Who… are you?



Who… am I?



Ever17 is a classic Uchikoshi/Nakazawa story in every way: a handful of colourful individuals are trapped in an isolated environment facing impending doom. A few recurring words/phrases help us understand the underlying themes, which are tied together nicely after a variety of twists and turns. If you’ve never played this game before (why are you even reading this?) then watch the game’s original intro to get an idea of what I’m talking about:

“I am here.”

“What is your name?”

“…I…am… I am…”

“You are not me!”

“Who… are you?”

“Who am I?”

“I am you.”

Obviously, there is a pattern here. At its core, Ever17 is a game that asks questions about identity. Every layer is tied to these questions, from character motivations to the branching structure to the idea of the player existing in a higher dimension than that of the game’s cast. It is a visual novel in every sense of the world, using everything at its disposal to hammer its point home. In this analysis, I shall attempt to examine what kind of questions Ever17 asks about identity through the lens of three character case studies. Let’s get started!



Case Study #1: Sora Akanegasaki



“Copy complete. There was no guarantee that the procedure had been a success… All of the data about Sora in front of me… All of the images Sora had seen, the sounds she had heard, things she had felt and thought… Every strand of her memory was written on that disk.”

As you may be able to tell from the quote above, Sora is an A.I. She was created to work as assistant chief engineer for LeMU’s Development Division, programmed with the traits of curiosity and concentration. The melancholic value of Sora’s story lies in the fact that she is easily replaceable. The Sora we see for the majority of the game (stored deep within LeMU) is doomed from the moment the theme park starts to flood. While copies of her do exist onshore, the Sora that has existed alongside everyone during the “accident” will cease to exist. As such, all of her memories will disappear. This idea is explained quite nicely by Sora herself in the midst of her route:



“Historically, and from that moment forward, the two of you are traveling down the time axis as separate entities. But, if you turn around and look at the journey you have taken, you will see that at one point the two of you were joined together. It is split like a ‘Y,’ with two points emerging from one line. Not a 'W,’ with two separate points of origin. You may be unable to imagine two of yourself, splitting apart and going different ways at a particular moment which we will use as a reference point. But that is something that has already happened.

You are always, incessantly, approaching a choice in each present moment that becomes the past the instant you visit it. Will you choose path A? Will you choose path B? The you that is standing here may have come down path A, but in another time axis, there may be a you who is going down path B. And both the you on path A and the you on path B are both still you.”

This idea of a ‘Y’ axis is somewhat of a recurring theme during Ever17 and is something that I feel fits perfectly into the medium of a visual novel. People are defined by an amalgamation of their past decisions, just like how the choices you make in a visual novel will affect what kind of ending you get. Realising this, Takeshi tragically drowns in an attempt to copy the current Sora and help her escape alongside him. This concept of diverging paths from the same origin also applies to our next case study.



Case Study #2: You Tanaka



“I Am You!”



The name “You Tanaka” can be applied to two different characters: Yubiseiharukana and Yubiseiakikana. The phrase “I am You” can be perceived on a different level as both characters are actually clones. In 2015, facing imminent death, Yubiseiharukana gave birth to herself (don’t ask).

The nature of identity is once again questioned here. After all, the fact that there are two distinct Yous was probably only realised by the majority of players upon the game telling them so. Both characters have very similar personalities. While Sora’s route focuses a lot on the accumulation of experiences forming a person’s identity, You’s focuses more on who we are in the present moment. Earlier in the route, You is defined in part by her mission to find what happened to her father and discover more about the events of her past. Eventually, she comes to realise that we as human beings only exist in the present. The future and the past are more or less abstractions created by the mind to understand its current existence.



“The future will come. But until that moment comes, the future is just like the dark. You can’t see anything. You never know what might happen a minute from now. The future is scary, so that’s why people look to the past.If you look back everything is clearly illuminated. But… The past is really the same. The further that you get away from the present, the darker it is and the less you can see. The only sphere that we can truly know is really tiny. Especially when it comes to time, we are essentially blind. That’s why I…I… I just want to value this moment.”

Realising that identity is something that more or less lives and dies with every moment in a continuous cycle of rebirth allows You to let go of a lot of her anxieties and become more content with the controllable present, as indicated by the seemingly increased appreciation of the senses You gets at the end of her route.

Case Study #3: Blick Winkel



Blick Winkel is an example of a game defining the player’s role within the story itself. Throughout the game, multiple references are made to the idea of understanding the third eye/fourth dimension. As a player of a game with branching paths that can be accessed at your whims, you have a power that the characters inhabiting the game do not. If they are three dimensional beings, then you are from the fourth dimension, with the ability to access multiple separate timelines. As Blick Winkel (or “perspective” when translated from German) the player has the ability to play as/possess a multitude of different characters in order to achieve their goal, particularly when they become conscious of their own being within the game.

“I am seeing now.

I am being seen now.

You are seeing now.

And you are…

Surely being seen by someone.”

By making the player a concrete entity, Ever17 manages to establish what the player’s identity is and how it is perceived by the other characters. Of course, there are a few things which may bring the player out of the story (for example, Blick Winkel has a set gender and a voice of his own) but overall, the perspective character is more or less featureless (a classic staple of self insert player characters, and for good reason).

This added layer of character interaction so close to the end of the game really increases emotional investment in my opinion. Critics of the angle have felt that the fourth dimension was used as an ex machina in order to neatly finish the story. However, I feel that the novelty of explaining how a player fits into a visual novel is something that should be appreciated somewhat. This feeling of power over the other characters being acknowledged in-game was one of the reason why recent indie hit Undertale was praised so highly.









So to conclude, the main cornerstones of Ever17’s philosophy on identity are the following:

-Without memories, everyone is more or less on the same point of the ‘Y’ axis

-It is only when we start making choices that our paths diverge in life

-There may be multiple versions of us (personality wise) in the world that simply made different choices and turned into different people

-Despite this, it is important to remain grounded in the present and not grasp onto the past (or the future) for our sense of self worth

-Players of visual novels are like fourth dimensional beings, able to make choices and jump between timelines as they please

As you may be able to tell if you have played some of Uchikoshi’s games, these themes are used by him quite frequently. He has said before in interviews that he has been influenced a lot by Buddhist philosophy, which may go some way to explaining his views on identity and the self. As for Nakazawa, I have never played a game by him that does not also involve Uchikoshi, but look forward to playing Root Double when the translation is done.

I really could do with some fried chicken sandwiches now.