Wonderful Everyday, Extra Reading, And You

Wonderful Everyday (which I will refer to its Japanese nickname Subahibi from now on) is a highly regarded visual novel and personal favorite of mine. One of the many things Subahibi fans love is the many references to literature and philosophy. Some will tell you that you MUST read certain books beforehand, though I don't believe this is true. It will for sure increase your enjoyment, but it's no where near game breaking. I have complied a list of works to read and watch beforehand if you wish to, and a list of works best experienced afterwards.

Prior Reading

So you've decided to take upon reading the story's most referenced works. I'll leave notes with most of them. Keep in mind this is all optional for understanding and enjoying Subahibi but may help you appreciate it a little more.

1: Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus - Ludwig Wittgenstein (Note: Subahibi's core philosophical guide. It explores the relationship between language and our reality. Do not feel discouraged if it does not make sense, and you need to skip it. It is an extremely difficult to get into and one of the hardest reads I've had. AFTER SUBAHIBI, please read it again or for the first time.)

2: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass - Lewis Caroll (Note: Each chapter of Subahibi is named after a chapter from these two books and is referenced a lot by one of the characters. While not as prominent as the Tractatus for the themes and plot, it is still nice to see the parallels between Subahibi and these classics.

3: Cyrano de Bergerac - Edmond Rostand (Note: A play that is often mentioned in Subahibi. The characters discuss it in decent depth, but it can be nice to have the full picture. You can either read it or watch a preformance.)

4: Not one work, but do some more research into epistemological solipsism and metaphysical solipsism. This is a main theme of Subahibi.

SUPER OPTIONAL: Lucky Star (Note: I know I sound crazy, but if you haven't watched Lucky Star and have the time to do it, just do it before Subahibi. I have no further comments.)

Post Reading

Have you finished Subahibi and are craving for more? Here's a list of more stuff you should read! If you haven't already, make sure you read the prior list before this one.

1: The Critique of Pure Reason - Kant (Note: Yuki and Ayana exchanged conversation about Kant early in the game. This work in particular covers the theories of reason, knowledge, and metaphysics. Though it is mentioned in Subahibi, I think it's best read after Subahibi.)

2: Remarks on Color - Ludwig Wittgenstein (Note: Another Wittgenstein work and one of his last. Here he focuses on grammar, concepts of colors and the language games involved. I suggest this read for anyone who wants more out of the Wittgenstein parts of Subahibi)
Go read other Wittgenstein stuff! Many works revise his original thoughts from Tractatus (most notably Philosophical Investigations) and bring more notable ideas!

3: Night on the Galactic Railroad - Miyazawa Kenji (Note: A classic novel where two boys travel the galaxy on a train. This may remind you of something else....)

4: De Docta Ignorantia - Nicholas of Cusa (Note: A work that covers limitations of human knowledge and the theories on shapes and God you see in Subahibi's DTHR1. This is another thing that is prevelant in Subahibi, but I feel best saved for afterward.

5: Nyarlathotep- H. P Lovecraft (Note: Ayana brings up the being. It first appears in the same named poem by H. P Lovecraft, where it travels to a town and holds a demonstration of its powers. When the auidence leaves, they fall into a weird state. This will be a really important for number seven.)

6: Beyond the Gates of the Silver Key - H. P Lovecraft and E. Hoffmann Price (Note: Features another being Ayana reference, or at least implies this being. The being in question is Yog-Sothoth. The story contains a man searching through the cosmos and meets many entities. One of these is Yog-Sothoth. Yog-Sothoth shows up in multiple stories, but I picked this one because I felt it ties in best with Subahibi and the next work.)
Feel free to also read other Lovecraft works for the next entry!

7: Other Sca-Di works- Subahibi is not Sca-Di's only big vn. Subahibi is acutally a complete rewrite of one of his older works. That vn in question is Tsui no Sora (which later got a more truthful remake). There may be similar plot points, but the characters and events can be wildly different. I have not read the og Tsui no Sora, but from what I've heard Tsui no Sora is lot more pessimistic work and based off Nietzsche's philosophy. Years after Subahibi, Tsui no Sora got a proper remake. Tsui no Sora Remake has a lot of inspiration from Baruch Spinoza and and Bertrand Russell. The Lovecraftian themes are also much stronger than in Subahibi. Remake feels like it expects you have to already read Subahibi and then uses your knowledge of the plot to push a more extensive look into the concepts of Subahibi's final ending. Also as of this post, neither of these vns are in English. While Sca-Di has other notable works, the last one I'll mention due to it's thematic ties to Subahibi is Sakura No Uta. Sakura no Uta is a whole other beast to tackle and would take up too much space on a page for Subahibi. However, Sakura no Uta is heavily flawed masterpiece and I'd say it's even better than Subahibi. As of now, it's not in English but if you do have the means to read it, I highly suggest it.

8: Allegory of the Cave - Plato (Note: An allegory that explains the effect of education and lack of it in society. The rooftop the characters visit often is based off this allegory.

Conclusion

This is only a short list of works that inspire or are mentioned in Subahibi. Maybe someday I'll make a list of more, but this is what I consider the most important at the top of my head. You're also free to do your own research. Subahibi is always fun as a re-read with Wikipedia as your friend. Additionally, don't feel bad if any of these works don't make sense. Many of them are old and hard for many. Don't push it upon yourself and take your time.

[YY]

just one correction i have to make: lucky star is top priority

[Die for me]

Where's drugs?

[BEYOND THE TIME]

Good

[Kill Joy]

Sorry for the very late response NECO-SIDER. Pretty sure Sca-Di himself said that he wants people to read Subahibi first but that would be interesting, especially in seeing the evolution of his thoughts. I would say from a pure enjoyment perspective, Subahibi should be read first but that is a cool alternate way.

[NECO-SIDER]

Good Guide but I really recommend playing the original Tsui no Sora before playing subahibi if you know a little of japanese (it's not hard to read). SCA-JI really like to comment over his original work and I think it really adds to the experience.

[deezycat]

additionally i recommend watching "serial experiments lain" before reading subahibi as some plot points are similar imo

[lethe]

Good guide I wanted to pick up a few reads while going through Subahibi but ended up forgetting titles and what not.

[sigmagrindset04]

thank you making this

[Kill Joy]

iI just noticed how many typos I left. Good job me.

[hex]

nice guide and based taste