Atri: My Dear Moments

Lore & Background

The game is set in a near future where a sudden rise in sea levels floods most of the world, ending human civilization as we know it. The protagonist, Natsuki Ikaruga, is a young man who lost his mother and one of his legs in an accident, relying on a prosthetic. He returns to his hometown and reunites with friends Minamo Kamishiro and Ryuuji Nojima. One day, while rummaging through his deceased grandmother's belongings to pay off a debt, he awakens a young android girl named Atri, who claims to have only 45 days to partner with him and has a task to do. Natsuki later overcomes an electricity shortage by building a homebrew water turbine at a local school. Over the following weeks, he discovers that his grandmother, an ocean geologist, had proposed artificial floating islands called 'Eden' as a solution to the sea level rise, and he develops a romantic relationship with Atri. However, upon reading her log, he learns that all her emotions are artificially computed by software, leading him to order her to stop acting as if she had consciousness. Unknown to Natsuki, Atri does possess true self-consciousness and genuine emotions, despite writing log files in an old-fashioned way. Her original owner was Natsuki's grandmother, who was bullied at school; Atri once assaulted her classmates in irritation, leading to a product recall and disposal order for her model. Atri broke free, continued to protect the grandmother and the newborn Natsuki, and during a fatal accident accepted an order from the dying grandmother to transfer ownership to Natsuki, rescuing him. She was later put into hibernation by Natsuki's grandmother, who intended her to become the central management system of Eden. At the time of being salvaged, Atri had only 45 days before ceasing function permanently. News of Atri's existence attracts Yasuda, a student of Atri's creator who lost his reputation due to the recall; he seeks to disintegrate Atri in revenge. In the bad ending, Natsuki fails to stop Atri from killing Yasuda, after which she loses all memories and emotions and ceases operation two days later. In the good ending, Natsuki revokes his previous order, allowing Atri to express her feelings, and persuades Yasuda; he then takes Atri to Eden and puts her into hibernation at the central control unit the day before her obsolescence. A third 'True ending' takes place sixty years later: Natsuki

Reader's Guide

Atri: My Dear Moments is significant as a visual novel that combines a post-apocalyptic setting with a deeply emotional story about artificial consciousness and human connection. Developed by studios known for The Fruit of Grisaia and written by the author of If My Heart Had Wings, the game explores themes of identity, memory, and love against a backdrop of climate catastrophe. Its multiple endings—including a bad, good, and true ending—offer varied narrative resolutions, with the true ending extending the story sixty years into the future. The game's success led to a manga adaptation serialized from 2022 to 2025 and an anime television series produced by Troyca that aired in 2024. The anime was noted in The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction as a fairly good anime with some problems, praised for its engaging, emotionally driven story and exploration of science fiction themes such as identity, VR, artificial intelligence, and climate catastrophe, but criticized for underdeveloped world-building, occasionally unmemorable characters, and an uncomfortable dynamic from the protagonists' perceived age gap. The game's soundtrack, composed by Fuminori Matsumoto, was released digitally and on CD in 2020. The title remains a notable entry in the visual novel genre for its narrative ambition and cross-media adaptations.

Did You Know?

• The game was developed by Frontwing and Makura, who are especially known for creating The Fruit of Grisaia.
• The protagonist Natsuki Ikaruga lost one of his legs in an accident and relies on a prosthetic.
• Atri's original owner was Shiina Yachigusa, Natsuki's mother, who was bullied at school.
• The anime adaptation aired from July to October 2024 and was produced by Troyca.