Review of Uuultra C
| Subject | Uuultra C UuultraC |
| By | Helpfulness: 16 Vote: 9.5Deckel on 2022-04-04 last updated on 2022-04-05 |
| Review | UuultraC is not a VN that will go out of its way to explain itself. You shouldn't go into this expecting straightforward answers, just like the characters themselves aren't afforded that luxury. At its core, the game tells the story of three couples finding happiness in a bizarre world. Woven around this core is an interesting premise: a world where witch hunts have not only become societally acceptable, not only become a regular occurrence but also been turned into a public spectacle. The targets of those witch hunts: kaiju. Beings that aren't easily distinguishable from everyday humans, but who are liabilities in the eyes of society–mainly because of their ability to turn into destructive monsters if pressured enough. Those kaiju that have spiraled out of control are seen as nothing more than pests for the Icarus (superheroes) to dispose of. Their humanity is stripped from them within the blink of an eye. This game can be confusing at times. It's told in a chronological order, but only for the most part. It's not a very laid-back experience compared to other games on the market, mainly because every line–no matter how inconsequential it may seem–could be important later. I can put up with it just fine, but this can genuinely be a hindrance to the average reader. And that's valid! UuultraC is in some ways a challenging read, not because of its prose or themes, but because of the way it's structured. It won't appeal to everyone, but that doesn't mean the story fails at what it set out to do. Quite on the contrary, in my opinion. If you can stomach the confusion-heavy cornerstone of its writing, you're in for a truly fantastic blend of showa glamor, BL spice and even a small tinge of horror. Not to mention that the game is a visual spectacle with an enormous amount of CGs, many of which showcase ADELTA's masterful use of color and lighting. This should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with their previous title, Hashihime of the Old Book Town. I was shocked to notice that some CGs are only visible for a single line! The amount of care and resources put into this game is nothing short of impressive. Speaking of impressive, the prose was beautifully captured by the translator Dev (@frillyfujoshi). Despite doing a fantastic job, they're not mentioned in the credits as far as I'm aware, so I had to do my own research. And honestly? This doesn't sit well with me. Translation work doesn't get the recognition it deserves and there is so much misinformation surrounding the topic. I'm disgruntled to note that decisions like this only serve to worsen the problem.... Excuse me for the tangent here but Mangagamer has a lot of work to do. Its main competitor Jast treats its translators fairly from what I've heard (i.e. paying them higher rates, mentioning them in the credits, stuff like this), so let's hope for change. I still implore you to buy this game on the Mangagamer store because Valve takes a 30% cut from all Steam purchases and we need to funnel more money into this industry, not less. The VN is structured into three chapters, all centering on a different protagonist and love interest. There are no choices and no alternate endings. I respect this decision because a "dating sim"-like structure wouldn't have worked here. Each route has its own unique flavor, but the third chapter offers a noticeable tonal shift compared to what came before it. To be more precise, this chapter deals with heavy subject matters, at least heavier than I would have expected. Though BL fans accustomed to Nitro+ChiRAL's body of work should be more than equipped to handle it. I'll gloss over each route separately: Shoutarou is the protagonist of the first route and the most precious character in the game. With precious I mean that I'd go to war for him. No, not just that, I'd delete my entire hentai folder if he asked me to. Things never quite go his way, but he still ends up alright in the end, in part because of his supportive boyfriend, in part because of his own mental fortitude. He's in a committed relationship with Akira who harbors many secrets–having buried some deeper than others. The relationship may not be built entirely on trust, and not every word being spoken may be the truth, but the sentiment behind each and every one of them is real. This makes for surprisingly compelling romance because the lack of trust Shoutarou places in Akira is not only addressed, but also handled with sensitivity. From a writing perspective, it's hard to balance a fundamental relationship issue such as this without belittling either partner in the process. Validating the perspective of both parties without making one look like the figurative dickhead is challenging, but the writer pulled it off somehow. To me at least, the drama doesn't feel unnecessary nor overblown, and the resolution happens naturally because it's proven time and time again that these two truly love each other. And the writer doesn't accomplish this merely by letting the characters state how much they love one another. Sure, there are numerous proclamations of love in both the dialog and monolog portions of the game, but the affection they share also shines through in the little details of their domestic life, or how they look at each other when no one else is around. Honestly, the romance in this chapter is as wholesome as you can get while still being intriguing. The game accomplishes this not only with the help of action scenes, engaging subplots and a strong supporting cast, but also by questioning the relationship's longevity in light of the aforementioned trust issues. My only real complaint: I wish Akira would prep Shoutarou more during the sex scenes. It seems careless on his part because he outright coerces his partner into foregoing prep work during some scenes… to me at least, this removes some intimacy from these scenes. It also makes me shudder because I can't even begin to imagine how painful this must be. I'm glad Shou's butt isn't real. In terms of theming… and I'm afraid I have to enter spoiler territory here: The first chapter blurs the lines between good and evil by centering on a kaiju and superhero couple. This juxtaposition not only serves as an introduction to the main conflict in this world, but it also gives away its eventual resolution: the world shouldn't concern itself with kaiju and superheroes. A just version of this world needs to overcome these labels, strip itself free from them. This theme hits especially heavy in this chapter because things are never quite how they seem; outward appearances hardly reflect the true selves of the characters making an appearance here. A case in point is Shoutarou's childhood friend, who struggles with meeting society's expectations not only due to his kaiju status, but also his sexual orientation. I also find it interesting to note that many subplots revolve around society's unfair treatment of kaiju while not shying away from portraying the danger they pose. This might seem like a contradiction. But it's really not, because by treating kaiju as nothing but ticking time bombs, society is forcing many of them into becoming self-fulfilling prophecies. Turning their extermination into a public performance only fuels the dehumanization mechanisms put in place by this world, and I was happy to see the third chapter delving deeper into this issue. The strength of UuultraC's worldbuilding doesn't reside in making everything add up logically (exposition dumps are rare to come by in this VN and you have to dig deep into the text in order to get the full picture) but in the way it uses spectacle to highlight deeply rooted issues within its society. The second route is my favorite. And I'm not entirely sure why. On paper, it has more flaws than its predecessor. It had "weird" scenes that didn't add anything to the story and which I could have honestly done without, I had to start counting the number of times Suzu (the chapter's LI) crossed the line, and honestly the initial setup didn't seem that interesting to me either. I'm not a fan of the childhood friend romance trope–I have my reasons but none of you should care because ultimately it boils down to personal preference. So why did I like it so much? My best guess is that this route impressed me with how it made me stop caring about its problems. And how it made me root for these two despite my reservations. Let me start off by saying that I love Shirou, this route's protagonist. He's fun. Being a virgin is his personality. He's a petty bitch who still goes out of his way for people. He's kind of a loser but at least he has his charm to compensate for that. He's also a bigot but hey, it's nothing permanent. Nothing that couldn't get fucked out of him on a Tuesday afternoon. No joke, a good dicking solves all his personal struggles, and I don't mean this as a bad thing… glory to butt sex therapy! He's deeply fixated on his old puppy crush, Belle, to the point he neglected to pursue a romantic relationship in his adult life. I was rolling my eyes when I heard this premise, but I ended up having fun when I saw everything unfold. Maybe I was fine with it because Shirou's fixation ended up backfiring on him (*cough* initially *cough*) since Belle turned out to be a drag queen… which caused drama because comphet is a thing. Speaking of Belle, also known as Suzu... he's an asshole. He crosses personal boundaries, he's a high-ranking official in an organization that is definitely not EVIL^TM, and his motivation for opposing Icarus (the superhero organization) is petty. But who cares, he's a cool antihero who treats Shirou like a princess. As a reader you tend to focus more on the latter than the former. He turned out this way because of a boner he had since childhood, so at a certain point I just came to accept everything he threw my way. He may be trash but he's Shirou's trash and he makes him happy! I have a weakness for trash x trash couples! And he actually preps his partner! … Only to fuck everything up by coming inside without permission. Yikes. They're still cute together, I promise! They're not perfect but they engage in adorable banters and sacrifice a lot for the other. This chapter also serves as a great example of how this game rewards attentive readers: something that had been bugging me for almost the entire chapter got resolved in a way that tied up all loose ends… while hiding the answer in plain sight. It's established that the reason why Suzu raped Shirou near the beginning of the chapter was that he wanted to turn him into a kaiju. In order to save his life, of course. But why didn't he use blood then? It's been shown to transfer the kaiju "virus" just fine in the first chapter. So why resort to rape? Turns out that the answer is simple yet disturbing. It's mentioned in a one-off paragraph that Burai taught Suzu everything he knows about kaiju "biology," or to be more precise, the mechanisms of turning people into kaiju and stealing side effects. Burai, huh? The guy who is secretly plotting to force Suzu into a sexual relationship… because he's still obsessed with his dead mother… Interesting. It makes sense why someone who harbors such motives would conveniently omit the blood transfer method in his teachings–it was a ploy to coerce Suzu into having sex with him. Now it makes sense why Suzu saw sex as the only method to save Shirou's life, and it also makes sense why Kobayashi believed something similar as well (as seen in the first chapter's finale). Burai ruined sex education in the UuultraC universe confirmed! I still feel bad for Shirou though… The third route, holy shit, the third route. It made me feel every emotion except envy. I mean this as a compliment, though the chapter is by no means perfect. The protagonist, Juurou, has been framed as a mysterious figure up to this point. In this chapter, he is set up as a stoic, yet earnest man who balances a successful acting career with his main occupation as a superhero. Honestly, the first half of this chapter is depressing. Despite living a thrilling life on paper and being loved by his community, neither fame nor adoration interest Juurou. He couldn’t care less about how others perceive him. He only keeps up the act to appease the love of his life, Yomi. The latter wants him to be a hero, for reasons yet to be revealed, all while he pushes Juurou away. So, the protagonist has to work multiple jobs that he hates, keep up public appearances, all while his only joy in life grows more and more distant from him. In short, he has a shit life and displays obvious signs of depression. At least his second life as a superhero distracts him somewhat thanks to the wacky antics of his colleagues… or at least it distracts the reader from the more heavy-hitting scenes. As a result, the chapter never gets too gloomy... in the beginning. Things don't stay this way, oh no. I'm afraid I can't talk about it without spoilers. There's a gradual decline in Juurou's mental health. His obsession with Yomi becomes his only driving force, he starts to aggressively pursue him and pushes everyone else away in the process–including his girlfriend (which tbf he only dated out of obligation). Basically, he's a yandere without the dere. To make matters worse, his crush is revealed to be an alien, and I don't mean the sexy tall human with blue skin variety, I mean the Lovecraftian variety. But Juurou doesn't even blink or ask for a refund because he's just that horny. Romance goals, I guess. Dude goes insane and kills a bunch of innocent people. Not so much romance goals anymore. This might sound like an unnecessarily dramatic turn of events, but I found it to be believable… because Juurou's spiral into madness is just that, a spiral. And there's something else to note about these two… It's revealed that Yomi hijacked Juurou's entire life. He killed his parents, he forced him into the role of an actor and superhero, he stole his uncle's memories, and if that wasn't enough transformed this uncle into a dog-like creature, and thus isolated Juurou from the only person who truly loved him for who he was. The only person who didn't force any expectations on him. Yomi had Juurou's entire life planned out for him, because he knew something about him: namely, that he was a monster. By monster I mean human garbage with no moral compass to speak of. Juurou is someone shown to be capable of extreme cruelty from a young age, someone who treats the people he loves as possessions (including Yomi when they were younger). The reason why Juurou's Icarus suit turned out to be black (unlike his father's red) was that the color reflected his true nature. Yomi wanted Juurou to act against this very nature and be loved by everyone despite of his disposition. This angle explains why Yomi turned him down, it also explains why he was so keen on him entering a relationship with a girl. Juurou had to live the perfect life, the one most humans can only dream of, because otherwise… Yomi wouldn't be able to leave him behind. This leads to one conclusion: Yomi returns Juroou's feelings and is just as psycho because of it. But he also yearns to return to his home planet, and he can only accomplish this goal if he fulfills his original mission to invade earth. Problem is, he can't bring himself to go through with it, because this would mean losing Juurou… So, Yomi sees himself left with no choice but to turn Juurou into something he's not. Not only because he thinks the other could find happiness this way, but also because he sees their romance as doomed from the start due to Juurou's short life span as a human. Yomi has to lose Juurou either way... and his time on earth thus far was spent on preparing himself for that loss. I basically recounted the chapter's romantic plot for one simple reason: It's not pretty at all, it's messed up, but wait… that's not true, strangely, I do find it beautiful. The chapter oozes with raw emotion and longing, but some of this longing is expressed via grotesque means–case in point, the sex scene. But somehow, that's okay because… these two embrace each other's ugly sides. They each want to love all of the other. Am I allowed to call this weirdly inspiring but not necessarily something to aspire after? I wish I could have found a more elegant way to get this message across... because I still feel conflicted about this chapter, but in a good way. The resolution to this romantic conflict is also quite haunting: Juurou refuses to play the role of the hero and chooses to embrace his villainous nature. Why? Because he rejects happiness if that means having to separate from Yomi, he rejects the life forced on him, because it's not a life with Yomi in it. It's for this reason Yomi can't escape from earth. And it's for this reason that they both have to remove themselves from the limelight. This world doesn't accept their true selves, but they're both unable to give up on them and their love, so they have to live in the shadows. But it's fine because they're together... for now. That's quite the bittersweet ending... but it's not perfect because it needed an epilog. Out of all the chapters, this was the one that needed an epilog the most but it was the only one that didn't get one. Sadly, the ending doesn't show what life is like for them without pain and suffering. Not to mention that it cuts off a little abruptly... what a shame. Because aside from that, this is a fantastic chapter and one hell of an emotional roller coaster. It just needed a little more time to simmer in my brain before it could have truly blown me away. All in all, UuultraC is a fantastic game on every metric for visuals novels. I'd even recommend it to non-BL fans if they feel like they can put up with the sex scenes. The characters are lovable, the writing doesn't shy away from delving into heavier subject matters... the entire game is a commendable display of boldness. I love games that break the mold, games that make me rethink what's possible in this medium, and UuultraC did more than deliver on that front. I honestly don't care much about its flaws, because the things it does right vastly outweigh those flaws. I chose to write this review because I felt like it needed some love in the anglophone world... I didn't see much of it as of yet. Sadly, because I'm a German potato, I can't look at the game's Steam reviews. Maybe someone has already spread the love on that platform... I can only hope. Either way, I tried my best with this review and maybe it shows! Have a wonderful day, internet stranger. |
| 16 points |