Review of Kagerou Touryuuki
| Subject | Kagerou Touryuuki Kagerou Touryuuki - Download Edition |
| By | Helpfulness: 8 Vote: 9meirin on 2022-10-29 |
| Review | An intimate story of subdued excellence. I've always been someone who can overlook quite a lot of flaws, as long as there's a clear vision behind the work itself, and fortunately for me Kagerou Touryuuki didn't present that many flaws I could complain about. That's not to say I found it literally perfect or anything, but by and large it's an all around well constructed and thought-out visual novel. You won't see bombastic set pieces, mind-blowing plot twists or adrenaline pumping scenes in this story, but instead a deliberately told narrative that's as engaging as it is profound. Starting with the characters, despite the game's length there's a really limited cast of them. Outside of the main nameless heroines everyone else, even including the maids, feel more like a backdrop, but that also gives a stronger sense of introspection as the amnesiac Seishuu tries to find himself and his recollections. Amnesia is an often used narrative trope, but I feel here it worked quite well thanks to how contrasting the personalities between the MC and the heroines were. Most of them have extremely well defined character traits, that are properly explored during their routes. The way their relationships evolved was also another high point of the story. These weren't your usual straightforward and lineal love relationships, but instead dynamic, often fluctuating within a spectrum of ambivalence. By which I mean, most of these weren't simple romantic relationships, but instead relationships rooted in and or coated with obsession, avoidance (敬遠) and dread. As such, seeing the characters' relationships develop was consistently fascinating, as they were in a constant fragile state of flow, making most routes a joy to read. I keep saying most because I feel one of them felt slightly short of the mark. The biwa player. She's far too docile and calm, which resulted in a much less interesting, less contrasting relationship that lacked that sort of dynamism present in other routes. The general plot structure of her route also felt slightly haphazard, with two seemingly separate story lines running in parallel, that only converged around the home-stretch, and even then that moment only got a somewhat indifferent "huh..." out of me. I do believe she's the only part of this story that I would consider weak; a rather unfortunate ink stain on an otherwise splendid piece of work. But there's one character left that I still haven't mentioned yet, the setting itself. Right from the opening act the inn presents itself with undeniable dignity and elegance. Then, with its labyrinthine corridors, mystery filled rooms and ubiquitous brooks, it created an overwhelming yet fascinating atmosphere, one that doesn't as much immerse you as it drowns you in it. Oftentimes narrative descriptions, even the ones relating to the state of mind of the characters, directly referenced the locale in which they found themselves, further increasing the sense of familiarization and immersion with the inn. And it's not only the writing, the simply outstanding music also plays a huge role in characterizing this setting, with the tracks ranging from warm and pleasant melodies to deeply intense, almost Chopin like, piano impromptus. It all culminates in a wonderful final chapter, where all the pieces slowly begin to fall into place. You realize how much foreshadowing was hidden, not within mere plot events but instead in the relationships, behaviors, conflicts, both in an intrapersonal and interpersonal manner. There's a fair amount of symbolism behind each route, but it's always subtle, never conceited or pretentious. In fact, simply bringing it up like this makes me feel like I'm the one being conceited and pretentious, but believe this admittedly snobbish remark of mine; it's certainly there, and it's what makes this conclusion so satisfying. At the end of the day, I leave Kagerou Touryuuki with a faint feeling of frustration, not because I didn't enjoy enough my time with it, far from it, but because it could've easily become the best visual novel I've ever read had it kept that level of quality throughout all routes. But even so, looking back at it there's actually one single word that I feel can fully describe my feelings towards it. I generally try to avoid using Japanese words when sharing my thoughts about any JP visual novel (I'm aware of the irony as I've already done it once, here in this exact same review), since I don't want to take part in this notion that Japanese is a language filled with magical and untranslatable words, but allow me this one time at least: 旅愁. The sense of melancholy that one may feel while on a journey, knowing that you will and must return home, where you truly belong. It might be contradictory to consider feelings of desolation and estrangement as positive, but that's also the ideal opportunity for self-reflection and contemplation. I don't think there's a more fitting description for the sojourn in this nameless, wonder-filled inn. A fleeting melancholy that hatches its colorful, transparent wings of nostalgia; may it fly down the misty, flowing stream of memories. |
| 8 points |