P.S.: Yeah, I’ve forgot to mention, I’ve enjoyed Steins Gate a lot. A couple of months ago. Thanks!
Hard to say. There is a lot in the VN that isn’t in the anime (bad ends, Yuiko route, minigames, small scenes) but the core experience is the same. I don’t think you’d enjoy it as much as you could, but it all depends on if you are okay with re-watches/re-reads. I know that it’d be impossible for me to read a VN after seeing the anime adaption~
I tried to watch Death Note recently, but the first two episodes were really boring, and the characters introduced were unbearable. Didn’t have the willpower to continue, so I dropped it.
Yup. It doesn’t really have a direct translation… English is a bit too casual for that, but it’s basically a polite welcoming that employees of certain jobs are expected to say. A “welcome! Please come in!” Drop the second half and just say irasshai. Even then, that wouldn’t really work on a forum…
Kazamatsuri.org e yōkoso would work~ It’s not very snappy, but it works.
It’s the best Key VN in my opinion~ Others would argue Little Busters, or Rewrite, or even Clannad, but Tomoyo After has the highest consistent quality.
1 Like
Thank you EisenKoubu!
This gives me a panorama of what to expect in the VN.
But I think I’ll take the “risk”. 
Such a wonderful story.
Luckily for me, I’ve watched AIR when I was going to sleep. So I didn’t really remember the end, so I think I will enjoy another good VN after LB.
I’m tempted to read 2 VN at the same time, but then I think… what’s the rush?
1 Like
Hello Pepe,
I trust you. And I want to believe! I’ve read other points of view regarding this matter, and they are quite useful for me to get a panorama of what to expect.
A key factor is: do I have problems re-reading? Well, I can skip some parts thanks to the way the VN were developed. Thankfully the characters are very appealing to me (like the characters in LB, I can’t point one in particular and say, hey this is my favorite).
Thanks for pointing that topic to me. I’ll take a look.
[quote=“zetaFairlight, post:868, topic:49”]
This gives me a panorama of what to expect in the VN. But I think I’ll take the “risk”. Such a wonderful story.
[/quote]Indeed. Little Busters is fantastic. I can’t wait to read the EX routes when they’re fully translated.
AIR is also pretty fantastic in its own way.
[quote=“zetaFairlight, post:868, topic:49”]
I’m tempted to read 2 VN at the same time, but then I think… what’s the rush?
[/quote]That, and you can’t run two VNs using the same engine at the same time, unless you have a workaround program. It sucks, I know. 
1 Like
Yes indeed. Thank you LinkThinks!! I’ll share what I found,
and I’m also eager to see other points of views. Whether they are similar to mine or not. Besides, my point of view regarding many things change with time and experience, so I’m open to all tastes with a huge respect, and curiosity. It is fun!
Welcome @zetaFairlight. Glad you could make it.
Cool. What’s your favorite branch of science?
I don’t think so. I watched an episode of the LB anime before reading the VN and I still enjoyed reading the VN. 
1 Like
I have 3 that I like to switch between at the moment. It works best if they’re all in different genres though, which is not easy with Key stuff. Maybe you could pair Rewrite or Planetarian with something but I still wouldn’t recommend it.
[quote=“zetaFairlight, post:857, topic:49”]
I’ve seen LB and all its OVAs… as a consequence I know (I guess) some major facts… I’m planning to read the VN after I finish all the Clannad routes BUT: Do you believe in your experience that I’m too spoiled to enjoy it? Should I skip it and go straight to something new like Rewrite?
[/quote]depends, how long ago did you watch LB? Because if it’s recent then I say try something new first. Even if you know what happens LB should still be a fun read, but it would probably be more fun if you distance it a bit(time wise) from the anime.
1 Like
Hey Inuconandoyle! Thanks.
I’m studying Physics, and I really love how things are changing on this field. You know, I couldn’t resist to think about Kotomi when reading some articles about Multiverses and strings. In fact, visual novels in general seems to reflect how the universe is. And, emotions trespassing universes seems plausible. Who knows? Maybe the universe is written with three beautiful hiraganas . 
Encouraging words… This topic should be something to think about for newcomers like me. Many of them entered using the Clannad’s anime door to the fabulous world of visual novels.
Now visual novels are more popular in occident (afaik) and with the release of the International Version (and possibly more), there would be many asking themselves this same thing. Shall I read it or not?
Such a nice world I’ve discovered… and such a great forum. Thank you guys!
2 Likes
Hello MalignantSeraph,
You know, as much as I want to play LB… I think you’re absolutely right. It would be better if I put some distance between both experiences. Thank you.
Probably I’ll start with Rewrite asap. I’ve heard many good things about it.
I don’t really pay too much attention to the critics, I just follow my instinct, and it never fails. It’s always the right story at the right time.
I usually jump into a VN/Anime without even reading the tagline. I’m antispoliers… I like the surprise factor. (Sometimes “shocking” factor in Key’s works).
I’ll take into account that advice, I know what you mean. And I certainly think I’d enjoy one at a time.
BTW, the only exception would be that I’ll be jumping from BGM to BGM without borders…
Key’s music is wonderful. I know that many songs out there aren’t good by themselves but we make them “good” because we attach feelings to them.
It is not the case with Key studios, they are quite good alone imo.
That (its standalone quality) plus the emotional attachment (memories/scenes) that the melodies carries, makes the act of listening to Key’s CDs a wonderful experience.
P.S.: Just in case I’ll keep your advice about Rewrite + Planetarian, if I change my mind. Thanks a lot!
Thanks for your reply Takafumi,
Oh, I’ve really enjoyed Tomoyo After…
I’ve thought that it wasn’t the best Key VN because I’ve read that too many times in some forums that there were better ones.
That, and the fact that there was a recent revised perfect edition (AFAIK) made me think that even Key agreed. BTW, I’d like to play that edition…
In other words, the impression some guys gave me is that it is a very good VN, but there’re better ones (but it’s a subjective matter and a matter of tastes).
As for me, it was my first VN and I don’t regret a bit. I played it without following any guide, and faced a bad ending…
And then, I was able to have the true end. It felt such a great experience.
I liked her brother’s character (I guess you too), and Tomoyo’s character was well done. I like Tomoyo’s spirit.
You know, one of the most interesting parts for me was when they don’t agree, they don’t think the same for the first time near the end.
Finally, the soundtrack is just… wonderful. I really like it.
Yeah, it sounds like you’d like Rewrite a lot. I know not everyone agrees with me, but I personally think it has Key’s best soundtrack.
2 Likes
More good news, @MalignantSeraph. Can’t wait!
I think it’s the only Key soundtrack that I haven’t enjoyed yet (on purpose). (Because I will be playing Rewrite very soon, so I’m resisting the temptation) Good to know!
Wait… what? I ran AIR and Litbus at the same time when we were talking about VN resolutions on Aspi’s stream.
Umm…
Still, I’m not sure why you’d ever want to run two at the same time.
You messed up your spoiler tags there 
I don’t think you really need them there anyway.
Also, you can just edit your posts. You don’t need to make multiple separate ones if you are the most recent poster~
The only new thing it did was add more H-scenes I think. It was just a money grab~
Definitely. A lot of the day-time tracks and the heroine themes are pretty unbearable imo, but lots of people like them.
The real good ones are the ones that show up deeper into the routes The endings are great too. Kept me excited after drudging through the Kotori route.
@Takafumi Yes indeed, fixed now. That’s what happens when you type too fast.
I’m so “anti-spoilers” that I can’t help it.
And thanks for the info. Yes, I’ve already noticed that edit option in my first post (which was quite messy).
As I said, this is a great website. Elegant, and very functional.
I don’t know what to say regarding the engines, I’ll try them. Right now I’m using the Clannad VN saved on a Windows 7 partition, but running it from my Windows 8 partition… and accesing it using teamviewer remotely. LOL I have no idea what may happen if I run 2 engines. (I try to protect my Windows 8 partition because it is perfect, that and my laptop, that’s why I use TeamViewer to access W8). Kinda complicated but functional, and I can play it anywhere I am… like a visual novel in the “cloud”.
I think I’m going to explore those engines, I’m curious. I don’t know anything about them…
I started a little post about the Reallive engine, which is what Key used up until Rewrite. It’s in the early stages, but it’ll improve over time. It mainly focuses on the RLDev tools, but there’ll be some stuff about the official tools Visual Arts released.
1 Like
Welcome @zetaFairlight! Its always great when we get new members who are so passionate. I’m sure we’ll have some great discussion~
[quote=“zetaFairlight, post:857, topic:49”]
Should I skip it and go straight to something new
[/quote]Forget what everyone else has said. Obviously the next VN you should read is Angel Beats! 
I see you say you’re very anti-spoiler. That’s good. We hate ruining these great stories for other people around here. To help us all out, it would be great is you could put in parentheses what the spoilers are about. For example, here you could put
“about (Clannad) Kotomi”
That way, people know whether or not they need to stay away from the spoiler. Thanks!
Understatement of the year. Key’s music is effing brilliant.
And lastly, we encourage necroposting here, so feel free to bring up any old topics!
4 Likes
Yes, that’s a useful tip to make it easier to decide if one should read it or not. Thank you!
By the way, yes, a small word can ruin an epic moment… those great “wham” moments.
Specially in this genre.
Yes, I never tell a single thing, because I want them to enjoy it as much as I do or even more.
You know @yearian98 sometimes I really want to share something (like a trailer or song from YouTube or other sites) in order to introduce a friend to the Key world.
But YT is plenty of spoilers, even when nobody wants to tell a thing (after-video suggestions, suggested video list at the right, comments section, and so on). It’s very hard, so I end up not sharing a thing in many cases.
It would be a good topic: “How to invite a friend to the Key universe (Anime/VN) without telling them too much about it?”
1 Like
Maybe it is. Only time will tell what discoveries we shall make. :3
I’m currently taking Physics as my college course and it’s a very interesting branch of science albeit it’s also pretty difficult.
1 Like
Ah, Physics. I remember starting that course, realizing that 1) there’ll be lots of homework, and 2) the things being taught are incredibly pretentious, I quit on the first Friday. Went for Psychology instead.
