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Another popular visual novel is headed West.

First released over a decade ago in 2005, Sharin no Kuni, Himawari no Shoujo has long been regarded as one of the best visual novels around. English-speaking audiences have already had a chance to experience it through the legally-dubious means of a fan translation, but, with the recent surge in popularity of visual novels in the West, its developers feel that it’s time to bring an official, updated version to new audiences.

The developer of the game, AKABEiSOFT2, has already had their title The Devil on G-String brought to Steam by Sekai Project, while the publisher, Frontwing, has enjoyed success in the West with their hugely popular Grisaia trilogy and the recent funding of all-new title Corona Blossom via Indiegogo. This latest venture between the two veteran Japanese eroge (adult game) companies aims to bring yet another classic title to Western audiences.

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After a lukewarm reaction to the news of the localization and their Prefundia page, the team seems to have worked hard to take on board and respond to fans’ concerns as evidenced in their clearer pitch for the recently launched Kickstarter campaign. Now with an official translated title of Wheel Country, Sunflower Girl, this version of the game will use the existing fan translation as a base for an all-new, polished translation. While the original game for PC was rated 18+ and featured erotic content, this will be a localization of the multi-platform all-ages versions which followed, although a patch for the adult scenes has been promised.

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Eroge often take an undeserved bad rap for being nothing more than masturbatory aids and while there are plenty such titles (known as nukige), there are others that offer deep, complex narratives and delve into mature themes of life, love, and loss. Behind its moe-girl anime aesthetic, Sharin no Kuni’s story has been praised for its interesting characters and unique look at a dystopian society where justice takes a different form to what we’re used to.

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The campaign has a target of $140,000 to cover localization and merchandise costs, and backers will have the chance to purchase many physical goodies such as art books, towels, prints, and even bed sheets! Pending a successful crowdfunding campaign, the game is set to be released in December 2016.

There will also be a poster giveaway held by Tokyo Otaku Mode, who are managing the campaign (see here for more details), and both TOM and Frontwing will be giving away free goodies at their Anime Expo booths over the weekend of July 1-4 in Los Angeles.

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Source & Images: Kickstarter/Sharin no Kuni – A Visual Novel Localization Project, Tokyo Otaku Mode Inc., Frontwing Co., Ltd., AKABEiSOFT2