Steam Community :: esturjao podre no mar caspio

16.5 hrs on record

i guess it felt like having another depersonalization episode and watching myself from afar, except instead of thinking "that's not me, i wouldn't say that" there were no thoughts in my head besides "surely i'm not schizophrenic too on top of having borderline, there's no family history for that nor any telling signs", which is to say, despite not hallucinating as she does, ran ibuki is the character i see myself in the most out of any piece of art i've earnestly tried to connect with. looking at a mirror would provide a less accurate depiction of myself than if i were to read this again simply to stare at all the disgusting features we both share; the maddeningly constant yet brief episodes only caused and solved by the thought of the one you love, the weirdly specific coping mechanisms in order to deal with how miserable said episodes feel, the abnormally toxic dependency on the only person you're even able to acknowledge as being worthy of merely existing in your limited little world, the adorably eccentric internal frameworks used to explain the senseless world around you, and finally, the constant choking on your own vomit due to how unbelievably self-absorbed you are.

in regards to the other characters, they can all be interesting on their own, but especially when paired with ibuki, considering they were present exactly for her sake. which is no demerit at all, their use as a narrative tool works in tandem with how you end up caring for them just as you do for the hallucinating little mess we both love. as for ann sakura, such a perfect fit for ibuki feels almost inhuman, and in more ways than one, it really is. i guess i envy them.

something i was not expecting at all but was pleasantly surprised by was the presence of some very interesting yet underused sci-fi concepts. knowing this novel is part of a bigger universe that is being expanded on through their next novel, which i have not yet read but definitely will, does subside the bitter taste in my mouth from not being able to learn more about those concepts which i found to be so captivating, especially when paired with such beautiful artwork.

when it comes to the murder mystery aspect of it, i'm afraid i don't have much to say, they aren't difficult at all and pretty much solve themselves, serving only as a way of exploring some admittedly great character relationships and progressing the story naturally. if i were to say one more good thing about them, it would be that hearing ibuki's thought process, her unexpected expertise in investigating crimes and how she enjoys doing so was endearing.

from what i'm aware, this is a very small scale project made by two chinese artists at most and i sincerely wish more people would be willing to give it a chance and support said artists were they to enjoy reading it.

the chinese century of lesbianism is upon us, and i shall be the one responsible for spreading the word of its arrival.

Posted 31 January.

Was this review helpful? Yes No Funny

Award