Update: The original release date listed was incorrect. The Menagerie is set for release in Fall 2014, not Fall 2015. Fixed spelling in article’s title as well.
As a publisher of English localized visual novels, a majority of MangaGamer’s offerings are titled produced in Japan which have been brought over by them to the English market. The company do occasionally however support English developed visual novels on their website, and this is the case with their latest announcement confirming that The Menagerie by Lupiesoft will be available for purchase from Fall 2014.
This Original English Language Visual Novel developed by Lupiesoft, an English developer founded in December 2011, is the group’s very first venture in 18+ territory. Thanks to the success of their kickstarter project, Dizzy Hearts (a project still in development and due to be released on steam by Sekai Project), Lupiesoft garnered enough funding to develop Vagabond as well, a game set in the same world and time period (The Radiant Period) as Dizzy Hearts.
While Vagabond will tell its own tale about common life in the desert city of Alabast, The Menagerie turns inward to take a close look at the decadence inside the city’s most prominent landmark–The Sail, a section of the city in which wealthy high-class nobles live in utter extravagance. In The Menagerie, you’ll get to follow Rao-ji, a fiore (aka a hermaphrodite or futanari) and a Drachene, in her sexy tale of personal discovery amid a menagerie of beings collected for the entertainment of Alabast’s lewd and opulent desert nobles!
This is what MangaGamer had to say on the announcement:
We’re proud to help support the development and sale of more Adult Visual Novels here in the west, by western developers, and we hope all our fans will come take a look and share some of our excitement in adding this great game to our catalog!
After all, what’s not to love about hot and sexy yuri, futanari, and bondage action between some monster-girls, elves, and more?!
The Menagerie is set for release in Fall 2014 at a cost of $15.95, making it on the cheaper side of MangaGamer’s visual novel store. Pre-orders are not yet open, but its product page is currently open HERE.
Storyline
The Menagerie is often a place of supreme decadence and where the aristocrats engage in their lewd obsessions. The aristocrats do not even regard those in the Menagerie as anything more than ornate collectibles. It is not that they willfully ignore it, it is that they simply do not comprehend it, a person is judged based on their wealth and according to the aristocracy those who have no wealth of their own become the wealth of others.
Insight into the Characters
[tabs style=”nav-tabs”]
[tab title=”Rao-Ji”]
Rao-Ji is a fiore (futanari), and although she is somewhat shy by nature, she is seemingly blessed with an incredibly large libido, a fact which puzzles the nobles and scholars in Alabast. She can sometimes suffer as a result of being entirely too pent up. Although embarrassed by the act itself, Rao-Ji is very needy, having several orgasms in a very short time frame, making her a favorite among the nobles. Who seem to adore her stamina and the “volume” of her orgasms. When it’s not the nobles who are enjoying company with Rao-Ji she speaks to other servants and slaves within the Menagerie, who comfort the Drachene and also help her learn more about herself. [/tab]
[tab title=”Monkey”]
No wealth of her own. “Monkey” as she is called by the Elves deridingly, was one such Caprician who left home at a young age. One cannot safely do business with the elves of Prima Alabasta unless you are fully aware of who you are dealing with, and she quickly became some of the first of her kind to enter the Menagerie itself. Capricians care deeply about family and Monkey has never given up hope she’ll see her home again. [/tab]
[tab title=”Jouya Askari”]
The gaudy, the extravagant, the convivial and conniving Jouya Askari. A spice dealer by trade, she had made a name for herself all over the country of Alabasta for her sharp tongue and like many Alabastians, a keen sense and love for business. Eventually she moved on to even larger markets trading spices between neighboring countries, most notably the humans of Wandering White Rock. Eventually many smaller merchants would pay high fees to join her caravans moving back and forth through the wastes in order to expand their markets.[/tab]
[tab title=”Sabei Koni”]
Born under questionable heritage, Sabei Koni is a peculiar breed of noble. From an early age she trained in sword fighting and the martial practices of the military. Her vast fortune and tenacity afforded her the tutelage under many famed sword fighters in Alabasta, quickly becoming known for her saber skills. Much greedier for new knowledge and unique experiences than material possession, Sabei led many campaigns through the Rift, which up to that point had still been relatively unexplored and uncharted territory. She brought back much notoriety and wondrous keepsakes which earned her a fortune of her own. [/tab]
[tab title=”Aishi Aza”]
Aishi Aza has a rather mysterious, fey air about her. She has arrived in Alabast with the collector Sabei Koni, who gave her the name Aishi Aza. She caused quite the buzz within the Menagerie, the nobles entranced by her grey skin, red eyes and white hair, sights that Alabastians had never seen before. Although laconic by nature, Aishi has taken to her new life in the Menagerie with a bizarre degree of satisfaction, growing attached to the physical restraints she now wears. Why Aishi has come such a long way is a mystery. But since she no longer wears her mask, Aishi can never return home. [/tab]
[tab title=”Asumamiya”]
Asumamiya has been within the Menagerie for years. Taken from the lake when she was very young, Asumamiya has only faint memories of what the lake was like, now replaced by new memories of her gradual abandonment. In some strange ways, Asumamiya has come to miss the attention and adoration she used to receive years ago. Asumamiya now lives alone in an often neglected wing of the Menagerie. In her tank she sees no one but the other servants who come to bring her fresh algae from the lake. [/tab]
[/tabs]
