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A tale of numbered days,
of those whose time is near
A tale of compassion,
and humanity
A tale of life ___

I should note that the light novel was very hard to find, thus I played the visual novel instead. The visual novel is free on steam however, so you can easily play it yourself :) ____ # Introduction: Life. For all our differences, quirks, and idiosyncrasies, we are all equal in one aspect - we are alive. Have you ever thought of a scenario in which you were dead, and how people would react? I'm sure most of us have at some point. Perhaps you felt invisible and unwanted, and longed to know if people would care if you weren't of this world anymore. Perhaps it was just curiosity, that is very human after all. I've done it myself and can usually manage until I think of my mother's crying face. That always snaps me out of such thoughts. I sometimes I struggle to see the value in my own being. In these moments, I think of friends and family, and know that there is plenty of value and meaning in being here - even if it's not always obvious. The value of human life is a theme many series have tackled, but most only handle it on a surface level. One charming, little story however went beyond that and gave me a new perspective on things - that story is Narcissu.

I wasn't expecting massive things out of this. You know how free visual novels go; absolute garbage or a fairly solid experience if you're lucky. I was presuming this would be the case with Narcissu. What I actually received was one of the best experiences I've ever had with a narrative work. The VN is completely free, though there is an anniversary edition that allows for the purchase of DLCs - which are completely new stories, all within the same universe I assume. I'd recommend playing the free version which contains the main story, and if you really enjoy it, you could consider getting the anniversary edition. It is not very long either, I finished it in one sitting, which was about four to six hours.
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General Thoughts:

Story
Narcissu - the main story at least - is made up of two parts: Side 1st, and Side 2nd. The former is the main part of the story, detailing present events. The latter is set before the 1st, though they must be played in that order. Some like to rearrange the order of series (Monogatari, JJBA etc), I never recommend these altered orders and it is very important here that you go by the original order.

Side 1st was very good. It had an interesting premise; the unnamed protagonist is a terminally ill patient of the 07th Floor, a place where people go to await their death. There he meets a girl, whose time has stopped. That's all I'll say on that matter; I don't much enjoy recounting the whole synopsis in reviews. Side 1st had very solid writing throughout, the pieces of the tale connect to form the picture of the story it's trying to tell. While this episode (for lack of a better term) was great and gave me a lot of things to think about, this alone would not have sufficed. Something was missing, Side 2nd delivers that something.

If Side 1st was great, then Side 2nd was simply masterful. As I mentioned prior, this episode is set before the first and gives the backstory of the timeless girl. This episode recontextualises almost everything from the previous episode and gives meaning to a lot of what happened. The plotting here was some of the best I've ever witnessed and propelled this story from a great and enjoyable experience to something special. The emotional beats were also on point; I'm not ashamed to admit it made me tear up, not Spongebob style but it hit me hard. I can't accurately put into words how this made me feel - it was a very introspective thing.

Characters The characters were also fantastic. The unnamed protagonist is the narrator for the first episode, so you get accustomed to his thoughts and feelings. He doesn't have much of a backstory, but I'd say his simplicity works to the story's advantage, as he acts more like a spectator of what transpires. It's really difficult to explain what I mean by this without spoiling so I must refrain. I hope anyone that does play it understands what I mean, as this is a special case in my opinion.

The timeless girl (it's not particularly a spoiler but they make a point of not mentioning her name straight away, so I won't) is especially good. Her journey is sad and melancholic - one could say it is a tragedy, though not quite as epic, it is just of a dying girl who feels left behind by the reality around her.

Side 2nd contains more major characters, all of whom are well-written, and all contribute to the story in some way. There is a specific character from the second episode that slaps hard. Their impact on the story is tremendous and the religious theme behind them is excellently done - honestly one of the best showings and representations of religion I've ever seen in a story. It's not just a quirk of their character that never holds any relevance - it actually gets explored and explains their motivations and actions throughout the episode. This is done in an intelligent and mature fashion, and doesn't feel cheap or redundant.

The dialogue is oft quick and brief, though there are full length conversations as well. The best thing is how real it feels. The discourse feels natural and flows well, which aids smooth reading. Notwithstanding this fact, certain dialogues and monologues are written in a more poetic form; these passages are focused on emotional expression; delivered excellently by the characters and resulting in impactful scenes. Another thing I should note is that the interactions are seldom meaningless. Think Chekhov's Gun - everything said and introduced into the story usually carries some greater meaning or purpose. So that's something to keep in mind when you read.

Production I'd like to briefly talk about the production of the visual novel. The art is gorgeous - you rarely get CGs of the characters, but they make it count when you do. The OST is very nice. You'll start to notice frequent tracks but that's not too much of a problem. Additionally, the insert songs that play at pivotal points in the story are fantastic. My biggest issue with the production is the translation; it's not terrible but the grammar is rather lax for my liking, there are some spelling errors, and the syntax is questionable. I could still understand everything being said so it's not a make or break situation though it could deter some.

Themes
I love themes. They're arguably my favourite part of a story, and Narcissu has them in spades. One, as you've probably guessed from the intro, is the value of life. Every character portrays this theme - they all have reasons to keep living, even if they don't realise. Value isn't unique to grand things or concepts; it can be found in the smallest things. The small moments, the tiny moments, the minor-to-the-point-of-being-trivial moments. There is value in these moments for there is value in all things. Tomorrow is not guaranteed to anybody; that small moment may be the best thing that ever happened to you, and you'd never know. I've stated in a prior review that everyone and everything is art. Another way of phrasing this is that there is beauty all around you: trees that have lived for hundreds of years; coasts that have weathered the seas; animals of all varieties; people. Humans are an amazing thing. Just think, going by the average at least, you had a 1-in-250,000,000 chance of being born. Then think, so did everyone around you. Every human walking the face of the earth is a miracle. Just think of how rare and beautiful it is to even exist. Characters in the story struggle to see this value as they're promised to die - sooner than most at that. But even if your days are numbered, your days are yours alone. They cannot be substituted for anything and no one but you can live them out. Don't waste them.

Another theme is the search for purpose. Everyone's aiming for something. This could be a small goal or a huge aspiration, either way it's the same. Purpose is what keeps us moving - it is our drive and the source of our ambition. But what purpose could you have if you're dying? If your days are almost up, then what reason is there to even live them out, suffering more as a result? This is something the characters tussle with. In this state devoid of purpose, there is no emotion, for what reason is there to be happy if you have nothing to live for? To live without purpose is to live in misery and futility. For one is only oneself with a reason to be; a broom without the brush is naught more than a stick. But said broom can be fixed, or it shall surrender to time as all things do. We are no different; it is up to us to find reason, as we only have so much time to do so. That is all we can do as people, for it is human nature to preserve the self, to sustain the 'I'. Just because in the present there is nothing, that doesn't mean there can't be something in the future. Life is a journey to discover meaning. Purpose isn't something we're born with, it's something we have to find for ourselves - some of us just take longer to do so. But however long and arduous the path seems, we should never stray from it, for there could be something beautiful beyond what can be seen. We all stem from the same void, but head for the same light - flowers can only be planted on empty soil after all.

"It is because there is nothing, that joy can be born"

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Conclusion/Afterthought:

This review ended up exceedingly self-indulgent, but hey, the story prompted these thoughts so that's a pro, right? With almost all my favourites, I had some form of expectation going in. Whether it be high ratings, critical acclaim, or just community appraisal. I had no expectations going into this, which is why it hit me as hard as it did.

I only finished it last night, but it's left such an impression already. As the great Nas said: "Beyond the walls of intelligence, life is defined". We can't understand life. We're way too simple and primitive to truly understand such a thing. It's not something that can be explained away with intellect, it can only be understood through the heart, though we'd never be able to put that feeling into words. Don't sit around dwelling on events yet to come. Don't spend your days in search of lost time. Don't waste your life.

_Life isn't an obligation, it's a privilege.
Exercise that right which has been denied to so many._