BLVN Review: Uultra C

Recently MangaGamer released the English version of Adelta's BL visual novel UuultraC and I was very excited to play it! I really enjoyed Hashihime of the Old Book Town and was interested in seeing what Adelta would create next. This review will mostly be spoiler free!

Sypnosis
UuultraC's story takes place in the second half of Japan's Showa era (the 1970s). It focuses on the Tokusatsu movie genre, in which superheroes fight kaiju. In this world however, kaiju and heroes aren't just characters you see in movies, they also exist in the real world. Kaiju are living among humans and when they cannot control their emotions, some of them transform into their kaiju forms. The hero siren gets set off at any sign of a kaiju attack, alerting the ‘’heroes’’ called Icarus in this game. 

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Unlike most other BL visual novels, this game has 3 different pairings and each episode focuses on one specific pairing. There are no choices, so you can just select an episode an enjoy the story! The second and third chapters are locked until you completely chapter one.The story is the same every time, you just see it from a different character’s perspective each time.

Chapter 1

The first chapter focuses on the protagonist Kagome Shoutarou. His dream is to become an actor like his idol, Sayashi Juurou, who plays one of the most popular heroes on TV: Icarus. Shoutarou is in a relationship with Kozuka Akira, an aspiring manga artist. They live together in the Setagaya ward of Tokyo. Even though Shoutarou wants to become an actor, nobody usually calls him back after the auditions, which is why he currently has all kinds of other unrelated part-time jobs. Akira always disappears when the hero siren goes off and Shoutarou wonders what Akira has been hiding from him...

Chapter 2

This route focuses on Choutsugai Shirou, a camera man who also graduated from law school. He's not just any photographer, he also works for several gossip magazines and isn't afraid to show his own selfish desires. He also hates Icarus because nobody came to save his family when they were attacked by a kaiju in the past. When he was younger he starred in a movie together with Sayashi Juurou and his childhood love "Bell-chan". Choutsugai is convinced Bell-chan is a girl but when they reunite he realizes that "Bell-chan" is actually a man called Isshiki Suzu. Isshiki is a kaiju who pretends to be a fake white icarus. He always shows up when a kaiju is spotted, but his intentions are unknown. He is a kind and caring person who wants to protect Shirou.

Chapter 3

The last chapter focuses on famous Icarus actor, Sayashi Juurou, who is mentioned a lot in the previous chapters. Many people look up to him, but he has many dark secrets. Juurou often meets up with his childhood friend Yomi, who he met after a tragic accident when they were kids. Juurou’s uncle raised both of them together after this incident. Yomi has a lot of part time jobs and seems to be very busy, which Juurou doesn't really like because he just wants to be together with him. Yomi is a very mysterious character, his real age is unknown and he seems to know way too much about certain topics, not suspicious at all of course!....

Personal thoughts
This game really is something else, it is incredibly difficult to summarize the plot because so many things happen! There's also quite some side characters who all have their own stories too and they play a big part in certain routes.

I think most of the main pairings were pretty good, but it did take me some time to understand the plot. You really need to play all three chapters before you know what's really going on. In the end, I think my favorite pairing is probably the one featured in the final route, but I also really liked many of the other characters. I really recommend checking the official website and reading the short story. I also created a list of all the short stories in another blog post.

I did not completely understand the plot of this game until I read all the chapters, the Q&A, the short stories and the information published in the official book, but I do think all questions get answered if you look hard enough. Most of this content hasn't been translated, so if you have any questions feel free to send me a message and I'll check if Kurosawa Rinko gave an explanation..!

The game is not super long (I finished it within 12 hours) but it somehow feels longer because so much happens and it definitely has some replay value as well. I heard this game has over 1800 (!!) CGs which is why it sometimes feels like you’re reading a manga rather than a visual novel. The OST of this game was also amazing, according to the credits Kurosawa Rinko created most of it themselves which is really impressive, considering they’re also the scenario writer and artist.

Definitely completely different than Hashihime but not bad if you're looking for another BL visual novel to play！

BLVN Review: Dystopia no Ou

I finally finished playing PIL/SLASH's new BL visual novel! I'm happy they released the digital version, you can buy it here! This review will mostly be spoiler free, so don’t worry if you still want to play this game. 

This story takes place in a futuristic world, which is governed by a vast network of AI. The poor and the rich deeply divided, almost never crossing each other’s paths. In this world, the entertainment industry is saturated and culture is almost completely weeded out.

Music barely survived and only exists in the form of occasional live concerts.

Our protagonist Kiriku Inga, who grew up in the rich A district, runs away from home to follow his dreams to become the most famous rock star.

Kiriku lives together with his parents in the rich A district, where he lives a completely carefree life without any hardships. His parents are famous engineers who created the AI that governs this futuristic world, Yggdrasil, named after the sacred world tree often mentioned in Norse mythology (This name suddenly starts making a lot more sense after playing the final route...)

Even though Kiriku lives a comfortable life, he decides to leave the A district with the help of his childhood friend Hanza, who lives on the other side of a fence that separates the A and Z districts. Kiriku’s idol is the legendary rockstar ‘’Mere’’ and he dreams to become an even bigger star than him.

Upon arriving in the Z district, Kiriku meets several different characters. One of them is Murasaki Anji, the lead singer of the band Colchicum, and Tobari Rikyou, a medical doctor and director of theTobari hospital. He also reunites with Kachou Suimei, a mechanical engineer who works for Kiriku’s parents, who demands Kiriku returns to the A district.

In the end Kiriku decides to join Hanza’s band Teiji Taisha. The band has two other members as well, the guitarist Amagoi and drummer Kumori, who’s also an office worker (Teiji Taisha literally translates to ‘’Leave the office on time’’, probably an intentional joke because one of them is an office worker).

After this the game splits into four different routes: Hanza, Anji, Suimei and Rikyou. I recommend everyone to play them in this order, because the first two routes focus on the rock band aspect of the story, while the other two routes focus on the secrets of this futuristic world.

Kuwagata Hanza
This route focuses on Kiriku’s childhood friend, Hanza, and their band activities together. You quickly learn that Kiriku’s actually... not the best at playing the guitar. As a kid he was a very talented pianist, but the other band members have to teach him how to play the guitar. It was really funny to see everyone’s reaction to him playing the guitar, Kiriku is often too confident and thinks he’s the best at everything, while everyone else is questioning what the hell he’s doing (lol). Although it is a childhood friend route, it does not only focus on this aspect of their relationship, you also learn a lot about the struggles every individual band member deals with. At some point in the story Kiriku finds out some of the things Hanza has been hiding from him and it is interesting to see their character development.

I think this route was really sweet? The bad end was pretty dark but that’s what we can expect from PIL/SLASH. Overall I quite liked this route and Hanza is a good character!

Murasaki Anji
The vocalist of the popular band Colchicum, who seems to know Kiriku… but Kiriku doesn’t remember him. Although he is not impressed by Kiriku’s guitar skills, he really wants Kiriku to join his band as a pianist. Kiriku however, does not have any plans of leaving Hanza’s band and keeps rejecting Anji’s offers (lol!). I really expected him to join Anji’s band at some point, but he never did. The route focuses on the music industry of the Z district and it has some pretty interesting plot twists I did not expect to see in this route.

In general, I think Anji’s route is not the most serious one, but both Anji and Kiriku are hilarious characters who have a great dynamic together. Kyuuyouzawa Lychee’s humor really shined through in this route. I think after finishing the game this is one of my favorite pairings because all of their scenes together are super funny.

Kachou Suimei
One of the other characters Kiriku was already familiar with before he ran away from home. Even though Suimei works for Kiriku’s parents and is very close to them, he never interacted much with Kiriku. He’s worried about Kiriku’s parents, which is why he often travels to the Z district to tell Kiriku to return home. I expected this route to follow a similar pattern as the first two, however, it quickly became clear that this was not going to happen. This route is a lot more dark than the first two (pretty light hearted) routes. I finally got reminded that I was playing a PIL/SLASH game...! Pretty early on in the route I was surprised by how dark the story suddenly got.

Even though I wasn’t sure what to think of Suimei at first, the plot was really interesting and it kept me interested throughout the entirety of the route. It was hard to close the game because I really wanted to see what was going to happen next, a lot of action in this route! The route did raise some questions, but they were answered in the final route.

Tobari Rikyou
The director of the Tobari hospital, located in the Z district. He is kind and nice to everyone.........right? You can only play this route after finishing the other three. This is probably the most '’controversial’’ route and something that is more expected from PIL/SLASH. I suspected they would finally reveal some big secrets in this route and I was right! The plot of this route is pretty dark. Even though I could sometimes predict what kind of character Rikyou would be, I still think it was interesting to learn more about him. The first half of the route is a bit hard to play through because a lot of stuff happens, but after that I was really interested in the story and I wanted to know what this man was up to, lol!

I am not sure if the good ending is exactly what I wanted, but some of the extra content PIL/SLASH released does add some interesting details to the story. I think this route is not really a ‘’True Route’’ like some other VNs, but it’s probably locked so players don’t accidentally spoil themselves, considering this route focuses a lot on the plot of the world in which this story takes place.

Final thoughts
I wasn't sure what to expect because PIL/SLASH games are definitely not everyone's cup of tea. However, playing Dystopia no Ou was definitely a fun experience! Be aware that the game’s currently only available in Japanese and that it has not been translated.

Another thing I really liked was this game’s OST, composed by Sentive who also created the music for several other BL visual novels (Lucky Dog 1, Paradise, CAGE). Also the CG art is also gorgeous! The artist is Tateishi Ryou who also did the art for Omertà ~Chinmoku no Okite~ and Omertà: Code Tycoon. I did not even recognize their art new style because it looks completely different these days! Apparently the character sprite art was done by another artist, credited as ‘’Thugran’’. 

The game is not super long, I think it took me about 30-35 hours to finish it. In the end I think every route had something interesting and there was not a single character I wasn’t interested in. Kiriku is an amazing protag because he’s hilarious, I think the writers did an amazing job creating this character. He’s probably one of my favorite BL visual novel protagonists now.

I think it is important to know some of the routes are pretty light-hearted and the plot isn’t anything mind-blowing (until you reach the final routes), but I can still recommend it if you’re a fan of BL visual novels! 

Sweet pool stage play: General info & Review

I’m sure many people saw the announcement a few weeks ago, but I wanted to summarize all the information they published!

The sweet pool stage play will be performed at the Galaxy Theater in Tennozu (Tokyo) in March 2022.  The director is Norihito Nakayashiki who was also part of the DRAMAtical Murder stage play production team. This time he’s teaming up with Nitro+CHiRAL once again.

Cast
Sakiyama Youji: Sakurai Keito
Shironuma Tetsuo: Sunagawa Shuya
Mita Makoto: Sugie Taishi
Okinaga Zenya: Uno Yuya
Kitani Kouhei: Fukuchi Takamitsu
Serizawa Erika: Nagata Sachi
Okinaga Kunihito: Wakasugi Koji
Kamiya Takehiko: Murata Mitsu

Director's comment: Heavy, deep, painful and ephemeral. The fascinating world of "sweet pool" will finally make its theater appearance. It is a great honor to be in charge of the production. As a fan, I am just as excited! Together with the wonderful cast we would like to disturb the audience’s sense of reason and instinct. Therefore, please prepare yourself.

Sakurai Keito: Nice to meet you! My name is Sakurai Keito and this time I will be the playing the role of Sakiyama Youji. I am truly happy to be able to work with the director, the wonderful cast and all the other staff members. I can't help but look forward to how this story will be recreated on the stage. The story we will deliver to you is not just love, but something deeper and heavier.

Sunagawa Shuya: The first time I heard about this project I immediately became very interested in the world of the original game. I met Sakurai Keito for the first time during a photoshoot, but he seems to be very kind and I am looking forward to working on this stage together! I will do my best to make this a project that will be loved by both fans of the original game and people who are new to it.

Review
I watched all 3 routes last weekend and wanted to share some of my thoughts! I absolutely loved this stage play, what an amazing experience. Similar to the DRAMAtical Murder stageplay, it is clear how much effort the production team put into this. The stageplay follows the plot of the game and they were absolutely not afraid to include any of the intimate scenes either. I really appreciated how they did not skip any scenes because many of them are important to understand the plot.

They even included extra scenes from the Everblue drama CD (Makoto and Zenya's routes), which made their endings a little bit longer than they were in the visual novel. This was honestly such a smart decision because you really learn a lot about these characters and their intentions. You learn about Zenya's backstory and how he tries his best to live up to his father's expectations, only to be called a failure. The scenes with Kitani and Zenya were really sweet, which makes the true ending of the game even more painful because we know Zenya will not survive. Makoto's story was also very touching because he cares deeply about Youji. He has no idea why he suddenly develops these obsessive thoughts about Youji and deeply regrets his actions.

The final route I watched was Tetsuo's route which follows the game's true ending, Miracles May. This is the ending in which Youji wants him and Tetsuo to survive. Tetsuo forgets about Youji and it is rumored that Youji transferred schools. A few years later Tetsuo, who is now in college, takes a different route home and suddenly starts remembering Youji. This scene was absolutely beautiful in this stageplay and I personally think it was even better than the game.

I was curious which ending they would pick for the stage play, but I suspected it would be this one. The final scenes looked absolutely stunning and the stage was beautiful. The actors did such a good job portraying this scene.

I think the cast was absolutely amazing too. In some interviews Youji's actor, Sakurai Keito, mentioned that he played the entire game to learn more about Youji's character. He also explained how Youji is similar to him, therefore it was easy to get really interested in the character. You could really tell that all the actors researched their characters well. Because Tetsuo doesn't talk as much as the other characters I imagined this would be a pretty difficult role, but his actor Sunagaya Shuya really made a perfect Tetsuo. I really love the height difference between the actors too, really impressed with the team who casted them!

The streaming platform (DMM) unfortunately doesn't allow individuals to post screenshots on social media, so I used some of the images the official accounts posted on Instagram and Twitter.

Right now, the distribution of the streams ended, but I'm sure the streams will be available again later, similar to the DRAMAtical Murder streams. Be aware that you do need a VPN to access the purchase screen and to watch the video, but something simple like a VPN browser extension gets the job done.

I do not have any recordings, so please support the creators by buying the streams when they're available again!

Update: The archive is available again for a limited time, until 05/21/2022! You can purchase it here.

Photo credit: @digitarou (Twitter/Instagram), Illustration: @yamada_uiro (Twitter)

Nitro+Chiral's lost mobile games, False Alkanet and World's End Nightmare.

Two Nitro+Chiral games many people might not be familiar with were released exclusively for CHiRAL MOBiLE, a subscription based app that could only be accessed by those who owned a Japanese cellphone. The app launched in 2010, but ended its service in 2012. After this all of the content became inaccessible. Members paid a monthly fee of 300 yen to use the app, which gave them access to wallpapers, new illustrations and the two Nitro+Chiral titles many people have not played.

Itsuwari no Alkanet

The first game Nitro+Chiral released on this app is Itsuwari no Alkanet, also known as ''False Alkanet''. The common route was released in June 2010 and every following month a new character's route was added to the game. The original opening movie of this game can still be found on Nico Nico. Itsuwari no Alkanet also got its own drama CD, based on the events which happened in the game.

Synopsis
Kei Takatori stood in Marunouchi, Tokyo. Glittering buildings, paved roads. It was like he was seeing everything in this world for the first time. Life in a strange land, 180 degrees different from before. A father who suddenly re-appeared, an excellent brother, a free-spirited uncle, and a serious butler. In Tokyo, where the scent of Taisho romance drifts, where will Kei go?

The story takes place in the Taisho period, during the political crisis which would become the end of Japan’s oligarchy, causing the rise of democracy. The Takatori family is finally recovering its lost peace. Takatori’s sucessor is the aspiring Pianist Yuto, whose skills keep improving along with his plans to study abroad. Everything looks favorable, but everything is about to get complicated.

Characters (from left to right)

Kei Takatori
The protagonist of this story. Yuto's half brother. Has one-sided romantic feelings for Yuto, which he doesn't know what to do about.

Yuto Takatori
The half-brother of Kei Takatori. He wear glasses and looks very smart. An excellent pianist who wants to be taken seriously.

Sakae Tachibana
The man who tricked the Takatori household chief so he could take over their business. Not a bad guy. Easy-going and elusive. His next target seems to be Kurae.

Kazuki Kurae
Butler of the Takatori family. He takes care of the mansion and the two sons of the Takatori family. He cares a lot about them. Him and Tachibana are on bad terms.

All three characters mentioned above had their own routes. Unfortunately even after looking at several Japanese blogs for a couple of hours, I have not been able to find super many details about the story of every route. The drama CD is still available on multiple Japanese second-hand websites, so I might purchase it one day and listen to it.

World's end Nightmare
In December 2010 Nitro+Chiraladded another title to their CHiRAL MOBiLE library. A visual novel written by Toriko Nanashino and illustrated by Mimori Sinov. Serialization began in December and the series ended with a total of 30 episodes. The genre is noir fantasy and the story focuses on a man called ‘’It’’.

Synopsis
''A poor soul who doesn't know love. I will give you another chance.''
When It woke upIt woke up, guided by an unknown voice, there was a strange "world" in front of his eyes. A square blue sky, a thorny garden and a towering castle in a deep forest. A fairy tale-like "world", clearly different from reality. It knows he died, however, someone brought him to "world" after his death. The purpose is to start a compulsory participation "game".  The content of the game is to prove "true love". If you lose the game, your soul will be turned into "furniture". A beautiful boy, a red shadow, a white shadow, and a masked man. The mysterious "game" with the inhabitants of the mysterious "world". It began the game, regardless of his feelings.

Characters (from left to right)

It
"...I'm not good at that kind of" love, I don't understand the meaning."
The main character of this work. He died and came to the "end". In order to escape this place, he will have to challenge the Faceless. He can't seem to recall why he died. Not very interested in others, calm and composed. He is honest, but he doesn't care much about others. Calm and strong-willed.

Faceless
"I want you to prove" true love "
The "god" who created "the end", the "king" and "judge". He is the greatest one of "the end". Forces It to participate in the game. Although he is a "god," he has no dignity and may be ridiculed by other inhabitants. Cheerful and friendly, but also selfish. He is very unpredictable and very affected by his emotions, making it hard for him to explain things.

Siegfried
"... The more time you spend here, the better you will understand each other."
The oldest inhabitant of "the end". One of the "players" of the game It is participating in. Characterized by a melancholic appearance. His motto is "If you spend time together, it will lead to love." Intelligent, rational and calm. Human emotions have faded, but not cruel.

Kai
"Generally, love doesn't have to be a romance''
Beautiful enough to often be mistaken for a beautiful girl, but he has a sharp tongue. One of the "players" of the game. Not interested in romance. Bored because he has been in this ''world'' for a long time. Outspoken and confident. Naughty. He pays attention to people he likes. He easily speaks his mind.

Baron
"If you do it, you might start feeling emotions right?" (note that ‘’it’’ means means ‘’having sex’’ lol)
A forceful woman-loving older man.. One of the "players" of the game. "Love doesn't need time" is his motto. Although he looks the oldest, he is the newest inhabitant of the "end". Rough, crude and forceful, but he always follows the rules.

You might recognize the art of both of these games if you purchased the third volume of the Nitro+Chiral 10 Years Archive, which was released in 2016. It also features some illustrations of the other Nitro+Chiral games which used to be content only members of the app could see.

I was personally not able to play any of these games because I unfortunately didn't own a Japanese phone in 2010-2012, but luckily there are still some Japanese blogs which talk about these games. You can still find older information about them in BL game magazine Cool-B as well, so luckily not all information about these games has been lost forever.

Some of the Japanese sources I used can be found here: Ｘ　Ｘ　Ｘ