Karifean's Blog of Visual Novels

(Original Post on the Forums)

#9
Rewrite
Developer: Key
Availability: Japan Only
Adult Content: None
Length: Long (~50 Hours)

Could it possibly be rewritten, that fate of her's?

When it comes to visual novels about people wielding mystical powers in a highschool drama setting, most people would probably immediatly think of Fate/Stay Night. Understandable with how much of a classic it is, but alas it's not on this list, because to me Rewrite is way better.

Rewrite is set in a town called Kazamatsuri, a town full of greenery. The novel's first ~10 hours or so are pretty lighthearted highschool days with lots of comedy and getting to know and love all the characters. There's a little device called Mappie that allows you to explore and interact with the city, which was really neat.

But things aren't quite as peaceful as they seem at first. Kotarou, the protagonist, has a strange power which allows him to rewrite his own body, and occasionally he finds himself in seemingly endless corridors. As things get more and more out of hand, one day a mystery arises and in trying to solve it Kotarou ends up destroying his peaceful days all too soon.

Now why do I like this game so much? Well for one, Kotarou is one of my absolute favorite main characters. His personality, morals and priorities are greatly shaped and affected by the events of whatever story path you're going through at the moment. Sometimes he stays true to an ideal of 'killing is bad', other times he is very much willling to take lives to make ends meet. And given all he goes through, this feels very natural.

The story of Rewrite is great, even if the writing process was allegedly a bit of a mess. The routes tend to have a very distinct feeling, one time you're reading something straight out of a shonen series, another time it's very dark with loads of people dying left and right.

The one story path that really stands out to me is Lucia Konohana's. It was outsourced to Ryukishi07, and it's by FAR the best of the routes, no contest. It's emotionally involving like no other and it also has easily the best romance. I'd argue it's a route worth reading all on its own even if the rest of Rewrite doesn't interest you that much. But well, the other story paths are still great, and Terra - the final arc - does a wonderful job concluding everything.

Both in terms of graphics and soundtrack, Rewrite is amazing. It has some of the most beautiful backgrounds and sceneries in any VN, and the CGs do not disappoint either. The soundtrack is beautiful. Journey, Bellis Perennis and Deep Forest do a great job setting the tone from the very beginning, and some of the ending songs like You Who Never Lies and Scene Shifts There are just damn good.

Having never got an anime adaptation unlike other Key visual novels, Rewrite is not that well-known compared to its bigger brothers. But it's certainly worth reading, especially if you like Key's other titles.