Addressing crossing interests (lol) – and a mild dive into Japanese fashion.
This article was originally written on 1/18/2016. May contain mild structural/conceptual spoilers.
Up until recently, I had two primary hobbies which consumed the bulk of my leisure time: reading visual novels and venturing even deeper into the expensive rabbit hole by the name of fashion. On the surface, Tsuki ni Yorisou Otome no Sahou (tsuriotsu), a visual novel by Navel set in the realm of fashion, seemed like an ideal ‘bridge’ between the two hobbies. Indeed, on side of being an visual novel enthusiast, I was fascinated by the titular heroine Luna, who had won Getchu’s award for most memorable character in 2012, 2013, and 2014. In contrast, on side of being a fashion enthusiast, I was eager to learn more about the role that fashion would play within the work itself. In the first part of the review, I intend to discuss the role of fashion within the scope of the work. In the second part of the review, I’ll discuss more concretely tsuriotsu‘s substance as a visual novel. I imagine that the majority of the readership is interested in the latter half.To begin, fashion serves as the central subject of tsuriotsu . Effectively, the setting and the plot feature at the center, fashion and its assorted elements. Tsuriotsu for the most part, is set in Fairy School for Girls, a fashion school which caters to the wealthy elite. Similarly, the common route and the respective heroine routes all end at a Christmas fashion show (and so, it’s within the interest of each of the heroines to prepare a meaningful display prior to then). In comparison to works which use certain attractive elements as ‘gimmicks,’ tsuriotsu could actually be called a work focused on fashion. While it wasn’t as proactively educational as some works (e.g. byakko , a work which featured rockets as the primary subject matter, taught the audience about rockets in great detail), tsuriotsu gave fashion (and perhaps in a broader sense, ‘art’) the respect and care that it deserved (i.e. fashion is not gimmicky within the work). For the most part, tsuriotsu focused on runway, or less specifically, ‘high-fashion’ for women. To my surprise, there was a lack of obvious allusions to extant, actual brands.
Generally, I appreciated the way in which tsuriotsu presented fashion and those who aspire to make a living off it. Namely, fashion, is a diverse pursuit which comes to fruition only with hard work and inspiration. We see the entire cast (protagonist included) mature, and come to accept themselves only as a result of the tribulations resulting from their genuine pursuit of fashion. Nonetheless, the work does something perplexing; namely, it calls Japan a country ‘barren’ of fashion talent (indeed, Fairy School for Girls is established to discover talent designers from a land allegedly barren of them). This remark leaves me incredulous, as Japan’s generally regarded as ‘up there’ in the scope of higher-end fashion. As far as modern-day high fashion is concerned, we have a score of recognizable ‘big’ names in the industry (e.g. Rei Kawakubo & CDG, Junya Watanabe, Yohji Yamamoto, and Issey Miyake). Any enthusiast of fashion would probably be able to recognize the aforementioned solely from association. Further, as far as higher-end (but not ‘high-fashion’ or ‘luxury’ fashion) is concerned, I’d assert that Japan (more specifically, Tokyo) is the uncontested capital of the world (e.g. VISVIM, Kapital, Julius, UNDERCOVER, White Mountaineering, orSLOW, BIG BLUE JAPAN and Momotaro from the top of my head). When we take into account that Japan, as far as ‘average fashion’ is concerned, is probably uncontested (e.g. assorted department store brands, BEAMS, and United Arrows have a following even overseas), the attribution is made all the more confusing (and note, this is solely from the perspective of an enthusiast who focuses mostly on menswear, but occasionally catches glimpses of womenswear; I’m not even well-versed enough in Japanese streetwear, which is probably as influential as the aforementioned, to list examples). Even were we to make the argument that another country does fashion more ‘influentially’ (whatever this may mean), it would be a vast exaggeration to say that Japan lacks a talented designer for it entirely.
Nonetheless, be this the case, the work doesn’t focus too much on this element of it, so I’ll move on. On topic of substance of work as a visual novel, I was surprised by how good the cast of the work was. Initially, I came into the work expecting Luna to be an incredible character (outshining each heroine without contest). While I think that Luna is by far best girl, and that her route is the best-written and most thematically-relevant of the bunch, it’s not to say that the other heroines or their routes ‘sucked.’ Indeed, on EGS, the most commonly listed flaw of tsuriotsu was that it had some lackluster heroine routes (namely, that Luna’s route was probably the only one that mattered). In comparison to studios like Pulltop, who occasionally produce truly lackluster routes (consisting mostly of a few h-scenes, and a quick ending for the less central heroines) all of the heroines of tsuriotsu are given lengthy routes. In addition, each respective route is structured with the intent of being meaningful (each route contains characterization, developed drama, and a logical conclusion). While some routes were obviously more ‘thematically-relevant’ than the others (aside from Luna’s route, another route in particular was surprisingly almost as good as her route), the other routes weren’t necessarily bad in themselves (although perhaps when held to the higher standard of the two premium routes of the work, they may rightfully be viewed as lackluster).
Aside from the routes themselves, the cast of tsuriotsu, in their interactions alone, have good chemistry, are affable, and memorable.While some of the characters experienced less development overall (some remaining almost entirely static) than the others, we got to see the complexity of the remaining ones. While I’m inclined to favor Luna (and to a lesser extent, the one who’s ‘loose between her legs’) among the heroines, I enjoyed the company of all of them. They each have their idiosyncrasies which individuate them, and make them memorable. Additionally, apart from the heroines themselves, I was surprised by how much I ended up liking the protagonist. As far as protagonists go, it’s ironic that the one who decides to cross-dress as a woman, ends up as being one of the more diligent, less ulterior-motivated characters (Indeed, he’s an all-around, stand-up guy). While he has the flaw of being too obedient (or nice), this ‘flaw’ of his is used to develop the other characters in their respective routes (by no means is the protagonist a Gary Stu). Also, I was surprised that the alleged antagonist (a) of the work ended up being a ‘gray’ character by the end of it. While we see (a) as the ruthless, cold, and despotic individual through the early parts of the work, we later see his more honest, artistically-driven side (by no means is (a) a saint though — I do think that those more inclined to think of art as a viscerally powerful pursuit be more disposed to empathize with (a) though).
One excerpt of (a)’s in particular remains etched in my memories. Effectively, (a) had asserted that in the realm of fashion (more broadly, art), the talented are able to be talented, while the untalented have to struggle, and be willing to sacrifice all that they have or value, in order to be competitive with the talented. While this line certainly seems extreme (and perhaps chuuni) on first glance, I actually interpret it positively. Namely, that those blessed by the serendipity of nature are able to reap in its benefits, but that those who desire to stand alongside those blessed, are able, through diligence and discipline, stand alongside. I anticipate that only a fraction of the prospective audience (in the context of the work) would be willing to accept the assertion. In this sense, while tsuriotsu is ultimately successful as a charage , it’s by no means, a simple, lighthearted work. It attempts to discuss several themes, and it surprisingly, manages to convey the message well.
So all on all, I really enjoyed the work. Tsuriotsu is a fun work to read; it’s no mystery that it’s attracted such a loyal following. While I’ll probably eventually go onto read the sequel(s) of the work, I’ll probably hold off until the distant future to tackle them (I’m still too attached to Luna).
