As a complete package, FataMoru didn't hit for me in the same way that it's so clearly lit a fire in other readers. However, I can certainly appreciate why a tale like Michel and Giselle's strikes a chord in so many — and I came away from the base game glad that its narrative exists for people to resonate with. There are some truly brilliant points of presentation in this story, and for better or for worse, it never shies away from saying the quiet parts out loud.

I'm a bit more lukewarm on the fandisc's main plotline — and the necessity of the story it's telling, retreads and all. There are bits of that sharp presentation that are still very much on display here (a scene at the lake house from the main game, now from a second point of view, proves particularly wicked) but there's not much here to justify the length that one couldn't already glean from the main title. Inevitably, where your feelings fall on Another Episode will depend on how you, as a reader, feel about Jacopo's character.

I'm not crazy about him, myself.