Right now, you’re probably thinking: “Gangrelion, did you read Doubutsu no Kuni?” Yes! I sure did! It’s great! One of the best manga I’ve read in the last years! But, now for your real question: “Why are you reviewing this game if it already has an awesome review on another site?”. Yeah, that one is a fine review! But since it was all about the good parts, I thought about giving a different perspective to it. Maybe it could be useful for those with different tastes. Or maybe you just want to read a grow man bitching about a game with little cute girls, either way is fine!
Story Characters and what’s more…
Right at the beginning, the main character, Hirosaki Kouji gets a confession from one of the school idols, Satou Risa, who has fallen for him by admiring the painting he did of his step-sister. However, he doesn’t seem too willing to accept her feelings.
She asks him to give an answer after one week. But, the thing is, we already know this isn’t going anywhere because it’s clear he got the hots for his little sister Hirosaki Mina, and she unconsciously drives him into madness by sleeping on his bed everyday just before waking him up.
The game just started and Kouji’s parents already look like a bunch of assholes! “Mina – who is your little sister, by the way – sure is sleepy, hum” “You’re a great as a big brother for her” “It’s a good thing she can count on a (non-boyfriend) man to protect her” “Thank god she is your sister, or you could attack her when she sleeps on your bed” “Hey! Do you want me to list the things you and Mina can never do to each other as siblings?”…
Seeking for a safe haven, Kouji goes to school. It’s when we have our first meeting with Mishio Eiri, the true heroine of this game and GOD she is annoying! She tries WAY too hard to approach the main character, it is really an eyesore! At least sheWHAT?! THIS DORK SITS BEHIND HIM?!
……….And just when I was thinking “it couldn’t possibly get any better than this”, this happens:
“Your Engrish sucks really bad Mishio! Now sit down, shut up and come to the Faculty room after class!” It’s what the teacher should say but, apparently, at the land where “Cuteness means Justice”, her pronunciation is so perfect that the teacher even forgives her for not paying attention at the lesson AND for annoying the shit out of her classmate!
But since she is cute we can forgive her, right? After all, she is so unbeatable at everything. Well, it’s not like the other girls are not much different either. Actually, every single girl at this school is super talented, with great looks, good grades, and many other talents. The men, on the other hand…
Ha! It’s time to compare the grades for Math with the imouto! I am sure Kouji has better results than this girl who has Smurfs for a brain…What was I thinking? Of course not! Because the main characters is a man, so he is obviously horrible at things like studding, doing sports, converting oxygen into carbon dioxide….I DON’T WANT TO PLAY THIS GAME ANYMORE!!
Oh! But I almost forgot: Kouji does have a very special talent: He is good at drawing!
No! Not this one! The one from the prologue!
Yeah! That’s much better…Funny how Kouji has an art-style so similar to PurinPurin…Whatever, he doesn’t do paintings like this anymore, since his parents would probably freak out! It’s his step-sister after all. Who, by the way, comes always on a pair with her good friend Aya Reika.
She is also super talented, beautiful, popular…you know the drill. But she has something other girls don’t have: androphobia…kinda. This was because a mysterious person sent her a bunch of risky photos of the man who had proposed to her, and ever since, she has come to see every male creature like pigs.
Kouji links this incident with the recent case of cameras being found around the school on many inconvenient places. The vice-president Nanamaru Makino of the student council was investigating this, as it seems many people were freaked out and thinking about dropping the school. It certainly seems like a serious matter! But, let’s do this later! It’s time for a wacky water-gun fight!
After some really bad-paced events, we finally come to the revelation that Mishio Eiri is the true culprit! I would never suspect this if I didn’t read the game’s official summary! Actually, scratch that! It was pretty obvious.
She reveals that she forged an astronomy club while they were actually using surveillance cameras to see everyone’s relationships. The reason is that Eiri is so perfect at everything that she soon gets bored with everything she does, since she becomes the best on just a few days. The only thing she couldn’t do was romance. So she consider Kouji the perfect subject, as someone who also has troubles with a never-to-be-romance. She makes fun of the protagonist about his unrequited love and how she doesn’t give a damn about the privacy of others, as long as she reaches her objective. She almost blackmails Kouji into joining her club and there’s nothing he can do against her, since she can hide all proofs, as she is untouchable andTHAT’S IT! I GIVE UP!!
This girl ruined the whole game for me! She is disgusting! And the whole plot turns around her! Complex character with big conflicts? She is just a spoiled brat who cries a lot for an expensive toy and gets bored once she finally obtains it. I am unable to relate with this character. She doesn’t pass any credibility! I can’t believe there’s no one in the world who could offer a challenge for her at anything. I feel sorry for the people who once were on her same club, as they might have felt like shit for wasting their lives with hard work while this girl becomes best-in-the-world in no time…
Graphics
The graphics not only are pretty, but are also very happy and energetic, as they are always jumping and flying around…thinking back now, this is really weird!
No, seriously now! The graphics could look kinda good for most CGs, but the tachi-es have awkward posings. They are not ridiculous, but the girls’ hips and shoulders bent on odd positions, it looks really uncomfortable.
Sound
Was there any music? I really don’t seem to remember…I am sure there were voices, but nothing remarkable, since the seiyuus were playing some obnoxious roles, it would be unfair to say something about it.
Conclusion
I wouldn’t go as far as labeling this game as a Kusoge, this is just my opinion, at best, nothing special to be taken seriously or on an offensive way. I just really hated this game because of my dislike for the characters. Naturally, if you also don’t appreciate this type of characters, avoid this game by all means!
Even though there’s an above-average plot somewhere and even Eiri gets a decent ending, it’s not like it makes up for how disgusting she is. Well, I guess not everyone learn their lesson. Mine was that people have different opinions, so it’s best to always try things for yourself to give your own impressions!…Naaah! I already knew that! My real lesson was that I should have kept reading Doubutsu no Kuni! It brings me tears of joy!
Zebaca
gangrelion
Otaku Overdrive 
So much hate on Eiri lol. I almost forgot you hate those types of heroine, especially those who treats the protagonist like crap. It’s also been a while since I’ve seen the protagonist’s parents with a face and of course voiced and not just some names in the text box. Man, Reika should have a proper route ;_;
Really? HaHa! It’s not like I intended to hide my hate! I feel so “lovable” right now. Yes! I specially hated Eiri because, since her nature is to throw away anything she becomes good at, I felt she would “throw away” the protagonist as well once she became good at love, as she would become bored with him like she did with everything else. Even though I read your review, so I knew that would not happen, but this was genuinely what her character made me feel.
Anyway, Eiri looks so confident on that “engrish” scene. Wouldn’t be hilarious if they really treated her skills for what it is? An unexpected weakness, Eiri! Now you can dedicate your life to become the world’s greatest english professor!
I believe the last time I’ve seen parents with voice and graphics was on a nukige, don’t remember which, though.
I remember Berry’s has Kaibara Elena voicing an invisible mother. Such a sweet voice to hear everyday…I pity the protagonist, since it must feel really weird!
Laughed hard at that part, I’m glad I’m not the only one who noticed. They made Eiri too perfect but failed hard on Engrish. I guess the writer needs to focus on his Engrish too before making a perfect character.
By the way: I am not surpised about you not expecting me to hate Eiri, as there are many ways to interpret things. For example, one could consider Maia from Hapymaher to be the same type of character as Eiri, but I don’t agree with this (and I also love Maia, BTW). There was also this time I said I hate games with Hetare protagonists, and someone said I would hate Hapymaher, because Tooru is a big hetare. However, I don’t see him like that, since the story moves forward on the right direction thanks to his decisions. It’s all a matter of tastes and interpretation. That’s why I believe it’s good to take references from others but, in the end, it’s always a better idea to test things for yourself.
I guess you just can’t hate Maia, she’s like a fun trigger. In Hapymaher, it’s always interesting whenever Maia is around. Although Tooru is a hetare, he never ran away with the problems and even helped the heroines on with their problems on top of that. Hikoukigumo no Mukougawa has it’s ups and downs in general, and it’s quite amazing how abnormally high the EGS ratings/scores are for this eroge.
The thing is, I’m actually playing this one right now and I have the opposite opinion: Eiri’s pretty much a tsundere character throughout the entire game, and the only thing that I have to complain is that she and Kouji randomly fall in love with each other.
In that sense, I really appreciated Iroha’s route, but I guess that’s something I’ll include in my own review.
Eiri is the perfect character for the history, are you freaking crazy.
Please, don’t be offended! It just happens that this type of character is not my cup of tea. I don’t want to imply she is absolutely horrible for everyone, but just like you think she is perfect, I don’t see in that way. However, I can’t say you’re wrong to have this opinion. I even let a link for another review about this game and that guy loved this character, just to show that my opinion is not absolute and that I respect whoever thinks differently.
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