So suffice to say, given my VNDB(,https://vndb.org/u51741/list?c=all;v=0;t=-1;o=d;s=vote) I am an avid visual novel reader. Apparently I have read 50+ visual novels according to that thing!
In any case, I am gonna talk about the latest VN I read l- Dies Irae.
Dies Irae is a visual novel by Light that is expertly penned by Masada Takashi and beautifully illustrated
by G-Yuusuke. Dies Irae begins with a mysterious ritual that begins in 1945 Berlin lead by an even more
mysterious group of supernatural ubermensch known as the LDO. Dies Irae immediately captures one’s
attention with these LDO members and you can’t help but be intrigued by them thanks to G-Yuusuke’s
wonderful character designs and Masada’s colorful dialogue. You will hear me say this a lot, but what
truly is captivating about Dies Irae is not its plot or not even its cool high action scenes, but it is the
characters that make you want to stick around.
After the mysterious ritual, the visual novel jumps into 2006 Japan where we meet our principle
protagonist- Ren Fuji as he becomes embroiled in the LDO’s machinations. The visual novel goes as
one’s expects as Ren fights his way through LDO’s members and fights to gain his daily life back. While
this set up is in a way clichéd, the journey is enthralling nonetheless thanks to the Dies Irae’s ability to
pull you in through its characters. Each character, especially the villains, all have layers that slowly reveal
themselves in unexpected ways. The villains in particular have nuanced and ambiguous interactions that
allow the reader to be continuously wondering about what drives these characters.
In a way, Dies Irae lacks character development as the characters remain static throughout the novel.
Instead however, Dies Irae’s character writing is one of discovering what truly motivates these
characters and makes them tick. The discovery is very enthralling as unlike a typical anime or a visual
novel, one cannot trace the root of these characters to a mere tragic event in their past and call it a day.
These characters continuingly have layers that are both self-contradictory and self-defeating. The
characters are most earnest in pursuing their desires and discovering what those desires truly are is one
of the best parts of Dies Irae.
This strong character writing can be attributed to Masada’s prose, which is flourished with both style
and substance. Additionally Masada’s writing is just so damn quotable that you can’t help but buy into
the grandiose spectacle that is Dies Irae. However, Masada’s writing can also lean on the too heavy side
at times and this slows down the pacing of the visual novel. In particular, the battle scenes suffer from
this at times, despite the beautifully over the top writing in these scenes. While I personally felt the
weightiness of the prose was not outweighed by its beauty, prospective reader’s bewarned that Dies
Irae can be too verbose for its own good at times.
Dies Irae’s production values are also top notch. The soundtrack is stellar and the art by G-Yuusuke is
amazing. Furthermore, the voice acting in the work is so well done, that I truly believed that this was the
voice actor’s best work yet. The likes of Jun Suwabe’s Reinhard , Sakiware Spoon’s Mercerius, and
Taniyama Kishou’s Wilhelm were all music to my ears.
Thus Dies Irae is a fascinating battle opera with fascinating actors. While its plot may be clichéd, and its
prose may be too heavy, the visual novel will pull you in regardless. I highly recommend this one to all.