Sakura Sakimashita Final Part: Sumire and Omake

Shirataka Sumire
By the time you hit this path, all the VN's secrets will be pretty much revealed, so this isn't a path about revealing secrets. It is simply the path that follows the character most central to the story as a whole. Sumire is the club president of the Lifestyle Club, a club devoted to finding reasons to live, joy in life, etc. She is also perhaps the person who enjoys life the most... and also the one who is the most desperate to do so. I won't spoil it for you, but even after having played the immensely long Tsubame path, this is a path that is worth reading, if only for the two extremely adorable reasons that pop up in the epilogue.

The omake serves to wrap up a lot of loose ends that were probably bothering you (I know they bothered me, since they weren't available when I first played this game), including but not limited to true endings for Miu's, Serika's, and Miyako's routes. You have to finish all the paths, including Sumire's, in order to be able to download the omake from the γŠγΎγ‘ section in the extras menu. Of the ten scenarios, four serve as story wrap-ups (Serika's is my favorite, incidentally) and other serve as side-stories for particular characters such as Sakura, the teacher Hotori, or Tsubame's mother Suzume.

Given that this will be the last post on this VN, I feel I should say something about this VN and its endings. For those who want purely good endings, this VN might be hard on you at times. The endings, the paths, all of it is bittersweet. Sorrow, fear, and despair accompany joy, smiles, and love. This really isn't something to fear... but it is one of the reasons why I say this isn't a moege or a charage in the sense that I use the word. Immortality is portrayed primarily for its effects on the human spirit in this VN, and it is portrayed both as an obstacle to and a possibility for happiness, as well as for suffering and despair.

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