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Musician!
A multi-hour visual novel about playing the guitar.
One might wonder, what is so captivating about this topic? You intuitively expect it to be more of a costume, with the main focus on intense drama, conflicts, and the like. Such moments were certainly present in the plot, but they didn't drag on longer than necessary — that is, they weren't an end in themselves. In reality, it showed a musician's journey from the very beginning to the very top, with all the details; starting from the spark that ignited the protagonist's interest in music, continuing with his attempts to break into its world, and ending with his success both as a master of the instrument and as a person overall.
The learning process, the peculiarities of the modern music industry, historical and field-specific details are revealed in great depth. Reading this novel, you can easily discover something new about real-life bands (which, by the way, is strange because such names are usually censored) or, for example, how things work in the music business or music clubs. You might even ponder music in general. For instance, I never liked the idea of belittling studio-recorded music compared to live performance, but the advantages of the latter were presented in such a romantic light that you ultimately have to acknowledge its unique value. It even reminded me that in my youth I sometimes went to metal concerts, but at that age I probably couldn't fully grasp all these things, and later I moved on to more diverse genres. Nevertheless, in the end, I still don't find digital music inferior, if only because for me it's not associated with "performance" as such, but with the personal circumstances in which you listen to it. For example, listening to a wonderful soundtrack from a great game or novel while playing through it in a cozy setting — that's a completely unique and incomparable experience that doesn't require live music. Though, of course, if you do go to a concert, listening to a recorded performance while the performer pretends to sing or play an instrument is nonsense. I also liked how the difference in music perception between a musician and a listener was shown.
The moral seemed mentally healthy. There was, for example, a guy with a two-digit IQ, and another who was downright flamboyant, but they were portrayed very naturally — there was no sense of forced corporate stench. Well, this is what I've long thought about such matters: if a person has certain traits, so what, who cares; and if you treat him normally (and he treats you the same), you'll respect those traits, while forcing those traits on everyone and demanding respect from everyone, including random people, is both evil and nonsensical.
The concept of mercilessly passing time is felt very strongly while reading this novel. The plot develops over several years, significant changes occur in the characters' lives, and the world changes. You can, for example, feel the characters' emotions from being stuck in place for a long time, contrasted with their competitors who skyrocket overnight while they themselves stand still, barely making ends meet. And yet, despite this, it's a story about *our* characters and no one else. I think it can be quite successfully compared to an RPG — it doesn't matter how many abilities or cool items someone has; what matters is that you write your own character's story, because with good and, most importantly, personally enjoyable roleplaying, you can easily overcome stats and other meta-content.
And overall, the plot is very "life-like," in the sense of how small coincidences can completely change the direction of a person's life, while at the same time the importance of life's constants isn't downplayed. While reading, you understand that simply wanting something and desiring achievement isn't enough. For example, how important it is for personal development to have worthy role models in childhood and youth, what role upbringing, material wealth, etc., play in everything a person does. And, of course, the necessity of consistent hard work: you can feel the real progress the guys build brick by brick, each of them investing pieces of their soul, sweat, and hopes.
As for groundedness, the idea of "learning to play the guitar, finding like-minded comrades, and making a living through music" can, after reading this story, truly seem very romantic, even to someone like me who never thought about it, though obviously only in the past tense, given my advanced age. And you might think that in reality, it all depends more on connections and marketing than talent and passion, but even those points were pretty clearly stated. So it didn't feel fantastic or naive at all. I also liked that the idea of "don't give up and do what you love" was presented in such a harsh, gray manner, and it was clearly conveyed that this requires serious willpower.
The dialogues are interesting, sometimes amusing, and at other times make you think about philosophical, ideological, and everyday topics. Moreover, the reader doesn't have to agree with them or refute them; life isn't so simple that it can be described in one manual, and you always know what's right and what's wrong. There were also touching moments.
Regarding the characters.
The way the protagonist performed the role of founder and leader of the band felt very authentic. That is, he's a leader not just because the author wanted it that way, but because it makes sense given the depicted circumstances and his character. It's clearly demonstrated that effectively handling this role requires significantly more effort and emotion than one might think, and in return, you get nothing much except a few crumbs of extra attention.
I really liked Snow White; I think out of all the heroines in visual novels, I'd rank her third or even second. Evil tongues might say I'm projecting something here, but that's actually not the case — certain similarities actually raised the bar of expectations (which she still didn't quite reach, she's so unattainable).
First, the very first scene and illustration with her — just stunning. Second, her unique (in a positive sense) character and a voice that was unknown to me until this moment but turned out to be very pleasant. For a seiyuu expert like me, this is a rare discovery 🧐.
An unusual, slightly crazy, depressive, expressive, very friendly and kind heroine quickly won me over. A particularly cute moment for me was that she always speaks in keigo, even when cursing. You look at her and think, how much joy she finds in any little thing, while you walk around gloomy all the time with a long face — aren't you ashamed?
When she disappeared from the screen for a long time, I was hoping for her quick return, and when it happened, I was immediately overjoyed.
To be a bit more specific, she's the kind of person you could do absolutely any nonsense with and genuinely enjoy it. Just an incredibly fun and charming heroine, despite her clumsy nature.
The protagonist's source of inspiration
The theme of rock is explored; I think that says it all.
The Dude
Have you seen the movie "Idiocracy"? That's about him. Okay, okay, I'm just joking affectionately. The thing is, this character is deliberately "pathetic," stupid, weak-willed, vulgar, annoying, etc., but still a good guy at heart and a clear example that even a dimwit, if shown patience and care, can achieve something in life, and you can build a strong friendship with him if you turn a blind eye to certain, albeit obvious, flaws.
Tnya
When I first met her, I thought she was just a random character, but she turned out to be one of the main ones (fortunately, I didn't even look at the novel's cover, so such things are a surprise to me). I liked her "aura" and mindset.
Regarding the translation.
I'm satisfied about ~90%, which is actually a fantastic number compared to the disgusting stuff that appears all too often.
What you hear almost always matches what you see in the text (it makes me shudder that in 2024 such a basic thing is a detail worthy of separate mention). The text itself is not robotic at all, contrary to the widespread myths among fans of barbarism and vandalism that if you don't plunge the translation into the gutter, it will be soulless. In short, the English text can be cleanly quoted, as it has quite a lot of cool speech patterns, metaphors, etc., while still matching the spoken content. The characters' personalities are not rewritten by the translator for some cringey attempt at political correctness or originality.
It's a real shame that an English translation *can* be pleasant to read, but this potential is not realized, and most of what comes out is soul-torturing crap.
There were, of course, failures too. For example, the incorrect order of first and last names (even though name suffixes and nicknames were recorded correctly). Or, say, when yuki-onna was translated as yeti — that was a major facepalm. And you could nitpick about various minor things (especially closer to the end), but apparently, in contrast to the perversions of the "major" mistranslators, it doesn't seem so bad.
Technical side.
The format is a bit unusual — text appears not in a dialogue window, but over the entire screen, while sprites in the background dim. There are not enough illustrations, and not enough music either (despite the main theme). It seemed the budget was limited, but despite this, the authors still managed to create a captivating story.
For a visual novel, there were a lot of dialogue options here, but until the end of the first route, I wasn't even sure if they changed anything. When I finished it, the gallery opened, and it became clear there was still more to read here, but I felt like I had already lived through this story and was fully satisfied with how it ended, so for now, I have no desire to explore the alternatives.
Conclusions
You might think this novel left a pleasant impression on me and lifted my spirits! But in reality, it's quite the opposite. Precisely because the story is completely devoid of fantasy, I involuntarily had to look at my own life, especially my childhood and the cause-and-effect links with my current dissatisfaction with life. As a result, I felt pity for myself and even a certain degree of disgust at my inability to fully immerse myself in any interesting endeavor. After all, I picked up this novel in the first place because, after another few weeks of trying to read in Japanese, I lost motivation at the thought that, due to the uncertainty of even the near future, all this effort might be meaningless. So it was easier to read something in English — a language that has long become like a second native tongue and doesn't require a dictionary at hand. In the end, I don't want to throw the spear, and I can't find the will to invest intellectually and physically in anything either; apparently, not only has my body aged, but my spirit too — like dry soil where nothing will ever bloom again. In short, unlucky.
A multi-hour visual novel about playing the guitar.
One might wonder, what is so captivating about this topic? You intuitively expect it to be more of a costume, with the main focus on intense drama, conflicts, and the like. Such moments were certainly present in the plot, but they didn't drag on longer than necessary — that is, they weren't an end in themselves. In reality, it showed a musician's journey from the very beginning to the very top, with all the details; starting from the spark that ignited the protagonist's interest in music, continuing with his attempts to break into its world, and ending with his success both as a master of the instrument and as a person overall.
The learning process, the peculiarities of the modern music industry, historical and field-specific details are revealed in great depth. Reading this novel, you can easily discover something new about real-life bands (which, by the way, is strange because such names are usually censored) or, for example, how things work in the music business or music clubs. You might even ponder music in general. For instance, I never liked the idea of belittling studio-recorded music compared to live performance, but the advantages of the latter were presented in such a romantic light that you ultimately have to acknowledge its unique value. It even reminded me that in my youth I sometimes went to metal concerts, but at that age I probably couldn't fully grasp all these things, and later I moved on to more diverse genres. Nevertheless, in the end, I still don't find digital music inferior, if only because for me it's not associated with "performance" as such, but with the personal circumstances in which you listen to it. For example, listening to a wonderful soundtrack from a great game or novel while playing through it in a cozy setting — that's a completely unique and incomparable experience that doesn't require live music. Though, of course, if you do go to a concert, listening to a recorded performance while the performer pretends to sing or play an instrument is nonsense. I also liked how the difference in music perception between a musician and a listener was shown.
The moral seemed mentally healthy. There was, for example, a guy with a two-digit IQ, and another who was downright flamboyant, but they were portrayed very naturally — there was no sense of forced corporate stench. Well, this is what I've long thought about such matters: if a person has certain traits, so what, who cares; and if you treat him normally (and he treats you the same), you'll respect those traits, while forcing those traits on everyone and demanding respect from everyone, including random people, is both evil and nonsensical.
The concept of mercilessly passing time is felt very strongly while reading this novel. The plot develops over several years, significant changes occur in the characters' lives, and the world changes. You can, for example, feel the characters' emotions from being stuck in place for a long time, contrasted with their competitors who skyrocket overnight while they themselves stand still, barely making ends meet. And yet, despite this, it's a story about *our* characters and no one else. I think it can be quite successfully compared to an RPG — it doesn't matter how many abilities or cool items someone has; what matters is that you write your own character's story, because with good and, most importantly, personally enjoyable roleplaying, you can easily overcome stats and other meta-content.
And overall, the plot is very "life-like," in the sense of how small coincidences can completely change the direction of a person's life, while at the same time the importance of life's constants isn't downplayed. While reading, you understand that simply wanting something and desiring achievement isn't enough. For example, how important it is for personal development to have worthy role models in childhood and youth, what role upbringing, material wealth, etc., play in everything a person does. And, of course, the necessity of consistent hard work: you can feel the real progress the guys build brick by brick, each of them investing pieces of their soul, sweat, and hopes.
As for groundedness, the idea of "learning to play the guitar, finding like-minded comrades, and making a living through music" can, after reading this story, truly seem very romantic, even to someone like me who never thought about it, though obviously only in the past tense, given my advanced age. And you might think that in reality, it all depends more on connections and marketing than talent and passion, but even those points were pretty clearly stated. So it didn't feel fantastic or naive at all. I also liked that the idea of "don't give up and do what you love" was presented in such a harsh, gray manner, and it was clearly conveyed that this requires serious willpower.
The dialogues are interesting, sometimes amusing, and at other times make you think about philosophical, ideological, and everyday topics. Moreover, the reader doesn't have to agree with them or refute them; life isn't so simple that it can be described in one manual, and you always know what's right and what's wrong. There were also touching moments.
Regarding the characters.
The way the protagonist performed the role of founder and leader of the band felt very authentic. That is, he's a leader not just because the author wanted it that way, but because it makes sense given the depicted circumstances and his character. It's clearly demonstrated that effectively handling this role requires significantly more effort and emotion than one might think, and in return, you get nothing much except a few crumbs of extra attention.
I really liked Snow White; I think out of all the heroines in visual novels, I'd rank her third or even second. Evil tongues might say I'm projecting something here, but that's actually not the case — certain similarities actually raised the bar of expectations (which she still didn't quite reach, she's so unattainable).
First, the very first scene and illustration with her — just stunning. Second, her unique (in a positive sense) character and a voice that was unknown to me until this moment but turned out to be very pleasant. For a seiyuu expert like me, this is a rare discovery 🧐.
An unusual, slightly crazy, depressive, expressive, very friendly and kind heroine quickly won me over. A particularly cute moment for me was that she always speaks in keigo, even when cursing. You look at her and think, how much joy she finds in any little thing, while you walk around gloomy all the time with a long face — aren't you ashamed?
When she disappeared from the screen for a long time, I was hoping for her quick return, and when it happened, I was immediately overjoyed.
To be a bit more specific, she's the kind of person you could do absolutely any nonsense with and genuinely enjoy it. Just an incredibly fun and charming heroine, despite her clumsy nature.
The protagonist's source of inspiration
The theme of rock is explored; I think that says it all.
The Dude
Have you seen the movie "Idiocracy"? That's about him. Okay, okay, I'm just joking affectionately. The thing is, this character is deliberately "pathetic," stupid, weak-willed, vulgar, annoying, etc., but still a good guy at heart and a clear example that even a dimwit, if shown patience and care, can achieve something in life, and you can build a strong friendship with him if you turn a blind eye to certain, albeit obvious, flaws.
Tnya
When I first met her, I thought she was just a random character, but she turned out to be one of the main ones (fortunately, I didn't even look at the novel's cover, so such things are a surprise to me). I liked her "aura" and mindset.
Regarding the translation.
I'm satisfied about ~90%, which is actually a fantastic number compared to the disgusting stuff that appears all too often.
What you hear almost always matches what you see in the text (it makes me shudder that in 2024 such a basic thing is a detail worthy of separate mention). The text itself is not robotic at all, contrary to the widespread myths among fans of barbarism and vandalism that if you don't plunge the translation into the gutter, it will be soulless. In short, the English text can be cleanly quoted, as it has quite a lot of cool speech patterns, metaphors, etc., while still matching the spoken content. The characters' personalities are not rewritten by the translator for some cringey attempt at political correctness or originality.
It's a real shame that an English translation *can* be pleasant to read, but this potential is not realized, and most of what comes out is soul-torturing crap.
There were, of course, failures too. For example, the incorrect order of first and last names (even though name suffixes and nicknames were recorded correctly). Or, say, when yuki-onna was translated as yeti — that was a major facepalm. And you could nitpick about various minor things (especially closer to the end), but apparently, in contrast to the perversions of the "major" mistranslators, it doesn't seem so bad.
Technical side.
The format is a bit unusual — text appears not in a dialogue window, but over the entire screen, while sprites in the background dim. There are not enough illustrations, and not enough music either (despite the main theme). It seemed the budget was limited, but despite this, the authors still managed to create a captivating story.
For a visual novel, there were a lot of dialogue options here, but until the end of the first route, I wasn't even sure if they changed anything. When I finished it, the gallery opened, and it became clear there was still more to read here, but I felt like I had already lived through this story and was fully satisfied with how it ended, so for now, I have no desire to explore the alternatives.
Conclusions
You might think this novel left a pleasant impression on me and lifted my spirits! But in reality, it's quite the opposite. Precisely because the story is completely devoid of fantasy, I involuntarily had to look at my own life, especially my childhood and the cause-and-effect links with my current dissatisfaction with life. As a result, I felt pity for myself and even a certain degree of disgust at my inability to fully immerse myself in any interesting endeavor. After all, I picked up this novel in the first place because, after another few weeks of trying to read in Japanese, I lost motivation at the thought that, due to the uncertainty of even the near future, all this effort might be meaningless. So it was easier to read something in English — a language that has long become like a second native tongue and doesn't require a dictionary at hand. In the end, I don't want to throw the spear, and I can't find the will to invest intellectually and physically in anything either; apparently, not only has my body aged, but my spirit too — like dry soil where nothing will ever bloom again. In short, unlucky.