Narcissu [Web Edition]

Narcissu [Web Edition] is an online visual novel created by stage-nana. Originally written in Japanese by Tomo Kataoka, it tells the story of a young man and a woman, both terminally ill, and their journey to an island filled with narcissus fields. This web edition of the novel has lower graphics and music quality than the original visual novel because of the need to conserve bandwidth on host servers. The novel is contained in a narrow window and makes use of minimalist graphics. It also has two full scripts; one is adapted to function without a voice track, while the other is accompanied with voices.

In the story, the male protagonist has been diagnosed with lung carcinoma, a deadly illness, shortly after he turned twenty years of age. He is then admitted to a hospital in Mito, Ibaraki. During his stay there, he meets Setsumi, who is also on hospice care for a terminal illness. They become friends and share their thoughts with each other. And while both of them have accepted that they will soon die, they refuse to do so in the hospital, or even at home with their families. This made them decide to run away, using the protagonist’s car that actually belongs to his father. They travel to Awaji Island, where the narcissus flower is abundant. Setsumi decides that she has found her resting place, among the narcissus flowers.