The summer triangle is actually a love triangle if you look deeply enough.
This article was originally written on 12-28-2015. May contain mild conceptual/structural spoilers.
Miagete Goran, Yozoro no Hoshi wo (Miagete) is Pulltop’s most recent work. Comparative to Pulltop’s more recent predecessors (namely KonoSora & C@F), Miagete is more focused on the plot and is more dramatic. This is saying something, as Pulltop, in being producers of moege, gravitate toward writing works that have an overreaching, guiding thematic principle, and a central plot (which takes the form of a ‘goal’ which the characters work towards). This is to be held in contrast with the approach taken by most other moege works, in which the characters simply do and live life, and a plot is organically developed as a consequence. Nonetheless, it’s not to say that Pulltop works are excellent because they have better plot. Indeed, like other moege, Pulltop works are received well because they introduce and develop a cast of affable, endearing characters. It’s just that this approach of favoring plot and thematic development over baseless slice of life results in a more solid, connectable cast. In particular, Pulltop works tend to characteristically cover at least three main themes, namely: the advancement of technology, the ambitiousness of youth, and the fulfillment of a dream or goal.Within this entry, I’ll make an active effort to focus on Miagete’s position in the scope of the aforementioned framework (rather than at broad lengths discuss the nature of a Pulltop work). To begin, in Miagete, the advancement of technology is discussed in a more indirect, but still meaningful way. In Pulltop works, the settings are typically futuristic (i.e. future-orientated) and immersive. In KonoSora, we had an eco-conscious town supported by wind power, whereas in C@F, we had virtual networks and a ‘smart’ school. Both works, in developing their respective settings, pulled the readers immediately into the world. In Miagete, while its setting is as equally (if not, even more) alluring and immersive, it takes a figurative step back, as it is set in a moderately rural, but developing town. Indeed, the plot of the work concerns the observation of stars, and the antagonist, if any, is manifested in the form of light pollution (a result of technological advancements). Nonetheless, I don’t think that Miagete is a super-serious work intended to criticize the progression of technology. Indeed, if anything, it’s a work which tries to reconcile the advancement of technology and the longing of a simpler past. Namely, the true route of the work is centered on the execution of a ‘Project Starlight,’ which is tasked with encouraging a nation to pay attention to the stars of the sky. In doing this, the cast is charged with overcoming the hurdle of convincing a nonchalant (or unaware) population of appreciating a mundane, but warm spectacle.
Insofar as its main plot is concerned (i.e. the common route and the true route), I think that comparative to any of its predecessor works, Miagete is a better-written, more-focused work. It’s a touching, compelling, and meaningful tale. As I had opened with, there’s a central love triangle within the work — namely, the protagonist is indecisive in respect to choosing between two childhood friends, both of which, were stargazing companions (I’m heavily simplifying this). As far as the love triangle itself goes, it actually integrated well with the main plot (it didn’t feel tedious or out-of-place, it worked well with the main plot). At several points, I had some not-so-pleasant feelings of nostalgia from reading their interactions — their actions had reminded me of a certain trio’s interactions in White Album 2 [namely, friends who did not want to hurt the other in pursuing their loves, but instead, tried their best to stay together]. I believe that they refer to this as PTSD. On a more serious note, the drama itself, while integrated well, was a lot ‘tamer’ and a lot less ‘explosive’ than I had anticipated (these three are a lot more civil than a certain trio). Nonetheless, as far as the result is considered, I think that the work, in the scope of its true route, was great.
In comparison, the route second to the true route (i.e. the route which covered the ‘losing’ main heroine), was a lot less ‘focused’ and meaningful. Indeed, while it wasn’t by any means, written badly, because the main trio is so interconnected, at times, it felt like another route for the true heroine. Nonetheless, on the same note, as far as the result is concerned, I don’t have any serious negative thoughts about it. What I do have to criticize however, are the side routes — namely, the routes concerning the two heroines which are not part of the trio. Their routes were by no means given the short shrift in terms of length (In previous Pulltop works, a certain character, or pair of characters, were given substantially shorter routes). Instead, they were about as long, if not, insignificantly shorter than the true route. Nonetheless, the content of their routes, while related to the central motif of astronomy, had little to actually do with the main plot. Instead, their routes were a lot more directionless. lacked actual conflict, and were a lot more typical of a generic moege. This isn’t to say that the routes are ‘bad,’as they’re redeeming or meaningful in one way or another. But they’re nowhere near the standard set by the previous routes (a rather odd measure to use in calculating meaningful content could perhaps be found in the amount of h-scenes given per heroine; the true heroine and the other main heroine have less h-scenes than the side heroines). Concerning the side characters themselves, I found them likable and unique in some way or another, but not necessarily memorable or impactful. We could say that this was the ‘natural’ result of writing such a dramatic true route (after all, the main trio have known each other since they were children — this ‘gap’ of intimacy between them and the rest of the characters is accentuated by the density of flashback scenes which exclusively deal with the trio for the most part). In a sense, Pulltop had sacrificed an equally meaningful route among its characters, for a denser, richer route for a few. At the end of the day, I found this aspect of the work to be disappointing, since I perceived Pulltop works as works, which while focused, gave each character a meaningful way to contribute to the work as a whole.
On another note, Miagete, like its predecessors, discusses the haphazard ambition of youth and is focused on the fulfillment of a dream . In KonoSora, we had a cast who defied authority in order to fulfill the dream of a bird who had once been wingless, whereas in C@F, we had a protagonist who had knowingly violated a few laws in order to protect the one he cherished most. Likewise, in Miagete, in order to take back a reminiscent, starry night, the protagonist, alongside his companions, commences Project Starlight. While the cast in the context of their role and importance, was surely flawed (as it’s focused extensively on the main trio, insulating the other characters), was holistically still meaningful, endearing, and memorable.
So all in all, I enjoyed the read. I would say that Miagete, in the scope of its common route and true route, is a ‘better Pulltop work’ than KonoSora, which I hold to be better than C@F. Nonetheless, as a whole, Miagete is bogged down by side routes that are meaningful in length, but rather directionless in content, making it very competitive with KonoSora (which in my opinion, is still a good thing). In addition, I disliked some of the after stories within Miagete, since they contained large time skips (e.g. 10-20 years), and were very brief. I tend to dislike this type of approach, since it kills a bit of the creativity of ‘what happened,’ but more so, because it effectively develops a disconnect between the characters then (which we intimately know), and how they are now in some distant future (which we’ve hardly been accustomed to). Nonetheless, I consider this a minor grievance. As with every Pulltop work, I really enjoyed reading it. The comedy was fun and natural, and the atmosphere, while not as ‘warm’ as the previous works, was still immersive.
