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Review of Symphonic Rain

SubjectSymphonic Rain
Symphonic Rain
ByHelpfulness: 11
Vote: 10
penx on 2020-09-20
ReviewSymphonic Rain is a visual novel that stands out with its premise and presentation. The setting takes place in a town that is constantly raining, so the atmosphere is calm but melancholic. This is accompanied by a soundtrack that sucks you into the world and perspective of a gloomy music student.

The main character and heroines are very interesting with each of them having their own motivation for what they are trying to achieve, and each of the routes feeling connected thematically. The director, on the Symphonic Rain website, perfectly explains how he wanted to tell the story:

Characters who aren’t too pushy.
A cast of voices that aren’t too gaudy.
A world that isn’t too far from reality.
We're creating “drama” more than “animation”.
-That's our approach with this production.


The voice acting sounds real and grounded, which is unique compared to other works in the medium. A great VN for those who enjoy drama and strong character writing.

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Below are some of the interesting things I really liked in the VN that stood out to me. Spoilers below.

Regarding the rain plot twist, I liked how the rain meter increases and decreases based on Chris's emotional state, but what's interesting is the sound effects. Whenever the meter increases, the rain SFX gets louder, and this can be noted early if you end up failing a practice session, which increases the rain meter. It's amazing how the VN uses SFX as a foreshadowing element to the rain.

Fal's route is polarizing by nature. I believe that the plot twist it utilizes makes sense, though it has the potential to alienate people who want a conventional heroine. I feel that Symphonic Rain adequality described her actions and mentality to justify her existence beyond the twist, especially since the themes of truth and deception fit into the bigger picture of the narrative. I appreciate the writer's boldness in creating a character like this within a medium that usually prioritizes making a heroine likable.

Lise is someone who is compared to Arietta by Chris. However, I believe Lise is more similar to Chris due to the similarity of their conflict of what they want to do with their lives. Lise wanted to sing, but due to Grave and another reason (mentioned in a sidestory), she stuck with being a fortelle player. Chris simply enjoys playing music, but the motivation to make a professional career out of it was pushed onto him by those around him. Lise's route gives off the hint of a happy ending to where Chris realizes that he doesn't need to be a professional musician to be happy, which happens in the Grand Route.

Torta/Al Fine stood out with how scenes play out through different perspectives. One scene can be intense in Torta's route, and the same scene in Al Fine can be intense for another reason. It's interesting to look into the perspective of two different characters and watch them undergo the same events with completely different contexts as to why they acted a certain way in each other's minds. The route in general plays with the reader's concept of reality and utilizes the unreliable narrator plot device to its maximum potential. When the truth finally hits the reader, the opening cinematic plays out, opening up a new world with the same characters. The actions of the characters remain the same, but the meaning behind them changes completely. This is the effectiveness of Al Fine as a route.

The Grand route is a great closure. Chris gets actively involved in what he wants to do, and his efforts are paid off at the end where he realizes what makes him happy. I interpret that the reason for the miracle at the end where Arietta wakes up is due to the joyful emotions. Symphonic Rain mentions a couple times that emotions are magic. Fal's route shows that sadness is a strong emotion, but Al Fine has a segment with Cordell where she briefly gave the hint that the blissful emotion gave off an extremely powerful magic, which could explain the miracle. Chris overcomes his sorrowful state and is overfilled with joy. He didn't care about the career he could get after the performance. He simply enjoyed playing music, and that led to the grand ending he worked for.

I could ramble on more, but these are some of the parts in Symphonic Rain that stood out to me a whole lot.
11 points