Although this isn't a VN I'm reading per se as I finished it a couple days ago, I would like to talk a bit about [Dies Irae](https://vndb.org/v548). It was a great ride, and one I won't be forgetting anytime soon. To begin with the simple stuff, the OST is great, atmospheric being the best word to describe it. The only other VN whose music I enjoyed so thoroughly and would describe as such is Fata Morgana. It has incredible pieces, ranging from character themes (favorites being ones such as Lohengrin for Trifa or Nigredo for Machina) to sentimental such as as Amantes Amentes and then downright epic like Ewigkeit. Just like the aforementioned VN, the music is a core aspect of what really makes it so great. Let's not even forget the amazing OPs (I personally like Amantes Amantes more), which are one of the best I've ever seen in a VN. Voice acting in particular was very good, although I didn't enjoy the moments when the voice shifted up to the point where I had to lower the volume. I know this is for dramatic effect, but I prefer the sound to be constant. The art in retrospect isn't all that great, sometimes cutting corners with anatomy, in particular with derpy expressions, this [one](https://imgur.com/a/q8IolGb) being the worst offender. Thankfully it wasn't off-putting; it's just that I feel it wasn't one of the VN's high points, even though the actual character designs, battle effects and so forth are pretty to look at and very fitting to their characters.

And speaking of characters, this is really where the VN truly shines. With some exceptions like [](#s Spinne who is treated as fodder) all antagonists and protagonists get their fair, perhaps even generous, share of exposure and development, particularly the former. That is not to say there is no character development, or even that it's necessary for a good story, but it's overshadowed by the sheer characterization and deconstruction of each and every member of the cast. Their past, motivations and actions are meticulously and masterfully exposed to the reader. For specifics I'll take a look at the main cast. Ren as the hero is a protagonist who is very easy to empathize with due to his simple motivation of wanting to have a normal life. Despite his circumstances, his resolve to accomplish this is admirable, and as a side-note, despite him not being the most eloquent of the cast, he has his moments of verbal epicness, such as this [one](https://imgur.com/a/92TjU0W) between him and Kei, which I found very memorable. Next comes Shirou, whose badass attitude is hard to ignore. Being an "all according to keikaku" type that he might give Mercurius a run for his money, I wasn't very attracted to his character, as I am not overall of this archetype. But alas, it's simply difficult to not like his snark, especially as he lampshades his plot armor at some points, although like for everyone else, [](#s death is always around the corner). I also enjoyed his interactions with, what is for all intents and purposes, his female counterpart, Ellie. It's nice when VNs have non-main protagonist couples. Going on route order, there's the first heroine you meet, Kasumi. An all around genki girl and butt-monkey, there sadly isn't much to say about her, although even the plot deals with the fact that she is left behind all the time. The fact that Kei's route has [](#s her strike a deal with Mercurius to save the gang emphasizes this, as the magician takes advantage of her insecurity to make her bear the next Sonnenkind.) That said, I would like to underline that I didn't dislike her, just found her somewhat boring. Next is Kei, who too is a bit of a butt-monkey, despite being one hell of a tsundere. Even with her (#s brother complex) included, I would say she's my favorite heroine together with Marie (I still haven't made up my mind). Her conflict and outright selfishness didn't turn me off at all, in fact it pulled me in as it all felt very human and sympathetic. She also makes for a great battle couple with Ren, and their fights were always something I looked forward to. Great chemistry overall for them. Following her footsteps is Marie, who is a walking spoiler and one of the most important characters in the story. I am ambivalent towards innocent types, so her backstory and development are what makes up most of her appeal. The fact that she fights together with Ren all the time improved her standing, as was the case with Kei and her route, but I wish you got to see more of her participating. Except in crucial moments of the plot, she has no lines in battle. If they formed more of a team together, possibly with her throwing some amusing comments here and there, I would've undoubtedly ranked her as best girl. Although I liked her role as the linchpin of both her and Rea's endings. There is a bittersweet tone due to her circumstances, but her other story made it up for me with its sheer, diabetes-inducing sweetness. Finally, Rea I would say, is the only heroine for whom I have mixed feelings. Since her route is the canon one, the last one to be read in order, and even has two endings, she's clearly designated to be the main heroine. But I felt she was inadequate for her role. Sure, she has her snarky lines, but she's no Shirou or Ellie. She is a pivotal character to the plot, but she's no Marie. She also never actually does any fighting, so she's no Kei, or even Kasumi who actually does get her share of action. And as much as the game emphasizes it, I didn't feel much chemistry going on between her and Ren. I wouldn't describe her as a traditional wallflower (even though she's fairly antisocial) as she actually does do important things that lead to victory, but I felt like it was written for the sole sake of having her DO something. They didn't feel meaningful is what I want to say. I wouldn't feel her absence if she was relieved of her role as a heroine and simply relegated to what she's meant to do.

But next are the villains, whom I greatly enjoyed. The two main antagonists, Reinhard and Mercurius, are a great show whenever they're together, despite their compounded verbosity. I wish I had a shred of their eloquence to describe them, but I'll just summarize with this line: you're bound to find them magnificent. Rolling with the larger than life characters, we reach Trifa, whose deranged motivation yet constant plotting makes once again for a character you really can't ignore. Even serving as the main villain in one of the routes, he's as guilty of extended soliloquies as the previous two, but mixed with his awe-inspiring theme, it was something I couldn't quite glaze over. The most prominent mooks are Wilhelm and Rusalka, who get significant exposure in the last two routes, particularly Rea's. Like any good villain, they have their own sobstories and freudian excuses, but I would like to note the attention given to Rusalka in Rea's route. Previously receiving quite a merciless treatment in other routes, she (#s gets her own faux-route with Ren and even a proper ending.) I was somewhat perplexed by this, mostly since it came out of nowhere, but also because I just didn't find her a very appealing character to being with. I felt like they went a bit too hard in trying to make her redeemable, or at the very least more sympathetic, even going as far as (#s giving her a past, and depending on the ending, a child with the proto-MC Lotus). It was especially weird to me when I felt Kei already fulfilled the tragic heroine role to a T. I believe that trying to make a pure villain redeemable in order to create tragedy cheapens their value. An irredeemable villain is a tragedy by itself, and if you try to push it the execution may be lacking. She's no Wilhelm or Shreiber, but she is quite evil, in particular with Kasumi's route emphasizing her villainous nature. But I digress; let's continue with the antagonists. Lisa is one I didn't really like, despite her ties with the heroine Rea. Her hypocrisy is mentioned numerous times, and like Trifa, she's a determined atoner, but she doesn't have the same atmosphere. In fact, during her confrontation with Eleonore in Rea's route I was in full agreement with the latter. It's clear she's meant to be a sympathetic character, but even (#s her deaths) didn't do much for me. Kai and Beatrice are a duo who are very important to Kei, and even the plot, but excluding the former they don't really do much. In particular I found it weird how Beatrice gets quite the spot in the limelight in most other stories, despite only really doing much in one route, Kei's. I wish you got to see more of them, and I'm particularly disappointed there wasn't a scene with both of them and Kei in one of the endings or other stories. There's only (#s the wistful flashback of them holding Kei's hands,) which I found to be a very sweet image, and I regret there's no other similar scene. Next there are the three battalion commanders. I'll decidedly ignore Schreiber, who is basically a clone of Willhelm with a very tragic background to justify his madness. Eleonore is interesting since she's a fairly masculine woman yet the story seems to be against her convictions. Lisa and Kei have quite the confrontations with her, and while addressing obvious faults like her obsession with the battlefield and undying loyalty to Reinhard, they also talk her down for being unladylike, which I found a bit hypocritical in a pot meet kettle way. I get how the story has clear views on gender roles, but emphasizing Eleonore's deviancy in this case doesn't make sense when you consider the actions of all the other women. I honestly found Eleonore to be the most admirable of all villains despite [some moments](https://imgur.com/a/8jT6yvo) of sheer hypocrisy, so I may be just a bit biased here. After all, nobody escapes stern pep talks or "reason you suck' speeches, which I perceived as fairly endearing in a cynical way. Finally there's Machina, whose interesting past and unique craving made me enjoy every moment of the sombre knight. In a way, like Marie, he is overall not a particularly original or interesting character, but his circumstances is what makes up for this.

Since this is getting pretty long; as far as the plot is concerned I won't discuss much, but there are some nice twists and reveals along the way. The structure is fairly simple, with 4 routes, one of whom has 2 slightly different endings as well as 5 other stories in the all-ages version. I generally don't like plot heavy VNs with a non-linear path, but due to circumstances it works out. What doesn't is the fact that there is no clear order for the reader, and since the routes are meant to be read in one it can lead to significant confusion if one reads without a guide. Another technical aspect that annoyed me was that the all-ages version allows you pick the route you want to play from the title screen, along with simply clicking new game and making the choices yourself. Good enough, but you can't unlock the final other story unless you finish both endings of Rea via new game, and NOT the route button. Together with the fact that to see the other Rea ending (and extra scenes in the route) you need to make exact choices in the common route makes it imperative to use a guide. Anyway, for the text there is much gratuitous German and Latin in many paragraphs, sometimes entire lines that aren't incantations (looking at you Schreiber). Mythological and religious references are also aplenty, together with the fact that many characters are adaptations of real life people, although they're very liberal and chuunige to say the least. Interestingly enough, despite the overt Nazi imagery there isn't much symbolism (a full swastika is only shown once and even armbands are not visible or display the LDO symbol), so for those concerned about such things they are generally kept at a minimum. Oh, but there's gore and foul language to compensate, so don't worry. Wilhelm in particular is a sailor. For the other aspect of language, this VN is chock full of purple prose (whether that connotation is positive or negative YMMV). Even ignoring certain fluffy characters the narrator will make sure to describe how X person feels and how it relates to god knows what in ample, perhaps excessive, detail. I still haven't made up my mind whether I really liked this or not, but AFAIK the prose is a major selling point for Dies Irae, and I can see how some people would love it. I definitely appreciate the work of the people who translated this, as I have no doubt it was a difficult task. Overall I would say this was a great experience and despite the fact that some things irked me (thankfully pretty much none related to the story) I would wholeheartedly recommend this to anyone who enjoys VNs, whether habitually or intensively.