The following is a preview. For a limited time, the full article will be available to read on my Patreon, located here.
Preface: In the Summer of 2004, Kodansha published the third issue of Faust (ファウスト) which proclaimed that Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon represented a new style of fantasy fiction dubbed, “shindenki” (新伝綺), with Faust editor Katsushi Ota defining shindenki as a genre that combined the doldrums of daily life with fantastical elements. Ota understood shindenki as being a response towards Japan’s ongoing social unrest that had now been running for a decade. However, in sharp disagreement with Ota was Hiroki Azuma who had assisted Ota in establishing Faust where he also contributed to the magazine as an interviewer and columnist.
In response, Azuma gathered together a group of writers and published two doujins to be sold at Comiket that year: The Critical Point of Bishōjo Games (美少女ゲームの臨界点), and The Critical Point of Bishōjo Games +1 (美少女ゲームの臨界点+1). The twin issues of Critical Point demonstrates Azuma’s preference for writers and video game developers who could broadly be understood as being part of the “sekai-kei” genre. Joining Azuma would be a coterie of cultural critics who were either part of Faust or Azuma’s online newsletter and magazine Hajō Genron (波状言論 ), such as Shin Satō and Satoshi Maejima.
Unfortunately, both volumes of Critical Point are extremely rare and expensive. As of this writing, there is currently one listing on Amazon for the first volume for $600. Furthermore, only scarce information is available online on the actual content of either volume, thus making more in-depth research difficult. Fortunately, both issues are also available at research institutions located in Japan, such as the International Research Center for Japanese Studies (国際日本文化研究センター) and the National Diet Library (国立国会図書館). Yet, accessing these materials still remains expensive.
I present here a translation of the table of contents for volume 2, a simple two pages whose black-and-white scan cost ¥576 or roughly $3.50. Why the table of contents? Whereas the table of contents for volume 1 can be readily found on Hajō Genron’s website, volume 2 remains inaccessible—the book’s listing includes a description for a link to a page containing further details that have never actually been added. In having obtained this table of contents, we can thereby learn how volume 2 differed from its predecessor and further explore specific articles for future research.
While the first volume focuses on establishing the historical and theoretical framework for understanding bishōjo games, the second volume instead seems to provide close-readings into the actual games themselves. Furthermore, a bulk of the collection is comprised of two different interviews.
The first: a conversation between the writers Gen Urobuchi and Haganeya Jin, and the film producer Tarou Deji. Having released their first game Phantom of Inferno four years prior, Nitroplus were quickly becoming a famed computer game developer. In the time frame between Phantom and the publication of Critical Point, Nitroplus had already made “Hello World” (2002); Zanma Taisei Demonbane (2003); and Saya no Uta (2003).
The second interview takes place between cultural critic Shuichiro Sarashina and the former editor-in-chief of PURE GIRL, and later Colorful PUREGIRL, magazine, Miyu Kanose. PUREGIRL focused on the exact type of bishōjo games that Azuma held an ideological preference for.
I have kept the original Japanese order of names and have also included their original notation. For the English title of games, I have referred to the Visual Novel Database. If there are any mistakes, please let me know. In any case, this article would not have been possible without the support of patrons. Thank you.
4: Nitroplus Long Interview: The Future of Bishōjo Games……Urobuchi Gen × Deji Tarou × Haganeya Jin (虚淵 玄 × でじたろう × 鋼屋ジン)
68: Interview: Kanose Miyu・Sarashina Shūichirō (加野瀬未友 ・更科修一郎): A Bouquet for PURE GIRL
90: The 15 Games of the Critical Point
92: Shizuku……………………………………………………………………..Sarashina Shūichirō (更科修一郎)
94: To Heart………………………………………………………………………….. Motonaga Masaki (元長柾木)
96: White Album…………………………………………………………..Sasakibara Gou (ササキバラ・ゴウ)
98: One…………………………………………………………………………………………………Satō Shin (佐藤心)
100: Kanon………………………………………………………………………………..Yonomori Reiji(夜ノ杜零司)
102: Triangle Heart 2………………………………………………………….……………………..Satō Shin (佐藤心)