Swan Song impression

Swan song is a very depressing VN. It set in a gloomy and desperate post-apocalyptic setting. The atmosphere in Swan Song is heavy and depressing. The plot are filled with tragedy, and horrible events become a staple of Swan Song's story.

Swan Song present us humanity in all of its sides. Although it mainly want to show us how terrible and monstrous human can be, it also show us the good, strong, and noble side of human. To quote from Tsukasa himself:

「醜くても、愚かでも、誰だって人間は素晴らしいで
す。幸福じゃなくっても、間違いだらけだとしても、人
の一生は素晴らしいです。」

I found the discourse regarding 'human nature' and the other messages in this VN to be really intriguing and thought provoking.

Since I just wrote about another VN written by Setoguchi on my last VN post (check my MUSICUS! post), then I will not talk much regarding his writing and the way he present a story. It's impressive.

The story are presented from the perspective of the six main characters: Tsukasa, Yuka, Kuwagata, Tanomura, Hibari, and Taeko. And they're all amazing characters. The multiperspective allow us to immerse and really understand each character deeply. You understand why they act, what motivate them, how they truly feel, and how they are actually in the inside. And Setoguchi did a really impressive job on that. They are extremely well-written. They way they interact and entangled with each other through the plot is just amazing. It create depth and give development to each character. It's hard to not get invested with the character. You'll ended up really liking or truly hate the character. You wouldn't want to see them involved in any tragic event, and keep thinking "can they pass all of this?". That's a plus for the thrill and emotional touch. My personal favourite characters are: Tsukasa, Yuka, and Tanomura. The side characters are really good as well, though not in the same level as the main chars, obviously.

The visual art are good. Swan Song use cut-clip and full CG to present its visual. It also has pretty unique dynamic textbox that can change position according to the atmosphere and scene. The colouring of the BG and CG conform with theme and atmosphere of the VN, which made Swan Song more immersive.Pretty impressive tbh. I also like the character design.

Music are pretty good as well. It create a dramatic sense to the scenes. Throughout the duration, the BGM are only played at certain scene/moment. Which made ambient sound to be more prevalent than BGM. Maybe if there's anything that i want to complaint, I'd complaint about the lack of good OP lol.

Overall, it's really great. I really like it. If only the true end were concluded in a proper way, maybe Swan Song will be much more better. Still, definitely a VN to remember.