The second kinetic novel of what Key has now dubbed the "robot trilogy" as of December 2022—and the third of the trilogy that I have read—Harmonia has a very calming atmosphere. It's thoughtful, and very much akin to something I'd expect out of an iyashikei anime.
I'm not quite sure how to describe how I got to this VN. I watched many of Key's anime adaptations of their VNs, and knew about Harmonia when it first released in English. It was released a few days before Japan weirdly enough, which is not very common for a Japanese-developed visual novel at all.
Prior to reading Harmonia, I had read Planetarian back in 2016, and more recently Stella of The End, both of which I liked (well, outright ADORED Stella). I was curious to see how Harmonia handled a similar setting and thematic material to its predecessor, Planetarian, and its successor, Stella of The End, given it was now part of this arbitrarily titled "robot trilogy" thanks to the JUKEMATA arrange album that released on the 26th of December, 2022.
I have had Harmonia in my Steam library for many years now, but that's actually not the version I played—I read this visual novel in Japanese. A friend kindly lent me their copy to install on my computer, so that's how I read it.
I think this is consistent between all of Key's robot girl kinetic novels, but I don't think thematic content is anything to write home about. It isn't breaking new ground. If you want something that'll blow your socks off, you won't find it here.
While I was playing through the game for the first time, I made a tweet that said:
>I love post-apocalyptic VNs about learning basic concepts such as "what is emotion?" and also there are robots
This statement pretty much sums up the entire VN. That said, I still really enjoyed it. Coming from having already read both Planetarian and Stella of The End, I really appreciated how it approached similar thematic material from a different perspective. Planetarian was all about learning how to enjoy life from the robot girl, Stella of The End was all about teaching the robot girl how to live as a human, and Harmonia was about teaching the robot feelings—except WE, the protagonist, are the robot and are being taught by a human. As a premise at least, I feel these all are distinct enough to have a reason to stand on their own, even if the overall message between the three are kind of similar.
The soundtrack is wonderful, as most Key OSTs are. Shinji Orito especially to me feels like such a defining figure of Key's soundtracks, but Ryo Mizutsuki's work on the OST was also phenomenal. That said I wish it didn't clip, haha—the mastering isn't great (most noticeable in Oppidum), and it's unfortunately not much better on the soundtrack CD that comes with the game.
I don't know if I'd outright recommend this VN to anyone as a first choice, but it is a really relaxing read. Really makes you think, and it put me in a unique mood which I'm not sure I can quite describe with words.
Boppidum gang
I'm not quite sure how to describe how I got to this VN. I watched many of Key's anime adaptations of their VNs, and knew about Harmonia when it first released in English. It was released a few days before Japan weirdly enough, which is not very common for a Japanese-developed visual novel at all.
Prior to reading Harmonia, I had read Planetarian back in 2016, and more recently Stella of The End, both of which I liked (well, outright ADORED Stella). I was curious to see how Harmonia handled a similar setting and thematic material to its predecessor, Planetarian, and its successor, Stella of The End, given it was now part of this arbitrarily titled "robot trilogy" thanks to the JUKEMATA arrange album that released on the 26th of December, 2022.
I have had Harmonia in my Steam library for many years now, but that's actually not the version I played—I read this visual novel in Japanese. A friend kindly lent me their copy to install on my computer, so that's how I read it.
I think this is consistent between all of Key's robot girl kinetic novels, but I don't think thematic content is anything to write home about. It isn't breaking new ground. If you want something that'll blow your socks off, you won't find it here.
While I was playing through the game for the first time, I made a tweet that said:
>I love post-apocalyptic VNs about learning basic concepts such as "what is emotion?" and also there are robots
This statement pretty much sums up the entire VN. That said, I still really enjoyed it. Coming from having already read both Planetarian and Stella of The End, I really appreciated how it approached similar thematic material from a different perspective. Planetarian was all about learning how to enjoy life from the robot girl, Stella of The End was all about teaching the robot girl how to live as a human, and Harmonia was about teaching the robot feelings—except WE, the protagonist, are the robot and are being taught by a human. As a premise at least, I feel these all are distinct enough to have a reason to stand on their own, even if the overall message between the three are kind of similar.
The soundtrack is wonderful, as most Key OSTs are. Shinji Orito especially to me feels like such a defining figure of Key's soundtracks, but Ryo Mizutsuki's work on the OST was also phenomenal. That said I wish it didn't clip, haha—the mastering isn't great (most noticeable in Oppidum), and it's unfortunately not much better on the soundtrack CD that comes with the game.
I don't know if I'd outright recommend this VN to anyone as a first choice, but it is a really relaxing read. Really makes you think, and it put me in a unique mood which I'm not sure I can quite describe with words.
Boppidum gang