My feelings exactly. It's pretty much how I've felt about this game since the reworks. So much so that I actually miss how emo and corny and over the top SG was at its inception. At least back then it was original. It was interesting. It had a certain charm to it. But the game shifted. Its focus and theme shifted. It's now about "healing".
Problem is...I can't really identify any character that needs healing here anymore. Not nearly on the level that the original MC needed healing. At least no more than your average real life human being. Life's tough, wear a helmet. Pretty much everyone has issues. Big or small. A few pages back you can read posts from our very own illustrious BobTheDuck where he outlines the issues that several characters in the game present and how they need to overcome and heal. But as I kept reading it dawned on me...holy fucking shit, every single person I know irl also needs healing. They have tons of issues and problems and hurdles they need to overcome. And I expect this to apply to most people living today. And when everyone needs healing, maybe no one really does? It's just your regular "going through life" experience.
So really...how can I see SG as anything other than another regular college/slice of life AVN? Sure it has a lot more quality than most, especially visually. It's also more dramatic and pretentious than most. But it doesn't set itself apart anymore, in my opinion. Maybe that changes in the future...but most likely not.
While I do agree with your analises but disagree with your conclusion. For me the over the top approach was bordeline silly, if took away the emotinal impact. I also think that not all the changes the rework did was great, there were porwerful emotional moments in the early versions that just does not has the same weigh now - Nika and Bella talk at her house- Nika wasn also much more broken and closed up, had much anguer, Bella was more reckless and so on and so on.
I miss some of it but I think what we have now is more consistent, maybe some highs are not as high but the lows are not are not so low too. And yeah, it is a slice of life, I would say it still has some plot and mystery - something that many don't- the characters still are some of the best I have seen and their strungle may be mundane, but also is real, is something one can relate too and thus get egagged on.
What worries me is the story getting too big, sundely Nika has to worry about Mob Law and such insted if he will get hard or if Noji caugth Nami dry humping in the living room. I don't want this story to there. I like the more mundane aspect of the story but I can see how it may sound dull comparated with the older versions. It works for me though and even if it is not perfect I still think it is better.
