The Recycling Centre: The zoo is from E-School Life. The other bar is the shipboard bar from MakingLovers. The love hotel room is the one from Houkago Cinderalla. The amusement park is the one from Amenity's Life. All of these are only briefly used.
The title screen is a BIG LIE. All heroines are fully self-contained like I said before. You never cross path with anyone else, ever. Whether it is a good thing or bad is up to the reader. From one perspective it actually makes sense, though, as there's no such thing as a hub that everyone will come together and no initial close relations to do so, either.
The opening song - Sunny Scope (is it? Sani-Scope just doesn't sound right yet a name that makes sense) has SIX arrangements. One for each heroines, music box, and acoustic guitar. At least they're quite forward about it.
We follow this guy named Minase Yuuma, a university graduate typical office worker that forgets to enjoy his life from getting used to working life. After getting dragged to Iori's bar by his superior and meeting with his old acquaince Natsuho and get redressed, he set out on his quest for a girlfriend. Nothing much is known of him, as what blank slates to represent you the player are...
It takes four encounters to get Yuzuki and Mikoto's contact. Takes two for Iori thanks to asking while being wasted, and you already got Natsuho's...which correlates entirely to how quickly you can enter the latter two's routes because date events seem to be tied to messaging, and there are only two of these before confessing and off you go.
Now, the heroines.
Warning: Long winded rambles ahead.
Sakurazaka Yuzuki, the Yuu-Yuu combi.
Yuzuki is a university student working part-time at a coffee shop, shares the Yuu kanji with the protagonist, generally cheerful, and a shark maniac (to the point of getting hooked by the very mention of sharks). A daughter of a single mother (father divorced when Yuzuki was very young), she strived to help her single parent out the best she could, and thus developed the love for working various part-time jobs, including being a host for a department store hero show...and separation anxiety of sorts. Works a lot of jobs due to having many interests, including fashion (clothing always expensive) and games (hardware is expensive; can personally attest).
First met Yuuma when he was told to come by a "coffee shop with cute part-timer", and was reluctant to enter when she came by about to enter her shift, and they entered together. This coffee joint's Master (this route's subchara) is a kind old man who pushed Yuuma onto his way. Confessed in the ferris wheel along the river.
On a date to the aquarium, she let go of his hand, and got separated. Had something of a panic attack. Given spare key and came more and more often to clean and cook for her boyfriend. The story took a slight drift off the mountain when Yuzuki's mother wanted to meet with Yuuma, and she suggested the Master to do the part of the father. As it turned out when Yuuma talks man-to-man with the Master, it was love at first sight. The Yuu-Yuu combi then planned for the Master and mom to go on a date...
...then we got back on track for an epilogue - Yuuma forgets how to live because Yuzuki spoiled him so hard, and Yuzuki appeared at the door, to of course take care of him. Then we get the debriefing, they had a daughter named Tsukino, and that another baby was on its way as they reminisce, mentioning that they got married on the same day as the Master and the mother...
That flow doens't feel like final and epilogue at all, so I described it as epilogue and debriefing instead.
The very same coffee shop backdrop is used elsewhere, and she is nowhere to be found in such cases.
Futaba Natsuho, the black plot hole.
Yuuma's kouhai back in school...which was never explained in any capacity beyond that description, leaving a rabbit hole for the reader to meditate on, making less and less sense as more info was added from other routes. A gyaru through and through. There are pink lines in her blonde hair.
Appears in prologue and pushed (more like nag if you ask me) for him to change in appearance, including a visit to the stylist and being conscious of fashion.
Will not appear at all beyond prologue, even in selection, if you never message her.
Coaxed him to come eat parfait because it's meant for couples.
Back in school she couldn't just leave him, thinking that he'd be the bee's knees if he's more fashionable.
He chameleons into some fashionista to get along with her. The whole thing was built around getting more fashionable and stuff...
Confessed under the fireworks of the summer festival.
Too embarrassed to let her mother meet him and told him to go away through window at her home. Sent nudes to him afterwards and get turned on herself.
Finally found a goal...to work in the same company as her boyfriend. To that end, she went separate ways until graduation (graduates in a few months)...only to appear as the newcomer in his company, without the pink lines in her hair anymore.
Very noisy and very annoying. All looks and nothing more, as regrettable as it is. Her past relations with Yuuma being a black hole doesn't help any. Picking her first is a jackpot that will sour your opinion on story fast. Only good for getting off to.
Akizuki Mikoto, the carefree career woman.
Yuuma's neighbor, which has been the case for several years. Never greeted one another until one fateful day (which the player influences), which was a failure of such an epic proportion that it became a precious memory to her...by saying "it's a fine day today" when it was cloudy and later that day it rained. They found a common ground in being office workers, wearing suit and stuff. Told Yuuma to bring umbrella while forgetting it herself.
Her company was doing a joint project with Yuuma's company, which marks the only time they met while at work.
First date event is close to home, the tired old trope of getting scared by cockroach got their relationship to another level, the fear of cockroach outweigh her laundry being looked through, but what bothered her even more was getting caught to taste of Japanese liquors by the presence of bottles (tries to hide it because she thinks it makes her image like some old coot), and coaxed Yuuma into joining her, to forget about the underwear incident earlier.
Introduced to her best friend Azusa when Mikoto asked him out for a drink one night on the way back from work.
Confessed while under influence, even had to confirm a night later.
Yuuma took her on a driving date, stating he acts as a driver for his company at times...one of the only time he give any info about his job outside of the usual paper-pushing.
Had a discussion on the topic of marriage, and decided to do things at their own pace. Got a very cutesy marriage register from a book...
...which turned out to be needed because Mikoto spilled coffee on the actual document when they decided to file their marriage from the panic that they needed witnesses and cannot get a new set because officals are not operating on weekends. They got their witnesses' signatures and off they go.
The ceremony was the ending. Western ceremony, complete with pastor.
Masturbates weekly prior to dating, and reluctant to ask her boyfriend because she doesn't want to appear to be sex-crazed.
Doesn't care very much about things like being fashionable (quite something with Yuzuki and everything for Natsuho), but tries to keep up an image of a competently working woman. In particular trying to hide her love for Japanese liquor when meeting Yuuma by chance at a Japanese liquor fest by brushing it off as a mid-year gift. Like I said prior, she got caught anyway.
Implied to be slightly older than Yuuma.
Tachibana Iori, the vexing bartender
Was the push the guy needed. Told him about cocktail language.
Frequents her bar to talk to her. Only after some point it was revealed that it is her very own establishment. So basically, he has to get wasted (not really) to get close to her.
Employs a part-timer, Setsuna, to help her out. On a glance you'd thought she's related to Natsuho. A spunky university student, and loyal.
Very much a tease, loves to troll Yuuma to see his troubled face even before going out. Loves it even more after.
Asks Yuuma out for a date and reserved a couple seat in cinema to very much allure him, even wearing a new pair of shoes that ended up eating away at her feet - something Yuuma noticed.
Confessed through a bottle of port-wine, which Iori saw through straight away being an experienced bartender along with the fact he's coming to confess, and "reserved" the entire place in her name just for him.
They are active and working at different times and Iori is not attuned to early hours, yawning on a date. This was a problem...
Pounced on him at her home, while under influence.
The different time problem was solved by moving in together. Both of them talked over conditions and looked for a new residence together and planned for furnishing the place...when his search history turned her on at his home when trying to look for a bed to buy despite being very serious about moving moments prior.
They made the move, including buying a new, expensive spring-loaded double bed. Their timetable overlaps in the early evening before she leaves for work.
Makes such delicious curry he asked her to open a curry shop.
Her joint grew popular by the day because a patron took it to a magazine and the publicity brought in so many more patrons, which she is thankful for. Her boyfriend rarely drop by her bar anymore so to not bother her.
One very tired day wasted him instantly after the first drink. That's how bar sex was made possible.
Her bar grew so popular she was faced with a dilemma - close the place down until things get calmer or keep going like this. She decided to close the place down for two months after her boyfriend told her it's her life and it's up to her what to do with it.
She did reopen her bar after all, and Setsuna is still there to help. She mixed a new cocktail and asks Yuuma to name it..."Restart", to signify a new beginning of the joint, and their lives.
Masturbates twice a month prior to dating.
Slightly moving how she proposed they live together and worked towards it for some time. Would like to have a baby. Cool yet vexing. Talk in cocktail languages sometimes. A big tease. Takes initiative.
Successful woman with her own business, reminds me of Shiho the bakery manager...with the maturity side doubled down on and more reserved.
Verdict:
How this thing goes is 7-8 encounters, two date events (trigger via very flat messaging that doesn't add much to characters), confession, then 10 parts story with 5 H-scene, with conflict outta nowhere coming in the final chapter per usual. How to fit in 5 scenes into a 10-parter? Cram two into a single part! Only happened two times though, which means Hscenes takes up half the entire route content. If you're the Hscene skipping type, that's around half the contents flew through.
The messaging gimmick is pretty pointless when it doesn't add to the characters by putting it to use outside of messaging (e.g. E-School Life info gathering). How I feel about it, anyway. Not to mention most of the choices are so black and white that it ended up in an illusion of choice.
The story and the heroines this time is utterly not moving for some reason, apart from Iori which like I said was slightly moving. Must be my disdain for Natsuho's type of character in general...Yuzuki's story focus drifting off the mountain doesn't help her case either. Mikoto overall is meh, but I personally like her for being carefree. Happened to Houkago Cinderalla too, but very noticeable this time around...guess it's just not my preference for the world of two direction that later Hooksoft goes with...
Is generic Japanese salaryman office job THAT generic to the point of not worthy of discussion? Apart from that one time when Yuuma told Mikoto he'd occasionally drives for his company, nothing else on the subject is touched...or is it just to not distract the focus that this is eroge first and foremost?
Much hype over nothing as with later Hooksoft. At least we get pubic hair, and to some audience that's quite big......me included...hopefully this be a thing for later...perhaps all the hype was for that very feature alone...?
...and Natsuho's black (plot) hole gave me headache thinking on it...two cooks spoiling the broth, forgotten, or didn't thought ahead when assigning roles? Your call...
Interesting observation: ochinchin and omanko is censored in voice, yet the full word without censor appears in the mature girls' texts for some reason. Not sure if forgotten or intentional...
