This is the story of the unnamed protagonist — who finds himself suddenly without a means to support himself due to factors completely outside his control. This is the story of an entire generation — that finds itself attempting to navigate the treacherous abyss that lies in between childhood and true adulthood. This is the story of a nation — that finds itself struggling to come to terms with a lost decade and a rapidly-changing social climate. This is a story of these things and more. This is a story of us all.
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Feeling like you've been recognized and have a place in the world makes me cry. The fact that this crunchy little game exists and has what it has means so much to me.
Moonshine isn't an expansive VN detailing all the experiences and facets of being a trans women, but it treats being a trans women so naturally that they too are people who have their own lives.
And the fact that this is said in a little window over real photos for backgrounds with crunchy voice clips and music that loops after a few seconds says a lot. It says that the people who made this wanted to impart this message, even if it wasn't in the most high scale production. Sometimes the smaller lines you have with someone on an average day are what leave the most impact.
Moonshine isn't an expansive VN detailing all the experiences and facets of being a trans women, but it treats being a trans women so naturally that they too are people who have their own lives.
And the fact that this is said in a little window over real photos for backgrounds with crunchy voice clips and music that loops after a few seconds says a lot. It says that the people who made this wanted to impart this message, even if it wasn't in the most high scale production. Sometimes the smaller lines you have with someone on an average day are what leave the most impact.
Honestly really generic, but still nice. Also, it is interesting in the context of it being a Japanese vn from 2007 with a trans character.
as a trans woman i loved this a lot. it's very sensitive, real, and made me cry like a bitch at the ending
so much heart in such a short VN
i would like to note that the trans rep is not exactly perfect, could be a bit better, but it's incredibly well done for a 2007 japanese VN and i feel like it tries to show what trans people were going through in that specific age with that weird pub thing but i could be wrong
so much heart in such a short VN
i would like to note that the trans rep is not exactly perfect, could be a bit better, but it's incredibly well done for a 2007 japanese VN and i feel like it tries to show what trans people were going through in that specific age with that weird pub thing but i could be wrong
For the time it was released and translated, this was quite the peculiar read.
This was an interesting read, I felt in the mood for what LGBTQ+ subjects a visual novel could touch that wasn't the usual lesbian and BL stuff we've seen for so many times, and I wanted to search in VNDB specifically for the tag "Transgender Heroine". I think trans representation in media is very cool and awesome (and so do you, of course) but I was sadly reminded that, this is a Japanese visual novel, and was sort of scared that this would land in that area of fetishization a lot of works coming from here are. (Ironic, because they forbid stuff like same sex marriage.)
Getting it out of the way, the translation and content of this VN hasn't been too progressive on what would be treating people who don't feel at all like the gender they were assigned at birth, but it was, at least a step in the right direction.
Mai is a very nice, sweet and natural character, you can relate to her for a plethora of reasons, be it because you relate to her emotions, her attitudes, her passions for craftsmanship or singing, or even her lifestyle as a transgender woman,(ignoring her workplace being a pub that I have zero doubts that could and probably does exist in real life somewhere, but it feels kind of odd and rubs the wrong way anyway) it's cool seeing her developing that area of her that this work very clearly wants you to know, and it at least surprised me that they took the topic with seriousness and utmost casualty instead of turning it into a subject of fetish again.
But, of course, when you remove Mai and look at everything else, having a literal nobody as an MC, with so little depth in character that you can't even put yourself on his shoes for how little personality or charisma he has, having a very linear and generally slow-paced story with looping 5 second sounds that just drill into your brain, then yeah I don't think this VN is that good, it's basic enough to just be okay, at least it's free and short.
Getting it out of the way, the translation and content of this VN hasn't been too progressive on what would be treating people who don't feel at all like the gender they were assigned at birth, but it was, at least a step in the right direction.
Mai is a very nice, sweet and natural character, you can relate to her for a plethora of reasons, be it because you relate to her emotions, her attitudes, her passions for craftsmanship or singing, or even her lifestyle as a transgender woman,
But, of course, when you remove Mai and look at everything else, having a literal nobody as an MC, with so little depth in character that you can't even put yourself on his shoes for how little personality or charisma he has, having a very linear and generally slow-paced story with looping 5 second sounds that just drill into your brain, then yeah I don't think this VN is that good, it's basic enough to just be okay, at least it's free and short.