A while back I 've played the demo for Where the Day Springs Red and really enjoyed it! That, in combination with some of your art, inspired me to check out Our Wonderland too.
Here is a thing about me: I often struggle to get into longer visual novels if they are not available on Android. Mostly because if I am reading something, I prefer to do so from the comfort of my couch/bed, or read it during travel, etc. Although I understand why many VNs are not available for mobile, sitting behind the desk for a long time jut doesn't put me in a reading mood... So I often end up getting distracted and abandoning PC vns for a long time, even if I genuinely enjoyed them. I was worried that the same would happen with OW.
Things is, my worries were completely pointless. I got really hooked by the story, and REALLY quickly. I got so hooked that I kept thinking about it outside of my reading sessions and alway felt tempted to go back behind my desk and read just a little more, just a little further. It was so hard to put down. And even though after that WtDSR demo I expected something good, I didn't expect that I would get into it THIS much.
OW was such a journey... I whole roller coaster of emotions. There were many moments that made me tear up, but the ending especially - I was right there crying together with the kids. I almost regret not commenting after every arc since I always had so many thoughts, but that would probably be a bit too much :"D I think that just like with WtDSR I am so amazed at how real and alive these characters feel. The fact that they are all in some or other way terrible people too, and yet they are terrible in such human and understandable way. Not as in, it justifies the things they did, but rather I understand how they ended up there. Incredible characterization. The psychological aspect is so strong too! Iggy's struggles with understanding himself and what he wants and who he is feel so personal. I related to a lot and even went on to do some introspection about myself. And coming briefly back to the "terrible people" point, I really enjoy the LGBTQ cast, and love the fact that you are not afraid to give them some very serious flaws. A lot of authors err on the side of caution (even though I understand why), but you don't pull any punches. And it made me realize just how starved I was for a story like this.
Genzou was my immediate romance pick, mostly because I was already biased with your art. But also because he is a cutie, almost everything that comes out of his mouth is poetry, and his moments with Iggy are the so impactful and have the most romantic vibes. What I didn't expect, however, is how much I ended up liking Orlam?! I see that he is (unsurprisingly to me now) a fan-favorite, so I apologize for being yet another one of those :"D But again, I didn't expect that at first! He gave me such a creepy, almost incel-y vibe in the beginning. But by the arc 3 I was completely smitten! I do, admittedly, have a history of liking horny and fruity cannibals, so I guess it was fate... Thus, I ended up doing a quick 2nd run to see his ending too (as painful as it was to reject Gen time and time again). Ah, speaking of Genzou and Orlam - that Orlam part in arc 5 made me so insane I had to stop reading for a couple of days just so I could calm down and process it. Just.... everything about it. The music, the cutscenes, Orlam's sprite work (HOO BOY, HIS SPRITEWORK), the whole thing about his heart, Genzou being unable to say what he hates about Orlam because it never was about hating Orlam, it was about hating himself, and the fucking HUG, and Orlam's breakdown after it, ohmygodddddd. I went FERAL. It is my hope that after this Genzou has at the very least dialed down the mean comments towards him somewhat and their relationship is at least a little better... I can hope, right?... hahahaha....
But my most-most favorite character is Collector-chan, of course! (Collector's part is just... mwah. After all the "obvious" dangers and horror, the calm boat ride and the more subtle, psychological horror of it... oooooh I LOVED it).
I want to say more, but it's so so much, and this comment is already getting rather long, so I try to keep it at that. But I just want to say that after experiencing OW I am VERY excited for WtDSR continuation (saying this while trying my best to not make it feel like extra pressure on you lmao), and I also look forward to diving into the rest of the OW related games!!!
It's so rare for me to have this much fun (or whatever you call the whole palette of emotions OW made me go through) with stories, especially in the current over-saturated media landscape. So I just want to thank you for this wonderful experience. Definitely one of my most favorite VNs. It hate that it got deindexed, because it's such a good story with a very important message, and I hope it gets re-indexed soon. In the mean time I'm just trying to spread the word and recommend it to my friends. Can't wait to reread it once the remake is out!