#looking at you fujieda

[tecchan]

Mitsugi squatting everywhere is the only highlight of this damn game

[michi-chelle]

if i had a nickel for every time a yaoi visual novel featured a hot stoic standoffish megane with black hair looking for a lost sister taken by a fucked-up organization that indulges fucked-up fetishes, i’d have two nickels. which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice

[carnalconcinnity]

I relate to and feel represented by Towa heavily in that he exhibits Schizoid Personality Disorder unlike any character I've seen before. It was in my head for a while but I couldn't get a hold of Slow Damage to find the evidence for it myself until now, I sort of just used to look at Towa, squint my eyes and mouth the words 'I'm onto you'.

This will be a long, indulgent post, I have not finished said game and will probably update when I do especially after Madarame and Fujieda's route. This is based on patterns I've seen so far in the game as well as some spoilers I came across. Read at your own... something or other.

SzPD's main characteristic is the lack of interest or ability to form relationships. Towa is on the side of a lack of interest rather than ability. One way I see SzPD in him is socially, he's indifferent and blunt or when he makes an attempt to spare feelings he's evasive, he maintains this distance with everyone around him. He doesn't chase after romance; sex and pain are stimuli that allow him to feel something beyond crippling apathy. It doesn't stop there though.

When he wants to, Towa knows how to adapt, negotiate and manipulate others. This can often come as second nature to many with SzPD, not out of malicious intent but through a way to protect themselves by setting the relationships they do make on their own terms. He interchanges between inarticulateness and eloquence according to Akhtar's Profile, selectively choosing what he gives away and what he keeps to himself.

Finally, Towa's art model in the moment, whoever it may be, can easily be considered his 'interest person'. Again referring to Akhtar's profile, those with SzPD can be capable of excitement with carefully selected people and likewise they tend to have a penchant towards typically darker and unconventional things as a form of coping. Combine those two and you have Towa's heightened interest in the selected few when he unravels their darkest desires.

A second way I see SzPD is through his feelings of unreality, schizoids tend to be seen as 'detached observers', there's a lack of motivation or drive beyond the few things they want to do. Towa doesn't hold any long-term ambitions and has no real sense of urgency over anything, he's often dragged outside by others around him or if he bar-hops and searches for hookups. He also holds a sense of grandiosity towards his indifferent observation, the line that stuck out to me the most was when he said to himself, 'All the more proof that life was easier when you didn't care about anything.' A view you will often see from Schizoids time and time again in response to other people's emotionally charged issues.

Towa sometimes dehumanizes himself, describing himself as a 'single minded robot' when painting, playing a role when granting his art model's wish like he did for Asakura or by referring to 'Human Beings' as though he isn't one of them. Obviously as a child Towa was horrifically abused and treated like a 'thing' instead of a person and a result of that he has a weak sense of self, he has a tendency to cave in around more dominant personalities. This can be another thing that goes hand in hand with SzPD, entering into a 'Master/Slave' type dynamic in social relationships (SchizoidVision has a post on this concept, here) As I've explored, Towa has the faculties to play the 'master' in these dynamics like with his art models but he takes a 'slave' role with the main leads that hold the potential to lead into even worse dehumanization in the bad endings.

Thirdly, a way I see Schizoid in him is through his emotions plain and simple, he hardly expresses strong emotions or reactions to anything and everyone sees him similarly, that he's aloof or uncaring. It shows even more in how he doesn't care for social validation, praise or criticism does virtually nothing. He sometimes feels accomplishment for finding his inspiration to paint but Rei ends up being the one posting it on Roost's blog. He isn't dependent on other people's opinions whatsoever. A huge part of SzPD traits.

Finally, the use of his internal fantasy and how it obsessively consumes his time. When he begins painting he becomes utterly immersed to the point he neglects food or sleep, you can't snap him out of it forget any sort of practical responsibilities. This reflects in SzPD in how daydreams tend to consume a lot of schizoid's lives, often preferring it over reality. It can interfere heavily with day to day tasks, I can say there's multiple times I haven't left my room, eaten or slept over a period of time when I get an urge to create something or lose myself in my own head.

Overall, there's so many boxes he ticks so far it's as if he's become the box himself. I connect with him a lot for these reasons and he can easily be considered a major comfort character and face for my page, plus somehow I find the time and dedication to write this essay when I have my abandoned assignments just begging me to make a start on them. (I won't until I feel like it.)

[mallardducksaysquack]

BREAKING NEWS: OFFICIAL SD DICK SIZES

PLEASE GO DOWN AND READ EDIT 2 - MYSTERY SOLVED (I THINK!)

(and EDIT 3 for my scientific research)

EDIT 1 Someone who knows Japanese I really beg beg beg beg beg beg you to watch that short part (link below) and verify/correct my assumptions! EDIT END

So I was watching the new N+C livestream and ARE THESE EVERYONE'S DICKS???

ARE THE NUMBERS GIRTH IN INCHES (READ EDIT 2 BELOW)??? Someone who knows Japanese go check this I BEG YOU https://youtu.be/XrRDN4hIR9w?t=4012

It sounds too ridiculous and amazing to be true, but perfectly checks out with a translation of a much older stream (https://www.reddit.com/r/BLgame/comments/1dfxmlv/official_slow_damage_stream_qa_translations/)

If my non-Jp-speaker theory is correct, then here you are, my fellow centimeter lovers: (READ EDIT 2 BELOW)

Rei: 5 in = 12.7 cm

Madarame: 4.4 in = 11.176 cm

Fujieda, Taku: 4 in = 10.16 cm (like my 2 fingers?)

Towa: 3.7 in = 9.398 cm (Towa bro im sorry bro don't feel bad bro that's still 9.398 cm more than mine)

EDIT 1: I'm looking at stats and

I expected everyone except for Towa to be above average (since it's eroge and Towa kept saying how big everyone was), so at this point I am sooooo confused. It can't be length, so if it's not girth, what is it then? EDIT 1 END

EDIT 2 EVERYONE! I THINK I GOT IT!

IT MUST BE THE DIAMETER! THIS FINALLY MAKES SENSE! THEN ALL OF THEM ARE HELLA BIG JUST LIKE TOWA HAS SAID LMAOOOOO!

Thank you so much @cringesatan for trying to translate the thing and pointing out that Japan uses centimeters!!!

EDIT 3 Because I'm mental and absolutely unhinged.

According to my incredibly advanced scientific research everyone is above average (as per eroge characters).

Now you can give me a Nobel Prize (or at least PhD).

[argumentl]

I met Shinya at the in-store event in Kyoto!

Yes, ok, part of me is gutted it wasn't Kaoru 😜, but it was still so enjoyable.

As no-one knew which member would be there in advance, there was a real excitement in the room where everyone was lining up.

I picked up my copy of TDIM first (I can listen to it/watch it now at last!), and I got a mini clear Kyo file, picked at random.

When it came to my turn to see Shinya, surprisingly, I wasn't at all nervous. I walked into the booth, and saw Takabayashi and Fujieda stood either side of Shinya who was smilIng, sitting at the desk.

I said good evening to Shinya, and asked for his autograph on the cover of the cd box. He drew a cute cat sign, as you can see in the pic. I let him finish writing, and then I told him in the most enthusiastic way I could that I'm going to listen to the new song for the first time tonight (because I haven't heard it yet), and he looked up at me shocked and said 'Oh!' Then I thanked him, and was on my way. There was a looot of people waiting after me, and with the managers inspecting every interaction it was kind of intimidating, so I didn't want to take too much of his time. But a got an 'Oh!' from him at least 😂

But I'm actually so happy I was able to speak some actual words in person to one of the members. I've been a fan for over 20 years and this is the first face to face interaction I've had with any of them! (Yes, I'm making up for that on TTD, I know!)

Looking forward to the live in Kyoto next! I got a shimote seat!!😁

[nitrochiralfan]

The Visual Symbolism of the True Route: Mirror symbolism

There's a lot of visual symbolism in the true route but one of the prominent symbols that stands out the most is the use of mirrors. It was talked about before in a post on Tumblr by someone but here I wanted to elaborate on it 

This post will primarily focus on the original Japanese version of the game, not the Jast localization. Since it did the game dirty I wanted to go over the true context by looking at the Japanese version.

This post will cover the true route to those who haven’t played the game; a spoiler warning is now in effect.

Mirror 

First, before we begin I want to talk about Mirrors in general and how they are used. The main purpose of mirrors is to show your appearance.

In a fictional sense, the mirror is used as a literary device to show your true self, mirrors show the reflection of ourselves and reflect our flaws and imperfections, the worst parts of ourselves we don’t like to look at. the mirror can reflect all the terrible aspects we don’t like about ourselves. 

Literature uses this to highlight the similarities in characters which is used to reflect the theme “Equals” in Towa and Fujieda.

Towa and Maya

Going over mirror symbolism in the route the first ones to discuss are Towa and Maya.

Without a doubt Towa looks exactly like his mother, Towa got most of his appearance from Maya he's the spitting image of his mother many characters point out the resemblance and their claims are not unfounded if you put Towa and Maya together it's like looking at a mirror but it is not limited by their appearances. 

Maya runs a store called Euphoria, the name that Towa would later take to use as his artist name. The store is a cabinet club for the wealthy but in reality, it is an establishment meant to fulfill the most twisted desires of man this is similar to what Towa does in his euphoria art sessions. 

There is a scene in the opening song of Slow Damage when Towa smiles, when you compare the smile that Towa gives it resembles the one that Maya gave, Towa's smile looks like Maya when she was smiling. This is made to point out how much Maya influences Towa’s actions which is seen in the game.

When Towa’s resemblance to Maya in the Fujieda route is pointed out Towa shatters the mirror in his room because he is disgusted that he looks like the monster who ruined his life he attempts to hurt himself to scar his face to further reduce the resemblance it shows just how much this Towa fears Maya once he begins to remember her. Towa is afraid and hates his mother even hates the idea of inheriting her appearance because it is associated with his abuser. Towa sees himself as a copy of Maya not only because of his appearance but how his euphoria art sessions are similar to what Maya did.

The CG where Towa impersonates Maya to trick Sakaki mirrors that scene of Towa standing in front of the mirror even the position Towa in the CG is similar to the CG of Towa standing in front of the mirror. This points out that all along Sakaki only ever saw Maya in Towa, not himself this led to him being fooled and to his death.

Towa is viewed as a mirror to Maya by certain people including Maya herself no matter how much Maya can claim she loves her son the truth is Maya views Towa as a version of herself instead of his person she treats Towa as a doll, a toy, not a person that she molds and uses like clay, and is angry that he didn’t conform to her image.  

Towa breaking the mirror is a metaphor and a foreshadowing of Towa tricking Sakaki and remaining himself in the good ending and that Towa isn’t Maya but himself. They may resemble each other as mother and son but Maya and Towa themselves are not similar which would get to our next part 

Towa and Fujieda

I pointed out in a post that when you put both Towa and Fujieda together they reflect each other like a mirror. Their appearances serve as parallels reflecting off each other like a mirror. 

Writing-wise they are similar to each other there are many parallels between Towa and Fujeida both had been abused by their parents resulting in the scars on their bodies, Fujieda's scars came from the abuse he received from his parents, and Towa's scars are made by his customers through his mother's euphoria sessions the abuse caused them to led them to lives of sexual debauchery as a result. Both of them hate their parents and cut off anything that is associated with them.

They both carry scars metaphorically and literally, a metaphor that they have the same pain and trauma. 

There was something about the way Fujieda is first introduced to Towa in the game through the routes; his appearances mirror Towa’s state in the routes a post pointed this out before. Fujieda being an enigmatic person in the game to Towa and the audience is parallel to how Towa's past is a mystery to the audience.

There is the visual symbolism of the CGS in the route to analyze, this is seen in the placement of the characters Towa and Fujieda in the CG, in the route has them facing each other like standing in front of a mirror correlating to the mirror symbolism. 

For the significance of those CGs:

This happened when both Fujieda and Towa escaped from being shot by the yakuza as they fled from the Takasato group away from the rain Towa and Fujieda fled to his condo and they went into his apartment and changed clothes Fujieda was apprehensive about changing in front of Towa than Towa provokes him in a childish rage Fujieda undresses than after what Towa saw catches him off guard Fujieda had scars littered across his upper torso mirrors how Towa own body appeared. it is the moment when Towa realizes that maybe they aren't so different This scene shows that Fujieda has more than meets the eye

There is visual symbolism sprinkled throughout this CG,

It shows us Fujieda’s back with his entire torso littered with scars Fujieda has his back turned only focusing on Towa’s reactions, it doesn’t show Fujieda's face primarily only focusing on Towa’s expressions. The placement in the CG is both characters facing each other. Both Towa and Fujieda are half naked with scared bodies much like looking at the mirror. 

In another scene in the game when Fujieda attacks Towa, Fujieda overcome with sorrow after learning the truth, lashes out at Towa believing that Towa is just as culpable as Maya he is furious that he had no idea that Towa’s a victim of Maya despite Towa being her son. Fujieda is finding a tangible way of getting revenge for Mei. This mirrors how Towa attacked Fujieda in their first meeting in the playground when he is overcome with his PTSD symptoms from remembering the past.

After they visited the ruins of euphoria the trip to the store changed their mindsets leading to this cg the next cg balances hope and despair. 

Here Towa is draped in despair after he recovers his memories from the ruins of euphoria he sees no reason to live anymore the pain of what happened to him destroys him from learning the truth about his past He is overcome with survivor's guilt and despair and felt his life isn’t worth living any longer when an innocent life like Mei’s died for his sake. 

While Fujieda stands in hope.

Fujieda talks down Towa from a suicide attempt he doesn’t say simple platitudes about how life will get better or that Towa has so much to live for he acknowledges the pain this information causes him. But Towa’s life is still valuable just as Mei's life was valuable. this is coming from a personal place about Fujieda, Fujieda dealt with suicidal thoughts and hopes to die once his mission to find Mei's fate is complete he didn’t start the route with the confidence to live despite the pain.

Fujieda went through the same thing Towa went through at the beginning of the route. Fujieda is the only person who understands Towa at that moment. visual representation of this during the suicide confrontation reflects off of each other Fujieda is Towa in this scene this further emphasizes that Fujieda is Towa's mirror After their visit Fujieda realizes that Towa was just as hurt as he was and seems to regret his actions he now knows that Towa is a victim of abuse. Towa’s pain is acknowledged. 

Fujieda knew that Towa reminded him of himself and deep down knew that this was the very reason why it caused him to repel from Towa due to how similar they are. He reflected all the aspects of Fujieda that he tried to bury deep inside of himself. The reason he doesn’t think Towa reminded Fujieda of himself before is that it would be like admitting that his existence is just as miserable as Towa’s.

This scene is where Fujieda finally acknowledges their similarities to each other. in the way they are each other's mirror, Towa is Fujieda’s mirror just as Fujieda acts as Towa's mirror

Afterward, In the bathroom, Fujieda and Towa face each other parallels both scenes of Towa standing in front of the mirror shower referencing the rain as a callback to the apartment after they got the rain when Towa first saw Fujieda's scars. Towa requests to see Fujieda's scars wishing to take solace in the sight then to this beautiful CG

Fujieda and Towa are facing each other naked in the shower covered in scars standing in front of each other this is like looking in a mirror. This shows solidarity and comfort in their similarity 

Next to the sex scene. The sex scene is an accumulation of their feelings. Towa feels comfortable being touched by Fujieda. he is overwhelmed to be touched by someone similar to him. In the sex scene, Towa touches Fujieda’s scars Fujieda and Towa understand their pain and trauma. This is about Towa making sure that their pain, trauma, and experiences are on their bodies. It alone was enough if they both understood. 

Yeah, he has Taku and Rei but he never finds someone to whom he can relate or even acknowledge his pain. Fujieda understands what Towa has been through in the way Taku and Rei don't. Towa has someone to whom he can relate, and pushes himself to better himself that is why Fujieda is around to help Towa process his trauma to heal from it.

They are similar to each other, yet different, so they're equal.

[enden-k]

From someone that had no idea what slow damage was and literally just enjoys your art. The Rei drawing just threw me in a spiral. It gives me so much gender euphoria because the way you draw him (again no idea how he looks ingame) is literally how i wanna look (transmasc here just for context). Im squealing i need to check it out now definitly. So thank you, officially infected me with the brain rot.

Btw Youri gives me the same feeling just to for my inner edgy teenager that never lost the "emo phase"

-🐉

ohh uhh i def should give a warning. slow damage is a 18+ BL game and contains lots of sensitive dark themes (nitro chiral is known for making dark content BL VNs), my bby towa alone is a walking warning for himself since he desires violence and pain (it comes from his past he doesnt remember) and enjoys getting hurt and injured no matter in fights or in bed (which happens a lot that it even gets funny sometimes when hes just roaming the streets and some rando slashes him out of nowhere, he lit gets into stuff against his will and is like "ye i got stabbed again" all unbothered when taku patches him up AHHAHHA)

the game contains (obviously graphic sex), graphic injuries/body harm, physical/sexual violence, self harm (towa just cant stop getting hurt/hurting himself); ill add more warnings under the cut, please do read if you consider playing so you know what will await you

all the sensitive stuff aside, it def has fun/lighter moments. rei is a mother hen who can kick ass and look pretty (DONT LOOK AT HIS EUPHORIA END, euphoria end rei is not real he cant hurt us) - he has the biggest sweet tooth, drives a motorcycle, loves deathmatches, works part time at the clinic and the bar, does body art as a hobby, absolutely loves towas art and fusses over him all the time and is the sweetest boyfriend you can have (i love him a lot)

also this is so funny you say that bc i created youri when i was lit in my own emo era as a teen AHHAHAHAH

anw some routes contain themes like suicidal ideation (rei and madarame), assault, human trafficking, drugs (taku), grooming (taku), body dysmorphia (rei; at some point in the past he and towa tried to cut off his dick), child abuse/assault and pedophilia (mentioned in asakura chapter and towas past, no one is committing it), imprisonment (madarame), dubcon - i didnt play fujieda route (final/true route) yet but i already heard its a sad chapter bc towas past gets uncovered so theres def more warnings for that bc this boy can fit so much trauma. so much

towa barely eats/drinks and prefers cigarettes and alcohol over food; so naturally theres lots of alcohol. theres also a few times where he theres a shrill ringing noise when hes having dreams, i dunno if ppl are sensitive to that but better mention it

each route has a euphoria ending (good) and madness ending (bad); i saved the madness ones for later so i cant tell how much worse those get jkfbk

[yukirayu]

Question: Did Towa really say "Sounds gay," in Fujieda's Euphoria ending?

If you listen to what Towa said in this part, he says "bakabakashii", which was also said in two other instances, namely in the climax of Asakura's chapter, and also in Taku's Euphoria ending.

If you look at the JP text, you'll notice that Asakura and Taku's scenes use "馬鹿馬鹿しい" (kanji) while Fujieda's scene uses "バカバカしい" (katakana).

Despite the different spelling, both have the exact same meaning.

In other words, Towa most definitely did not say "Sounds gay" or anything close in terms of context.

If the localization really seemed to be against using any of the above meanings for Fujieda's scene, having Towa say "Sounds sappy" or "Sounds cheesy" instead would still at least be a step in the right direction.

Instead, what is otherwise a touching scene gets diluted or ruine (depending on your tolerance level) by a poor localization choice out of the need to make a joke. Sometimes it takes that one line to kill the mood of a scene, even if you can understand what the character actually said. Like that one scene where a certain somebody says "Hasta la vista."

Besides, if Towa had really said "gay", you'd have seen "ゲイ" in the text.

See the pictures below for the characters used for "gay", "homosexual" and "homo", respectively.

[nitrokiraru]

finished listening to the fujitowa drama cd! thoughts and probably spoilers under the cut

the translator of this cd requested it not to be uploaded anywhere else so unfortunately screenshots of the translation will not be added here (assuming that counts) but shoutout to @/everythingblreview for translating it!

to be honest i’m not really the biggest fan of fujitowa as a pairing but i enjoyed this cd a lot! as y’all know every drama cd gotta have some sort of plot in there and the plot this time was fujieda’s past work as a lawyer for takasato gumi catching up to him and having people plot revenge on him and people around him. of course it all worked out in the end with fujieda admitting his faults and regrets n whatnot

besides the plot though this drama cd was probably the most domestic-like so far and i was loving it like just to list off some moments

-towa forgets to dry his hair after taking a bath, fujieda does it for him. (notably in a rough way, to towa’s annoyance)

-fujieda talks about towa’s legal name and suggests “towa fujieda” which towa takes as a marriage proposal flustering the shit out of fujieda

-they drink wine together at home and talk about fujieda’s past jobs, apparently he used to be a host. towa learns this and immediately goes “is that why you’re so good at sex?”

-fujieda pretends to be a host for towa, saying “may i have your hand lady?” towa goes “did you really do this?” and he goes “of course not.” and towa laughs and says “don’t lie”

-honestly the entirety of track 10

-fujieda taking pictures of towa in front of the Kochia (i looked it up and it’s like a flower plant field type thing in japan?)

also loved igurashi showing up. he’s just a little guy. also appreciated towa and fujieda calling him puppy coded. anyways overall very nice drama cd ^_^

[ruskatuskapuskasapuska]

Slou Damake? Nääh, se on poka Hiras Lämä (I swear suomalaistan kaikki fandomit johon saan paskaiset näppini)

Tein nää pahimman SD-brainrottini aikana ja toivottavasti nää pääsis joskus iha tarramuotoonki (kuha vaa saisin itteni joskus vielä taidekujakuntoon)

And as usual, poor translations just in case (I've actually thought of making eng. versions of these, but ehhhhghhh i don't think that'll happen for a while (if ever)):

Towa "Booze & smokes"

Taku "In my medical opinion: Don't."

Rei "I wanna beat you, then eat you <3" (can't believe it rhymes in eng as well!)

Madarame "Ya wanna get beat?"

Fujieda "Thank you, that's enough."

Kotarou "Fuck it's cold!!"

Mayu "You look just like my anime-waifu <3"

Eiji "Nuclear bomb! :-D"

Vampire "Thristy..." (it's actually in estonian (or as we like to call it: drunk finnish))

Ikuina "wanna play knife-tag??"

Asakura "uncle-ing hazard" (a word play on "radiation hazard" and...? "uncle-ing?"/acting like a creepy guy (probs the most tastleless out of the bunch but eghhhh i'm cancel-worthy anyways))

Mizuno "(I) got beaten up..."

(Nearly all of these are in low/highkey dialect or slang and just stolen memes/jokes in general)

[butterfly-indulgence]

I started playing Slow Damage and I love Towa so much. He's such a hot mess (can he be my hot mess-)

I finished Taku's good ending this morning and I loved the scene when he had sex with Taku. Not in a 'fucking' type of way but the 'making love' type of way.

Towa's so used to being treated as a toy. He expected it from Taku too but no, he was treated gently instead. Towa's initial confusion and then his realization that 'oh, he felt good'

Towa repeatedly stated that he can't really feel any excitement with tender stuff, but there he is, feeling good doing it with the person he actually loves 😭

He's used to fooling around but that's the first time he actually did it with someone he loves. Like??? Yes??? Towa pls you deserve the world.

I'm excited to go on Rei's route next. Initially, I was hoping to get Rei's route first, but Taku is fine too.

I've seen some posts about Madarame and I'm not excited for him because it seems like he made Towa so much worse. I'll probably just go through his route as fast as possible.

Fujieda, I'm not sure yet. But I've seen people say that his route is good so I'm looking forward to it.

[princeofcyberpunk]

random scout characters ive collected as my personal favorite group of guys

Imoto Sayumi

there is not a THING going on up there except that hairbow

Fukukawa Yoko

we need more goth characters in this franchise that arent overtly "scary" or "halloween" themed. anyway apparently she hates wasting money so i automatically relate hell yeah frugal queen

Hoshihara Tsugumi

APARENTLY SHE RUNS AWAY IF BOYS SAY THEY LIKE HER?? LMAO?? her dismayed expression is really everything to me

Fujieda Nunoka

girl i am begging you to get brown contacts

Matsutani Kazuho

apparently she wants to be a model but is worried about her appearance. alright thats another for the 'make them kaede's friend because they have no real lore and a tangential relation to fashion' pile

Yashiro Momoko

she feeds the stray cats in her neighborhood how could i not love her

Kurashima Mao

i am resisting the urge to make a "bLuE hAiReD wOkE fEmiNiSt" joke so hard rn anyways shes completely correct i can attest i am an urchin im very spiky

Shirasagi Akesumi

all it says is that he's self-conscious about his apperence and while im inclined to say that makes him endearing the evil within me is saying "well yeah with a dumbass asymmetrical haircut like that you better be"

Chidori Yaena

im gonna be so real i genuinely thought that she was a frog for a second anyway we need more inazuma eleven characters with bows on them

Rinnouji Raigo

ok putting aside the fact that this man is a cyclist HIS DUB NAME IS AVID PEDDLER. his parents must fucking HATE HIM

Takama Ai

im gonna be real i only like her because her design is scary what is WRONG with her

Kazamatsuri Sou

he looks like those times in the Yo-Kai Watch canon where the Yo-Kai use those leaves to appear as humans. but like. if Ventoct did that

Hiraraki Raina

she aparently loves american tv and orders DVDs from there of said shows. i am afraid of which ones she's referring to because last time i checked the only good thing on TV we export is cartoons

Reizei Rikihito

his hair is cute and his name is fun to say what more could i ask for

Aragaki Rekkuu

he looks like he'd be rivals with the previous guy and also kinda like he fell out of beyblade

and finally Shima Naemi

SHE WANTS TO BE A DETECTIVE AND LOOKS LIKE SHES ABOUT TO CRY I LOVE HER we need to have a whole game about this girl stat

[mallardducksaysquack]

I find it wild how ever since I saw Fujieda in that first SD trailer 7 years ago until I did maybe 1/3 of his route earlier this year my only thought about him had been “WHOA YOU’RE FUGLY who are you anyway” and now he’s on my phone home screen wallpaper (with matching Towa being on the lock screen).

Oh how the turns were tabled.

(I thought he was fugly because slicked back hair looks unwashed to me. Sorry if you wear that hairstyle haha)

Although I gotta say, when I saw THAT scene, I absolutely despised Fujieda. There is not a single character on whom I kept changing my opinion over and over, and to such a strong degree.

[argumentl]

Report from Tora no ana, Osaka (2023/03/10)

I had a decent ticket number, so was not so far from the front, I ordered a gari chuhai from Kaoru's special menu, and bought merch after getting inside. Everyone was given two sheets for submitting questions to Kaoru, but most seemed to be using one for submitting and one for keeping.

As far as I could see, I was the only non-asian person there, so possibly the only foreigner???

Kaoru came out at about 19:15 with Fujieda and Takabayashi. Short, black hair, hanging in his eyes a bit, wearing a loose, black, kind of shellsuit jacket, a white tshirt, and tracksuit pants/trousers.

The event was being recorded. From my seat I could clearly see the computer screen of the guy recording the event, so I saw lots of close ups of Kaoru via the screen, as well seeIng him in person.

Kaoru raised a toast to start...joining him for this was one of my life highlights. Audience members were ordering food and drinks for Kaoru and the managers throughout the event. They ended up with far more than they could actually drink. Some quite expensive things too, like Yamazaki whisky etc.

Kaoru said he has been bothered by hayfever. He said when he woke up on Friday morning, his eyes felt swollen.

Kaoru commented on the state of the street outside the venue, it filled up with dodgy looking types as soon as the sun went down. (*It really did*)

After getting settled, the talk got underway, and they started with a recap of the Dir activities of the last year. Starting with the Studio Coast live, and running through to the talk with Hazuki in Nagoya recently.

Fujieda was very enthusiastic talkIng about their visit to the Yamazaki whisky distillery.

Kaoru explained again about how difficult the anniversary tour was for him. He struggled trying to stop his old self emerging during that tour.

About the Hazuki talk, Kaoru had agreed to appear on Hazukitchen with Hazuki, but he said this time that he would not cook. He is happy to appear if all he has to do is eat what Hazuki makes.

The recap of last year lasted until almost 9pm, at which point Kaoru suggested a 10 min toilet break.

Getting back on stage, they got started with Q and A session. Despite having probably about 150 submissions, only a small handful were read out.

I have to start here by saying that MY QUESTION WAS CHOSEN! 🥴😱

I asked if Kaoru has been to see any of the other members' lives. Fujieda read out the question, and then also mentioned my name with it, so I was basically screaming in my head. Anyway, Kaoru answered that he has been to see Sukekiyo once, but thats it. Fujieda asked him if he wanted to see Decays and Seraph, and he replied 'Hmmm....' with an expression that said, 'NO' 🤣

Other questions were:

What type of curry do you like? - He likes many types. The fan who asked the question said she likes green curry. Kaoru likes this too, but said that there are a few members of the band who hate Thai food, which is tough when doing overseas tours, because Thai food is often suggested as an option by overseas staff.

Which Slam Dunk character would make the best lover? From a male viewpoint, and a female viewpoint - Kaoru said, Hanamichi for male, and Mitsu for female. Then he revealed that the white tshirt he was wearing was actually a Mitsui tshirt, he pulled back his jacket to reveal the shirt design underneath.

Which direction does you hair spiral at your crown? - Both managers got up to inspect the crown of Kaoru's head, but couldn't see much of a spiral. Kaoru said that since his hair tends to fall over his right eye, that probably influences which angle its growing from his crown.

What food reminds you of the taste of home? Kaoru says his mum always makes this dish using the fish buri during the first few days of the year.

How do you deal with creative slumps? - Kaoru basically said to embrace slumps as part of your life journey. They are what they are, and they will lead you to your next path eventually.

What is the best souvenir to get in Osaka? - Kaoru was very adamant about this, and his answer was kasu udon. The type that you can buy in a box from Shin Osaka station, and its very delicious apparently. He wouldn't hear of any other souvenir being suggested, is HAS to be this for him.

I think these are the only questions he answered, but the talk continued nevertheless. Other topics of conversation included:

The shops in the vicinity of Tokyo Garden Theatre. Fujieda is very impressed with the giant Daiso (100yen store) and the giant Mujirushi there. He mentioned a few things he likes to buy at Mujirushi, and then Kaoru says he gets his slippers at Mujirushi, especially slippers for summer time use. He gets a pair there every year without fail, and explained them as something fairly similar to this --> ルームサンダル・鼻緒 (google this product with 無印良品)

Kaoru also said he is planning another art exhibition hopefully in summer this year, but it will probably only be in Tokyo. He said he has just recently finished four or five pieces, and he hasnt been writing any new music at all these past few weeks.

Focus moves onto Takabayashi, as he has been fairly quiet. Kaoru says that Takabayashi is one of those people who knows something about everything. Wherever they go, he will be pointing out trivia and facts about everything they see.

Takabayashi said he is no good at talkIng at length, and this reminds them of that Youtube/TFOE combo that he MC'ed for remotely in 2020.

Kaoru said he wants to organise a trip for Tora no ana next year, but maybe somewhere where Dir have never played a live before. Suggestions included Wakayama, Saga, Shimane etc.

When talking about the photo exhibition, Kaoru said that the shot of him looking backwards which was used for that ticket/sticker was him turning to ask the staff, 'Shall we go get something to eat?', but the photographer got a quick shot at that moment.

Fujieda mentioned about Die surprising Shinya at the Seraph event, which Kaoru had no idea about! He asked Fujieda what the event itself was like, and Fujieda explained that Shinya talked a lot. After each song ended, he would say, 'Hai!/OK!' very swiftly, before going on to explain what the next song would be. This had Kaoru CRYING with laughter! He said 'Imagine Kyo screaming the end of a song, and then saying 'Hai!' each time. Kaoru said (while wiping copious tears from his eyes) he might think about going to a Seraph live, just to witness this!

Fujieda said he was having so much fun, he wants to do this kind of event every month. Talk began of how Toshiya is really the only member who doesnt really do this kind of thing, so Kaoru suggested Fujieda to persuade Toshiya to put an event on.

As this month is Toshiya's birthday, Kaoru raised a toast in celebration of Toshiya, and wished him a happy bithday.

A lot more chat about this and that went on in addition to the above, but the event lasted 4 happy hours, which for ¥3500, is not bad at all!

[nitrochiralfan]

Character Design analysis: Ryou Fujieda

Time for one of my favorite characters in Slow Damage, Ryou Fujieda.

Wow, okay this is going to be lengthy because Fujieda, like Towa, has so many details jampacked in his design. While I was writing this post I researched Fujiedas's design and the more I researched his design the more details I found in his character design.

Fujieda is a fascinating character. He shows that people are not what they seem to be at a glance the same is true about Fujieda once you peel back Fujieda’s layers that you find that Towa and Fujieda are equal.

His character design is created to be misleading to Towa and the audience Towa would not relate to at first.

The first outfit of his character design costs a suit and tie with slicked-back hair and glasses.

When we see a character with a suit and tie they come off as professional. The suit and tie make characters seem prim and proper in appearance. The glasses and neatly slicked hair on characters are considered studious, serious, and stoic. On the surface, this fits the base personality. The glasses, hair, and clothes indicate that Fujieda is studious, stoic, serious, diligent, stoic, straight-laced, and cold.  Fujieda comes off as a professional in both his words and actions and is very formal when speaking to others.

The suit and tie tell us about Fujiedas's profession as a lawyer. The glasses also serve a functional purpose and it turns out that Fujieda wears glasses to correct his astigmatism.

Fujieda's suit and tie make him clean and neat, not a speck of dust covering him: a little too perfect if you don’t know what he is. The glasses along with his hair slicked back in his design makes Fujieda look too perfect and make us assume that he is what he is but this couldn’t be any further from the truth.

The way his suit and tie are put together nicely makes him seem like someone who is in complete control of his emotions and actions and that he is someone who is in his life in order but that is far from the truth.

Fujieda is designed to be someone well put together as seen in how he is dressed nicely in his suit and tie but in reality, underneath his life is a mess.

One of the things is his glasses. It notes one of his personality traits but I think the glasses might be hiding the look in his eyes, the eyes are the windows of the soul. If the eyes are covered that is reducing the amount of info we know about the character this could be him hiding his true self from others.

Fujieda has complete rein on his emotions cold and serious professional in both his actions and words however

This is just armor that Fujieda uses to distance himself and his past, steeling himself from the trials and tribulations and having to go through climbing up from the dregs to find his sister forced to bottle up his emotions over the years to find out the truth about Mei.

While he seems serious and cold when it comes to other people, it's where he puts on armor when he interacts with other people. When it comes down to it this is his armor serving as a cover to protect his true self.  Fujieda was never given a chance to grow healthily his work appearance is him emulating what he feels a serious adult would act when you peel layer after layer and learn his backstory you began to view his layer appear in a different light

The eyes are another important factor in his design, Uiro’s notes elaborate on Fujieda’s eyes: that Fujieda has a harsh look in his eyes due to his dark past. Fujieda has sharp eyes. If you look closely there's a sharpness at the end of his eyes.

This is a reference to both his serious and honest personality, Fujieda doesn’t mince his words and cuts straight to the point when he speaks which makes him brutally honest.

Next to his casual appearance. Later in the game when Fujieda's hair is let loose it changes the impression of Fujieda altogether. Though his facial expression and eyes don’t change, the hair changes the impression of the character we see. I pointed out in character design before the things to keep in mind in designing characters' hair are the flow of hair and bangs. 

The way Fujiedas hair flows is to the left. The flow of his bangs flows to the left. Another thing is that the bangs show his eyes like his eyes are gazing straight at you. The impression of his bangs made him come off as honest and less harsh. The bangs showing his eyes show his expressiveness, honesty, also his kindness.

When you compare the two his expression doesn’t change in both his private and working appearance,

Fujiedas slicked-back hair intensified the harsh look in his eyes and the bangs softened the harsh look in his eyes. You can tell much a character can change when you mess around with the bangs as seen with how the bangs change the impression of Fujieda's entire character and revealed his other personality traits.

Fujieda has unkempt hair, his hair going in different outward directions when he lets his hair loose, and notes that he is a little more expressive. Fujiedas's personality shines more than still being serious and kind; he can also be a bit of an airhead and awkwardly came off as awkward when he spoke. In normal situations, he can’t cook a different impression that he isn’t perfect. Fujieda's untidy hair can mean that Fujieda is not perfect, he can mistakes too. He's childish and naive when he is easily provoked by Towa and couldn’t read the room. The messy hair could be a cute detail to that part of his personality.

Fujieda's entire upper torso is littered with scars, what makes the scars on Fujieda interesting is the place his scars can be hidden by a shirt from the eyes of other people. The scars symbolize the pain of his past, the scars he has could not easily be seen by others, this is how no one knew what Fujieda is underneath the fact that he can hide his scars symbolizes how he distances himself from others and himself, and anything relating to his past. The scars on his body are from the abuse he got from his mother and the placement of how scars are located on his upper torso Fujieda told us how he got his scars using his body to shield his sister from his mother's abuse.

Fujieda’s body is quite muscular and well-toned, This shows that Fujieda is crazy prepared when handling the unpredictability of Shinkoumi preparing any worst-case scenario and dealing with the consequences of what the truth might bring to others and himself.

One thing I noticed when I put both Towa and Fujieda together and compared them is that you will see just how much they mirror each other.  Fujieda is designed after the theme of the route that is equal. This might be intentional. 

Fujieda is designed to be the opposite of Towa in many ways. The best example would be his lawyer's appearance, their preconceptions are different at a first glance with Fujieda's impression coming off as a working functioning adult with Towa is someone who lives a messy lifestyle.

Towa and Fujieda are designed and written parallel to each other. There are a lot of similarities in their design if you place two of them together. The details in Fujieda's design further emphasize that Fujieda is Towa’s mirror.

Both Towa and Fujieda have unkempt hair, Both have numbed facial expressions: Where Towa is apathetic and detached Fujieda Came off as cold and robotic as a result of the pain they experienced. Fujieda has the same dark colors as Towa in his casual design even in the art book colors of the clothes are meant to reflect each other like a mirror.

Another powerful similarity is best seen in their scars,  their different scars, and their placement a reflection of their mental state and reaction to what is done to them. Towa’s scars are made by cuts from a blade, and Fujiedas's scars are belt marks, burns, and cigarette burns. Fujiedas's scars are made by the abuse from his parents, and Towas scars are made by his customers through his mothers' euphoria sessions. both abused and scared by their parental figures mentally and figuratively.

Where Fujieda’s are hidden from plain sight and Towa’s scars are easily seen by others. Towa’s scars symbolize how Towa cannot surpass the trauma buried underneath that leaks to the surface, Fujieda distances himself and hides a part of himself from others

Their being different highlights that they had different experiences that are seen in their scars but they are similar to each other yet different which is why they are equal.

[ruri-rari]

this anon is sending this ask because they are curious about your complete and unfiltered opinion on each surodame route 🤓

Slow Damage is a love letter to survivors- to those who have scars, both visible and not.

To me, it was wholly unlike many other visual novels or dating sim games I’ve played before.

In fact, it feels a bit unfair to view the game as just a series of different character routes that end with the guy of your choice because, ultimately, it’s TOWA’S story. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

So! Here is my absolute monster of an essay about my thoughts on each of the routes (both before and after playing the whole game), as well as their different endings. For reference, I played Rei->Taku->Madarame->Fujieda, which ended up influencing my pre-/post-True Route feelings a lot.

Rei’s Route

Pre-True Route: Rei is a totally sweetheart, and as much as I love Towa, he can do better. Not to say that I didn’t like them together! They just seem like better friends than lovers, especially considering this route was so heavily focused on all of Rei’s issues, and neither directly explored nor resolved any of Towa’s, which… felt pretty unsatisfying and unsustainable for a long-term relationship.

This route was noticeably longer than the others, but since I played it first, I enjoyed really getting to know all the characters of Shinkoumi more thoroughly. It explored gender expectations and dysphoria in a direction that I wasn’t expecting, and I was pleasantly surprised by how well it was handled. Kirihara’s arc was disturbing (a nice teaser for the theme of cycles of abuse throughout the game), but seemed tame in terms of violence compared to Ikuina’s arc.

Mad End: EYE-PUSSY!!! ME-MANKO(?)!!! Jokes aside though, this was both sadder and less traumatic than I was expecting after the whole Ikuina business. I was a little confused about how Rei could turn out like he did here, though Towa letting himself become Rei’s opinionless sex doll didn’t surprise me. Ultimately, I think this was supposed to show how both of them had given up on ever being understood by others; Rei turned to inflicting violence in the hopes of affirming what he BELIEVES a man represents without actually making the scarier choice to change and grow as a person, while Towa decides to waste away his remaining days not as a person, but as a sexual object.

Euphoria End: Towa drinking water!?!? In my edgy grimdark game!? (I was honestly so shocked that I ended up having to reread lines since I was so distracted by our beloved protagonist actually hydrating with something other than alcohol.) This ending was so cute! Tooth-rotting fluff! Rei’s haircut was another shock, but I think it was important for us as the players to SEE him grow into the person he wanted to become, so I liked it. Despite none of Towa’s issues being resolved in this route, I think he has a lot of hope in this ending. He’ll be loved, and dragged into living a healthier and more fulfilling life by Rei’s stubborn refusal to let him waste away. They’ll travel the world, make new friends, and continue to grow and change as people.

Post-True End: I appreciate this route a lot more after finishing the whole story. While my dissatisfaction with how Towa’s issues don’t get addressed still stand, I felt like that may be the point of Rei’s route.

You don’t need to confront and overcome all your past trauma in order to have hope for a happier life. You have to WANT a happier life though, and I think we get to see Towa do so here in a much healthier way than in other routes. (I’m looking at you, Madarame.)

As stated in-game, Rei’s route focuses a lot on the contradictions that come with being a human, and in that sense, I can appreciate how Rei and Towa fit together.

Taku’s Route

Pre-True Route: Oof. Taku – babygirl, I love me a good overprotective yandere, but this route HURT me.

From the unsettling topic of pedophilia in Asakura's arc, to Taku’s shame revolving around drugs, to the horror of what was implied about Towa’s past, I was tense basically until the credits rolled.

I spent a majority of the time frustrated with Taku’s refusal to communicate, and at Towa for not pushing harder…but by the end, I was so, so invested in them getting their happy ending.

Shame and control were the themes of this route, and those are difficult topics to handle well, but I think N+C did a good job here.

One of my favorite moments was when Taku rightly points out that Towa’s obsession with pain isn’t just for sexual gratification, but as a way to punish himself. FINALLY SOMEONE GETS IT!! I like to imagine this gets picked up again once Taku is out of jail.

Mad Ending: PAIN AND SUFFERING. I’m not entirely sure why, but I think this ending was the most upsetting for me (though it may be tied with Fujieda’s Mad End.). Maybe because it was more realistic? (On a side note, props to N+C for clearly doing some actually research about drugs. I am SICK of anime and manga acting like taking ANY drug will give you reefer madness.) I saw Taku giving in to his desire to control Towa as just another manifestation of his shame, and in for a penny, in for a pound, right? So he slowly destroys himself, his morals, Towa, and any genuine love they had for each other. Meanwhile, Towa loses the only adult he ever felt safe with, and is doomed to die isolated and in fear. I hate thinking about it.

Euphoria Ending: I cried!! I was really proud of Taku for owning up to his decisions, and I loved that Towa learned that it’s possible to trust others. They may have been separated for two years, but their feelings only grew stronger during that time. I found it a bit funny that they had Towa wearing a totally different color scheme to show his growth (and to look good while standing under the cherry blossoms), while our resident old man came out of prison looking beefy. Loved that Towa mentions how Rei supported him during those two years without Taku. The only thing that left me conflicted was how Taku clearly knew a lot about Towa’s past, and how he had no intention of ever telling him.

Post-True Route: Taku, you fucker, I feel betrayed!!!!! I still like him and his route a lot, but all the discomfort I felt about his connection to Towa’s past has only been magnified tenfold! How much did he really know about what Maya was doing to Towa? Surely, as his doctor, Taku would have known for at least a few years that something really fucked up was happening to this child. I’m uncomfortable thinking about all the implications.

Madarame’s Route

Pre-True Route: Ah, yes. The fandom discourse creator, picking up the mantle left by Shiki of TNC and Mink of DMMD.

I was sad to watch what felt like Towa backsliding into his fucked up coping methods again after seeing the progress he made in Taku’s route, but ‘sane and safe’ is not the name of the game here.

In the end, I had a lot of fun playing his route and actually wished it was as long as the other three, especially since it gave us a lot of new worldbuilding and plot progression, as well as a showing us a big chunk of Towa’s past that had only been previously hinted at.

Granted, I spent a majority of the time trying to figure out just who the hell this guy was… Like, what drives him? What does he feel for Towa? What will he do if XYZ situation occurs? Much like our protagonist, I struggled to get any kind of read on him, so I was left feeling kind of frustrated by the time I finished his route.

Mad Ending: I mostly just found myself cringing through this ending. It was only while reading the last few lines and listening to the ending theme that I started to feel sad. I do think Madarame cared for Towa in his own way, but they have no hope for a happy ending here. Obviously, Towa is fucked; whether he kills Madarame or not, he can never go back to who he was. He’s not human, he’s Madarame’s dog. Meanwhile, Madarame clearly isn’t satisfied in this ending, especially if he WISHES Towa would go through with it and slit his throat someday. All around just a not good time.

Euphoria Ending: “Madarame makes me feel human again.” This quote really sums up what I think is the ultimate point of this route, and of this ending in particular. These two are so toxic for each other. That doesn’t change, even in their good ending. HOWEVER! Towa goes from drifting through life in a near-catatonic state of numbness, apathy, and self-hatred to living completely and fully in the moment. No past, no existential pain, just sheer adrenaline and the call of his most base needs. In a lot of ways, the Towa in this ending IS a lot more human than his previous self. Still, I was left feeling mostly worried for Towa, since despite Madarame’s declaration that he wanted Towa since the day he first laid eyes on him (and ignoring the whole “I-want-to-keep-you-as-a-pet” thing), I have no confidence in their relationship as we see it lasting long. What happens when one of them changes? Because they will someday. That’s just inevitable. So I can only imagine them drifting apart and then staying together in misery just like they do in their bad ending.

Post-True Route: Much like with Taku’s route, I am now haunted by questions about just how much Madarame knows about Towa’s past. We know Towa didn’t remember anything that happened with his mother during the years he spent with Madarame and Kaga, but the recklessness and need for violence that originally caught Madarame’s eye were very clearly a manifestations of Towa’s trauma… and I’m fairly certain Madarame knew that. So the question is, HOW much did he know and how involved was he? Clearly enough to know that even seeing the ruins of Maya’s mansion would send Towa spiraling in the True Route, but I like to hope that he had no involvement with Euphoria in its heyday. Regardless, I doubt we as the audience will ever know for sure.

Much like when I first played through Madarame’s route, I don’t think ‘romance’ is really the point; it’s about seeing a version of Towa that, while refusing to confront his trauma, has broken free of his complete and total apathy for life. A detail I really grew to appreciate with this route after finishing the game was how Towa’s, and therefore Maya’s, method of reading and manipulating people just straight up doesn’t work on Madarame, so we the players are forced alongside Towa to give up trying to do so… progress, I guess?

Fujieda’s Route

TIME FOR THE TRUE ROUTE, BABY!!! FINALLY!!!

Listen, I know this is technically Fujieda’s route since he’s the love interest here, but to me, this is actually the TOWA route.

Playing this part of the story totally recontextualized all the previous routes for me, and without that happening, I don’t think the game would be nearly as impressive as it ended up being.

Finally getting to uncover the truth the game had been steadily building up to, seeing all the plot points of previous runs come together as one story, watching Towa get to confront and overcome the trauma that has haunted him since childhood and get his happy ending was so, so incredibly satisfying.

When I first started this route, I was skeptical. After all, Fujieda barely shows up in the story before you unlock the True Route, so you have to go in already attached to all the other characters while knowing NOTHING about this random lawyer dude, and that’s hardly a fair competition. As I played more, my skepticism increased, because Fujieda is just so unlikeable during the beginning of his route; he’s cold, robotic, cutthroat, and clearly holds no regard for Towa, who at this point in the game I just wanted to shield from any and every bad thing that happened to him.

But as more and more secrets were revealed and Fujieda began to shed his armor around Towa, I grew to like and understand him a lot more. By the time he and Towa slept together in Towa’s apartment, I was completely sold on his role in the story.

As the title for this chapter of the story says, Fujieda and Towa are equals. The events that made them into the people they are may be totally different, and the way their trauma has manifested itself may appear to make them polar opposites, but at their cores they share a sameness that lets them understand and connect with each other in a way they’ve never been able to before. Through bringing the truth to light, they help make each other human again.

Mad Ending: tied with Taku’s bad end in terms of how upset it made me. After all the disturbing reveals about Towa’s childhood under Maya’s thumb that led up to this point, I was almost surprised by how… only mildly upset I found this ending? That is, UNTIL THE VERY LAST LINE FROM TOWA. That one whisper of “たすけて” had my stomach dropping and tears coming to my eyes. We just watched this character, through multiple routes, try and live with the fallout of his childhood abuse, AND THEN try so hard to actually face it, only to end up trapped as his mother’s slave just as he always feared. It’s heartbreaking if that happens, but he’s so far gone that he isn’t aware. It’s downright horrific if he has enough sense of self left to realize what’s occurring, but not enough to break free. Essentially, this ending is Towa’s worst nightmare come true, which I hate, but as a part of the story, was an incredible choice. Ending theme was also 10/10.

I just… have so many emotions about this ending. There’s so much hope for Towa, and every other character. THIS is the conclusion of Towa’s story, and I felt so proud of him for choosing to finally live. I would willing pay to play another 60+ hours of Towa getting to live his best domestic life with Fujieda without hesitation. Absolute 10/10 conclusion.

Euphoria Ending: Oh boy. I don’t have many words for the conclusion of Towa’s story. We finally get to see what true healing looks like for Towa and Fujieda both. So many plot points I had worried would be left unfinished were nicely wrapped up. (THE PAINTING??? TOWA’S ABILITY TO SEE SMOKE??? THE 大丈夫 GLITCH??? THE CHANGES TO THE MAIN MENU??? Stop, I’m gonna cry.) The inclusion of Maya’s diary was a great choice too; what we learn about her can never absolve or excuse what she did to her own son and many others, but it did make her human, and I think that was necessary for Towa to realize in order for him to come to terms with the abuse he suffered at her hands. She wasn’t a god, she was a sick woman who died sad and alone in the end. But Towa,.. he isn’t alone. He has people who love and support him, and who will stand by his side even when he fails. As he tells Taku in the final exploration section, he wouldn’t be where he is if he didn’t have all the people in his life who care for him.