Hana no No ni Saku Utakata no
This is a VN by Applique, the makers of Concerto Note and Tasogare no
Sinsemilla. Like most of their other VNs, this one has a layer of the
supernatural mixed in with slice-of-life, wherein the supernatural
becomes integral to their daily life.
There are two major supernatural aspects present from the beginning. One is the protagonist, Michitaka, and his ability to see the traces of other human beings as colors, both on they themselves and the objects they touch or own. The other is Ouka... whom I'll deliberately avoid explaining so as to avoid spoiling a really funny scene early on.
Common Route
The common route is really straightforward, with Ouka being something of an armchair detective for figuring out events that happen in Michitaka's daily life. His interactions with his two osananajimis (Reina and Shione) and the other people around him are well-described and serve well in introducing you to both the heroines and side-characters. The actual split for the first three heroine paths is relatively early on (this game uses a flow-chart style, which decides where you split off the common route) and the events leading up to it are, if not exciting, at least interesting enough that you can feel yourself developing a sense of the heroines' personas and how they might react during their own routes.
Inoue Reina
Reina is one of the protagonist's two osananajimis, the daughter of a realtor who is known, for the most part, for his honorable behavior. She herself is presented as a straightforward, serious girl with a somewhat boyish way of talking and acting. Because of some events that are deliberately not made clear in the common route, she and the protagonist were somewhat estranged before the VN began, but they quickly regain the relationship they possessed before. This route isn't a firestorm romance, but rather a simple case of two people who cared about each other already deciding to take it a step further, triggered by the events in the early part of the route. I do think that things move a little too fast once they get together, but the emotional events left me satisfied with the main path...
... even though I felt a little miffed by the short epilogue.
Kasasagi Shizuku
Shizuku is the student council president, an intelligent young woman who appears strict and unbending but really just interprets matters through her own unique psychological 'lense'. She is the only heroine who doesn't have a past relation to the protagonist before the story begins (one way or the other), and obligingly, her route seems to be the longest of the four heroines other than Ouka.
She also possesses three endings... though two are basically 'normal, nothing happened' endings that avoid the drama of the third one. Her pragmatic nature and tendency to look at herself objectively make her an attractive heroine, and her path reflects that part of her nature, as well as lending her a more human element. I'd say that her raw, moment-to-moment character development is deeper than Reina's, though that is at least in part because Reina and the protagonist are so close from the very beginning.
The pacing of the path and the drama at the end are very well orchestrated, and I was impressed once again at this particular writer's capabilities (also the writer of Tasogare no Sinsemilla). Similar to Reina's story, this also reveals more about the background of the protagonist's abilities and hints at what might be the cause of them, which probably will lead into Ouka's path (since that is the general pattern this writer seems to prefer for true heroines).
An extra Comment
I should note that I really like the music in this game, though it lacks the sheer emotional hammer that games like Chrono Cross and Hapymaher possess. There is a tendency to use hybrid Japanese instruments and classical ones, which results in some really pleasant BGMs.
Yakushi Ryouko
To be blunt, Ryouko is a sub-heroine, so there really isn't much to say about her. Her path quality is lower, the details are less involved, and the drama is so mild you almost have to ask yourself if it even exists. Despite this, she is a fairly cute character, and she does fill the 'adorable kouhai' slot nicely.
Fujimiya Shione
This path, in terms of quality and nature, is something of a hybrid of Shizuku's and Reina's. Similar to Reina's, it is an osananajimi's path, with the assumption of past relationships and the reliance on them to form the protagonist-heroine dynamic. However, at the same time, it also possesses the kind of depth of introduction and character development that made Shizuku's path so satisfying overall. It makes sense that you have to have played at least one of the previous paths to access this one, when you consider the quality of this path.
That said, I think a lot of you will be a bit shocked at how their romantic relationship gets started, so feel free to look forward to it.
A few comments. This path and Ouka's are set on a story branch that is separate from the previous three, which has a slightly more intense focus on the fantasy element than was the norm in the main story of the other branch. Because of this, the two paths that follow feel a bit less like charage paths, which should be satisfying for those who prefer the more intense experience that came from Tasogare no Sinsemilla, though it still doesn't reach those heights.
Ouka (True Path)
Ouka is... a complex character. She has a number of roles: ghost, advisor, armchair detective, confidante... but in the end, she is the true heroine. Ouka's path is... the most complex and 'complete' of all the paths, with the most powerful emotional impact.
The first half of Ouka's path alone is as strong as Shizuku's or Shione's paths as a whole, and the second half (started from the title screen) is easily the densest drama in the entire VN. That said, all of the drama is intensely personal. There is no element of 'save the world' or 'cut the ties of an ancient, dark fate'. Rather, this is a romantic story, focusing on the relationship between two people who are as close as it is possible for two beings to be.
All the aspects of the protagonist's ability (including what is only hinted at in the others) is revealed. In addition, the hidden truth about Ouka is revealed, which is never even really touched upon in the other paths (deliberately). This is the only route I cried for, and it is worth playing this VN solely for this path...
Final thoughts
First, a few things I left out above. Ouka's route has two endings. One is an Tsukihime/Akiha-style 'normal' ending and the other a 'true good' ending.
Despite the fact that I raved about Ouka's path above, I do have to say that if this had just been a normal romance between normal people, I probably wouldn't have been so into it. I'm a fantasy freak, and I love out of this world romances.
At the same time, I felt that the writer's indulgence in 'the protagonist gives up his abilities' trope of Japanese fantasy fiction was a bit annoying. I generally dislike the way the Japanese tend to try to get rid of anything outstanding about the characters in fantasy stories.
A major flaw of the story is that there is no ending where Michitaka uses his ability as part of a career (it would be really easy to do so, and it would be interesting as an ending), and most of the heroine endings other than Ouka's left behind a definite feeling of incompleteness, despite the H-filled after-story 'fragments' you can access from the flow chart.
A major advantage to the way they construct the flow chart is that you can access the extra scenes along the way that enhance the story... or you can just live with the characters' casual mention of the events that happen in those stories. Little things like the protagonist's first meeting with his best friend's little sister, and certain people's reactions to Ouka are in such scenes... so it can be a good idea to look at them. At the same time, this is a VN of respectable length, so you might feel that it is better not to do so, due to your own personal time constraints.
On the whole, this is a good VN for those who like fantasy, and - while this is no Tasogare no Sinsemilla despite having the same writer - it is still a well-written narrative.
There are two major supernatural aspects present from the beginning. One is the protagonist, Michitaka, and his ability to see the traces of other human beings as colors, both on they themselves and the objects they touch or own. The other is Ouka... whom I'll deliberately avoid explaining so as to avoid spoiling a really funny scene early on.
Common Route
The common route is really straightforward, with Ouka being something of an armchair detective for figuring out events that happen in Michitaka's daily life. His interactions with his two osananajimis (Reina and Shione) and the other people around him are well-described and serve well in introducing you to both the heroines and side-characters. The actual split for the first three heroine paths is relatively early on (this game uses a flow-chart style, which decides where you split off the common route) and the events leading up to it are, if not exciting, at least interesting enough that you can feel yourself developing a sense of the heroines' personas and how they might react during their own routes.
Inoue Reina
Reina is one of the protagonist's two osananajimis, the daughter of a realtor who is known, for the most part, for his honorable behavior. She herself is presented as a straightforward, serious girl with a somewhat boyish way of talking and acting. Because of some events that are deliberately not made clear in the common route, she and the protagonist were somewhat estranged before the VN began, but they quickly regain the relationship they possessed before. This route isn't a firestorm romance, but rather a simple case of two people who cared about each other already deciding to take it a step further, triggered by the events in the early part of the route. I do think that things move a little too fast once they get together, but the emotional events left me satisfied with the main path...
... even though I felt a little miffed by the short epilogue.
Kasasagi Shizuku
Shizuku is the student council president, an intelligent young woman who appears strict and unbending but really just interprets matters through her own unique psychological 'lense'. She is the only heroine who doesn't have a past relation to the protagonist before the story begins (one way or the other), and obligingly, her route seems to be the longest of the four heroines other than Ouka.
She also possesses three endings... though two are basically 'normal, nothing happened' endings that avoid the drama of the third one. Her pragmatic nature and tendency to look at herself objectively make her an attractive heroine, and her path reflects that part of her nature, as well as lending her a more human element. I'd say that her raw, moment-to-moment character development is deeper than Reina's, though that is at least in part because Reina and the protagonist are so close from the very beginning.
The pacing of the path and the drama at the end are very well orchestrated, and I was impressed once again at this particular writer's capabilities (also the writer of Tasogare no Sinsemilla). Similar to Reina's story, this also reveals more about the background of the protagonist's abilities and hints at what might be the cause of them, which probably will lead into Ouka's path (since that is the general pattern this writer seems to prefer for true heroines).
An extra Comment
I should note that I really like the music in this game, though it lacks the sheer emotional hammer that games like Chrono Cross and Hapymaher possess. There is a tendency to use hybrid Japanese instruments and classical ones, which results in some really pleasant BGMs.
Yakushi Ryouko
To be blunt, Ryouko is a sub-heroine, so there really isn't much to say about her. Her path quality is lower, the details are less involved, and the drama is so mild you almost have to ask yourself if it even exists. Despite this, she is a fairly cute character, and she does fill the 'adorable kouhai' slot nicely.
Fujimiya Shione
This path, in terms of quality and nature, is something of a hybrid of Shizuku's and Reina's. Similar to Reina's, it is an osananajimi's path, with the assumption of past relationships and the reliance on them to form the protagonist-heroine dynamic. However, at the same time, it also possesses the kind of depth of introduction and character development that made Shizuku's path so satisfying overall. It makes sense that you have to have played at least one of the previous paths to access this one, when you consider the quality of this path.
That said, I think a lot of you will be a bit shocked at how their romantic relationship gets started, so feel free to look forward to it.
A few comments. This path and Ouka's are set on a story branch that is separate from the previous three, which has a slightly more intense focus on the fantasy element than was the norm in the main story of the other branch. Because of this, the two paths that follow feel a bit less like charage paths, which should be satisfying for those who prefer the more intense experience that came from Tasogare no Sinsemilla, though it still doesn't reach those heights.
Ouka (True Path)
Ouka is... a complex character. She has a number of roles: ghost, advisor, armchair detective, confidante... but in the end, she is the true heroine. Ouka's path is... the most complex and 'complete' of all the paths, with the most powerful emotional impact.
The first half of Ouka's path alone is as strong as Shizuku's or Shione's paths as a whole, and the second half (started from the title screen) is easily the densest drama in the entire VN. That said, all of the drama is intensely personal. There is no element of 'save the world' or 'cut the ties of an ancient, dark fate'. Rather, this is a romantic story, focusing on the relationship between two people who are as close as it is possible for two beings to be.
All the aspects of the protagonist's ability (including what is only hinted at in the others) is revealed. In addition, the hidden truth about Ouka is revealed, which is never even really touched upon in the other paths (deliberately). This is the only route I cried for, and it is worth playing this VN solely for this path...
Final thoughts
First, a few things I left out above. Ouka's route has two endings. One is an Tsukihime/Akiha-style 'normal' ending and the other a 'true good' ending.
Despite the fact that I raved about Ouka's path above, I do have to say that if this had just been a normal romance between normal people, I probably wouldn't have been so into it. I'm a fantasy freak, and I love out of this world romances.
At the same time, I felt that the writer's indulgence in 'the protagonist gives up his abilities' trope of Japanese fantasy fiction was a bit annoying. I generally dislike the way the Japanese tend to try to get rid of anything outstanding about the characters in fantasy stories.
A major flaw of the story is that there is no ending where Michitaka uses his ability as part of a career (it would be really easy to do so, and it would be interesting as an ending), and most of the heroine endings other than Ouka's left behind a definite feeling of incompleteness, despite the H-filled after-story 'fragments' you can access from the flow chart.
A major advantage to the way they construct the flow chart is that you can access the extra scenes along the way that enhance the story... or you can just live with the characters' casual mention of the events that happen in those stories. Little things like the protagonist's first meeting with his best friend's little sister, and certain people's reactions to Ouka are in such scenes... so it can be a good idea to look at them. At the same time, this is a VN of respectable length, so you might feel that it is better not to do so, due to your own personal time constraints.
On the whole, this is a good VN for those who like fantasy, and - while this is no Tasogare no Sinsemilla despite having the same writer - it is still a well-written narrative.
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