Review of Yume Miru Kusuri
| Subject | Yume Miru Kusuri Yume Miru Kusuri - A Drug That Makes You Dream - Download Edition |
| By | Helpfulness: 2 Vote: 8AngeVNs on 2024-09-04 |
| Review | I first read this visual novel in 2012, back when it was one of the few interesting official translations to actually exist. I re-read it in 2024, over 10 years later, and not only do I think it held up, I think that given how character driven visual novel stories have evolved, I think Yume Miru Kusuri sticks out even more as an underrated classic. Yume Miru Kusuri, which I'll call YMK, is a psychological charage thriller. It has a relatively short common route, and only 3 heroine routes that add up to around 15 hours if you read all of them. This relative short length makes the pacing surprisingly decent for once in a drama-focused VN. There's not too much wasted slice of life, nor any unncessarily long and tedious monologues and narration. Kouhei while not a god tier protagonist or anything, is well above average compared to the typical bland/overly heroic MC. He has some baggage, mostly around his family, but also around his peers who have a mix of being nice to him, while others being more toxic. He's not too dense and is surprisingly proactive, especially when all 3 main heroines are not in the best place mentally for different reasons. In a world with kinda dark and crazy people, he's willing to do some crazy things too if it'll help the heroine of the route. YMK's heroines are all interesting in some way, revolving around a kinda dark but relatable themes like drugs, bullying, and interpersonal relationships. All 3 routes have a little slice of life goofy moments but it doesn't take long before the crux of the issues of the heroines, and in turn the drama starts. All 3 routes have very satisfying emotional payoff through their endings, though I think Aeka's was by far the most consistently interesting and entertaining since she's the most obvious victim early on, has the most overt consistent development, and by far has the most satisfying ending. While I like the drama, pacing, and most the characters, YMK does have unfortunate issues preventing it from becoming an all time favorite. While some of the comedy is kinda funny... some of it kinda cringe. For example Kouhei goes a bit far teasing his stepsister Aya, where it stops being funny and creates weird sexual tension where it seems like the developers considered a route for her but probably got dropped along the way. Speaking of dropped stuff the protag has this build up about "auditory train hallucinations" that seems like it would build to something but never gets explained, just kinda forgotten later in each route. While I don't mind it as much as others there probably are a few too many H-scenes considering the short length and the realtively serious story. Some of the H-scenes come literally out of nowhere and feel out of place. I did like a few for having surprisingly good emotional pay off for minor scenes though. Finally... while I said all 3 routes had good payoffs, the actual character likability of the main heroines is much more inconsistent. Aeka is by far the most likable, relatable, and easiest to root for. Nekoko kinda switches off between amusing and annoying, at least the drugs stuff and her depth were interesting. While I don't hate Mizuki, I don't particularly like her either. While her ending was good I was not a fan of her overly controlling femdom attitude for most of the time she was on screen. Overall I think YMK is a very underrated classic. It was well-read back when there weren't that many VN translations but it's mostly not mentioned now. It covers unique themes I rarely see done in drama-heavy routes these days and I like the relatively down to earth execution of the drama as well, as well as the surprisingly decent pacing. Its base price is $15 on JAST, which I would say is worth it! |
| 2 points |