7'Scarlet: Toa good ending
Feb. 21st, 2021 10:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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So obviously I had to go after the shy nerdy guy who likes cats at the first opportunity. You can only do his route after completing Hino and Isora, and here we are! It was pretty cute. He gets more self confident over the route but it doesn't do the Becoming A Real Man thing, he remains sweet and a bit awkward. It was enjoyably ungendered compared to the previous two needing to be The Man all the time.
Content note: None for the route itself. But I learned a spoiler about a later route which is a common trigger, and will come up in my thoughts going forward. I'll put it under it's own cut, with as few spoilers as possible.
*** Spoilery content note discussion ***
So the content note is: Incest. I'm not sure exactly how it plays out yet, but it looks pretty intense from what I've gathered.
Also, when I was looking up bad reviews before buying it was mostly people complaining about the frequent crashes (which are definitely a thing, though thus far it's not been too bad as long as I save frequently) and one review saying "This games promotes CHILD GROOMING and romanticizing emotional incest".
At first I thought "emotional incest" just meant the sibling-esque relationship between Hino and Ichiko but apparently not.
Not sure about the "CHILD GROOMING". I very much doubt there'll be anything like that with the one character who's a child in the present day, but since the main character is slowly regaining memories of her childhood any number of creepy things might have happened that I haven't learned about yet.
*** My reactions to the Toa route ***
Look at Toa's intro CG, what a cutie:
Now that I've realised Toa is the idol A-TO, I'm wondering how smooth the transition will be between the two personas. He comes across as autistic coded, even wearing a thick heavy kimono (apparently the equivalent of a dorky tracksuit jacket) because "the weight of it soothes him". So I can see him being able to perform the set role of Celebrity more easily than regular life, but wonder how he manages to dance etc when he's so clumsy. (EDIT: this is never addressed. Maybe he just stands at the microphone and doesn't dance haha)
I hope he's not secretly evil, and doesn't go through a Becoming A Real Man arc.
Also! The spoiler I accidentally stumbled across is that Kagura is Ichiko's brother! Which fits with my speculation that her brother is a serial killer, and that Kagura is a serial killer, and I had certainly considered that they might be the same serial killer. But I didn't know for sure, and was also not expecting that to be true AND for him to be the secret love interest o.O I guess it does put Hino wanting to fill his shoes in a different context...
I'm guessing Kagura's not her biological brother due to some sort of magical/secret identity shenanigans. But yeah that's going to be INTENSE (and possibly involve CHILD GROOMING). He's the last LI so I have some time to figure out how I feel about it and if I want to keep playing past that point.
But for now, Toa, who is definitely not her brother, hooray!
I didn't mention it before but on the common route Ichiko mentions having a blue marble she was given long ago and uses as a good luck charm.
Toa: You have a smile that could heal the world :)
Ichiko: Isn't there a line like that in a song by AUK ZERO (A-TO's previous band)
Toa: Oh! Well, it was everywhere. Do you, um...like AUK ZERO?
Ichiko: I can't say I'm a fan exactly but I do get lost in their lyrics.
Toa, blushing: Oh :)
Later, while feeling a bit dizzy, she goes for a bath in the hotel's hot springs and bumps into a hot naked dude- who looks weirdly like A-TO, gasp!
Toa: Ah, sorry! I can't see well without my glasses.
Ichiko: Ahh??? *falls against him*
Toa: Huh, I feel something sof- OH NO YOU'RE A GIRL IS THIS THE WOMEN'S BATHS AHHH OH NO YOU'RE FAINTING??? AAHHHH D: D:
Delightful :D And imo canon proof that the (unvoiced) Ichiko has an androgynous voice.
She wakes to Sua worriedly asking why she screamed. Sua laughingly thinks Ichiko must have imagined the guy in the women's bath which is proof this game was written by a man :P
Toa apparently speaks in a formal way but sometimes adds random mioaws/nyans. Also he rehearses things he wants to say to Ichiko in his head, and seems to be drawing on experiences as an actor and then realising real life is messier.
Toa is cheerfully surprised that Ichiko wants to spend time with him, and says she doesn't have to be nice to him if she'd rather be swimming with the others, aww. She's very accepting and understanding about him not liking large crowds or being looked at.
She says she can't remember it, but her older brother told her she nearly drowned as a kid, and she's had an aversion to swimming ever since, especially since she sinks like a stone. How many separate repressed traumas does she have...
Toa says he got behind at swimming as a kid due to an ear infection, and never caught up. He used to feel really bad about it, but now just worries that someone he cares about might need to be saved from drowning one day.
SO I GUESS WE KNOW WHAT THE CLIMAX OF THIS ROUTE WILL BE.
Toa: I have a part time service job, it's not very interesting.
Ichiko: I bet you make all your customers smile.
Toa: I'll try my best :)
Flashback to Toa being bullied as a child in front of the Okunezato shrine for being friendless weirdo who only gets along with cats, aw. I guess he grew up here too, sure.
She finds him feeding a cat while waiting for her to show up to their date, and is charmed and asks to stay feeding it for a while. I really like that she is genuinely into him being a shy oddball, sometimes with these sorts of characters the girl is more just tolerating it.
Omg he's even more passive and spacey than her so she's ended up being the one setting the pace and comforting/protecting/prompting/touching him. I am here for it. He blushingly protests a little sometimes but is SUPER into her.
Toa: About ten years ago this town was popular for its hot springs, but then someone died because they bathed drunk. It wasn't the hotel's fault, but everyone said there were noxious fumes, and it all got shut down. The elementary-school-aged child of the hotel owners thought they could bring people back with a cute mascot, and that's where the Okune Panda comes from.
Awww, so the Okuna Panda was designed by Toa? I don't think he can be the guy in the suit, since he doesn't live here. Did he insist on doing a concert here to try and revitalise the town?
She asks if he knows so much about the town because he's been here before, and he admits he grew up here. Even though the childhood bullying was traumatic he still loves the town. In his quiet way he seems to resent the Murakumos as much as Isora, and remembers how cold-eyed Yuzuki was even in highschool.
Toa and Isora don't seem to recognise each other, which is a little odd. I mean the three year age gap would have mattered more back then but their parents ran nearby related businesses.
...Isora/Toa could be pretty cute, actually, in a codependent kinda way. Toa likes being taken care of and not having to make decisions.
The voice actor is a professional musician so we may get some singing if the concert actually happens this route!
A message from my new cat, who wanted to be involved in this post: 33ui8p0m,,,,,,,,ui ˆˆ¥¨¶ c
Another of the seven mysteries: it's said that many years ago, the town was a circle rather than a crescent. But it was also cursed, and every time someone died a burial mound would appear on one edge of town. Over the centuries, the mounds piled up, smothering the edge of town and slowly covering more and more. One day there will be nothing of the town left.
So is that the mountains? No wonder they're forbidden.
Yuri points out that the C-shaped crescent of the town is that of a waning moon, about to vanish. Surely that depends on your orientation?
Ichiko sees Toa without his glasses and is so overwhelmed by his hotness she can barely think. But other than that she rolls pretty well with finding out he's A-TO, and promises to keep his secret. She decides she prefers him as Toa to A-TO, but there is a repeated theme of her seeing them as the same person despite the superficial differences.
Afterwards we see him sadly mutter to himself. "Toa..." IS THERE THREE LAYERS OF IDENTITY SHENANIGANS IN THIS ROUTE?? (This never comes up again? So maybe not?)
Toa's asshole manager Makiko 'Gamiko' Gamou shows up. In a US remake her name would be Karen, and when Sua refuses to give Toa's room number she demands to see the manager.
(Also...she has brown eyes! Look I know that's not actually remarkable in Japan but I'm noting them all anyway)
Toa takes Ichiko to the middle school, and says he doesn't have a single good memory of this place. He was bullied every day until his older sister sent his photo to a talent agency and he was signed on to become an idol. But he wants to do his first concert as a solo artist here, to prove to himself he's always himself, even though noone in the town will know who he is.
Ichiko says she's really glad to get to know the real him.
Toa: Do you want to know what made me realise I love singing? ...maybe I'll tell you another day.
IT WAS A LIFE CHANGING CHILDHOOD MEETING WITH ICHIKO WASN'T IT
Yuki, A-TO, and Gamiko:
Yuki: Ms Hanamaki, how did you get in here? It's supposed to be staff only >:(
Toa-as-A-TO: She's with me.
Gamiko: I told you no romance!
Toa: She's special.
Gamiko: I won't allow it! Now go to your meeting!
Toa: Then the meeting's cancelled. Come on, Ichiko.
Ichiko and Yuki: o.O
He leads her to a remote part of town and says he's more self confident when he can't see who he's talking to haha. She shows him her lucky marble. He mentions how one of the songs he wrote, LOVESICK, was about his first love, ten years ago. I WONDER WHO IT WAS. I think he knows it was Ichiko at this point, but am wondering when he realised.
Ichiko feels herself falling in love with beautiful smile, and wants to keep it all to herself. She scolds herself for even thinking about it.
Ichiko: Is there anything I can do to help you? I want to support you more than anyone else.
Toa: But you're here to look for your brother. And you've already done so much for me...if I was to answer your question, I would say you need to stay by my side forever.
And then he hugs her and tells her he loves her! Even though there's a bunch of the route to go?? She doesn't say anything but sinks into the hug.
Gamiko, convinced Ichiko is a dumbass groupie, tells Ichiko that Toa has a girl in every port and is just using her. Ichiko becomes consumed with self hatred, how could someone like A-TO like an ordinary girl like her? So she breaks up with him noooo. At least she's honest with him about her reasons instead of lying and saying she's in love with someone else or whatever.
Still, "characters express mutual feelings then breakup for dumbass reasons" is one of my least favourite romantic plots, urrrgh. I mean Ichiko just passively let him hug her but from her that's a declaration lol.
Anyway, given the precedent of these three routes, are ALL the guys going to have had a Life Changing Meeting With Ichiko As A Child in Okunezato Where They Instantly Fell In Love? Cos (a) That's going to get old and (b) I am fine with a 20/26 age gap but having 14 year old Yuzuki fall in love with 8 year old Ichiko would be, uh. Also I didn't start getting crushes until I was 14 so find pre-pubsecent crushes a bit hard to connect with, and this game has SO MANY. Speaking of Ichiko saying she fell in love with Hino at first sight, I guess that means Hino!Ichiko is a bit of an AU to the others, even though the rest of the backstory seems identical before path split. That or all the non-Hino routes will end in polyamory (or in Isora's case, Hino being quietly murdered)
Ichiko finds out Toa got into an argument with Gamiko and ran off from his rehearsal. She tracks him down and I think he's embarrassed to admit it was because he's upset about her dumping him. They talk through their feelings and fears, and she asks how he could possibly have feelings for her after only a few days when so many other women love him.
He talks about how she was kind and sweet and accepting of him as his real self, and I think he maybe doesn't realise she's his first love? I hope not, that would be so much sweeter. She talks about why she likes him too and they share a lovely hug, she still doesn't actually say she has feelings for him but there is a lot of affectionate snuggling.
And then...THEY ARE ATTACKED BY DARK HOODED FIGURES. I thought maybe the vigilance committee wanted to stop the concert because OUTSIDERS, but they're after him as Toa, not A-TO.
A woman orders a man to throw Toa to the ground and STRIP OFF HIS CLOTHING until they find "it"? Like a secret birthmark/tattoo map or something??? But they find nothing.
Just as the woman TAKES OUT A HATCHET a voice says "It's time for dinner, you guys should head back to the hotel".
It's....Sosuke????
GUESS HE'S NOT JUST A MEDICAL STUDENT AFTER ALL
Ichiko: Stay back! These people are going to...!
Sosuke: It's getting late, follow me :)
The figures part to let him pass??
Man in black: Sosuke, do you know what you're doing? You know what will happen if you disobey our orders.
Sosuke: He's not a revenant. Let him go.
OMG. SOSUKE IS A ZOMBIE HUNTER??? :D :D
IS IT LIKE THE VIGILANCE COMMITTEE ARE THE WATCHER'S COUNCIL AND SOSUKE IS BUFFY BECAUSE
I AM HERE FOR THAT
*suddenly psyched for Sosuke path*
He's all set to just walk off once the other two are free but Ichiko asks him to explain WTF THAT WAS ALL ABOUT
He says the council believes the recent murders were committed by a revenant. And when a revenant kills, they get purple marks on their back. Oooh, I see a sexy backless CG in our future. Sosuke implies he thinks the legend is false but WE'LL SEE.
Toa: Thanks for telling them I'm not a revenant.
Sosuke: Whether or not the legend is true, I've seen you naked. I've never seen such a smooth, unblemished back. I opened the door to the baths and saw this good looking dude humming away...
*waggles eyebrows*
Ha but he didn't realise Toa was A-TO because he doesn't follow celebrities and hadn't heard of him, which makes Toa pout quietly a little.
Sosuke: Are you from this town? If the Ensupulchers were after you...ah, never mind.
Ooh do you have to be born there to become a revenant??
Ichiko can tell he's lying/hiding things but decides that since he saved them she won't push it. He tells them to forget everything, or they're both dead, and then walks away.
Toa talks to Gamaki, apologising for shouting at her before, and thanking her for always looking out for him even when she had to argue with management, but asking her to take care of Ichiko as much as she takes care of him.
Gamaki sighs and then agrees, as long as Toa promises to treasure his fans as much as Ichiko.
She does seem to genuinely care about his well being, I'm wondering if she's his older sister. Later on Toa says he's heard she used to be a pianist, so maybe not.
When another body is found Gamaki tries to cancel the concert to keep everyone safe, but Toa gets her to agree to wait and see if the culprit is caught. This body is a woman, and it occurs to me that since the first two were men they might not have been killed by the cat masked serial killer I've decided to call Catface.
Ichiko gets a note saying "Meet me at the cliff- Toa" and of course doesn't suspect a thing until CATFACE ATTACKS. But just as he takes out his knife he is attacked...by Toa!
...who is no good in a fight and just gets scratch on his face, bless.
But just as the killer about to kill both of them they're saved...by the vigilance committee! And Yasu!
Catface: They followed you. So my instincts were right. I was so close... Others like me will come for you! That's your fate!
Hmm! Maybe killing her lets you stop being a revenant?
Catman escapes but falls down a valley. Since he might still be alive, Gamaki persuades Toa that it's safer for him and the fans to cancel the concert. Huh! I was expecting a big dramatic musical number!
Instead Toa takes Ichiko to the shrine and tells her...about falling in love with her when they were eight and knowing it was destiny when he met her again, ah well.
12 years ago they were both praying sadly to see their parents, him because he's an orphan, her because she'd been left to stay with her aunt and uncle (who haven't been mentioned before. Do they still live in the town?) She didn't make fun of him for being clumsy and eccentric and instead said his singing was amazing, which made him realise how much he enjoyed singing in front of an audience. He gave her one of his favourite pair of blue marbles, she's been carrying the other around all this time.
He asks her to see him again, was she hanging out with Toa and Isora at the same time? In the common route she has both the marble and the aversion to strawberries.
Anyway. She declares her love for him and they kiss and there is a lot of...noises...but they're both definitely very happy. From now on they'll have to date in secret, but they agree they're destined to be together and nothing will stop them.
Back home, she notices that the Tokyo news doesn't mention any of the murders. But then she notices a letter from Toa and is happy.
The closing credits have the song LOVESICK which is credited to A-TO/AUK ZERO and sung by Toa's voice actor Morikubo Showtaro who, uh...is a very good voice actor! And I'm happy for him managing to find success as a singer too. Somehow >.>
THE END
That was cute! By the end the dynamic had shifted to him being the more self confident/active one but he's not domineering or anything. I liked that he was never really manly and heroic, though he tried, and she loves him as he is. He has a bit of an otome heroine personality so they felt very well matched, two spacey sweetie pies in love.
The swimming thing never came up! Nor his sister! I'm wondering if it does on the bad ends. Uuurgh and anything I learn on them would be more interesting now, before the game moves on. I GUESS I'LL PLAY THEM NOW >:(
So obviously I had to go after the shy nerdy guy who likes cats at the first opportunity. You can only do his route after completing Hino and Isora, and here we are! It was pretty cute. He gets more self confident over the route but it doesn't do the Becoming A Real Man thing, he remains sweet and a bit awkward. It was enjoyably ungendered compared to the previous two needing to be The Man all the time.
Content note: None for the route itself. But I learned a spoiler about a later route which is a common trigger, and will come up in my thoughts going forward. I'll put it under it's own cut, with as few spoilers as possible.
*** Spoilery content note discussion ***
So the content note is: Incest. I'm not sure exactly how it plays out yet, but it looks pretty intense from what I've gathered.
Also, when I was looking up bad reviews before buying it was mostly people complaining about the frequent crashes (which are definitely a thing, though thus far it's not been too bad as long as I save frequently) and one review saying "This games promotes CHILD GROOMING and romanticizing emotional incest".
At first I thought "emotional incest" just meant the sibling-esque relationship between Hino and Ichiko but apparently not.
Not sure about the "CHILD GROOMING". I very much doubt there'll be anything like that with the one character who's a child in the present day, but since the main character is slowly regaining memories of her childhood any number of creepy things might have happened that I haven't learned about yet.
*** My reactions to the Toa route ***
Look at Toa's intro CG, what a cutie:
Now that I've realised Toa is the idol A-TO, I'm wondering how smooth the transition will be between the two personas. He comes across as autistic coded, even wearing a thick heavy kimono (apparently the equivalent of a dorky tracksuit jacket) because "the weight of it soothes him". So I can see him being able to perform the set role of Celebrity more easily than regular life, but wonder how he manages to dance etc when he's so clumsy. (EDIT: this is never addressed. Maybe he just stands at the microphone and doesn't dance haha)
I hope he's not secretly evil, and doesn't go through a Becoming A Real Man arc.
Also! The spoiler I accidentally stumbled across is that Kagura is Ichiko's brother! Which fits with my speculation that her brother is a serial killer, and that Kagura is a serial killer, and I had certainly considered that they might be the same serial killer. But I didn't know for sure, and was also not expecting that to be true AND for him to be the secret love interest o.O I guess it does put Hino wanting to fill his shoes in a different context...
I'm guessing Kagura's not her biological brother due to some sort of magical/secret identity shenanigans. But yeah that's going to be INTENSE (and possibly involve CHILD GROOMING). He's the last LI so I have some time to figure out how I feel about it and if I want to keep playing past that point.
But for now, Toa, who is definitely not her brother, hooray!
I didn't mention it before but on the common route Ichiko mentions having a blue marble she was given long ago and uses as a good luck charm.
Toa: You have a smile that could heal the world :)
Ichiko: Isn't there a line like that in a song by AUK ZERO (A-TO's previous band)
Toa: Oh! Well, it was everywhere. Do you, um...like AUK ZERO?
Ichiko: I can't say I'm a fan exactly but I do get lost in their lyrics.
Toa, blushing: Oh :)
Later, while feeling a bit dizzy, she goes for a bath in the hotel's hot springs and bumps into a hot naked dude- who looks weirdly like A-TO, gasp!
Toa: Ah, sorry! I can't see well without my glasses.
Ichiko: Ahh??? *falls against him*
Toa: Huh, I feel something sof- OH NO YOU'RE A GIRL IS THIS THE WOMEN'S BATHS AHHH OH NO YOU'RE FAINTING??? AAHHHH D: D:
Delightful :D And imo canon proof that the (unvoiced) Ichiko has an androgynous voice.
She wakes to Sua worriedly asking why she screamed. Sua laughingly thinks Ichiko must have imagined the guy in the women's bath which is proof this game was written by a man :P
Toa apparently speaks in a formal way but sometimes adds random mioaws/nyans. Also he rehearses things he wants to say to Ichiko in his head, and seems to be drawing on experiences as an actor and then realising real life is messier.
Toa is cheerfully surprised that Ichiko wants to spend time with him, and says she doesn't have to be nice to him if she'd rather be swimming with the others, aww. She's very accepting and understanding about him not liking large crowds or being looked at.
She says she can't remember it, but her older brother told her she nearly drowned as a kid, and she's had an aversion to swimming ever since, especially since she sinks like a stone. How many separate repressed traumas does she have...
Toa says he got behind at swimming as a kid due to an ear infection, and never caught up. He used to feel really bad about it, but now just worries that someone he cares about might need to be saved from drowning one day.
SO I GUESS WE KNOW WHAT THE CLIMAX OF THIS ROUTE WILL BE.
Toa: I have a part time service job, it's not very interesting.
Ichiko: I bet you make all your customers smile.
Toa: I'll try my best :)
Flashback to Toa being bullied as a child in front of the Okunezato shrine for being friendless weirdo who only gets along with cats, aw. I guess he grew up here too, sure.
She finds him feeding a cat while waiting for her to show up to their date, and is charmed and asks to stay feeding it for a while. I really like that she is genuinely into him being a shy oddball, sometimes with these sorts of characters the girl is more just tolerating it.
Omg he's even more passive and spacey than her so she's ended up being the one setting the pace and comforting/protecting/prompting/touching him. I am here for it. He blushingly protests a little sometimes but is SUPER into her.
Toa: About ten years ago this town was popular for its hot springs, but then someone died because they bathed drunk. It wasn't the hotel's fault, but everyone said there were noxious fumes, and it all got shut down. The elementary-school-aged child of the hotel owners thought they could bring people back with a cute mascot, and that's where the Okune Panda comes from.
Awww, so the Okuna Panda was designed by Toa? I don't think he can be the guy in the suit, since he doesn't live here. Did he insist on doing a concert here to try and revitalise the town?
She asks if he knows so much about the town because he's been here before, and he admits he grew up here. Even though the childhood bullying was traumatic he still loves the town. In his quiet way he seems to resent the Murakumos as much as Isora, and remembers how cold-eyed Yuzuki was even in highschool.
Toa and Isora don't seem to recognise each other, which is a little odd. I mean the three year age gap would have mattered more back then but their parents ran nearby related businesses.
...Isora/Toa could be pretty cute, actually, in a codependent kinda way. Toa likes being taken care of and not having to make decisions.
The voice actor is a professional musician so we may get some singing if the concert actually happens this route!
A message from my new cat, who wanted to be involved in this post: 33ui8p0m,,,,,,,,ui ˆˆ¥¨¶ c
Another of the seven mysteries: it's said that many years ago, the town was a circle rather than a crescent. But it was also cursed, and every time someone died a burial mound would appear on one edge of town. Over the centuries, the mounds piled up, smothering the edge of town and slowly covering more and more. One day there will be nothing of the town left.
So is that the mountains? No wonder they're forbidden.
Yuri points out that the C-shaped crescent of the town is that of a waning moon, about to vanish. Surely that depends on your orientation?
Ichiko sees Toa without his glasses and is so overwhelmed by his hotness she can barely think. But other than that she rolls pretty well with finding out he's A-TO, and promises to keep his secret. She decides she prefers him as Toa to A-TO, but there is a repeated theme of her seeing them as the same person despite the superficial differences.
Afterwards we see him sadly mutter to himself. "Toa..." IS THERE THREE LAYERS OF IDENTITY SHENANIGANS IN THIS ROUTE?? (This never comes up again? So maybe not?)
Toa's asshole manager Makiko 'Gamiko' Gamou shows up. In a US remake her name would be Karen, and when Sua refuses to give Toa's room number she demands to see the manager.
(Also...she has brown eyes! Look I know that's not actually remarkable in Japan but I'm noting them all anyway)
Toa takes Ichiko to the middle school, and says he doesn't have a single good memory of this place. He was bullied every day until his older sister sent his photo to a talent agency and he was signed on to become an idol. But he wants to do his first concert as a solo artist here, to prove to himself he's always himself, even though noone in the town will know who he is.
Ichiko says she's really glad to get to know the real him.
Toa: Do you want to know what made me realise I love singing? ...maybe I'll tell you another day.
IT WAS A LIFE CHANGING CHILDHOOD MEETING WITH ICHIKO WASN'T IT
Yuki, A-TO, and Gamiko:
Yuki: Ms Hanamaki, how did you get in here? It's supposed to be staff only >:(
Toa-as-A-TO: She's with me.
Gamiko: I told you no romance!
Toa: She's special.
Gamiko: I won't allow it! Now go to your meeting!
Toa: Then the meeting's cancelled. Come on, Ichiko.
Ichiko and Yuki: o.O
He leads her to a remote part of town and says he's more self confident when he can't see who he's talking to haha. She shows him her lucky marble. He mentions how one of the songs he wrote, LOVESICK, was about his first love, ten years ago. I WONDER WHO IT WAS. I think he knows it was Ichiko at this point, but am wondering when he realised.
Ichiko feels herself falling in love with beautiful smile, and wants to keep it all to herself. She scolds herself for even thinking about it.
Ichiko: Is there anything I can do to help you? I want to support you more than anyone else.
Toa: But you're here to look for your brother. And you've already done so much for me...if I was to answer your question, I would say you need to stay by my side forever.
And then he hugs her and tells her he loves her! Even though there's a bunch of the route to go?? She doesn't say anything but sinks into the hug.
Gamiko, convinced Ichiko is a dumbass groupie, tells Ichiko that Toa has a girl in every port and is just using her. Ichiko becomes consumed with self hatred, how could someone like A-TO like an ordinary girl like her? So she breaks up with him noooo. At least she's honest with him about her reasons instead of lying and saying she's in love with someone else or whatever.
Still, "characters express mutual feelings then breakup for dumbass reasons" is one of my least favourite romantic plots, urrrgh. I mean Ichiko just passively let him hug her but from her that's a declaration lol.
Anyway, given the precedent of these three routes, are ALL the guys going to have had a Life Changing Meeting With Ichiko As A Child in Okunezato Where They Instantly Fell In Love? Cos (a) That's going to get old and (b) I am fine with a 20/26 age gap but having 14 year old Yuzuki fall in love with 8 year old Ichiko would be, uh. Also I didn't start getting crushes until I was 14 so find pre-pubsecent crushes a bit hard to connect with, and this game has SO MANY. Speaking of Ichiko saying she fell in love with Hino at first sight, I guess that means Hino!Ichiko is a bit of an AU to the others, even though the rest of the backstory seems identical before path split. That or all the non-Hino routes will end in polyamory (or in Isora's case, Hino being quietly murdered)
Ichiko finds out Toa got into an argument with Gamiko and ran off from his rehearsal. She tracks him down and I think he's embarrassed to admit it was because he's upset about her dumping him. They talk through their feelings and fears, and she asks how he could possibly have feelings for her after only a few days when so many other women love him.
He talks about how she was kind and sweet and accepting of him as his real self, and I think he maybe doesn't realise she's his first love? I hope not, that would be so much sweeter. She talks about why she likes him too and they share a lovely hug, she still doesn't actually say she has feelings for him but there is a lot of affectionate snuggling.
And then...THEY ARE ATTACKED BY DARK HOODED FIGURES. I thought maybe the vigilance committee wanted to stop the concert because OUTSIDERS, but they're after him as Toa, not A-TO.
A woman orders a man to throw Toa to the ground and STRIP OFF HIS CLOTHING until they find "it"? Like a secret birthmark/tattoo map or something??? But they find nothing.
Just as the woman TAKES OUT A HATCHET a voice says "It's time for dinner, you guys should head back to the hotel".
It's....Sosuke????
GUESS HE'S NOT JUST A MEDICAL STUDENT AFTER ALL
Ichiko: Stay back! These people are going to...!
Sosuke: It's getting late, follow me :)
The figures part to let him pass??
Man in black: Sosuke, do you know what you're doing? You know what will happen if you disobey our orders.
Sosuke: He's not a revenant. Let him go.
OMG. SOSUKE IS A ZOMBIE HUNTER??? :D :D
IS IT LIKE THE VIGILANCE COMMITTEE ARE THE WATCHER'S COUNCIL AND SOSUKE IS BUFFY BECAUSE
I AM HERE FOR THAT
*suddenly psyched for Sosuke path*
He's all set to just walk off once the other two are free but Ichiko asks him to explain WTF THAT WAS ALL ABOUT
He says the council believes the recent murders were committed by a revenant. And when a revenant kills, they get purple marks on their back. Oooh, I see a sexy backless CG in our future. Sosuke implies he thinks the legend is false but WE'LL SEE.
Toa: Thanks for telling them I'm not a revenant.
Sosuke: Whether or not the legend is true, I've seen you naked. I've never seen such a smooth, unblemished back. I opened the door to the baths and saw this good looking dude humming away...
*waggles eyebrows*
Ha but he didn't realise Toa was A-TO because he doesn't follow celebrities and hadn't heard of him, which makes Toa pout quietly a little.
Sosuke: Are you from this town? If the Ensupulchers were after you...ah, never mind.
Ooh do you have to be born there to become a revenant??
Ichiko can tell he's lying/hiding things but decides that since he saved them she won't push it. He tells them to forget everything, or they're both dead, and then walks away.
Toa talks to Gamaki, apologising for shouting at her before, and thanking her for always looking out for him even when she had to argue with management, but asking her to take care of Ichiko as much as she takes care of him.
Gamaki sighs and then agrees, as long as Toa promises to treasure his fans as much as Ichiko.
She does seem to genuinely care about his well being, I'm wondering if she's his older sister. Later on Toa says he's heard she used to be a pianist, so maybe not.
When another body is found Gamaki tries to cancel the concert to keep everyone safe, but Toa gets her to agree to wait and see if the culprit is caught. This body is a woman, and it occurs to me that since the first two were men they might not have been killed by the cat masked serial killer I've decided to call Catface.
Ichiko gets a note saying "Meet me at the cliff- Toa" and of course doesn't suspect a thing until CATFACE ATTACKS. But just as he takes out his knife he is attacked...by Toa!
...who is no good in a fight and just gets scratch on his face, bless.
But just as the killer about to kill both of them they're saved...by the vigilance committee! And Yasu!
Catface: They followed you. So my instincts were right. I was so close... Others like me will come for you! That's your fate!
Hmm! Maybe killing her lets you stop being a revenant?
Catman escapes but falls down a valley. Since he might still be alive, Gamaki persuades Toa that it's safer for him and the fans to cancel the concert. Huh! I was expecting a big dramatic musical number!
Instead Toa takes Ichiko to the shrine and tells her...about falling in love with her when they were eight and knowing it was destiny when he met her again, ah well.
12 years ago they were both praying sadly to see their parents, him because he's an orphan, her because she'd been left to stay with her aunt and uncle (who haven't been mentioned before. Do they still live in the town?) She didn't make fun of him for being clumsy and eccentric and instead said his singing was amazing, which made him realise how much he enjoyed singing in front of an audience. He gave her one of his favourite pair of blue marbles, she's been carrying the other around all this time.
He asks her to see him again, was she hanging out with Toa and Isora at the same time? In the common route she has both the marble and the aversion to strawberries.
Anyway. She declares her love for him and they kiss and there is a lot of...noises...but they're both definitely very happy. From now on they'll have to date in secret, but they agree they're destined to be together and nothing will stop them.
Back home, she notices that the Tokyo news doesn't mention any of the murders. But then she notices a letter from Toa and is happy.
The closing credits have the song LOVESICK which is credited to A-TO/AUK ZERO and sung by Toa's voice actor Morikubo Showtaro who, uh...is a very good voice actor! And I'm happy for him managing to find success as a singer too. Somehow >.>
THE END
That was cute! By the end the dynamic had shifted to him being the more self confident/active one but he's not domineering or anything. I liked that he was never really manly and heroic, though he tried, and she loves him as he is. He has a bit of an otome heroine personality so they felt very well matched, two spacey sweetie pies in love.
The swimming thing never came up! Nor his sister! I'm wondering if it does on the bad ends. Uuurgh and anything I learn on them would be more interesting now, before the game moves on. I GUESS I'LL PLAY THEM NOW >:(
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Date: 2021-02-23 04:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-02-23 01:08 pm (UTC)Yeah, this game is pretty wild. Though afaict Toa is the only one with a secret life as a rock star.