Trapp Reviews: Waifu Academy Part 1 (2024)

After a week of releases in the comic book department, and following a post on the forums regarding adult games for the community, the spark of an idea lit up in my head, so I decided: WHY NOT REVIEW SOME ADULT GAMES FOR EVERYONE?? And so, that's what I'll do. And I'm going to start with a game that I first played about two-ish years ago that I recently came back to. Before we get started, I'm going to be setting some ground rules, so we're clear on what to expect out of these reviews.

1. This new section will cover mostly Visual Novels, since they're standalone experiences that can be played like a regular game and moving on to the next one. Therefore, these will be very in-depth, so depending on the game's length, they can develop into 2-3 part blogs.
2. I will be giving out in-depth spoilers for the games, so if you're on the market for new VN experiences and don't want to be spoiled, I'll make sure to cover that up. Read at the risk of spoiling key plot moments when those come.
3. These are sex games at its core. So OBVIOUSLY I'm going to be displaying the ladies. The ranking system for the girls I talk about in the games will be carried into three segments: Personality, Plot Relevance and Sex Scenes. We all know these girls are going to be attractive regardless of what they look like, and appearance is NOT a parameter I'm going to consider when ranking them.
4. Some of the settings or characters might not be appropriate for all audiences, so proceed with caution if any of these VNs pique your interests. Also, and as an unofficial rule, I'm going to assume that every single character in these are over the age of 18 independent of the setting. I mean, I don't think most VN makers are stupid enough to break the one basic rule of sexual content... And I'm sure as hell not going to risk cases in which that might be the case.

With that out of the way, let's begin this new section in Trapp's Corner of Leisure called Trapp Reviews! This first blog in the series will talk about Waifu Academy, a visual novel created by Irphaeus.

From the get-go, this isn't like most visual novels. While a lot of them use DAZ to create their characters, Irphaeus and his team instead decided to go for a more Anime style aesthetic by using Honey Select 1 as the basis for the character design. The story is chock full of characters, each with their own personalities and quirks, and it develops in a small Japanese town. The experience when playing this game is honestly mixed. There were aspects of it that I completely loved, but other aspects that, upon replaying it with Update 0.9.9, made me realize that... It's not the best visual novel I have played. There are others that I will revisit for this section, but overall, I would rank this as a mixed experience, with great visuals and sexual creativity deeply rooted in Hentai (mostly because of its style), but falling flat on the most important part of a visual novel: Its plot and characters. For now, let's start the review.

1. SETTING

As previously mentioned, the Anime aesthetic of Honey Select is obviously very Japanese and will obviously cater to that core audience. If you're not interested one bit in the Anime aesthetic, you will NOT enjoy this game. If I take out the sexual element out of this game, I believe this would probably be a "Seinen" type of story, meaning it would be directed towards young men and adults because of the topics it touches. However, I think the biggest detractor for non-Otaku people will be that this story takes place in a high school...

I KNOW WHAT I'M GETTING MYSELF INTO. Irphaeus took care to make the setting more... "accomodating" to an English speaking audience and went with the name Academy for a reason. Obviously this means that some context is required and, for better or worse, thejoshikousei, or high-schooler is a widely common and acceptable fetish. And since the team behind this game doesn't go into the specifics of age for its prominent characters, the (admittedly sh*tty) justification the public will go for, is that these are people who are 18 years old, regardless of how they look. Now, I can go on a tirade about how some characters' appearance can be problematic in the context of an adult visual novel, but that's not my place since I'm not the creator. Lord knows Anime fans have gone to war because of things like "flat is justice" and sh*t like that. With that out of the way, we move.

If you can get past that, the visuals on this game are very good, considering they come from Honey Select. And in my experience with that game, it takes A LOT OF TIME capturing images and creating scenes, just like it does with TK17. Moreso because of the horrible pose editor that game has. So, all in all, I think for one the visuals are very good, going from bright and colorful to somber and gloomy, which I think works in the context of the story and scenes being portrayed. And speaking of story...

2. PLOT

Waifu Academy follows the story of the MC, who you can name however you want. His last name is Sazaki, but he goes by Kutaragi in the new chapter of his life. His father, Ryoji, just recently passed away after spending the last 16 years of his life bound to a wheelchair after a failed suicide attempt, all because of a scandal at the Academy he was the director of. The story starts out strong in the sense that it touches upon themes of sexual abuse and blackmail, which are prominent in doujinshi (unofficial publication of manga, mostly of the adult type), and how the MC's life was negatively affected because of it. He lived in a sh*tty apartment with his crippled father and his grandmother, being abandoned by his mother who moved on to a new family and completely neglected him. Now, after the passing of his relatives (an inconsistency later on since, at first, his grandmother is still alive and later in the story it is mentioned that she f*cking died), he is invited by his mother's new family to live with them and finish his studies, all while he enacts a convoluted plan of revenge that only the edgiest of edge lords wish they could come up with... *SIGH* We're not up to a great start...

Okay, so the premise seems promising enough (pun not intended), but from the get-go, this is a story of revenge. And if there's something I'm very torn on, is revenge stories. On the one hand, there's "Count of MonteCristo" and on the other, there's... Redo of Healer. If you know, you know. The main problem I have with revenge stories is that they're either too lazy, too dark and edgy, or too f*cking stupid to make them compelling. And the problem with this story is thatit doesn't know what the f*ck it wants to be.There are comedy moments, there are serious moments, there's a lot of exposition and character and plot establishing, but there are a lot of moments when things just don't click. And I think the root of all these issues delves into the main character himself, Kutaragi.

2.1 A POORLY WRITTEN MC

I'm not going to act like my writing is marvelous. I'm well aware of my shortcomings as an actual writer. But the experience I have as a comic creator has given me pointers to look out for when writing story-driven characters, and I have to tell you: The MC in Waifu Academy DOESN'T WORK.

Kutaragi's motivations are established from the very beginning. He is resentful for the live he has lived until that day, hurt by the absence of his mother and the declining health of his father, which made his upbringing a painful one and led him to a very dangerous path at a very early age. Because of this, there is a lot of darkness in his soul, and he is quick to berate other people, even if they're being helpful to him. During most of the events of the VN, he shows a cunning, quick-witted and at times, survivalist way of thinking and approaching situations. However, he seems to have most people around him eating right off his hand, very obviously protected by the overused "Plot Armor". This also comes in handy as he slowly but steadily builds his "Waifu Harem" which includes half of his classroom, the new school principal, the school nurse and even people from the organization that he wants to take down once he realizes of their involvement in past events.

However, that's exactly the problem with the character of Kutaragi. The main point of a visual novel is to be compelling, to make you WANT to see the story from start to finish, and that is very f*cking hard to do if your main character is not compelling enough. And Kutaragi is NOT a compelling character. He jumps from cunning to spiteful to sickening levels of Gary Stu in order to advance the plot. And the fact that he is a STUDENT preparing this Machiavellian plot in which he hopes to get revenge on the people who ruined his life, who also happen to be very powerful Yakuza using the school to develop a sex drug, IS NOT BELIEVABLE. That, and the fact that the plot has set things up for him to get his revenge without caring who he hurts in the process while still maintaining the facade of good guy for people who have nothing to do with his plans. Those are the character traits of a sociopath, and it makes you fearful for the results of his actions, whether they are justified or not.

And then, of course, we have to deal with the world the plot is occurring inside of. A character so broken that has such twisted ambitions is suddenly given the power of the plot to romance and defile whoever he wants, whenever he wants. But Trapp, this is a p*rn game! Why do you care so much about what happens in the story when the objective is to bust a fat nut to girls getting their insides rearranged?The point in storytelling is to make a story believable and relatable from start to finish, and even in a sexually charged setting, things have to progress in a way that makes sense for the world you have established, and a big part of that is your main character. Just take a look at Guts from Berserk and tell me one single flaw about how his character is built. Yes, he is violent. Yes, he is full of rage and hatred. But the story sets him up in a way that is gut-wrenching and beautiful, highlighting not only his qualities and strengths, but also his weaknesses. Kutaragi shows no signs of weakness, but he seems to manipulate everyone and everything around him in a way that comes out as malicious, going from berating and coercing the fat Otaku into doing his bidding to flat out allowing or orchestrating the brutal rape of two of his classmates on determined scenarios. Despite the moments where he truly shows some sort of humanity, the fact that these are parts of his character you can explore speaks volumes of how twisted and evil the character of Kutaragi can be, and I for one, am not here for it. But enough about him. How do the other characters stack up in comparison?

3. THE CAST

A visual novel is only as good as its characters. There are some pretty funny moments with the rest of the characters. Some of them are pretty wholesome, some of them are cringe-inducing, and others are... Well...

Okay, I'll be honest. I'm a sucker for this type of outlandish, farsic humor. The game did get a good chuckle or two out of me, and despite what I mentioned about Kutaragi, I have to commend Irphaeus and team for the banter they've made between him and the characters at the academy. The moments of levity are definitely appreciated in the game, and with that, I might have been slightly misleading in terms of what the story is actually like. The dark moments are present, yes, but they happen outside of most of the students in the school.

To be fair, a lot of these characters fall into typical Anime tropes and, if you're as cynical as I am, you'll be like "you've seen one harem, you've seen them all". There's your annoyingtsundere, your tomboy, your Yamato Nadeshiko, your gyaru, your Master Roshi type and so on and so forth. But I think the strength in the cast here lies that they're for the most part, atypical representations of these tropes, even including a few uncommon ones, and some that come out of left field as well. With that said, let's discuss a few of them. Part 2 of this review will touch upon more characters, since this is already a very long blog, and I honestly have a lot to say about them.

Sheila Schweizer: Your new step-sister and the first objective of your "revenge plot". She begins antagonizing you, refusing to welcome you into her family until you, in your devious nature, mix some sleeping pills with her dinner and apply some "treatment" to her, which slowly makes her think of you and start having thoughts about being with her new "step-bro"... Yeah, I know how this sounds. And I just posted a comic regarding step-incest, but again, hear me out.

Sheila is one of the more likeable characters on the game, to me at least. Despite the very rocky beginning and questionable actions that lead Kutaragi to earn her affection, she is actually a self-starter, motivated to do her best to achieve her goals and is not above hanging out with the rest of the students at the academy, occasionally butting heads with some of them due to her headstrong personality. She wants to earn money and has a sub-plot where she auditions and later works at a Hooters-type restaurant, quickly becoming one of the more popular girls. What turns me off about her development with Kutaragi is how she trusts him deeply in a short time despite the downright criminal way he gets in her head. But overall, she's solid. And very horny in private, so there's that.

Tomoe Schweizer: Kutaragi's mother, andOH MY GOD IS SHE HOT.She was a Gravure idol in her late teens and got married to Ryoji Sazaki, shortly after giving birth to Kutaragi. She wasn't involved in the events that ruined Ryoji and Kutaragi's life, but ultimately abandoned them to pursue a different life as part of the Schweizers. Tomoe tries to be a good mother to Sheila, but is guilt-ridden by her abandonment of Kutaragi. She is sexually frustrated after her husband George has to leave town at the beginning of the game due to work, and will usually find herself in situations where her lewd body is shown. She is slowly going down the path of deviance after her son's return and is slowly driven to view him in a sexual light, which for better or worse, will reach its inevitable conclusion. Wow, they didn't even try to hide the fact that Kutaragi actually wants to bang his mother... Geez...

Minami Tokashi: This one is your Marie Rose for the game in the sense that she looks very young. Again, don't hate the player here. She is an aspiring reporter, whose father covered the story that occurred at Sazaki Academy 16 years ago, resulting in the attempted suicide of Kutaragi's father. Like a cat, she is one very curious girl who tends to get in trouble trying to follow in her father's footsteps, with potentially dangerous results. However, if you play your cards right, she will reward you with your own catgirl fantasy. Is it worth it? If you're into that sh*t,yes it is.

Asuka Anders: Daughter of Sazaki Academy's current principal, Helen Anders. I don't like Asuka. She does have that Marie Rose aesthetic if you're into that, but she's an insufferable, petty child. She is the head of the student council at the academy alongside Motoko and always does her mother's bidding. However, her antagonistic personality is usually penchant for awkward moments until the plot leads you to confront her for the head of the student council, which you eventually get. Out of the characters in the story, I think she is the most kindred spirit towards Kutaragi because she shows a conniving side to her, leading to the expulsion of a student after she practically abused him. After being broken by Kutaragi, she is in a game of power to get his attention one way or another, effectively fulfilling thetsunderetrope that a lot of Otakus fall for. I mean, I kinda get the appeal, but at the same time, I don't get it...

Rachel Green: I think Warner Bros. is about to sue a bitch... *ahem!* Rachel is the buxom, redheaded nurse at Sazaki Academy, and Kutaragi's first ally. She crafts a pheromone perfume from his sem*n (?) and is apparently linked to the events that occurred 16 years ago at the Academy, and not only that. She is also linked to the illegal activities occurring behind closed doors at the academy and seems to be of... "mystical persuasion". Her personality is odd to me, being sultry with the body to match, but also cryptic and apparently having demonic connections of some sort. Her sex scenes are pretty hot, though, and she is a tease too.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this Trapp Reviews tomorrow! Until then, Trapp OUT!