I launch Hanachirasu. I take off my pants. I start the game, getting ready to unleash my fury. I read the text. It's hard not to skip till the main event. Here comes the fight. This is some goon moping some other goons. Not yet, this is not the main badass of the game, i can wait. Then after a couple of minutes, he comes. Yes, the shiny sword, the perfect technique. He crashes goons like nothing. I can't contain my raging boner. I twist my "sword", imitating Akane's "tsubame gaeshi" and at the same time training IAIdo motions. It feels good. My "sword" shoots. That was perfect. I guess that's it for the warmup.
I launch Muramasa. Time for the main dish.
Kageaki is having a duel. He faces his opponent mirroring her pose. Normally people would watch at the girl but that's not the case for me. I can see the ending! I know that she will lose. Her technique is inadequate. I can see it. Half an hour of description of this poor girl waiting to get cut and at last the fight ends. Of course, Kageaki is the best.
Then i hear this...
"Oni ni ou tewa oni o kiru...".
That phrase switches something in my mind, my dick getting even harder than last time. I can't stop. My sword gets even hotter than Masamune's one of the seven tricks- fire sword , nothing can stop my calory burn but it doesn't matter. Kageaki prepares his electric sword and so do I. "Yoshino Honored Style Battle Technique..." I can't hear the rest as my sword also electrifies and prepares to shoot the enemy. The calory exhaustion finally gets me and collapse in exctasy.

I go to 4chan. I see some fuck boasting that he likes Scaji bullshit. I write him this angry comment.

Whatever you say, moron. I uniironically think Narahara is the best writer of all time across all mediums. His complex treatment of themes, and his deep understanding of the human condition is unparalleled and unprecedented. He's a dreamer, teacher, and a writer at the same time. The best thing about Muramasa is Kageaki Minato is literally Narahara. Narhara knows what art truly means, and his uncompromising vision to elevate VNs to the level of art is perfectly executed in Muramasa. You really need to give up being a human if you don't like his work/think its lowbrow porn. He's the only one in this medium who genuinely wants to make art instead of products to be sold on the market for profit. You rarely find people like him even in literary circles. You can find zero flaws in his work, and if you believe there to be flaws, you either didn't understand or are making them up to be contrarian and by doing so ignoring what he achieves making you a low iq fuck

"This is not a story of heroes. Those who would aspire to be such have no place here."

Full Metal Daemon Muramasa is one of the most incredible visual novels you'll ever read. It's not just that it's aesthetically gorgeous, but it weaves a complex tale, dips beautifully within both the feudal aesthetic and hi-tech sci-fi thriller approach, and is written with such a poetic etherealness that when it wants to hit you with something eye-opening, it hits. Hard. Perhaps the most impressive thing about Full Metal Daemon Muramasa is how unwilling it is to hold its punches.

This visual novel depicts the full gamut of the worst of human impulses. While in theory it's a story about a a living soul forged into a set of armor, in practice, it's an exploration of the limits of human depravity. Framed in a very Musashi-like trip through a hyper fictionalized hybrid sci-fi feudal romp within the island nature of Yamato, you're going to get a view of bestial violence, innocence lost, incest, class warfare, blasphemy, obsession, xenophobia, and hatred. Characters are built up as hugely sympathetic, only for the narrative to tear them down in the most spectacular way possible. The story plays on many classic and familiar tropes, such as the romance or warmth that comes with exploring human relationships, and then subverts them them in their entirety. This game is dark, is the point. Beautifully dark, like the most powerful and deeply meditative humanist novels, but it nonetheless revels in exploring the bleakest sides of the human condition, and in doing so it represents an exquisite, elevated kind of tragedy.

There are moments where Full Metal Daemon Muramasa becomes very uncomfortable to witness, and a little like when I played Gunjou no Sora o Koete, I did need to put it down from time to time. This game is nowhere near as explicit or extreme as that one, but thematically it is, if anything, more demanding of the player. It's a little like how the real war stories of old are deeply uncomfortable to read, though it's certainly not of the extreme, overt violence of a Marquis de Sade novel. If you want to see how a visual novel could be elevated to something approaching "high art" or "peak fiction", you owe it to yourself to play Full Metal Daemon Muramasa.

Now despite having read this only halfway through via watching a playthrough on nicovideo.jp and giving up using google translate halfway into that and just looking at the cgs, I can safely say this is the best visual novel you'll ever read without a doubt. Ryukishi truly has created another masterpiece in a long line of amazing visual novels and I'm excited to see what Type Moon has in store for us in the future! FUCK SUBAHIBI / 10

also beans if you're reading this why don't you spend that time actually reading the visual novel :)

Nitroplus' visual novel Full Metal Daemon Muramasa was unequivocal, undeniable proof that mankind as a collective species has triumphed over God. It is a literary masterpiece with no flaws whatsoever. I would have five hours of sweaty, rigorous sex with the protagonist Kageaki Minato. I would raise one hundred billion dollars and hand-deliver it to the palms of his hands, all while licking his balls. If he were to get an incurable disease I would singlehandedly develop a cure for it and use it only on him. I would reanimate the corpse of one of his beloved dead relatives. All of this wouldn't even begin to show my love (and lust) for him for his part in creating this Michelangelo-level piece of art.

I have read Muramasa over 50 times. I know every line and scene down to the last detail. If I was asked to reenact the entire visual novel I could do it with flawless detail and precision. Once JASTUSA releases the physical version of Full Metal Daemon Muramasa I will have sex with it. You cannot stop me.

Allow me to play doubles advocate here for a moment. For all intensive purposes I think you are wrong. In an age where false morals are a diamond dozen, true virtues are a blessing in the skies. We often put our false morality on a petal stool like a bunch of pre-Madonnas, but you all seem to be taking something very valuable for granite. So I ask of you to mustard up all the strength you can because it is a doggy dog world out there. Although there is some merit to what you are saying it seems like you have a huge ship on your shoulder. In your argument you seem to throw everything in but the kids Nsync, and even though you are having a feel day with this I am here to bring you back into reality. I have a sick sense when it comes to these types of things. It is almost spooky, because I cannot turn a blonde eye to these glaring flaws in your rhetoric. I have zero taller ants when it comes to people spouting out hate in the name of moral righteousness. You just need to remember what comes around is all around, and when supply and command fails you will be the first to go.

Make my words, when you get down to brass stacks it doesn't take rocket appliances to get two birds stoned at once. It's clear who makes the pants in this relationship, and sometimes you just have to swallow your prize and accept the facts. You might have to come to this conclusion through denial and error but I swear on my mother's mating name that when you put the petal to the medal you will pass with flying carpets like it's a peach of cake.

One of the most compelling narratives on the exploration of morality. The English Translation is fantastic and was an absolute joy to read. Brilliant sound design and presentation too, with some of the most well-drawn CGs in the medium.

The Hero Route is Perfect.

Nemesis suffers from a few hiccups but it's still great.

Half of Conqueror is great. I did not like the rest much as it is quite underbaked. The plotting also seems to be getting less and less tighter as the VN goes on?

Thankfully Demon is here to save day by delivering one of the most amazing fucking conclusions to a character I have had the pleasure of witnessing.

At the end of the day, I would say the wait was worth it.

Muramasa killed fiction for me


Today while going through some pictures on my tablet I found a picture of Kageaki Minato in my gallery.

My first reaction was a slight smile, as I immediately remembered all the time I had spent with this novel whose main saga is made up of 3 arcs(4 if you count the common route)

My initial impressions of this novel were really positive; I had it on my playlist for quite some time because it made use of certain narrative devices that for me were completely unbelievable or that I considered daring in any work of fiction

Time went by, and in many forums I kept reading great praise for the themes present in the narrative, or that well known joke of "came for the sword porn, stayed for the plot""

I finally gave it a chance, and yes, it was a truly amazing experience. I was a bit confused initially, as I didn't understand the initial relationship between the Tsurugi and alternative Japanese history, as well as all the horrible "feats" that everyone attributed to the Ginseigo; still, I enjoyed it immensely

I would later finish the Prologue, and I must confess that I was a bit caught off guard by immediate signs of narrative quality and talent compared to most VNs I'd read, however, I've always had a strong affinity for thematic depth in literature, so this more deconstructive thematic approach was something I'd experienced quite often before. Again, I enjoyed it immensely

Time passed, and with the announcement of an english translation I finally decided to read the entire thing. To be completely honest, at first I was quite reluctant, because hey, that would be more than a hundred hours I would have to venture through to understand Narahara's vision! However, none of that mattered and I just sat down in front of the computer and started the journey

Prologue was great. It was complex already, and watching Narahara's pen at work was definitely fun

Next would come the opening scenes of chapter I, and I did enjoy them, and it was cool to see Yuuhi's beginnings

Then i'd finish chapter 1, and jesus christ, I never thought I'd enjoy a VN so much because it actually had depth. The ending was also one of the epic things I've read in a long time(Yuuhi completely stole the show in this part)

Then I played chapter 2, and to this day I consider it one of the most ahead of its time chapters


After playing Chapter 2, I would play Chapter 3-5 and I never expected such a huge turn Kageaki would take as a character after the events of chapter 2. From here you can notice certain nuances in his personality, and even, - even I was surprised at the time - certain glimpses of questionable morality


With the Hero and Revenge routes, I was already in ecstasy; I never in my life thought that something in this world could be this amazing, and I must confess that I enjoyed it from start to finish


Then I would finally get to Tyrant, and this would be the beginning of the end of fiction for me. Throughout all the routes we meet a huge number of characters, and to see all of them explored with so much depth and come together in such a way that compliments each one is simply a marvel

Everything about this route is incredible. The art, the soundtrack, the characters, the ending, the true ending....absolutely everything

When the credits rolled, all I could do was stare at the screen for several minutes, and that's when I realized it was all over. My days of waking and sleeping thinking about Muramasa were over, and there came a huge sense of emptiness.

To this day nothing has ever made me feel that level of emotion, satisfaction, or appreciation for a work off art, do I regret it? Not at all; Muramasa killed fiction for me, but at the same time it gave me one of the most enjoyable moments of my life.

I just wanted to share these words with those who already immersed in this work, as well as those who are not yet; there may be a lot of expectation towards this work, but if you give it a chance you will be very pleasantly surprised.

Full Metal Daemon Muramasa saved my life, before I read this game I had a cancer and was going to die. I never came to accept the fact that I was going to go so I fell into a deep depression, I couldn’t handle the thought. But what I was doing was unhealthy and everyone picked up on the fact that I was in complete denial. They all tried to get help for me but I turned it all down because I told myself that I didn’t need help. “you’re going to be fine” I told myself. “nothings wrong” “it’s all in your head...” until the thought of death finally came to me and took over the entirety of my personality “I don’t want to go...” “I DON’T WANT TO GO” “I DON’T WANT TO GO”. All the help my family had tried to give me had failed and its all because of my depression and denial. I could’ve gotten help... but I kept telling myself there was nothing wrong. And I grew sicker, and sicker, and sicker... until I became so sick I could not get out of bed. My skin grew dry and pale, I grew skinny and weak. I could barely move and was constantly coughing up blood. I tried to come to accept the fact that I was going to die, but I couldn’t. Then I officially got the news that I would die in 12 hours when I woke the next day. I cried and cried all day until my daughter walked up to my bed. She said very tearfully “we really tried, dad. We did everything we thought of. There’s only one thing left that I can do...” she passed me a copy of Muramasa. “what’s this?” I asked. “the only option we have left...” she said as she walked out of the room and slowly closed the door behind her. I picked up the copy of Muramasa and looked at the cover. The art on the cover was absolutely gorgeous, I was completely speechless at how stunning the cover was and how it got across such a big message with one simple piece of artwork. I opened up the game to what would end up being the most heart racing, realistic, and emotional adventure I'd ever go on. The characters felt so much like real people and i found myself full on crying multiple times because of how the characters got me caught up in the story like it was actually happening. It felt real. After reading this game I was so extremely grateful that i got to witness what might be the best work of literature on earth the night before I had to leave it. After reading this game I became cleansed, I felt truly at peace with everything. I sat at my bed, getting ready for eternal slumber. Once I went to bed, I had 2 more hours. My body would give up before the morning, and that’d be it. I finally lied down I quietly said to myself “I’m okay with this...” as I slowly drifted off the sleep. This is it. This is my end. Until... I woke up. I looked out the window and saw that it was morning. I was so confused and was sure that this was a dream and not reality but sure enough it was. I started sobbing "tears in my eyes peak fiction*. I saw my hospital and said that even though there was no treatment that I took that my disease had completely vanished. He said that suddenly, I was the healthiest I've ever been and that I now have no clear sign of death. I would live a long and happy life, and I'm not sick anymore. “what happened, what did you do to get rid of it?” he said. I told him “Look up Muramasa on JAST store. I didn’t conquer death, it did. And trust me... it’s way more than a visual novel” Muramasa saved my life. I could not be more thankful for this masterpiece. If Bean is reading this review, I want him to know that I have conquered death. Thank you.

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia that anyone can edit:

Reception
The game is regarded as a masterpiece in the visual novel community.[1]

References
1. "GOAT Visual Novel Full Metal Daemon: Muramasa English Release Date Revealed by JAST USA". DualShockers. Retrieved 2021-07-16.

things more profound than full metal daemon muramasa:

-my sally brown shirt that says "be kind" on it
-that chapter in yotsuba when she has to say bye to her grandma
-the F.U.N. song from spongebob

it's funny that the translation of this got so much hate when it really can't change the fact that the game itself is bad, no matter what language it's in

despite having written a joke review prior to this i've now finished the entirety of muramasa and to put it succinctly and just for the sake of not spoiling the experience, i'll just say to everyone who never played but said it was an amazing experience... i gotta hand it to ya... y'all were right all along! there's a lot here that i think could be said and i don't think this is a perfect game by any means. the visual novel definitely has its hitches at points and i think the final route will be pretty divisive to many but to say it didn't strike a chord with me would be lying. i wish i could say more but it's really just an experience that you gotta go through provided you're interested. it's a visual novel i'll probably think about from time to time in the future and for that i'm thankful! for every criticism i have, i answer it with praise in equal eagerness. after all, the law of balance demands it so. 😎 " kanae is literally me " / 10

p.s. i actually went through the entirety of the tl side by side with the japanese version of the game and i'm happy to say jast has done quite a fine job with the tl so don't let the self certified jops fresh off their n1 certifs tell you otherwise !