Sei Shoujo's Bible Black - Visual Novel Review
Since year 2000, Bible Black: La Noche de Walpurgis become one of the most recognized 18+ visual novels of all times. But because of it's anime adaptaion (which i dislike), almost no one really knows about it's origin.
I don't really want to discuss an erotic parts of this videogame, since my blog is family friendly, and i don't really like idea of mention some adult things in my blog, because i feel yourself more childish, even i am 18 right now. I want to discuss this game's main ideas and it's technical side.
I cannot talk about this game without mention it's creator - Sei Shoujo, also known as alexipharmakon. He's a really interesting person, since i really enjoy reading his old web blog. He is a really big fan of Progressive Rock band called "King Crimson" - you could find easter eggs to their music almost in every work of Sei Shoujo - starting from his game names, which represents their albums names (Starless & Bible Black, Discipline, etc), or Kaneda from Discipline: The Record of a Crusade, when she's listening to King Crimson so loud, making impossible to sleep for other roommates.
On the Internet there's not so much information about him, but it's not like he's hiding something, on his website he writes:
His drawing style is really unique, his storylines is genius and I see in his games some more than just erotic scenes compilation.
That's right, I'm crazy. But the entire world is crazy. People just don't want to admit it. Take a look at our world. Genocides, science out of control, corruption as a way of life. God has forsaken us. Humanity ignores the Ten Commandments, and continues to commit mortal sin after mortal sin. Ruled by a bunch of hypocrites, this world is filled with sin. And in a world like this, we're the only ones who fit in perfectly. This world needs people like me.
- Reika Kitami
Am i the only who have association with almost anything from 2000s, like it's describes world falling down? I always feel like everything from 90s and 00s have that dark feeling and some depressing toughts.
As example, Linkin Park music is really-really dark at this moment, and all these games like ManHunt, or animes like Death Note. They're use this dark feeling to give you some important ideas, and they're like taking every hope of happy end just to make you review your own life.
But talking in context of this game, it's really feels like 2000's vibe - all these girls who interested in magic and love, this old and slow computers which almost useless if you don't have a certain software, and this relaxed vibe of school life and talking with you friends.
Slice of life is an important part of Bible Black, deleting it means to delete almost every part of story. I like this game because it's really makes you feel like you are the main character - Taki Minase, and you are having fun every day with this cute girl Kurumi Imari, your childhood friend. This slice of life stories makes me feel like this is the perfect life i want to have, and this been the most important reason why i continue to play this game, even after erotic storyline started. I'm really interested in their relationship and fun time together, i'd rather see some game like this where you just have fun, some Iyashikei, which makes you also change yourself for better.
I am Wiccan, so i'm very excited to see videogames with stories around magick, covens and great occult literature. Playing this novel you could find some really good poetry and literature, since Saeki's bookshelf is literally "Beginnger Wiccan Set" - i found some really interesting books to read, and it remind me of my favorite poets, like Aliester Crowley. I found a nice physical copy of Goethe's Faust in russian translation by Boris Pasternak, and last time i'm busy reading it.
It's really shocking, how many scenes involving drugs dicribed here - it feels like every day of this game, protagonist more and more drowing into this psycholdelic world of sex. By the 11th day of story (the last day), game feels like some fantasy movie, rather than first day's slice of life. Playing this game sometimes I have some kind of "dissociative trance", when I just stop playing and go deeper inside my toughts, because i just cannot realise how someone ever could create a story like this one, full of magic, drugs, tortures and sex. I belive this one is near to real world's awful sides.
Sei Shoujo made a lot of cool eroge novels, like Heartwork: Symphony of Destruction, or my all time favortie - Discipline: The Record of a Crusade. I just cannot discribe how i love this game. It's anime adaptation been the first time i discovered Sei Shoujo. Why this game have such unusual name? That's simple! Students of St. Arcadia school literally organize crusade against "Devil's child", Leona Murimoto and her sister, school director Reina Murimoto - members of a great Murimoto family, owners of the biggest medical company in Japan.
I just cannot discribe how i like this situations when Leona ride to school on a jetflighter, or Reina rides a Tank - this game literally against common sense, and i like everything about it. Not many artists brave enough to make a game which breaks every rule and taboo, mixing it with fun storytelling.
This game is not for everyone, since it's have some more really taboo and hardcore BDSM scenes, but if you didin't like Bible Black - i think you could like Discipline instead. Anyway, i really recommend it's anime adaptation to get familliar with. Anime have a diffirent storyline and some new characters introduced.
This is a sequel of the original game, and Sei Shoujo have nothing to do with this game, since it's released after he left ActiveSoft, the studio behind the original game. It's pretty short and chaotic, and i think this game didn't worth to play, if you want to see some more stories like original game and Sei Shoujo's brilliant storytelling - but there's some moment i really like. The ending called "Demolition" have maybe one of the most erotic scenes i ever seen in all eroge i ever played - erotic not in a sense of it's sexuality, but in a sense of it's heartwarming nature of pure love and pleasure... This moment between Teacher Takashiro and her student such heartwarming, innocent and cute that it made me cry in a minuites - i think i never seen such beautiful feelings between student and his teacher in any novel before.
There is no a better things in Discipline and Bible Black than soundtracks - all of them sounds like some RPG game full of adventures and detective stories, with influence of Psychodelic Rock, in a style of King Crimson with their powerful drums and brass instruments. When i first heard Bible Black's main theme, i feel like i have connection to something great and powerful for the first time in my life, just becaue of it's oppening theme. Even if you are dislike erotic stories, you just cannot cannot skip music like this. All of these 20 songs i remember very well, and sometimes play them on repeat - some of them i also learned by ear, sometimes playing on the piano and guitar (mostly "Gramoire" main riff).
Honestly, i find some new hobbie in reviewing visual novels, but i have feeling of guilt for making reviews on erotic visual novels, since i try to make a family-friendly content, but i have something to say on this one.
Wish, i could say some more on Discipline, but Carnival of Sins made it better than me. This is my favorite erotic novel, and favorite one after Radiata, and Katawa Shoujo, which changed my views on this life. Did you think i need to review some more stories on my blog? I find some little pleasure reading books and interactive novels in a free time.
Even if this is one of the most interesting visual novels i've ever played, i don't recommend it as essential. All this 12 hours of gameplay is really hard to enjoy for me - i'd rather waste some time for someting more fun. After seeing so mcuh erotic content made me sick, so i have a really bad mood, trying to get all the endings as fast as i can, instead trying to enjoy story. I think nukige games could be used as torture, because i just cannot watch erotic scenes 24/7, it makes me sick, and feels like brainrot. I dropped almost all of them - since I started Bible Black for the first time in September 2023, but complete it on June 2025 - it's a big time interval for a 12 hours story.
Anyway, i still like these two endings where Minase's going insane and been arrested for a school shooting, going on a psychiatric observation. And the ending called "Evil never dies" where Minase builds his evil empire practicing black magic, selling drugs and making orgies in school.
Belive me or not, this awful experiance give me some important lessons on life - i understand how disgusting this world could be, everything starts with us, and the only way we can make this world better is just listening and talking to your love - this is the only way you could understand each others, instead of two timing and doing some other sadistic things to people your love in the worst way possible.
If you are brave enough to start, i feel like you have a hard times without the guide, so look for this one for getting a certain endings: guide.
