something from the previous decade, just finished To Heart PSE. (the all-ages, full-voiced PS-to-PC port, since i couldn't find the 18+, no voice, Win98 version. )
played it mostly to see how the anime compared, and where To Heart 2 came from. nothing to write home about, but it's good enough to spend all those idle minutes/hours with. i'd give it a 7-8 / 10. also, its one of those very few VNs i've come across that if ever an H-scene were to be included, said scene wouldn't feel out-of-place, or used to a fan service end. take it without and its still good.
Funnily enough, I recently have seen the first two discs of To Heart. Like you said, it is alright but nothing to write home about. From the anime, the story seems a little too kiddy-ish to have any H-scenes. It feels like the not-as-good, dumbed-down version of Clannad.
As for the seiyuu thing, I know that some seiyuu have done those kinds of things before or have come rather close. *ahem* Ecchi. *ahem* Likewise, I know that at least one did a hentai by mistake because they were not given the information about the job. In other words, their agency messed this one up. Also, with the crossover between anime and VNs, sometimes you will get to hear your favorite seiyuu in a VN. It just is kind of rare.
@ainsoph: its actually embarrassing that i didn't come across this sooner, but apparently TH's first full-voice version (for the PS) was released about a week before the anime aired, say 1999/03/25 and 1999/04/01. so i don't know, something spawned simultaneously by Leaf, or one was retconned to match the other? how often do you get the same VAs across different platforms anyway? setting aside how Leaf pulled off the same stunt with TH2 that is..
雨 (ame) trilogy
[070428] アメサラサ (amesarasa)
[090925] 夏ノ雨 (natsu no ame)
[120831] イモウトノカタチ (imouto no katachi)
@Yoake: the kind of laughter that carries quite the meaning.. now i'm even more curious..
@Cosmic: actually that helps me with choosing possible goods from all the mediocrity.
apologies in advance for any in here who isn't particularly fond of Circus. i just happened on this somewhat late, but still early for the real thing.. suspending all manga-, LN- and VN-reading as well as anime-watching, for here comes DC3's 体験版 (trial version) !!
edit:after some 8hrs and royally screwing my sleep patterns yet again, finally cleared dc3's 体験版. basically its set some 20~ years after the events of dc2, and around 70~ years after dc1; based on in-game month-and-day info i kind of figured it to be the year 2072. now onto the spoilers.
Spoiler! :
most of dc3's story has already been covered in Circus' HP, Wiki and various VN blogs, so i'll proceed with the grittier details. the plot revolves around this message from the past (april 30, 1951) received by kiyotaka and his harem of 5, in lieu with hatsunejima's sakura going full bloom for the 3rd time. on the side however is Circus' attempt at using the many-worlds interpretation of quantum physics, namely by introducing this alternate universe of london-style witchcraft and wizardry, with the requisite characters' alternates pursuing magic studies. i get the feeling this might be central only to himeno's arc and not so much to the true end if any; its possibly only a gimmick to further increase dc3 merchandise, but of course i might be wrong..
Spoiler! :
character-wise, i'm not really seeing anything that warrants higher than 3 stars out of 5; barring further char dev't and back stories, they're your typical 5 young women somehow ensnared by this faceless dude who should be an Axe model.. calling it a chara-ge won't be too far off actually, emphasis on which being easily seen on the quite decently-made anime-style OP movie. but for a 15+ rating i was rather surprised with the amount of skin service involved, both in OP vid and in-game CGs. it kinda seemed that they only got this non-18+ rating just by cutting out the H scenes. so Circus, PLEASE don't be too cruel and decide to release the 18+ version no more than 6 months from now.. i don't think i could bear the 1-year gap like how Leaf-Aquaplus did with TH2 PS2 and TH2 XRATED.
Spoiler! :
Circus also maintains its flavor of humor using references to the anime culture and such; i managed to find mention of steins;gate, yuma of TH2, detective conan, tantei opera milky holmes, and of all things the year 2038 problem. for some reason though the mystery animal is missing.. (utamaru, harimao, ??). with the protag's boke sidekick they kinda powered up dc2's wataru and turned him into something resembling TH2's yuuji, tamaki-like ane included too. lastly, there's encore appearances by now-detective hmx-a06 (amakase) minatsu, with her quite nicely aged assistants kohinata yuzu (nanaka arc) and takanashi yuuhi (imouto of dc2 P.C.'s mahiru, as featured in dc2 fall in love - mahiru arc). THERE MIGHT be appearances by nanaka, yoshiyuki and sakura, so i'm hoping the 2nd shirakawa is as age-defiant as otome's and yume's mom yuki.
Spoiler! :
now for speculation.. protag yoshino kiyotaka is somehow hinted to be related to sakura, notwithstanding his and charles' denials in light of the too-good-to-be-true same surname. some fans even think charles is daughter to yoshiyuki and aisia after he assumed the yoshino surname being sakura's "son"; as a between from dc2 true end and dc3, sakura somehow returned to hatsunejima just as suddenly as she disappeared amnesiac and all. imo, it might also be that kiyotaka is son to yoshiyuki and either otome or yume, or some other woman that may or may not be from dc2's cast, with charles fathered by some distant relative of sakura's granny. and off into the deep end, methinks true end is kiyotaka ending up with rikka, her getting the yoshino surname, then somehow going back in time to become sakura's granny, inspiration being the last few frames of the op movie. if so, then it will really be a "Da Capo" spanning a 100+ years in game..
Spoiler! :
i almost forgot.. NOW i think i figured out the mystery behind how suginami perpetuates his species to stay alive in the DC universe, for there's this pink-haired twin-tails tsundere by the name of mikoto who's head-over-heels for him, and apparently is in a pinch regarding the suggestive suginami X kiyotaka pairing. so yeah, we have 5 initial heroines, and of course we can expect another 5+ if the last 2 titles and their Plus Situation/Communication versions are anything to go by.. there's already mikoto, and this yet un-voiced ane (her name's 江戸川 [edogawa] 四季) to boke sidekick 江戸川 耕助, plus a couple more for sure. i would like to see some action as well from minatsu's assistants, but i guess that'd be pushing it..
this is one of BT's resident circus fanboys (not sure if the only one), signing out.. time for some zzz..
雨 (ame) trilogy
[070428] アメサラサ (amesarasa)
[090925] 夏ノ雨 (natsu no ame)
[120831] イモウトノカタチ (imouto no katachi)
@Cosmic: this Material Brave, you mean?? by finding you do mean where to buy it right? maybe this should work, if you haven't already tried.. there are of course other ways, which i'm pretty sure i shouldn't discuss here..
its been a good 5-6 years since i picked up my 1st title, and now i can FINALLY bid farewell to the Shuffle! franchise on a good note after clearing Love Rainbow.
Spoiler! :
ever since i heard of the waifu concept, its always been alien to me, something i thought i'd never fully understand. until i cleared the ruri=matsuri arc that is.. i guess the concept will always be beyond me, but if push comes to shove, she'd be the only character i'd consider waifu material.
of course, there's always the possibility of Navel milking the title one last time for its 10th anniversary in 2014..
next up, probably koichoco since there must be SOME meaning to it's getting an anime this summer. then sakura no reply for being such a blatant DCII rip-off.
雨 (ame) trilogy
[070428] アメサラサ (amesarasa)
[090925] 夏ノ雨 (natsu no ame)
[120831] イモウトノカタチ (imouto no katachi)
)
lastly, there's encore appearances by now-detective hmx-a06 (amakase) minatsu, with her quite nicely aged assistants kohinata yuzu (nanaka arc) and takanashi yuuhi (imouto of dc2 P.C.'s mahiru, as featured in dc2 fall in love - mahiru arc). THERE MIGHT be appearances by nanaka, yoshiyuki and sakura, so i'm hoping the 2nd shirakawa is as age-defiant as otome's and yume's mom yuki.