Lamento

lamento beyound the void is an action rpg first person shooter released
on october 27th, 2006.....

i lied its a bl visual novel. its a relatively unknown game as it was the only chiral game not to recive an official english release by jast usa and because it takes more that 2 clicks to download, but it might be one of the brightest hidden gems of them all. Everything about lamento is beautiful, from it's story, characters, design, music, and artwork.

In a world full of cats, a mysterious phenomenon called the "void" started to take over the forests. Everythingthe void touched became untouchable to cats causing a famine. this forced some of the cat villages to devlop a sacrifice system where, every month, a cat was chosen to be eaten by the villagers. After a string of terrible nightmares, Konoe finds himself cursed by an unknown tormentor, and on top of that, finds out he has been chosen as the next sacrifice. With no other choice but to flee, konoe sets out for the big city of ransen to find a cure for his curse.

its almost been 20 years since lamento came out as of writing this but it doesnt make it any less good. in February of 2024 it recieved an amazing stage play adaptation showing that maybe theres still hope for it so many years later LAMENTO BEYOND THE VOID 2 FOR 2026

Themes

Misfortune and lament

theres a lot i like about lamento such as the characters (all of them are great and have good connections), the music (its so good and is intricately connected to the story), the design (extremely good has insane amounts of detail in the ui and is dynamic to reflect the movement of the cats), the world (its not just a world with cat people in it its a world OF cat people), its extended media (nyanda, convenience store lamento, gakeun, all of those go insanely hard), or even things like the shui leaks story
but i think my most favorite thing about it is story surrounding misfortune

it took me getting to a certain scene around the middle of the game to realize that DUH its about lament its about how misfortune befalls anyone and theres nothing that can be done about it you can ask "why" but there wont be answer

In this scene, konoe is walking through the woods when he starts feeling bad and suddenly the curse he had thought he had broken came back out of nowhere for seemingly no reason. konoe panics and then lets out a loud scream and starts running. He has no destination, he just breaks out running. he just running and falls and starts banging his fist on the forest floor

the song that plays during this scene is called ketsui (決意) its such a banger and it made me realize what lamento is about

if i had to describe the song it sounds like dread and hopelessness which made me realize the main question in lamento is "why me" why did it have to be him. Why did he get cursed? why did he get chosen as a sacrifice and to be eaten alive by the people of his village. All he can do is lament THERE THWRE IT IS LAMENT which made me remember the line from the chorus of the opening song which are "lamento ego" (thus i lament) wow so shocking

thats all he can do, he doesn't know why he was chosen for everything and theres nothing he can do. not just konoe but the entire world of lamento. all living beings become untouchable causing villages to starve. why us? A sickness that makes organs disappear at random with a guaranteed mortality rate with no cause. why us?

There's no reason for it. it just happens to them. konoe or anyone else and all they can do is lament in sorrow and frustration. konoe knows whos doing it but its still unknown. Why do certain things happen, why did the curse come back after he had gotten so much hope

also the fact that no matter what he does konoe will always be Destined to be eaten by someone. whether its the people of his village or by devils he'll always be eaten no matter where he escapes to like him being chosen as a sacrifice and everything with leaks uuegh

idk if this is really getting across to anyone but konoes curse coming back combined with the music just made it click like ik this probably isnt the most groundbreaking thing ever but yea the song is just really good

More on the song its so good the moment the beat drops its like an unavoidable tragedy. my mind immediately goes back to konoe, after seeing that the curse had returned he started, running away. not just because thats when the song played but because of the overwhelming feeling of lament

ive always liked the way konoes feelings have been shown hes been seen panicking, over thinking, just general & suffering, both alone and with others its not just "konoe felt sad" it always shows how much he is torn apart by his situation and gives him the right to be sad, mad, scared, confused, etc. idk if this makes sense to anyone who hasn't played but they show him and let him be angry. they let him scream about it and be upset and i like that because they let him ask "why him"

LAMENTO EGOOO dun dun dundun dun dun dun LAMENTAS VAEEEEEE dun dun dundun dun dun dun i cant stress enough the feeling of lament this song is crushing. again back to konoe just screaming and running away not from anyone or anything hes completely alone in the forest but no matter what he cant escape he just runs with the feeling of dread fueling him

on "lamento" as in the opening song of the game it doesnt really need an explanation but when i first saw them (before the plot had properly began) i thought "wow these sure are unfortunate" and now that i realize lamentation is a core part of lamento (who couldve guessed) it makes a lot more sense than them just being sorrowful

Verum; the truth

伝承の詩 -Verum- (denshou no shi verum) is the good ending song that plays at the end of a route during the credits and is is incredible it geniuenly makes you happy and glad you reached the end of a route its a great song and like the opening its lyrics are in latin

i love this song so much just because of that the lyrics and ito kanako's vocals and just how the song sounds BUT ALSO IT ISNT JUSSTTTT THE ENDING THEME. IT IS THE SONG THATS BEEN PLAYING THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE GAME. IT IS THE SONG. THE SONG. IT IS 伝承の詩 -VOX-

that kinda sounds obvious when you type it because they both have "伝承の詩" in them but you wouldn't know that until you finish the game or go out of your way to look it up. while your playing you wouldn't know and i cant express how good it feels to realize it. theyre both in the music scetion so if youve never played lamento give them a listen and compare the two

the denshou no shi saga consists of 5 songs, 伝承の詩 -vox-, nostalgia, 伝承の詩 -nervus-, exitus, and finally 伝承の詩 -verum-. denshou no shi -vox- is the first one you hear and also the first song you hear in the entire game its the "yaaa iyaa iyaiyaiya i yaiyaiyaaaaaaaa" song. afer the intro i dont believe it shows up again until konoe finds out he's a sanga and "sings" for the first time.
i put sings in quotations because we never know what he is singing. he doesn't even know what he's singing he can't hear it himself. i believe the song also appears whenever the poet (shui) comes to save konoe. it is the unknown song that comes from within konoe and the song of the poet who has always been following konoe.

throughouut the game you hear vox and it evolve into its other forms like nostalgia, an acostic guitar version with no vocals, and nervus and exitus, more intense and dramatic versions that play as the story reaches its climax and konoe has to conjure all his strength during the final battle.

at the very end denshou no shi reaches its most intense form as konoe battles leaks and truly meets shui for the first time. he is singing his hardest to support his touga. no matter how hard he sings though it is still a vocaless song and one with no lyrics. it comes from within konoe but its meaning or words are still unknown. shui knows leaks has to be deafted so he gives him the lyrics to the song and when konoe sings it it kills leaks as fuck. after the final battle its finally revealed that lekas loved shui shui was cheating on his wife blahblahblah and you get to see the ending then the credits finally start and you finally hear the song.

denshou no shi was shuis song that he made for leaks he sang it to leaks and made it about him. it was for him and its contents can be found all over the game in the background. it was always there and it was also the meaning of the first line in the entire game, "Even if the world killed you, I would not forget you"

"verum" meaning truth in latin. denshou no shi verum is about truth and how it is obscured with the flow of time. it is about a person who, even if the world erased him and the truth, will be charised for who he is even if only one person in the world knows.

tbh i always thought "even if the world killed you" was kinda stupid like its a vauge opening phras you arent meant to know at first but then you learn by the end of the game and it does that but i always thought the wording was kinda stupid or purposfully weird on purpose. i knew it was shui saying that to leaks after i beat a route for the first time but now i have a bit more respect for it in the context of verum.

first i think its good to know what verum is saying so im just gonna put it here credits to yukirayu for the english translation (italics). ive also put verum on the "music" section of this shrine so listen to it while you read this

• Let me tell you something important now: the truth is hidden
  Dicam rem gravem, nunc: veritas est celata
  
  It continues to exist, unravaged by the flow of time
  sed tempus eam possit perdere et violare
  
  He stood in the midst of disaster, death, defamation, and damnation
  In calamitate, morte, fama, in maledictio, erat ibi hic
  
  In ruthlessness, conflict and darkness, he stood as an evil omen
  In misericorde, bello, tenebris, ut ipsus malus stabat hic
  
  In blasphemy and impiety, there he stood as a form that inspired fear
  In blasphemia, impietate, in terribli forma est hic
  
  The screams resounded from the void, “Is that form real? Is it not an illusion? Is it real or not?”
  In clamore, vanitate: Estne vera forma, non vera? Non vera?
  
  Open your eyes, open your eyes and behold!
  Oculos tuos aperite occulusos, ecce!
  
  He brought a red flower to an ashen world
  Rubem florem in canam terram tulit
  
  Hope, that is our only hope
  Spes, ea spes, sola
  
  I’ll share with you the memories and truth of a distant past
  Memoriam antiquam et veritatem te donam
  
  The truth is hidden from sight, but it remains there for eternity
  Veritas invisibilis est, sed manet, manet in perpetua
  
  Days of peace, laughter and tranquility, of life, fertility and joy
  Diem pacis, risum, placidem… Vitam, fructum, felicem…
  
  Of benevolence and order, of unity, virtue and light
  Bonitatem, ordinem… Consensum, asquum, lucem…
  
  Everyone desired them all, and his wounds pained and ached
  Omnis eos petunt, ergo hujus dolebat vulnus
  
  Quietly, yet certainly
  Quiete, sed certe
  
  Does he seek love? Or does he not seek love?
  Vultne amorem, vel non vult? Vel non vult? O!
  
  My heart and thoughts reach beyond the boundaries of time
  Trans finem temporis, cor mei, vola
  
  He breathes life into the earth
  In terram hic donat spiritum
  
  This is something that I, and only I know
  Solus ego, solus ego id scio
  
  He stood in the midst of damnation
  In maledictio, erat ibi hic
  
  He stood as an evil omen
  Ut ipsus malus stabat hic
  
  He stood as a form that inspired fear
  In terribli forma est hic
  
  Is that form real or an illusion?
  Estne vera, non vera?
  
  Does he seek love or not?
  Vultne amorem, vel non vult?
  
  Does anyone know the answer?
  Quisne id scit?
  
  Open your eyes, open your eyes and behold!
  Oculos tuos aperite occulusos, ecce!
  
  He brought a red flower to an ashen world
  Rubem florem in canam terram tulit
  
  Hope, that is our hope
  Spes, ea spes
  
  My heart and thoughts reach beyond the boundaries of time
  Trans finem temporis, cor mei, vola
  
  He breathes life into the earth
  In terram hic donat spiritum
  
  This is something that I, and only I know
  Solus ego, solus ego id scio

everything with shui leaks happens in the background. when i first got an ending of lamento and saw all the shuileaks reveals i joked about lamentos chekhov's gun jamming and theyre like "ugh just hang on a second" and you look away for a while and turn around and see someones shot without any sound going of so you just go "ok" as in they dont make a big deal out of any of the reveals or explainations they just happen which makes a lot of sense for a game youre supposed to play at least 3 times to completion.

and i do like it its more rewarding playing again and nowing shui is konoes dad and everything but also it really makes you see how much of everything was shuileaks like they were always there

"Let me tell you something important now: the truth is hidden" the first line of verum and one of the more hidden themes of lamento: the truth is hidden. it connects back to the first line of the game "even if the world killed you, I would not forget you"

the truth is only known to a select few and as time continues it will only get more obscured. however, even if the world erases the turth it will live on in the heart of those who know (shui and konoe at the end of the game) "It continues to exist, unravaged by the flow of time."

"He stood in the midst of disaster, death, defamation, and damnation
In ruthlessness, conflict and darkness, he stood as an evil omen
In blasphemy and impiety, there he stood as a form that inspired fear
The screams resounded from the void, 'Is that form real? Is it not an illusion? Is it real or not?'" people will shun, slander, and kill anything they don't understand. if they think something might be dangerous to them they will tear it down before they even know if theyre actually dangerous or not.

after konoe is cursed he knows the villigers of karou will kill him no matter what. he knows the truth about himself he knows hes not dangerous, but the villigers will not care konoe starts experiencing what leaks went through. leaks kept to himself and had no friends or family and was percived as a threat. the world would erase him , the world would kill him

however, shui was the only one who knew leaks and could see past the repuation that was given to him "The screams resounded from the void, 'Is that form real? Is it not an illusion? Is it real or not?'" when the name "leaks" was first dropped rai perpetuates this idea of leaks. the only thing they know about him is that hes an evil sorcerer thats lived for hundreds of years. konoe asks if "this leaks" is real or not. this is definately him asking if such a powerful person really exists but can also be read as if THIS leaks really exists. is leaks only a monster? is he nothing more? Is this form real? Is it not an illusion? Is it real or not?

"Open your eyes, open your eyes and behold!" shui knows the truth and knows theres good within leaks. this song was written so that the memory of this leaks could live forever even if only he knows

"I’ll share with you the memories and truth of a distant past
The truth is hidden from sight, but it remains there for eternity
Days of peace, laughter and tranquility, of life, fertility and joy
Of benevolence and order, of unity, virtue and light
Everyone desired them all, and his wounds pained and ached
Quietly, yet certainly
Does he seek love? Or does he not seek love?" though the truth is hidden, his times with leaks still happened. the joy and happiness they experinced was there. in the days before the void everyone lived in traquility. would leaks, an evil cat with no heart with no family who kept to himself ever desire love? everyone desires connections so why would leaks be any different. the truth is that leaks was just like any other cat but was shunned by everynyan because of heir asumptions of him

"my heart and thoughts reach beyond the boundries of time" (i love this line so much you dont understand its so sweet combined with the melody.) as a ghost his songs and feelings are able to travel long past the time of his death. its an answer to if leaks seaks love. he responds back saying he loves him. he wants to get his feelings across and wants leaks to know that he did truly love him all those years ago.

"He breathes life into the earth This is something that I, and only I know" leaks brought joy to shui he was kind to him and trusted him. he litterally breathed life into the earth by saving shui from death, something no one would assume a dark evil sorcerer would do. leaks' love and kindness is something he only showed to shui and something only shui would ever know.

by giving these lyrics and song to kone he gives leaks the most pure form of his feelings he can give. he gives leaks the truth, the fact that he always loved him, and it was enough to kill leaks as fuck in the final battle.

tldr:

this mainly turned into just an analysis of verum but theres other refrences to perceptrion and truth in lamento like when konoe and rai are talking to bojyo and other examples probably im replaying lamento rn and am trying to collect more examples od shuileaks being all throughout the game

lamento music is good

Stage Play

the lamento 2024 stage play is what made me start playing the game and i am still as obsessed with it as i was when i first saw it. Seeing those grown men do cat poses as part of the choreography captivated me and i haven't been the same ever since. ive spent hours looking at recordings of the curtain call on twitter, analizing every single action each actor does on each specific day i even bought one of the tshirts. the actual stage play howver, compared to the other chiral stage plays, is mid like theres not even interpretive dance sex sinces like cmon. THUS!!!!!!! this section will mainly be about the curtain call. i'll b erefering to the actors as the characters they play for simplicity so props to them and all their hard work THANK YOUUU

the basics

• After the stage play finishes, the actors all come out and bow and talk a bit BUT THEN the audience is allowed to take out their phones and record fo rthe curtain call performance. during the performance, the actors dance to "lamento" (the game's opening song) and some of them can walk off the stage and into the audience. it lasts for about 4 minutes but each actor dances and behaves differently and you'll always notice something new with each day/recording. over lamento stage's run there were several main bits that progressed and evolved all the way up to the final performance, providing unique viewing experiences regardless of what day you watched it.
  
  everyone moves differently and no two actors dance the same. if you pay attention to recordings of the curtain call you can see that ho w quick they are is different, their poses, their enthusiasm, etc. even during the nya parts each actor does is differently (ex: verg vs konoe)
  
  at the top of this section you can see an image of the stage and where each actor is positioned during the start of the song. the start there, then after the song into they all run off stage then are reindroduced before the chorus starts. after that, kil, ul, tokino, kagari, bardo, asato, and rai can go into the audience during specific parts. they have to return by the second chorus but during that time they can walk up the rows and literally do anything like sit in the seast or beat the audience with their tails. after that, they dance and finish the song with a pose. some of the actors (BARDO BARDOS ACTOR) choose not to return to dancing and literally do anything else except for dance like they're fucking supposed to
  
  in the stage play (and game) there are 3 routes that it adapts, the rai route, asato route, and bardo route. depending on what route you watched, one of them will stay on stage and stand next to konoe while the other 2 will go off stage and into the audience (ex: in rais route, rai stays on stage and bardo+asato go into the audience)

analysis of every actor

• in this section i will give a brief run down of every actors' role in the curtain call, how they act, how they dance, and whatever else they do instead of dancing like they're supoosed to
  
  i've put together this simple tier list ranking each actor based on enthusiasm. this isn't a critisim of how they dance, its supposed to show how varried their performances are and how they represent their characters. the kil ranking is not an understatement. he will kill someone.
  

• konoe / You Maejima
  • happy happy haaapy happyhappyhappyyyy
• rai / Sho Kato
  • he looked like he had a lot of fun he broke character a lot and loved to play with his tail
• bardo / Yusuke Seto
  • "ok so you'll dance right?
    "yup" *does anything else*
    he was so funny even if he did anything but dance my fav moments were "GANBARUDO", bardo jumpscare, bardo sprint, and of course him fighting with rai

    2/17：ライルート カテコ 最前
    応援うちわを胸に抱えていたらバルドが気付いてくれて、威嚇ファンサしてくださいました💥😭🙏🐾😸🌸✨いまだに心臓ﾄﾞｷﾄﾞｷして震えてる…ラメステ夢がありすぎて！！( ※あまりにもビックリして一瞬声が入ってしまっております…😭😭😭 )#ラメステ pic.twitter.com/nheH10UrbD

    — ドギモ (@orukai) February 18, 2024

    バルドがしっぽでバーンしてくれた✨✨#ラメステ pic.twitter.com/3A7eGva2lp

    — 彩梨 (@ayari_nove15) February 25, 2024

• asato / Yuusei Hiraga
  • hes the only one i have nothing to say about because he literally didnt do anything. during the curtain call he just walks up the aisle for a few seconds then goes back withpout doing anything. i think he misinterpreted asato being quiet as him being mysterious and cool instead of akward and autistic and even if he thought that way so many of the actors just broke character and started doing whatever razels was completely out of character and rais had times where he was smlily and sat down next to the audience
• leaks / Yuho Matsui

  • シュイにちょっかい掛けられた後のリークス
    途中から速度30%
    2/21　アサトルート　カテコ#ラメステ #ラメステ再演祈願 pic.twitter.com/sPacPOWY0G

    — ばろ (@ba_dmst) August 5, 2024

    RARE FOOTAGE OF HIM DANCING

    ここのシュイ見て微笑むリークス様が尊すぎる
    #ラメステ pic.twitter.com/oJnMpq6sck

    — 瑞樹るい(๑ơ ơ)(-⊡ω⊡) (@mistake_rui) February 18, 2024

• shui / Natsuki Osaki
  • very cute both during th ecurtain call and in the stage play as the narrator/mouse/grass, the shuileaks bits were so good GANBARIIKUSUUU
• tokino / Taiga Fukazawa
  • SOOOOO CUTE hes so tiny very cute doing the curtain call i loved when he jumped and tokino sprint AAAND HIS KIL AND UL INTERACTIONS
• froud / Koki Muramatsu
  • hes so tall
• razel / Yuki Kimisawa
  • his performance is so confusing to me because razel is the most chill guy ever in lamento hes so extravagant in the stage play it made me completely forget razel's original personality 😭this is what doing whatever you want looks like in a good way lik ewhat the fuck is he doing😭 HELP happy
• kaltz / Yuki Okamoto
  • if you went within 2 feet of him while hes dancing you would be torn to threads
• verg / Tomoki Iwata
• kil / Yoshun Kyoyama
  • him and ul's actors were defionately the mvps of the curtain call omfg they were the most cat-like outr of anyone theres the tokino interactions, beating the audience, rolling around on the ground, the punches, tail beating, oouuuuuughghgdhgd
• ul / Yuya Arai
  • hi sperformance made ul one of my favorite lamento character his hundred cat first, the way he hits people with his tail, OOUUUGGGFGGHGFGFGHF
• firi / Tsutomu Kita
  • very cute unfortunately he doesnt have the chace to interact much with anyone becaus eof his position on stage but i loved his little gestures towards leaks
• kagari / Maya Asaba
  • so cute he was nyamaxxing as fuck

specific events

• ul and kil muder moments
  
• leaks and shui saga

  • 2/24 ライ√ バルド√ 千秋楽　カテコ
    
    シュイ、絶対にリークスのことを迷子にさせないと言う意思が強すぎる（尊い）#ラメステ pic.twitter.com/S8mr8btxJq

    — N (@menma_pan) February 24, 2024

  • 今日のシュイリーやばすぎる…！
    シュイを見てリークスが踊ろうとしたらシュイに邪魔されては？？？？？？みたいな顔した後に微笑んでてちょちょちょちょっと待ってください！！！！！！！(オタク特有の早口)
    #ラメステ pic.twitter.com/o4HAISQJmK

    — よよよ (@66_vzc) February 19, 2024

  • ステップ踏みながらリークスを前向かせて「そうそう」って顔で高速ウンウンしてるシュイ死ぬほど可愛いんだが🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️
    前を向かせてる時もしっかり足はダンスしてるのほんとツボです！！
    ありがとうございます🙌
    #ラメステ pic.twitter.com/VHiukUljTR

    — 浅瀬🛹❄🌺 (@routexxx) February 28, 2024

  • 諦めが悪いので諸々調整して2匹を見ようとしてる二つ杖。もっと良く撮れてる人いたらよろしければ見せてください…
    このリークス、シュイに触れられた瞬間ハッとしてその手見てるのと、引っ張られてる時に抵抗してるお顔がかわいい（く見える）のでもっと鮮明に見たい…#ラメステ https://t.co/dYnMwcrZVc pic.twitter.com/iDf662WRWD

    — 🌆ふゆこ🍩🐈 (@tama2999) March 30, 2024

• bardo vs rai fighting
• froud and rai
  • makes heart, is ignored

    pic.twitter.com/MIUfeMQpEt

    — しの (@LfpOfx) February 25, 2024
  • froud reaches out, rai grabs sword

    ライを煽るフラウド様
    #ラメステ pic.twitter.com/0TbUNAwe2r

    — もぎたて (@mogitatedmmd) February 23, 2024

recorded accidents

• from my knowaqlge, there were only 3 (recorded) costume incidents during the curtain calls. by incidents i mean parts f the costume breaking or falling off
  • konoe cape 2/20/24: when he poses, the string on his cape detached and he is very shocked lol
    --桜 (@sakura_65Pekoe) February 20, 2024
  • razel sword 2/21/24: in the first few seconds of this vid, you can see his sword fell out of the holster (probably due to exessive movement) and kaltz picks it up
    --あづち ラブデラ (@aduti_dx) February 21, 2024
  • froud gauntlet 2/27/24: while doing a turn, his gauntlet falls onto the floor

    自分で撮った２階からのカテコ動画をアップして見返してたらフラウドの棘飛ばししっかり映ってたわ。あれ千秋楽のやつだったのね。無駄の無い動きの装着✨ pic.twitter.com/nDMrCdpD1F

    — ⚡️夢灯 龍泉⚡️ (@mutou_ryuusen) February 27, 2024

• ok real stage play moments
  • shui mouse and grass
  • rai tail bits
    
  • devil fun time

• stage play t-shirt
  • MY BEAST LOVE BOOST MUSICAL LAMENTO -BEYOND THE VOID- T-SHIRT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    
• my touys
  
• gaming
  
  playing through rais first sex scene in a 7-11 parking lot while my friends watch
  
  in the dungeon
  
  
• touys
  
• my desktop themes