I still have a lot of affection for Niijima Yuu, because the game he wrote, Hatsuyuki Sakura, was the first one that made me go “whoa, a galgame can actually do this?” Up until then, every Gal I’d played was the same old clichéd school romance: talk to a girl every day, confess when the time comes, then fuck and roll credits. The fact that Niijima Yuu went and pulled off something genuinely unusual left me with a really good impression of him. After that, Niijima Yuu put out a whole string of new works — Majo Renai Nikki (魔女恋爱日记) and whatever that Shinai Kanojo thing was. A lot of the reception has been pretty hostile toward him, but I still think the guy’s got real talent; the galgame audience just doesn’t get him. Sometimes I think he should be writing novels instead of stooping to make galgame. Then I heard Niijima Yuu went off to hang out with that hack Maeda Jun, and the two of them started jerking each other off in public, which somehow spat out Summer Pockets. After that, Niijima Yuu got tangled up with the Makura guys again, heading off to work on Sakura no Koro… Right when I was about to forget all about Niijima Yuu, I noticed this month’s releases include something called アインシュタインより愛を込めて APOLLOCRISIS…

Niijima Yuu has a new game out. Out of nowhere in the back half of the year, he announced a new brand under Key called Glovety, teaming up with his old partners from Koi x Shin Ai Kanojo (恋×シンアイ彼女), Kimishima Ao and Shimizu Masatoshi, to put out the brand’s first new title (and I figure it’ll also be its last): Einstein yori Ai wo Komete (アインシュタインより愛を込めて). アインシュタインより愛を込めて — what does that mean? It means From Einstein With Love. Except the game’s actual English subtitle isn’t that at all. It’s The only source of knowledge is experience. Sort of a “theory comes from practice” vibe, and that line also feels like a follow-up to Einstein’s famous quip: Information is not knowledge. Anyway, Niijima Yuu is back, and this time he’s brought Kimishima Ao, the otaku favorite, along with a title so artsy it hurts. A whole bunch of otaku collectively lost their minds. The game wasn’t even out in trial form yet and people were already rushing off on “sacred site pilgrimages,” dissecting every element of the single poster that had been released and guessing what kind of story Niijima Yuu might tell. Coupled with the heroine’s “genius-level intellect” setting, everyone started speculating about the plot: would it be about a super-smart but emotionally clueless person slowly discovering love? Would it end with a science-minded boy and girl falling for each other and trying to prove it? The game hadn’t even shipped, and people were already working themselves into tears. Honestly, outside of Yuzusoft fans, I’ve never seen such a powerful capacity for self-induced emotion, and it made me a little less hyped for the game.