Tester's Corner: Kara no Shoujo Ed. Vol 1

Today we bring you a Tester’s Corner from Tim, the only man brave enough to shed even a little light on his experience with the horrors and mysteries that lurk behind Kara no Shoujo.

So I’ve been trying to come up with something to write about Kara no Shoujo for a while. It’s a bit of a trick since I can’t really say anything specific about the game without giving away spoilers on the level of, “Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker’s father,” or “Bruce Willis was a ghost the whole time,” or “Kevin Spacey is Keyser Soze.” If you just IMDB’ed that last one, you’re probably too young to be visiting this website; finish your homework, brush your teeth, and go to bed – it’s a school night.First up, take a look at this magnificent bastard. Tokisaka Reiji, the protagonist. As you can see, he takes style tips from former prime minister Koizumi Junichiro, a man who defeated Nazis on the moon with the pure power of his hair (and a bit of help from a mahjong set). So you know he means business. He is not the typical Perpetually Undecided Slow Stupid Youth (or PUSSY for short) you would have at the helm of a high school harem game. He’s here to kick ass and chew bubble gum. And he’s all out of bubble gum.This is one of the first images you see in the game. And this is about as happy as things ever get. It’s all downhill from here. Hope you weren’t expecting unicorns and double rainbows, because you’ll have to settle for psycopaths and double homicides.Here we have Uozumi, a cop, and Natsume-san, a medical examiner. Now all we need is Sam Waterston, and we’d have the makings of a new Law and Order spin-off. Except that what goes on here makes even Special Victims Unit look like Nickelodeon. Even though I have a bad habit of watching SVU (which is all about brutal crimes involving rape, child molestation, and sodomy in case you don’t watch it) for hours on end, there were parts of Kara no Shojo that had me wincing in pain or reeling in disgust because of how viscerally intense they get. I kid you not: in one scene I was actually overtaken by the stench and taste of death and started gagging. SHIT. GETS. REAL.But don’t worry. You can always go to Cafe Moon World to wash away your sorrows with whiskey and coffee so dark light bends around it. Because that’s how hard-boiled men solve their problems. And if you want to be a proper hard-boiled man, you need to learn to enjoy coffee that looks, tastes, and feels like coal. Drink coal and piss diamonds.Do you have the testicular fortitude to investigate dismembered bodies and track down the son of a bitch behind all this? Then grab your fedora and trench coat; you’ve got a long journey ahead of you. You’ll have to pass through the center of Hell itself before emerging on the other side to look up and see the stars.

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39 Comments

  1. I am so torn about this game. Part of me says that it’s going to be an incredible experience, but the other part of me says it’s way too brutal for me…

    I actually made up my mind to buy it some time ago, so why am I hesitating again?

    I guess I’m just a Perpetually Undecided Slow Stupid Youth…

    • ^^ That, except still undecided.

      Part of me thinks this is probably going to be a fantastic game that will keep me enthralled throughout. Part of me thinks I’ll get half way through and then spend the rest of the time in toilet throwing up. Not sure that’s what I call entertainment…

      Ah well, it’ll probably be an “on the spur of the moment” purchase. I do have to say however, that I aplaud MG for taking a risk and bringing a game that isn’t the standard Moe sex fest. Next perhaps an all ages title with story? 😉

      • Dude, half of college is spent in the toilet throwing up and that’s the best half!

        • I spent my “not so legal” college years throwing up in a toilet then going to work at 5am the next morning then college after xD. So I have that out of my system! After all that, even the worst gore movies didn’t make my insides move around, so I think I’ll be fine with Kara no Shoujo.

          And yes, those years were the best! Even after I turned “toilet friendly” age, I haven’t partied like that in a long time lol.

        • I dunno, I tended to think the bit just before throwing up in the toilet was much better!

          Children these days… 😉

          • Before you feel like you have to throw up yes, feels better.

            The feeling just before you throw up? Not so much.

            My years have been dull since then 😛

      • it’s not really gore if you are already playing this for at least a week. The gore will much be more beautiful after your brain already brainwashed by Innocent Grey 🙂

        …wait

        *headbang

  2. What a fun to read tester’s corner. Been looking forwatd to this game for quite some time too, so it is nice to hear more and more about it.

  3. i am also torn with this, on one hand i know its probably gonna be awesome. but on the other hand i cant help but feel like id get turned off by the brutal things and shelf it =/

    what to do what to do D:

  4. I’m going to buy this game and laugh that small mad laugh I developed during my dissection classes and I’ll feel the shreds of my humanity go down the toilet.

    It’ll be awesome.

  5. Well, I prefer the games with unicorns and triple rainbows, so a pass for me. Though good luck with the game for those who buy it and mangagamer, may the sales be with you.

  6. I just wish there was a pre-order option…. this is a day one purchase for me 😀

  7. So looking forward to this game

    • Same here, especially after reading about the notebook, it looks like you actually need to solve the case, instead of just reading a murder mystery.

      Of course, I’m assuming that I’ll be getting the worst possible ending on my first playthrough.

      • yes of course, if you can get true end or normal end on first playthrough when playing Innocent Grey’s eroges, I admit that you’re a god.

  8. So hyped for this, everything I read about this just makes it look better and better.

  9. I hope that this game at least has the occasional humorous character interaction like Cartagra did to provide relief from all the seriousness.
    On a side note, I wonder if this is going to be the eroge equivalent of Se7en

  10. Right on, dam I hate those P.U.S.S.Y. Good thing Reiji-san isn’t one of those lol. I didn’t really get anything out of this about the game except 3 characters and uh the cafe besides the gore stuff.

    My motto for this game is: Don’t Think, Buy, Think!

    Then grab stomach due to getting butterflies.

  11. Dear Tim,

    Why are you so fucking amazing?

    luv,
    me

  12. First Mangagamer game I’m REALLY looking forward to. I’m hoping it meets my high expectations. Only other commercially translated game I was ridiculously excited about like this one was the Family Project, which suffered from a lukewarm attempt at translation. Make sure to do a good job in this one!
    It doesn’t seem all that gory though. At least as far as currently released screenshots are concerned.

  13. Yep, will be getting this no question!

    Remember to do hardcopies!

  14. I’m buying the game for sure, but it will probably make me feel sick inside as I play. I’ll keep a bag handy if it’s really as bad as everyone says.

    • Its not as bad as everyone makes it out to be..

      • I dunno… I am just really weak in this department, so I am unsure whether I’ll manage or not.

        • Don’t get me wrong. I can always force myself — that’s no problem. I will be able to play this game. The problem is whether I’ll get sick or not.

          • You can’t play many video games,can you?

          • I can play all video games. It’s not like I am impaired or anything. How effectively I can play really depends on the title. For example, I suck pretty bad at First Person Shooters or Fighters.
            I’m pretty good at platformers or puzzlers. And I just love Nintendo’s games.

            If you mean I can’t play games with blood in it, then you’re wrong too. What makes you think that? I might get sick from excessive gore, but that doesn’t mean I can’t play it.
            I just won’t really enjoy it, but that’s an entirely different matter. I generally won’t play titles with a lot of gore in it, but I can easily force myself. Just I never had to force myself, so I haven’t played them much.

            So, to answer your question: I can play many video games — all of them. But I have to admit I spend more time with VNs than with video games nowadays.

      • true, it’s not that bad :/

        it’s just amazing.

  15. A game without a carbon copy of Tsuchimi Rin and generic Suginami/Arihiko clone with all assortments of happy-go-lucky girls under double rainbows while riding a unicorn, yay~
    I’m kinda worn out playing moeges, so this’ll be a good change of pace.

  16. Looking forward to June 29th.

  17. I’m optimistic but this TC didn’t really tell me much about the game other than GRIMDARK.

  18. honestly i just read the testers stuff cause sometimes they make me laugh like hell…. sounds like a game for some one else give me a PUSSY game…. with a harem ending

  19. Without voices I don’t bought this VN,I don’t a scumbag for helping this blame thing -.-

  20. I may not know of kevin spacey but I am in fact just over 18, thank you very much!My first purchase was Higurashi Meakashi which was released shortly after I turned 18.

    But yeah, I need a good mystery visual novel since I seem to be growing out of visual novels; so this is a definite purchase!

  21. The lack of voices in this game is actually understandable however I am not sure I want this game. I feel as if I will be unable to handle it. I might pick it up eventually but gore has never been my taste. From what I’ve heard though the story more than makes up for it…I don’t buy visual novels for the ero content but for the story or the characters (usually).

    I guess I must now make a choice. Should I save my money and buy this at the end of the month or should I keep my pre-order of Duke Nukem? tough decisions lie in my future this week.

  22. Are voices so essential? I always turn them off: they’re just a nuisance to me.

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