G-Senjou no Maou Thoughts and Questions

[jjm152]

I've read this VN twice now in the last 6 months and I think I have probably asked and answered most of these questions already, so I'll offer my insight since it's still fresh in my mind:

 

On the suitcase scene in Tsubaki's route:

 

You're slightly misinterpreting the satisfaction of seeing the suitcase empty. From Kyouske's perspective this means that his plan to get Tsubaki's family out of their house will succeed, that's why he's happy. It's not Kyouhei rejoicing over getting the money - which as we find out later is actually worthless anyway because the share prices dropped. That's actually a plot point in the VN - as soon as Tsubaki's family put that money in those shares, they were always going to lose their house. Remember - this is one case where both Kyousuke and Kyouhei have the EXACT SAME GOAL (technically they are both working for the same people, but Kyousuke is "subcontracting" out via the Yakuza).

 

On Maou disappearing on all the side routes:

There are usually 2 significant events that happen at the end of each side route, or are alluded to:

1. Haru disappears or moves away within a few months.
2. Kyousuke re-establishes his relationship with his mother (she actually moves in with him and Tsubaki on Tusbaki's route)

In the case of the first event, we can assume that Haru either interrupts Kyouhei's plans, or eventually kills him (potentially even with the help of Gonzou, who is still alive in all the side routes). In the case of the second event we can safely assume that Kyouhei has no desire to kill his brother who is supporting his mother - which was Kyouhei's main complaint really about Kyousuke's behavior anyway (at least when he's not boning Haru). 

 

On Kyousuke being Maou

Obviously they want us to consider that he COULD be Maou as we read through the VN (and some people I talked to really sincerely believed he absolutely was!) but the biggest problem with this theory is Haru herself. To put it bluntly, if Haru actually though Kyousuke was Maou she would have tried to trap him at some point in the novel, or at the very least, had misdirected him about her intentions at several key plot points. It's obvious once we learn about her backstory why she doesn't do this (there is no way a young boy would be bombing opera houses in foreign countries) but from the readers perspective you have to rationalize this behavior prior to that reveal by thinking that Haru is falling for the "Selective Obliviousness" trope when it concerns Kyousuke, despite her repeatedly showing herself to be a brilliant detective and utterly dedicated to catching Maou. To be fair, I think the author put in several nudges to get people to have some cognitive bias in this direction, but this alone should have been the biggest signifier that Kyousuke wasn't Maou, because otherwise the narrative would have developed entirely differently between him and Haru as the game progressed

[bluethunder91]

Yeah, what jjm152 said. You guys are thinking about that suitcase scene a bit too hard. It IS Kyousuke. He's giving a victory smirk because he didn't actually want Tsubaki's family to get back their money, since it was his job to make them sell their land.

[Eclipsed]

Sounds about right. I never bothered to even look up the scene(s) so I wouldn't know. Ty for explanations~

[pokemon123]

Probably my favourite VN. TBH thinking about it seems really ridiclous but for some reason I really love it. Dat ending tho.

[kingdomcome]

Yeah, it's probably my favorite VN, even though I haven't played it in years.

[reyaes]

Hah I'm glad I picked this one to read. I'm really liking it so far.

Reminds me of fight club. That alone shows its quality.

[crunchytaco]

I'll probably get some hate for this, but as fun as the story right now for me (on Shiratori's story), the game comes across as pretentious at many points to me. It releases a lot of basic information that anyone who glances at the subject would know to make the characters appear highly intelligent. Like anyone who watched basketball in the 90's knew Scotty Pippen was the glue on the Chicago bulls. I guess it sounds fascinating to the Japanese. 

 

It's like a crime story for beginners. 

 

I like this line a lot though, "I don't live according to the times. I live solely based on my own judgement." 

 

I really dislike Shiratori's chapter. Her backstory with Yuki is a tiresome cliche that's been overplayed in anime over and over. 

[Roach]

I considered G-senjou as a 'masterpiece' when I first read it. Yet I thought the side-route wasn't that good. Honestly, I think most of the praises G-senjou got came from the true route. It was just on a completely different level than the rest of the story in my opinion.

[jjm152]

I considered G-senjou as a 'masterpiece' when I first read it. Yet I thought the side-route wasn't that good. Honestly, I think most of the praises G-senjou got came from the true route. It was just on a completely different level than the rest of the story in my opinion.

[crunchytaco]

I just finished up the game and my personal thoughts on the entire thing:

- Usumi Haru: One of the best heroines ever

 

- Maou: Disappointed with his "Big Reveal" and final plan. 

 

- Kyousuke: Bland MC. Honestly wished he was Maou instead.

 

- Ending: Main Route felt like it came to a sudden wreck

 

I'm a huge Sharin no Kuni fan, and so was really looking forward to the hype that was built up around this game being the successor. 

[Eclipsed]

^ What Zeno said.

If Kyousuke is bland, boy do I feel bad for the 'all around nice guy' protags

- I too was disappointed with the big reveal. Alotta wasted potential imo.
- Alas, another victim to hype. I tend to avoid getting hyped up for things nowadays cuz of that xD

[crunchytaco]

- Alas, another victim to hype. I tend to avoid getting hyped up for things nowadays cuz of that xD

 

Truest words.

 

I guess everyone has their own MC preference. I just was let down so much when I found out Kyousuke wasn't Maou. It ripped out a core reason why I was fascinated with him in the first place. I thought Kenichi was a better MC than Yuuji by the way. 

 

Also did they think we'd just forget if Haru never played the violin? There wasn't one violin performance in the game despite it being the title. How smart of them to escape that from us. 

 

What's with all the side characters? They are about as alluring as Muv Luv's heroine choices for everyone not named Meiya. 

[jjm152]

Truest words.

 

I guess everyone has their own MC preference. I just was let down so much when I found out Kyousuke wasn't Maou. It ripped out a core reason why I was fascinated with him in the first place. I thought Kenichi was a better MC than Yuuji by the way. 

 

Also did they think we'd just forget if Haru never played the violin? There wasn't one violin performance in the game despite it being the title. How smart of them to escape that from us. 

 

What's with all the side characters? They are about as alluring as Muv Luv's heroine choices for everyone not named Meiya. 

 

Honestly, this is just your taste. There's nothing thematically wrong with either of these issues. Most people like Kyouske and don't want him to be Maou that's the intended dramatic intention of the novel. Is he or isn't he? With the "He isn't" being the reward for people who want to see him with Haru.

 

Also, Haru overcoming her inability to play the violin is also a plot point. The fact that this comes at the denouement instead of earlier is just a simple literary device of book-ending character development. It's introduced early that she cannot do this because of her trauma, which leads to her obsession with revenge, and at the end when she has given up revenge and healed from her trauma, she picks it up and it's inferred she did it because it was the one thing she could do for Kyouske when she couldn't do anything else. It's romantic.

 

I'm not saying it's wrong for you not to appreciate these points, but this has nothing to do with "hype". For many people, they really enjoyed these plot developments (and i consider myself one of them).

[crunchytaco]

Just to be clear, I type at work so I cannot go in to detail. I'm pretty sure I specified that this was based on my own taste so I'm not sure why you felt the need to remind me. And though I prefaced my last post with a nod to Eclipsed, the rest of that post were not the points I believed were what made or break this hype either.

 

This point however I believe DOES break the hype for me. I'm not sure who you mean by most and why you must bold certain letters for me to understand. I've seen varying opinions on this VN that doesn't exactly reach the unifying agreement you think it does. I've actually seen more people scratch their heads at the Deus Ex Machina like plot device when they inserted Kyousuke's brother into the fray. Intended or not this wasn't the strongest point of writing in the novel. I hear it's a problem due to the way the VN is structured. But I've yet to play the other routes and I doubt I will anytime since non of these routes seem to qualify for it.

 

On a preference side, I would've been happier seeing Haru with Kyousuke-Maou and dealing with the issues of finding out that he's Maou. The dramatic tension there fell anti-climatically when the brother showed up to take the role. 

 

 

You have to admit though, Haru was the only good heroine in the game. The rest weren't even gravy. 

[Roach]

My memory is a bit vague because it's been so long since I read G-senjou. Sorry if I got the details wrong.

 

I kind of disagree about "inserting Kyousuke's brother into the fray" being a Deus Ex Machina. I don't really get why people think the introduction of Kyouhei come as a sudden thing to happen. I never thought Maou is Kyousuke (except when Kyousuke thought that he is indeed might be Maou). In fact, I thought Maou might be Kyousuke's relative ever since I saw that photo/CG of her mother, which is, in chapter 2? I don't know.

 

Anyway, that's just my opinion and my opinion doesn't matter.

[crunchytaco]

My memory is a bit vague because it's been so long since I read G-senjou. Sorry if I got the details wrong.

 

I kind of disagree about "inserting Kyousuke's brother into the fray" being a Deus Ex Machina. I don't really get why people think the introduction of Kyouhei come as a sudden thing to happen. I never thought Maou is Kyousuke (except when Kyousuke thought that he is indeed might be Maou). In fact, I thought Maou might be Kyousuke's relative ever since I saw that photo/CG of her mother, which is, in chapter 2? I don't know.

 

Anyway, that's just my opinion and my opinion doesn't matter.

I think your opinion matters for what mine is worth <3 (eeven though you think mines is worthless)

[Roach]

I think your opinion matters for what mine is worth <3 (eeven though you think mines is worthless)

Wait, what?

I didn't touch the other points you made precisely because I thought it's one of these opinion thingies. I didn't want to argue about it because that's your opinion and I respected it. No hate pls <3

[crunchytaco]

Where's the hate? I was simply teasing you. Don't over react. 

[reyaes]

I've got a question about something I'm kinda confused about. Is kyousuke aware he is also Maou and just putting on an act around everyone he doesn't want knowing? I'm only on the third chapter so please no spoolers.

I'd imagine it would revealed at some point, but I want to know if he's pulling an act the entire time?

[Eclipsed]

I've got a question about something I'm kinda confused about. Is kyousuke aware he is also Maou and just putting on an act around everyone he doesn't want knowing? I'm only on the third chapter so please no spoolers.

I'd imagine it would revealed at some point, but I want to know if he's pulling an act the entire time?

It'd kinda be a spoiler for us to answer that y'know

Keep reading; you'll find out in later~

[Roach]

Where's the hate? I was simply teasing you. Don't over react. 

 

(eeven though you think mines is worthless)

Ouch. Sorry. </3

[crunchytaco]

-edited-

 

 

I won't bother 

[reyaes]

It'd kinda be a spoiler for us to answer that y'know

Keep reading; you'll find out in later~

You're probably right with that. I'll keep going on and find out what's going on.

[madvanced]

Regarding the Maou being Kyosuke on the side routes and on the true route it was Kyouhei, it was intended to be like that. The authors wanted to think that the Maou was Kyousuke all allong so that they could put the big twist on the true route.

 

If you think about it, on the side routes the Maou just disappears and is not really fully seen(iirc been about 1-2 years since I last read it). Also the side routes are "what ifs", so the Maou isn't really a plot hole, for all intents and purposes Kyousuke is the Maou, unless you read the true route.

 

It's the mystery that akabei wanted to create I guess.

[crunchytaco]

I haven't played the side routes yet and I don't think I want to. The heroines just don't interest me much. You shouldn't have to in order to see the connections in the main route anyhow.

I liked maou before he was revealed to be kyosukes brother. I just didn't have any connection to him anymore after that mostly because I didn't know his brother for very long. His depth was cut in half and the same applied to kyosuke. But that's just me.