Welcome to the home thread for Christmas Tina ‐泡沫冬景‐ - the second pick for the Visual Novel Reading Club!
General Info
English Summary
It is the year 1988. Japan is in the midst of the bubble economy. New buildings are sprouting up everywhere, and the people are ecstatic.
The old disappears and the new is born, but there are some people, some places, some things, that nobody notices… or perhaps nobody chooses to notice them.
This is a story of people who live for one year… in such a little corner of the city.
Kanna is a first-year high school student who’s involved in a traffic accident during the summer. She finds herself unable to stay in her hometown any longer.
Jing fails his university entrance exams in China. He spends a year or so working at a job he doesn’t like.
Both of them hear of the incredible opportunities presenting themselves in the bubble economy of Tokyo. Therefore, Kanna drops out of high school and goes to Tokyo. Jing quits his job and goes to Japan.
The job both of them set their eyes on, would have them simply living in an old, run-down train station. Although the job only pays a measly 400 yen per hour, it runs for 24 hours a day, so it really isn’t that bad. They wouldn’t have to pay rent, heating, or electricity.
Kanna is a bit awkward around people, and Jing doesn’t speak Japanese. The employer only wants one person. Neither wants to give up on this job, so the woman in charge recommends that they simply do it together…
Japanese Summary
１９８８年のバブル期の日本。古いモノが消え、新しいモノが生まれる中で、誰もが気づかない……もしくは、気づいていても見なかったことにした場所、人、モノ達。
——あの時、あなたは、誰と過ごしていましたか？
——これは「恋」ではなかった。
田舎に住むハタチの栞奈は、夏休みに交通事故に遭い、地元に居られなくなってしまう。
中国では、大学受験に失敗した景が、渋々と仕事を続けて、１年が経とうとしていた。 そんな中、東京での好景気バブルの噂を耳にした二人。
栞奈は、大学を中退して上京することに。景も仕事を辞め、日本を目指した。 そして二人が見つけた仕事は、古びた駅舎に「住むだけで良い」というバイト。時給は少し安めの４００円。しかし住むだけなので、２４時間と考えれば悪くない。家賃や光熱費の心配も無い。
不器用な栞奈と、日本語は分からない景。定員は１名。お互いにこのバイトを譲らない二人は、佐倉の勧めもあって、渋々と二人で始めることになるのだった。
Title: Christmas Tina ‐泡沫冬景‐ / Christmas Tina: Ephemeral Views of Winter
Platform: PC, Switch
Vndb Link: Christmas Tina ‐泡沫冬景‐ | vndb
Text Length: 147,010 characters
Average Game Length: 8h 45m
Hookable: Yes
Voiced Audio: Fully voiced protagonist (worth noting that one of the main characters is Chinese, so many of their lines are voiced in Chinese instead)
Spoken Lines Replayable: Yes (from backlog)
Where to Purchase
PC: Steam version
Console: Switch version
Schedule
We’re going to be starting December 30th!
| Week | Start Date | Chapters |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | December 30 | Prologue, Chapters 1-2 |
| Week 2 | January 6 | Chapters 3-4 |
| Week 3 | January 13 | Chapters 5-6 |
| Week 4 | January 20 | Chapters 7-9 |
| Week 5 | January 27 | Chapters 10-12 |
| Week 6 | February 3 | Chapters 13-15 |
| Week 7 | February 10 | Chapters 16-18 |
| Week 8 | February 17 | Chapters 18.5-20 |
| Week 9 | February 24 | Chapters 21-23 |
| Week 10 | March 2 | Chapters 24-27 |
| Week 11 | March 9 | Chapter 28 to the end |
Each week should be ~13,360 characters (~33 pages of a bunkobon)
Will you be reading with us?
- Yes!
- Yes, but at my own pace
- Not sure
- I’m skipping this one
- I’ve read this before, but will join in the discussion
Which version will you be reading?
- PC
- Switch
(which would be kind of trippy)