Wait a second… A new theory just came to mind for why Kotarou was on the Moon in the first place and that whole conversation with Kashima Sakura.
What if the reason he came to the moon and kept respawning on the moon was to get close to Kagari to kill her? Something like his instincts from his life on Earth screaming out his need to destroy The Key and save Earth…
That sounds like the intro to a movie trailer…
He was the ultimate weapon…
Born to destroy…
His only weakness was his emotions
Serious though. They make out the whole point of how in all the branch worlds, Kotarou was Kagari’s enemy (not entirely true but I guess for most of the branch worlds yeah). He was born into the Moon out of that desire, or perhaps fate is the right word here.
When Kashima Sakura appeared to stand in as Kagari’s enemy at first Kotarou was hesitant to stop her, but after destroying his hesitation Kotarou found a new purpose in protecting Kagari. From that point on, he couldn’t reconverge on Moon after dying, because the one thing that brought him there in the first place was no longer true.
I thought the same thing after seeing the second Moon/Terra anime episode. The VN only said something along the lines of that he had understood what exactly he is and therefore could not reconverge after dying anymore after declaring war on Kashima Sakura, but it was never explained properly.
I guess it kinda hammers in this idea of, in order to save the Earth, you have to defy your natural instincts and seek out a new path.
It also means that the Aurora had given its “children” a proper, specialized way of protecting themselves against one-sided annihilation. They hava a chance enforcing their right to live, even if it is against “greater good”. It must be a part of Aurora’s love.
What are you trying to answer: ‘Why is Kotarou on the Moon’ or ‘Why will he not regenerate after having a goal’?
Are those questions not fundamentally linked? I’m saying that losing the thing that brought him to the moon means he can’t reconverge anymore.
It’s easier for me if there’s a clearly defined inquiry. Everyone on the Moon is there because of a connection with Kagari. I like to think in terms on wave physics because it makes it easier to visualize. A being in a branch that achieves a connection with Kagari causes a reverberation. A single branch wouldn’t do anything, but if that being achieves a connection in all of them they resonate. The result is then an echo on the Moon the strength of which is defined by the strength of the connection. Echoes will remain and reform constantly as long as them remain echoes. For whatever reason Kotarou deduces that it’s likely that an echo that attains a purpose will lose it’s ability to reform. Note that he doesn’t say that it would be impossible for him to revive, but it would probably be too late for him to save Kagari afterwards. If you choose to see Kotarou’s connection to Kagari as simple destructive impulse, that’s up to you, but to me that seems ludicrous.
I personally never assumed that what brought Kotarou to moon was his personal desire.
Before, I believed that Kagari was the one who summoned Kotarou, because of many reasons including his power, his special position of kinda being between Gaia, Guardian and the Key, etc.
But after watching that episode, I believe that Kotarou was summoned to moon by the nature of aurora, or to be more precise, by his nature as “the rewriter”. Just like how the Key is summoned in order to pass judgement on humanity, the rewriter appears in order to destroy the Key and stop salvation from happening.
Why does Kotarou dream of his memories in the branch worlds everytime he dies?
I liked everything in this route but I felt the transition from the previous 5 heroine routes to moon wasn’t very clear. Also, I really liked the opening song for the route.
I think one theory was that every time he dies, he runs down one (or more) new simulations…But I don’t remember the grounds for that theory
haha very much so. I guess it’s meant to be clear only in hindsight
You can’t not like Rewrite of the Life!
While there are a few theories I can get behind, I never thought it was too important, especially since the theories all generally share a similar sentiment.
The thing is it’s just an incredibly effective storytelling device. You get hints into what is happening placed at a certain time in the plot (his deaths) that does not feel disruptive to the story at all. This works a million times better than a flashback which can be conveniently placed at any time by the author to explain something he sucks at explaining through more natural means. Tanaka basically manages to explain a plot twist to the world of Rewrite but weaves the explanation itself into the plot in the form of an event where Kotarou doesn’t die even when killed but instead dreams of “something,” which then serves as a hint that directs the reader towards theories about what is really happening.
Yeah they way they did it is incredibly satisfying from a dramatic standpoint so the VN gets away with just handwaving that.
It’s a pretty short route or arc but I loved it! The prologue - if we consider it as such - I found very compelling although it is slow with no stand out moment. That very slow build up where Kagari eventually allows Kotarou into her world peppered with the lighthearted moments where we wonder what grisly end he faces each time.
Then the mystery of Kagari’s simulations revealed not through exposition but a means that makes the player think hard about what this process is telling us. I’m not saying I do understand it but it was refreshingly different in style and context to the heroine routes - Romanticist (in the Literature sense) in philosophy almost.
The big feels moment for me came with the reformation of the Occult Club, after so long where we have seen what happens after it falls apart it’s very warming to see them all back together as a team. The Earth Simulation game is terrific and someone needs to make a real God Game like this! And Chihaya’s hilarious reaction to Sakuya HB
And the ending after the big fight which looks to be heading upbeat before ending with those strange and disturbing words. Now I look forward to the final route to see if I can make more sense of it all with hindsight…
To know that we know what we know, and to know that we do not know what we do not know, that is true knowledge.
Nicolaus Copernicus
