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"Events by themselves do not tell the whole story. Only when you take into account their circumstances, what they thought and felt, their perspectives—only then can you say you've reached the truth."

A morally wrapped odyssey of redemption.

Emotional connectivity with characters is something hard to come by in any medium. Being aware that the stories are nothing more than fiction made by another humans no different than you, but regardless of this fact, still getting attached to their struggles, past, ambitions, hope, ideals and very life itself, truly makes a show memorable that somehow impacts us. It's an experience which quite rather hard to describe that ... sticks with you as you dig deeper into the story encompassing elements that weren't so different to any other anime in the genre and completely turning them into an indescribable art unheard of with its narration being aware of its medium's reach.

STORY:
Identity. A key component of a person's sense of self which varies person to person but it all stems from an individual's memories and the life that they had led on. As time passes, they create new memories while the past fades with which there is left nothing but emotions. Emotions that dictate one's very own life, intertwining with that of others.
The House in Fata Morgana puts emphasis on these emotions for its story which allows you as a reader to sympathize with its characters and from this sympathy comes your attention.


The story starts with an unknown spirit uncertain of their own identity in the 'Mansion', where they are greeted by 'the Maid' who seems to be aware about their identity and addresses them as the master of the mansion. From the get-go, it is established that this story has elements of supernatural as the spirit witnesses their own corpse with no memories of their life and they aren't even being able to ascertain neither their face nor gender which shows the intervention of a greater force at work. There, they stumble upon on the mansion which is described to exist and not exist at the same time which gives a sense of eeriness associated with the setting of the entire story. The maid agrees to serve the spirit as they are the rightful master of the mansion and helps the spirit to discover their memories so that they could reclaim them self by making them watch what is called 'doors', to certain eras that mansion lived through, which saw numerous tragedies that befell on its residents. With these tragedies, the spirit must find the remnants of his memories and reclaim their identity.

The entire story of the house in fata morgana can be divided into three major parts although it is already divided in form of 8 doors:-
Part 1:-The unknown spirit summoned in the mansion uncertain of their identity and their past greeted by the maid who helps them in reclaiming their identity where the maid primarily acts as their guide.
Part 2:- Michel attempting to make his beloved reclaim herself where for the most part, Morgana, the cursed witch acts as the antagonist.
Part 3:- Michel's attempt to give closure to Morgana's story and letting her move on.

The story can be comprehended in two manners:-
1. A beautiful tragic love story
2. A narrative masterpiece

1. At its core, the house in fata morgana is a love tragedy. The story delves into the lives of its characters with their heartbreaking separations, regrets and deep-seated desires. The story relies on the concept of fate where their love determines their inevitable future of reconciliation, faced with obstacles that are byproducts of their own past deeds often where their moment of eventual meeting drifts further and further which adds depth to this tragedy and allows the readers to sympathize with the characters.

2. The house in fata morgana is a narrative masterpiece with its rather unique narrative style of storytelling that isn't used usually in this medium with subliminal foreshadowing that makes the plot progression well planned. The novel uses quite simple yet very human themes such as love, betrayal, loss and morality which allows it to resonate with its readers where the complexity of its characters not restricted to a particular archetype allows it to add depth to their stories where it only provides only the ample amount of information requires for the story to progress and still manage to garner sympathy.

CHARACTERS:
This novel could've never been the story that it was without its characters. The more attached you grow to these characters, harder it gets to watch these characters suffer at the hands of fate. The house of fata morgana doesn't have a particular antagonist, rather occasional obstacles in the main character's path who themselves have their own stories to tell which leaves you no choice but to feel sympathy for them and wonder if some of their actions were nothing but tragedies after all where rather than their ill-intent, circumstances played a part.
Certain characters are associated with certain themes with which they either use or struggle against in their own manner to find a closure to their story.
1. Michel Bollinger:-
If I have to define him, he is embodiment of righteousness, kindness and emo culture that contrasts his personality which is quite your typical cold and unexpressive nature where he often ends up making crass comments about people dear to him. He is insensitive about his words, not able to grasp the consequences of his rudeness as he is way too busy putting up a show for him as well as others to deal with the struggles that fate had brought upon me. His constant fear of rejection makes him quite paranoid. He is a flawed character whose reasoning are sometimes filled with his own contradictions, born out of his futile attempt to not break out of his shell. His character plays a prominent role in exploring the themes of love and betrayal which enriches the tragic love facet of the story.
He wasn't always brimming with kindness and he was always way too engaged lamenting his own tragedy following his exile which gave him a perspective on life that glimmered with nothing but despair and hatred aimed towards his circumstances and society where he couldn't even blame his own family, and constantly agonized over not being worthy of acceptance although it all changed with love in his life He became hopeful of achieving what seemed to be far from his reach and with this love, he dedicated himself wholly to his partner without any hopes of anything in return showing a selfless devotion and faithfulness. He lacks social skills which is a result of his prolonged isolation in the mansion. His character is shown to be immensely sympathetic of other’s struggle which sort of remind him of his own issues.
He is associated with themes of love, betrayal, kindness, isolation, forgiveness, identity, transformation and regret.
His struggle of identity and transformation is a prominent theme in the visual novel where he grapples with his personal and social identity fighting norms that influences his relationship and leads him to eventual emotional withdrawal.
His progression as a character where his anger, regret, isolation, melancholy, inadequacy and love transformed him as a character on several occasions like any other human would which allowed him to resonate with the audience.

2. Morgana
Morgana is the anti-heroine of the house in Fata Morgana, another victim of circumstances brought by immoral choices of other men and fate itself. Her character draws parallel with Michel Bollinger as shown in the vn where she sympathizes with Michel's struggle and vice versa. She was resurrected by Michel's extreme despair and hatred for his circumstances. She is the cursed witch of the mansion and serves as an obstacle to Michel's reunion with Giselle although she is shown to have affection for both of them.
Initially, her character is shrouded in mystery and for the first half part of the vn; only allusions to her names are made. Morgana is enigmatic in nature whose motivations are revealed gradually in the last chapter with heavy foreshadowing in the early parts.
She embodies the cruel fate much like Michel but unlike him, she yearns for revenge from her perpetrators which may seem overbearing at first but with her motivations revealed, she becomes the object of pity. Even if you don't like her character, you can't help but pity her. Her actions are a byproduct of her hatred, grief and search for resolution making her a multifaceted character.
Her character from the time when she was alive is strikingly different from her time as the cursed witch. As a human, she was a person that was embodiment of kindness thanks to claims of being the god’s daughter where she considered her life’s purpose to serve the people in need as their ‘saint’.
Her parallels with Michel are what make her character even more tragic, unlike him; she couldn’t find the hope in her life that she sought throughout her life. Her motivations aren’t bland which allows you to justify her curse on the three men that became objects of her wrath which fleshes out her role as an anti-heroine.
She explores themes of faith and morality showcasing fickle mindedness of one's beliefs and approach which are often tainted by their humanly desires. She is associated with themes of loss, regret, faith, morality and fate. She is shown to be a character bounded by her fate from birth or so she assumes her life to be. Her character ties together the various storylines and themes through her supernatural prowess bringing upon tragedy in order to find closure to her story.

3. Giselle (Spoiler)
not sure if the spoiler part is really needed at this point.
She is the heroine of the house in Fata Morgana. She is shown to be a carefree girl with an indescribable charm who put up with her struggles by not letting her emotions be known to others. Her character complements Michel’s initial character development and it greatly plays a part in shaping his motivations throughout the visual novel.
The part where her character truly shines is her transformation into her persona of ‘The maid’ on insistence of Morgana where with passage of time, she develops a state of emotional apathy. Her gradual path to emotional numbness is beautifully executed in her back-story where she assumes the identity of the cursed witch, Morgana after she tells her that Giselle is her shadow. Her acceptance of new identity is evident in her behavior where both her speech and personality are modeled after Morgana. Her character as the maid carries an atmosphere of eeriness which constantly reminds us the unsettling nature of the stories where the tragedies seem to be a result of an unknown force. She is deeply connected to the mansion which is sign of her initial refuge turned imprisonment in the novel. Initially, shrouded in mystery, her back-story adds depth to her motivation and yearning for normalcy where she refuses to blame her misfortunes on other people which explore depth of forgiveness. She is immensely passionate and optimistic which acts as a contrast to rather pessimistic views of Michel which eventually turn hopeful with her presence. She acts a ray of hope in Michel’s life which marks the end of his prolonged isolation from society. Her character is associated with impact of time on human life as well as nature of happiness.

Rest of the characters present in the story does have significant influence and some of them do enrich the plot of the novel with their themes but they aren’t developed in the slightest rather they are limited to their own symbolism. They do find a closure to their story with Michel’s efforts. The house in Fata Morgana uses its supporting cast as plot devices. They serve their purpose very well, only the amount of characteristics and story ample to progress the plot are revealed leaving nothing more or nothing less. The characters suit themselves to their personalities almost instantly. From the get-go, you could figure out their personalities and behavior still not being constrained to a particular archetype.

ART AND MUSIC:
I don’t really have much of an opinion on the art except for the fact that the character designs are absolutely pretty and my love for Michel’s design couldn’t be possibly expressed in words. Art is certainly made by a degenerate considering the subtle fanservice in the character designs here and there. Pauline’s cleavage hidden by her hands has to be one of the hardest motivations to finish door 2 and the designs for Maria where her dress was almost falling off from her body defying the laws of known physics. The background contains gothic imagery of the mansion which changes according to the era and the atmosphere. It is visually stunning ig but may come off as monotonous. Many of the artwork is reused a lot which isn’t really an issue tbh.

As for the music, it’s enchanting and otherworldly. Some boring parts of the novel are quite bearable because of its vocal tracks which certainly leave a mark in its listeners. The soundtrack ranges from the gothic theme song that completely combines with the imagery of the house’s atmosphere to the emotional ballads that truly enhances some critical points in the storyline. Each track shapes the mood for the scene as well as allows the readers to feel a connection. The soundtrack incorporates influences from gothic, classical and ambient genres.

NARRATION:
The story uses a strict first person perspective although there are portions where it switches to a third person viewpoint and even second person viewpoint sometimes. The story follows a fragmented structure where same events are often told by different perspectives. The plot is pretty straightforward and goes in a singular direction although the true motivations behind character’s actions and their story are told in a non linear fashion from pieces of their memories.
There is heavy use symbolism in the novel where all the characters are associated with their particular themes which they stand for, evident from their actions.
The stories are bearable and well structured. The foreshadowing in novel is setup masterfully with careful thoughts where nothing feels out of place often making the plot quite ready for the plot twist, which makes them feel like they weren’t plot twists at all but events that were meant to happen. From the ‘white haired girl’s ingrained admiration for Michel’ to ‘Early doors being deeply connected to Morgana’s back-story’, nothing seems like out of place and fits quite perfectly in the storyline when revealed. As I said before, this novel reveals what is needed for it to progress and set up its eventual resolution. There are multitudes of themes but mentioning them all doesn’t really matters, the ones which truly signs are the concept of identity, love and tragedy.

My feelings DURING each door in the novel are as follows (SPOILERS):
DOOR 1: INCEST
DOOR 2: PAULINE’S CLEAVAGE
DOOR 3: JACOPO IS SO EMOOO
DOOR 4: BORING ASF
DOOR 5: GISELLE IS SO HOT WTF
DOOR 6: GISELLE MY BELOVED
DOOR 7: MICHEL MY BELOVED
DOOR 8: PLS END

One of the issues in the entire novel would be the endless amount of ‘………’ that were thrown onto your face out of nowhere. Whether it was unintentional or a way to emphasize the fact that it was all from the perspective of the ‘mansion’ so these texts were meant to be seen as silence where the true feelings of the characters in these moments were never revealed, this occurrence kinda became repetitive in no time and ended up being off putting to read the texts in the early doors although in the latter doors, the stories were being complemented with a character’s commentaries on their situations which allowed to form a perspective in the story.
Another issue that I faced was the fact that the vn was dragged out a lot towards the end which somewhat made me lose my motivation to finish it. In the last chapter, whenever Michel used telepathy to communicate, her commentary on each and every dialogue seemed quite unnecessary which ironic considering I yearned for something similar in the earlier doors.
Regardless of the fact that I felt that the final chapter was dragged out to death, the house in Fata Morgana had one of the most heartwarming ending.
Door 1-4 can be considered as an extended prologue and the story really begins at Door 5 where the main issue of the novel is made clear.


I love the house in Fata Morgana and no matter how much I repeat myself, my love for it doesn’t seem satiate itself just yet. I wouldn’t say I love everything about it and at times, I believed it was deeply flawed from its own limits but a little bit investment to not give up on it truly turns out to be more than just worthwhile.

Love is a rather complicated feeling which I would go ahead and assume that most of the people who are going to read this visual novel or already have read, have never experienced it or haven’t been able to get their feelings reciprocated. Quite the burdening stereotype I must say. What is Love? How far would one go for it? How would it affect one’s life for better or worse? These questions lose their meanings when you reciprocate love or maybe it never had a meaning associated to it. Why? Is it the fact that love is intangible to begin with? No matter how hard anyone tries whatever the answer they stumble upon would never be satisfactory. Then, if love is indeed intangible and cannot be described, then one must experience it. Although, is it equal? Is love for one’s parents same as their love for their partner, is it the same kind of love they feel for their children? If it is equal indeed, then what sort of metric is used for it to be equal? Then if it’s not, how can it be compared? It’s hard to understand these feelings and even harder to name them. But why would one go so far for it and why would someone won’t? Is love for an object ever equal to a real life creature? These are the questions that I could never jest at with my fickle mindedness. Does love for an intangible media comes from fickle words such as depth, themes and execution? – If it does, isn’t love same as admiration. But I love it, I truly do and regardless of any flaws in this novel, I would continue to do so without any need to put it into words or any sort of metric to scale it.

THANK YOU

LIFE IS INDEED LIKE A FALLING AUTUMN LEAF. BEFORE IT CAN TOUCH THE GROUND, IT IS BLOWN AWAY BY THE WIND
... -Heike Monogatari

(MAY CONTAIN MINOR SPOILERS)
A man's glory may last for a lifetime, but it is the deeds of his descendants that truly determine his legacy.

'The Heike Story' or locally known as 'Heike Monogatari' is the studio Science SARU's adaptation of the timeless classic of Japanese literature of the same name.

The story is set is feudal Japan during the late 12th century which is a period known for its cultural transformation, military conflicts and the ever changing political strife. It's set towards the end of Gempei War of 12th century in Heian period when 'Taira Clan' and 'Minamoto Clan' were struggling for dominance over Japan which lead to eventual downfall of 'Taira clan'.
It's a show which reveals its ending even before it found itself a proper footing to build up the introduction to this timeless epic which might not to be that surprising for the Japanese audience who are well versed with this tale cause they can find it in their history textbooks and literature classes but for us, the non Japanese viewers where the majority don't even have a clue on how the feudal Japan impacted the richness of the history of this nation we all love so much.

The main character, Biwa is an anime original who wasn't present in the original novel but in some different versions of the story, overtime some of the biwa players who performed the tale began to refer a character, biwa (a personification of the Japanese instrument biwa used by biwa hoshi to tell tales of past to masses) as travelling bard who sings of the heike's tale of rise and fall which also showed the historical importance of 'Biwa Hoshi' in Japanese culture and in some later versions, she took the mystical spirit form of the epic itself . Biwa acts as a point of reference for the audience for the best as her sole purpose for the majority of the show's runtime is to ask the major plot details and character background of the epic from the secondary characters which might be a good thing for the people who aren't familiar with the story and going in blind. Her foreknowledge of the fate of the Taira Clan makes the ending even more crucial from the fact almost how much it is constantly reminded through her. The very first episode shows how she promises another major character 'Taira no Shigemori' that she would stay with him to act as an observer to view the end of his clan which gives her the role akin to 'the mouthpiece of the creator'. In the story, Biwa at time acted more than just a mere observer which often at times emphasized on the "inevitable predetermined fate" and even got a conclusion to her own story.
Rest of the characters present in the story are bounded by their inevitable fate and the ruin of their clan where they all their part for the best or worst, with will or with reluctance only to accept the rigidness of the fate in their own terms. Remembering all of these characters and their purpose in the story would require a little bit of attention to the plot details.
The show accomplishes in creating characters developed in order to to contribute to the greater role of the story in compelling ways showing their struggles, relationship, triumph, happiness, vulnerabilities and everything that makes these characters similar to real humans.

Studio Science SARU never fails to accomplish its artistic vision whenever they decide to animate something and 'Heike Monogatari' was no exception blending in the subtle details of Japanese culture in this historical epic with its minimalist looking art choice where most cinematic frames skillfully takes advantage of its fluid animation style and Japanese aesthetics complimented by the impeccable direction of Naoko Yamada. Each character has a distinct character designs drawing inspiration from traditional Japanese art.

Heike Monogatari explores a multitude of several themes spanning from the uncontrolled desire for power and ambition to the importance of legacy in the fleeting time of humanity to the transient nature of life which would explain why the original source is considered a timeless classic which resonated through different generation and cultures upholding the never changing human nature and emotions.
The loyalty and betrayal is common recurring theme where characters show shifting loyalties to look out for their own benefit with the changing political control over the territories. The story also shows depicts the complex relationship of the warriors and their lord testing their pride associated with their idea of honor and selfless sacrifice for their masters which showcased one of the very integral concept of Japanese culture.
War forms the integral backbone of the story as all the political strife and dispute eventually lead to an era of tumultuous strife and eventual foreshadowed ending which didn't only affected the Taira clan for the worse but also the common populace.

"Though the powerful may boast of their prowess, it is the weak who truly suffer in times of war."

This show particularly shows an keen understanding of historical context and its making with a bit of flaws here and there which are to be expected from a historical show. It also expresses its character's depth and nuances with traditional style of Japanese poetry.
In all these mess of conflict and emotions, Biwa explores the themes of forgiveness, redemption and kindness as she confronts her past.
There is use of traditional Japanese instruments such as biwa, koto and shamisen which tries to create an authentic sound to describe the fleeting feudal Japan presented in the anime.
It also has melodies that can be considered haunting capturing the melancholy and despair of its characters
Music is used as medium to give emotional depth to its characters

One of the major flaw present in this anime is its expectations. The show expects the viewers to be familiar with the original tale of Heike which won't really pose a real problem as you can still enjoy this show even if you went in blind without any foreknowledge about the source and historical context of this show as it can be solved with a little bit of keen attention on the plot details it will provide you. Unfamiliarity can also make show less appealing for some watchers.
Another major flaw of the show is its extremely short length which is just 11 episodes which makes the show rather fast paced for many people and make it harder to keep up with plot developments which also makes some character undercooked without giving them an ample amount of character development that they deserved.
Also, some nerds might also take issues with historical inaccurate things shown in the anime. Deal with it(uwu).
It also depicts some questionable practices such as 'child marriage' which might offend some viewers but it doesn't mean that the show itself isn't promoting those practices but trying its best to make itself as much historically accurate as possible so that it can depict the questionable power play in that period.

In conclusion, Heike Monogatari is an anime that is result of the appeal of classic literature that has conquered the testament of time and Science SARU's ambitious storytelling bringing this timeless epic to new viewers flawed by its short length and expectations from its viewers which doesn't let it hold itself back from becoming a must watch celebrating the fact that anime is a medium which can bend the all preconceived notions about it with its narration and limitless space for innovation.

DESIRE FOR AFFIRMATION STEMS FROM THE NEGLECTION OF ONE'S SELF

The concept of romance which dazzles around the eyes of an adolescent in hope of an ideal high school life accompanied by an relentless anticipation and an unexpected introspection.

'Is Love the Answer" or locally known as 'Kimi no Sekai wa Nai is a one-shot manga by Isaki Uta who have also created other works tackling with similar themes of asexuality in adolescents and people around them.

The story is somewhat promising with its profound concept of promoting asexuality in the mind of its readers but fails in many prospects to make it a success. The story follows ... Chika Hanai, an college student who wasn't able to fathom the concept of romance throughout her high school life constantly hoping for validation but as she starts college, she finds people who finally understand her and a psychology teacher who is on the same boat as hers which eventually lead to her long awaited affirmation with identifying her condition of not feeling romantic attraction towards other people as 'asexuality'.

One of the reasons why this manga fails in its promising theme is the lack of character development which is usually bounded to occur in the one-shot formats. The characters in this manga are heavily stereotyped to their archetypes which makes it rather blend and lackluster which isn't stopped at the characters. The idea of 'asexuality' and 'romance' are heavily stereotyped which makes any prospects for a deep understanding of its core theme unlikely. The manga tries to connect the idea of LGBTQ and Asexuality together which are technically two really different concepts.

The manga explores the themes of unrequited love, identity, self discovery, desire for acceptance, intimacy and so on.
What makes this manga unenjoyable is its recurring cliched themes and blend characters which can be ignored to some extent if you are looking for some nice change of pace with a short story about an obscure theme in animanga that may appeal to romance manga fans. The artwork is somewhat mediocre still not bad.

In conclusion, Is love the answer? is a manga which lacks direction for its themes it has tried to navigate.

A LIFE THAT BREAKS PEOPLE TO REFLECT ON THE ABSURDINESS OF LIFE

(I wanted this review to be as short as possible without missing any of the details I had in my mind and make it spoiler free so that we can introduce this show to nee people without ruining their experience)

A fragile life that passes its days with absolute bliss that stems from their ignorance of their surroundings to hide their own insecurities with lingering hopes to transcend themselves and those around them.

'Land of Lustrous' or locally known as 'Houseki no Kuni' is the studio's Orange's adaptation of Haruko Ichikawa's defining self-titled creation.

Story ... is set in a post-apocalyptic world inhabited by semi-immortal lifeforms devoid of the idea of genders, gems self proclaimed as the lustrous which twenty eight in their strength are hunted down by creatures from the moon for a reason unknown to their kind.
The story is extremely unsettling and It is one of the shows which I considered are enjoyed when know nothing about them.
The story follows our protagonist, Phosphophyllite or simply Phos, a clumsy, ambitionless gem, youngest and most fragile of its kind trying desperately to find a rank in his small little world.

It's a world unlike any other where we follow Phos interacting with his mates and slowly reflecting on themselves to find an identity out of their ignorant, carefree past self which resonates deeply with the mundane human struggle where throughout our life we try to find a place for ourselves with the desire to get acknowledged by the society.

There hangs a constant sense of mystery that is accompanied by the uneasiness caused by the natural reactions of gems to their out of the place world where they simply accept things as they are without ever questioning them. The story doesn't get too comfortable with itself going beyond the tropes that has oversaturated this medium for the past few decades. What makes Phos's development in this show impactful is its structure.

Each gem has their own quirks and they don't really change throughout the series even though they're immortal and have been around for thousands of years which makes Phos an anomaly who rapidly changes his persona and beliefs after being stagnant for centuries.

Studio Orange challenges itself using an 3d render animation style hated by the community. They skillfully manages to demonstrate the beautiful landscape of its world using CGI encapsulating the feel of its source material that heavily uses a rather optimistic looking ink style inspired by Buddhism. The character designs for gems and the fight scenes are some of the important things that don't really hold deep value in the story itself but the sense of lifelike feeling wouldn't have left the same impression among its viewers if it was done in a traditional 2D style disgracing this modern classic. The movements and transitions of the frames are really well choreographed with gorgeous visuals which makes me look up to any future releases from studio Orange.

The orchestral soundtrack backing most of the scenes maintains the mystifying tone of the show. Its soothing sound effect and OST by Yoshiaki Fujisawa are a treat to the ears. The opening theme showcase the despair that slowly dwells in the beautiful world of Phos contrasted by the ending theme which visualizes the hope in the rigid world of the supporting character, Cinnabar. Visuals are gorgeous with numerous Buddhist iconography and awe-inspiring imagery expanding its horizon to convey religion's philosophy.
Land of Lustrous explores the very essence of human nature which spans from the impact of loss and suffering to the joys of ignorance and to the wicked sickening death from hope.

Overall, Its's a great show, one of its kind with an immersive world where each development is unexpected and forces you to relate to these not so human, yet so human in every way. At its heart, it is a story about how flawed people can be always searching for means to become better, endlessly until they fill their empty vessels with all sorts of emotions such ambitions, love, longing, desire and so on till we finally reach the end of the cycle only to start again.
Anime is the compelling introduction to the thought provoking manga created by Haruko Ichikawa where it resonates with our heart with its questions.