Kara no Shoujo

Kara no Shoujo is a special VN for me because of what it is able to accomplish and how it goes about. There really is no other VN out there that can marry themes and story so successfully. It’s emotional, it’s jaw-dropping, but most of all, it’s enthralling.

Kara no Shoujo is a story about the themes of freedom and obsession, using the foundation of a murder mystery as its canvas to spread across its ideas. I personally treat the murder mystery elements as periphery, as it is not the focal point of Kara no Shoujo. Instead, it uses the murder mystery components to show the dangers of obsession in a beautifully horrifying manner as the characters grasp at straws, reaching for any kind of freedom.

Each character has their own respective arcs. They grow as humans as they learn more about themselves and their ideals. Every single character has their own struggles that relate back to the core themes of obsession and freedom. Deep down, every character has their own personal hell they want to escape from. Touko Kuchiki is quite possibly my favorite eroge character of all time. She is the highlight of Kara no Shoujo and embodies all the core themes of Kara no Shoujo, wrapped up in exuberant personality. She is a precious light and elevates Kara no Shoujo to even greater heights. That isn’t to say the other characters are bad, far from it. Kara no Shoujo boasts many human characters with their own personal arcs as they progress day by day. Yaginuma, Kyouko and even the protagonist, Reiji, are all intriguing in their own right.

The setting feels very much like post-war Japan. It is starting to recover, and yet, the scars of the wars are still eminent. Because of that, Kara no Shoujo’s mood is a grim one, yet at the same time never feels overtly depressing. It knows exactly what kind of story it will be and never diverges from that path. From the get-go, it is apparent that a happy ending will never be possible. A journey of such scales will require much self-sacrifice. Tears will be and blood will be drawn, but it all has a purpose.

The story itself is well-paced and well-written. While the majority of the script size is dedicated to heart-rending scenes, there are scenes of levity sprinkled in between to remind the readers of the dwelling happiness that can still exist in the dark times. Suzuka Miya’s writing is as melodic as ever, giving way to powerful and hard-hitting lines. The way the prose interacts with the tone is a match made in heaven, as they elevate each other to greater lengths.

Kara no Shoujo has some of the best music, art and voice acting I have experienced in any VN. MANYO, Sugina Miki and the entire voice cast knocked it out of the park for this one. It really helps with the immersion of the story and really made me feel like a true part of the story, as if I were a silent observer witnessing the journey of these characters.

Kara no Shoujo is a special piece of media for me, its themes, characters and narrative resonate with me so much. It truly is something I have the utmost respect for.

The azure bird, free from its shackles of fate, heads towards the Heavens above, soaring to uncharted territory.