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A VN-friendly VTuber? — Interviewing Machina X Flayon!

We’re back again with another interview, and this time we’ve got a very important guest! Say hello to Machina X Flayon, a VTuber at HOLOSTARS-EN who has been distinguishing himself from the rest for his VN-related content. We approached him on Twitter for an interview and to our surprise, we got one!

Flayon debuted on January 8th 2023 and only a week after debut, he started streaming a Hatoful Boyfriend Let’s Play. You can check the full playlist here.
The following list presents all the visual novels streamed on his channel up to this date:

Visual NovelWhere to watch?Release Date
Hatoful Boyfriend【HATOFUL BOYFRIEND】January 14th 2023
Diffraction【Diffraction Demo】February 25th 2023
13 Sentinels Aegis Rim【13 SENTINELS AEGIS RIM】March 3rd 2023
Mystic Messenger1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6April 26th 2023
Endless Monday: Dreams and Deadlines【ENDLESS MONDAY:
DREAMS AND DEADLINES】
June 22nd 2023
Ciconia When They Cry1 | 2 | 3June 29th 2023
TroubleDays【TROUBLE DAYS】July 1st 2023
Higurashi When They Cry【HIGURASHI: WHEN THEY CRY HOU】August 6th 2023
Sentimental Death Loop1 | 2September 29th 2023
Umineko When They Cry1 | 2
(featuring Umineko: Golden Fantasia)
October 5th 2023
Your Turn to Die1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8October 29th 2023
WHITE ALBUM1 | 2 | 3 | 4
(check our review!)
November 2nd 2023
The House in Fata Morgana1 | 2 | 3January 13th 2024
Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney【APOLLO JUSTICE: ACE ATTORNEY TRILOGY】January 25th 2024
A Date with Death1 | 2January 27th 2024
Elevator Hitch【ELEVATOR HITCH】January 31st 2024
Petit Game Collection vol.1【NSO – PETIT GAME COLLECTION VOL.1】February 6th 2024
Bunny Garden1 | 2May 5th 2024
Days With Ollie【DAYS WITH OLLIE 】April 24th 2024
TSUKIHIME:
A Piece Of Blue Glass Moon
1 | 2July 6th 2024

Thank you so much for this interview! As one of the few VTubers who does more VN-related content, we appreciate your presence here. Would you like to start off by introducing yourself?

Flayon: Yo! This is your pilot speaking, Machina X Flayon, Ace Mecha Pilot for GUILD TEMPUS of Holostars English. I pilot the R-TRUS, which is essentially a giant weapon of destruction and only I can control him that well. Sooo, I guess that makes me a hero, but also a possible threat?

I would say you are making a name for yourself for your visual novel streams. Were you always into them? Were there any big inspirations?

Flayon: Oh, wow! That I didn’t expect! I can’t always play every visual novel so when I actually get a chance to play one on stream, it’s really exciting. I’m glad it’s caught people’s eye! As for visual novels, I got into them around what most people would consider High School!

The first VN I got into was the original Tsukihime by TYPE MOON. That one was quite the trip and a psychological VN with entirely different routes, so it took me by surprise when I ended up liking it so much!

However, at that point I hadn’t really recognized the format for VNs until I ended up watching The World God Only Knows. That manga/anime deals with a main character who frequently plays dating sims or visual novel, and that inspired me to dive into the genre.

There were games like Ace Attorney which is essentially a visual novel with extra gameplay elements, but what really caught my eye was Yume Miru Kusuri. I played that one after I left the Elysium academy and it left a huuuge impact on me just because it took the concept of different types of pain: being bullied, interpersonal struggles, as well as struggles with addiction. All the content I’d consumed for the most part so far never really went into that direction or the character would simply have one development arc then be better forever so that stuck with me, especially with how not only the heroines but the main character would step out of line and the story would call him out on it. I also got to see all the toxic relationships and I felt familiar as I’d seen many before just growing up!

Do you have a favorite VN you played? Be it on the channel or alone.

Flayon: My favorite VN would have to be a toss up between Tsukihime, Yume Miru Kusuri, The House in Fata Morgana, and Umineko no Naku Koro ni. All for different reasons though, of course! The House In Fata Morgana in particular: I was going through a rough time back then and my little sister was the one that recommended it to me! The writing is stellar and it has the foundations I liked in pretty much all my other favorite VNs—human characters being messy and making mistakes yet trying to live on in their own way!

Umineko and Higurashi kind of hit different so those are the special mentions. Higurashi was especially fun to stream and voice on the channel so far. Its ambience and its psychological thriller aspects can literally only be found there. I recommend playing it with the original sprites, but there are the other options too.

As for Umineko: just play it. It’s 100 hour-long, but it’s… yeah, just play it and you’ll get it.


Channel-wise, I would have to give it to WHITE ALBUM and Trouble Days. Trouble Days (aside from my little slip up & hahas) gave a really short course on what eroge could be, I think. One of my personal pet peeves is when people write off content or eroge/vns just because of the R-18 content they contain. This is because there are so many heartfelt stories for whatever type of story you read: be it a more “basic” visual novel, a heart-wrenching eroge or even an utsuge. If I could pick one thing I would love to do with my content, that would be to play these visual novels more and if possible, to show people that there is more to them. They’re literally works of art!

What about a VN you just absolutely hated? Hopefully there aren’t many!

Flayon: A visual novel I hated, huh… I honestly can’t think of any because I really do love visual novels and even ones that I don’t prefer as much have so many great things to offer. I’ve even played ones where it was obvious the writer was new to writing as a whole; and in those cases people would usually dunk on them. But the thing about visual novels is that they are just like books: they can contain so many heartfelt emotions so even if the landing was shaky, I can still conceptualize what the author was trying to convey.

There are so many different type of VNs too, such as Muv Luv, Dies Irae, Majikoi!, My Girlfriend Is the President, Dracu Riot, Riddle Joker, the Grisaia series, Higurashi, Hoshizora no Memoria, Milk Outside a Bag of Milk, Steins;Gate, etc…

All those visual novels are very different so I can easily see someone not preferring one or the other, but I just like them all in their own regard. The only way to make a VN I hate is just to… make a bad product and then try to trick me, saying it’s good!

I personally think you’d enjoy Muv-Luv or even Full Metal Daemon Muramasa, being a mech-themed VTuber yourself. Have you ever considered playing one of them?

Flayon: Oh, yes I absolutely 100% want to play those and I’ve been aiming for them ever since debut! I would have included one of them if it were possible, but hopefully it will be in the future. Muv-Luv Alternative I know also goes in… another direction, so I’d love to experience that one with everyone. The same reason why I’d also like to play Kimi To Kanojo to Kanojo no Koi on stream.

So basically, my plan is that I’ve been trying to save some VNs like that so I could play them on stream, but I have no guarantee if or when I’ll be able to play it. BUUUUT, sometimes it takes forever to get to that point so I made it a goal for myself to just play them this year! I want to play things such as DRAMAtical Murder (or any Nitro Plus/Chiral games, really) on stream, but if it’s not possible I’ll just dive into them off stream.

Just be prepared because I probably won’t be streaming much during that time LOL

Speaking of recommendations, do you have any favorite (sub)genres or tropes?

Flayon: I really like otomege, eroge, utsuge (HELP), and nakige!

I am a big fan of a main character that is really lost in the beginning of the story. They have a preset personality already and some defining characteristics, but there’s this feeling as if they’re missing something. I’m not a big fan of characters that are simply self-inserts with no input on anything or any emotions. The self-inserts I prefer would be the main character type I just typed about because they are definitely their own person, but I believe the reader/player can relate to them.

Oh and I ABSOLUTELY love it when the main character and heroine don’t get along and have their differences. If it’s forced then yeah no one will like it, but when it works it just absolutely does. It puts more stakes in the story too as I think sometimes the worst ending for a main character wouldn’t be death. A worse ending for some people would be a bland ending… without any catharsis. So for example, the main heroine simply deciding she never wants to talk to you again and it’s not because of anything big. It just happens, and I think that is soul-crushing… You could have made something happen!

… The childhood friend trope isn’t too bad either. I also like it when two characters immediately understand they’re attracted to each other and the relationship or communication forms based on that.

When choosing what to read, what aspects do you prioritize: the art? The plot? The gameplay aspect?

Flayon: I can do almost any plot and I’ve played several VNs across the spectrum—some more disturbing than others. Saya no Uta, Sweet Pool, Slow Damage, euphoria, Gore Screaming Show: those are some of the names that stand out. I haven’t played all of them in full either cuz it can be really hard to get through them just because of how horific things can get. Subahibi is another LOL

The art IMMEDIATELY grabs my attention, it did that for me with Grisaia no Kajitsu, but also Our World Is Ended. I believe good character designs, backgrounds and cover art (along with a consistent art direction) immediately sell me on the world without knowing the characters.

The gameplay can be pretty standard. I’ll accept anything extra such as rebuttals in Danganronpa or cross examinations in Ace Attorney.

Within your channel, what was your favorite VN stream of 2023?

Flayon: OKAY. Time to pick.

I gotta give it to Higurashi. I was really in my element when reading that type of stream and it reminded me of when I had the most carefree fun online when I was younger. Those times were really far in between so anything that reminds me of that sticks with me the most.

Hatoful Boyfriend comes in close!

If it’s not secret, do you have future games you are excited to stream? Maybe some hints for the readers?

Flayon: “Flayon are you going to play th—”, “Have you heard about this game? Have you thought about streaming it?”

I’m pretty much going around all the time trying to grab visual novels to stream actually! So if you can name it, unless it’s really niche or there’s a good reason you can’t stream that game in particular, then I’m always trying to play new ones! It can be difficult at times as there might be different rules for each game and what is streamable and what isn’t. At that point all I can do is hope for the best and also send in 3+ paragraphs on why even a single stream of it would be good!!!

This platform may not be the best one to have a huge success rate, but that’s exactly why I want to try. I can show people that these are literally works of art. There’s a lot to learn, love and indulge in.

I’D LOVE TO TELL  YOUUUU, but I don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up >__<

With visual novels, I try to set aside time so I can play them every week at the very least; or I try to secure the game enough that I can do more than one stream of it (or if it the stream can stay up).

Following that question, do you have any kind of bucketlist or wishlist for your VN-related content? Maybe something you might fear to be possible only in dreams?

Flayon: I’m always dying for more official English translations, but I know that can be pretty hard to come by. Fate Extra CCC, for example, never got one so that motivated me to try and learn Japanese. In my opinion, even though that game has RPG elements, it’s still a visual novel outside of it.
Ore Tachi ni Tsubasa wa Nai  is something else I’d love to play.

I WANT TO PLAY A COUPLE OF MESSED UP ONES, but I’m very picky and choosey with which one to stream if I could. There are particular VNs I know would not vibe with my fanbase depending on the content so I would have to filter that out. I also don’t want to immediately go for a VN that would just be for shock value either.

My usual plan with visual novels streams is that I aim for one I want to experience more of (DRAMAtical Murder) or show people (Higurashi/The House in Fata Morgana/Trouble Days) and those will catch people’s attention because of their content.

BUUUT then I just proceed with streaming as normal and I try to not change my content in any way. This way, I can comfortably express my passion for the game and not try to change who I am to fit the demand. I think that’s especially important because I want the focus to be on the VNs just as much as me!

The VTuber sphere is severely lacking in VN-related content. Do you enjoy any VTuber who streams visual novels you’d like to shoutout? I’m certain our readers would appreciate it.

Flayon: DEFINITELY! I can’t actually think of many that would want to dive into it.

The first thoughts that come to mind would be Octavio (he wants to stream The House in Fata Morgana with me in full), Subaru & Polka-senpai (13 Sentinels Aegis Rim), and Grimmi Vtuber (Horror & VN VTuber).

I really like Fuwamoco’s White Album streams and you can see from their debut too that both sisters are deep appreciators of VNs (they even know the really messed up ones LOL XD) So if they did delve into more VNs, I definitely think they would do that type of content justice in their own way.

Other than that, honestly, the only other people I can think of would be Doppio Dropscythe & Finana Ryuugu of NIJISANJI EN. I’ve known Mr Doppio (Pion) forever and he enjoys literally almost every visual novel I’ve mentioned. I think the last VN he recommended me to try was Raging Loop too! He also has a deep appreciation for the genre and if time allowed it, I’m sure he would dedicate as much hours as I would.

Finana too just went through Your Turn To Die and The Nonary Games like nothing too and you can tell she can keep up with all the reading, but also not lose touch with any themes. What’s really amazing for everyone I mentioned above is that they can keep everyone entertained in their own way. That follows up with my own personal view point that I don’t think visual novels are THAT hard to stream, you just have to approach them a different way. I always say this on stream, but visual novel streams sometimes just come off to me as playing/reading my own interactive movie, and may even be more fun with friends.

I would say that some VNs people are afraid to stream are a lot more workable than 100+ hour JRPGs to me personally.

I see you’ve recently started a collaboration with Octavio, playing The House in Fata Morgana. Are you considering expanding these collaborations to other VTubers? It’s a small growing media, and your exposure helps both the community and developers alike.

Flayon: OH MAN I need to get back to The House In Fata Morgana so bad!! As of writing this I’m currently on Chapter 2/Door 2 with him and the MC of that door is one of my favourite characters in fiction but also really fun to voice. I’m still surprised to this day that not only does Tavioli (Octavio) have the same love I have for VNs, but that he’s 100% serious about streaming the whole game with me. That was extremely touching and I’ll never forget that.

But with others, oh most definitely! I even want to get back into playing/finishing Ghost Trick (a type of VN imo) w/ Obake Pam. I’d honestly love to play with almost anyone that is literally willing to sit down and read with me. If I had all the time in the world, I am 100% certain I could read/voice act a VN on stream for 24 hours and even more.

I just want people to see more VNs, play more and just I don’t know I want to talk to more people about them!!!!!

Is there any untranslated visual novel you would love to see in English? Give us your wishlist!

Flayon: DRACU RIOT (in the works, I think?)1; Oretachi ni tsubasa wa nai; White Album 2 (←BIG); and Diabolik Lovers. Oh, and any fandisc of an eroge that isn’t translated or released in English.

We have some questions from our own VTuber circle too!
Bunnysleepover: A severely underrated part of the visual novel experience is its soundtrack. What is your favorite VN track and why?

Flayon: Ok, I won’t get into but I think from listening to themes you will get a similar idea of what songs i like in VNs.

I LISTED LOTS:

Ok, so some might think this is edgy, probably Deadlock from Grisaia no Kajitsu, but it’s a theme that usually plays in despair-inducing moments.

When I first heard that song it kind of clicked with me because of a sense of catharsis, I think? The themes in Grisaia can go pretty dark and honestly the catharsis came from the song just representing what I felt like growing up! I don’t talk too much about personal stuff and obviously we all carry different types of pain, but I unfortunately(?) and fortunately(?) tend to feel emotions very strongly—both the negative and the positive. It might be a side effect of being a pilot for so long, but regardless of the situation, when I went through certain things growing up I felt that Deadlock really fit that.

TheOrcosaurus: What are some important tips you would give to smaller creators/VTubers focusing on VNs as their content format to succeed?

Flayon: Don’t force yourself to stream it just for the sake of finishing it if you feel like you have to. It should be finished because you personally want to and are okay with accepting the consequences of streaming VNs. I easily could stream other content, but honestly sometimes I get so bored if It’s not something that clicks with me how VNs do. So if you’re going to stream VNs, I think you have to accept that they may not get super viral or be seen as entertaining.

You could also play with friends if you have any that are willing to go through it with you!

Honestly, other than that, you could just make video essays or a analysis about characters & themes of the work.

“The Melancholic Hope You Find After Tragedy in Grisaia” is something I just thought of something last second, but people like to watch videos like that or have that in the background.

I don’t have much for you since I’m still figuring out everything myself, but I will probably let everyone know ASAP!

MaiKyua: As a VTuber, you’ll have to deal with voice acting within VNs. You’ve played voiced and unvoiced cast VNs, where you had to act out more: do you have any preference?

Flayon: Honestly, sometimes I use reading visual novels on streams as reading and voice over practice in general so that’s really awesome. Yet, there are lot of VNs with voiced content so hearing those voice clips play and then trying to voice it would take FOOOREVER, so you have to commit to that if you decide to go that path.

So my usual go to is: if there are voice lines already, I just let them play out and I will react to them, then talk about any possible themes or what I think a character is going to do. In 13 Sentinels Aegis Rim, you have tower defense gameplay but outside of it, is pretty much a visual novel, in my opinion. And in 13 Sentinels I got to theory-craft and gush over characters with the chat; I had a similar experience with Higurashi.

I prefer to act out super emotional ones, but also VNs with subtle emotions where you can feel anger rising but not enough to cause suspicion.

Personal shout out for favourite voicing parts for VNs goes to the Door 2 Protagonist in Fata Morgana. Just watch a bit of the Door 2 intro and you’ll get it. The character is kinda of… SILLY(crazy) and I LOOOOVE voicing depraved people like that in this format.

MaiKyua: For my second question: do you prefer linear stories for streaming, or do you enjoy the challenge that comes with multiple routes?

Flayon: Linear stories are definitely a lot easier to work with, but I think a game with multiple routes might give you more breathing room than you’d think? For example, with a linear story you would have to follow Point A to Point B to Point C; but if you’re playing a game with multiple routes, you could just dedicate your playthrough to “I’m going to be playing only A’s route” because that might be satisfactory enough and it incentivizes people to go read on their own. I think the companies would like that too and for those with specific streaming restrictions, I think having a streamable common route is a good way to grab people. Plus, so you don’t have to do everything on stream and you can enjoy B or C’s route on your own.

Any last words for our dear readers?

Flayon: Visual novels are, in my opinion, the only reason I have any maturity as who I am now and I’ve learnt so much from them. They aren’t perfect, but I can just absorb the feelings behind the writing and get so much representation I never thought possible. Eroge players will get me: when there’s an H-scene and then the soft piano OST plays, it’s so over.

Every time I finish a visual novel, I feel my life has changed or it has definitely had an impact on me. The results of that impact may come way later, but it’s certainly left its mark. I wouldn’t be who I am or even as kind as people say I am without them, in my opinion.

I don’t know, go read them!


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  1. Technically in the works, yes, but it’s been unheard of for years now. ↩︎

fujoneko

Weird little gremlin who likes all the fucked up stuff; if a story doesn't leave you in shambles, what's even the point? Functional fujoshi, at your service.

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