Geminism is a visual novel released by the company CRAFTWORK, known for their hit denpa title Sayonara o Oshiete ~Comment to Dire Adieu~. Released in 2023, it is their first title after over 22 years of inactivity in the visual novel market. Geminism’s production staff involves two of their original members—the artist and scenario writer Nagaoka Kenzou, and composer Sapporo Momoko, who both have worked on previous CRAFTWORK titles. The game is also the company’s first internationally released title, having been picked up for localization by publisher Shiravune.
Geminism is a title that greatly interested me. Partly due to the large time interval between Geminism and CRAFTWORK’s previous release, I find myself incredibly curious as to how the company’s style would change given two decades of progress in the visual novel market. Would they end up producing something left behind by the times, or would they be able to adapt and present a product that fits in just right amongst the lineup of visual novels we have today? Would the story even be good in the first place? It’s pretty exciting to think about given their legacy, but simply dawdling around wouldn’t get us to that answer now, would it?
Without further ado, let’s go dive together into the world of Geminism and see what it has to offer!
Mirrored Stakes in a Joint Ceremony
In Modern Tokyo, shortly after a pandemic that shook the world to its core, two small figures can be seen duking it out while cloaked in the darkness of the metropolis. With only their ribbons to distinguish themselves from each other, twin sisters Hirosoma Kikyo and Hirosoma Shinku find themselves in a life-threatening struggle against each other with two onlookers. The two mysterious men serving as their audience, Awasumi Yamaga and Tsukishiro Tsukishiro, simply watch as the Hirosoma twins try to snuff out the life of their sibling. They occasionally comment on the happenings, banter a little bit, and even cheer for their preferred winner in the bout, but they do not extend any helping hand. It is solely up to the twins to finish the ceremony by “winning” their duel and taking back what’s theirs. This is “Joint Happiness”, the ritual they have unwittingly become a part of.
Within this weird ritual, Kyoko and Shinku share a set of body parts. These body parts have been distributed between them and serve as their tokens to repeatedly participate in the rounds of “Joint Happiness.” The goal of each round is to kill their opponent and take their body part, adding it to their total going into the match. Should they claim everything except the opponent’s head, they become the winner of the ritual, claiming their “Happiness” as promised by the two men. How will the twins respond to the task at hand? This is the story of Geminism, where one is stronger than the other, and one is weaker than the other.
The Duality of Violence and Comedy
Geminism tells a pretty violent story. It’s no wonder that while reading the visual novel, I found myself repeatedly thinking that it was pretty unsettling. Right from the beginning, the narration launches you straight into the middle of the Joint Happiness ritual, with both twins going for each other’s necks without a clear explanation of why or how they ended up in their current situation. There’s a big lack of context that keeps the reader wondering and wanting more. Moreover, it feels like there’s even more to unpack if you pay attention to their two onlookers. Most of the time, the men’s conversations during the rounds were uncharacteristic of the twins’ confusion, anxiety, and bloodlust; they were mostly fun conversations, reminiscent of what high school friends would probably talk about as they relaxed during their lunch break. It felt like there was a mismatch in how grave of a situation the two pairs found themselves in. That feeling of dissonance was effective in keeping me on my toes as a reader, looking out for a potential sucker punch coming for me at any point in time. It made me keep expecting more.
Yet despite that feeling of being out of place, the puns and banter were hitting their mark. They didn’t feel as separated from the tone of the narrative as I thought they would be, and it did not take away from the Hirosoma twins’ struggle. While faced with the sheer absurdity of the situation, I found myself chuckling at multiple junctions because of how well they deliver their lines, even if it was in-between intense exchanges between the siblings. It felt pretty weird being put in a position where I was supposed to be feeling the stress of the situation yet the tension was repeatedly being dispelled by random moments of silliness. I’d say that the way its narrative flowed was overall pretty unique, finding different ways to shoehorn bits of wholesomeness and joy within an otherwise cutthroat setting.
Action Takes a Backseat
Although the synopsis paints a picture of an action-heavy visual novel, plenty of the scenes in Geminism are actually slice-of-life episodes. Outside of their battlefield at night, Kikyo and Shinku just act like girls their age. They’re curious about different kinds of food, cute clothes, shopping, taking a stroll around their neighborhood, romance, and other topics that teenagers usually wonder about. And to Awasumi and Tsukishiro’s credit, despite their roles as overseers of the ritual, they indulge the twins’ curiosity and pamper them quite a lot. All in all, despite the outwardly violent system of the Joint Happiness ritual, this visual novel still creates a wholesome atmosphere of freedom and coming-of-age for the twins.
And that paradoxical atmosphere is where the heart of Geminism lies. Far from just being a violent festival of young girls killing each other for the satisfaction of the other characters (although there are some aspects of that there), it’s a story that places its cast in an unreasonably unfair situation yet allows them to pursue bits and pieces of a normal life. It presents scenes that place heavy value on the mundane in contrast with the cruel absurdity of the overarching plot, making it so that the more each of the girls chase after a normal life, the more entwined they become with the fantastical ritual they find themselves participating in.
Parallel Journeys, Inseparable Fates, and a Tempestuous Ending
As for its structure as a visual novel, Geminism incorporates a linear storyline, requiring two playthroughs of the same story, one told through each of the twins’ perspectives. While it does mean reading many of the same scenes twice, this stylistic choice is one that I think greatly enhances the experience and payoff of the story as it heads towards the ending, as it substantiates the weird decisions each of them make and the motivations that underlie their choices. Related to that, Geminism also enforces a playing order for the twins’ scenarios; readers must first finish Kikyo’s before reading Shinku’s, as reading the latter first spoils the slow-burn revelations that Kikyo’s scenario contains. After finishing both, an extra scenario focusing on the two men is also unlocked, which does its best to fill in details that might have been left unanswered by the previous two. Taken all together, the three scenarios tell a solid story that leaves little to be desired.
But perhaps due to the mysterious nature of its setting, Geminism’s ending doesn’t feel as impactful as I think it should. For a large portion of the first playthrough, it was hard to get invested in any of the characters because I simply knew nothing about them. A lot of the background context is hidden behind hints they leave in the way they converse with each other, and things only become clear near the end of the Joint Happiness ritual. By the time that happens, however, it feels like it’s already a little bit too late. I especially felt this for Kikyo’s scenario when she would talk to Shinku. Their feelings towards each other, the animosity and care they express in their words and actions—all of them feel lacking in weight because it’s unknown to us what dictates the way they interact with each other. And so, by the time any foreshadowing and whatnot bears fruit, it’s already the ending. It left me with only a short window of time to stew in my own feelings about the story before concluding it.
That’s why I think the ending’s a bit tempestuous—it’s definitely an apt conclusion for the twins’ story arcs, but it doesn’t feel like it was earned because of how fast the story’s pace becomes near the end. It’s a minor complaint I have, but one that I feel takes away from the beauty of Kikyo and Shinku’s characters because of the lack of space in the text that helps readers appreciate their character development.
As for the extra scenario, it’s a pretty good follow-up to the twins’ ending and properly rounds up the tone of Geminism as a story. Awasumi and Tsukishiro keeping up their important role up until the end definitely makes the cast feel integral and irreplaceable, forming a sort of unique experience that, besides being novel, was able to satisfy me sufficiently as a reader.
We’re All Adults Here, Aren’t We?
If you were ever wondering about whether the adult content in Geminism is important or not, it’s basically necessary. A large part of the twins’ struggle in the story is rooted in their sexuality, hence by forgoing the adult content, you’d be missing out on a large part of the twins’ characterization. It’s not possible to avoid this content anyway if you want to read Geminism, as the Steam version without the patch is missing almost all of the story. In short, please read it with the adult patch or purchase the full version on sites that support adult visual novels!
For people sensitive to blood/light gore, there’s an option that censors blood in the settings of the game, so don’t let that prevent you from experiencing what Geminism has to offer. Based on my own playthrough, I feel like it’s supposed to make you uncomfortable in some parts intentionally, so embrace that discomfort regardless of your preferences. I believe that it would make the experience a lot more worthwhile.
Art and Music
Geminism is one of the most visually pleasing visual novels I have read. While most games in the genre bank heavily on their sprite and CG variations to provide a dynamic and immersive experience, Geminism makes use of an additional asset called “cut-ins” to recreate movement in its presentation. Instead of complete CGs, it incorporates images with transparent backgrounds that it calls “stills” to create variations in its artworks by layering them onto the game’s collection of backgrounds. The visual novel boasts a total of 38 unique stills, of which 10 are of the adult kind. There are 43 cut-ins that are implemented generously in each scene, stacking on top of each other as characters go through different kinds of expressions. Last but not least, there are 35 portraits distributed amongst the cast as well, completing a total of 116 items featured in the unlockables section of the game. Honestly, Nagaoka Kenzou outdid himself with the game’s art direction; due respect to the team for being able to pull off this visual treat.
Geminism also features 14 total music tracks, which in terms of quantity is on par with a lot of other short to medium length visual novels. I feel like each of them were featured nicely throughout my time reading the visual novel. None of the tracks felt repetitive, and wherever they were used in scenes, they fit the general tone and atmosphere of the situation quite nicely. For my favorite, it was probably the track titled “Inverse” because of how elegant it feels despite the encroaching stakes it seems to represent through its highs and reverberations, similar to a grand organ in a cathedral. I really liked Sapporo Momoko’s work here, and I hope to see more of them in future titles as well.
To end this section, I’d also like to mention the availability of Favorite Voice Clips as a feature. Personally, I didn’t find any voice line that I wanted to, well, listen to for an unhealthy amount of time, but it’s a nifty function to have especially in a medium that places importance on both visual and sound assets. Go ham with saving your favorite one-liners or sounds!
Verdict
Geminism is a visual novel that takes what’s considered a normal, everyday life and shoves a healthy amount of absurdity into it. By putting a pair of twins in the center of the story, it introduces a fresh and exciting twist into the relationships surrounding your typical battle-filled story. While linear in nature, it maximizes its storyline by making use of two parallel perspectives that inevitably intersect in a ridiculous ritual for a chance at achieving normalcy.
While engaging as a read, the potential for an incredibly impactful ending fails to be realized due to what feels like missed timings and rushed pacing near the ending. The characters do not feel convincing in their motivations until near the end, resulting in a lack of general investment early on that’s important for establishing a rewarding payoff. Despite this, Geminism is still very good at what it does well, incorporating dynamic visuals and sounds in an entertainingly fun yet violent narrative. CRAFTWORK did a great job with it as their return title, and I am very much looking forward to their next releases.
If you’re looking for an action-packed visual novel that’s exciting yet wholesome despite being vividly violent, go for Geminism. With its unique art direction, well-utilized soundtrack, and overall fun demeanor, it’s an experience that’s both cruel yet full of love.
GEMINISM IS RECOMMENDED
Purchase: JAST USA
If you are looking for another visual novel, you might want to check out MAMIYA – A Shared Illusion of the World’s End. We have also covered a wide variety of visual novels both originally in English and localized from Japanese, which you can check out here.
Many thanks go to Shiravune for a PC review code for Geminism.
Visual novel reader that wishes there were more than 24 hours in a day. Gacha victim, TCG enjoyer, and VTuber simp. Still trying to live happily.
