Welcome to WAR! I am SwordTune, the manager, representative, only employee, and sole proprietor of “We Are Reviews, SP.” Fresh off the factory line, today we have a review for “Broken Mirror,” by KatonRyu. 

Plot Analysis: Broken Mirror is a romantic drama that centres on the sadness of Sunset and Twilight after a permanent separation. Though short, it does not lack in the quality of its structure. Beginning in media res, the narration is divided between two perspectives, Sunset and Twilight, and is used to piece together the full context of the story. However, much of this development should be discussed with their characters, since this is very much a character-driven story more than it is plot-driven.

Characters: Divided between two worlds, and two characters, the author uses frequent line-breaks to toss the reader between the different perspectives every few paragraphs. Rapid perspective shifts can often seem jarring, and granted, there are moments within the story which do feel a little rushed. However, the style is internally consistent, so the reader’s attention is never lost because they already know that they’re receiving tidbits of the story in small, digestible segments.

As a romance/drama short story, the emotions are poured on very thickly in order to convey both character’s train of thought. However, the decision to include Sunset and Twilight as the main characters are just a consequence of the plot. They are the only two who would be heavily affected by the single major plot point, which, as the title suggests, is the shattering of the mirror between their worlds. Both do not add something unique about themselves onto their state of depression. This is, of course, perfectly fine, but it does mean that this story could be written with 2 completely different characters and be relatively unchanged in terms of their emotional behaviour, imparting the theme of the universality of sadness.

Dialogue: There is none. And that plays to the story’s strengths. Dialogue can introduce a lot of accessory action and diction to convey the sense of a conversation, which would have jammed up the narration’s quick and stochastic flow. Instead, we get actions and the internal thoughts that express both of their feelings.

Overall: Within the category of short stories, I will rate this a 9/10 for beginning in media res, which exposes the reader to the central sadness of the story before connecting it to the causal event. For its rushed segments at occasional places, I take only a few marks off because they are minor and sparsely dispersed. However, the quick pacing also costs it a perfect score due to how overwhelmingly dense the emotions are that the reader hardly has time to feel the intended effects of each segment.

For the Author: No revisions are necessary. But if any changes were to be made, I would suggest inspecting the shorter segments, especially in the later chapters where there are more one-paragraph sequences. These can be expanded and turned into two paragraphs so the reader can feel that they are with the characters, and not just told what it happening or what they are doing.

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For the Reader: A story that starts in media res will undoubtedly raise some questions. Simply keep in mind its fast pacing and that the story must be completed in its entirety, which is not particularly hard for such a short work.

<For archive purposes: 9/10>