Sekai Project & CG & Key Fans Club & Rokumei City
Sekai Project & Prototype & Limited Run Games & Sekai Games & Boinciel & Sokudo & Unyu & Drama Club & Rokumei City So, if you’re willing to excuse me, I’ll just go to a corner and cry some more.Key & Interchannel & Prototype & Visual Art's Motto & Visual Art's MottoSP & Limited Run Games & Sekai Games There’s no denying though that it is a solid piece of writing, interestingly stylized and bold in its storytelling. However, as I’ve found this one particularly painful, I hesitate to recommend it unless you’re really sure you can handle its soul-crushing plot developments. My personal complaints aside, this VN, with a plot spanning over 8 summers and 8 meetings between the protagonist and his ever-slipping-away love interest under a mulberry tree, proves ebi’s talent as a writer and willingness to explore darker aspects of human nature in all their nasty, gory reality. While the story of a stableboy becoming a friend and hopelessly falling in love with a young daughter of a wealthy noble clearly foreshadows the sad ending since its opening moments, the extreme character of the conclusion it proposes is something I didn’t really expect (andcsomething that I probably wished I was warned about beforehand). If you thought that through the bittersweet Lucky Me, Lucky You we’ve escaped the world of angst and tragedy, Round the Mulberry Bush comes to prove you wrong in a manner that probably deserves a proper trigger warning. For this, I consider it a thoroughly positive and worthwhile experience. While the two VNs described above were somewhat alienating with their depressing themes and rather hopeless conclusions, Lucky Me, Lucky You tells a very humane, original story that simply makes you enjoy the characters and even while they might anger you at times, cheer for them in their struggles. Same goes for Ryo, whose eccentricities, while in plain view, are not really his defining features, as we learn quite a lot about his personality and his friendship with Nanako. Nanako’s slightly obnoxious personality, the vulgar language she uses (maybe more vulgar than the Japanese language would actually make possible) and flashy way of dressing above anything else makes her feel like a genuine, flawed person whose problems and anxieties, while often connected to her sexual orientation in some ways, are in their core universal and relatable. While it’s definitely a simple and minimalistic game, visibly from the very early period of ebi’s activity as a developer, it’s still very much a worthwhile read, especially for the fans of her characteristic style of writing and storytelling.Īlso featuring Nanako’s cross-dressing gay friend, Ryo, Lucky Me, Lucky You is very heavy on LGBT+ themes, but approaches them without any kind of moralist fervour.
The abrupt, inconclusive ending might feel slightly disappointing, but the story makes it clear that any proper resolution of the plot would be even sadder and harder to accept.
Her struggle is shown through minimalistic visuals, with just basic-looking sprites and a few backgrounds, but the dynamic and stylized prose makes it a very enjoyable and convincing read. Samantha, female version of Coleridge is placed here as the protagonist, suffering due to an unhealthy obsession with her best friend and fellow poet Lillian (William Wordsworth) and constantly struggling with what we can assume is a bipolar disorder – episodes of extreme agitation and inspiration, followed by extreme depression and inability to work. Taking its title from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem, this VN is a direct predecessor to Asphyxia, taking the same themes of gender-bent, romantic-era English poets, depression, substance abuse and unrequited love.