I finally decided which visual novel I want to tackle next, and it’s going to be Mirai Radio to Jinkou-bato (未来ラジオと人工鳩), developed by Laplacian, a studio that seems to specialize in more mystery-focused VNs.

The story takes place in 2061, in a world where long-range communication is basically impossible because the artificial pigeons created by humanity fifteen years prior began devouring all radio waves. Humanity’s greatest innovation turned into its greatest disruption.

The protagonist, Yamanashi Sora, builds a few short-range radios from spare parts and begins broadcasting using a transceiver left to him by his father. He hands the radios out to a few friends, and together with his sister Mizuki, he starts hosting small radio shows.

The problem begins when some of the people who received the radios start hearing mysterious broadcasts that appear to be predicting future events, formatted like a strange “news program” which doesn't make sense in a world without long range communication.

In one of these broadcasts, Sora hears a report announcing his own death in three weeks, supposedly caused by an incident near the ruins of Terminal 1, a location tied to a major event in the past that connects most of the cast.

With only three weeks before the supposed incident, Sora begins investigating the phenomenon to try to understand the warning and prevent his death. He’s joined by Mizuki, the young professor Azamino Tsubaki, university student Kosumo Akina, and his best friend Ooishi Maruo.

I’ve only played about five hours so far, but the premise grabbed me immediately. The key to the mystery seems tied to Hazuki Kaguya, a woman living alone in the abandoned Terminal 1 who clearly knows more about the pigeon crisis than she lets on. She strongly opposes Sora’s intention to destroy all the artificial pigeons, but we don’t yet know her reasoning.

At this point I don’t really have any concrete theories about what caused the pigeons to malfunction, or if it was even a malfunction at all. Someone could have engineered it deliberately, and nothing in the story rules that out yet.

The characters have been interesting so far. Mizuki is easily the comedic highlight, always at the center of the funniest scenes. But if I had to judge purely by looks… well, Akina wins hands down (just look at the picture above).

What makes this even more exciting is that the VN has the “Enforced Playing Order” structure, meaning each heroine route adds pieces to the larger mystery until everything comes together in the final route. I love this format when it’s done well, and this one definitely feels like it has the potential.

I’ll keep reading over the next few weeks and will make more posts as I uncover more of the story. Looking forward to seeing where this mystery leads.