Wanko to Kurasou
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese eroge
visual novel
game created by Ivory, which was originally released on March 14, 2006, for the PC
.
Despite being less popular than other, well-known visual-novels, Wanko to Kurasou proved popular enough to have an English translation completed on November 20, 2008.
student, over several months. He teaches a cram school
and lives alone. He was an orphan when young, and was adopted by an escort
. He spent many years growing up in brothels, and eventually entered the industry himself. The experiences he had when maturing resulted in him becoming cold and cynical towards the themes of love and attachment.
It is set in Japan, in a world parallel to reality, with the exception being that there exist a variety of pets known as Anthropoid animals
. These pets include cats, dogs and birds, though birds never make appearances in the game. They have human form and show some intelligence, though still retain much of their animal instincts, most notably the urge to mate during the Spring and Fall seasons.
The game has two routes, each focusing primarily on one or two characters: The Nadeshiko route, and the Risa route. Both routes, however, included development of other characters.
The Nadeshiko route revolves around the owner of a nearby pet-store, Nadeshiko, and her pet anthropoid dog, Kotarou. This route was translated before the Risa route, despite the lower popularity of Nadeshiko, possibly because of the greater amount of ero-scenes in her route. Yuuichi eventually ends up in a relationship with Nadeshiko, but is unable to ultimately commit.
The Risa route revolves more primarily around Risa, Mikan and Silvie, showing more character development, most notably with Risa.
. His cold personality is a result of his upbringing, which took place in a brothel
. Over many years, he came to associate love with material gain and sexual gratification, and thus does not hold any stock in it. Yuuichi lives alone in an apartment
, attends a nearby college and earns money by teaching a junior cram-school.
Mikan : An abandoned anthropoid dog. Yuuichi finds her unconscious in the rain one night while walking home, unable to let her just die, he takes her up to his apartment and treats her. Even though he told her she can only stay until the rain ends, she stays in fear and worry. She was the pet dog of a girl called Misa, who recently died. She is initially very shy and detached, due to her being unable to accept the death of her master, and thus Yuuichi assumes that she lacks the proper ability to speak
. She is eventually taken in by Yuuichi and, after some time, opens up and proves herself to be exceptionally intelligent.
Risa : The younger sister to the late owner of Mikan. She was meant to take care of Mikan, but Mikan was unwilling to accept this arrangement. Risa eventually begins staying at Yuuichi's house for extended periods of time. She is, despite being a virgin, quite open with Yuuichi about her sexuality. In the Risa-route, she decides to attempt to become Yuuichi's first true love.
Nadeshiko : The owner of a local pet store
. Despite her incredibly young appearance, she is actually older than Yuuichi, which has made lots of people confused about her, Yuuichi included. Initially helps Yuuichi with Mikan and Silvie, but in the Nadeshiko route, has a relationship
with him. The relationship ends neutrally, however, with Nadeshiko and Yuuichi both realising that nothing will ultimately come out of it.
Siliviana : The pet dog
of Risa. Initially the pet of a cruel breeder, she is rescued by Risa and Yuuichi. She is quiet and shy throughout the game, partially due to her relatively low intelligence. She is part of a rare and valuable breed of dog, and thus it was necessary for Yuuichi to spend a lot of money
to free her.
Kotarou : The pet dog of Nadeshiko. Despite her average intelligence, she is a highly respected police
dog, due to her excellent pedigree resulting in high capabilities. She was extremely violent and aggressive when younger, seriously injuring Nadeshiko. Now that she is more mature, she regrets behaving like she did, and has a very good relationship with Nadeshiko.
Kana : A student in Yuuichi's cram school. Is very friendly to Yuuichi, helps him a lot, and often visits for food. She owns Kuu, an exceptionally intelligent anthropoid cat.
Kuu : The pet [cat] of Kana. Rarely for cats, she is extremely intelligent. This intelligence results in her having conversations with Yuuichi about the psyche of anthropoid animals, due to her knowledge of them. She helps Yuuichi and Risa free Silvie by discovering that Silvie's previous owner was mistreating her.
Seika : One of Kana's classmates
who helps Yuuichi out on finding Mikan's owner. She has a crush on Yuuichi since she first met him, and later becomes one of his tutoring students just to spend time with him. She is a self-proclaimed expert on dogs and can be pretty hyper at times. She is the owner of Kaie, her anthropoid dog.
Kaie : The pet dog of Seika. He is just as intelligent as Kuu, is kind and polite, and behaves to his owner as if he is her butler
of sorts, addressing Seika as "milady". He was away to do advanced studies in the beginning of the game, but later returned.
Eroge
An or Ero-ga is a Japanese video or computer game that features erotic content, usually in the form of anime-style artwork. Eroge originated from galge, but unlike galge, they feature erotic/pornographic content.-History:...
visual novel
Visual novel
A is an interactive fiction game featuring mostly static graphics, usually with anime-style art, or occasionally live-action stills or video footage...
game created by Ivory, which was originally released on March 14, 2006, for the PC
IBM PC compatible
IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to...
.
Despite being less popular than other, well-known visual-novels, Wanko to Kurasou proved popular enough to have an English translation completed on November 20, 2008.
Plot
Wanko to Kurasou follows the life of Yuuichi, a collegeCollege
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
student, over several months. He teaches a cram school
Cram school
Cram schools are specialized schools that train their students to meet particular goals, most commonly to pass the entrance examinations of high schools or universities...
and lives alone. He was an orphan when young, and was adopted by an escort
Call girl
A call girl or female escort is a sex worker who is not visible to the general public; nor does she usually work in an institution like a brothel, although she may be employed by an escort agency...
. He spent many years growing up in brothels, and eventually entered the industry himself. The experiences he had when maturing resulted in him becoming cold and cynical towards the themes of love and attachment.
It is set in Japan, in a world parallel to reality, with the exception being that there exist a variety of pets known as Anthropoid animals
Moé anthropomorphism
is a form of anthropomorphism where moe qualities are given to non-human beings, objects, concepts, or phenomena. In addition to moe features, moe anthropomorphisms are also characterized by their accessories, which serve to emphasize their original forms before anthropomorphosis...
. These pets include cats, dogs and birds, though birds never make appearances in the game. They have human form and show some intelligence, though still retain much of their animal instincts, most notably the urge to mate during the Spring and Fall seasons.
The game has two routes, each focusing primarily on one or two characters: The Nadeshiko route, and the Risa route. Both routes, however, included development of other characters.
The Nadeshiko route revolves around the owner of a nearby pet-store, Nadeshiko, and her pet anthropoid dog, Kotarou. This route was translated before the Risa route, despite the lower popularity of Nadeshiko, possibly because of the greater amount of ero-scenes in her route. Yuuichi eventually ends up in a relationship with Nadeshiko, but is unable to ultimately commit.
The Risa route revolves more primarily around Risa, Mikan and Silvie, showing more character development, most notably with Risa.
Characters
Yuuichi : The protagonist of the story. He appears as friendly and helpful, but detaches himself from others, cynically denying the existence of true loveLove
Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love is central to many religions, as in the Christian phrase, "God is love" or Agape in the Canonical gospels...
. His cold personality is a result of his upbringing, which took place in a brothel
Brothel
Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
. Over many years, he came to associate love with material gain and sexual gratification, and thus does not hold any stock in it. Yuuichi lives alone in an apartment
Apartment
An apartment or flat is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building...
, attends a nearby college and earns money by teaching a junior cram-school.
Speak
-Music:* Speak , the Hungarian rap artist and internet phenomenon famous for his anti-war video* Speak , the debut album by the actress Lindsay Lohan* Speak , a compilation album by No-Man...
. She is eventually taken in by Yuuichi and, after some time, opens up and proves herself to be exceptionally intelligent.
Risa : The younger sister to the late owner of Mikan. She was meant to take care of Mikan, but Mikan was unwilling to accept this arrangement. Risa eventually begins staying at Yuuichi's house for extended periods of time. She is, despite being a virgin, quite open with Yuuichi about her sexuality. In the Risa-route, she decides to attempt to become Yuuichi's first true love.
Nadeshiko : The owner of a local pet store
Store
Store may refer to:*a retail store*a place where things are stored, e.g. a ship's paint store*expendables released from an aircraft, such as ordnance or countermeasures*Štore, a town and a municipality in eastern Slovenia...
. Despite her incredibly young appearance, she is actually older than Yuuichi, which has made lots of people confused about her, Yuuichi included. Initially helps Yuuichi with Mikan and Silvie, but in the Nadeshiko route, has a relationship
Intimate relationship
An intimate relationship is a particularly close interpersonal relationship that involves physical or emotional intimacy. Physical intimacy is characterized by romantic or passionate love and attachment, or sexual activity. The term is also sometimes used euphemistically for a sexual...
with him. The relationship ends neutrally, however, with Nadeshiko and Yuuichi both realising that nothing will ultimately come out of it.
Siliviana : The pet dog
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
of Risa. Initially the pet of a cruel breeder, she is rescued by Risa and Yuuichi. She is quiet and shy throughout the game, partially due to her relatively low intelligence. She is part of a rare and valuable breed of dog, and thus it was necessary for Yuuichi to spend a lot of money
Money
Money is any object or record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts in a given country or socio-economic context. The main functions of money are distinguished as: a medium of exchange; a unit of account; a store of value; and, occasionally in the past,...
to free her.
Kotarou : The pet dog of Nadeshiko. Despite her average intelligence, she is a highly respected police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
dog, due to her excellent pedigree resulting in high capabilities. She was extremely violent and aggressive when younger, seriously injuring Nadeshiko. Now that she is more mature, she regrets behaving like she did, and has a very good relationship with Nadeshiko.
Kana : A student in Yuuichi's cram school. Is very friendly to Yuuichi, helps him a lot, and often visits for food. She owns Kuu, an exceptionally intelligent anthropoid cat.
Kuu : The pet [cat] of Kana. Rarely for cats, she is extremely intelligent. This intelligence results in her having conversations with Yuuichi about the psyche of anthropoid animals, due to her knowledge of them. She helps Yuuichi and Risa free Silvie by discovering that Silvie's previous owner was mistreating her.
Seika : One of Kana's classmates
Classmates
Classmates may refer to:* Classmates , a silent drama film starring Richard Barthelmess* Classmates , a Malayalam film* Classmates , a Telugu remake of the 2006 film* Classmates.com, a website...
who helps Yuuichi out on finding Mikan's owner. She has a crush on Yuuichi since she first met him, and later becomes one of his tutoring students just to spend time with him. She is a self-proclaimed expert on dogs and can be pretty hyper at times. She is the owner of Kaie, her anthropoid dog.
Kaie : The pet dog of Seika. He is just as intelligent as Kuu, is kind and polite, and behaves to his owner as if he is her butler
Butler
A butler is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some also have charge of the entire parlour floor, and housekeepers caring for the entire house and its...
of sorts, addressing Seika as "milady". He was away to do advanced studies in the beginning of the game, but later returned.