Visual Novel / MOON. (1997)

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It tells the story of Ikumi Amasawa, a girl who joins a mysterious organization called FARGO, which recruits others with the promise of acquiring an alleged “invisible strength” that can put one far ahead of ordinary humans, in order to investigate their possible connections to the murder of her mother, and if possible, take revenge on the ones responsible. Befriending fellow initiates Deadpan Snarker Haruka Mima and The Pollyanna Yui Nakura, she uncovers FARGO's disturbing nature of harnessing psychic abilities through torture.

A remake of the visual novel was announced on 2023, only for it to be an April Fools joke, justified since its story is too Darker and Edgier compared to later Key games.

Not to be confused with fellow 1997 video game Moon: Remix RPG Adventure.

Moon provides examples of:

• A Form You Are Comfortable With: When Ikumi confronts the FARGO leader, he appears as a giant red moon.
• Ambiguously Bi: Ikumi often has one-night stands with classmates and had sex with the Boy at least once, but doesn't mind getting intimate with Haruka and often gushes about how beautiful Youko is.
• Angst Coma: Ikumi goes into one after witnessing the Boy's execution, comforted by memories of her mother. It takes her going to the Minmes and realizing that the Boy now lives inside of her as a memory before she's prepared to continue on her quest.
• Belligerent Sexual Tension: Between Ikumi and the Boy.
• Big Damn Heroes:
  • The Boy saving Ikumi as she's about to be sexually assaulted by the FARGO staff.
  • Yui, of all peple, stays in FARGO even after she failed to rescue her sister in order to save the other trainees after Ikumi kills the leader.
• Bittersweet Ending: While the FARGO organization is over, Ikumi got justice for her mother and Youko is willing to start a new life, the Boy still died and Haruka and Yui failed to save Ryousuke and Yuri.
• Blaming the Victim: Yui was victim of this. After getting sexually assaulted by an older boy on her birthday, she started acting more erratic and afraid of everything. Her parents got into an argument over her mental decay, resulting in their divorce and when Yuri learns about this, she immediately blames Yui, insisting that everything that's happened is entirely her fault. Though she later admits that she actually hates herself for not being able to protect Yui from being raped.
  Our family is breaking up just for you...But, if Yui went back to the way she used to be, it'd all get better.
• Brother–Sister Incest: Haruka is forced to give her stepbrother Ryousuke a fellatio by the sadistic FARGO staff.
• But Thou Must!: Ikumi needs to train her mind on the Minmes and Elpod everyday. If she neglects to do so, it'll result in some of the game's worst endings.
• Butt-Monkey: Yui, whose A-Cup Angst and gullibility makes her a frequent victim of Haruka's snark.
• Early-Installment Weirdness: Rather Darker and Edgier compared to later Key/Visual Arts games, especially with its massive emphasis on sexual abuse and psychological horror. While the explicit content in most Key games is considered superfluous, this title was very clearly built around the erotic and horror themes from the ground-up. The VN also has far more involved gameplay mechanics with you having to navigate the FARGO facility in a very particular manner to unlock the desired endings, unlike later titles that simply involved dialogue choices.
• From Roommates to Romance: Played with. Ikumi is forced to share room with the Boy. Their relationship gets off to a rough start due to his secretive and insensitive nature, but they eventually become friends. Although they have a sexual encounter later, their relationship is purely platonic (if affectionate).
• Foreshadowing: At the start, the girls notice that FARGO only recruits females as trainees. That's because they plan to breed the girls with a race of demons that has psychic powers, although it only works on females with high mental trauma, hence the ranks.
• Four-Temperament Ensemble: Ikumi's the Choleric, Haruka's the Phlegmatic, Yui's the Sanguine, and Youko's the Melancholic.
• Gainax Ending: In the Golden Ending, Ikumi uses the Minmes one last time and has a conversation with her mother in her teens, carrying a baby Ikumi. Cut to the Distant Finale, when Ikumi's daughter, Miyu, has a similar conversation with an adult Ikumi carrying a baby Miyu.
• Ice-Cream Koan: Youko tends to come up with FARGO teachings that sound deep and meaningful but hold little substance, despite claiming to be a devout follower. Justified, since she doesn't truly believe FARGO's ideals and just does it because her mother died for them.
• Innocently Insensitive: Due to not being human, the Boy tends to spout a lot of insensitive comments around Ikumi like it's a natural talent.
• Intimate Psychotherapy: Ikumi and the Boy have this after she witnessed Haruka's rape at the hands of FARGO staff. Downplayed, as the Boy is only doing it to give Ikumi what she wants and it gives her very little relief.
• Irony: FARGO spent 30 years trying to make a Half-Human Hybrid with psychic powers. They finally succeed with Miyu, the daughter between Ikumi and the Boy, but by then the organization has been disbanded.
• Misery Builds Character: The FARGO organization is a firm believer in this, citing people can't mature and become emotionally strong until they have experienced lots of pain and hardships. Not only do they rank people depending on their mental trauma, the lower ranks are subjected to horrific abuses by the staff in order to further their mental reinforcement.
  • Ikumi, who has mommy issues and problems with abandonment, and Youko, who was forced to kill her mother in self-defense are Rank A.
  • Yui, who was sexually assaulted and victim-blamed for it is Rank B.
  • Haruka, who had a normal life, Yuri, who went through her parents' divorce and Youko's mother, who was The Fundamentalist are Rank C.
• Momma's Girl: The dearest person to Ikumi is her mother Miyako since she was the only person who always looked after her. However, it was also a troubled relationship, since Ikumi resented her for her neglect becoming promiscuous as a cry for attention. This is a sign of her emotional immaturity. Part of the game is about her learning to let it go.
• "No Peeking!" Request: Ikumi says this to the Boy when she showers in their room for the first time. Since he isn't human, he reacts with confusion and exasperation.
  Ikumi: Now don't you dare peek. If you do, you'll be sleeping outside in an instant.
  Boy: What a troublesome roommate...
• Not Blood Siblings: Haruka and Ryousuke might have similar features, but they are in fact step-siblings.
• Offing the Offspring: Youko's mother tried to kill her own daughter just so she'll be promoved to Rank A, only for the girl to kill her in self-defense.
• The Pollyanna: Yui comes across being very chipper to the point of being inappropriate, but there is a lot of Stepford Smiler in her as the reason she tries to stay positive is because after being sexually assaulted she became a suicidal, self-hating mess, and it resulted in her parents divorcing and her sister Yuri blaming her for it.
• The Power of Friendship: The game revolves around this. It's friendship that helps the girls live through their problems, even if they can't exactly get over them.
• Rape as Drama: Happens to those trainees in Rank B and C, in order to reinforce their minds.
• Rape as Backstory: Yui was sexually assaulted while she was trying to take a detour to arrive early to her birthday party.
• Really Gets Around: Ikumi is pretty promiscuous, casually offering sex to her male classmates and having lots of one night stands. However, later on she gets into a serious relationship with the Boy and after becoming a single mother in the Distant Finale, she's dropped this completely; implied that her promiscuity was to fill the void in her life.
• Resignations Not Accepted: Any FARGO member that attempts to leave will be branded a traitor and executed. Just ask poor Ryousuke.
• Sadistic Choice: Haruka is forced to give Ryousuke a fellatio in order to save his life, or else he'll be executed for trying to help Ikumi. Though Haruka goes through it, the staff kills Ryousuke anyway.
• "Shaggy Dog" Story:
  • Ultimately, Yui and Haruka are unable to save their siblings. Yuri is killed by her psychic powers and Ryousuke is executed for helping Ikumi.
  • Yuri joined FARGO, on the belief that if she mastered their psychic powers, she could fix her broken family. It's only after she finds out that the powers are useless for what she wants is that said powers go out of control, killing her.
• Someone to Remember Him By: Ikumi discovers she is pregnant by the Boy at the very end of the story, after he was executed by FARGO.
• Team Mom: Haruka tries to be this to Ikumi and Yui at the start, although as soon as she's assigned to Rank C, she proves to be mentally the weakest of the three.
• The Un-Reveal:
  • We never get to see the Boy's true form, although the FARGO staff refer to him as horrifying.
  • Why was the reason for Miyako Amasawa's murder? A possessed Haruka believes that she was killed after trying to resign from FARGO, like it happened with Ryousuke, but The leader tells Ikumi she's indirectly the cause for it. Ultimately, Ikumi realizes it doesn't truly matter, and what she truly wants is closure, not revenge.
  • The true face of the FARGO leader is never seen, although Ikumi sees the silhouette of an old man during their Battle At The Center Of The Mind.
• Was It All a Lie?: Ikumi asks this word for word to the Boy, after discovering that he's from a race of demons whom FARGO experimented to mate with humans with enough mental strengthening in order to create hybrid super soldiers.