GORE SCREAMING SHOW LIVE BLOG

This is a "live" blogging of my thoughts, reactions and feelings towards Black Cyc's 2005 horror visual novel Gore Screaming Show, a game I used to see mentioned on the internet all the time a good fifteen years ago that became a mythical thing I wished to experience one day. I was unaware of this, but a fan translation seems to have begun partial release in 2015, but development stopped once the game received an official release announcement.

JAST's store page briefly describes the game as being about Kyoji, a boy who "seeks to unravel the mysteries that have taken root in his hometown while he was away. Mysteries tied to a young girl named Yuka, and her companion, the horrific Gore Screaming Show."

Each page of this live blog contains only 20 entries to avoid having to load too many pictures at once. Though this is an eroge, I will most likely skip on posting screenshots of explicit nature, or at least censor them heavily, mainly because getting CGs is part of the appeal of playing visual novles, and I wouldn't want to spoil that experience.

Warning: Some of the tags on the VNDB entry for this game that you might want to read before you continue are:

Psychological Horror, Bloody Scenes, Gore, Graphic Violence, Body Horror, Scat, Inflation, Lolicon, High Amounts of Rape

I encourage you to go to the linked website and filter in all tags if you need a more thorough list of what you'll see in this live blog.

(1 - 20) 21 - 40 (41 - 60) (61 - 80) (81 - 100)
Tuesday Dec 5, 2023 Partial Gore Screaming Show screenshot of a dialogue log. Shinta 'Let's go buy some buns, Kyoji.' Shinta calls out to him during lunch break. Kyoji: 'Didn't you bring lunch today?' Shinta: 'I overslept and forgot to make it.' Kyoji: '...Huh? Hold on, did you just say 'make it'?' Shinta: 'Yeah. Didn't I tell you? I make my own lunches.' Kyoji: 'Huh. Don't your mom, grandma, or sisters make it for you?' Partial Gore Screaming Show screenshot of a dialogue log. Shinta: 'Kyoji~' Shinta stands on tip-toe and taps Kyoji on the shoulder. Shinta: 'You're green, Kyoji. Way too green. Men nowadays need to know how to make their own lunches, or they won't survive out there. Besides, my mom, grandma, and sisters all have stuff to do. It's easier for everyone if I make it myself. Plus, if I just pack leftovers, I can save my allowance. Get it?'
Help I am being charmed by Shinta's cute voice work and playful personality.
Tuesday Dec 5, 2023 😭 nooo don't make me choose between the friend or the girl route

Gore Screaming Show screenshot. A classroom scene showing Shinta standing with his arms crossed. The dialog box is titled 'Select Your Future', and the player is given two choices: 'Let's go together, then' and 'Sorry, I've got somewhere to go.'
Tuesday Dec 5, 2023 I still decided to go with him and it led me to an Akane scene so it's all good. Shinta is a good-if-too-involved-in-his-friend's-imagined-love-life guy hehe.

Partial Gore Screaming Show screenshot of a dialogue log. Kyoji: '...Ugh, what are you doing?!' Shinta: 'I think you need to be a bit more honest with yourself at times like these.' Shinta has a smug expression on his face. Kyoji: 'I really don't care.' Shinta: 'Don't lie.' Kyoji: 'It looks like you're the one who cares here.' Shinta: 'If that'll get you to stay here, fine, let's go with that. Ssshhh!'
Tuesday Dec 5, 2023 Reading this through my fingers as I hide my face kyaaaa

Partial Gore Screaming Show screenshot of a dialogue log. Kyoji: 'You wanna go catch a movie with me this Sudnay?' A declaration of war. That's the only way he could think of to protect Akane. Akane goes red like a tomato as she shouts at him. Akane: 'H-Hold on, Kyoji! What are you saying all of a sudden?!' Kyoji: 'What, did I say something strange?' Akane: 'Yeah! You totally did!' Kyoji: 'Yeah? Well, sorry, but I'm serious.' One of their classmates, who has been watching the three of them with bated breath, suddenly lets out an impressed whistle.
I sure am going to be crushed when I fail to save Akane from whatever horrors lie in Gore's belly and she dies or whatever.
Tuesday Dec 5, 2023 I say sometimes that I'm rather tired of highschool settings I can't relate to in my not-highschooler age, but the truth is there's absolutely nothing wrong with school as a place for a story to be set in, my issues lie with what kind of story it is. Mob Psycho 100 is one of my favorite manga after all, and in recent times I've been able to enjoy other works like After the Rain and Skip and Loafer, stories where I can feel an honesty and care from the author towards the kinds of feelings one can harbor, the stumbling experiences and the changes one goes through in this period of their life.

Kyoji's slow refamiliarization with Akane while learning to see the ways in which she's changed (from the genderless existence of a little boyish girl who mostly hangs with boys to a teenager that retains her rough loud personality but has newfound femininity that's hard to miss for anybody their age) is somewhat forced to morph from friendship to romance when he finds out that Sadashima, the rich bully from their class, is only wooing Akane for a cruel prank. When Sadashima invites Akane out to watch a movie, Kyoji boldly interrupts them to do the same, mentally calling it a declaration of war. He doesn't want to hurt her by telling her the truth of Sadashima's advances, but he doesn't want to let it happen either, so this is the solution he comes up with.

Partial Gore Screaming Show screenshot of a dialogue log. 'Getting it off his chest is a relief. Seeing Akane fly into a flustered panic is an almost heartwarming sight to look at. He can hear Sadashima click his tongue and leave, but that's the last thing Kyoji cares about right now.—Akane accepted his invitation over Sadashima's, and that makes him happier than he thought it would.'
Well, in the moment, that's how he frames it in his mind, as an act of necessity to protect someone he cares for, but the narration ends the scene this way.

Partial Gore Screaming Show screenshot of a dialogue log. After walking for a bit, she looks behind her before reaching the corner and sees that Kyoji is still seeing her off. Akane: '...Oh, you dummy.' She mumbles to herself, making sure no one else can hear her, and hides behind the corner's brick wall. A thought occurs to her. She sticks her hand out from behind the wall, waves at Kyoji, and then pulls it back.—Oh, what am I going to do with myself? I'm so, so happy.
This little interaction as they separate on their way home pries Akane's little heart open for the reader to see the joy she's feeling as well. I got a bit teary eyed at that last line, haha. The helplessness of the tone just touched my heart. Along with the beautiful soft and sweet BGM that began the moment Kyoji asked her out, it really encapsulates the kind of swelling feeling I now only vaguely remember when I too took my first fawn steps towards something forming with the person I liked.

Of course, Yuka makes a quick appearance right after to remind me and Akane that this isn't a romance game.
Tuesday Dec 5, 2023 Gore Screaming Show screenshot. A scene in a park, showing Akane wearing a casual outfit: A light lilac lettuce trim shirt under a loose dark grey sweater, and a frilly skirt with a cammo pattern.
It's very immersion breaking to be told Akane spent at least a whole day figuring out her date outfit and then she comes out in a frilly cammo skirt.
Tuesday Dec 5, 2023 Partial Gore Screaming Show screenshot of a dialogue log. Kyoji: '...Well, I'll have you know I like heavy metal.' Kyoji whispers with his eyes downcast. Akane's mouth falls open. Akane: 'Huuuh? What do you enjoy about that noise?' She probably didn't mean anything bad, but the crude way she puts it ticks him off. Kyoji: 'Noise?! What do you find in your stupid Mandarin Oven, huh?! 'Cuz I have no idea! All their songs sound the same!' Akane: 'No, it's all your stupid heavy rock songs that sound the same!'
Akane, let's not have this conversation...
Tuesday Dec 5, 2023 Partial Gore Screaming Show screenshot of a dialogue log. There are also covers of records and CDs on display. All of them are from metal bands, ranging from world-famous ones like 'Deep Magenta' to Japanese ones like '><'.
Ah yes, who could forget legendary Japanese band ><.

Kyoji should really appreciate Akane for this date! She let him pick the movie, and then took him to a metal-themed cafe even though she doesn't like the music at all! Try harder next time to think of her interests as well, Kyoji.
Tuesday Dec 5, 2023 Partial Gore Screaming Show screenshot.A closely cropped image of a background element. It's a framed photo of a man with glasses crossing his arms, with text that is too small to be legible to the right. Below the text is an image of a CD and a signature.
who is she
Tuesday Dec 5, 2023 Partial Gore Screaming Show screenshot.A very obscured image of Gore, a monster, facing the left of the image but staring directly towards the viewer. His dialogue reads 'Don't worry, I ain't gonna eat you! Old men don't agree with my stomach! Yes, indeed, I'm a gourmand, yes I am!
So Gore will only eat girl pussy, gotcha gotcha.
Tuesday Dec 5, 2023 Gore Screaming Show screenshot. A scene in the middle of the woods, where a large western-style mansion lies covered in vines. An old woman stands in the middle of the screen, with short, receeding gray hair, sad-looking blue eyes, and a beauty mark under the left side of her mouth. She a light purple button-up shirt under a long tan coat. The narration reads: 'She wears an eyepatch on her hollow-cheeked, pallid face. She has bandages around her neck, a hunched back, and a crooked posture that only remains upright by virtue of leaning on a cane. She looks less like a woman and more like a hag.'
Hag, something that's less than a woman. Hm, hm, I see. Very eye-opening to what Kyoji thinks women are and aren't.
Wednesday Dec 6, 2023 I played a bit more after taking a break. It is now 3AM as I type this so I don't know how detailed it will get, but I want to settle down some thoughts before I sleep. I streamed for my friends for a little, just because I was on a call already, but it won't be something I do often.

Let's recap the most important parts of this non-liveblogged run up until I hit a screenshot. The aforementioned hag invites us into the house, since her "daughter", who we soon find is Yuka, is but a sickly, lonely child that wants to have tea with us. There's two options: accept the invitation or say we have to go, though they probably both lead to the same conclusion, but the decision to go in rises both Akane and Kiika's affection, while making Aoi's decrease. Inside, the group is given a saccharine performance by Yuka, who pretends to be a good girl, crying crocodile tears when Kyoji is mean to her until the group pressure forces him to apologize. While we're leaving, Yuka's mom who is obviously some person she's forcing to perform tries to silently communicate to Kyoji some warning, or perhaps beg for help, with a single horrified expression that only lasts a moment and managed to make me jump on my seat from its intensity.

Gore Screaming Show screenshot. A scene in the middle of the woods. A man leans back against a tree, hands in his pockets as he smokes a cigarette. He's tall with short black hair, pale skin and dark stubble. He wears sunglasses, a white shirt under a long dark coat, jeans, and a long necklace with a green pendant that hangs very low on his chest. An old low wooden fence is seen behind him. The dialog box reads 'A tall man sways to his feet under the shade of the trees.'
Once they leave the mansion, Kyoji finally meets this guy I noticed in various shots in the game's opening movie, who is obviously going to be the friend Yamiko oneechan mentioned once before. His beard looks a bit disgusting but it's not a bad look on him. I like his voice, by Kuroki Dai who, and perhaps don't highlight the next words for possible spoilers... Is also the voice of Gore?! Great range honestly. Looking at his VNDB entry, it seems he's still active as a voice actor, which I'm happy about, but unfortunately he only seems to voice older men and side characters.
Wednesday Dec 6, 2023 Sadashima was mysteriously absent at the end of the previous school day, but the next day he greets Kyoji and Akane with a crude doodle on the chalk board of the ugly thing that happened in their childhood.

Gore Screaming Show screenshot. A scene in a classroom, where Sadashima, a tall student with blond straight hair, pale skin and a cocky long face stands. He says: 'Some of your old classmates were kind enough to tell me. They told me how they dragged you and Kazuyagi-san out, stripped you naked, and forced you to fuck each other in front of everyone!'
I was worried of how this was going to go, that Sadashima would escalate things surrounding Akane like this and everyone would just let it happen, or even join in some way, because they're afraid of him, but before Kyoji can do anything, a completely unphased Akane goes straight to confronting Sadashira, slapping the crap out of him and giving him a kick in the nuts for good measure.

Gore Screaming Show screenshot of a dialogue log. The screen is titled 'Gore Screaming Show Backlog View'. Kyoji was never a quiet or well-behaved kid, far from it, he often found himself pitted against nasty brats; kids just like Sadashima. Kyoji's flooded with relief for some reason. Even in this situation, he somehow manages to smile. Akane: 'What's with you, Kyoji? What's so funny?' Kyoji: 'Nothing, I just thought... you're pretty great.' Akane: 'Huh?!' Akane turns progressively more andmore red over the course of several seconds. Kyoji: '...Yeah. I think I'm in love with you.'
Aaaaah that was cute that was a cute exchange. Akane gets super flustered right after. I have a soft spot for realizations of love like this, heh. Seeing someone important to you doing or acting in a way that is natural for them, and coming to an understanding that it makes you feel love.
Wednesday Dec 6, 2023 Akane sees Yuka climb down the well and convinces Kyoji to go down to look for her in case she's in danger. Not what I'd expect a horror watcher do, but I guess she's also a teenager stuck inside a horror eroge, her fate to make a bad choice was sealed from the start.

Partial Gore Screaming Show screenshot of a dialogue log. Akane frowns and looks at Kyoji with upturned eyes. Kyoji: 'I said I'm sorry.' Akane: 'It's fine. I have gym shorts on anyway.' Akane bashfully averts her gaze. Kyoji: 'Then I could have looked after all.' Akane: 'Even if I have gym shorts on, that's not okay! You can't look up a girl's skirt!'
No no, Akane is right, it's not about what might or might not be exposed, but the act itself.
Wednesday Dec 6, 2023 Gore Screaming Show screenshot. A scene in a dark underground room. A tall figure stands facing the viewer, pictured in a dutch angle to convey his size. The narration describes him as such: 'His body, covered in a long, black cloak, stands well over two meters tall. That's strange enough, but to make things even weirder, he wears what looks like a clown's mask over his face.'
Gore Screaming Show screenshot. The previous image has been zoomed in dramatically on the figure's masked face. The figure screams out his name: 'GORE SCREAMING SHOW!'
There he is. I'm glad I streamed all of this honestly because my clown fornicator friend was present and I wanted him to meet Gore at least once, and it ended up being the "proper" introduction of the character, yay. I'm not sure what the veredict was about him, I'll ask my friend later.
Wednesday Dec 6, 2023 Partial Gore Screaming Show screenshot of a dialogue log. Kyoji: 'Ah, right, our phones! Do you have a signal?' Kyoji takes out the figurine Shinta gave him and turns on its light again. Both of them take out their phones and hold them under the light.
I had a brief moment of confusion here before I remembered that oh yeah, mobile phones haven't always had backlit screens. Awesome moment that ages the work and reminds me to readjust my perception of the story's context.
Wednesday Dec 6, 2023 After Akane receives some verbal abuse from both Gore and Yuka, Kyoji and Akane are left to rot in the well and its mysterious secret rooms. They eventually find a way out, but not without much necessary debilitating injury and awkward accidental sexual moment that forces the pair to once again be reminded of their still unaddressed past trauma. The mystery man from before happens to be within hearing distance from the locked gates leading to the outside world and saves them, driving them to the hospital. Kyoji finds him annoying an excessive amount, although I don't completely blame him when Yoshiki says stuff like this:

Partial Gore Screaming Show screenshot of a dialogue log. Kyoji: 'I mean, he—' Yoshiki, who has been listening silently up until now, chuckles. Yoshiki: 'Yumekawa, cut him some slack. He's a male, after all.' Kyoji: 'What the hell do you mean by 'male'?!' Yoshiki: 'Male animals react badly to seeing stronger males in their territory. That's why you keep snapping at me, right?' When heputs it like that, Kyoji feels ashamed for snapping at him. All he can do is fall silent with a sour expression on his face.
Wednesday Dec 6, 2023 Gore Screaming Show screenshot. A scene in Kyoji's room. Yoshiki, now shaved and missing his sunglasses, coat and pendant, sits on Kyoji's bed with Kyoji's guitar on his lap, struming out a song with a serious but calm expression on his face.
This Chad enters your room without knocking, picks up your guitar and proceeds to effortlessly play a beautiful melody, wyd?

Bit mad the song did not appear in the music gallery, but perhaps I have not properly unlocked it yet? I hope that's the case.
Wednesday Dec 6, 2023 Partial Gore Screaming Show screenshot of a dialogue log. —He'd just done something he could never take back. That thought swirled in his head like a whirpool, though not in so many words.
...And now I know what happened. I think I'll skip on writing any thoughts I have on this for now because I want to go to bed.
That's the end of my blogging until next time. The CG gallery tells me I'm now 8% done.
Wednesday Dec 6, 2023 I've returned with a clearer mind after sleep and a shower to add alt text to the remaining images and finish out my writing on the reveal.

To be clear about the events that lead to it, Gore puts on a puppet show where he reveals he somehow knows about Akane's past, except his show gives you a twisted perspective of her inner thoughts, where he mocks Akane and gives her dialogue that makes it seem as if she wanted the things that happened to her, and before that, paints her as a person who pities and belittles Yuka while she herself has the kind of life and happiness that Yuka is missing. Even though Gore and Yuka do these things to hurt her (and make her "tastier" as Gore puts it with perhaps not that word but I don't have a screenshot at hand to check), Akane is shaken by Gore's puppet theater, and wonders out loud as a sort of confession to Kyoji if she perhaps was harboring those thoughts towards Yuka. I wonder if that means that she also second-guesses her feelings for her sexual assault. The characters keep returning to the shrine's woods, where the well and the old mansion are, and where the incident happened, so it's something that's always in the back of Kyoji's and probably Akane's mind.

That night Kyoji has a nightmare of what happened. The reader is finally shown what happened: a bunch of kids capture Kyoji and Akane and forcefully undress them and try to insert Kyoji's penis in Akane's vagina. It's an act of vengeance mostly towards Akane, as a way to 'put her in her place' so to speak. Akane's described as a tomboy who would often get in fights with boys without hesitation, so the boys are violently reminding her of the differences between her and them. Gender differences and sex as punishment. There's a grotesque innocence to the act, as none of the kids know what they're actually doing, only being vaguely aware of how sex works from tales from their older brothers, so they do a lot of poking and proding and loudly complain about the grossness of girl genitals.

They're not able to get Kyoji's penis in, but he still ejaculates, for the first time in his life. The inner thoughts in the screenshot above happen soon after that. Kyoji seems to see himself as a perpetrator, and in the first instances of the event being vaguely alluded to in his mind, I thought that was the case because of his tone. Seeing the act happen makes it clear to me he's a victim too, and I wonder if this will be acknowledged at any point. He doesn't seem intimacy-adverse like Akane is (flinching away from his touch when she notices he pops an unwanted boner), but he's definitely full of guilt.

I'm relieved the scene doesn't have a particularly horny energy to it, and I'm for some reason surprised that it's not listed in the scene viewer, but that drives home the fact that the intent is not for it to be titillating. Maybe sounds like an obvious thing, but I'm hovering over this thought because I saw someone on Twitter do a bit of comparing and rating some feel-bad horror eroges in how they were feel-bad but also "hot". It left me thinking about the relationship between those two things in this type of media. I play these games and eat a hell of a lot of erotic media, but I don't actually understand sexual appeal a lot of times. I'm more interested in the contexts, situations, conflicts and emotional responses that can appear in erotic media, than I am interested in the act of sex itself. Will Gore Screaming Show involve sex scenes I can find "hot" with that in mind? I hope so.
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