As someone who spent a lot of time going back and forth on just how much she liked Tsukihime, I don’t think its reputation is entirely unearned. It has a lot of stilted writing and translations, repeated content even across scenes that you’re not allowed to skip, and a less-than-perfect handling of sexual violence in its H-scenes that most people have probably heard about. It’s not perfect, but I think it deserved to be engaged with in a genuine way and not let its messiness define it (well, in a way it does and that’s cool, but it’s better if people don’t do it in an ironic way).

I really like what’s at the heart of Tsukihime—a bunch of chance encounters and events that shape the lives of the characters in very drastic ways yet allow them to become people who understand themselves and others more. I love that Arcueid is a chance encounter that’s absent from the Far Side routes because Shiki didn’t see her that one day. I love how Satsuki’s absence from class, brushed aside once the action in the Near Side routes gets going, takes on a whole new meaning once you see what she’s up to at the start of Akiha’s route. I love the way Eclipse ties every route and everything that happened together in a way that really makes the story feel complete. I think it’s easy to find a lot of the stuff that’s great about this VN in the other works it inspired, but they’re just as good on their own merit in the place they came from as well. Very much worth reading for anyone who feels that they’re able to.