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Narcissu

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Narcissu
Screenshot from the title screen.
Developer(s)stage-nana
Publisher(s)insani (English version)
Designer(s)Tomo Kataoka
EngineNScripter (JP)
ONScripter (EN)
Platform(s)Mac OS X, Linux, Windows
Release2005
Genre(s)Visual novel
Mode(s)Single player
File:Narcissu english Linux prologue hospital.png
Screenshot from the prologue, showing the hospital.
File:Narcissu english Linux map sea.png
Screenshot from the chapter Maps, showing the ocean.

Narcissu (ナルキッソス, Narukissosu) is a free visual novel by the dōjin group stage-nana, telling the story of a terminally ill young man and woman.

The work was originally written in Japanese by Tomo Kataoka, and subsequently localized and translated into English, Chinese, French, Korean and Vietnamese by various fan translators. Unlike most fan translations, however, this was an authorised work. The author, however, was not actively involved in the translation process as it had been the case for True Remembrance. Both the original Japanese visual novel and its English version were released as free downloads over the Internet. The web edition of Narcissu has lower graphics and music quality, in order to conserve bandwidth.

Narcissu is an experimental work: it uses minimalist graphics in a very narrow window, and includes two full scripts, one accompanied by a voice track, and the other adapted to work without voices. In the English translation, different translators translated each version, to provide different perspectives on the story.

The original Japanese version uses the NScripter engine; for the English localization, the open source clone ONScripter was used instead, as this has been modified to support English. Narcissu has also been ported to the Nintendo DS.

A second game and a prequel named Narcissu -side 2nd- was released on May 15, 2007 while the third game in the series named Narcissu 3rd - Die Dritte Welt - was released on April 27, 2009. The final game in the series named Narcissu - if there was a tomorrow - (ナルキッソス～もしも明日があるなら～, Narcissu - moshimo ashita ga aru nara -) was developed by Kadokawa Shoten playable on the PlayStation Portable. The final game is a compilation of all three games with some new extra content added. It was released on June 24, 2010.

Synopsis

Yu Atou, -the protagonist although his name is not mentioned in the game- is diagnosed with lung carcinoma shortly after his twentieth birthday, and is admitted to hospice care at a hospital in Mito, Ibaraki. There he meets Setsumi, a woman 2 years older than him, who is also terminally ill. Finding that they both reject to die either in the hospital or at home with their families, they run away together in a Honda Integra belonging to the protagonist's father.

They travel west across Japan's many highways and prefectures, initially not knowing where to go, but later collectively decide on taking the narcissus fields of southern Awaji Island as a somewhat arbitrary destination.

Characters

Yu Atou
A young man, 20 years of age. His name is not mentioned in game. Your typical university student. Attends a technical institute, and has just taken (and passed) his driver's license examination. Lives with his family—a taciturn and unsupportive mother and father and a little sister who only ever has harsh words for him. Has never really been sick in his entire life. Has never really had much of an aim for his entire life, either.
Setsumi Sakura
A young woman, two years older than Atou. Has a body physique like a child. She has a quiet personality. She loves cars and is knowledgeable about them. She does not want to die both at the seventh floor in the hospital and at her home, she later commits suicide in Awaji Island by walking straight to the ocean to end her 22 years of life.

Influences

Narcissu is both stylistically and thematically similar to the opening chapter of Gin'iro, a commercial title by the same writer, Tomo Kataoka; he himself describes it as essentially a modern-day version of his earlier work (Gin'iro begins in medieval Japan).

On a level more familiar to Western audiences, the work has much in common with road movies; the screen layout is even intended to evoke a cinema screen. Many of the scenes and events of the story are road-movie clichés, and the ending, in which the physical journey itself is explicitly linked with the metaphorical journeys the characters have undergone (their lives, their self-discovery), is typical of the movie genre.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack for Narcissu includes 12 tracks, composed by various authors. They are arranged as follows:

No.TitleLength
1."The Emerald Sea" (Composed by MASA)2:18
2."The Silver Coupé" (Composed by Ebi)2:33
3."Narcissu (instrumental)" (Composed by Ebi)2:01
4."Untitled (from Shūmatsu no Sugoshikata)" ((incorrectly listed in-game as "Rather Than a Life of Finality") Composed by Masashi Yano, arranged by Kometto Nekono) 
5."I'm Right Here (vocal ver.)" (Performed by Mari Mizuta, composed by Hirofumi Ishihashi and with lyrics by Tsukasa Umitomi) 
6."Lamune 79's (from Lamune)" (Composed by Elements Garden and arranged by Kometto Nekono.) 
7."Route 1" (Composed by Sentive) 
8."The Seventh" (Composed by Sentive) 
9."Sakura (from A 120-Yen Spring)" ((incorrectly listed in-game as "Eightmoon") Composed byEbi and Arranged by Shitoshi Fujimoto.)2:16
10."The Emerald Sea (ver.2)" (Composed by MASA) 
11."Scarlet (From Mizuiro)" (Composed by Noriyasu Agematsu and arranged by Hirofumi Ishihashi.) 
12."Narcissu/Setsumi's Theme" (Performed by REM, composed by Ebi and with lyrics by Tomo Kataoka)2:25

On 25 July 2008, MF Bunko J released a light novel adaptation of Narcissu and Narcissu -side 2nd-, which was written by Tomo Kataoka himself and illustrated by GotoP.[1] The novel is licensed in Taiwan by Tong Li Publishing,[2] and licensed in Korea by Haksan Culture Company.[3]

A manga illustrated by Pochi Edoya started serialization in the seinen manga magazine Monthly Comic Alive on 27 November 2008.[4] Two bound volumes have been released by Media Factory under their MF Comics label.[5]

  • Light novel: ISBN 978-4-8401-2365-5
  • Manga (Volume 1): ISBN 978-4-8401-2580-2
  • Manga (Volume 2): ISBN 978-4-8401-2984-8

References

  1. ^ "MF文庫J ナルキッソス" (in Japanese). MF Bunko J Official Website. Retrieved 2010-03-21.
  2. ^ "東立漫遊網 東立小說區 水仙花" (in Traditional Chinese). Tong Li Publishing Official Website. Retrieved 2010-03-21.
  3. ^ "만화가 꿈꾸는 세상! 학산문화사 : 소설 최신간 보기" (in Korean). Haksan Culture Company Official Website. Retrieved 2010-08-31.
  4. ^ "コミックアライブ２００９／１月号" (in Japanese). Monthly Comic Alive Official Website. Retrieved 2010-03-21.
  5. ^ "アライブコミック ナルキッソス(2)" (in Japanese). Monthly Comic Alive Official Website. Retrieved 2010-03-21.
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