When I write reviews, I usually analyze plot, character, themes, etc. But I think I'm just gonna wing this one with no structure (what could go wrong lmao).

Reading the story took more time than I expected (in a good way, but I guess a bad way if you think about it in terms of me following my writing schedule), mainly because each chapter provoked such a melancholic mood and thoughts that I needed to take time to digest them.

Miu was a complex and psychologically damaged character. She was one of those forgotten by society, neglected by the system and those in power, with the only person that she cared about, Yuki, constantly ripped away from her. Even though some of her actions were morally questionable, I could always feel that they came from a place of pain. And the ups and downs of her psyche were always emotional and personal. As a reader, I was constantly in sync with her desperation and pain.

When I started the story, though I like a good tragedy (mainly Shakespearean-style tragedies), I feared that the story would be overtly edgy and everyone besides the two main leads would be comically evil cartoon villains. I'm happy to say that there was nothing comical about the story... (just look at the crying emotes I reacted in the chapters) each characters, including/especially the antagonists, had very real motivations and acted/reacted in an extremely human way (including the Arcans).

The story had its emotional bumps, not a straight slope down into the pit of suffering, but a rollercoaster that descended into the pit of suffering, while rebounding upwards for occasional wholesome moments from time to time.

And for theme, from my interpretation, it was that rage alone couldn't save the world, but a sliver of hope/kindness (or compassion, which is different from empathy but I won't give a psy lecture here) is also needed. Despite Miu claiming and thinking that she was consumed by rage, she wouldn't hurt Taki or others she perceived as innocent (rip the janitors in the Arcantech headquarters). And in the end, she managed to leave behind a veil of gentleness to the world (even though it would probably be exploited, but it was the thought that counts).

Yeah, the question of whether her action of destroying the current structure was the right one permeated my thoughts for so many chapters, and I think that a fiction evoking philosophical thoughts is generally a sign of its excellence. Really enjoyed debating with myself on this topic lmao. (by the way my conclusion was that it was an action that had pros and cons, which might be an indication that a perfect solution couldn't exist, despite what Sam Alt- Ripley claimed)

Oh look at that, I still managed to follow the plot theme character structure for the review (I originally had the internet and dictatorship rant here but I moved it to the comments of the last chapter).