Lately, I’ve decided to title the posts in which I express my thoughts on specified visual novels as “My Thoughts on __________________.” I’ve chosen use this particular format for the titles in order to point out that these posts shouldn’t count as proper reviews. After all, I’m mostly just collecting a few stray thoughts and personal observations into these posts. It’s honestly all I have the energy and time for these days.
At any rate, The Expression Amrilato is a yuri visual novel which primarily revolves around a Japanese high school girl named Rin, who is somehow whisked away into a similar yet different world where everyone speaks Amrilato instead of Japanese. Luckily, Rin is found by Ruka, a younger girl who seems to be fascinated with Japanese and who is willing to help a total stranger. After Rin is forcibly dragged invited into Ruka’s house, the two girls grow closer as they struggle to communicate and learn each other’s language.
Honestly, the visual novel really explored some aspects of isekai stories which are typically left unexplained or underdeveloped. Visitors from another world are treated almost like immigrants, for instance, and accommodations are made for these sudden newcomers who find themselves trapped in an unfamiliar land and who are bogged down by a language barrier. I would say that The Expression Amrilato did a great job with the world building and such matters are handled in a logical and sensible manner.
For what it’s worth, I have my doubts someone can become fluent in Esperanto by reading through this visual novel (as Amrilato is supposed to be based on Esperanto), but that’s neither here nor there.
In regards to the yuri… well, the intimate relationship between Ruka and Rin can be interpreted in different ways, but the reader ultimately decides on its nature by selecting choices.
The only problem is that there’s a considerable age gap between Ruka and Rin, which will definitely turn off some readers considering Rin is only a high school girl. Still, they only stick with kissing if we exclude the typical and polarizing bathroom “skinship” consisting of breast fondling that’s so commonly found in anime (at least Rin is the one who’s on the receiving end, but it’s still sexual harassment either way if we get down to it).
The tone for The Expression Amrilato will vary wildly between scene and scene. At times it’s quite humourous; at other times it’s quite melancholic. I cry very easily when I read through visual novels so this particular metric is borderlbut this one definitely made me shed tears a few times.
All in all, I found The Expression Amrilato to be a touching story of two girls who grow to really really love each other despite the obstacles of language (and age). I’ll proudly admit I liked it even though people may think think poorly of my moral character as a result.
The Lily Garden 