Still playing
Mahoyo in my free time, just reached the 3rd chapter. Since I'm reading it slower than I expected, it actually will take me a while to complete...
Usually I'm not that slow reading visual novels in Japanese, but until now there's a complete absense of action parts, just slice of life and over accurate descriptions. In English I can read faster in the non key scenes, but I can't do the same in Japanese, and for now I'm finding extremely tedious to read more than one scene in one go...
Anyways, I was asked by a couple of persons who don't speak Japanese to do an outline of each chapter, and since is more practical to do a brief description of each chapter instead of trying to summarize the whole game, I'll try to do that.
First of all, my Japanese is nowhere near perfect, so take my word with a grain of salt. Second, don't expect this to be quick (I need to be in the mood to read the game AND to write in this blog). And lastly, there's the possibility of dropping the whole idea and do only a summary of the whole game instead.
And before starting, in the game once you finish each chapter you unlock aditional chapters in the Archive mode, labeled as X.5 and taking place between the chapters. For now I'm only reading the main chapters first, and I'll do the extra ones once I finish the game. Also, if I find some glaring omission that is needed in further chapters, I'll edit that post to add that new info.
CHAPTER 1
The game starts with a flashback 8 years ago, and is narrated in a weird 3rd person / 1st person perspective. A young girl (her name is erased in the texts) is asked by her father to turn on the key of the car to warm it in one chilly morning, but inside the engine were hidding a cat and two kittens.
Once the engine started the cats were killed, and the saddened girl carried one of the kittens (the one that was not killed instantly) to her grandfather's place. He was a magus, so she asked him to revive the dead kitten. The magus was unable to do it, but in that moment another she was born by mistake, a she that became the little girl shadow and that was the first day they met.
After that, there's the opening scene that was included in the demo.
Aozaki Aoko, after working all night is going to sleep, until is interrupted by a persistent call from her school, urging her to go there for an urgent matter despite that day was the foundation day holiday.
The person who called her was the teacher Yamashiro, in order to guide around the campus a new transfer student Shizuki Soujuurou. The reason to choose her is not only because she is the student council president, but because he thinks Aoko is the perfect person to teach Soujuurou, a rather oddball person that came from a very rural location and is still adjusting to living in the city.
Aoko is not a girl that hides her feelings, and is quite harsh whith the teacher and by extension with Soujuurou, that ruined her holiday day.
Aoko is not happy, but earnestly shows Soujuurou around. Because he was living deep in the mountains without even electricity, is pretty naive towards how the modern world works. He's also very sincere but tactless and does a commentary about the harsh way Aoko glares, angering her even more.
After several hours, Soujuurou asks permisson to leave, since he's late for his part-job, and while is saying good-bye to Aoko, he is trying to leave the school jumping out of the window (in a second floor). After Aoko stops him and shows the exit, she wonders if he will be ok...
The next scene also appears in the demo. After returning home, checked how her experiment that was working all night failed and changed clothes, she fall asleep in the sofa. Once awake she have a talk with Kuonji Alice, the other person living with her in the large mansion. They talk about Aoko's experiment that went wrong and recalled how she ended using the whole day showing the campus to Soujuurou, until they bring the delicate matter of Aoko in the need to choice to live as a magus or as a normal girl. Aoko says that in a week she will decide and needs Alice to get the preparations ready.
The conversation ends with the rather puzzling matter of
Alice seeing a giant cat delivering meal, and when
Aoko tries to order two meals by phone,
Alice responds that she doesn't need it because the cat already gave her one.
I only played a couple of hours, until Aoko finish her first meeting with Soujuurou. Since is not voiced I need to check for the kanji and words I don't know how to read, slowing my reading pace quite a lot.
The contents. The limited booklet contains spoilers, so I'm not opening it until I finish the game.
The limited edition of Fate/Zero 3 includes an alternate cover drawn by Takeuchi Takashi and a figure based in the image.
Like the previous figure of Saber included in the Young Ace, this one is also made by Kaiyodo and sculpted by Enoki Tomohide. The face, the most important part for me in any given figure, is not as good as the previous one but still better than the usual Enoki sculpts.
Side view. The shirt have a subtle color gradient to give the effect of translucency, and in this angle her panties are showing. Too bad the head looks hideous.
Back. They opted to paint white the Invisible Air covered Excalibur. If using clear plastic was too expensive, at least the color should be silver....
I said that the uncut scenes in the Blu-ray edition of Fate/Zero were not as gore as I expected, and in that aspect the manga is rather graphic.
The episodes included are 15, 16 and 17 and as usual the "Special" section includes creditless 2nd opening ("CHANGE!!"), creditless endings and the extended episode preview from the website.
The cover and a good part of it is focused in Mahou Tsukai no Yoru, including a demo cd of the game and a phone strap of Aoko as extras.
The Aozaki Aoko (Mahoyo version) phone strap. Is very small and a bit on the ugly side if you look at it closely.
Over 20 pages are focused in Mahou Tsukai no Yoru, that will be released (at last!) in a couple of days. The demo cd contains a few non correlative chapters. I played it and besides the excelent use of the kinetic effects and the neat soundtrack, I was largely unimpressed by the contents... Well, I have the game pre-ordered and shipped by EMS, so if customs doesn't screw me again I'll be playing the full game in a few days and I hope it doesn't turns into a complete let down.
A few pages are also covering Carnival Phantasm (the last volume was released shortly after the release of this magazine). In the picture, a short interview to the voice actors of the Neco-Arcs.
A bunch of interviews related to Fate/Zero, that last week began to air the second season. In the photo, the first part of the interview to Takeuchi Takashi (original character designer) and Sudou Tomonori and Ikariya Atsushi (character designers for the anime).
Interview to Koyama Rikiya (voice actor of Kiritsugu) and Oohara Sayaka (voice of Irisviel).
Four pages covering Fate/EXTRA CCC, an alternate (and supposedly darker) take of the first Fate/Extra. In the picture, a mysterious version of Sakura that seems to have a major role and a still unnamed pink-haired girl with horns and tail. The relase date is a very vague "Spring 2012".
A Fate/Apocrypha chapter written by Higashide Yuuichirou starring the loli Assassin (Jack the Ripper) and her Master Rikudo Reika. I don't like the idea of Fate/Apocrypha at all (is a rejected project for a reason), so I hope it doesn't turn into something bigger than an sporadic chapter in each T-M Ace...
I pre-ordered it several months ago in Amazon.jp, but when the payment day arrived none of my credit cards was accepted. At the end I bought it at AmiAmi, but since I bought it before the release date I didn't received the pre-order bonus (a set of posters) ;_;
The contents are the discs, sorted in two digipaks, and the booklet Fate/Zero Animation Material I.
Inside the digipaks, each disc features a serigraphy of a Servant. The discs above are the blu-rays (3 episodes each except the first disc that contains only the first -longer than usual- episode), and below are the Fate/Zero Drama Cd I and the Fate/Zero Original Soundtrack I cd discs.
Random page. Key animation section interview to Sudou Tomonori and Ikariya Atsushi (character designers and key animation directors) and Shimizu Keita and Motegi Takayuki (key animation directors).
Another random page in the photography section explaining each step in production (right) and the use of 3DCG elements (left). The illustrated pages in the booklet are very scarse.
Last page includes a message from Takeuchi with a picture of Waver, Kariya, Kayneth and Ryuunosuke.
New scene in episode 3, Iri and Saber arriving to Japan and followed by a bunch of homunculus maids in the airport.
A talk between Saber and Irisviel in the castle added in episode 9.
Sola-Ui talking to Lancer in a roof, scene added in episode 13
The first special episode is used to intoduce Iri and Zecchan (Student Zero-chan) and explain the basics of Holy Grail War system.
The second special is used mostly to explain the magic world and a bit about Masters and Servants.
The 3rd special is focused in the special rules applied to Assassin class (only one of the Hassan i Sabbah can be an Assassin) and the Noble Phantasm of this time Assassin (gives multiple bodies to his multiple personalities). Zayed, one of the multiple personalities of Assassin that was killed in episode 2, appears as a guest.
