall (68.6% of JVN otome owners also own EVN otomes, and 37.9% of EVN otomes owners own a JVN otome). Something that especially stands out is just how many otome fans there are in the VN market. 33.1% of EVN owners and 42.1% of JVN owners own an otome. They make up a significant part of the fandom, but many online VN community hubs either ignore or are outright hostile to them.

So it otome’s don’t explain the EVN/JVN gap, what does? To further investigate we’re going to need to delve into individual VN statistics and look through a lot of lists, so I’ll keep that for my next post in a week or two.  

Potential issues

We’ve been basing these statistics on public user profiles, however only 7.4% of Steam users have their game list public. So it’s possible we’re undercounting the more casual userbase who are less likely to have configured their profile to be public.

This has been an analysis of only Steam users, and while Steam is a major part of the game industry, it’s not the only source of VNs. JVN fans may prefer to stick with Mangagamer/Denpasoft etc, while EVN fans may prefer itch.io. So it’s possible the JVN/EVN fandom splits more than these figures would imply.

Conclusion

In my experience, the popular image of the VN fandom is of a male JVN elitist who hates EVNs and would never read an otome, but that really isn’t representative of the customer base. The majority of JVN fans also enjoy EVNs, the average JVN owner owns more EVNs (10.9) than JVNs (7.6). The same is true of EVN fans, who while preferring EVNS (8.5 owned on average) still frequently own JVNs (5.0 owned on average). So the canny VN developer would do well to advertise in both EVN and JVN fandom communities.

I hope you enjoyed the analysis. Please let me know what you think and share any alternative theories you have on these stats. If you’re interested in more, check out my other posts here on tumblr, watch for updates on my twitter, or give me a yell on Discord (Sunleaf_Willow ／(^ n ^=)＼#1616). Special thanks to /u/8cccc9, Part-time Storier, and Lunaterra for help with the analysis. I just do these analyses for fun, but if you want to support my work with a tip, I accept small donations at ko-fi.

[operationrainfall]

(18+)REVIEW: Re;Lord 2 ~The witch of Cologne and black cat~

(18+)REVIEW: Re;Lord 2 ~The witch of Cologne and black cat~

Title Re;Lord 2 ~The witch of Cologne and black cat~ Developer Escu:de, Element Publisher Sekai Project, Denpasoft Release Date November 19th, 2021 Genre Visual Novel, RPG Platform PC Age Rating 18+ Official Website It’s been a bit since I got to check in with the wild crew for the Re;Lord franchise. I was pretty excited to what sort of craziness Wilfried would come up with in Re;Lord 2…