428: Shibuya Scramble is an excellent visual novel. It's live-action, which already lends a rather uncommon flair to it; and while such an approach can sometimes result in disaster (think back to all the live-action "cutscenes" in early 1990s PC games), the writers did a phenomenal job imbuing 428 with real heart and exciting moments. It's kind of cheesy, but in the best possible way.
When a crowdfunding campaign was announced for a spiritual successor called Shibuya Scramble Stories, a very specific corner of the internet quickly took notice. 428: Shibuya Scramble producer Jiro Ishii is at the helm as Shibuya Scramble Stories' director, and that undoubtedly assisted in the campaign's ability to blow past its funding target in just an hour. It's gone on to do quite well—$340,000 USD might not sound like a ton, but context is key; games tend to cost less to make in Japan, and this was always a relatively modest proposal besides.
So, where exactly is this cash? Ishii and his peers have, to date, acquired only around half of it. What's the deal? Ubgoe, the crowdfunding platform, is perpetuating a claim that Ishii's lawyer finds increasingly dubious: that much...
