the visual novel database

Report an issue on this page.

Review of Sakura, Moyu. -as the Night's, Reincarnation-

SubjectSakura, Moyu. -as the Night's, Reincarnation-
ByHelpfulness: 11
Vote: 9.4
behappyeveryday on 2020-09-18
ReviewWow, what a ride it was! It took me a long time to complete the story, longer than I usually take to read a whole VN. I'll explain why later. So, what you can expect from "Sakura, Moyu"?

If you want to read an action-packed story that will captivate you from start to finish, then...look somewhere else. If you want to read a divine-level nakige that would make you cry - it is a perfect choice!

Engagement level: 5/10

It is very common for a nakige to drag for too long and have a lot of emotionally draining parts that are hard to read, but it is even more obvious in Moyu. Unlike most other games of the genre, the common route here is really short, most of the text is heroine routes. But those routes barely have any comedy or action, instead, they are filled with drama, deep dialogues, and flashbacks. It means that this story isn't exactly can be considered as a "page-turner" that would make you read and read and read without wanting to do anything else. People with a short attention span would probably drop the story altogether. But a patient reader would be more than rewarded. Why? Because...

Emotional impact level: 10/10

When it comes to the emotional impact of a story, "Sakura, Moyu" beats any other title by far. It made me (a 25 y.o. adult) literally cry in 3 routes out of 4, and more than once! As I already said, when it comes to nakige genre this visual novel is at a god-tier. Yes, it is even better than games from Key. It WILL make you depressed, it WILL make you cry like a little bitch, it WILL make you feel empathy for characters. Well, unless you are a psychopath or just can't emotionally invest in fictional characters (which is the same from my perspective, lol). The good news is that no matter how grim and depressing the story could be, each route has a happy end that would satisfy most readers.

Plot complexity level: 8/10

The plot in "Sakura, Moyu" is relatively complex and could be confusing to a person who isn't good enough at Japanese. Some details important to the plot only briefly mentioned, but if you miss them it could leave you confused later. There are some hard-hitting plot-twists as well, but there is a little problem though - if you read carefully, then you'll notice that some questions are left unanswered and that there are some minor plotholes as well.

Overall personal rating: 9,4/10

Overall, it is one of the best visual novels I've read. I mostly read VNs for the emotional impact and this one over-delivered. There are some complaints of course.

In the common route (which is criminally short) there a lot of world-building which isn't used later in the story, like, at all. The same could be said about action - after reading the common route I expected that there would be a lot of shounen elements in the story, but nope. And it is really sad because it could solve the main problem of this game - "too much of a good thing is a bad thing". It has amazing drama, but it drags for way too long without any pauses. The author also often shows the same event from different perspectives, which doesn't help at all. Some good old fight scenes (they were only in the common route...) would be a breath of fresh air at those moments. It also made some parts of the world-building introduced in the common left untouched for the rest of the story, such a pity. Because the heroine routes are so full of drama and barely anything else I didn't read them all at once like I usually do and, instead, completed them with some pauses in between.

There is another, more personal, complaint: Hiyori is trash. Why exactly - it is up to you readers to figure out. xD

Then again, all those shortcomings still can't change the fact that it is a masterpiece level story and each person who has a soul should at least try reading this to experience a true catharsis.
11 points
#1 by clephas
2020-09-22 at 03:11
< report >The key to enjoying a long game... is to read more books. Seriously. Read constantly and up your natural reading speed, and patience becomes less of an issue.
However, I have to agree that Sakura, Moyu is one of those games that can cause fatigue, if you aren't the type of person who enjoys the catharsis it provides. By the end of the game, I was so deep down the rabbit hole that I was crying off and on for days afterwards.