Jan 13, 2026
"Let me lend you a hand" -- an interesting detail to start with, rendered doubly encoded.
Shimizu Kaede's voice comes across very strong in this opening. I'm not exactly prepared to diagnose a fictional character, but I'm sure if I pulled out the good ol' DSM-V there could probably be a label or three that might apply. Instead, I'd say she comes off as someone with a vibrant inner world but deep and abiding difficulties existing in society, resulting in self-esteem that's incredibly low.
Given the pitch of the work as a whole, I think it could be quite interesting to see how an exceptional circumstance forces her to react. Though it's clear already that the world she lives in, aware of modernity but with some degree of luddite fantasy, is not entirely what we're used to.
