Review of WHITE ALBUM2
Subject | WHITE ALBUM2 |
By | Helpfulness: 5 Vote: 8.7onorub on 2020-10-27 |
Review | (Considering Introductory and Closing Chapter entries as a total package) I feel i had a very different experience with this VN because i felt that the White Album 2 trio is composed by some of the most despicable characters in VN history. It becomes more blatant as it goes on, but as early as Introductory Chapter you can see the flaws with those characters: Haruki is kind to the point of leading people on, Setsuna is willing to change the enviroment around her but not to face the consequences from it and Kasuza is lonely to the point of being too reliant towards the people around her without being reliable herself. Then we get to the worst trait that they all share, which is acknowledging those flaws but cowering behind a wall of self-deprecation instead of doing anything about them, which leads others to feel sorry for them and even endorse their behavior. Haruki and Setsuna are absolutely insufferable in Closing Chapter when it comes to that, and Kasuza is not much better in Coda with her "my mother insisted" spiel. By the end of Coda's common route, i didn't even care about the love triangle anymore because i hated everyone in it. Then the Coda routes are filled with soap opera dialogue, characters being almost theatrical and no one truly figuring out what exactly was wrong with the trio. Despite how much i hated those characters and their self-deprecation, i'm still considering White Album 2 a near-classic because even though those are horrible and toxic people, the story that was told with them was pretty fun to watch. I loved watching Setsuna trying to push Kazusa into a third-wheel role and finding nothing wrong with it. I loved Setsuna and Haruki constantly going "it's my fault. no, it's MY fault" and spinning in circles. I loved Haruki accidentally leading Kazusa on during the setup for their second interview and not picking up on anything she might be thinking. I just loved the ridiculously dumb things that those ridiculously dumb people were doing throught the whole story, and when a work makes me feel this much raw emotion, i have to give it praise. Overall, if you want to see unlikeable characters that you still want to root for because of the quality of the writing... read Koshotengai no Hashihime. If you want to see soap opera antics being used to absolute mastery... read Chou no Doku Hana no Kusari. If you want to experience a range of emotions with characters you wouldn't even want to be acquainted with, read White Album 2. Ranking down girls: Mari>Chiaki>Koharu>Kasuza>Setsuna. Ranking down routes: 1) Kasuza True (very conclusive and tense but i can't help but feel that their child is gonna have a screwed up upbringing) 2) Kasuza Normal (really good ending despite the soap opera dialogue and Extra Episode has my favorite Kasuza/Setsuna confrontation) 3) Setsuna True (clearly used Kasuza True as a template but that near-brainwashing was my favorite part of the whole VN) 4) Chiaki (a bit too ridiculous but i loved Haruki getting the shock he deserved) 5) Koharu (did a great job at showing how toxic Haruki is despite the high-school antics being a bit meh) 6) Mari (also shows Haruki's toxicity but the lack of heroine confrontation was seriously disappointing) |
5 points |