Thank you all for watching! I greatly appreciate all the interest in these videos. Usual note that I'm male and use he/him. I tried a new subtitling method so let me know if there's any issues with them!
Sweet pool was the first nitro chiral title I’ve played exactly a decade ago when I was 16 and I was so fascinated with this work I talked about it 24/7 to my friend and even years after that when it came out on steam and I was like „wow sweet pool on steam!” He remembered that game and reminded me how obsessed I was with it xD
I’m glad someone else pointed out the relationship aspect between tetsuo and youji. Despite it being my favorite nitro chiral work I cannot find myself to see the relationship positively as much as other fans do because of the issues you mentioned. their relationship towards the end in endings are amazing in concept which makes me wish it was like that throughout the vn as well. I haven’t finished lamento but I’ll still be excited to watch your thoughts on it!
These video essays, like Slow Damage for you, has reignited my love of visual novels. Thank you for that BD And for the subtitles, for those of us that are hard of hearing.
Omg I played sp when I was 13-14 yo and I'm just so glad to see that someone did a serious essay on it! I'm not really in a state of mind to replay it myself now (for some reason reading unsettling shit as a child was easier lmao), so it's just so nice to see someone doing such a deep analysis! Thank you!
Funny that you call Scene (Warp 2) somewhat calm. It sounds to me like the type of music you'd hear while waiting for a therapist appointment you don't want to be at and are wondering if you were sent here as a trap. Super specific, I know, but it's basically pure anxiety for me. As for the subs, only halfway through the video because I decided to try it for myself, but they look good so far! Everyone has mega long necks.
I just watched your Slow Damage video the other day and was looking forward to your Sweet Pool review only to find out that you already had one up! Wow that was fast! Thank you so much for doing this review. Personally I'm a fan of horror and dark themes so both Sweet Pool and Slow Damage are my current favourite works from N+C, but I wouldn't be able to say which one was my favourite. Though Slow Damage was definitely better written I also think Sweet Pool resonated in a way that was different from the former as well. I do agree with your own issues with the flaws in the story (Tetsuo especially) and yet at the same time there was also so much to love. One thing I loved was how the bad ends really characterized Zenya and Matoko. Zenya's character was mentioned a bit here but I found Matoko's especially fascinating, because he's someone who outwardly had "everything" - he's popular, he's talented, and yet - he keeps eating. And that was a metaphor for the idea that despite everything, it's not enough to keep him satisfied, because all he really wanted was for Youji's friendship, to really open up to him as a friend, hence why he ends up eating Youji in the end. All he wanted was to be closer to the friend he cared about the most, and it twists into something horrific. I also found Sweet Pool's music thematically very strong as a whole as you mentioned. The piano represents peace and "reason" and blueness, warps and electric guitars represent horror and "instinct" and redness. There's a lot of red and blue symbolism in this game that really reminded me of the movie Perfect Blue - especially with the fish tank scenes both have (it made me wonder if the latter partly inspired the former). Both Youji and Mima have a fish tank that represents water = blue = peace and calmness and humanity. But one or more fish die - the tank is now tainted with red = horror and anxiety and the unknown/inhumanness. Even the fish themselves have red and blue in them (both have tetra fish). Sweet pool has a lot of water = blue elements in it, down to the title and true ending. If you have the stomach for it, I also really recommend playing Saya No Uta, which Sweet Pool feels like a "sister" game to. Saya no Uta was written by Gen Urobuchi (also did Fate/Zero, Psycho-Pass, Madoka Magica), Sweet Pool wasn't directly written by him but he did give advice for it apparently. It also plays into the red/blue themes as well. It's only 4ish hours long. From what I recall, this game was released long before the omegaverse subgenre took off. I feel like I had more thoughts about the game but I might have to read it again to remember.
sweet pool is my favorite nitro+chiral game, even above dmmd, which i actually played first. like both are super important narratives to me, but makoto was the first character i ever heavily related to. wish you would have gone over him a bit more as i feel his character is very interesting below the surface level- while youji, tetsuo and zenya are outcasts from society because of the parasites, makoto seems to be popular but also has no one that really genuinely cares for him aside from youji, which is a fascinating twist on the nonchalant childhood best friend character. his ending where he becomes very obviously sick and sad after consuming youji and no one seems to notice as long as he remains outwardly happy and cheerful always broke my heart. this is a very good analysis though! i really enjoyed it! it's nice to see someone talking about this game that did and still does mean SO much to me. would love to see you talk about dmmd sometime too!
Yeah, when I was in the editing process I realized I didn't discuss him enough. He's an incredibly interesting character for everything you've said and more. His and Youji's connection is so genuine and I came to appreciate it way more upon my replay than I did during my first time playing. That scene where they reconcile in the hospital may be my favorite of the whole game (and is at the very least top 3). I will be covering Dramatical Murder and Re:connect! Currently I have it planned for December's video. It was an extremely significant game for me when I was a teenager so I want to do that video during a time when I know I can give it all the dedication it needs.
@@crowaes0Hello! i just found your channel yoday and am hyped to get dmmd coverage. If you would like help on it, I have raw files of a lot of the game code and imaging. I'm happy to discuss details. I also sort of am a huge nerd on the music and symbolism, and have loved Goatbed ever since. HMU if you'd like!
oh wow, i didn't expect this video to come out so soon after your slow damage one! can't wait to hear your thoughts on one of my favourite horror works!
this is so good... both because of "i felt that way about the game too!" and "i hadn't even thought of it in that way but youre so right!" after finishing your slow damage video, seeing sweet pool as the other video on your channel is what got me to finish the game and im very glad i did Cx
Imagine my surprise at finding out this is only the second video on this channel?! It's soooo good. It shows you really did your research and it looks soo polished, I love your style of analysis! Thank you so much for making these wonderful videos!
your vids so far are amazing, I already love listening to people talk about screwed up vns and I LOVE nitrochiral especially, so this is such a treat hehe I needed to sub as soon as I found your slow damage vid. so excited to see more from you 💖
Sweet Pool has to be my favourite N+C game. Maybe because it looks so simple on the surface (compared with all the other games placed in fantasy-ish worlds with more scifi elements and stuff), but it goes HARD on the crazyness later. There are still things I'll change about it, though. As you explained, things like the "instinct" implication could've been done better... but as a whole, I think it's one of the best ideas N+C has ever had (yes I'm counting DMMd too) P.D: Also I've not played Slow Damage yet, but I'm feeling it's going to be of my liking so I'm very excited to play it.
I haven't played SP yet, but I've known the wide brush-strokes of the story for years, and unfortunately I've first got to know about the game only through the jokes about the mpreg and flesh-bits elements, so it's been interesting to see an honest discussion about a game that I've only known through very shallow descriptors. I feel like I owe myself playing this game as a horror fan more than anything, and maybe I'll finally do it now that I've seen your video.
i find sweet pool fascinating, not just because of its themes and narratives. It has appeared at strange time in my life where i craved to consume some sorta horror/controversial media for some cathartic release. and nitro chiral and other vns had filled that hole almost perfectly, but nothing had left a mark on my taste in horror and depictions of tragedy as sweet pool did, maybe its left such a big impression on me because i consumed it as a young person. but i still vividly remember how much sadness and despair it had brought me and almost sweet ( ha get it) release i felt after finishing all the endings. the disgust, the sadness, pity and bitter sweetness are still emotions i describe and associate with sweet pool. you made pretty argument on the feminist reading of sweet pool, i have almost nothing to add. but my brain didnt really made connection. For me, the themes of loss of the control of your basic humanity and giving in to instincts were much more prevalent, but also the complete denial of those instincts existing is equally as harmful. we are animals who can barely manage to overcome our "nature" whatever that means. I also found the narrative of being reborn as someone completely new being strangely comforting, its still one of my favorite ending till this day also i rarely see this discussed, but i think that sweet pool is incredibly similar as much as it is different to another legendary visual novel - Saya no Uta. Down to the music choice, visuals and themes, its noticeable how lovecraftian psychological and body horror of saya has been interpreted by the authors of sweet pool. i downright consider it solid spiritual successor of saya. So many FEELINGs and emotions that these two vns gave me are almost indistinguishable from one another. its a pity that outside of deprave little freaks like myself it has never been recognized as such, but i understand the reasons thank you for the much needed lovecraftian angsty meaty nostalgia! edit: i decided to research the similarities between the two project, and it seems that Gen Urobuchi himself had some sorta minor directorial involvement in the production of sweet pool, call me surprised
Thank you so much for your content! I can’t even begin explaining how happy i feel, how like full my heart feels from the passion and interest around these works. The atmosphere of sweet pool and specially its soundtrack has always reminded me of silent hill, this is so nostalgic that it hurts lol
Thank you so much for putting together this analysis!! I just finished all of sweet pool today, and I was so happy to find something that’s as expansive as this to help my obsession with this vn! You rock!
I never played the game, though I've heard about it. Mostly about the cannibalism. I decided a long time ago that it was a game I'd stay far away from, but seeing the title made me curious to watch this video. I'm glad I did, as it seems the game is actually far more deep and interesting than I initially assumed. I think looking at it mostly though a lens of feminist theory, rather than just being a part of the whole, feels particularly limiting in this case. Hearing the themes involved in the story immediately made me think about how people with disabilities have their agency taken away from them, both through society and their own bodies. Similarly, with mental illnesses and agency over their own minds, or even just plain old strong emotions that people feel, yet the societal expectation is to hide them and pretend they don't exist. I'm also reminded of how puberty can be a horrific experience for a variety of reasons, especially because of how taboo talking about that is, and the lack of being properly informed or being given the choice to delay it can feel so viscerally terrifying. Not to mention the extreme feelings of isolation and othering these experiences bring, speaking from personal experience. Disabled people especially are frequently left out of discussions that are relevant to them. I think about how the pandemic has had a lot of people show their true disregard for us. The conflicts and struggles in the relationship of the story, I think resonates strongly with what a lot of people who have been isolated like that have gone through. And sometimes people truly do terrible things (even if not typically to *that* extent) despite wanting and trying to be kind. I think there's a lot of "ugliness" and "grossness" to humanity that people just sweep under the rug, which only causes more suffering.
I really love your videos, there not only good at explain messed up stuff that would ether ignored or hated because of the nastiness but you also criticizes the media pointing out its flaws as well as praise it. also VN , especially those that are still in not in english are kind of an under noticed medium that people rarely look into so thank you.
absolutely incredible work! i was starving to see some discussion at length about sweet pool and you delivered splendid points. this is truly great, thank you so much!
i dont know why im so late to seeing this! sweet pool has been my favorite nitrochiral game for so long and im thrilled people are making video essays about it. subscribed !!
Just finished sweet pool today after years of one of my best friends begging me to read it. Really enjoyed it and wanted to see more perspectives on it. Love your video!
If slow damage hadnt released yet ngl sweet pool would be my favorite. I love your videos becayse they acknowledge that yes vns like this have problems but there are also good stuff that comes out from them... cant wait for the lamento video ngl i have to finish it.
still watching the video, but im so happy to see a long analysis of this game! its been one of my favourite visual novels for a while now and ive always waited for someone to make a video essay for it. this is v well done thank youuu!!!!
Holy smokes thank you SO MUCH for this analysis. I played Sweet Pool I think back in 2014, and before Slow Damage, it used to be my favorite title from N+C despite it being so underground. I loved it so much for the tragic story and the horror, but I never really noticed the feminist perspective to the whole narrative, and it really brings an entire new dimension to the story.
my friend litterly told me about this game 2 weeks ago, tried to look up play thorughs with large parts missing sadly. So I went hunting down other parts and the wiki. your video is so helpful, and explains how it is going in to this game perfectly. loved your video!!!
this review is so good! I played sweet pool earlier this year and overall liked it, so it's been nice to revisit it with your thoughts and analysis! Looking forward to more videos!
Not related, but I had to stop myself from snickering every time you said "conceptual" or some variant of the word. Jokes aside, great video. Welcome to the Nitro Chiral fandom.
I had recently finished Sweet Pool since it was one of the few Nitro Plus games I had not played. Not many in my circle played these games so I was able to go into the game only knowing what the game summary had said. I had a great time trying to figure out what was going on, side eyeing each character whenever they said something strange, wondering if they were also in on what was happening to Youji. Panicking whenever a choice came up because it would pop up at random and unsure if I was choosing the right thing, then beating myself up when I thought I got us into more trouble than I wanted for us. Yelling at Youji for meeting up with Zenya when I picked REASON YOUJI. THIS ISN'T REASONABLE. The first ending I got was Miracles May Violins. It felt like a bittersweet and overall good ending for us and I wondered how much better we could do, with less panic on making choices and having a better idea of who to trust. ((Spoilers)) With each new ending, I was wondering how I could get so unlucky on always getting a bad ending. Zenya was no surprise. Though I felt bad for him and what had been done to him, I wanted Youji away from that life and I wasn't here to fix Zenya. When Kitani killed us for real, I wasn't too surprised either. Makoto and my CHILD?? definitely surprised me since I didn't realize Makoto could have an ending let alone just how badly he would snapped. I had assumed previous encounters where more of a warning to what was going on to Youji and not a real consequence. I was satisfied with Kitani taking my child since I felt like he'd be a good father seeing how he treated and helped Zenya. But overall, none of them felt like good ending and I was hopeful when I got that final choice to make one last Reason or Instinct decision. And then proceeded to be devastated that Youji really was not going to get a happy ending. Honestly, I spent a good chunk of time crying and listening to Miracles May on repeat to the point where my friend called me and listened to me ramble about the game and the unfairness of Youji's life and how much I wanted him to be happy. Even in what I had considered to be the only good end, Youji still sacrificed and gave up his future. I wasn't thinking about Tetsuo or Zenya or even Makoto. I was thinking about Erika and Youji and how I only ever really saw Youji smile when he was talking to his sister. And how I'd immediately start smiling when I'd hear that piano start because I KNEW we were able to talk to Erika and just how much love they had for each other. I only got to see my nephew once, and we never got to go to the aquarium. Erika always knew what we were feeling and did her best to support us, even when she should be focusing her new family. I always felt like we family, like at any second I could just move Youji over and it would feel natural and safe. And no matter what, Youji was gone. She's either going to find out we died terribly or never know what happened to us. We only went to this school being it was Erika's school, and is she going to feel guilty over that too? I wish Erika was able to take our child instead of Kitani, she was a great mother to us and I KNOW she would have been a great mother to my kid. And then she'd have something of Youji after he was gone. Honestly, screw Tetsuo and Zenya, I wanted Youji and Erika to be happy and instead Youji is constantly being taken from by these two. It's been like, two weeks max???? I don't care for y'all enough for the endings we got, we should have moved in with Erika and said see ya later (never). I miss Erika =(
I’ve been waiting for someone to make some Nitro Chiral video essays! Excellent work my guy keep it up! Can’t wait to see what other videos you’ll upload in the future :D
I don't know if it's because I already had a child, but I actually like stories with talking about the whole Blood, Flesh, Pregnancy, Chilbirth... 😅 Something growing inside of you. You want it to leave, but you're also scared because there's only one way it can possibly leave... Childbirth is terrifying on it's own and the loss of control during it is also scary. I like all these subjects. I like Sweet Pool, but the relationship with Tetsuo is unfortunately disappointing to me. I like some scenes... Others I hate. I like all the little touches and attention from Tetsuo. Very early on, he pays attention to Youji. I feel like it would all be better if they had an actual conversation about the rape. Something is missing. I understand that it was "instinct" in this universe even if I don't particularily like that trope, but I needed a conversation, an apology, a promise to control his instincts.... something! He apologizes for being rough at one point I believe? That was not enough for me at all. It's a shame because I didn't necessarily dislike his character. I just felt like they stumbled a bit when it came to Tetsuo in particular. Random thing, but I really liked how Youji often go to the bathroom in the beginning of the game. Blood pours out of him with the flesh bits. It quickly screamed menstruation to me. That scene was amazing. One of the stronger scene for sure for me. He felt it coming. The image it brought to mind was stricking.
Thank you for this analysis, its amazing! I also had revolted feelings with the themes of pregnancy, and body automony. And the reletionship of Tetsuo and Youji. Im looking foward for the rest of your videos!
Dropping a quick comment to say that I'm looking forward to revisiting this once I've played the game myself! Thank you so much for exploring these fantastic visual novels and I'm excited to hear your thoughts!
Hey, I'm so glad I found your channel! I really love visual novels as a genre, especially for horror and mystery, and a lot of what you brought up in this video was on point for my own thoughts on sweet pool. I see you've done another video on slow damage and you mentioned you've played other nitro+chiral works, so I was wondering if you've played anything by adelta. In particular, I find Hashihime of the Old Book Town to be a particularly interesting one. Hashihime is my favorite visual novel of all time and it's writing continues to be the strongest I've seen in BL VNs specifically (though I will say that is mostly due to the first two routes). I really recommend it and I would love to hear your thoughts on it. I found that it made use of the visual novel format in a unique way, by only giving the player one choice per route and forcing the player to play the routes in a specific order. It was really exciting to see how drastically your impression of characters changes route to route because the play order is predetermined. I really hope you check it out and keep doing what you're doing!
YAY!!! MORE SP CONTENT! months ago, i tried to find out what made it click so much with me.… i thought @ first that”wll, sp is a queer denpa game & i need more of those w/ translations”, but i was sure that it did so more on a thematic level and the moment you started saying the themes you picked up on via different theory lenses i went “oh so that was it. this guy gets it.” but, yes, youre right, sp definitely needs more analytical like content because there’s a lot to unpack there. it’s such a beautiful game in all honesty. with personal sharings…i think the timing of me reading it during a time of transition (ie graduating) also made it stick to me more. other than the prose/the game leaning into my niche, the miracle’s may epilogue hit me Hard. it was the “nothing lasts forever” & the sequence when tetsuo remembers bits & pieces of youji w/o realizing that it belonged to him. reading that w/ my situation back then made me feel all senti.&mushy&also brought me to tears other than that, i could go on & on about the art & the promo material because UGHHH its so good. how the hill did this game cater to every single 1 of my media cravings. gawd i need more queer denpa vns..
again a great video!!! cant wait for more!! :3 i felt so troubled by this game since i didnt really like how the romance is written in it but i loved the horror side so i was glad to find out someone else has similar opinions and points!!
Ah I was right, I was able to watch this (with breaks to destress and pet a kitty!) I appreciate the approach you took to talking about this story, meat horrors with added insanity are one of the biggest 'NOPE' factors in VNs for me (first five minutes of SnU literally gave me a month-long panic attack, ouch, noped out of that FAST) and the character descriptions and plot elements I read about on VNDB made me VERY concerned about it. So an analytic approach helps ease the pain of learning the story beats. I do love horror as a device to address societal issues and explore trauma, though I know a lot of ero VNs tend to... imo revel in SA a lot? That and give Freudian excuses for it, though I really hope that trend is dying out. The soundtrack also does a lot to unsettle considering the nature of the threat in this story! Though I'm listening to the OP finally and holy heck I am a rock nut but I really like it ;w; .......I also hate that I keep thinking the singer for Togainu no Chi's GRIND and Break the Chains sounds a little like Jack Black in Tenacious D Please pardon the disjointed nature of my comments, I try to keep thoughts coherent sometimes but ADHD brain go fuckin' brrrr
I played Sweet Pool not too long ago and I have to be honest, it has the weakest impact on me personally (out of all the Nitro Chiral games I've played so far). The art and soundtrack is nice, the horror aspect of it is also horrifying, but for some reason, I just find the ending to be not as impacting emotonally? The period of Youji's depression after Tetsuo basically r-ped him did hit me hard, but the scenes after just did not impact me as hard. Sweet Pool is still a good read though and I was entertained throughout it. Anyway, I really love your videos so far! Looking forward to the Lamento video (even though I haven't played it). Keep up the good work!
I'm so convinced to try out Sweet Pool. I've always thought it's a beautifully made visual novel. Thank you for your video essay. Also, do you have any interest of making a video about Togainu no chi? I want to see your take on that.
I love all Nitro+Chiral games (especially Slow Damage now, however I hate JAST for it's horrible translation, which I have to play it... but meh, maybe someone will translate it too one day), but SP... I don't know if I'll ever actually play it. I bought it, saw videos about it, vaguely now it's themes and story... but I can't bear horror, especially body horror. Psychological horror is better, but SD was hard on my little heart too :D I love SD too, it's just not for the weak heart, and the 'horror' factor is much lower in that VN imo. Your video essay was really interesting, especially the feminist part, I never thought about the story like that, but it seems understandable. Thank you :) (and sorry for butchering the English language, I'm not a native E-speaker)
Currently I'm planning on discussing them all except Togainu no Chi! I found I didn't have as much to say about that one compared to the other games. Though that may change if/when I replay it. I still need to play No Thank You and LKYT, but I expect I'll want to discuss them once I do!
Are the bezels part of the game?(I'm not a native speaker, I'm not shure how the side colored sides are called) they are kind of unpleasant if you are watching it at night because they are quite bright
the game is a 4:3 ratio so the bezels are edited in. thanks for the feedback! if i widen the screen like this again in editing ill make sure to pick backgrounds that are easier on the eyes
I remember that this game affected me so much that I started uploading videos with Spanish translation (Before things were simpler and there were not so many restrictions) Until the Copyright Nation attacked 🥲 Then I discovered that it was a strange type of omegaverse and everything clicked in my head 😆 The game will not be the favorite of many, but it brought us good tears, Youji is my favorite character from Nitro Chiral, his voice actor also played Asato, who is another of my favorites.
I experienced the game through your translations, I liked it so much that I played it myself and cried for weeks lol. Gracias por tus traducciones ❤ fueron mi evento canónico 😂❤
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Thank you all for watching! I greatly appreciate all the interest in these videos.
Usual note that I'm male and use he/him. I tried a new subtitling method so let me know if there's any issues with them!
Sweet pool was the first nitro chiral title I’ve played exactly a decade ago when I was 16 and I was so fascinated with this work I talked about it 24/7 to my friend and even years after that when it came out on steam and I was like „wow sweet pool on steam!” He remembered that game and reminded me how obsessed I was with it xD
I’m glad someone else pointed out the relationship aspect between tetsuo and youji. Despite it being my favorite nitro chiral work I cannot find myself to see the relationship positively as much as other fans do because of the issues you mentioned. their relationship towards the end in endings are amazing in concept which makes me wish it was like that throughout the vn as well.
I haven’t finished lamento but I’ll still be excited to watch your thoughts on it!
These video essays, like Slow Damage for you, has reignited my love of visual novels. Thank you for that BD And for the subtitles, for those of us that are hard of hearing.
Omg I played sp when I was 13-14 yo and I'm just so glad to see that someone did a serious essay on it! I'm not really in a state of mind to replay it myself now (for some reason reading unsettling shit as a child was easier lmao), so it's just so nice to see someone doing such a deep analysis! Thank you!
Funny that you call Scene (Warp 2) somewhat calm. It sounds to me like the type of music you'd hear while waiting for a therapist appointment you don't want to be at and are wondering if you were sent here as a trap. Super specific, I know, but it's basically pure anxiety for me. As for the subs, only halfway through the video because I decided to try it for myself, but they look good so far!
Everyone has mega long necks.
I just watched your Slow Damage video the other day and was looking forward to your Sweet Pool review only to find out that you already had one up! Wow that was fast! Thank you so much for doing this review. Personally I'm a fan of horror and dark themes so both Sweet Pool and Slow Damage are my current favourite works from N+C, but I wouldn't be able to say which one was my favourite. Though Slow Damage was definitely better written I also think Sweet Pool resonated in a way that was different from the former as well. I do agree with your own issues with the flaws in the story (Tetsuo especially) and yet at the same time there was also so much to love.
One thing I loved was how the bad ends really characterized Zenya and Matoko. Zenya's character was mentioned a bit here but I found Matoko's especially fascinating, because he's someone who outwardly had "everything" - he's popular, he's talented, and yet - he keeps eating. And that was a metaphor for the idea that despite everything, it's not enough to keep him satisfied, because all he really wanted was for Youji's friendship, to really open up to him as a friend, hence why he ends up eating Youji in the end. All he wanted was to be closer to the friend he cared about the most, and it twists into something horrific.
I also found Sweet Pool's music thematically very strong as a whole as you mentioned. The piano represents peace and "reason" and blueness, warps and electric guitars represent horror and "instinct" and redness.
There's a lot of red and blue symbolism in this game that really reminded me of the movie Perfect Blue - especially with the fish tank scenes both have (it made me wonder if the latter partly inspired the former). Both Youji and Mima have a fish tank that represents water = blue = peace and calmness and humanity. But one or more fish die - the tank is now tainted with red = horror and anxiety and the unknown/inhumanness. Even the fish themselves have red and blue in them (both have tetra fish). Sweet pool has a lot of water = blue elements in it, down to the title and true ending.
If you have the stomach for it, I also really recommend playing Saya No Uta, which Sweet Pool feels like a "sister" game to. Saya no Uta was written by Gen Urobuchi (also did Fate/Zero, Psycho-Pass, Madoka Magica), Sweet Pool wasn't directly written by him but he did give advice for it apparently. It also plays into the red/blue themes as well. It's only 4ish hours long.
From what I recall, this game was released long before the omegaverse subgenre took off.
I feel like I had more thoughts about the game but I might have to read it again to remember.
sweet pool is my favorite nitro+chiral game, even above dmmd, which i actually played first. like both are super important narratives to me, but makoto was the first character i ever heavily related to. wish you would have gone over him a bit more as i feel his character is very interesting below the surface level- while youji, tetsuo and zenya are outcasts from society because of the parasites, makoto seems to be popular but also has no one that really genuinely cares for him aside from youji, which is a fascinating twist on the nonchalant childhood best friend character. his ending where he becomes very obviously sick and sad after consuming youji and no one seems to notice as long as he remains outwardly happy and cheerful always broke my heart. this is a very good analysis though! i really enjoyed it! it's nice to see someone talking about this game that did and still does mean SO much to me. would love to see you talk about dmmd sometime too!
Yeah, when I was in the editing process I realized I didn't discuss him enough. He's an incredibly interesting character for everything you've said and more. His and Youji's connection is so genuine and I came to appreciate it way more upon my replay than I did during my first time playing. That scene where they reconcile in the hospital may be my favorite of the whole game (and is at the very least top 3).
I will be covering Dramatical Murder and Re:connect! Currently I have it planned for December's video. It was an extremely significant game for me when I was a teenager so I want to do that video during a time when I know I can give it all the dedication it needs.
@@crowaes0Hello! i just found your channel yoday and am hyped to get dmmd coverage. If you would like help on it, I have raw files of a lot of the game code and imaging. I'm happy to discuss details. I also sort of am a huge nerd on the music and symbolism, and have loved Goatbed ever since. HMU if you'd like!
oh wow, i didn't expect this video to come out so soon after your slow damage one! can't wait to hear your thoughts on one of my favourite horror works!
You don't understand how much I appreciate your video essays 😭😭😭😭 finally someone understands my perspective on these games
this is so good... both because of "i felt that way about the game too!" and "i hadn't even thought of it in that way but youre so right!" after finishing your slow damage video, seeing sweet pool as the other video on your channel is what got me to finish the game and im very glad i did Cx
Imagine my surprise at finding out this is only the second video on this channel?! It's soooo good. It shows you really did your research and it looks soo polished, I love your style of analysis! Thank you so much for making these wonderful videos!
your vids so far are amazing, I already love listening to people talk about screwed up vns and I LOVE nitrochiral especially, so this is such a treat hehe I needed to sub as soon as I found your slow damage vid. so excited to see more from you 💖
This is one of the best vn reviews ive ever listened to. Amazing work thank you
Sweet Pool has to be my favourite N+C game. Maybe because it looks so simple on the surface (compared with all the other games placed in fantasy-ish worlds with more scifi elements and stuff), but it goes HARD on the crazyness later. There are still things I'll change about it, though. As you explained, things like the "instinct" implication could've been done better... but as a whole, I think it's one of the best ideas N+C has ever had (yes I'm counting DMMd too)
P.D: Also I've not played Slow Damage yet, but I'm feeling it's going to be of my liking so I'm very excited to play it.
I haven't played SP yet, but I've known the wide brush-strokes of the story for years, and unfortunately I've first got to know about the game only through the jokes about the mpreg and flesh-bits elements, so it's been interesting to see an honest discussion about a game that I've only known through very shallow descriptors.
I feel like I owe myself playing this game as a horror fan more than anything, and maybe I'll finally do it now that I've seen your video.
i find sweet pool fascinating, not just because of its themes and narratives. It has appeared at strange time in my life where i craved to consume some sorta horror/controversial media for some cathartic release. and nitro chiral and other vns had filled that hole almost perfectly, but nothing had left a mark on my taste in horror and depictions of tragedy as sweet pool did, maybe its left such a big impression on me because i consumed it as a young person. but i still vividly remember how much sadness and despair it had brought me and almost sweet ( ha get it) release i felt after finishing all the endings. the disgust, the sadness, pity and bitter sweetness are still emotions i describe and associate with sweet pool.
you made pretty argument on the feminist reading of sweet pool, i have almost nothing to add. but my brain didnt really made connection. For me, the themes of loss of the control of your basic humanity and giving in to instincts were much more prevalent, but also the complete denial of those instincts existing is equally as harmful. we are animals who can barely manage to overcome our "nature" whatever that means. I also found the narrative of being reborn as someone completely new being strangely comforting, its still one of my favorite ending till this day
also i rarely see this discussed, but i think that sweet pool is incredibly similar as much as it is different to another legendary visual novel - Saya no Uta. Down to the music choice, visuals and themes, its noticeable how lovecraftian psychological and body horror of saya has been interpreted by the authors of sweet pool. i downright consider it solid spiritual successor of saya. So many FEELINGs and emotions that these two vns gave me are almost indistinguishable from one another. its a pity that outside of deprave little freaks like myself it has never been recognized as such, but i understand the reasons
thank you for the much needed lovecraftian angsty meaty nostalgia!
edit: i decided to research the similarities between the two project, and it seems that Gen Urobuchi himself had some sorta minor directorial involvement in the production of sweet pool, call me surprised
Thank you so much for your content! I can’t even begin explaining how happy i feel, how like full my heart feels from the passion and interest around these works. The atmosphere of sweet pool and specially its soundtrack has always reminded me of silent hill, this is so nostalgic that it hurts lol
Thank you so much for putting together this analysis!! I just finished all of sweet pool today, and I was so happy to find something that’s as expansive as this to help my obsession with this vn! You rock!
I never played the game, though I've heard about it. Mostly about the cannibalism. I decided a long time ago that it was a game I'd stay far away from, but seeing the title made me curious to watch this video. I'm glad I did, as it seems the game is actually far more deep and interesting than I initially assumed.
I think looking at it mostly though a lens of feminist theory, rather than just being a part of the whole, feels particularly limiting in this case. Hearing the themes involved in the story immediately made me think about how people with disabilities have their agency taken away from them, both through society and their own bodies. Similarly, with mental illnesses and agency over their own minds, or even just plain old strong emotions that people feel, yet the societal expectation is to hide them and pretend they don't exist. I'm also reminded of how puberty can be a horrific experience for a variety of reasons, especially because of how taboo talking about that is, and the lack of being properly informed or being given the choice to delay it can feel so viscerally terrifying. Not to mention the extreme feelings of isolation and othering these experiences bring, speaking from personal experience. Disabled people especially are frequently left out of discussions that are relevant to them. I think about how the pandemic has had a lot of people show their true disregard for us.
The conflicts and struggles in the relationship of the story, I think resonates strongly with what a lot of people who have been isolated like that have gone through. And sometimes people truly do terrible things (even if not typically to *that* extent) despite wanting and trying to be kind. I think there's a lot of "ugliness" and "grossness" to humanity that people just sweep under the rug, which only causes more suffering.
I really love your videos, there not only good at explain messed up stuff that would ether ignored or hated because of the nastiness but you also criticizes the media pointing out its flaws as well as praise it. also VN , especially those that are still in not in english are kind of an under noticed medium that people rarely look into so thank you.
Im so excited to learn about a new VN! Let's goooooo!
absolutely incredible work! i was starving to see some discussion at length about sweet pool and you delivered splendid points. this is truly great, thank you so much!
i dont know why im so late to seeing this! sweet pool has been my favorite nitrochiral game for so long and im thrilled people are making video essays about it. subscribed !!
Just finished sweet pool today after years of one of my best friends begging me to read it. Really enjoyed it and wanted to see more perspectives on it. Love your video!
Nice video! Always love hearing someone talk about their favorite niches
If slow damage hadnt released yet ngl sweet pool would be my favorite. I love your videos becayse they acknowledge that yes vns like this have problems but there are also good stuff that comes out from them... cant wait for the lamento video ngl i have to finish it.
still watching the video, but im so happy to see a long analysis of this game! its been one of my favourite visual novels for a while now and ive always waited for someone to make a video essay for it. this is v well done thank youuu!!!!
I just found your videos and they are awesome.
Holy smokes thank you SO MUCH for this analysis. I played Sweet Pool I think back in 2014, and before Slow Damage, it used to be my favorite title from N+C despite it being so underground. I loved it so much for the tragic story and the horror, but I never really noticed the feminist perspective to the whole narrative, and it really brings an entire new dimension to the story.
my friend litterly told me about this game 2 weeks ago, tried to look up play thorughs with large parts missing sadly. So I went hunting down other parts and the wiki. your video is so helpful, and explains how it is going in to this game perfectly. loved your video!!!
Im still watching, but im loving how you talk about the game! im wondering if youll touch dramatical murder and other games from N+C?
this review is so good! I played sweet pool earlier this year and overall liked it, so it's been nice to revisit it with your thoughts and analysis! Looking forward to more videos!
^Don't mind me, I'm just commenting so the algorithm gives this video the love it deserves
Not related, but I had to stop myself from snickering every time you said "conceptual" or some variant of the word. Jokes aside, great video. Welcome to the Nitro Chiral fandom.
Such is the way of Sweet Pool. Even unintentionally, the jokes end up in the script! I'm glad you've enjoyed the video!
I had recently finished Sweet Pool since it was one of the few Nitro Plus games I had not played. Not many in my circle played these games so I was able to go into the game only knowing what the game summary had said. I had a great time trying to figure out what was going on, side eyeing each character whenever they said something strange, wondering if they were also in on what was happening to Youji. Panicking whenever a choice came up because it would pop up at random and unsure if I was choosing the right thing, then beating myself up when I thought I got us into more trouble than I wanted for us. Yelling at Youji for meeting up with Zenya when I picked REASON YOUJI. THIS ISN'T REASONABLE. The first ending I got was Miracles May Violins. It felt like a bittersweet and overall good ending for us and I wondered how much better we could do, with less panic on making choices and having a better idea of who to trust. ((Spoilers))
With each new ending, I was wondering how I could get so unlucky on always getting a bad ending. Zenya was no surprise. Though I felt bad for him and what had been done to him, I wanted Youji away from that life and I wasn't here to fix Zenya. When Kitani killed us for real, I wasn't too surprised either. Makoto and my CHILD?? definitely surprised me since I didn't realize Makoto could have an ending let alone just how badly he would snapped. I had assumed previous encounters where more of a warning to what was going on to Youji and not a real consequence. I was satisfied with Kitani taking my child since I felt like he'd be a good father seeing how he treated and helped Zenya. But overall, none of them felt like good ending and I was hopeful when I got that final choice to make one last Reason or Instinct decision. And then proceeded to be devastated that Youji really was not going to get a happy ending.
Honestly, I spent a good chunk of time crying and listening to Miracles May on repeat to the point where my friend called me and listened to me ramble about the game and the unfairness of Youji's life and how much I wanted him to be happy. Even in what I had considered to be the only good end, Youji still sacrificed and gave up his future. I wasn't thinking about Tetsuo or Zenya or even Makoto. I was thinking about Erika and Youji and how I only ever really saw Youji smile when he was talking to his sister. And how I'd immediately start smiling when I'd hear that piano start because I KNEW we were able to talk to Erika and just how much love they had for each other. I only got to see my nephew once, and we never got to go to the aquarium. Erika always knew what we were feeling and did her best to support us, even when she should be focusing her new family. I always felt like we family, like at any second I could just move Youji over and it would feel natural and safe. And no matter what, Youji was gone. She's either going to find out we died terribly or never know what happened to us. We only went to this school being it was Erika's school, and is she going to feel guilty over that too? I wish Erika was able to take our child instead of Kitani, she was a great mother to us and I KNOW she would have been a great mother to my kid. And then she'd have something of Youji after he was gone. Honestly, screw Tetsuo and Zenya, I wanted Youji and Erika to be happy and instead Youji is constantly being taken from by these two. It's been like, two weeks max???? I don't care for y'all enough for the endings we got, we should have moved in with Erika and said see ya later (never). I miss Erika =(
bro your videos are so easy to listen to
I’ve been waiting for someone to make some Nitro Chiral video essays! Excellent work my guy keep it up! Can’t wait to see what other videos you’ll upload in the future :D
This is such an excellent analysis of a game that's meant a lot to me over time ! Really great video 🩷
I don't know if it's because I already had a child, but I actually like stories with talking about the whole Blood, Flesh, Pregnancy, Chilbirth... 😅 Something growing inside of you. You want it to leave, but you're also scared because there's only one way it can possibly leave... Childbirth is terrifying on it's own and the loss of control during it is also scary.
I like all these subjects. I like Sweet Pool, but the relationship with Tetsuo is unfortunately disappointing to me. I like some scenes... Others I hate. I like all the little touches and attention from Tetsuo. Very early on, he pays attention to Youji. I feel like it would all be better if they had an actual conversation about the rape. Something is missing. I understand that it was "instinct" in this universe even if I don't particularily like that trope, but I needed a conversation, an apology, a promise to control his instincts.... something! He apologizes for being rough at one point I believe? That was not enough for me at all. It's a shame because I didn't necessarily dislike his character. I just felt like they stumbled a bit when it came to Tetsuo in particular.
Random thing, but I really liked how Youji often go to the bathroom in the beginning of the game. Blood pours out of him with the flesh bits. It quickly screamed menstruation to me. That scene was amazing. One of the stronger scene for sure for me. He felt it coming. The image it brought to mind was stricking.
Thank you for this analysis, its amazing!
I also had revolted feelings with the themes of pregnancy, and body automony. And the reletionship of Tetsuo and Youji.
Im looking foward for the rest of your videos!
Dropping a quick comment to say that I'm looking forward to revisiting this once I've played the game myself! Thank you so much for exploring these fantastic visual novels and I'm excited to hear your thoughts!
Hey, I'm so glad I found your channel! I really love visual novels as a genre, especially for horror and mystery, and a lot of what you brought up in this video was on point for my own thoughts on sweet pool. I see you've done another video on slow damage and you mentioned you've played other nitro+chiral works, so I was wondering if you've played anything by adelta. In particular, I find Hashihime of the Old Book Town to be a particularly interesting one. Hashihime is my favorite visual novel of all time and it's writing continues to be the strongest I've seen in BL VNs specifically (though I will say that is mostly due to the first two routes). I really recommend it and I would love to hear your thoughts on it. I found that it made use of the visual novel format in a unique way, by only giving the player one choice per route and forcing the player to play the routes in a specific order. It was really exciting to see how drastically your impression of characters changes route to route because the play order is predetermined. I really hope you check it out and keep doing what you're doing!
YAY!!! MORE SP CONTENT! months ago, i tried to find out what made it click so much with me.… i thought @ first that”wll, sp is a queer denpa game & i need more of those w/ translations”, but i was sure that it did so more on a thematic level and the moment you started saying the themes you picked up on via different theory lenses i went “oh so that was it. this guy gets it.”
but, yes, youre right, sp definitely needs more analytical like content because there’s a lot to unpack there. it’s such a beautiful game in all honesty. with personal sharings…i think the timing of me reading it during a time of transition (ie graduating) also made it stick to me more. other than the prose/the game leaning into my niche, the miracle’s may epilogue hit me Hard. it was the “nothing lasts forever” & the sequence when tetsuo remembers bits & pieces of youji w/o realizing that it belonged to him. reading that w/ my situation back then made me feel all senti.&mushy&also brought me to tears
other than that, i could go on & on about the art & the promo material because UGHHH its so good. how the hill did this game cater to every single 1 of my media cravings.
gawd i need more queer denpa vns..
Hello! Amelie Doree send me here!
again a great video!!! cant wait for more!! :3 i felt so troubled by this game since i didnt really like how the romance is written in it but i loved the horror side so i was glad to find out someone else has similar opinions and points!!
Ah I was right, I was able to watch this (with breaks to destress and pet a kitty!) I appreciate the approach you took to talking about this story, meat horrors with added insanity are one of the biggest 'NOPE' factors in VNs for me (first five minutes of SnU literally gave me a month-long panic attack, ouch, noped out of that FAST) and the character descriptions and plot elements I read about on VNDB made me VERY concerned about it. So an analytic approach helps ease the pain of learning the story beats. I do love horror as a device to address societal issues and explore trauma, though I know a lot of ero VNs tend to... imo revel in SA a lot? That and give Freudian excuses for it, though I really hope that trend is dying out. The soundtrack also does a lot to unsettle considering the nature of the threat in this story! Though I'm listening to the OP finally and holy heck I am a rock nut but I really like it ;w; .......I also hate that I keep thinking the singer for Togainu no Chi's GRIND and Break the Chains sounds a little like Jack Black in Tenacious D
Please pardon the disjointed nature of my comments, I try to keep thoughts coherent sometimes but ADHD brain go fuckin' brrrr
I played Sweet Pool not too long ago and I have to be honest, it has the weakest impact on me personally (out of all the Nitro Chiral games I've played so far). The art and soundtrack is nice, the horror aspect of it is also horrifying, but for some reason, I just find the ending to be not as impacting emotonally? The period of Youji's depression after Tetsuo basically r-ped him did hit me hard, but the scenes after just did not impact me as hard. Sweet Pool is still a good read though and I was entertained throughout it.
Anyway, I really love your videos so far! Looking forward to the Lamento video (even though I haven't played it). Keep up the good work!
mita makoto is the love of my life
I'm so convinced to try out Sweet Pool. I've always thought it's a beautifully made visual novel. Thank you for your video essay.
Also, do you have any interest of making a video about Togainu no chi? I want to see your take on that.
I've never played sweetpool before but I enjoy other n+c games and this vid makes me wanna play it now
I love all of your videos , great job ❤
I love all Nitro+Chiral games (especially Slow Damage now, however I hate JAST for it's horrible translation, which I have to play it... but meh, maybe someone will translate it too one day), but SP... I don't know if I'll ever actually play it. I bought it, saw videos about it, vaguely now it's themes and story... but I can't bear horror, especially body horror. Psychological horror is better, but SD was hard on my little heart too :D I love SD too, it's just not for the weak heart, and the 'horror' factor is much lower in that VN imo.
Your video essay was really interesting, especially the feminist part, I never thought about the story like that, but it seems understandable. Thank you :) (and sorry for butchering the English language, I'm not a native E-speaker)
I hope you do all the BL games by Nitro Chiral or “No Thank You! LOVE YOUR WORK!
Currently I'm planning on discussing them all except Togainu no Chi! I found I didn't have as much to say about that one compared to the other games. Though that may change if/when I replay it. I still need to play No Thank You and LKYT, but I expect I'll want to discuss them once I do!
Are the bezels part of the game?(I'm not a native speaker, I'm not shure how the side colored sides are called) they are kind of unpleasant if you are watching it at night because they are quite bright
the game is a 4:3 ratio so the bezels are edited in. thanks for the feedback! if i widen the screen like this again in editing ill make sure to pick backgrounds that are easier on the eyes
PLEASE MAKE A VIDEO ON LAMENTO SOON ;;
omegaverse meets saya no uta sorta kinda
Is lamento still coming? Hoope you is a ok
YES SIR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I remember that this game affected me so much that I started uploading videos with Spanish translation (Before things were simpler and there were not so many restrictions) Until the Copyright Nation attacked 🥲 Then I discovered that it was a strange type of omegaverse and everything clicked in my head 😆 The game will not be the favorite of many, but it brought us good tears, Youji is my favorite character from Nitro Chiral, his voice actor also played Asato, who is another of my favorites.
I experienced the game through your translations, I liked it so much that I played it myself and cried for weeks lol. Gracias por tus traducciones ❤ fueron mi evento canónico 😂❤
@@xVadRay Traer eventos canonicos a una generación fue mi evento canónico 🤗