Let's Play/Read For Elise ~Elise no Tame ni~ [COMPLETE]

[[email protected] is here]

Masumi breaking up with MC-kun
View: https://youtu.be/tbGER-FeJfI

VS
Nanae breaking up with MC-kun
View: https://youtu.be/FkrGUCdQ6Zk

 

[mydadiscar]

MC-kun is going to be the next Mamoru Takuma by the end of the month. My bet is that he either goes postal his workplace or the school that girl teaches at.
Or he stabs the two sisters and commits specific deeds with the corpses.

 

[proto-crimsonconnoisseur]

Any updates OP? Or are you busy with life?

 

[[email protected] is here]

Any updates OP? Or are you busy with life?

Just life stuff, but I'm planning on reading through day 8 this evening. Should hopefully have the next part posted in 2 - 3 days

 

[Cookie Kawamori]

Really cool to see a readthrough of this. VNs in the late 90s/early 00s, when creators were experimenting with where to push the medium, were just a golden age of spontaneous projects informed by that era's prevailing malaise. They're all agonisingly under-documented too, so taking the time to post and summarise this one is awesome.

 

[[email protected] is here]

Really cool to see a readthrough of this. VNs in the late 90s/early 00s, when creators were experimenting with where to push the medium, were just a golden age of spontaneous projects informed by that era's prevailing malaise. They're all agonisingly under-documented too, so taking the time to post and summarise this one is awesome.

Glad you're finding it interesting!

Btw, if you're interested in retro VNs and their documentation, you might like my VN (it's the one linked in my sig). It's a blend of fiction and non-fiction. A decent portion of it are actual reviews/blog posts of retro VNs mixed in with the story. The idea was to immerse the reader in the environment of a character drunk on digital nostalgia (specifically nostalgia for retro VNs in his case)

 

[[email protected] is here]

Part 8: (Final Day)

The final track in the OST plays for a good portion of this day. So if you want to get into the right mood for this finale, I recommend listening to: this track while reading.

{So, my room's returned to being empty again.}

After that fight with Masumi yesterday, I guess she stormed off while we were sleeping. He briefly reminisces about the moment of happiness he had with Masumi when he returned home, before everything crashed and burned. Lamenting the fact that said happiness was nothing but an ephemerality.

I'm so glad Masumi didn't steal any of our shit. She could have done so easily, and it's totally not beneath her to do something like that.

Leaving the house and heading to work we contemplate whether Chitose will show up today. The first thing we notice when clocking in is Chitose apologizing to our boss. He tells her that her recent absences (which she apparently didn't get permission for) are "water under the bridge". He then adds:

Manager: {"Since you're quitting, it really is nothing but water under the bridge now."}

After finishing talking to Chitose, the manager notices us standing by and informs us of the sudden news. He tells us that Chitose has urgent family troubles and needs to move back to her hometown. (Whether this is true or not, who knows, but apparently this is the story she gave him.)

We express some concern about her suddenly quitting, and he asks us why we care so much, since this is a far bigger issue for him. As now he has to explain to his boss why one of his employees has just quit without prior notice. He then leaves us to go do exactly that.

Changed from her work clothes, Chitose drops by our desk to say goodbye. We notice that rather than her usual cold demeanor, she appears sad.

Chitose: {"I'm sorry that I was always so brash towards you."}

We tell her that there's not need to apologize. We want to ask her one more thing, but hesitate.

Chitose: {"About that other thing, please just forget about it."}
{That "other thing"... So, she really did go into the hotel with that guy.}
Chitose: {"Goodbye."}

As Chitose leaves the office we contemplate running after her, but before we can do anything our manager yells at us to get some paperwork done. He tells us that he wants it done within 10 minutes.

Once we finish the paperwork, we sprint out of the office hoping to catch up to Chitose. We run into Blue-shit outside and comment on him being late. He tells us that he had a meeting with a client this morning. He then asks us if Chitose is absent again. We tell him that she just quit. Completely surprised, he asks us more questions but we just leave, because "We don't have time for that idiot".

Girls voice: {"What's the matter? Dark, isn't it?"}

It's apparently Nanae's voice, but I have no idea what she meant by that.

Nanae asks us if Masumi is still at our place. We tell her no, but then she accusingly asks us if we're lying. We ask her why she thinks we are lying, and she calls us a "suspicious person". She (of all people) then lectures us about how we knew that Masumi was just a child, but still did "things" with her. She then tells us to contact her if we see Masumi, but for any other reason never to talk to her again.

Not to vindicate MC-kun since he certainly is guilty of have been with a minor, but while Masumi is certainly a child legally speaking, "innocent" would be the last adjective I would ever use to describe her. Making us sound like the bad guy, when this very same girl is the one who actively pursued us and was already in a relationship with her teacher... It's just tainted in cognitive dissonance. Now I hate Nanae too, but she was always a whore anyway.

{Masumi... I should just forget about her already...}
{Masumi, and Chitose as well, I should just forget about everyone.}

We then wander around each location we frequent. Silently boiling up inside as we walk place to place aimlessly. Ultimately, we decide to go home.

Arriving home in the middle of the day, we decide that we really need to sleep. Getting to bed, we contemplate about how fucked things have been:

{Recently nothing but bad things have been happening.}

We find ourselves at the park. It's dark and raining. We feel like we're forgetting about something, and then we remember that we have to apologize to Hana. We call her, and tell her that we would like to apologize in person. We ask her if she can meet us here. She's reluctant, but ultimately agrees.

Hana is nice enough to actually meet us out in the rainy night, and listens to our apology. However:

Hana: {"Even though you apologized, I just can't forgive you for what you did."}

She then tells us that she need to leave, but we stop her.

We then sexually assault her, and our delusions take over from there briefly before everything wipes from our mind.

The next thing we know, we find ourselves outside Chitose's apartment building. She's surprised to see us, and then asks us what we're doing here. We tell her that we just wanted to see her. She thanks us, and asks if that's all. She adds that she's also sorry for always having been rude and cold towards us. We tell her that it's no problem.

She then asks us if we're going to leave now, and we tell her yes. But just as we're about to leave we burst out and tell her that we've always liked her. Then we decide to actually leave, but she stops us and invites us inside her apartment.

Chitose: {"Please, sit down and make yourself comfortable. I'll go and make some tea."}

We tell her that we don't need any tea, but she insists and leaves the room for a second.

She exits the room she had retreated into and we see her in a new outfit.

Chitose: {Hioki, I've always liked you as well.}
Chitose: {Even though I liked you, I was always nothing but mean to you.}
Chitose: {And then recently, you've been surrounded by so many woman...}

She asks us to have sex with her. Confirming our feelings for each other, we then do just that.

Since I can't post 18+ pics I'll keep the sex CG with Chitose to myself. But if you really want to see the image yourself just pm me or Google "For Elise ～エリーゼのために～ CG" and you can find it along with all the other CGs, you'll then also discover that there was an entire character we never got to meet because we chose to help Masumi

Seriously though, it's probably the only wholesome sex scene in this entire VN. A coming together of two unrequited loves. More than erotic, it put a sweet smile to my face.

After finishing having sex with Chitose, we then contemplate a couple of things. Everything contemplated however, is written in katakana, Japan's third alphabet typically used exclusively for foreign loan words. In contexts like this though, it's meant to carry an uneasy nuance:

{No longer}
{I'm no longer lonely}
{Always}
{Because you're by my side}
{That's why...}

We see a flash, and then see our room, then it transitions to outside the station, then it transitions to the street, then it transitions to outside our office. Finally we are greeted with our final image.

The severed head now has her eyes fully open. She then gradually closes them. The credits then roll.

I'm quite happy with this ending. It suites the work quite well, and is a lot less depressing than I was expecting. I'll probably write a a more extended post on my thoughts after having time to digest everything, but here's my immediate interpretation about the severed head:

Spoiler

I think one thing the head could represent is MC's awareness of Chitose's feelings. You'll notice that as he gets gradually closer to Chitose the head's eyes open further. And at the end, when MC has fully realized that both he and Chitose feel the same about each other, her eye's fully open. But precisely because that opportunity has past, with Chitose moving away and leaving, the head's eyes close again. Signifying that while he's arrived at the truth, things between both of them are now shut and over.

I should also add that I think once the MC returns home to sleep. I think everything he saw afterwards was a dream/delusion. Or more precisely, I think it was him having lucid interactions with his subconscious. So although he (nor Chitose) ever actually expressed their feelings for one another, the fact that MC does it in his dream shows that he has both finally reached the courage to admit this, and two, realizes that Chitose also has feelings for him. Although a dream, I do think this revelation that Chitose also always liked MC is a true one.

I think another thing the head could potentially symbolize is MC's comfort and understanding of women. At the start of the story he is a legit virgin with no understanding of women. But throughout the story, he interacts with a myriad of women and learns various things in the process (usually, but not always, how awful certain types of women can be lol). But by the end, he's gathered the courage to confess to Chitose (though only in his dream), and realizes that she also had feelings for him all along too. Essentially, and to get explicitly Jungian, I think the severed head represents MC's relation to his anima.

Edit: Please watch the video I linked regarding the anima, as I think it basically explains everything you need to know to understand this VN and what was going on with MC's sexual delusions

 

[ForgotMyPassword]

Wow, I was... Not expecting that. Good for MC-kun, I was expecting a bloodbath to happen at some point. Crisis (somewhat) averted.

 

[mydadiscar]

Damn. So he did not go postal. Will you be doing another playthrough to explore the alternate endings, Lain?

 

[[email protected] is here]

Damn. So he did not go postal. Will you be doing another playthrough to explore the alternate endings, Lain?

I think there is only one other route (if you choose not to help Masumi). Sometime this week I plan on reading through it, and I'll make a small post about whether the ending is any different. Or in what ways things differ. It probably won't be a thorough post with many screenshots (in case this ever does get translated, I want to give people a reason to read it. So I don't want to completely spoil the other route). But I'll note the major differences.

 

[proto-crimsonconnoisseur]

Damn. So he did not go postal. Will you be doing another playthrough to explore the alternate endings, Lain?

Same, surprised to see this kind of an ending, although it kind of makes sense.
It feel like its a bit half assed and could go a bit more in-depth into the story before climaxing, but honestly - i think of this as being more of a "tech demo" VN for the dev to try out what he can do with the medium before going balls to the walls.

Thus, I feel satisfied - not like going to a fancy restaurant and having a good old steak and after finishing it being in that blissful state; more like "I am hungry and its lunch-time" and eating a McD menu before returning back to work - type of satisfaction.

Thanks a lot Lain for doing this playthrough, very appreciated man. This is the kind of comfy shit i like to read in my spare time after work when relaxing. I hope you have a nice day.

 

[Sidewinder91]

This was a really interesting read. A shame I can't read Japanese, I wouldn't mind seeing what else Craftwork has made.

 

[[email protected] is here]

This was a really interesting read. A shame I can't read Japanese, I wouldn't mind seeing what else Craftwork has made.

Same, surprised to see this kind of an ending, although it kind of makes sense.
I think of this as being more of a "tech demo" VN for the dev to try out what he can do with the medium before going balls to the walls.

Glad you both enjoyed reading through! Indeed, this was a sort of warm up VN for them. Sayonara wo Oshiete is their masterpiece, and it's an excellent work of psychological horror. The entire work constantly blurs the lines of what's real and what's not. Allowing you to never be sure of what's really going on. If you're curious for a sample of it, I translated a scene of it for a longer video I did about visual novels. Here's the timestamped link of the translated scene