Review of Mahou Shoujo Shoumou Sensen - DeadΩAegis
| Subject | Mahou Shoujo Shoumou Sensen - DeadΩAegis DeadΩAegis |
| By | Helpfulness: 26 Vote: 9aurora3500 on 2022-01-18 |
| Review | After reading the description of this Visual Novel (VN), your first impression might be "This looks like Madoka Magica in space. With aliens instead of witches." It is reasonable to have that impression. On the surface, this VN does look like another story about Magical Girls fighting against an inhuman enemy force that threatens to drive humanity to extinction. That is only the surface of this Visual Novel however, it has a lot more underneath its layers. It should go without saying you need to be at least 18 years or older to play this game. If you are under 18, please turn back now. Even if you are 18 or older, understand that this VN contains intense sequences of sex, rape, human experimentation, sexism, and racism. It will be your own judgement call on if you can handle the content that is in the story or not. This game does not glorify any of the elements it presents and treats them as a very serious subject matter that are used to tell the story. Premise: Let me explain how there is a lot more to this visual novel than just what appears on the surface. This will be explained in more detail in the story section of this review. This is a VN that focuses heavily on story and when the store page description says this VN has "Dark storylines with adult themes". It really means that. This isn't a VN where the goal is to get to know Magical Girls, and then choose one of them to begin a relationship with while getting an ending with them. While there are a lot of sex scenes, and many of them are rape scenes, they are used to support the story and the emotional turmoil that the protagonist and reader are made to feel. Instead you play from the point of view of female protagonist Minori Iizuka. When she was young, she was saved by Lisette after aliens destroyed the colony on Mars where she once lived. Ever since that day, she has dedicated herself to joining the United Earth Forces as a soldier to follow in Lisette's footsteps. Becoming a Special Warfare Trooper (the official name used in the game for the Magical Girl soldiers). While Minori sees becoming a Magical Girl in an idealistic light, as heroes that defend the Earth from threat of invasion by aliens, she soon learns of the real treatment the Magical Girls are subjected to that don't come from the aliens which she is helpless to fight against due to how they are isolated from Earth by being in a different star system that can only be inefficiently accessed through a wormhole with the current technology of humans in this story. Story (10/10): Early on it becomes apparent that the aliens are not the only threat that Minori and other magical girls like herself need to worry about. A different, more vicious threat is present within the very base that they're meant to have refuge in when not fighting the aliens. The store page mentions that the Magical Girls obtain their power through the very aliens they fight against. This is shown early that the girls are thrown onto the homeworld of the aliens. Minori and the others are not told about how they get their powers as Magical girls. Just the knowledge of how the girls get their powers and how it will effect their bodies is disturbing enough. However... This is only the beginning. As the story goes on, you still follow Minori and her roommates as they fight aliens as the game description has shown. It is discovered shortly to the characters that their power as a magical girl increases in response to the sexual stimulation of their bodies. This is mainly caused by the alien organ inside them effecting their bodies to make them more aroused. Due to the characters getting more powerful in response to sexual stimulation, this has caused an environment within the Cathedral where it is viewed as justified to force sexual relations onto the girls along with horrible experiments to cause their bodies to become more sensitive to sexual stimulation. This is where the main themes of this story come into play. Is it justifiable to create an environment of systemic abuse where women with the power of magical girls are raped and experimented on to increase their power as soldiers to combat the alien threat that grows more dangerous as time progresses? While there are a lot of characters, mainly the male officers who use it as an excuse to justify raping the girls. The Commander in particular sees it as a means to an end. It makes him a more complex character as sex is a tool in his mind to make the soldiers stronger. It isn't just from wanting to have power over women. It doesn't make the situation less appalling, but the logic behind it is explained. As the story continues, more cruel methods are used in pursuit of strengthening the girls against the aliens, and it makes one wonder if the cost to the mental and emotional wellbeing of the female soldiers are worth it or not. The motto of the United Earth Forces "We will consume you" applies in several ways and is a clever way to summarize what is happening on the Cathedral. It isn't just the bodies of the Magical Girls being consumed. Even if it isn't the aliens that kill them, they are consumed through their very hearts and souls to be soldiers against aliens while the male officers just see them as sex slaves when they are on the Cathedral. The Magical Girls become more consumed in every way conceivable to fight the aliens, and it creates a sense of dread as you view the world through the eyes of Minori. That is the purpose of the frequent rape, harassment, and experimentation in this story. It is to create a sense of dread in the player. Not to be sexually pleasing. The majority of scenes that are non-consensual are designed to fill you with this dread, and the story brilliantly tosses you constantly between despair for the situation Minori and the others find themselves in, and hope that conditions may improve and that they can escape, until it tosses you deeper into the abyss of despair. The game has multiple endings. I will not go into detail about any of them. What I will say is there is a light at the end of this tunnel of abuse. Even though it is a horrible cycle, by reaching one of the endings, I can confirm that it was worth it to see Minori's story to the end. The story rewards you for persevering through the abuse with a more hopeful future. Characters (9/10): The characters in this game feel real. They are the best part about this game. You will get better satisfaction out of the characters if you read the prequel to this game first. Much of the character interactions between Minori and her roommates Nana and Illuysha reveal a lot about how who the characters are and how their circumstances before coming to the Cathedral made them who they are. Minori's roommates are not afraid to talk about the positives of sex involving pleasure for both partners, and the darker sides of the idol industry, or the political corruption that has funded the Cathedral where bribes and sexual exploitation were used. Commander Kinnison mentioned earlier is also shown to be a complex character. He is the embodiment of a leader who has sacrificed everything and is willing to sacrifice everyone around him if it means destroying the alien threat. He doesn't view himself as exempt from the "We Will Consume You" motto of the UEF and has allowed himself to be effectively consumed if it means getting closer to victory. Many of the other male officers don't have the same level of complexity. Namely Anthony Callaghan in particular who seems to exist to be hated. I think this was an intentional choice by the writers to make it seem like they are being cruel for the sake of being cruel. While it is easy to hate many of the male officers due to their willingness to take advantage of the women by being abusive and raping them. It becomes apparent that they too are being manipulated by something or someone. Though they are detestable, ultimately they are still human as well. Even though the story is about an alien threat, it also deals with humans that are just as much of a threat in different ways. What makes the characters tragic are how the Magical Girls have been conditioned through their training prior to entering the Cathedral to think they can only activate their powers under certain conditions, when in actuality, they have more power and control than they think they have. The many male officers as well have been conditioned in an environment completely different from normal society where it is viewed as normal in the isolated space station to be abusive. The Cathedral is ultimately a station that consumes men and women alike until there is little left of them. Learning about what this station tries to do is where the true thrill of this story comes in along with how Minori and her friends persevere. Music (10/10): The music in this game fits very well. It is addicting to listen to and there are tracks to play with a variety of emotions the reader is meant to experience. What I find clever about the music is how sounds or instruments are inserted to give the soundtrack a very "alien" or "outer space" feel which fits perfectly given the setting of the story. Ontop of fitting thematically, it is very good to listen to. Overall: (9/10) This is a grim story. And I happen to enjoy stories that are comfortable with dealing with dark and/or adult themes with maturity. Dead End Aegis is comfortable using dark elements to tell a meaningful story that will stick with you and really make you think. There is a ton of rape and emotional abuse throughout the game, and it is there to make the player feel for the situation. It isn't just there for the sake of shock value, or satisfying fetishes a person may have. Underneath the rape, this game conveys a lot of compelling themes to think about. From the nature of capitalism, politics, what "being human" means, and how far humans are willing to go to survive. The main characters have been fleshed out spectacularly. While I think some work could have been used on other characters to give them traits beyond just being cruel, I think I understand what purpose the story was trying to achieve with the roles of these characters. If you are fine with such content, you will have an enjoyable time reading this story. It is one of the best Visual Novels I've read in recent time. I definitely do recommend this Visual Novel to you. |
| 26 points |