Jaded Perspectives

Forgot something, Ojou-sama? Synopsis: Nagi is so excited about her own manga selling out that she never bothered to check how Ruka was doing. She asks Chiharu who hesitantly tells her that Ruka sold her last copy ten minutes ago. Nagi seems to interpret this as a loss and proceeds to reflect on the things she had learned during the course of this whole manga competition and how she has no regrets. Whut? Whut? Nagi lost? Trembling and almost in tears, she finds the will and the courage to smile and congratulate Ruka for her victory. However, the contest isn’t over just yet. Ruka points out that the rule they had was that whoever sold the most wins and had nothing about who sells out first. Then she reveals with a sheepish smile that she actually has one copy left of her doujin – which means Nagi has officially won this competition. Say it ain't so! With the long contest finally over, everyone seems set to celebrate, when suddenly, a mysterious person i

Ruka: That's right... I AM ZERO! Synopsis: Finally, it’s the day of the competition. Everything is all set, but Ruka does still need to hide her identity, which has been taken care of by Isumi via a mask. Ruka appears before Nagi and company in epic fashion and declares the rules of the competition: 100 books each and whoever sells the most wins. It's showdown time! Ayumu wonders where Hinagiku and Hayate are, but it seems they’re stuck in traffic because of The Great Tokyo Bay Fireworks Festival and won’t be able to make it for the competition. Chiharu asks Kayura which manga she thinks will win to which Kayura replies that she doesn’t really know because they’re both terrible and hard to read, but they’re also both good manga. Nagi reflects on how she got into this competition in the first place because she wanted to become something special with her own hands just like how she saw Ruka as a goddess once before. As the competition begins,

I will draw more manga! Synopsis: Riding high on the wings of inspiration from her moment of introspection and with a little push from Chiharu in the previous chapter, Nagi proceeds to draw her manga in epic Yagami Light-esque fashion. Not even Chiharu’s slight doubts can quell her enthusiasm. She manages to finish all the drawings in a single day with markedly improved quality from her previous wasted manuscript. Still, Chiharu reminds her that she only has two days left and she still has to do the backgrounds and inking. Will she able to finish in time? She really does help out quite a lot. Suddenly, from out of nowhere, a wild Hamster appears. It seems she’s suddenly over her summer cold and wants to help out (with a shirt that cries out “Energetic” at that). Nagi bluntly refuses her offer since she knows nothing about drawing manga. Unperturbed, our dear little hamster suddenly pulls out a PC workstation from out of nowhere complete with a program specifically for dig

Hikari's Ribbon was one of my first attempts at making a crude "visual novel" using very amateurish character art, music and over-all presentation, but it is also a story that I am quite proud of - one, which to this day, I can confidently proclaim to be my most technically complete story despite its apparent brevity and simplicity.  At its core, Hikari's Ribbon is a simple children's story, but with a mature theme that is intended mostly for adults to young adults. That aside, this story should be quite fitting for readers of all ages. This 2013 release is a movie-only version of my original visual novel (which is still available at http://rd2k2-games.blogspot.com ) with all new CG art featuring a cartoony style that was mostly inspired by My Little Pony: Friendship is magic. (Twilight Sparkle is best pony! Thar, I said it. Lawlz!) The reason that I chose this particular art style is because it is quite simple and I believe that it will probably never beco

Might I point out that there's an anatomical error on her shoulder? That aside, awesome cover! Synopsis: After spilling ink on her manuscript and declaring that she’s had enough of this whole competition, Nagi indulges in some negative self-talk and proclaims that she doesn’t have a chance at winning anyway with only 3 days left. There’s really no time to re-draw everything at this point. Alice is apathetic about the whole issue and Maria smiles like an understanding mother, while Chiharu narrows her gaze sharply; trembling with anger. Nagi engages in more defeatist talk and even goes as far as to say that everything that she’s done so far has been in vain because there’s no way she could beat someone like Ruka. Nagi: Shut up, Chiharu. I'm being emo here. Maria moves in to play her part and comfort Nagi since she’s just given up, but Chiharu holds her hand out in front of her. Chiharu attempts to instill some fighting spirit in Nagi through several shonen

Well, actually just a remake of one of my older works. It's the story that I consider to be my most technically complete and competent story even if it does take the average reader all of five minutes to read through it. In any case, I've never been a writer who goes for length. Anyway, to get this out of the way, I've been working on a remake of Hikari's Ribbon for quite a few months now and just a few days ago, I finally finished all the CG work for this remake, which would be like 90% of the VN done. All that's left now is to code it into whichever VN engine I choose. I'm on two ways on whether I should keep going with Ren'Py or if I should try out NVList. In any case, the actual release will be a youtube video because actually releasing it in VN form seems redundant and unnecessary nowadays because it's a linear story with no choices.  Expect the remake out pretty soon (which is like a month or two in my vocabulary). Meanwhile, enjoy these te

Hmm... this might become a habit as this arc kicks into full gear. You ARE special, Ojou-sama! So, this chapter was particularly well-received and sparked all kinds of discussions all across the internet. (it's a good thing.) One particularly hot topic would be that apple that was alluded to in this chapter and which features prominently in the opening sequence of Can't Take My Eyes Off You. Naturally, people have put forth several theories on the subject of the meaning of said apple? After lurking around a bit and rereading this chapter, it finally hit me that the apple might just be a metaphor for Nagi's dreams (or perhaps Nagi and Hayate's respective dreams). As to what those dreams are: I hesitate to say anything with committment, because it might have something to do with Hayate, it might be related to Nagi's mangaka ambition, or it might be "to be something special," which makes perfect sense as you can see in this page I uploaded. Based on