“Juniper’s Knot is the tale of a lost boy and an imprisoned fiend who through eventual bonding, try and help overcome each other’s obstacles.”
My usual boring tale of app store browsing was met with the discovery of a more superior, melancholic, and thoughtful tale of Juniper’s Knot, a kinetic visual novel made by Dischan Media. For those unfamiliar with what kinetic visual novels are, think of the concept of visual novels, which are similar to mature-themed, illustrated, interactive, stories. Sort of like a mature picture book with choices that change the storyline. Than remove the interactive part (no choices), and you will simply get an illustrated story that plays dialogue out to you whenever you tap your finger on your iPad or iPhone. Thus the term “kinetic visual novel,” is similar to “a moving visual story.”
The style of storytelling in Juniper’s Knot revolves around two main characters: the lost boy and the imprisoned demon. The perspective of the story switches between these two characters on occasion to represent what the two are feeling. The demon is stuck inside the old manor, where for unknown reasons has been trapped there for implied centuries. The lost boy just happens to stumble upon her prison, after getting lost from a horse accident.
This unlikely encounter results in a conversation, where from the reader’s point of view, plays interestingly as both these characters are from different timelines. Implied by the boy’s dress, style of speaking, words, and daily life, the boy is from the Industrial Revolution (1760 – 1840). It is unclear when the demon is from except for the fact that she’s been trapped in the old manor for a very long time, in addition to her life in the outside world.
The conversation between the two, twists and turns into a complicated relationship. The boy, who is initially intimidated by the demon, is also slightly curious about the demons situation. The demon herself yearns for conversation and company after many long years, however is also bitter, sorrowful, and angry due to her situation and past. This mix of negative feelings is also being encouraged by her mechanism of freedom, which altogether is directed to the boy without the boy’s knowledge.
However, with all the emotions that you feel from this story, and with all the distresses, misfortunes and obstacles, it all leads into a surprisingly well done ending. The ending changes both characters lives forever in an unexpected way, and has left a mark on me as a reader for it’s miracle of creativity.
In addition to the beautiful story and characters, I really also love the art and music in this. Whenever the story wants you to feel the melancholy and anger from the fiend, the music and art will make you feel it. Whenever the story wants you to feel happy and satisfied, the music and art will do that as well. Dischan media should really be congratulated for their work, with this project only being developed in a month, in addition to it being their very first project.
If there were any detriments in Juniper’s Knot, it would be the fact that the old English might be hard to read sometimes. Undoubtedly because of the timelines that these two characters are from. However if anything, I personally find that it helps with the overall mood of the story, and has actually made me learn a lot of vocabulary, and history of that vocabulary. Though if you can read modern English, you shouldn’t be too affected by the writing in this story. The story also deals with mature themes, which majorly come from the fiends past, and the emotion that this story expertly portrays. So if you can’t handle that kind of stuff, be warned. Though I do promise that the ending will make you a little happier despite the mature themes of the story. Finally if you are not an avid visual novel reader, or don’t watch anime, read manga, etc, don’t worry about it! Since this was my first visual novel and I still found it enjoyable as such.
Juniper’s Knot is FREE and can be read from PC, Mac, Linux, or any IOS device. It can be easily accessed from the app store, as well as online downloads. The IOS app comes with all soundtracks, art, and extra art that fans and developers alike have made for this production. I am unsure about the amount of content in the desktop version though since I haven’t read Juniper’s Knot on that platform. Juniper’s Knot took me around 45 minutes to read, however I was also really into the story. I found Juniper’s Knot extremely enjoyable, so please enjoy it if you have the chance.
Thanks for Reading!
Disclaimer:
I do not own Juniper’s Knot. All art, photos, and story belong to Dischan Media. Please support the official release.
You may find their website here at https://dischan.org/index.php