It’s here! The end! (I kinda forgot to post it yesterday because there is a new Splatfest in Splatoon 
)
5 Likes
I’d love to hear spoiler free thoughts on Loopers as a whole. Should I find the time to read the rest of it? (Well most of it really. 
)
Considering I’m hoping to join the parallel clubs I’m not sure when I’ll have time, but eventually. (Don’t think I can cram it before the next clubs starts…)
7 Likes
In the later chapters where we getting into the climax Asuza explained the whole Key formula/nakige thing to me and Loopers ended up pretty focused on that towards the end. All of the side characters were discarded after their usefulness ran out :-/ Looking at the post history it looks like you stopped reading in what was like four chapters of Slice of Life material that was not super relevant. From around chapter 10+ it gets pretty focused on the main story and ends up being a fun ride until the end.
I will say it does get kind of easier, particularly the second to last chapter felt like a final exam on what Japanese you’ve learned until that point. I’d attribute that to the writing itself being fairly repetitive. I enjoyed it for what it was, but in the end I personally rated it a B- experience. Not terrible, not great. I’m satisfied with the purchase. It’s hard for me to imagine a better VN for beginners and I’m glad I made it through, even if the contents themselves were a little disappointing for a major developer.
IIRC you also had the Switch version that could go between English and Japanese right? If you’re too busy to do it in Japanese I’d at least recommend finishing it in English.
Edit: For anyone who is considering getting into this and isn’t used to reading native material I’d consider myself as N4 to some N3 and had a relatively good time of finishing it with the use of text hooks. My pace was somewhere around 3k characters per 45 minutes with the average chapter being around 2 hours a week. The first few chapters were the hardest, in particular I know some of the other members had trouble with one character’s speaking habits. That aside, I think it was a perfect beginner VN.
8 Likes
If you’re pressed for time its kind of hard to recommend. Difficulty wise I think its a decent first VN to practice jp (its among the easier ones I’ve read). I can’t remember the last chapter you read but there’s almost no difficulty spikes so the VN should get easier as you read more.
The story kind of follows the typical Key formula so if you’ve read their other stuff or seen their anime adaptions, it might fall flat for you. For the most part, the characters are pretty one-dimensional too and there’s little growth outside of the two main characters which makes it hard to recommend for entertainment purposes. I did enjoy discussing the game and reading everyone’s theories each week though
7 Likes
It seems that I’m pretty easily impressed - or have a weakness for Key formula - since even though I read all their major titles except Rewrite (plus Planetarian), Loopers still got me, and I enjoyed it just as a nice VN in itself, not as a reading practice 
Definitely, it didn’t reach the level of greatest Key’s titles (which would be Clannad and LittleBusters to me), but at the same time there was nothing that would bother me about it 
Also, it was the first VN from Key that I’ve read untranslated
For some time I thought that perhaps I’m rating games read in Japanese higher than they deserve, because of the added excitement of reading in Japanese, but then a year ago I stumbled upon a really disappointing one (Hachigatsu no Nostalgia), and even Japanese language couldn’t save it 
7 Likes
I’ve jumped in again. My 15+ more levels of WK have already proved useful since I’ve seen new vocab and kanji from later levels than 41 (which is where I was last time I read). So excited, honestly. 
PS. @Daisoujou I think this one probably counts as completed now, and not currently reading. ^^ Well done you all.
9 Likes
Oh yeah thanks! It crossed my mind earlier but that was within the final week so I wanted to wait a bit, and then it slipped my mind.
Welcome back! Best of luck!
6 Likes
A new “Plus” version of Loopers has been announced.
Guess I should have seen this coming since this has been a common trend for them recently. Looks like they’re adding in some new backstories, music and CGs. I don’t plan on reading it but thought I’d mention it in case anyone is interested.
7 Likes
It has been updated now to coming 2025.
I have read Loopers, but I may re-read it when the new version is released some time later this year.
4 Likes
What is that new version supposed to add?
1 Like
Looks like what @AzusaChan said a year ago is still true:
Deepl translation of the text from the website:
A power-up version of “LOOPERS” released on May 28, 2021, with many newly drawn scenarios, illustrations, and music, etc!
Includes unknown episodes of those characters, later episodes, and more.
New stills and illustrations of Kuro and Kai, the Loopers’ friends, also appear for the first time.
The story of “PLUS” is newly spun, further enhancing the appeal of “LOOPERS”.
4 Likes