BLACK SHEEP TOWN is a black sheep among all other fictions.

In contrast to fiction where the writer carefully arranges every idea in relation to all of the others, we see that events in real life don't necessarily require a reason. Real life is boring and unclear, and as fiction has to have clarity and be interesting, the brutality and disjointedness of actual life cannot be compellingly portrayed in fiction. Humans have an idealized sense of reality, and reality is not consistent with our ways of thinking. Everything is more chaotic, senseless and incohesive. Nothing makes sense. That is what Setoguchi Renya aims to capture throughout his whole ouevre: an image that is not idealized, making him the black sheep of the herd.

The work starts slow. In keeping with his usual, it's not engaging, it's not boring. It starts infusing this sense of uncertainty as soon as it sets up its pieces, and from then on it simply makes you read itself, even if it's not the greatest joy in the world to read it. If I am being honest, I can't say I like any of his works, and I've only read them because they took me as their prisoner. The whole thing reads very dry.

He makes sure every time that the theme is compatible with this approach. In MUSICUS, the theme was "God of Music," and in SWAN SONG it was existentialism, and the theme here is the flow of life, finding a place in society, personal accomplishment, and mafia life. The message here is that it's ugly business, I guess. And what better than to create an actual town and several different viewpoints to depict how life flows?

I connected to the cast. I have a soft spot for the stories of characters like Michio Mido and Tachikawa Ryoma. I wished Sakura was more involved. Ryo was quite the presence and I wished to see more of him. Though I understand the reason for hardboiled approach. I also quite liked the meaning of Koschey and found it interesting to think about what real life occurence the author may have taken as reference and metaphorized to create him.

I can see why people call this his best. The most unique aspect of his work is probably this subtle sense of helplessness that he infuses into his narratives. And it feels like he incorporates it most cohesively here. It's very subtle and concentrated in comparison. The mood is more intense than any of his previous works. It's downright depressing and you don't even actually understand why. It's kind of like Tsukihime in how it keeps doing the same thing in different ways across its runtime.

I can see one common criticism about the way BLACK SHEEP TOWN explores the way life flows. The narrative is developed in a deliberately unsatisfying way. Things never really sit right with you. Personally, this kept it back a little for me and I wanted the author to find a way to depict the said theme in a both satisfying and unsatisfying way, meeting me, the reader, halfway.

Strictly in terms of being an utsuge, this is probably the best VN I've read. The guy can write a depressing story when he wants to. I had to masturbate to alleviate my feelings of loneliness each time I finished something depressing he wrote and I'm going to go masturbate after I finish writing this.

However, I thought MUSICUS was more fascinatingly put together and SWAN SONG personally resonated more with me. It just felt less magical than MUSICUS. Given their shorter length, I recommend experiencing them before deciding to dive into BLACK SHEEP TOWN. Simultaneously wacky and grim. The closest anime is probably Durarara even though this is more oppressing/mysterious/magical. I'd be surprised if this didn't take influence from that. This is basically Godfather done in Durarara style and given a unique, floating vibe. I didn't think it was peak or anything though. I MTL'd this though, so opinions may differ. (Though I got permission from a Japanese dude for that.)

I'm writing this review to voice my complaints about how people view this series.

This is a superficial story. Don't get me wrong, it is very good at everything it sets out to accomplish, and it's really unique, but it exchanges subtlety for a slightly self aware comedy, and I hate that people mistake that for storytelling prowess. There are certain elements in writing that make for effective storytelling. But they don't include depicting bullying as it is or writing in slightly quirky jokes that make normal people feel like they've been on the internet for too long. Do you people just visit your local highschool when you want to see good storytelling? I do consider this work superficial, but I think that was the intention, and due to how unique it is, I'd consider it a must read. Nothing does the same thing and accomplishes it to the same extent.

It really fucking bothers me when people call it a very well written story. A very well imagined artistic project, yes, a very well told story, no. It is an insult to actually good stories when you compare this to them. The chapters on their own have little sense of subtlety, restraint or balance. It's a fucking comedy. What makes it impressive is not the slightly deranged jokes. The characters also aren't as well written as people think they are. They are fun and unique, but superficial. This apparently takes people 50 hours to play, and there are 20-25 movies I can count off the top of my head that have a better story than this.

Though people who think this is some fetish non-sense, or people who think this is an immoral game are probably stupid in a much more damaging way.

Should I read Sakura no Uta?

1. Do I like art as a general concept and see it to be this higher aim in life, rather than esteeming only great works of art themselves? Would I be able to relate to life of a loser rich kid, who does art and can't live up to his extremely skilled father's legacy? Do I think I have more connection to art than other people do?

2. Do I particularly like the usual visual novel type of storytelling, where I go through countless hours of SoL and become familiar to the characters before any drama/action happens? In this case, am I willing to put up with 30 hours of some of the most tedious and horrible SoL and worst jokes ever penned in the history of literature? (Even many of its fans say the first half is skip-worthy tier content that is only redeemed by the second half.)

3. Does a big portion of my enjoyment come from how works of art are presented and their external aspects, such as the art style, the atmosphere, the music, the prose, etc? If yes, would I like to read a version of SubaHibi where blue sky is substituted with a sakura theme?

4. Do I enjoy wordplays and am I going to be reading it in Japanese?

5. Do I particularly like lesbians?

These are the main questions.

Just... don't hope for any of the creativity you saw in the author's previous game at all in this. This is made for the art, the atmosphere, the music, and the wordplays. The story is just an afterthought.

SubaHibi's a focused artistic statement and this is just autofiction. The reason why it takes so much time with horrible and tedious SoL in the first place is because the author knows he doesn't have the material for a compelling story, so he instead sets the reader's expectations low with countless wasted hours. It is also the same reason the MC isn't voiced. However, if you're not the type of person to read it for its story, you're probably going to like the story very much too.

If narrative is your first priority, I would recommend MUSICUS over this. The presentation is deliberately bland, but it incorporates the same themes in a more gripping way, and it even has these very unique things called "consistency" and "a proper ending." Setoguchi Renya and SCAJI both create art for artists, as well as share a fundamentally pessimistic worldview, but Setoguchi is a more skillful storyteller.

SubaHibi and SakuUta share the same relation as Mahoyo and Tsukihime - in both cases, the former establishes an all around mastery, while the latter has one aspect of the former which it concentrates. One is restrained and exquisite, while the other is free form and highly fun. Though I don't think this is nearly as well written as Tsukihime is. Basically, this is SCAJI at his most SCAJI.

Which means that if SubaHibi is one of your all-time favorites, you need to read this. Though it's best to go in without any expectations or assumptions. "I like the artstyle and people seem to have liked it. Let's check it out." is a far better expectation to have than "SubaHibi was great and the same author seems to have made it. I'm pretty sure it's great. Let's begin the preparations for peak."

Expect to see this game let a lot of people down once it is translated to English. Extremely drawn out, horribly arranged. Just frustrating. Most of this game (80% at a generous estimate) is just unlikeable garbage. The story is downright ridiculous at points. I think many people will be surprised by the content. Honestly it's oddly close to CLANNAD...

5 no's from me. I MTL'd this though, so opinions may differ. (Though I got permission from a Japanese dude for that.)