The Mermaid of Zennor

A really harrowing story. Not exactly an easy topic, but it's really well written and there were so many parts where I could see a bit of myself in the protagonist to a painful degree; the portrayal of autism here and the struggle is felt too well. Really good read.

A relatable tale for me, as an autistic woman somewhat obsessed with their older brother as a child. Okay, still obsessed. It's not always easy growing up, especially when you're rock is away at university. The best birthday present ever was a trip to visit my older brother in The Big Apple. Anyway, Ebi reinforces the idea that, we are all just people at the end of the day, with our own struggles. The sense of atmosphere is reinforced by the choice of music and the character art. I'm glad of the one choice the game affords you. I think the story wouldn't feel complete without it.

Another wonderful visual novel from Ebi. A rather quick and punchy read that really gets you invested quickly and speaks on a lot of different and deeply interesting concepts. The feeling of being an outsider is really universal, and I imagine the showcase of it here will be even more relateable to some. I'll also say, for the pricetag, you're getting an amazing value. The base price feels like a sale price. If it is on sale, it's hard to see a reason not to pick it up.

This visual novel is emotionally intense. You view the world from the eyes of a young girl named Lilac who struggles both at school and at home. You have full access to her every thought and feeling, which drastically increases the sense of contrast between your understanding of how she feels versus how the rest of the characters (mis)label her. I have never been in her shoes but feel a deep sense of empathy for her and felt emotionally invested in her well being. Prose: Seeing the writing in the opening pages is what compelled me to buy it. The prose is simple, sentences are mostly kept relatively concise and pithy. Every sentence delivers what it was supposed to say and then promptly ends. And, let me tell ya, some of those sentences were jabs to the gut. The prose describes complex emotions without using complex language, relying instead on the context of the situation to setup an expectation of how she could feel, then letting her vent her emotions in her head in direct language. Something I really appreciate in this VN is that the emotions are explicitly stated most of the time, there’s something cathartic about seeing feelings, especially intensely negative ones, expresse…

Reader, I cried.

Short & Nice. Nothing bad happens at all.