Hatsumira -from the future undying-

At the time of writing this review I have completed all 4 Chapters and Yukikaze's Route with over 40 hours of play time so I feel that I have enough time to understand the good and the bad that the VN has to offer and judge it fairly. For those that are to impatient to read the in-depth longer review (which is *SPOILER FREE*) here is a TL;DR: Overall a 8/10. As long as the localization of Ichiro Mimori (Japanese man given a cockney accent [think of it like a British/Australian accent]) doesn't bother you so much that you won't give it a chance then it is 100% worth a shot. It isn't perfect but the few flaws it has is majorly out weighted by all the good and amazing things this wonderful VN brings to the table so please give it a chance. (P.S. for all the people worried about furry scenes [all males of the species in this world are non-human looking other than being bipedal] don't worry! There are only 2 scenes that you would have to worry about and of course that is only if you get the X-Rated patch that Frontwing link to on their twitter. both are not very long [especially the one since its not really a scene its a flashback] and the first one has no important story elements to it so it can be skipped without worry) To start off let's deal with everyone biggest complaint about the VN first and talk about the localization. Mainly our protagonist Ichiro but some other characters as well to a lesser degree. For anyone who isn't aware already our protagonist Ichiro Mimori is given a Cockney accent (for those unaware you can think of it as a British/Australian accent) which is a bit jarring considering he is a Japanese solider. Some (like myself) was of course surprised when we first heard (or read I guess since our protag doesn't have an actual voice) but I never considered it an error or flaw in the writing or translation of the localization team. Imagine Frontwing when deciding to localize this VN ordered the localization team that Ichiro MUST only say Japanese phrases and the like. Sure that immediately makes him more believable and less jarring as a character but it also lessens our understand of a bunch of things, mainly about Ichiro himself but also any situation he might be involved in. Now an immediate counterpoint to this is that people don't understand half the things he says anyways with his current accent, cue the infamous like everyone loves to throw as an example. "Bollocks! The enemy's trying to hit your camp-- they've gone after the box kickers and the slop jockeys!" Now lets realize that we are (hopefully) all adults here as the creators of the series intended their audience to be. Sure as a separated quote you might think "what the Bollocks is box kicker and slopjockey?" but using our brain given to us at a young age that was trained to problem solve, you can EASILY understand what Ichiro is talking about in this sentence when you are in the moment reading the novel. (in this case, before this line was said Ichiro and a solider were talking about the transportation of supplies and the food rations of the platoon in that area. using that brain I mentioned before you can understand that "Box kicker" is meant for the people transporting supplies and "slopjockey" is the cooks. I hope that you would know what "slop" is before reading this VN in your life.) My point here is that even though it obviously isn't a word you either know or use, you can still understand it just by using the context clues you are given. (sorry if I sound like a teacher) The problem with Ichiro sticking strickly to Japanese jargon is that (guess what) WE ARE NOT JAPANESE. weather or not you are from a country that teaches English as your first language or not. The point of the localization is that it is pointed at ENGLISH SPEAKERS! so overbearingly pushing Japanese phases and jargon might not bother the hardcore weebs and VN readers, anyone who attempts to try this that maybe only recently, lightily, or even for the first time is reading a VN or taking in Japanese culture is either going to turn away or have a lackluster experience due to the difficulty of understanding another country's culture and ways of speaking. Now this does not mean that I am saying this was the 100% best choice they could have gone with but I want you to understand that as a company they made this decision (to give Ichiro his accent) to be accessible to the majority of English speakers while also giving Ichiro a very defined personality that you can EASILY identify from his first interactions. Personally I actually love that he talks the way he does. it gives him character and really helps him stand out from the rest of the cast as his own character and not some blank slate protag that you can put yourself into to feel like a badass or hero. Sorry that I dragged this one topic out to long but since it was the biggest issue that I have seen people having I wanted to make sure that I got my point across without holding anything back. One more thing as I have said at the start but there are also some other minor characters that have speech quirks like Ichiro but to a lesser degree. as long as you can get past Ichiro they should not pose much trouble for you to deal with and you may even like how they talk! The 2nd and last point/argument against Hatsumira (that I will talk about in the review) is the game play or lack thereof. If you have played other Frontwing games you probably aren't surprised or even care of the lack of choices that the game gives. since their staple seems to be a well written story that they are trying to tell and then giving you a choice only at the end (in Grisaia for example you only had choices for who's route you wanted to do and then the good and bad ending at the end of said route [of course there were a few choices in the common route before but nothing groundbreaking for the story]) This VN in particular seems to follow that trend. While personally I am fine without making choices that effect the story (after all I understand and am here to read the story that Frontwing has made for us not to take control of Ichiro and start hacking and slashing Wisla soldiers) some people seem to think that VN=Game. While of course they are heavily similar they are not literally the same. If you want to play a game you play a game. A Visual Novel main purpose, regardless of how many choices it has or if it has game play. Is to tell a story to the reader. How it accomplishes this is up to the developer. If you disagree with this decision by Frontwing then that's fine, But under no circumstances should you harass or attack someone who disagrees with YOU on that point and vice versa. I think that's enough ragging on Hatsumira for now. (I only have a few minor and meaningless complains anyways that aren't worth discussing) So then, what is GOOD about Hatsumira? Since this review has already dragged on (and I quite literally ran out of space and had to chance this last part of the review) I will try to keep it short and talk about 3 main points. Characters, Art , Story. 1. Characters: While there are a few bad eggs (none rotten just not good) the vast majority of the cast is great. they all have a unique personality that while they may share traits with other characters, none are exactly the same and you will end up caring for the majority of them. 2. Art: What else to say other than to thank Akio Watanabe and Fumio for the outstanding artwork yet again. Absolutely no complaints here. 3. Story: While this is no groundbreaking work in storytelling, I wouldn't dare call it horrible in any way. it has its highs and lows and a small gripe I have is after introducing new characters they are almost cast aside and forgot after their introduction story is over. they make small appearances in the next chapter only to not return till their dedicated route. to be fair they aren't important to main story. TL;DR: Story works fine, characters are great, art is fantastic

This game features the criteria mentions below, I purchased this game due to the recommendations of Adult games. But other than a few minor blood splotches, few curse words, etc. This game is super innocent. If your into a long dialogue, bickering, and repeated but differently worded phrases for hours on end. This is the game for you. Do not get me wrong, love the visuals, but this game has a ton of missed opportunities. Where the developer could have introduced battles which you control, or perhaps choices the character makes that could impact the ending. i have nearly 9 hours into the game. There is only a story. No interaction whatsoever. Nothing as the player to make yourself feel involved in the story whatsoever. The game is long which is great, but simultaneously leaves alot to be desired. Just read for yourself if you dislike my review. I have different tastes. Just if you wanna watch a slow moving anime, try Funimation, Crunchyroll, or whatever else instead. If im playing a game. I wanna actually play a game. In visual novel games, at least there is some involvment with you as the player. In this, there is none. Again the visuals are stunning. The story is okay, If you disagree, thats completely okay. But if your looking for something more like myself? This is not for you.

Hatsumira is a great isekai experience held back by it's pacing and formatting of the story. Whereas the world building is extremely detailed, it has the longest common route of any visual novel I've ever played, even longer than The Fruit of Grisaia's. And speaking of that... It has the same writer as Fruit of Grisaia, as well as sprite artist, so you will notice Hatsumira looks and feels a lot like Grisaia. But the similarities don't stop there. Many voice actors return, so at a subconscious level this will feel a lot like Grisaia. The pacing issues I mentioned are tied to the way the game approaches its chapters. Each chapters introduces another heroine and their race's circumstances, and these chapters are extremely long. If you are looking forward to Reah's character for example, who is apart of the undead tribe, you won't even see her until about 15 hours into the common route. This sin't something I minded, but it might be a grind for you. The routes are a bit disappointing after how far you have to go to get to them, but they were still enjoyable. The main theme of this visual novel gives you another perspective in the face of [spoiler]war and mass tragedy[/spoiler]. Overall, I would recommend this game, and personally give it a 7.5/10, but it's not for everyone. But if you are looking a visual novel isekai that isn't Muv Luv, this one may be worth a go. Ailah best girl by a long shot. Full video review here: https://youtu.be/rpQLke_WALc

Where to start? Ok... (gathers himself)... I don't write many reviews. Whatever it is has to have moved me, impacted me, made a difference, blown me away, shattered my expectations of the medium... Hatsumira has done all of those things, and more. I give it my very highest recommendation, and to the the developers: I offer my most heartfelt congratulations on their tremendous accomplishment here. You've created something very, very special. I want you to know that it's noticed, and appreciated. Wild and wonderful characters, unbounded by convention. Real personalities, not simply cartoon cutouts: you come to know them, and you're glad to have the opportunity. This is not lightweight stuff. It's Life & Death. I've been playing with computers since Wumpus on a PDP-11, had a couple of careers in IT, and started to notice long ago that something very new was happening here: an entirely new medium, for writing, for music, for image making, for story telling. So I've been interacting with Visual Novels for a long time - decades - and it's hard to name one that's hit me like this one. The Utawarerumono Trilogy, probably, but that was a slower build to its indelibly intense peak. This one sweeps you off balance faster, but then stays with you in a similar way. Maybe one's first full encounter with Muv-Luv, or maybe Grisaia - really, this is a whole new level in the form. There's no doubt whatsoever that this is art, as much as any novel, or opera, or theatrical work. I've no problem with the localization. The adopted tone of voice for Ichiro, for example, seems odd at first, but quickly recedes as a concern as you realize it's just a way to pull ideas across linguistic and idiomatic barriers. And it works. His English is a hellova lot better than my Japanese (I'm sorry to say). Each of the characters is endowed with an individual world view and unique voice. They've been shaped by their experiences. They care about each other. You come to care about each. I'll try to wrap up here. All this praise can't possibly add to the qualities already here. We're in an early Golden Age of an entirely new medium. Many folks don't even realize it's here. But for we happy few, there are gems like this. Thanks for reading my thoughts, and again, to the writers and artists, many, many thanks for this superb piece of work. We are all richer for it!

The story sometimes feels weirdly uneven, as if the writer couldn't decide how serious he actually wanted the story and the world to be, but even if the balance between lightheartedness and seriousness is kinda messed it's still a damn fun ride. The common route in particular was amazing, there's a few scenes that really hit hard. If you're into isekai type stories, Hatsumira will be your jam.

Was stoked to get this. Love the character design! Can't really recomend it though. It's a bit long winded and completely linear to this point. Not one choice to make yet. The story was good at the beginning but I've started to lose more interest in it as the reading piles on. Don't get me started on the translation choices! Why would a Japanese sailor sound like an over the top British privateer? I just don't understand.

This is a nice and girthy VN. Visual / Audio presentation is great. The strength of the story I would say is consistency. While some parts might be better or worse a bit, overall, the story has a very consistent way of keeping you interested in where it's gonna go next. On the other hand, it doesn't really have any "peak" moments, it continues to maintain a pretty steady pace all the way to the end. The good thing about it, is that it makes for a really easy read all the way to the end, it just didn’t feel like it culminated into anything exceptional. There’s great characters, humor and a little bit of everything for everyone, I would like to think. About translation, I still don't know if the translator for this VN is a genius or madman. The good thing is, there aren't many typos for the script size and while I'm not really one to judge grammar, sentences flow really well, it makes for an easy read, which I really appreciate. The more questionable part is the extensive "localization" so to say, which made me learn a whole new dictionary worth of jargon. It’s kinda fun to, eventually, start to understand what refers to what and I usually like learning something new this way, but it might not be for everyone. But even then, if you think the protagonist talks strangely, wait for the dwarves, I honestly still have no idea what they are saying for the most part. There was obviously a lot of work put into it. They pretty much tried to make up their own languages for each race in the game, which makes sense logically, but in my opinion, they went just a little bit overboard. It didn't bother me much and you get used to it, but it is what it is.

By far, the best plot-centric release from Frontwing in recent memories and perhaps up to this point of time of the review, easily one of the best VN in 2022.If you're a sucker for Isekai genre which is quite rare for VNs (more so for chance of ENG localization), give this VN a go. I've read this VN offline and I've raked over 41 hours 26 minutes of reading time (effective hours using ManicTracker, no AFK time). Here's the VN structure in a nutshell: - 4 heroines, with Yukikaze being the main heroine whereas the rest are sub-heroine - 4 Chapters in the Common Route. Common route is the longest in which I estimate that it accounts for nearly 2/3 of the story - Sub-heroine routes are locked behind the 'true route'. In other words, you need to finish all the common route + Yukikaze route (i.e. the true route) before you can read the other sub-heroine routes. - Sub-heroine routes are relatively shorter than the common & Yukikaze's route, so it may feel rushed & definitely weaker in terms of story compare to Yukikaze's route - Without spoiling much, it was a roller coaster ride reading through the common route up until the Yukikaze's true ending. The ending was worth it! Overall, I rate this VN a solid 8.5/10 in terms of fairness; Beautiful artwork for a VN that came out in 2015. Very solid BGM/OST/Soundtracks too! If only the sub-heroines route were more fleshed out, it's an easy 9/10. This is one of my favorite VN of 2022 release and I urge everyone out there who appreciates a good adventure & are an isekai fanboi to give this VN a try

Up yours, guys ( for Reah). Great story, with each path explaining the ending a bit more each time. Would 100% recommend even though the accents of some of the characters can be a bit hard to understand.

As the descriptions do mention, the protagonist is a hardened WWII soldier who's got the spirit and tact together, somehow finding himself landing into a land straight out of a fantasy genre. While the story does seem to revolve mainly around him, there's a bit more to it than that, yet that didn't really feel all that interesting to me. The artworks, depictions of everything and all.. I've enjoyed it. The scenery was really something, but it fell really short on it, and is mostly the so called filler, otherwise the adventure is a bit more detailed storytelling that novels usually have. The characters do get introduced one by one, as as they are even on the store page, yet the myself didn't read anything and so I had to connect the dots on the run. Each of the main characters seemed to carry quite deep personality that did get referred to a lot, making the reading really enjoyable and many times even relatable. I've loved those parts that made me feel where are the characters coming from, and how it wasn't short on the character development. .. Sort of. The brought up sarcastic remarks, irony, and everything combined have made the reading a bliss, many times a really fun experience that I didn't expect at all. I was all immersed into the fantasy setting, only to have it sort of shattered by a laughable remark that made me wanna know more and more.. Some reactions were really something, emotional even, so that part I truly and thoroughly appreciated. If I were to get back to the artworks here, this time focused on the character design.. Then I have nothing but a praise for that. I was sorta moved by how accurate and lively the design was in combination with the reactions, it made it all the easier to think of what're the characters coming through. The music that supports the storytelling wasn't all that off the mark aswell. Many of the tracks were fairly unique and left a lasting impression on me; Even months after finshing it, I'm finding myself listening to them as they're just that good and fitting the atmosphere. Hm, what more do I say about that.. It's a rather unique novel in a fantasy genre with dialogue choices determining which route you do end up on, with the main story always sort of following. It just sort of ends up happening [i]somewhere else[/i] from the characters' perspectives. Hopefully, that's not too confusing.. And, whether I'd recommend it or not- Easy choice, I'd recommend it to everyone who's into reading, even if they're not all that fond of the fantasy genre. Pretty much everything is as we do know from reality, with the dragons and some magic being the exceptions, I suppose.. I may also point out, that the only part that's not voice acted is the protagonist; The rest of the novel has full voice acting. Although I didn't cover a lot in this review, as I simply didn't know what to cover without spoilering anything, I hope that it will still be enough to provide you with at least a bit of an insight before deciding whether to go for it or not. .. Welp, and in case you do decide to go for it.. Happy reading, and have fun!