Introduction and review of the fictional hero Jingaiia (free, full-length science fiction novel).

I played the visual novel "Kyokou Eiyuu Jingaiia" by the circle "SowChild" under their brand "Bakasuka".
Originally, it was distributed as a paid series from the end of 2015, consisting of a prologue, volumes 1-3, and the final volume, but in 2022, it was made available for free.

This is a visual novel with an overwhelming volume of over 1 million characters in total.
Keywords might include "dark sci-fi fantasy, an antithesis to the mainstream, battles, and family."

The total playtime was about 10 hours for the prologue to vol.3 and about 9 hours for the final part, for a total of about 20 hours.

Game Overview and Impressions (No Spoilers)

Hideo Kambara was living peaceful days with his wife Narumi, son Daisuke, and daughter Mai.
However, one day, they are suddenly thrown into a desolate world and chased by giant monsters.
The story begins with a mysterious giant robot appearing before a hero desperately trying to escape.

This game is a linear visual novel with no choices; the game progresses by reading the text.
Since it was originally a doujin game that was distributed for a fee, I think they put a lot of effort into the graphics and music.
The background graphics are mostly based on live-action footage, but the character illustrations are original drawings created specifically for the game.
The background music was also used effectively at key moments, showing a great attention to detail in the production.

The story begins in a somewhat conventional way.
However, as mentioned in the keywords at the beginning of this article, the story unfolds in a way that actually defies those conventional expectations.
I got the impression that it was posing a kind of question about the concept of "the mainstream" that comes to mind in our minds.

The story unfolds with one mystery after another from the very beginning, and you might find it frustrating when the situation isn't revealed for quite some time.
However, if you feel that way, then you could say you've already been drawn into this work.
There are many mysteries and plot points, and many of them are not revealed immediately.
However, as you continue reading, many of the mysteries will be explained and revealed in detail.
サスペンスやミステリーで、読者に向けての焦らしに慣れている人であれば、本作も楽しんで読み進めていけると思います。

My thoughts (contains some mild spoilers)

It was a visual novel with quite a lot of content.
Starting with the prologue, the story gets progressively more interesting from Vol. 1 to the finale.
The sheer volume of content in the FINAL was overwhelming; I think it accounted for about half of the entire program.

So, how can I explain the appeal of this game to someone who hasn't played it yet, without giving away any spoilers?
The download page on BOOTH says, "This is a story about becoming a father someday."
I think this is undoubtedly the main theme of this work.
However, given that it is a feature-length work, the story does not proceed solely on this theme from beginning to end.
Because the work contains various elements, you may have different reactions depending on the development of the story, such as "I like this part of the story, but I don't like this part."

For example, in the prologue and Vol. 1, the story depicts the protagonists, suddenly thrown into an unfamiliar world, in a panic-horror-like atmosphere, while also maintaining a suspenseful feel as they gradually unravel the mysteries of that world.
And in Vol. 2, the situation changes significantly, allowing you to read with a fresh perspective.
In Vol. 3, for a certain reason, we delve deeper into each of the characters and get closer to the heart of the story.
The FINAL features many ups and downs, with glimpses of hope, further despair, and incredibly exciting moments.

While "father" is a major keyword, as I mentioned in the introduction to the article, the work incorporates horror and suspense elements, as well as science fiction elements, fantasy and battle elements, and contains a variety of messages.
Even if you start reading this book and find it's not quite to your liking, I think that as you continue reading, you'll eventually find something that resonates with you.
I think that's how well each element coexists, creating a unique and appealing charm.
Because it's a work that condenses various kinds of interesting elements, I think it's unlikely that you'll either "love everything about it" or "hate everything about it."

I think that with these kinds of visual novels, you really can't get a feel for the atmosphere without actually reading them.
It's currently available as a free game and can be easily read, so if you're even slightly interested, why not give it a read?

Review (contains spoilers)

To fully enjoy this game, I recommend avoiding spoilers before playing.
One of the joys of this film is being shocked by the various new facts that are revealed, so please view spoilers at your own risk.

In recent years, we've seen a growing trend of stories where characters repeatedly experience the same timeline in a time loop.
From older titles like "Phoenix: The Grotesque Chapter" to more recent ones like "Higurashi When They Cry" and "STEINS;GATE," I feel that games where the characters repeatedly restart by loading the game are generally more interesting, perhaps because it deepens the player's emotional connection to the characters.
One of the highlights of time loop stories is understanding the principle behind the loop, and this work also uses an original and interesting principle (recreating the loop repeatedly with clones each time it resets).

The idea of using the traditional game system of save and load as a special ability, and then experimenting in reality to achieve the desired outcome, is something that almost everyone has probably fantasized about at least once, and I found it very exciting.

However, in Vol. 2, this act of redoing is portrayed negatively, and Sakurako is angry with Hideo in the story.
Tetsu's line, "Heroes just lose sight of what's important in the process of repeating the same mistakes. They don't throw away what's truly important," and Sakurako's line, "Where are you living now?" were particularly memorable.
As the hero also said in the game, the ability to save and load as many times as you want can lead to the mindset of "if I fail, I can just try again," which diminishes the weight of your decisions.

The thought of "what if" is something everyone experiences (a kind of curse), but if you thought it through and made a choice with resolve at that time, then you have no choice but to live with that choice.
(As a side note, I also noticed that in the visual novel "Perfect☆Girl: The Evolution of Life in Her World," also produced by "Bakasuka," the heroines from the unchosen options are discarded, which I felt was a similar approach.)

However, it is also true that the fictional hero, who endlessly repeated saving and loading to perfect his path, ultimately cornered absolute justice.
This scene is personally one of my favorites in the film, and I think it's incredibly cool.
The way you gradually get stronger through repetitive gameplay is something I like about my favorite work, "All You Need Is KillIt was like that, and I was very excited.

In addition, the fact that we, the players, are incorporated into the game as a factor that helps the fictional hero make the correct choice is also an interesting gimmick.
In the game, it was only briefly mentioned as a "magical item" on a screen displaying the game package image, but I now understand it to mean this.

However, even that fictional hero was defeated by Hideo Kanbara in the final sprint.
From this, I think the message is that a father who runs for his child is the strongest and coolest man of all.
And finally, the moment he saves Daisuke, the hero will cease to exist forever.
In the original world, she died instead of Shizuka, and looking only at the result, it might seem like a bad ending.
However, remaining in this state forever means remaining a father forever, so the hero's expression also seems somewhat proud.
The meaning of the phrase "This is a story about becoming a father someday" finally became clear at the end, leaving me with an indescribable feeling of lingering emotion.

Now, I'll write my impressions of some of the characters, though not all of them.

Hideo Kanbara
The protagonist was like the epitome of an ordinary person, but that's precisely why he was a character I could empathize with.
I liked that she wasn't someone who displayed special abilities or effortlessly attracted the opposite sex; she was just down-to-earth.
As for how I met Narumi, I mustered up the courage to approach him myself, and he also recognized me as someone he was interested in. It's a pretty normal situation where my efforts were rewarded in a reasonable way.

From Narumi's perspective as a student, I couldn't help but laugh at how he treated me like such an idiot.
From the hero's perspective, he comes across as someone who's panicking and saying all sorts of strange things, but from Narumi's perspective, he somehow comes across as a naturally easygoing and easygoing person, which is quite不思議 (mysterious/strange).

However, even such a hero has the potential to become a fictional hero and defeat absolute justice, which I think is very protagonist-like and cool.
I apologize for using another work as an example, but it's like Shirou Emiya (Fate) who seriously tried to become a hero of justice, and I think this was one possible outcome of his efforts.
He looks like he's wearing armor, and his appearance and stoic demeanor made him seem like Goblin Slayer.

・ Narumi Kanbara

The gentle atmosphere only lasts for the very beginning; in volumes 1 and 2, the seemingly limitless combat power and the eerie, almost heroic nature of the characters create a horror-like atmosphere.
His declaration of using only about 10% of his power during the battle against the members of Onizakura was reminiscent of Frieza and left a truly overwhelming impression.

Due to his harsh childhood, Ted developed a personality that could be described as a completely different person, but he was saved by a hero.
"The Waltz Nobody Knows" itself seems like a magical item that draws people together, but I think the birth of Ted in Narumi's heart is unrelated to the effects of the magical item.

Daisuke Kambara
To begin with, it was the setting of the world that Daisuke created, but I didn't think Daisuke himself was to blame, so I didn't feel like blaming him too much.
I understand that he was desperate to save Shizuka, and that it was unavoidable for him to make the survivors disappear in order to reset the world, but I also felt sorry for him.
He becomes immobile after turning into a Jingai, his father falls into a coma, and he is subjected to logical harassment and forced to commit genocide by himself, so I think he fit the character of "a child who needs his father's help" very well.

・Mai Kambara
In the very early stages of the game, this character had a significant presence, serving as a stark reminder of the game's hopelessness.
I was just as shocked as Narumi, because I never imagined that this was the monster's true form.
It's an indescribable feeling to think that he was attacking out of a desperate desire to play with his family.

Minami
I had a feeling that a very good ending wasn't in store for this character, and unfortunately, my hunch was correct.
I don't recall seeing the final boss duo being the wife's sister and daughter very often, so it felt quite novel.

Sakurako
As the ultimate masterpiece of human heroism, he possesses the most heroic charisma.
He possessed exceptional intelligence and physical abilities, making him a reliable person who seemed capable of overcoming even the most difficult situations.

At first, she gave off a rough impression, similar to Revy from "Black Lagoon."
However, he is also incredibly intelligent, and his exceptionally quick understanding of the world's mechanisms and the mystery-solving aspects have showcased his skills as a brilliant detective.
Furthermore, he was born into a family of mages and had a deep understanding of magic, making him a character packed with many powerful traits.
Therefore, the feeling of despair when they finally became my enemy was immense.
He possessed a charisma that would have made him the protagonist in a different work.

Tetsu
There was a huge gap between Tetsu's past career and his current appearance, and even when he started talking about his past, it was difficult to recognize that it was about Tetsu, and it took me a while to process it.
Ultimately, she surpassed Sakurako, but why was she able to do so, and what were the roots of that potential?
I suspect that, perhaps due to the effect of a world where desires become reality, his intense admiration for Sakurako manifested more strongly than anyone else's, allowing him to surpass her.

・Saikawa
Despite being cast as the Demon Lord, I had the impression that he was more likely to make me cry during fight scenes.
In the early stages of their appearance, they are overwhelmed by Narumi, who possesses the qualities of a hero, and in the later stages, they seem to be outmaneuvered by Hiruta.
However, in the latter half of the story, he also takes on the role of a "father," just like the hero.
There were many scenes where he was trying his best, even though he didn't get to show off his cool and good points much, which made me want to cheer him on.
Having had a rather unsuccessful adolescence, I felt an even stronger desire for him to succeed.

Mob
At first, I only thought of her as an afterthought to Sakurako and Tetsu, but in the latter half, I think she played an important role as a character who fulfills the role of "mother."
Many characters in this work are "mothers" or "fathers," such as Narumi, Narumi's mother, and Saikawa's mother, and I think it's interesting to compare them all.

・Mikogami &Non-chan
What started as a heartwarming story of two women's interactions ultimately ended in a completely unexpected way, with one of them creating a clone of the other.
If it were two men, the plot of creating a clone of the other wouldn't have been possible, so it had to be two women.
I was expecting Non-chan to be the one to die, so Mikogami's death was a bit of a surprise.

・Silence
This person is the fundamental cause of the world in the main story's creation.
I'd like to say that no one is really to blame, but the driver who ran the red light is the one most at fault.
Since he's a clone of Mikogami, I have a feeling he'll eventually become a threat to the world, but that's probably another story.

Todo
He's a good-looking guy who seems capable of handling anything with ease, so there was a time when I had no basis for thinking, "He must be the mastermind!"
He wasn't the mastermind or anything like that; he was just a superhuman.
Compared to Kageyama and Kishi, I feel that his strength is on a completely different level.

・Hiruta
From the moment he appeared, he exuded an air of suspicion, so I suspected he would become an enemy.
The rule is that characters without highlights in their eyes are harboring darkness.
In this world with so few people, the despair of not having anyone below you is something I can understand.
I'm not sure if this is an appropriate analogy, but if you're at the bottom of your class academically, you'll likely feel an overwhelming sense of inferiority and become self-deprecating because there's no one with worse grades than you.

However, I couldn't understand the logic behind wanting everyone to be unhappy, and it was rather unsettling.
Even if you try to argue back, it's no use getting through to them, and they seem to have come to their own conclusions and concluded the matter on their own, so I empathized with the scene where Daisuke felt uneasy.
He's a self-centered, evil character who thinks he's the unluckiest person in the world, much like Thunder McQueen from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 6.
As a villain, I think he was a good character in the sense that he was infuriating.

・Ashley
He's like an even bigger mastermind, someone who was helping the main villain in this story.
This character really conveyed the vastness and grand scale of the world depicted in this work.
I was excited by the cool phrase "Ashley, the Observation Witch," the threat to the fourth world.
The fifth world threat is said to be Mikogami, which makes me wonder about the first, second, and third threats as well.