★ ★ ★ To the Stars ★ ★ ★
https://gtm.you1.cn/id/devvek1ng/inventory/#730_2_8942070803
https://gtm.you1.cn/id/devvek1ng/inventory/#730_2_14897275016
https://gtm.you1.cn/id/devvek1ng/inventory/#730_2_15691808866

"Utawarerumono: Prelude to the Fallen" is a remake of the game "Utawarerumono (2002)". As the author of this review, I'm very fortunate to be able to experience such a masterpiece. I also took this opportunity to watch『Utawarerumono』, a TV animation adapted from the game of the same name was broadcast as early as 2006. At this moment, in order to preserve the touching and joy of this group of works in my heart, I hereby use this article to express my emotions, as well as my views and understanding of the work.

Let's start with the battle link. The battle of this game is a typical SLG war chess game. Its exquisite battle scenes and combat operations with a sense of impact require players to experience it themselves, I’ll not go into too much detail. In contrast, the battle scenes of the anime "Utawarerumono" appear stiff and rough, which does slightly affect the viewing experience. But one thing needs to be explained: in the game, when the gorgeous and cool pictures attract ur attention, u’ll feel restless in a long section of ordinary daily story, and u’re eager to have a battle can bring pleasure and not pay attention to the dialogue of the characters, even if the plot isn’t bad or even lively and interesting. In addition to the battle, I prefer to put the highlight of this review on the core plot, so I’ll talk about the particularly exciting parts of the plot separately.

Some villains portrayed in the story have a way of thinking and actions confuse that some people: Nuwangi who bullies the weak, Niwe who’s a fighting maniac, and the emperor Olikakan who vents hatred, etc. Although these villains are in high positions, they have no mercy on the civilians of other countries or even their own country, and are 'proficient in everything' in burning, killing, and looting. This can be called 'individualism' that acts for one's own selfishness and according to one's own wishes. Dii, as the leader behind this series of events, is also「The Great Liberator」who can bring happiness and disaster to people in the setting. He’s a special existence and cannot be simply classified as one of these villains. In addition, Kuuya of Kunnekamun, who is against the White God Hakuowlo in the story, is also the only character who survived the struggle with the protagonist. As for whether it also belongs to the 'villain' I mentioned, it depends on everyone's understanding of the work.

Hakuowlo (ハクオロ) is the protagonist, also known as the White God. Hakuowlo is a different emperor in my opinion. He is 'weak', although he’s the ruler of a country, he doesn’t have the domineering and tyranny of the villains, and the decisions are always made by subordinates. Especially the helplessness he showed when he was tied up along with his bed by his 'servant' Karulau and taken to another country to participate in the war was really comical and laughable. In addition, he’s also 'capable', I believe everyone has no doubt about this. After all, he was originally「The Great Liberator」who created the sub-human world, whether it’s politics, military, science and technology. It's just the combination of 'capable' and 'weak' makes the character image of Hakuowlo stand out. Is Hakuowlo a gentle and kind person, or is he not suitable to be an emperor? This’s also left for everyone to think about, I’m just talking about it in general.
Love bound by a pact refers to the feelings that the heroine Eruruu(エルルゥ) developed towards Hakuowlo after signing the pact with him, her soul bounded by restrictions of the pact. I think this part can be regarded as one of the places where the artistic effect brought to the audience is 'explosive'. It's just the depict is not in place enough, but it's enough to move the audience.

Eruruu is one of the highlights of this work. In the story, her feelings for Hakuowlo seem reasonable to others, but painful to herself. From the beginning, she accompanied Hakuowlo and treated his injuries, to the death of her grandma Tuskur, she and her sister Aruruu were entrusted to Hakuowlo to take care of them. The three of them were like family, this process all explained the rationality of Eruruu's feelings for Hakuowlo. Although the true face of Hakuowlo is「The Great Liberator」, he treats all his companions kindly, especially Eruruu. However, after knowing the pact with Hakuowlo,she hesitated and even denied her feelings. She believed in the so-called "complete dedication from soul to flesh and blood, even a hair" pact, abandoned feelings which had buried deep in her heart. The funny thing is the pact Eruruu has always abided by was neatly abolished by Hakuowlo who knew the truth.

This duel is the finale of the story and also the highlight. It’s not only the key to unlocking the mystery of Hakuowlo's life experience, but also the output of different values of this fictional world. The focus is on the dialogue between「Empty Shell of Mine(空蝉)」and「Doppelganger of Mine(分身)」. Note here I deliberately do not use "Hakuowlo" and "Dii" coz I wanna separate the will of God as a「The Great Liberator」from the human. This's a fight between god&god, and a fierce collision of two ideas, not grievances between people.

The essential reason for the duel between「Empty Shell」and「Doppelganger」is that the two have different views on ruling the world. 「Empty Shell」believes the world should implement the policy of helping the poor and the needy weak, and harmonious coexistence between races; 「Doppelganger」believes the world is the law of the jungle, and the survival law of the strong survives and the weak perishes. It’s worth reminding although the whole story is narrated from the perspective of the protagonist, but the non-protagonist isn’t necessarily evil. Ofc, there’s no need to refute the individualistic villain mentioned above, and it’s recognized by anyone as bad.

Think about the above problem from another angle. Can't both ways of thinking be adopted together? Although the two seem contradictory, there’s still a solution. Recalling the ancient Chinese thoughts on governing the country, there are three famous ones: Confucianism, Taoism, and Legalism. When the society is turbulent, the country is governed by ‘Taoism’, and when the society is stable, the country is governed by ‘Confucianism’. As for ‘Legalism’, both are taken. It can be seen from this the confrontation between「Empty Shell」and「Doppelganger」isnot unsolvable. Videlicet, the two can take turns to govern the world. Therefore, tracing back the cause of the whole story, we have to blame early awakening of「Empty Shell」.

In the end, after discovering he was the embodiment of Uitsualnemetia's good half, Hakuowlo challenged「Dark Witsuarunmitea」Dii, the embodiment of the darker half, and emerged victorious by fusing with it, unifying the「Uitsualnemetia」. Afterward, Hakuowlo asked to be sealed away for a while to prevent any more damage to the world but promised Eruruu that he would see her again. Eruruu and others will uphold the will of「Empty Shell」and continue to develop the world in the direction of their ideal.

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In general, this’s a masterpiece that combines rich emotional descriptions, the collision of different political ideas, and the inheritance of spiritual culture. Its unprecedented worldview setting also shocked me a lot. In the final analysis, when it comes to the explanation of the game title, 'Utawarerumono' means the person or thing (spirit) that is praised. I think the game praises the spirit of「The Great Liberator」of Hakuowlo who sacrifices himself for others, loves the country and the people, and values friendship and righteousness. Even if the god will be destroyed, his spirit will be praised on forever.