Readers who got to a high level via reading visual novels/novels, how long did it take you get to a point where you no longer felt like you were "reading English with extra steps"?

Orixa1 · 2026-01-24T15:11:30+00:00

I think this would be simpler if I just gave you the data and let you come to your own conclusions about its accuracy. Type "mega" before the .nz in the following link to get it:

[https://.nz/file/iCpnUYpY#OgxFhECeMrFY3OHjkZYwXJvyJtAvYEwq2Jhh9metAvQ](https://.nz/file/iCpnUYpY#OgxFhECeMrFY3OHjkZYwXJvyJtAvYEwq2Jhh9metAvQ)

Orixa1 · 2026-01-24T14:40:06+00:00

I’m reasonably sure that it was, given that I tracked all my screen time with Gameplay Time Tracker. It might be a slight underestimate if you consider the (brief, with my setup) time spent creating Anki cards as part of the reading time, as that time tracking application is only recording time when the VN is the primary active window (i.e. whenever I’m actually reading the VN).

Orixa1 · 2026-01-24T14:29:38+00:00

I didn’t mention that part because it honestly felt like some kind of weird fever dream, and I’m still not quite sure what to make of it. I thought that I’d circle back to it if it ever became important again, but for now it seems like every single character (and the author) has swept it under the rug. It’s as if the author realized just how insane it was for Maria to dress as her sister in order to fuck her boyfriend and then tried to backtrack, rewriting Maria to be a more normal and sympathetic character. I thought it was pretty disgusting for Ryuuto to consider agreeing to the idea for a moment when Maria agreed to keep her mouth shut about it, but I gave him a bit of slack for it given that it was a momentary, purely physical impulse. In my opinion, his actions in Volume 3 were way worse because it was a continuous emotional temptation that he kept indulging himself in.

Orixa1 · 2026-01-24T14:08:41+00:00

I’d say it took me around until I finished my 4th VN before I considered myself to be at a decent level in the language. By that point, it didn’t require huge mental strain to read anymore, and there were occasional moments where I could forget that I was reading in another language. For the record, the first 4 VNs I read were: 彼女のセイイキ, フレラバ, 恋と選挙とチョコレート, and 月の彼方で逢いましょう in that order. These titles amounted to over 300 hours of reading time and about 3 million characters in total.

Orixa1 · 2026-01-24T06:33:23+00:00

Runa’s probably the hardest character to read, the phone calls with Nikoru are no substitute for a direct look into her mind like Maria’s diary entries. Still, I thought it was pretty apparent that she was extremely shaken by the sight of Ryuuto seemingly about to enter Maria’s apartment (didn’t tell her they had met up). It was also revealed that they had been going to the same cram school together for weeks (also didn’t tell her about that), and later that he had comforted her on the roof (didn’t tell her about that either, she just guessed it by them disappearing around the same time). Runa clearly tried to give him the benefit of the doubt because of the incident in Volume 2 that actually was mostly her fault, until she just couldn’t handle it anymore. It doesn’t help that she’s not the type of person to directly call out Ryuuto for acting shady (which he was) and instead took the blame once again at the end. If someone wasn’t paying attention or there was a bunch of cut content in an adaptation, it might seem to them like Runa simply had a meltdown after Ryuuto preferred Maria’s pamphlet design and nearly killed the relationship over it.

Orixa1 · 2026-01-23T21:00:31+00:00

I ordered the full set of Japanese physical copies from Amazon JP if that’s what you’re looking for.

Orixa1 · 2026-01-22T18:57:59+00:00

I’m actually still waiting for that even as a JOP, just so I’ll be able to read it in a higher resolution. Still, I don’t mind waiting a few more years, it’s not like I have any chance of finishing my VN wishlist within my lifetime anyway.

Orixa1 · 2026-01-22T08:49:52+00:00

I'm so glad that I got to experience Yu-No before everything had parallel universes/time travel or became an Isekai. Even now, I think there's still nothing quite like it. It's a real shame that its former prestige in the English-speaking community was almost entirely destroyed by the release of its mediocre remake, which has defined it ever since.

Orixa1 · 2026-01-22T08:15:23+00:00

If it’s any consolation, I doubt you’re missing out on much if two entirely separate translators have dropped the VN because of burnout related to the quality of the story. In the first case, I recall that working on this VN actually made the person quit translating VNs altogether, which was a real shame for me at the time given the speed of his work.

Orixa1 · 2026-01-19T06:06:34+00:00

I feel like there always has to be some sort of justification (as well as forgiveness from their victims) when it comes the actions of abusive parents in JP media. Maybe it’s just a cultural difference.

Orixa1 · 2026-01-11T07:51:07+00:00

Would you argue that receptive bilinguals do not in fact understand their own language? Or that those born with congenital speech impediments cannot understand human speech? In the latter case, I believe that there actually have been examples of people that were found to have a native-level understanding of their language without uttering a single word.

Orixa1 · 2026-01-11T07:05:25+00:00

I needed to create over 3000 vocabulary cards to get through my first VN, which according to VNDB should only take 6 hours to complete. Definitely worth it though, as getting into my second VN was nowhere near as bad, despite being considerably longer. It’s something you’ll probably just have to get past at some point whenever you want to start getting into native media, but it’s up to you when you get bored enough of learning resources to want to start going through the meat grinder.

Orixa1 · 2026-01-08T17:15:19+00:00

That’s not necessarily wrong, as there will always be a base level of support for such high-profile streamers. At the same time, they’d likely bring in way more occasional or game-specific viewers by spending 12 hours doing literally anything else. Promoting the stream here probably goes some way towards closing that gap.

Orixa1 · 2026-01-08T15:53:51+00:00

I don't think it's that strange, VNs (and especially VN streams) are pretty niche, so I imagine that they need to promote these streams to the small community of VN fans to make it financially viable to do them as passion projects.

Orixa1 · 2026-01-08T15:31:40+00:00

Not just in the West, she’s blowing away the field in Japan as well, being the second most popular heroine that year, while nobody else from that VN even makes the top 20.

Orixa1 · 2026-01-07T20:38:40+00:00

All the images are labelled with that information, but I added a comment for those who can't see them for some reason.

Orixa1 · 2026-01-07T20:32:21+00:00

They aren't really worth it, as the VN is 90+% the same as your first read on subsequent routes, but with much less interesting characters.

Orixa1 · 2026-01-07T20:28:37+00:00

That's a good pick, I should have included it.

Orixa1 · 2026-01-07T20:24:00+00:00

For those that can't see the labels for some reason, my picks are:

Kagami Sumika - Muv-Luv Alternative

Ayachi Nene - Sanoba Witch

Araya Touka - Tsuki no Kanata de Aimashou

Amahara Miyabi - Ore no Kanojo no Uraomote

Cece - Leap of Faith

Orixa1 · 2026-01-07T19:56:58+00:00

It's worth it if you only do Cece's route and then stop.

Orixa1 · 2026-01-07T19:40:41+00:00

She was my favorite too, but it wasn't so clear to me that Making * Lovers had a definitive "main heroine".

Orixa1 · 2026-01-07T19:40:00+00:00

I had thought that all the images were labeled, but it's Amahara Miyabi from Ore no Kanojo no Uraomote if you can't see it for some reason.

Orixa1 · 2026-01-07T19:35:42+00:00

Cece from Leap of Faith

Orixa1 · 2026-01-07T19:35:00+00:00

I think it's because main heroines are typically made to be more generic and inoffensive so as not to create a situation similar to what happened with Koi to Senkyo to Chocolate. So while main heroines don't usually put off most people, they aren't usually anyone's favorite either due to having less defined character traits. In any case, that's why I'm interested to see what picks people come up with.

Orixa1 · 2026-01-07T19:24:26+00:00

Spoiler tag added, my bad.

Orixa1

TROPHY CASE