Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Harukanaru Toki no Naka De 3 Ultimate - Review

Original PS2 cover art because its pretty.
 遙かなる時空の中で3
 Game: [Harukanaru Toki no Naka De 3 Ultimate]
English title: Haruka beyond the stream of time 3.
Genre: Otome Game RPG.
Developer/Publisher: Ruby Party, Koei Tecmo.
Platform: PS2. PSP, PS Vita.
Release date: 2017-2-23

Even tho I was bummed by gentou rondo I decided to give this game a chance and
I wish I found this game a lot sooner... but I alas, when I finally didI had a lot to write
about it and since almost no one did, justice will be served!

Anyway there's a demo on the japanese PSN for you to try if you have doubts
but I think anyone who plays RPG's can enjoy it regardless, the heroine isn't weak and won't hesitate
to take to the battlefield; she's involved in everything, the scenario is interesting
 what more do you want? but it relies on historic fact so it might still be difficult
if you don't know a lick about japanese history.

Pro's
- Good story if you're into history.
- Capable heroine, starts out average but becomes too perfect.(can't decide if bad)
- There will be someone that strikes your interest more than others but every character is likeable .
- Art, this speaks for itself but I love the original character designs/artworks.

Con's
- If you do not like RPG-like gameplay in your VN's avoid.
- Not every route is well balanced with plot and romance at times it depends.
- Characters have interesting motivations in their own route, yet in another their objective cease to matter, I know this is normal but it could've become super interesting.
- The heroine is going to make or break this game for you.
- Its annoying to learn all combination attacks and some CG's are gotten outside of routes
ala sub event style.

So Koei decided to port Haruka 3 and Izayoiki to the vita, fully voicing it and adding new CG's.
No its not a remake but more like a full voice special with Izayoiki included.
Being full voiced does make it a better experience and make scenes that much more worthwhile.
They also added a DLC route for Fujiwara no Yasuhira... since he was a popular sub chara
in Izayoiki, the reason for a DLC route is because its an obvious quick cash grab to insert
a new route for yet another port of a game that was first made and released in 2004
yet you still need to pay up to get it also you need to play the game normally
up untill a certain point which further proves it should have just been in the game from the start
 as this isn't a mobage but KOEI is greedy and most fans just bought the LE for the code.
Sucks to be one of those who didn't eh? anyway let's stop taling about DLC...
Moving on, one animated scene was removed the first one is still in but the second one isn't.
Also some CG's have been completely replaced with  new ones and/or close ups.
Which I think is a shame... granted some of them did look derpy but a lot are still there so who cares?
I see a lot of japanese review complaining about slight changes such as the above but
I've been mostly enjoying myself, I think its a nostalgia factor but its such a hassle
 to do everything in this game I did just wanted to do something else at one point
and take my mind of off it and well I did!(it was like a one week break more or less)
Uh that's it for nonsensical rambles about why this got a port I guess.

Anime OVA
On the topic of the anime OVA's I do not recommed them...
I only watched it again because KOEI put it up on their ruby party channel but I wish I ignored it.
Not only is it a waste of time it also spoils important parts besides it doesn't do
the game justice as its extremely rushed like it drops you in the middle of a story.
Certain stuff don't even make sense and are completely original, like for example
 Benkei never leaves the party and does jack shit outside of his own route
still he's thee type of chara you will be watching out for regardless.
 Its only nice as fanservice when you've completed the game already and want to see the
boys''animated'' sadly Benkei without his cloak just looks weird to me but they
 probably didn't have funds to draw the casual outfits so they had to do it like that.
Also I like how they just spoiled an important detail of Saku's route like its nothing. -_-
Honestly I dislike the OVA's because they're so confusing as it has no beginning and no proper
ending, something you'll only find in the game, OVA felt like spoiler collection
or better put an advertisement to get people interested if anything.

''So what is the difference between the original haruka 3 and izayoiki? LET'S GET INTO THIS!
None, back then izayoiki was an alternative version on ps2 you could ''mix joy'' if you had both disc
and unlock additional elements, the story is the same and Izayoiki had new endings for everyone
plus new scenario for Shirogane and Tomomori route(Tomomori mixjoy only) never mind that since
everything is included in ultimate sorry for the wall o text and if it sounds confusing but no one will
probably bother writing up about this game in detail, in ultimate you no longer need that mixjoy crap
and everything is included except Yasuhira being DLC which I couldn't be bothered to get at first.''

Story
The story of Haruka 3 is set during the Heian period and is based on the tale of the heike.
The heroine Kasuga Nozomi gets summoned by a shota!Hakuryuu, Masaomi and Yuzuru get dragged
along with her to an alternate world that is similair to Kyoto at the end of the heian period.
Sadly I know almost nothing about the heian period so most of the lore is lost on me...
but hey atleast there is wikipedia... or maybe your local library has japanese history books
Still I felt that I did learn a few facts from this... even if its ofcourse not accurate KOEI did their best.
Not needed but kinda recommended to read up on a tale of the heike a little
before playing this so you know some facts, skimming the wikipedia is fine.
Also if you do not like stories about war and all the drama that comes with it give this
 game a pass because you will have to partly be ok with that sort of stuff
i'm not saying to not give it a chance but if you're unsure there is a demo, the heroine is pretty
involved though and compared to other games I played I enjoyed this a lot more.
Anyway Taira no Kiyomori was reincarnated as a kid and tries to use zombies to take over japan
so it up to the miko to save us all, luckily she has eight beautiful men at her disposal, that all you need to know.
After obtaining the scale of the white dragon Nozomi... is literally stuck on groundhog day
trying to change everyones fate while learning their darkest secrets even after ending up with
one of the guys and knowing they're fine now she happily goes to chase another. ~_~
If this was a shoujo manga the main couple would obviously be Masaomi 
with Yuzuru cringing in the background. lmao don't hurt me for this. 😂😂😂
I honestly love the idea of this... so many times I liked a character in game/anime
whom's fate was not desirable and now you can save them! again I wish I found this sooner.

I enjoyed playing through the demo when it came out a few week before the game did
 and it only solidified my purchase, I love RPG's and this game was much better developed than
Haruka6's system.
On repeat play Affections/bonds carry over since its continues, routes are basically self contained whoever you pursue will alter events because priority and sometimes even the last boss changes. 
The way this was done makes haruka 6 gentou rondo look like it tried too hard to be like this game.😅
The overall story in every route is mostly the same beat the Heike! like I said depending on route
things change in favor of the guy because his motivation take priority over others whom fall into 
the background, its honestly pretty sad because it could've gotten more interesting sometimes
the story takes an unexpected turn and in my opinion Shirogane's route was the best at that
all of the routes were more or less selfcontained, Kurou and Kagetoki's
 routes were related but other than that no route spoils anothers issues. 
It may seem like a really long game but it not that long as it seems, all you need is
motivation & after I got everyones love end I was like? let's take a short break since
 I was so done at that point hench why this took me like a whole month.

~Gameplay~
The game plays like a traditional RPG, however since this came out in 2004 it hasn't aged well
anyway you move Nozomi around on an overworld map and the big shiny light is your next objective
the small multi colored dots are places battles may or may not occur, the encounter rate was pretty
high and battles are pretty slow, I never noticed which dude had the lower encounter
rate skill but not that it matters since wiki said he's almost never in the party. -_-
There's no time limit so there is no rush, some character events may disappear
after story progresses so becareful I suppose, just look at the hints or use a good guide.
While the battle system is pretty slow you can atleast skip animations, you also upgrade
your characters by using element points so they become stronger, battles are mostly fought
using magic techniques and when the guy is out of MP you cheer them so they recover some.
There's combination attack between hachiyou members too but you have to raise the bond between
them to 2 at most and grinding takes time, if one barely use both chara at the same time
just by playing normally you'd prolly never get all of them unless
you like fighting battles for no reason and often switch the party around.
I recommend to spend time fighting battles since combi's do increase their usability
sadly without a good guide you will miss them the easiest one for me was Hinoe x Atsumori?
but since you need to make certain choice along the way the rest was a pain in the neck because the
bond only increase by buffing, guarding and the one need to be raised has to be put in the center. 
Honestly by the time you get all of them you'll be more than done with it all... there's little use 
for half of the combinations other than be able to mix it up when things get monotonous.
Kumamo boys~
There's also ailments and the like but yeah its an rpg so you should expect that sort of stuff!
Benkei is your healer, Saku can cure ailment, Ridvan, Kurou and Masaomi are fighters
but some of the rest are sorta just there doing stuff like Kagetoki and Yuzuru's are rangers
but to me they are just like any other unit like Atsumori or Hinoe.
I just make my party based on their usability and whom's route I was on and so character
 like Benkei was always around and seriously who wouldn't put him in their party?
Thankfully there was no trophy for learning all skills, thank god for that because some
require you to be hit by ailments in order to learn them and that requires RNG bullshit.
 Honestly I did enjoy the battle system and general gameplay more than harutoki 6 because Harutoki 3 really is an RPG and not with a little bit of tactical gameplay/time management.
The RPG fan in me wasn't disappointed that's for sure... also you can switch 8 hot men on the fly
so if you didn't have the right party to counter the enemy of a specific element it'd be no problem.😄
Not everyone is always around but most are... I just wish it was better developed
and give Nozomi skills to use as whenever she has to fight alone its just mash attack & rng to dodge.
Sadly the gameplay is too easy i'm always one or two shotting mobs, there is barely challenge
even on hard mode and to someone who plays RPGs often I can't help but still think its
underdeveloped but still this or real rode is as close as we get to a decent otome rpg.
I didn't get tired of it... nor was fighting that annoying except for the high encounter rate.

Yeah the graphics do not look pretty... but honestly who cares?

Every guy has two endings, normal and izayoi... so you must play atleast twice...
 8+8=16... yeah that right! luckily it will fly by once all the common stuff is over with but
there is new text after you finish routes sometimes cuz Nozomi been there done that
and she will point it out because she knows, she remembers what happens in a previous loop.
 Izayoiki end is basically going through common route again but few side events along the way...
its nice if you want to replay it at a later date but it wasn't that special in most cases I liked the
regular route except Masaomi because Izayoiki just felt right for him yet with Atsumori
and a few others I can't choose but I think for most  regular end was better.
There's also bad ends or more like you fail ends but they aren't necessary for completion at all.

 My Playorder: (normal love end)
 Benkei > Saku  > Yuzuru > Kurou > Hinoe > Ridvan > Kagetoki > Masaomi  > Atsumori > Hakuryuu > Grand Finale.
Honestly there's TOO MANY I just put some characters of interest all over to motivate me....
On first play untill you obtain the scale you cannot trigger the true character events, some
of the first events for Benkei, Saku or Yuzuru's trigger along the way but it won't get far
you're meant to play it more than once, its not all about romance its about the journey
and caring for your comrades whatever their personal issues may be.
 I do not think there was a recommended order and since this is one of those type of games its best 
to go for a character you are actually interested in, Saku's the easiest but Ridvan and Hakuryuu's
 route is apparently the hardest to get onto but easier once you have done more routes.
Why isn't Yasuhira in the play order? well because he's a DLC and has no trophy.
If I had to recommend anything at all do Masaomi before or after Yuzuru but not too late
into your playthrough, the rest of the order do not matter, to me Hakuryuu last since 
everything is possible thanks to him so why not? but honestly order doesn't matter
it depends on personal taste or where your interest lies the first time around.

My Izayoiki end play order:
Hinoe > Yuzuru > Masaomi > Atsumori > Ridvan > Benkei > Shirogane > Kagetoki > Kurou >Tomomori.
 Kurou and Kagetoki are tied to additional scenario which includes Shirogane this order makes 
more sense as Shirogane is obviously the core character of the new scenario.
Tomomori can only be done after Shirogane and everyone else since his end is tied  into grand finale.

The system of going back to a certain chapter to change fate is confusing at first
and without a guide you will scratch your head atleast on your first route but it easy when you
get the hang of it trust me, the game gives you so much hints when and how to get their events.
Oh and there's automode for VN part but since vertical text box and read from
 top to bottom right to left I was like lol nope, this take me twice as long to read.

Like most KOEI games events are straight to the point which I like but if you wanted a real VN this isn't the place to look for one and for some route romantic development is not balanced
but whatever there was I can say was nice just understand its not all about romance
but about changing fate of someone you care about!
KOEI... they just love to keep the relationship open ended and allow us
to fantasize of what next now that they acknowledged each other and live together in peace, if
anything they know where to end it, we don't need marriage ends if they're happy they're happy!
There are many different paths you can take but the core of some story arcs is the same even if
different there are multiple variation of the same events mostly in chapter 4 like if you have
Hinoe with you and go straight to the river it'll be SLIGHTLY different if he wasn't with you then.
Certain things will not change even if your destination is different such as encounters
with villains(post scale) but uh that's all I'll say i'm getting off topic. After that most of
the character route start but there's a few where things are a lot different, won't say who.
Most of the guys don't kiss up to the heroine except maybe Hinoe/benkei, they have their own
opinions and will say it given the situation like for example Nozomi literally has to prove herself to Kurou.
All characters do follow stereotypes, Benkei is mr tease you lots aka a haraguro, Kagetoki is carefree
on the surface atleast, Atsumori is the resident kuudere and Hinoe is the typical flirty guy
but they all have their own secrets they won't easily share, the deeper you get into
the guys events you'll start to see their true self, I was honestly surprised by some.
I like Nozomi she is average at first, buut at the end she does become
 little miss perfect...well uh who wouldn't if you went through so many ''loops''.
Take that as you will, I honestly think she's just fine nor was she annoying, she's just capable.
At first like she sucked at dancing but after a few loops she does it perfectly, that just an example mind u.
I only recommend Haruka 3 if you desperately want an otome RPG, its not long
but there is a lot of content to explore preferable go take a break from it when this game
 is getting too much of a hassle, its really not all that great to do try to do all at once.
Haruka 3 is not a bad otome game perhaps a little out dated compared to what we have now
its far from perfect but whats important is that it has things that one may like such as Nozomi
being more than capable and won't always need to be saved, tho occasional girl problems do arise.
To me all of the guys are likeable in some way even if Tomomori gave me a terrible first impression.
I couldn't help but feel bad for him down the line.😅
There is always something new to learn in every route and its mostly fun sadly characters such as
Hinoe do not have much substance and are just there while Benkei's motivations are intriguing yet he's also just there in other route, there's potential but they never get it in other routes that aren't their own. aand Yuzuru is 5ever the kind kouhai that likes you but won't ever say so because he thinks
Nozomi likes his bro eventually he was like fuck this shit imma tell you and hope you get it.😓
I do not think one can truly dislike the characters if anything it depends on taste.
The heroine is cool she can hold her ground, they made her too self concious of all her actions
but I don't think I like her that much and in Yuzuru's words she is as kind as she is cruel.
Its all that what makes her hard to relate, she can fight on a battlefield for crying out loud and is proactive in general but that doesn't mean much... I would definitely be a coward and wouldn't be able to fight on a battlefield but tbh some otome heroines just aren't meant 
to be self insert material and imo Nozomi definitely ain't one of those.
Overall I still had a good time, its a decent otomege that'll last a while its also fun
to learn amore about japanese history, the otome parts may or may not be to your liking
Hinoe aside its not typical stuff, personally I think haruka6 is better at it overall.
The vita port being fully voiced adds a lot to the scenes and the seiyuu did an amazing job
but I do not like that some CG's been replaced for close ups but whatever some old cg did look derp.
I give this game a 7.6/10 some stuff leave to be desired but it was mostly a fun experience
I don't think this game was as good as haruka fans make it out to be though...
 but you can say the same thing with a lot of games its really a personal opinion.
I do not regret playing, I feel it has a place in my heart due to doing things I wish you could do
like saving your favorite characters for once, I don't care if some parts don't make sense even.
Some routes definitely would have benefited from actual epilogues but they didn't and
got side story instead some were nice tho, sigh but hey atleast a handful of them did!
Before I forget have to make it clear these harukanaru games are very character focused
romance is placed last some routes are better with that then others, you must
 be willing to learn more about them and give them a chance also these games are very pure
the lewdest character in the game was perhaps Tomomori and you have to work hard to get to him
but trust me despite lack of plot and being a short route in general it was worth it.👌👌👌
I liked every character in some way but I think Atsumori, Ridvan, Benkei, Shirogane
and Tomomori are my real favorites, I feel bad for Yuzuru yes but IDK about him.

As for the rest down below is all spoilers thoughts so if you want to play I recommend
to stop reading here and just go straight to the end of the post for my final thoughts
and to see which route/character I liked the most without spoilers.
Maybe I wrote down too much but eh I don't think anyone else
 bothered to post that much about this game so it OK. :)
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Due to the scattered nature of this game and some events happening in the common route
 and their routes being at the end I will only write down stuff about their routes 
that I thought was worth mentioning there will be gaps sometimes.
Be prepared for spoilers  regardless for each character section, this is a 
decade old game and well you cannot say I did not warn you.
To get a normal end just avoid the guys and play the story normally nothing else to it 
you get a trophy for your effort atleast but wasn't particularly memorable, Nozomi finishes
her duty as the miko and returns to her own world... missing some opportunities.


Here's some breakdown of the games chapters but not all of them for spoiler reason
you'll be replaying a lot and it won't always be the same its a P.I.T.A to mention it all.

Prologue - Heroine gets summoned and is seperated from her childhood friends.
Chapter 1, Heroine arrives in late heian period japan, finds out she's the miko
 through Saku and shota Hakuryuu reunites with Yuzuru, she meets Sensei who will tag along for a little.
After reaching the base Ridvan goes my job here is done and disappears(but u didn't do anything)
its decided to go with benkei who is heading back to Kyou.
(You can go with Kurou after obtaining the scale)
Chapter 2, Nozomi gets used to being the miko and has to prove herself to Kurou(after obtaining the
scale things can take a different turn here and you can visit clan of the stars or what left of it).
Chapter 3, militairy campaign... it'll not go well most of the time, Atsumori joins.
Chapter 4, Journey through Kumamo its mostly a relaxing chapter and dealing with a water onryou.
Chapter 5-6 are important chapters on the first play... everything else is a secret
also trust me it will make more sense if you are actually playing it.

😈 Musashibou Benkei 😈
CV: Miyata Kouki.
Benkei is kind, supportive but seems to be seeking redemption.
 First off I really like his design and he's mysterious... makes you wonder why he's popular right?
Benkei is a healer he's refined, friendly and helps the villagers so basically
he's is a maji tenshi... his smile is pure but seems to hide something big and thus I will
 dub him shady, another person did the same... I can't help but agree with the nickname.😂
Benkei also seemed to know Nozomi's name before she introduced herself...
So he either has good ears or there was something else also people say to not trust that smile!
Welp too late Benkei got me... and lured me into his route. 💦💦💦
Benkei often goes off on his own but never actually leaves the party, he has his reasons for doing stuff.
Shady errr Benkei apparently has a brother too oh and Nozomi is pretty terrible at stalking... w.
I loved the scene in chapter 4 in which they decided to play with a little girl... it played out just like I expected.
He's actually quite the haraguro too... 😂 Oh an his trademark line is: you are a foolish person
or however you wanna translate it, naughty person as it can mean various.
I tried writing about his events but... idk if it makes sense you're better off playing yourself.
This CG sums up his route very well
Its not untill the battle with Tomomori in chapter 5 that Benkei gave me bad vibes...
the whole tone of his character changed and he was so serious
 about going his own way but gives it another thought once he sees how much
Nozomi worries, he still burned the ships behind her back, Benkei doesn't have any regrets
of his sins he just commited and honestly just wants to end this war and doesn't care who wins
but sides with the genji because the country won't move forward under heike or whatever.
Oh well Nozomi is at his side and tells him its not the end and stays quiet about it all etc.
Anyway Shady continues to do shady things and as a result Nozomi chases after him again since
she's worried only to once again fail at stalking and so she almost lost sight of him, she
 finds him near a village he is grateful her for being worried but at the same time says and that
she is no good anyway Nozomi keeps her mouth shut about his treacherous movements.💦💦💦
After Koremori is defeated/sealed  they go on another campaign against the heike...
 Kurou gets hit by an arrow... however Shady shows his true colors here, yes he's a traitor, I knew
something was off with him... welp he kidnaps Nozomi because Kiyomori is interested???
On the way there on a very nice boat they talk about the past in kyou and trust...
君は いけない人ですね
Nozomi isn't so weak willed to stay confined and gets out on her own😁 and runs into a soldier
who got into the heike under benkei's influence she asks where Benkei is and goes there immediately.
Everything has gone keikaku doori, he even be willing to keep her as his only prisoner XD
He shows her a piece of yata no kagami oh well as turns out Taira no Kiyomori hijacks
Benkei body to speak to Nozomi... because Benkei's ki / chi whatever is similair to Kiyomori and
they knew each other so now he reveales his plans and that he has the scale of the Kokuryuu.
Anyway Benkei is stronk and resists and hands her the mirror  and tells her to use it on him since
she's the only one he can rely on right now! and doesn't want to end up being a tool or whatever.
Benkei ends up disappearing but doesn't mind this punishment for everything he did. 😭😭😭
What I got is he wanted to end the war and used himself and the miko's power to seal
em both do it, Benkei you sly manipulative bastard! but it ok I love you baby.
I seriously thought I got a bad ending at this point and literally sat there with my eyes being
 a little watery thinking what now? well maybe we really need to go back in time and change this!
 Nozomi uses the scale to go back to the time of betrayel...  not much of a difference except
talking to that one soldier back there, prevent Kurou getting hit and be understanding
 towards Benkei so now he wonders how she's able to read him, well listen shady
 anyone would be if they knew what's up if they've been there once.
To proof it she shows him the piece of the mirror and well the two escape together.
Benkei explains the deal with the mirror and they devise a plan to stop Kiyomori which was so good.
Everyone comes just in time for the final boss too... the confession at the end was pretty sweet.
In the side story they go visit the graves of his parents in kumamo, a little b4 knowing where
they're going to Nozomi gets the wrong idea and imagines a scary shady meanwhile
Benkei is all like ~smile~ what are you spacing out for? anyway he introduces her as his most
precious person infront of his parents graves and will live on with her for as long as possible.
Please... you're not that bad, or is he?
 ---IZAYOIKI---
Izayoiki follows the normal end but if you view certain character events along the way
it'll lead you to a new ending... that wasn't possible before sadly I sometimes triggered
a few of them during the normal route so welp anyway in chapter 2 Nozomi joins Benkei in the
shack, as long as she keeps it a secret from the others it seems he knows a lot about ryuujin too.
They play hide and seek in chapter 4 which was my favorite scene but I already mentioned it
 before but I don't think the ''oni'' could ever find them, its sad the scene sorta just ended.
In chapter 6 they talk about that war stuff from before the fighting won't end if they beat the heike
thats for sure, Nozomi also makes him realize he got the wrong impression and so he realizes
 she's a just a normal girl and wants to know more about her world too so they talk about
stuff he don't know about but once Nozomi left he goes like no I can't and says it was a mistake.
He just wants her to live only that anyway unlike the normal route he never shows
signs of erratic behavior in chapter 7 and after the fighting they have a nice talk beneath
the moonlight before the final battle at Dan no Ura, he just gives her some confidence
so once he sees her make this sad face he goes what if I went back with you to your world
what do you want to show me? and well like he said before there's plenty of stuff
so let's do our best tomorrow whatever happens after Nozomi leaves he calls himself a fool
and goes on about how the genji will still have strength left to fight if they win here and wonders
what will happen to Oushuu or Kurou he knows all to well Yoritomo will be after him
so he has one of his spies investigate Yoritomo in Kamakura, Benkei apologizes to the moon
 that he may not be able to go with Nozomi if this continues she may cry or be mad
but he won't hesitate by whatever means Benkei has decided to protect Nozomi.
In the end they face Kiyomori who knows Benkei all too well and Kiyomori has taken a liking to
him, they beat him and just as Nozomi is about to seal Kiyomori he spouts some crap
but it won't save him, Kiyomori is sealed and Hakuryuu regained his form who asks Nozomi her wish
however Benkei is unable to go back with her because of his reasons to stop
Yoritomo and more fighting from happening, Benkei's been fooling and using Nozomi all this time
he doesn't want to trouble her any longer with his own personal goals and sends her off with a smile.
When she's gone Benkei and the others travel to Hiraizumi because its the only place Kurou is safe.
Benkei eventually gets shot by soldiers from Kamakura... and he's glad
he sended her back to her world even if he's making her(and me) very sad right now.
Then suddenly Nozomi appears like the heavenly being from the hagoromo legend coming
to take back the thing she forgot and that being Benkei, she picks up her sword
not as a miko but as a normal human being and presumable kills the soldiers and takes
her husbando's hand and they go into the future, well one thing is for sure!
Benkei will always be by her side from now on, while I think all this was great it partly felt rushed.
Also forget the fact b4 the credit roll he's halfdead with a bunch of arrows in his back, Nozomi
just took him to a hospital ASAP but was this mentioned in detail? no. 
The writers didn't care so why should I? atleast they're together in the end.
The sidestory was a lil wasteful as it was before the ending, instead of giving us a fun scenario
of them visiting many places in the present time we get one of Benkei
 getting sick and Nozomi caring for her he went on about getting better with rest
but Kurou shoves medicine down his throat and tells him to be a good kid. :(
Benkei really treasures this memory because Nozomi really shows she cared
and was by his side and in turn its revealed he won't ever leave her side but honestly
it should've been showed during the actual story so we could get some fun epilogue.
Sigh... its like my instincts told me something's up with this guy and well I was right to be wary.
No doubt about it... Shady is the shadiest person out of all of them which is not surprising!
Sadly just as the two were getting romantic it was already the end... but overall the feeling was nice
I could see that Benkei and Nozomi were getting along well, sorry I couldn't bother to write a lot.
I suppose Shady is a good person... willing to die for his sins but the deal with him is complicated
tbh i'm grateful to be able to save him because I love him despite him being sorta terrible
but I've seen far worse types so honestly I don't think Benkei is that bad.
I can totally see Yuzuru and Hinoe fighting over Nozomi only for Benkei to snatch her in the meantime.😂
Since I did his route so soon I can't help but look at him from the corner of my eye... on 2nd+ play.😖
Sadly the route was very self contained... not sure where to place it but I strangely enjoyed it
\his character is so inconsistent in other route he never once leaves the party or betray
he probably burns the boats every route but nothing else no one every realizes how evil he is.😂
Benkei... you may be a sinner and call yourself a terrible human being but I still like you anyway
real talk why are the suzaku's of earth all about sins or the burden of it I still remember Shuhei. T~T
Maybe the reason I think the plot and stuff is better is because I did his route first but after 
doing others it felt so original its obvious I prefer Benkei's Izaoiyki ending because it makes 
that much more sense and actually brings up facts about Yoritomo being a shit
and that Kurou probably doesn't survive in other ends besides his own, Benkei's Izayoki end
 is one my favorites too and well I like his character a lot even if he's a complicated trash can.
(I could totally ship Kurou and Benkei too... oh no someone stop me.)
 Romance ★★★★☆
Plot ★★★★☆
Enjoyment overall ★★★★☆
 ~

Kajiwara Saku. 😌
 CV: Kuwashima Houko.
First of all take those yuri goggles off because you won't find any of it here.
Kagetoki's sister and the black dragon priestess, she's helps Nozomi out a lot
and teached her how to dance she admires Nozomi for being so strong too.
 Saku has less events but does have an ending I tried doing her route while preparing for others
since you'll just go back to x chapter when done. all this because she doesn't have many events
and early on they were pretty boring it felt like I barely had anything to do every chapter redux.
Saku isn't interested in love because her heart belongs to someone already
 but is curious in those dreams Nozomi's been having...
Since not much happened let me detail a cute scene that happened this round.
There is one other way Hakuryuu regains his form it happen when the group do not take
 the long way around at chapter 4, one night after saying how much he loves Nozomi...
and how his little kokoro burns with a fiery passion the next morning he well... lol.
As per usual no one recognizes poor Hakuryuu and need a moment to adjust.
 (They grow up so fast...)
Another scene with Ridvan... sweeping Nozomi off of her feet... away from the crowd
who almost trample all over our dear miko luckily her shadow Ridvan is never far.
Ridvan got tsun about it😂 and tells her not to thank him and think too much of it cuz its his duty.
Why am I even bothering mentioning this? its not like it got anywhere...
  Saku tries to deal with her problems in her own way... and often want to be alone, her brother
respects it, the route focused on the fact that unlike Nozomi having Hyakuryuu, Saku being the
black dragon priestess and all doesn't have the Kokuryuu at her side, she met him in the past
but its been so long and well she can't help but worry about it. Nozomi goes back in time
to chapter 4 redux and well Kagetoki tells them of the past the two were a great couple.
Anyway all you need to know is Nozomi helps Saku out after she ran away...
TL;DR Kiyomori kidnapped the Kokuryuu took his scale and that why he nowhere to be found.
I sorta knew Kiyomori had sth to do with it because of the end of Benkei's route...
After Saku sees Kiyomori hold the Kokuryuu's scale she is determined to step forward
and stop him all the more... because she is the black dragon priestess.
Kiyomori tries to use Saku to fight her friends and uses the scale as blackmail
but eh she has Nozomi and Saku isn't as weak as he thinks. 
All is well that ends well, Kiyomoro is defeated and the Kokuryuu regains his human form.
Kokuryuu just looks like black Hakuryuu, he even has the same voice...
  
 Kokuryuu won't be able to stay with her as is... because of the shet Kiyomori did.
He will be reborn but he will forget everything even Saku.
 Nozomi goes back to her own world, Masaomi and Yuzuru probably too but not mentioned.
Saku wonders if Nozomi is happy... because she herself sure is which we never find out
and well considering some events I triggered in this route a lot of missed oppurtunity
but being able to help a friend may be a lot of happiness in its own way.
TBH I never thought Saku's route would turn out to be a tragic love story 
from a friends perspective but overall its okay.
I think this route was still interesting but this was more or less like a detour
and very self contained, it was more or less helping Saku with her problems!
Still I honestly wanted Saku to be happy... she deserves it but man I didn't expect it to be so sad.
I ain't got not much else to say since there wasn't much to it nor did I enjoy it that much
so I am glad I did her route as soon as I could, I liked the story/background to her though.
Romance wise less points since it is essentially Saku x Kokuryuu but it wasn't bad.
 Romance ★★☆☆☆
Plot ★★★★☆
Enjoyment overall ★★★☆☆

~
Arikawa Yuzuru. 😟💨
CV: Nakahara Shigeru.
The resident megane, childhood friend of Nozomi...he's also Masaomi's brother and the byakko of heaven.
Yuzuru's a prim and proper dude and a good cook to boot! I can tell he's a modest hardworking japanese guy?
 I don't usually like these types but I gave him a chance anyway BIG MISTAKE;
Yuzuru's the staple nice guy, always there for you but eventually snaps
because his senpai is nice to everyone and won't notice his feelings.
Oh and apparently Masaomi and Yuzuru are descendants of the star clan too.
Yuzuru specifically has the power to see the future and sleeping scares him because of those dreams.
Its also pretty obvious he has a crush on Nozomi... but she won't notice since huehue Masaomi.
Yuzuru tries so hard for Nozomi's sake yet gets so little in return and in turn gets screwed over!
Now that theres 7 more potential love interest he be like Nozomi Y won't you notice me? (ノಥ益ಥ)ノ
Also SENPAI THIS SENPAI THAT SENPAI WHY  x9000.😓
Yuzuru gets the shaft in terms of old CG's like did they lose the source and was pretty ??? at first.
Granted Yuzuru's first CG looked herp le derp back then but I am drawing question marks at the
decision to change the second one... if they couldn't redraw it ok but there was nothing wrong with it.
Are the new close ups there because he only wants us to look at him? yes this is exactly why.
Oh well half way thru the common route Yuzuru got all pissy at Masaomi
resulting in Nozomi having to tell em to settle down, Masaomi mentions the past
 however Nozomi can't remember it well(convenient).
Nozomi ends up playing around with the water like a kid and Yuzuru ends up
getting sth in his eye, Masaomi comments how he hasn't changed much too.
When they went to Kamakura instead of Kyou... there was an event where
Nozomi went with Hinoe, Yuzuru is worried sick when he can't find her
so he sees them together and this is where he shows his true colors.
Yuzuru can't stand it when Nozomi is just hanging out with someone else! cuz it shoulda been him!
''You're always like that... you haven't noticed my true feelings at all!''
What true feelings? that you're kind and helpful? no ones gonna know why you're like that bruh.
So now he has enough and wants Nozomi to be honest with him, being dear friend is not enough.
I loved you all this time but you always fool around with my brother... and now other guys
WHY WON'T YOU NOTICE ME?! (because you didn't say anything, so how can we know?)
Ugh he's like all those nice guys who get worked up when the girl they like won't notice them.
(ಥ益ಥ)
After all that he sort of acts distant and want to be alone... later Nozomi gives him a charm.
Well they fight Heike, kick Tomomori's ass(he loved it), Kiyomori uses the scale of the kokuryuu on
a ship causing tornados and shit, knowing they cannot reach him Yuzuru tries to shoot an arrow
Kiyomori underestimated his pro archer skillz and is butt mad and summons the dragon wrath.
Yuzuru takes the hit aimed at the priestess, he knew this day would come eventually
cuz of his dreams but he still protected her cuz that is what he must.
Nozomi is devasted, she tries to search for him in the usual places also the scale broke
 and winter came...Benkei has to be that dude to carry Yuzuru's lifeless body away
 from her since they have to do something or else he'll turn into an onryou anyway
when she gets her resolve back she goes to meet Tomomori TL;DR they kick his ass
 and after he's satisfied he leaves and Hakuryuu prepares to give her another scale,Nozomi
is against it since this means Hakuryuu dies but he wants to do it since he's so nice. T~T
Nozomi uses the chance to go back in time and jumps straight into his arms making Yuzuru go ???
 After she calmed down Nozomi confesses her feelings... that she finally noticed her kouhai.
Yuzuru is like there is no way thats possible since he believed she liked Masaomi. (マジかよ)
Then starts saying he only wants her and that she should only look at him... no one else.(old news)
Nozomi still believes him so now he starts saying while he's not a nice guy you still love me? ok.
He never wanted her to see that ugly possessive side of him... but too late now.
After this Nozomi tells everyone she's from the future and they prepare to change it and trust me
 it was exciting! because I thought the same thing was gonna happen again, but it did not.
The final boss was Kiyomori himself this time... and the two return to their own world so all in all
that was a nice change of pace, in the side story epilogue their school life continues and they
go out like a normal couple, haha it was satisfying even if I don't like Yuzuru that much.
They went into a church and since no one was there and get on the topic of marriage and they have
a pretend wedding Yuzuru seals the deal with a ring too!  which was supposed to be a christmas present.
 If anything I want to do Masaomi's route more than anything after I was done... so curious!
I mean they are happily in the present but Masaomi still has unfinished business... 
~
 ---IZAYOIKI---
These events proceed along a common scenario... and doesn't focus on the guys problems
 as much as their original route did but still fun either way.
Yuzuru is getting friendly with some random dude named Nasu no Yoichi who I swear
is voiced by Kishio Daisuke... Nasu was apparently voiced by Takashi Kondo in a drama cd
before dunno if they changed but he didn't sound like kondo-san at all.
anyway after he makes some Doria for lunch in chp2 Nozomi looks for him only for Saku
to tell her he's away visiting his gay friend and so Saku wonders if they weren't always together...
Yuzuru is mad when Nozomi comes all the way to see him ALONE because Saku showed her where.
Yuzuru is all like it can't be helped and the two go out into town and Nozomi feeds him a
dango because she's pushy he's all like hazukashii but ok i'll eat it.
 Chapter 4 after the disagreement and Nozomi splashes water into Yuzuru's face she walks in on
Yuzuru who took an afternoon nap, he seems peaceful but sometimes seems like he's not having a
nice dream, in chapter 6 they went to kyou there were a bunch of sub events
where the hachiyou learned how to summon the greater gods(IDK y I mentioned this all pls skip)
Later Hakuryu hands Nozomi a Nadeshiko flower and is reminded of when Yuzuru asked about what
flower she liked... well hmm it makes sense Nozomi is quite the ideal woman for a lot of these boys.🤔
Nozomi sees Benkei treat Yuzuru's wounds and well he been trying so hard to protect her
she realizes its from the time they just arrived in the world... Benkei notices her presence and asks of
her opinion that he should take more care, oh well you know how Yuzuru is he will always
be there watching over her, protecting and she gives him the flower afterwards.
Nozomi blames herself and tries to go back in time but Yuzuru calls her back and ends up telling not
to stop blaming herself cuz he could see what was up they're taalking and all of a sudden
Hakuryuu calls out to her acknowledging her and she becomes a zombie moving on her own
Yuzuru gets freaked out and tells her to get a hold of herself, she tells of her adventure into the realm
of gods to Yuzuru who is all like what you must not be feeling well, Yuzuru wonders if there's
nothing he can do... and the night before the last battle at Dan no Ura since she's worrie
about a strange power that resides in her, Yuzuru reassures her after all this it will be daijoubu
Yuzuru details about a legend about the miko in which she purified all of kyou while giving
 herself to the dragon this sounds an awful lot like the plot of harukanaru 1 and assures
her that won't come to pass the hachiyou will surely protect her and so they face kiyomori & they
defeat him without the power of the ryuujin because she has a precious person at her side, ne Yuzuru~.
Anyway they seal him but he tries to use the scale of the black dragon b4 he goes and
Nozomi thinks its a good idea to use the power of ryuujin now since hakuryuu is not strong enough
they need the prayer of the people so the miko and the hachiyou all start to focus but again not
enough so now the only hope is that one legend and Yuzuru tries to stop her but Nozomi's
determined to do it for the sake of the world and the person she loves, Yuzuru.
Nozomi prays and a white dragon appeared at the cost of herself, Yuzuru stayed behind waiting
and searching but she didn't come leaving him all alone in a peaceful world she created.
Then Kagetoki and Saku tell him to stop being an emo hikki and go out... but is like pls no
and goes off blaming himself for not being able to do anything the only thing he has left is her
pendant, he wants to see her and hear her voice so much it responds to his wish.<LMAO what.
Credit rolls and our heroine is seen in limbo and Yuzuru just shows up...
to get her back to the world she saved okay fuck it i'm done.
I don't know to be happy or sad at this sort of stuff.
Yuzuru's izayoiki's route is a lie.
His gay BFF friend Nasu shows up in the side story epilogue of this too... who knows the situation
too well takes advantage of it and hits on Nozomi, also makes sure Yuzuru falls into the river.😂😂
If anything he made it bearable to watch too bad all he did was incite seeds of jelousy to get Yuzuru
to be honest with himself and tell Nozomi his feelings since to Nasu he's an open book. -_-
Senpai isn't just a childhood friend, she's someone I loved all this time and I WON'T HAND HER OVER TO YOU!
 Like I mentioned above I knew this was gonna be one of those routes...
Sigh... Jealous and obsessive childhood friends that loved you for a long time but keep quiet. -_-
I sorta liked Yuzuru but sadly he's one of those creepy childhood friends who are nice
but once you get too close they cannot stand it when you ignore them or look at anyone else
and after that one event I was like yappari... I just don't know about him anymore. 😓
Sorry but I am indifferent about these types, that they love you a long time is one thing
but being get mad at Nozomi when all she did was help a fellow... sigh.
Atleast he redeemed himself, when he gave his all to protect her and his confession was sweet
 but I know he's not my type, being jealous is one thing and I know he
has this sweet side to him but i'm sorry it hard to see him in a positive light.
I guess they went for the excitement to have an secret admirer? sure its nice but not sure if want...
Yeah his feelings are real but forever stuck in a love triangle cuz of Masaomi 
and to add fuel to the fire Nozomi is kind and gets along with the other hachiyou too.
Its worse if you have experienced someone like this yourself really it won't always play out nice.
I agree with people saying that he's creepy as a romantic interest and thus better off as a support
character, I can barely stand him atleast in other routes this true feelings don't really show
 but I am sure if he had the means to get rid of the others he'd do so and that is scary. (lol)
Anyway since he probably doesn't want to see Nozomi sad he prolly won't do that so he's OK?  
 Glad I did his route before some of the others though... wouldn't have want to sit through
 this later, atleast the story in the nomal route wasn't half bad, I liked his determination 
to protect her no matter what but I can't say that I enjoyed most of it... 
On the other hand the deus ex machina emo fest that was his izayoiki ending please no. -_-
Not that it was bad it felt like I was watching the end of the harukanaru 1 anime except it was twice
as emo and the deus ex machine oh lordy don't get me started! the normal end was better than the
Izayoiki one since in the normal end they return and the proposal in the church was perfect! 
You know it bad when i'm lmfaoing through the whole Izayoiki ending
atleast the epilogue was fun and I wish the ending before it was more believable too. ~_~
So despite Yuzuru being a creepy nice guy I still think he's a genuinely good guy...
I'm sorry but personally Yuzuru just doesn't click with me.  
Romance ★★★☆☆
Plot ★★★☆☆
Enjoyment overall ★★☆☆☆
I'm sorry my thoughts on Yuzuru are longer... orz.

~
Minamoto no Kurou Yoshitsune. 😄
CV:Seki Tomokazu.
If Kurou were to cut his hair he would look like Tenma of haruka 1. 🤔
A general in the Genji army... and the seiryuu of earth.
Kurou doesn't like the fact Nozomi takes to the battlefield he's often misunderstood 
due to his Tsun, stubborn density and sharp-tongued attitude but Kurou does care for people.
Sadly he's the type of guy who doesn't appreciate women on the battlefield till Nozomi proves herself
however since this is the heian period I forgive him since his behavior is completely natural for the era. 
Kurou is also pretty gullible and easily trusts people... I wanted more shenanigans with that
but alas the game does not allow for it not even in the ending.
Also I sincerly question his fashion sense... did not expect frills. http://imgur.com/a/u8j69
After Kurou left but b4 visiting the Hoshi no Ichizoki in chapter 2 they passed
through the Shinsensen, some girls get chosen to sing/dance and well Nozomi get picked out too
she does a stellar job even while nervous so Hakuryuu ask her to make it rain for a little.
They all be impressed so Kurou be like wait just a moment, lol.
Later they all went to visit the sakura trees together at night, it was a izayoiki exclusive scene.
Kurou walks the rocky path in life... and well we all know his real life fate wasn't such a happy one.
His dream is that he wants to bring peace back to Kamikura with his bro, ya he's a brocon.
In chapter 5 Kurou and some troops charge into the enemy yelling come at me!
The soldiers be ??? at the mad rush and retreat... opening a new path
 for them to assist Kagetoki and kick Tomomori's lovely ass.
Sadly the genji throw him in the famed uguu cage of love for not following the strategy or whatever.
So Kurou gives Nozomi a letter to hand to his bro...  but then comes the bad news of him being sentenced.
After all this Nozomi redo's the whole chapter just to warn him... thus altering fate.
When they visit Kurou's bro in Kamikura he plays some sort of trick that freezes everyone
in the room except him and Nozomi... he want to see her power but immediately stops when Masako enters.
Oh well not much happen other than some drama about who Kurou's precious person is, after
the battle with Koremori, they set out to battle the heike's Tadanori.
Nozomi worries about Kurou's confidence, he notices she isn't the same and tells
 her to stay behind him she just rushes after him on the battlefield so they fight together.
After all that Saku ask about Nozomi's issue and well the drama flooshes out since she thinks there is
some other woman, Saku just tells her there is no way Kurou has a lover and calms Nozomi.
 Saku motivates Nozomi to tell Kurou about her feelings she tried but just apologizes
this leads Kurou to say he would like to see her world when all is done, he only thought
about family stuff but he's done with that now... the whole scene made me smile, it obv my fav.
 Later he confides in her how uncertain he is over the coming battle and the future
but Nozomi tells him its gonna be daijoubu for sure which cheers him up and gets flustered.
They fight Tomomori along the way during the battle at Dan no Ura, he glad Nozomi
was his last opponent and walks off the plank when all's said and done. 😢
They move on and confront Masaomi who has a score to settle with Kurou
Nozomi tells em to stop but they are too hotheaded so we have to fight him.
They let Heike retreat but then Masako shows up pulls a knife on Nozomi
and Kagetoki can't defy Masako's orders to keep our hotblooded boy at bay.
Nozomi's scale gets taken and she is brought to, Yoritomo Kurou's brother who is a a dipshit.
Anyway after a day or so Kurou comes to take her back cuz he can't let his bro continue.
How they found her? they all looked at Kagetoki with serious looks till he gave in and dropped a hint.
 Anyway Masaomi rejoins and they last boss this time is Masako because she's a manipulative witch
after defeat she returns the scale before she is gone for good, Kurou lives on not as a genji general
but as a free man alongside Nozomi, he joins her in returning home and they visit lot's of
places in present day Kyoto, in the side story we get to see how the hell the two returned.
That's kind of backwards is it??? oh well one part made me laugh but that's about it.
---IZAYOIKI---
 Kurou's Izayoiki end is tied to Shirogane's scenario so I didn't do it till later.
In chapter 4 Nozomi helps Kurou around, there wasn't much to it.
In chapter 5 while on the run he goes on and on about how they should just leave him be and let
him go to Kamakura where he'll most likely die, Benkei has enough of his stubborn attitude whom
punches him to bring him to the reality of the situation of that his own brother wants him dead.
Kurou just wants to do what he thinks is right to protect those who he cares about but he's too
 hot headed to see that its the wrong path that'll just make people sad, Nozomi reasons
with him that there is a path they can take and that is to go to Hiraizumi together.
When they return to Hiraizumi a dog is more than happy to see him!
Turns out Kurou befriended a dog when he was little he named him Kugane he wanted to take
him in despite Yasuhira being like oh no mendokusai, anyway since the dog is like Kurou
and he doesn't have parents Kurou can't just abandon it, so Yasuhira gives in and takes it in. T~T
Eventually the genji show up near Hiraizumi... Kurou and Nozomi have a heart to heart
before the final battle in which they promise to be there for each other when all is over
 They all go to Kamakura stopping Yoritomo, Yasuhira orders Shirogane to come with them too
Nozomi gives Kurou her gekirin as a charm, on the way there Masaomi and Shirogane go together
creating a diversion of sorts while the others head fo Yoritomo's place but of course
he won't listen and Masako uses hax powers but since Kurou has the gekirin he is immune.
Shirogane and Masaomi show up just in time for the final battle too after Masaka falls
Kurou manages to convince Yoritomo and Kurou will surely be the one to kill his own brother.
Hakuryuu regains his true form and bless Nozomi's future she and Kurou live happily ever after.
The side story epilogue or whatever you wanna call it was cute... it was about Kurou still needing
to confess the other guys made fun of it and it was enjoyable, in the end  he gives her a charm that
belonged to his mother which means ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) afterwards the two start bickering like
 a married couple while the others just watched lmao it made me smile to no end
For being one of the poster boys I think Kurou is quite cool and likeable...!
Like I said before his behavior toward women considering the time period is justified and
once he realize Nozomi can hold her own he stops being an ass about it. THAT IS GOOD.
The route had many cute moments too, it was spread out well also unlike the previous route
there were many CG with the heroine in it! but it was really sad that Kurou was just
being used by the genji... the first play taught me that much, his route only confirm it
Yoritomo Kurou's own brother wouldn't hesitate to give the order to kill Kurou...
Some of the plot was... okay I enjoy it more than last route and the romantic devolpment was cute too
sadly this once again suffers from it only beginning for them but eh i'm sure it all good right?
Is there a reason to dislike Kurou? nope... and he had great events/route in general what not to like?!  
Except that their relationship is perhaps too pure...? IDK i'm not complaining.
About Izayoiki... I thought his normal route was enough and more memorable but it was ok
a little underwhelming compared to Shirogane's route as a whole but its a nice alternative.
 Romance ★★★★☆
Plot ★★★★☆
Enjoyment overall ★★★★☆
~
😘 Hinoe. 😘
CV: Takahashi Naozumi.
Hinoe is a flirty gentlemanly guy and has a calm composure, he's the Suzaku of heaven and is really
thoughtful in certain situations, basically he's one of those guys to make you feel extra special.
I'm indifferent about these chara types him but he's an okay guy despite hitting on you like no
tomorrow, oh well atleast he doesn't do it to the point of annoyance outside of his events so it ok.
I def do not recommend this route till you understand how the whole system works, you need to start
from chapter 5 then go back to chapter 2 or 1 depending on if you went with Kurou or Benkei there.
Basically he wanted to show her the flowers in Kyou but it wasn't possible so they make a promise
only Nozomi can keep, anyway Hinoe is the type who'll follow Nozomi anywhere l i t e r a l l y.
Oh well Nozomi looks for him in Kyou but gets harrassed by some men...
Hinoe tells em to scram cuz they're ruining the atmosphere of the place, lol.
Anyway Nozomi wants him to stop calling her Miko hime-sama which leads him to be like
ARE YOU SURE WE HAVEN'T MET BEFORE? yeah sure that's right IN THE FUTURE.
 Okay he doesn't know that but the others come along cuz they were worried and Hinoe joins up.
 Anyway they go to the flower field but some pesky onryou shows up, Hinoe be like I'll take care of it
but Nozomi draws her sword anyway after that they finally decide to view the sakura trees.
 Hinoe notes that Nozomi is much like those beautiful petals, she gets flustered.
 Back at the residence, Hinoe throws a coin and if he wins he'll have Nozomi all to himself today...!
Well he does so now she's stuck with him! oh dear... turns out he was cheating
and there was no way Nozomi could've won... why does this remind me of someone else.
Also he keeps making snarky comments here and there like when Nozomi picked up Atsumori
he went *whistle* I heard you picked up another man on the road... turn out he just curious.😂😂😂
Well turns out he knows him since the two grew up together so it all good.
Here come chapter 4 and he's seen staring out at the sea... so he ends up explaining what bother him.
Kumamo is just a bystander in the whole Heike/Genji war so now he questions why
she is at the genji's side it cuz of onryou but Kumamo won't meddle with it cuz his real name
is fujiwara no tanzou and part of the navy/betou and its he feels obligated to protect his homeland.
Also because I am an idiot I accidently triggered one of Masaomi's event at the residence
because of the lay of the land he went on and on about scuba diving. ಠ_ಠ; i'm like sure...
In Hinoe's event they were in town and helped a lost kid find there mom, random i know.
Also there somewhere was a scene with his dad, he won't go easy on his son whom sort badmouth him.😂
Later after visiting Kumano Hongo they went to Kumano Taisha, Nozomi gets kidnapped
cuz she had to dress up all princess like but not to worry Hinoe rescues her but had to leave
right after, Nozomi looks for him and sort of begins to understand who he is.
Shame on you for not knowing the great Hinoe... and you call yourself a man of the sea? don't make me laugh.
Later Nozomi ends up asking Atsumori about him and well they were childhood friends after that
she asked Benkei... Hinoe turns out to be a relative of him. Eeeeeeeh....?
When they help out saving a burned down village everything goes well some soldier recognized
him as a pirate of Kumamo anyway they chase them out and a little girl was confused
as to why but she doesn't need to know, later along the path to the port Hinoe gave
Nozomi an earing/hair ornament, he also formally asks her to come
with him to Kumamo and become his woman once the fighting is all over.
This was probably my favorite scene in the whole route(which hadn't even started yet).
In chapter 5 to pull the plan off Hinoe goes off on his own, Nozomi worries but Saku reassures her.
After making everyone wait too long Hinoe comes in with his ships and they kick Tomomori's butt.
Hinoe apparently has some ties with Tadanori... but I don't remember much
but Hinoe real name is Fujiwara Tanzou and in charge of the navy.
The rest of the battle against Heike went well untill Tomomori brings the news Kiyomori is still alive
not long after some dudes betray Hinoe and tie him up to a pillar on the ship and set it on fire.
But Hinoe is 2gud and frees himself, the two escape just in time realizing they've been had they plan
their next move against Heike, sadly because the whole Kyo/Kamikura arc didn't happen in this route
since they heavily relied on Hinoe's strategies during chapter 5 thus making it very original.
they have to face Koremori along the way to Kiyomori who is all fired up and one hits our miko
however when he pulls this sword of kusanagi Nozomi snatches it from his hand in an instant.
Kiyomori being nerfed now is the time to seal him but Tomomori shows up and they get away
meanwhile Atsumori isn't doing so hot due to the changed Ki that the sword changed.
They had a nice exchange the night b4 the last battle, anyway TL;DR they kick ass
Tomomori's last words were pretty sad and they beat Kiyomori but it ain't over
Kiyomori has yato no kagami and tries to steals the sword from Nozomi so Hinoe
says something cool, if you're a real man don't go for a woman come at me and face me.
All goes keikaku doori and Kiyomori is defeated also he won't let her go back to her world ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
 because she's his princess and they marry, the side story was super cute...
but why they still sleep in seperate rooms even though they are now married?!
I can hear Yuzuru screaming internally already, SENPAI y u do this?!
 --IZAYOIKI--
 In the Izayoki end the intermission chapter between 4 and 5 never happen
 and they do not rely on hinoe's strategies nothing note worthy happened except for  the scene with
the coin, the lost kid+his dad I already mentioned above and they go to Kamikura in chapter 6
in which we got a cute mini event, Hinoe gd has that look on his face Nozomi worries what he up too.
Hinoe notes that she's too nice in being worried over him and well in the rain it like they're in their
own little world, he doesn't want it to end... nor Nozomi returning to the heavens where she fell from.
Hinoe tells her to forget his ramblings not wanting to trouble her, well story plays out the same
as the original tale they fight the heike at Dan no Ura the night before she talks with Hinoe
whom asks her to trust in him more, not to worry so much and gets some rest before the final battle
during said battle Hinoe steals the scale of the black dragon like its nothing from Kiyomori now
Nozomi can quietly seal him and complete her mission, Hakuryuu will send her back to her own
world if she wants but she needs a little time and together with Hinoe Nozomi looks at the moon
which is almost full, tl;dr Hinoe doesn't want to let her go and makes it an unforgettable last night.
 Hinoe let's her return to her own world because its not his decision to make while having a sad
 look on his face and tells her to be patient and so Nozomi continues her life!
Untill Hinoe just shows up one day making her go wait what...
Hinoe what are you doing here! Well he did tell her to be patient did he...? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
///TBH I feel bad for Yuzuru even more but damn Hinoe so hot😳 let me tap that.///
The side story epilogue was so cute... Hinoe came at a bad time so he takes a nap only for the smell
of food to wake him but the power goes out so he ends up helping out like a handy man to save the
sweets she was baking and just as he about to eat one Nozomi tells him to not since its a valentine's
day gift so now since the jig is up he has her spoonfed it to him after all.
 I enjoyed the little comments Hinoe made early on about various matters, its nice how you can 
recruit certain characters such as Hinoe or Masaomi early on it makes it that much more of an RPG
but even then Hinoe was sorta just there nothing changed, sadly Hinoe route took forever
because I made a wrong choice somewhere and a choice later didn't show up cuz of it. -_-;
Overall I think I like him Hinoe had a nice route but IDK storywise, purely there as a romantic
interest like I seriously cannot remember anything important happening, it was more self-contained.
Oh well Hinoe as a character was interesting though also despite the flirting he's actually sincere not annoying.
The route would have benefited from a kiss CG but eh... I don't mind it that much.
 Also is it bad I sorta ship Atsumori and Hinoe now...  why oh why?!
TL;DR Hinoe's alright he's an honest yet flirty guy and wouldn't go back on his word but 
compared to others I don't like him that much also him being touchy touchy doesn't help...
Characters that flirt with every fiber of their being on someone of the opposite sex are just UGH
even if their intentions are pure I just don't know how to deal with them i'm glad I did his route so
soon because I think his flirtyness annoyed me further down the line... i'm so sorry. 😢
I prefer his Izayoiki ending over the normal love one... also Hinoe's pretty damn hot sadly his events 
were boring and there was not much plot to them, nonetheless I admit it was enjoyable route.
Actually maybe I do like these type of characters but I don't think Hinoe had a well rounded route.
 Romance ★★★★☆
Plot ★★☆☆☆
Enjoyment overall ★★★★☆
~
😭 Ridvan. 😭
CV: Ishida Akira.

A badass Oni and Genbu of earth, after some events Ridvan becomes Nozomi's Shishou.
He teaches Nozomi the way of the sword and on top of that he's also Kurou's teacher... 
Ridvan also acts as Nozomi's shadow as well and I liked how when he first joins in chapter 1 he
disappears on her like right after they've reached the outpost, he doesn't join till end of chapter 2.😂
Despite being strict Ridvan always supports her no matter the situation and he's actually a really nice guy!
When ambushed at a certain part b4 obtaining the scale he goes off on his own
 like a badass to clear a path... :😭🙏🙏 no one knows what happened but he never returned.
He often listens to the heroines troubles and explained how to use the scale after a certain plot event
when everyone else is flabbergasted at Nozomi for talking about time and being from the future
if the others don't believe the miko, Ridvan is the one to reassure them, gosh he is always there for her. 
I saved this route for later because you need Hanadachi skill at lvl 5... and some other at lvl 3.
 Depending on the route you take in chapter 1 redux, at chapter 2 he and Nozomi will have a duel
and well she accidently cuts the cloth covering his face... uncovering his beautiful bishonen face.
How many loops have I accidently almost cut his pretty face? I'M SO SORRY SENSEI!
In chapter 4 you'll learn Hanadachi lvl 4/5 in his event while training with him after that, you just
need to redo chapter 4 when you master it else you'll never get on his route.
Anyway there was a scene where Nozomi spoke with Ridvan near the river, she's grown and he'll be
there as long as needed but then there was this ~silence~ and he was like oh no not like this.
Anyway once Ridvan realizes she is strong enough now he cuts off the training, Nozomi
wonders what his deal is while remembering various past events including him sweeping her  off her
feet in another route, Sensei is constantly holding back because he doesn't want to repeat the same mistake?
he tells her he doesn't want to grow closer and wants to go his own way now that she's strong enough
there is no more reason for all this... and disappears, Nozomi chases him but can't find him
she cries out while a thunder storm breaks out only for Hinoe to find her and take her back.
In chapter 5 when they head for the enemy camp Nozomi notices what appears to be Ridvan...
Yappari he's still acting as her ''shadow'' after all!
Kurou's hotbloodedness gets the better of him and storms the camp not knowing and
Nozomi wants to save them ofcourse, Benkei and Kurou have already taken care of it though
evrything proceeds mostly as it should but a little different and they face Tomomori.
Anyway they all decide to search for Riz-sensei and Masaomi crawls from the bushes to help.
Riz-sensei's hiding skills too good and just shows up when Nozomi's alone like a shadow, anyway
he won't answer where he was™ but he's back cuz he's a hachiyou and apologizes to the rest.
Yep I won't answer is Ridvan's trademark line.
Koremori stries to pull off a surprise attack but obv fails and they defeat him after Riz triggered him.
Ridvan still won't answer questions but we learn that he thinks its dangerous for him to stay at
Nozomi's side cuz fate and stuff, he still says she is plenty strong and will be fine, he disappeared afterwards.
Sensei apparently died fighting Kiyomori solo yolo... he left a ring which
was given to Nozomi by nii no amagimi so Nozomi decides to go back in time to stop him.
Nozomi eventually tells him everything what the he in that time did... but still tells her
not to come close, Nozomi is like eff this and chases him through a portal
she finds herself in a burning village filled with onryou whom she tries to purify.
SOMEONE HOLD ME, Nozomi was Sensei's sensei... why he's always close by...asdfsddgSPOILERSfgdsdit makes sense.
 She sees a little boy with burns on his face who looks awfully like a young Ridvan who she saves.
He wanted to grow strong like she is but once he touched the scale an onryou shows up behind her
but then is brought back to reality and Ridvan saved her just in time... that kid was Ridvan.
Everything started moving when he touched the scale... IDK how to explain so it makes sense.
Anyway he still leavesT~T and the war against Heike continues... on the battlefield
together with Atsumori she chases Sensei's shadow while avoiding arrows left and right.
When she finally catches up Ridvan says theres no way they can exist in the same time
and this is all to stop Nozomi from having a certain fate.
Sensei continues going solo yolo and the others eventually follow but too late again...
she gets another chance and sets out for Ridvan ALONE thanks to Saku and Hakuryuu.
Nozomi ends up determined more than ever to stop his solo yolo parade and makes him realize
but Ridvan keeps telling her to back off and then an archer shot an arrow...
which hit Nozomi and thus making his efforts of avoiding this fate in vain.
BAD END... or not Ridvan cries out to set out to prevent this but Nozomi tells him not to and
it all goes back in time just a little... Ridvan doesn't understand and well me neither but whatever.
Ridvan tries to stop Nozomi but since she's so determined they fight, she wins so they set
out to stop Kiyomori who's more than happy to see them, the two of them beat him and after that
Ridvan gets all mushy and tells her to stay by his side, the two cross time and space to the present time.
In the side story or more like proper epilogue Ridvan explains how he is now in an unknown world
he somehow fits right in and well the two live happily ever aftergoing on dates
and what not together, he got sappy on the ferris wheel.😄
 ~
 ---IZAYOIKI--
His Izayoiki events start in chapter 2, you must choose to go along with Benkei in chapter 1
and so Ridvan has Nozomi follow him to a flower field to relax a bit.
They get on the topic of the meaning of his name and paradise... etc.
 Ok skip to chapter 4 headpatting and Oh no I musn't get too close to my student scene.
We also get to see Ridvan angst about not wanting to be more than a teacher in order
 to save Nozomi in the future and thinks these feelings are a  m i s t a k e.
 In Kamakura on the way to where she was supposed to meet up with sensei some soldiers
decide to harass her and tag along and chase her all over only for Ridvan like the shadow he is to
suddenly whisper this path is the best right now and when she meets him Ridvan hides her
 under his cape! he also tell the soldiers to stop this nonsense with an ice cold glare lol.
 IDK that scene made me crack up so much... sadly to get his izayoiki end you must redo chapter
2, 5 and 6 and go to kyou instead... Nozomi will remember his words back when he hid her
after he refused to teach her a special technique only Ridvan or oni in general can use.
She tries to ask Yuzuru about Oni stuff but not even he knows but tells her to ask a member
of the hoshi no ichizoku clan since they may know so she goes and do just that, sadly
while the woman is overjoyed everyone is together she panics at the sight of an oni...
and starts yapping about how dangerous it is for an oni to be at the miko's side because
of in the past, Nozomi forces the woman to apologize to Ridvan but he doesn't mind it as per usual.
After we beat Koremori we had to redo chapter 2 AGAIN and his event at the flower field changed
and we learn at this spot there used to be an oni village but it was ruined
many years ago in a war with the people of Kyou and this is the result.
Nozomi wants to stand beside him but he is like nope.avi you can't you're the miko
 i'm an oni this is my fight and mine alone... I don't need your support, i'm used
to being feared and tells her to forget this conversation.
Fast forward to the night before the battle at Dan no Ura...
 Nozomi and Ridvan have a talk beneath the moon he wants her to rest since
 tomorrow is a difficult day and also the day her fight will be over and get nostalgic
of the day they met, he too was watching when she picked up the sword  Hakuryuu dropped
 and admired hw courageous she was back then and how strong she has become also
he's very happy even if its a different kind of happiness than normal.
Anyway next day the face Kiyomori and as per usual seal him and Ridvan  gets a little sad his duty
 as a Hachiyou over now tha tthe fighting has ended and Nozomi can return to her own world.
He wants her to return but she doesn't want to do so... and its futile for human and oni to coexist
Ridvan will be happy if she returns because he has the memories of their time together
Nozomi is like eff this but Ridvan is so stubborn and wants to see she's happy away
 from him and disappears, Nozomi goes back to Kyou but is like eff this and goes to the flower field
to tell him she'll stay with him in this world till the end despite him not wanting her to be involved.
 Anyway he eventually gives in once he realizes her mind is made up...  because her choices decide his destiny.
 Anyway in the side story life isn't all sunshine and rainbows the two are constantly being
troubled by people who hold grudges against Oni's however they save one of them and treat
their injuries, when he comes to he wants Nozomi to come along with him after hearing
 the rumors of a beautiful maiden living with a fearsome oni is true.
The man just thinks he's saving her but Nozomi tells him he got the wrong idea and twists his arm, lol.
Ridvan comes along to explain she's here on her own will and hasn't been forced and thats she is his happiness.
He lets the man guide her to Kamakura and so he figures she's the amazing genji no miko
who fought in the war and she explains she will always stay with Ridvan, speaking of Ridvan
he's surprised she's back so soon and gives her a fur coat however it may be too big
so Nozomi jokes its big enough for the two of them, he's very happy to see her smile too.
That man has been there the whole time and tells them not to mind him!
Oh well seems like the future is bright for these two after all... and they see him off
 and his opinion on Oni's has changed for the better.
While I don't usually like student x teacher stuff I think this was actually one of the better type of
 stories i've seen, like she grew too strong and he distances himself... but there's more too it.
At times I couldn't help but smile at how caring and strict he is... yet there I sat with watery eyes
for over the majority of the route sigh... Ridvan truly is a great guy sadly it was one of those routes
were the dude is barely there cuz reasons,  also the plot was very painful perhaps
 the best so far? nah that pushing it, though Nozomi and Ridvan are such a good match. 😭😭😭
The romance was there as he has always liked her ever since then but then after all is over
the switch was so sudden when he went dere, overall I enjoyed and the epilogue made up for it
 I guess but greedy me wants more relaxed moments between them  I mean he always tries so hard
to guide Nozomi and protect her yet doesn't get many relaxing moments, its unfair how he has
to be mr serious business untill the epilogues Ridvan deserves so much more.
His original route didn't have many CG's and felt shorter... the headpat scene was actually an Izayoiki addition that I triggered because you had to redo chapter 4 after learning hanadaichi lvl 4-5.
Plot wise I guess some things make me scratch my head... but no use thinking too hard about it
Ridvan's there he does what he thinks is right and is very very stubborn, every route
follows the guys personal issues and this was very very personal not sure if I fully understood it. 
I thought his Izayoiki route was interesting but it was troublesome going through since  you need to
redo chapters a lot and the drama was just plain sad, honestly i'd just prefer his regular ending
despite the paradox bull crap you have to endure and his I don't wanna tell attitude. ~_~
well atleast they're in a place he's accepted but I think both ends were good and atleast the
epilogues were actual epilogues not the road taken to it like Atsumori's Izayoiki epilogue being reminisce. -_-
Also i'd be lying if I sad neither or Ridvan's ending made me sad... because it sure did. T~T
PS, WHY ARE ISHIDA AKIRA CHARACTERS LIKE THIS?! 
 Romance ★★★☆☆
Plot ★★★★☆
Enjoyment overall ★★★★☆

~
Kajiwara Kagetoki. 😅
CV: Inoue Kazuhiko.
 He's a Magistrate, byakko of earth and an Onmyouji.
Saku is his sister I like how he was nowhere to be found when they first needed him but
after they returned from defeating the flower onryou he's happily hanging up the laundry.😂
Hmm... atleast he's reliable despite being a hetare who can't handle a simple walk in the mountains.
 Kagetoki's pretty easy going and sometimes is fast to complain, he doesn't like fighting idk he's
pretty much the moodmaker type...? yeah that title fits him, despite that he seems to
have a lot of regret he carries with him, also tfw you find out a little in chapter 3 redux and well
I fell for him pretty hard even if I was going for another dude, I like him a lot as a character but I
regret not doing him right after Kurou since obvious he has ties with Yoritomo.
I am weak... someone hold me, just looking at him like that makes me sad.
Anyway nothing important happen in this route till mid chapter 4,  he invites everyone
to da beech at night so he can show off fireworks onmyou-jutsu, random?
 I didn't know onmyou-jutsu could do that they talk more about his l33t skillz with the gun
and how fireworks and other stuff exist in Nozomi's world too.
Kagetoki's drawing a blank at the words Television and Game...
Bottom line is this guy is a pathetic hetare who tries to smile and look on the brightside
instead of showing everyone what an unfortunate fella he is who be running from his problems.
 After seeing his open-wound Nozomi decides to go with him in chapter 5 instead of Kurou and the others.
Stuff goes wrong as expected and Nozomi gets seperated from everyone just as some
soldiers prepare to tap dat booty Kagetoki shows up to support her, everyone
apologizes for letting her out of their sight... some hachiyou they are!
Anyway after they kick Tomomori's ass, the miko and the hachiyou set out for Kamakura l
 when they want to restsome onryou shows up, lol Kagetoki can't catch a break can he?
after they beat it Yoritomo shows up curious what the ruckus was, Kagetoki seems different a
round him like he deeply respects the man and the usual carefree attitude is nowhere to be seen.
Oh well everyone covers his ass and they go beat koremori afterwards some soldiers
deliver a letter to Kagetoki and makes this serious looking face which fails to hide that
something is up and knowing what he is capable of from Kurou route it can't be good
he starts talking about omiyage for Masako in kyou, well look who's lying out of his ass
thankfully our dear heroine notices something is おかしい and he realizes he can't hide his shit
but doesn't have the courage to come clean, at the battle with Heike he makes everyone wait
so they go ahead, only Nozomi stays behind for them to regroup later but Heika corners them
Kagetoki tries to negotiate with Tadanori, he tells nozomi to run and that he'll take care of the rest
and not to worry about him since running away from his problems is his specialty.
I AM WEAK don't look at me like that.
Kagetoki doesn't return and winter comes... so she uses the scale of the white dragon to undo the
mistakes back then, everyone finds out he's like Kurou would put it a giant lying idiot
and have him explain himself while escaping the Heike, Kagetoki uses one of his
 l33t onmyou jutsu skillz to create a dummy Kurou to fool Tadanori to get an advantage to fight him.
Anyway afterwards he tells her the truth that he's not such a nice person and that the letter
he got back in kamikura wasn't to buy a gift for Masako but an order to assassinate someone
and that his hands are stained with the blood of many, he's just a dog that follows orders.
Kagetoki has enough of it all and asks Nozomi to runaway with him away from the fighting to a place
they can quietly live in peace, because he can be himself with her, Nozomi is like that's not right
 but Kagetoki has lost all faith so Nozomi reassures him its gonna be daijoubu for sure and he'll try
harder for her sake, anyway they'll march through the heike fleet and kick Tomomori's butt.
Afterwards while Kaeri Naifu and his ship is sailing away Masako shows up and orders
Kagetoki to do as he should and he aims her gun at Nozomi, in truth he's a traitor/spy who's been working
for Yoritomo for a long long time cuz they blackmail him with his mother. Kagetoki really
 struggles trying to follow Masako's orders but Nozomi tells him its ok and he shoots her.
Kagetoki begs Masako to leave her to him since she's a precious person...
Turns out the magic bullet was the equivalant of rock salt  and didn't actually kill her
cuz there's no way he could do that... WELL IT SURE DID LOOK CONVINCING TO ME!
Kage-tan does all those shitty things for Yoritomo so he can protect his mom and Saku...
He honestly has had enough of lying and want to be himself thanks to spending time with Nozomi.
Anyway everyone got caught except the two of them by Masako so now they have to save everyone.
First he needs to take the Scale as proof of the miko's passing to Yoritomo while
 Nozomi stays with Saku SO THE TWO PRIESTESSES CAN RESCUE THE GUYS /claps.
Benkei and Kurou aren't with them but when they head for the residence
they come to help out thanks to ''Kaeri Naifu'' anyway Saku's mom is safe too so now all that is left
is to convince Yoritomo, sadly Masako is in the way of the others and is the routes last boss.
 In the end all Nozomi can do is have faith in Kagetoki who's stalling for time after they beat the witch.
On the other side Yoritomo was being like oh well I've been had and gives up who cares about
the little details? Nozomi sure didn't! the two live happily every after
like he wanted so much with Nozomi at their side thnx to the courage he gave her.
 In the side story Kurou and Benkei visit, Kurou complains that Kage-tan is neglecting his waifu
by doing jobs like writing poems for other people he doesn't even need
to do but since Kage-tan is a nice guy he can't refuse, in the end he's worried a lot of people
but made love poem for Nozomi and start a school for that sort of stuff oh well thats that.
 ---IZAYOIKI---
 Kagetoki's Izayoiki end is tied to Shirogane scenario so I didn't do it till later.
Kage-tan is that you? (I got this scene when going for another character.
 There was a random event elsewhere I got it during Yuzuru's Izayoiki path when they revisit Kyo
and kick Koremori's ass Nozomi bumps into a wet haired man...at the residence! Dayum wait who are you?!
 Anyway in chapter 2 Nozomi looks for him but sticks around with Saku instead, Kage-tan
comes around and starts teaching her the basics of doing laundry IDEK you get it.
Afterwards Saku gives her a pouch and Nozomi gifts it to Kagetoki... making him mall mushy.
Not much different from the usual except that in chapter 3 Nozomi runs into Shigehira probably due
to me  kipping this chapter before since there was no use to redo, the next izayoiki event is in chp4
and the two look at the stars on a quiet night and so he wonders if there is a sea on the moon
he heard it from Yuzuru and starts talking about Nozomi's world, he hopes its a quiet sea
Nozomi wonders if something is bothering him but Kagetoki says its nothing and that she's kind
 for noticing peoples issues, now he goes on about wanting to run away from his problems.
Nozomi stalks Kage-tan further and when they two go out they both end up falling into the river by
accident, Nozomi brings up Yoritomo and if he had one of those orders and Kage-tan says
he hasn't had one yet also there's no need to worry about pathetic old me!
don't look at me right now and embraces her, just let me stay like this for a moment.
Anyway they go deal with that onryou woman who has fooled the monk, this time without
Masaomi and Tomomori since there's no need for that right now, tbh I preferred the other version.😅
Oh well they kick Tomomori's butt who jumps ship afte defeat like he always does T~T.
Yoritomo reveals Kagetoki is his lowly dog when Kage-tan betrayed them all...
 sigh it can't be helped and he lost his hachiyou status too, the gang goes to hiraizumi
and chills there you can read up on all the shit that happen there in Shirogane's section.
One day Saku wants to try to find her big bro who was in the area since she wants
 to try to understand what the fuck is on his mind and she really doesn't get it.
They find him and he goes on about how he's a shitty human being and that they're in yoritomo's way
and thats the reason for everything, he isn't a hachiyou anymore so she should have to care right?
For some reason I teared up at hearing him say I am your enemy now... T~T
When all's done and he aims his gun at the two miko's Yuzuru shows up... and if he fires
at Nozomi Yuzuru will shoot him, its a bluff and takes the hit for Nozomi, While
Kagetoki runs off calling Yuzuru a liar(LOOK WHO'S TALKING?!).
Anyway it isn't before winter comes and the war between genji and Hiraizumi starts Masako tells
them about Kagetoki and the hachiyou come up with a plan to save Kagetoki
who is solo yolo'ing against Yasuhira, when they get there he tries to tell em to run since
he doesn't want to involve Nozomi one of the people he try to protect, Nozomi is like screw you
I will stand by you even if you aren''t a Hachiyou, in the end he regains his gyoku and fight Masako.
After Masako sees the almight power she's more than determined to eliminate Nozomi but
 Kagetoki is like hell do I will protect her since she's that important to me and so he realizes
what the taisha is used for... aka  a mahakala ritual and uses it to his advantage to seal Masako.
After all is over Kagetoki is ready to face punishment for betraying Yoritomo so Nozomi is like fuck
this shit you can come with me! so he promises to come back with her after he is done settings right.
The side story fills in the missing gap before he came to Nozomi's world...
Why can't they just do this in proper order?!
Yoritomo wants to make a new country, however Kage-tan has decided
to stop being a dog and say it straight in Yoritomo's face that he is leaving his side.
Of course Yoritomo is like oh well who cares after his usual methods don't work.
You know what? the route itself was fine, great plot and chara dev but the end felt rushed...
Kagetoki is interesting despite being rather pathetic at times... I like him he's friendly but doesn't
share his issues since it not our problem and that makes him all the more charming I suppose.
 Kagetoki is as much a victim of Yoritomo as Kurou... but its great to see that Kagetoki 
had enough of being a dog, all he wants is a peaceful yet fulfilling life.
For what its worth I enjoyed the route and the bond they formed was believable...
You know Kagetoki may be a coward but he was pretty cool in the end except that he couldn't
fight the final boss with us BUT he had a demon of his own to face.
You know if I was young and naive these sort of endings would've been great but i'm older 
and seen more stuff and this one in particular just felt lackluster to me
also the more I think about it the more I can only see Kagetoki as a supportive character
who just got a little help from the miko and in his own end there's a little something more. 
I guess once Masako was out of the picture Yoritomo was finally able to think for himself?!
IDK it just that it felt a little too good to be true to me.
 As for Izayoiki I had it on automode and still understood it... there wasn't much I liked about it
except the outcome of course which I'd prefer over the normal love end, but I realize 
I care about him since I managed to tear up at one point even if romantically i'm like no.
Romance ★★☆☆☆
Plot ★★★☆☆
Enjoyment overall ★★☆☆☆
 ~
Arikawa Masaomi.
CV: Miki Shin'ichirou.
The other poster boy, Nozomi's childhood friend and the seiryuu of heaven, due to unexpected
circumstances he ended up on the opposing side, in a dream he gave Nozomi a pocket watch
which plays a tune like a music box when you open it, Nozomi said she'll treasure it.
Masaomi has his own reasons for doing what he does, imo he's quite likeable.
There is some obvious bias towards this guy... but that doesn't mean you can't choose someone else.
 Depending on the route you take in chapter 1 redux he'll join up in chapter 2 for a little bit
always coming and we already figure out in other route that he's Kaeri Naifu or however
you romanize that, oh and Kiyomori firmly believes he's Shigemori, Nozomi never
figures out the latter part but the Kaeri Naifu thing is pretty obvious to us atleast.
Its pretty obv why I decided to do this route later...anyway Masaomi comes and goes
totally at his own pace, so after Yuzuru and Masaomi have a dissagreement in chapter 4
Nozomi decides to ask him what's bothering him but she loses her balance
and while we hear Yuzuru scream in agony Masaomi catches her before she fell.
We learn it was Masaomi who fell in the river when they were kids and that
Yuzuru and Nozomi tried to save him ahah good times.
In an intermission chapter they visit yoshinon some soldiers burn the village over night
and Nozomi chases Masaomi when he told her to leave him alone for a bit
he honestly wanted to prevent it and is sort of infuriated by the whole war.
Masaomi says from now on its his fight... and tells her they'll surely meet again.
I have my goal and you have your own.... even if we part we'll surely meet again.
Oh well more war stuff and we get to kick Tomomori's ass again
after that they hear rumors Kaeri Naifu is nearby so Kurou gets hotblooded
and be like lets hurry if we catch him it'll be over! ofc it ain't that simple.
Nozomi engages Kaeri Naifu only to find out its her childhood friend she knows all too well.
They're both suprised even though they both sorta knew, Masaomi gets pulled back by
the Heike forces and he's like why this?! and our too childhood friends get seperated.
I'm sure after this many routes Nozomi herself knew it but her poker face is stronk.
Nozomi's morale is at an all time low but Benkei believes in her, she starts to wonder
what Masaomi's deal is and why he's with Heike so she sets out alone despite
 the Hachiyou being against it, Saku is the one who let her slip out she goes to Yoshinon
and a little girl helps her meet up with Masaomi and he explains how he ended up with
the Heike it cuz he looks like Kiyomori's dead son Shigemori and he feels bad for Heike
cuz they save him when he came to this world he was lost and all alone, the reason he looks
different is because he has been there a lot longer than Nozomi, like 3 years or so.
So for the sake of Nii no Ama(Tokiko) and Antoku he decided to side with Heike.
Masaomi won't go back and is determined to stay loyal to Heike while Nozomi... is with Genji.
Unable to stop him, Nozomi goes back into the past before those soldiers burned the village.
Masaomi. Yuzuru and Nozomi stop it from happening but here come chapter 5 again
Masaomi definitely realized who Nozomi is and wishes she won't come to the battle but she does and
is determined to stay with the genji, just as Masaomi is determined to stay with Heike.
Oh well the fighting against Heike continues, Koremori gets sealed we kick Tomomori's butt
who upon defeat pulls some onryou outta his ass and skedaddles off.
They get lured into a trap to stall time while Heike and Kaeri Naifu marches onto Yoritomo's base.
When they get out Koremori's pet onryou shows up who wants blood but they'll naturally seal it.
Just as Kaeri Naifu is about to kill Yoritomo he uses his hax powers and kills a bunch of Heike
soldiers to show off, Kaeri Naifu escapes knowing Yoritomo's power levels are well over 9000.
Actually I do not think this was Yoritomo's work but a certain other character... right at his side.
After the battle Nozomi continues to meet Masaomi in secret, la Romeo to Julietto.
 They chase the Heike across a bunch of boats who've been deserted only to find Kaeri Naifu
at the end who wants to fight so he shall have it, after he is beaten Tsunemasa shows up
 who tells Kaeri Naifu to run cuz he is the only one who can lead the remaining forces
so now we have to fight Tsunemasa-sama who desires nothing else but to be sealed.
 That same night theGenji celebrate their victories yet Nozomi wants to be alone, her heart
wavers as she listens to the pocket watch orgel, then Atsumori shows up whom apologizes
since he knew all along who he was, Nozomi doesn't mind and is in fact grateful and so he explains
again in more detail how Masaomi became Kaeri Naifu... it was like Shigemori was alive again.
 Ok final battle against the heike, Kiyomori has something on his sleeve but not much different
we beat Tomomori for the umpteenth time and he jumps ship while Kiyomori changes some ki.
In short people who die now turn into vengeful zombie onryou's under his control
then trololol Masako shows up and has the kokuryuu no gekirin and surprise surprise
 she's the final boss and stops Kiyomori while she's at it, Masaomi and Nozomi
decides to clean up the mess that is being created since Masako must be stopped.
 After the battle  Masako tries to devour Nozomi since this soul sucking witch refuses to give up...
Masaomi doesn't want to let go her hand like in the beginning of the game and well
because of their bond Masako gets banished in a deus ex machina style manner.
(It cuz her prayer and his wish was strong enough, ok whatever that sounded cringey.)
This time I will most definitely not let go of your hand...!
 In the ending, Antoku and Nii no Ama are alive and well, Kurou tries to convince Yoritomo
and he is like well whatever who cares once again, Yuzuru is cringing inside at the thought of
Masaomi and Nozomi being ~together~ and decides to go back on his own cuz he can't bear to see
someone else take Nozomi, Atsumori is about to jump off a cliff cuz there's no reason to go on
but Ridvan stops him because he'll surely regret it, Kagetoki is trying to get everyone together one last time.
 Benkei starts hitting on Nozomi just cuz Hinoe isn't there, he's grateful for restoring balance
and leaves as soon as Saku shows up who called him out for being such a tease.
Just as Masaomi and Nozomi set out,  Hinoe and Kurou show up too before
 our two lovebirds leave for their own personal refugee paradise. (wtf)
In the side story Benkei and Hinoe come bring another refugee Taira no Rokudai
aka Taira no Koremori's son, good now Antoku has a playmate...
Rokudai doesn't hold anything against Nozomi and is a cute in general.
 Rokudai gets chased by hounds in the mountains when he ran away a bit and ends up
 protecting a goat since he can't bear to see it die if he ran, not to worry Masaomi saves him
and the two take him back, that is all nothing else to it.
 --IZAYOIKI---
In Masaomi's first izayoiki event in chapter 2 he's literally sharpening his knife kupo.
Jokes aside he explains about when he first arrived in this time period, he was all alone
it was like the set of a movie and he wondered where Yuzuru and Nozomi are.
He even thought it was a dream but he got hungry and felt pain so he quickly realized it was reality.
Oh well you know the rest, the Heike saved him he felt bad and tries to change history in their favor.
In chapter 4 Masaomi decides its good to have a BBQ with ~everyone~ so Nozomi
and the others help him prepare since its fun to do it this way also thought I noted it here
but I love how Kurou or Saku are often flabbergasted by modern japanese its cute.
Nozomi also got nostalgic of the past they went to the beach before too with school
when he went to get a gift for her oh god this game is so biased towards them.
Masaomi gives her a seashell its not the same as before but this'll do.
They hang out in Kamakura too and talk about how different it looks etc and asks Nozomi out
on a little trip, Yuzuru wants to join too but Masaomi tells him to wait right here.(Music to me ears)
He later tells her not to join the upcoming battle... uhm among more interesting things
later Nozomi helps Masaomi out again with some errand and they go out on more sightseeing.
A variation of this event is as kids Nozomi, Masaomi and Yuzuru watching fireworks
 together on da beech ah nostalgic but here it comes, Masaomi gave her a glass ring...
sigh if they couldn't be more biased towards the seiryuu of heaven here, in haruka 6
it wasn't even that bad but more or less said bias went to seiryuu of eartch.
On the night before the battle at Dan no Ura, Nozomi thinks about Masaomi and wonders what he's
doing, she knows he's trying to help the heike and listens to the orgel pocket watch while looking at
the moon and meets him in the dream againand it becomes night so they go to the roof
their uniforms have changed too, Masaomi admits he forgot all about school and their world.
They talk about returning... Masaomi never thought about it these 3 long years but it wouldn't be so
bad, he still regrets letting go of her hand back then but thats how they've ended up here, Masaomi
admits he hadn't forgotten about Nozomi all this time he's glad he met her in this dream again too.
Anyway they face Kiyomori who has been abandoned and wonders were Shigemori is...
Nozomi explains that the man Kiyomori thinks is Shigemori is actually her childhood friend
Arikawa Masaomi, Kiyomori doesn't quite understand and doesn't know him
but it comes back to him about the stranger they took in 3 years ago, Nozomi further
explains what Masaomi tried to do to stop the Heike from going on the path of ruin.
Kiyomori gives up and asks to be sealed after realizing his mistakes and utters
words of apology for not realizing sooner, yep he gives up without a fight so easily...
Hakuryuu can even send her back right now but she worries about Masaomi she gets reassured
 that Masaomi's wish of going back is the same as hers so she goes back to the present.
Back there she waits on the school rooftop and when she opens the orgel pocket watch he shows up
and apologizes for making her wait so long but he had something to do, now that he's
back he vows to never let go of Nozomi's hand again and in the izayoiki side story
 normal life continues which includes homework however this time they're a couple so... 😘
They have a gamble and Nozomi intents to win... Masaomi is going to make her regret it. huehue.
Sadly Yuzuru had to come home... so the fun ended quickly but Masaomi has tickets for two when the tests are over.
I think he's pretty much the main guy in the game their relationship also feels more
 consistent than any other also lol the epilogue of the normal route which was still
enjoyable though but yeah... I didn't expect it to play out like it did even tho it slightly obvious.
Romance? Masaomi is the only guy who had an advantage aka the pocket watch and his my pace
personality, had hakuryuu not summoned Nozomi they would still have gotten together???
Masaomi may be the most natural choice but that doesn't mean it ought to be like that.
Sadly the plot at the normal route at the end just felt too good to be true so I am indifferent about it
and didn't feel like it was anything special... atleast he's happy, Rokudai a cute too!
I enjoyed the Izayoiki route a lot more than the normal route but it was twice as biased... 
Love triangles are very difficult, however since this is an otome game and if 
you feel bad for Yuzuru atleast you have a choice, okay that's that! Masomi had okay routes
and for a main character/Ten no Seiryuu he's likeable over and out.
Romance ★★★★☆
Plot ★★★★☆
Enjoyment overall ★★★★☆

~
😇Taira no Atsumori.😇
CV: Hoshi Souichiro.
 
A mysterious youth who frequently plays a flute, he's the genbu of heaven. 
Atsumori is pretty much the definition of a kuudere and doesn't speak when not necessary
he also frequently goes about don't come close to me! he's pretty cute yet mysterious...
Atsumori was found on the battlefield in chapter 3 Nozomi brought him along with Yuzuru's help
however Kurou didn't trust him since he's from the heike but was eventually convinced.
 He has some shackles tied to him this prevents him from removing it and entering a specific area
 but with the help of Nozomi is able to do just that, he's devoted to stopping onryou etc.
Atsumori is often overcome by pain but due to Nozomi being the priestess and all she can restrain it.
Oh well he's super likeable even tho there seems to be more to him than meets the eye.
The night the rest after meeting with the generals of Kumamo but failing to convince
that the Genji will be of advantage, Nozomi hears Atsumori play the flute
only for him to have trouble controlling his inner demons in the next moment.
Nozomi is able to stop him with a touch and just watches him play the flute before calling it a night.
The route starts in chapter 5 battle at fukuhara which you'll have to redo one more time after the bit with the letter.
Because there was no time the first time, he will ask her what he thinks of onryou...
she answers that its a thing that shouldn't be in this world Atsumori agrees.
He then asks what if one would be right infront of her? Nozomi can't help but pity it.
Atsumori says she's too kind and finally says he's not a human, Nozomi can't believe it.
He goes on that this human form is merely an illusion... and that he's and onryou who's deceiving her.
He goes on about Heike and Magatama, so like if they don't have any their concious won't hold and
become onryou this make sense because Tsunemasa wanting to be sealed and Koremori having
similair a fate, basically the heike are cursed and if they lose their stones they go wild.
I'm sorry if this is wrong but its the easiest way to explain.
We return to chapter one, go along with Kurou and face Koremori, Nozomi tests out her theory on
him and when he lost his magatama he starts to turn into an Onryou but flees just in time.
Nozomi keeps the stone after Kagetoki seals it, later midway chapter 2 she runs into Atsumori at
night, some soldiers were chasing him but she hides him, he doesn't join yet and leaves when it safe.
In chapter 3 Nozomi starts to realize who the onryou is its none other than Atsumori they
don't fight him and she finds him collapsed in the forest as per usual and she gives him the Matama.
Atsumori starts to guess she may realize what he is (well everyone would if they been told).
In chapter 4 in Atsumori's event, Nozomi talks with Benkei about the plants and medicinal properties
after he left, Nozomi runs into Atsumori on a mountain trail and he accompanies her.
Tsunemasa is apparently his bro... anyway he tells her not to worry about him like a true kuudere.
Ok back to chapter 5, it revealed he playes the flute to forget the fact he an onryou, it calms him
then some Heike biwa is heard after he played his own flute and he gets uncomfortable because its
his brother Tsunemasa playing it so he plays his own flute again yet Tsunemasa also plays his
their melodies resonate in harmony even tho they're apart, he knew the day
 would come they would fight ever since they parted in chapter 3.
In chapter 6 they all go to Kurigara investigating them onryou's and end up finding Koremori's
shiki's? and upon purifying em he himself shows up like in the Kamikura and Kyou arcs.
Sealing Koremori turns out to be slightly more difficult and causes an explosion in the cave
causing water to come through and Nozomi has been locked in, Atsumori promises to get her out
and uses all of his power to prevent her from drowning, Nozomi not sure at first
but Atsumori definitely saved her and thanks him from the bottom of her heart.

Ok we have all this fighting with the Heike which you should be familiar with by now
Atsumori faces Tadanori head on who calls him pathetic so Atsumori is like prepare yourself old fart.
The genji carry him away after defeat and then some soldiers relay the info of a big onryou nearby.
They beat it but it seems elsewhere Tsunemasa is at his limits (I teared up at this part..) and he
shows up before Atsumori and Nozomi, Tsunemasa reveals he's an onryou too and wants to fight.
(Well at this point I firmly believe most of the Heike are onryou's)
Atsumori tells him that a the battle at fukuhara he heard the biwa and it made him nostalgic of the past.
Tsunemasa tells Atsumori he is the only one who can save heike at this point and he's like what at it
but it cuz he isn't alone and that he has the miko at his side, so as Tsunemasa wishes they seal him.
Atsumori just needs a moment alone... but later that night Nozomi decides  to talk to him about it since he's suffering so Saku who was also there gives the two of them space, he wonders
why everyone is so nice  and well its because Atsumori is a kind person
but he doesn't see himself a such, a woman gives our couple a set of bells because they fit perfectly.
Nozomi likes them and Atsumori doesn't particularly dislike them so that's a wrap!
 Atsumori ends up telling about the past when he went to a festival and had something similair
happen but he lost them and his brother comforted him and that he'll fix them up, so
now he gets nostalgic about where those precious days flew off to.
Nozomi starts to see Heike in a new light and ask Atsumori to withdraw from fighting but
he more than determined and wonders if those bells will grant his wish.
The'll fight the heike but the ships been mostly abandoned much like another route
Tomomori reveals Atsumori was somewhat of an experiment but Tsunemasa and his father
decided to take a different approach, once Tomomori is defeated he walks off the plank like always.
Atsumori tells her his wish was to stay at Nozomi's side to prevent him from becoming a wild beast
he wouldn't mind being sealed, so after all that Nozomi confesses that she loves Atsumori-kun
even if he's an onryou, she doesn't care she loves him either way, Atsumori doesn't accept those
words since he's a beast not a human being, so Nozomi has to explain again how much she loves him T~T.
Which leads Atsumori to almost say his true feelings... Nozomi i've always... always no nevermind.
but stops right b4 he can finish the sentence! 😂😖😭😭
Anyway they go and find Kiyomori who is saddened that all of his vassals have gone with the winds
and doesn't like it when Atsumori shows up, Kiyomori did all for the sake of his clan
so Atsumori tells him it was the wrong way to go about it, Kimoimori won't listen
and uses the kokuryuu no gekirin to incite destruction, he also says Atsumori
 is just a beast without his magatama and shatters it, Atsumori tells her to run
but she won't and well he graps her with intent to kill, he's become a beast and in Kiyomori's
words her voice can no longer reach him... or can she? she still has the bells and Atsumori
suddenly stops at the sound of them ringing! so once he's calmed down the two defeat Kiyomori
but just before he's sealed he uses the scale of the black dragon and curses the land to its doom.
Atsumori decides to go and recover the scale, he starts spouting stuff like if he'll
disappear the other onryou's will do because he's like an overlord.
 Nozomi doesn't what him to off himself and he's grateful for everything really... it been fun he said.
The scale of the white dragon cracks and the credits start rolling... ( why there tho? )
Atsumori disappeared whom's been in limbo in the spirit world but Tsunemasa told him someone is
waiting and the whole taira clan sees him off(atleast the ones who've been sealed by Nozomi).
Atsumori then shows up in front of Nozomi and finally says those words of affection
 he's been wanting to say and it was the perfect ending except a little weird but who cares.
The side story has him angst about not being useful for the miko as a hachiyou anymore
 but you know how it goes...  and eternally monologues about Nozomi while she just goes あちこち
on his last mission with her, so he tells her that gloomy my job here is done however I still want to be
by your side, Nozomi is like you can stay as long as YOU want I don't mind also stop the duty crap. 
Imo sidestory/epilogue was unnecessary they could've written something better anything...
anything but this its like a reconfirmation that he won't go away, oh well
 whining isn't gonna get me anywhere.
 ---IZAYOIKI---
His events don't start till chapter 4, in which they take care of an injured bird they go to
 Benkei but animals aren't his specialty, but after seeing Nozomi's motivation he'll try which reminds
him of a similair incident with Hinoe who tried to save one too troubling him all the more.
Ah the smile on Atsumori's face when the bird ate from Nozomi's hand...
he also apologizes for troubling her... since he's always being helped by her.
When they noticed the bird has gone quiet Atsumori realizes helping it was fruitless
turns out it was just sleeping...? they soon find out its become an onryou
Atsumori blames himself and Nozomi can't help but agree so she seals it.
Later in chapter 6 at Kamakura Nozomi finds Kagetoki, Saku and Masaomi fuzzing around
with a cat  and they are pretty rare  in this world so she wanna show Atsumori but
she can't find him, so Ridvan shows  her where he's hiding in a tree no less, lmao
 no wonder she couldn't find him.
Nozomi shows him and he gets nostalgic... as he used to have one too cue cute reaction.
They later have another talk and get on the topic of what enoshima in her world is like...
and she ends up telling a story about it so Atsumori understands.
On the way back some soldier recognizes him as one of the heike and causes a commotion...
now Yoritomo comes out to take a look but Atsumori stays calm and tries to explain
 he's with the genji and a traitor to the heike they're so afraid of atleast Yoritomo is smart enought
to realize Atsumori is the Genbu of heaven one of the hachiyou and finds him useful.
That aside they both had a good time together and before you know it its the night
before the final battle at Dan no Ura, Atsumori confesses that he thought
Nozomi's kindness was just because she's the miko but finally realized its genuine
and he's grateful for the long journey he could partake in with her, Nozomi starts
to realize she's fallen for him, meanwhile Atsumori wants to talk more when it all over.
Oh well they beat and seal Kiyomori , all's well that ends well, later that night
Atsumori apologizes for avoiding some little detail and confesses he admires her and that everything
around her shines so brightly he can't help but be attracted, she gives him so much happiness
and finally declares his love for her but also tells her that he is an overlord onryou of the heike.
Atsumori wants Nozomi to seal him before its too late and believes he shouldn't exist.
Nozomi said she can't do that because she loves him and is like screw this imma  take you back
 with me, Atsumori says she'll regret it but her mind is made up so he'll try and make her happy.
That's it everything's settled in the end no hard feelings, kay?
Oh and the sidestory/epilogue was about the heroine remembering how troublesome
it was cutting his hair when they were still in the past.
Its so long he could pass for rapunzel and very troublesome in everyday life.
It was so backwards i'd have preferred it went in proper order.
Before this route I didn't think very highly of the overall change fate thing but after Atsumori I start
to understand why it apparently is so great! also sorta glad I saved this route for later
because it brings up a major plot thread regarding himself and the heike in general.
 I'm glad the guide I used told me to start at chapter 6 because it makes more sense than 
to start from say chapter 2 so I think this route brought out the best in the game no other route 
deals with redoing chapter the same way, poor Koremori being Nozomi's guinea pig.😅
Overall Atsumori is just a precious cinnamon roll too good and too pure for this world
and deserves all the happiness yes all of it! he's definitely one of my faves
also I really enjoyed the route so... it adds up? I didn't dislike anything at all
 and his relationship with his brother Tsunemasa... was to cry about.
Like Yuzuru, Atsumori's CG's have been redone to focus more on him... not that I mind
 idk but I prefered some of the old ones especially the one with the bells. 
Anyway I liked both of Atsumori's endings I don't prefer one over the other
but slighty disappointed by the izayoiki endings extra scene but I don't really care.
Romance ★★★★☆
Plot ★★★★★
Enjoyment overall ★★★★★
~

Hakuryuu.
CV: Okiayu Ryotaro(adult) and Ootani Ikue(child).
  A courageous shota dragon that summoned the protagonist Nozomi to Heian period...
The reason for his childlike appearance in the beginning is because he lost some of his powers.
As a child he doesn't have much personality except that he's brave and cute...
In chapter 2 therewas a cute event where he compare Nozomi to sakura petals,
its revealed he really wanted the miko to hear the bell as its a sort of calling and she'd never
heard/accepted this wouldn't have happened its how they connected, his love for her is pure and innocent.
Sadly just as shota Hakuryuu starts to grow on you, he desperately tried to save Nozomi
 as some onryou  pushed her off a cliff and by wanting to protect her so much
Hakuryuu unleashed his inner dragon, I just needed a moment to adjust like everyone else.
Sadly even if he is now a grown man... his personality is still that of a child. 😅
I  liked how there are different storylines of how he regained his power...
the one I first saw in Saku's route was super cute.
 Afterwards in his events they go to the cliffs and while Hakuryuu tells her to becareful
Nozomi still ends up tripping in a typical shoujo style fashion, realizing his bond has improved
he kisses her cheek take away the pain OH MY GOD they grow up so fast. 😳💦💦💦
Because she was so flustered he asks her which form she prefers... and Nozomi's like its fine as is.
He also tells her he will always stay by her side no matter which decisions she'll make...
so even if you were to go for Atsumori, Benkei... anyone else he'd be like i'll cheer for your happiness!
This is amusing to me because HE already is with her why? I'll get to that in the next section. 😭😭😭
At the end of the first half when shit goes horrible wrong and everyone ends up dying
when Tomomori sets the residence in Kyou on fire Hakuryuu ends up giving up his life and hands
Nozomi his dragon scale in the form of a necklace to send her back to the future... so she won't die.
Truly Hakuryuu is 2 good and 2 pure for this world without him NONE OF THIS would be possible.
Back home Nozomi is like F this and decides to go back to alter the fates of her friends whom have
scattered and/or died in the fire attack on Kyou so from then on she tries to change their fates
which was basically the entire game thus far; thanks to original hakuryuu Nozomi
has become a fate altering goddess traversing time, time and time again. That aside
I think he's pretty one dimensional as he loves his miko unconditionally and does everything for her
even if it means to sacrifice his own life but other than that even though he is in an adult form
he still behaves like a child however he's not annoying or anything so thats a good point.
In case you wonder why I chose to hump the dragon last it because
THIS IS ALL POSSIBLE THANKS TO HIM! or better put original Hakuryuu.
Anyway to get onto his route you need the four gods, Seiryu, Suzaku, Genbu and Byakko
Seiryu is in Kamakura, Suzaku in Kumamo, Genbu in Kurikara... Byakko is found somewhere in chapter 7. The hachiyou can also learn how to summon the greater gods after being tested like
in chapter 6 at Kyou Kagetoki and Yuzuru ran into a a girl who needed a favor of Kagetoki's
the great onmyouji and he couldn't refuse even Yuzuru is impressed. Kage-tan offers to read Yuzuru's
future but he declines so... Nozomi is his victim and well she'll surely find happiness be it in this
route or another,turns out this is the same reading the girl got welp it seems Kagetoki
 is a professional con man but he just want to reassure people it gonna be daijoubu OTL.
Nozomi agrees and they get rewarded by their wisdom by daiitoku myoo.
Later a similair event happens with a monk and Atsumori and Ridvan help in their own way about
how a good rumor and turn into a bad one and vice versa, Kongo Yasha myoo lends support.
Similair event with Kurou and Masaomi they help encourage an old man, Gozanze Myoo lends their support.
Oh and you guessed it Gundari Myoo lends support to Benkei and Hinoe  for helping
the innocent no matter friend or foe, dunno why I mentioned all that but who cares.
There was a random event in the izayoiki version of chapter 4... you can't really
get it if you go for his ending it had a CG too Nozomi has a nightmare of  how good old
Hakuryuu gave her the scale telling her to live she wakes up and meets him in the garden at night
he realized she's crying and comforts her, no use trying to hide it since they're connected.
He takes her in his arms and they fly through the night sky... he's glad it cheered her up
Nozomi wakes up after that and could it have been the other Hakuryuu? who knows...
That aside in chapter 5 they decide to go to Kamakura... because Hakuryuu thinks its cool
 to see Nozomi's homeland albeit the past version of it and decides whatever place
Nozomi's from is also his place since he doesn't quite remember where he came from, lol.
When they pass through Enoshima Hakuryuu starts to notice and seems to be in pain...
and tells the miko to run because somethingseems to be attempting to possess him
the two of them get warped to some other realm by this shishin or whatever.
Saku calms the others down and that Hakuryuu is mostlikely being tested by the four gods
then thanks to Saku and Masaomi and Kurou show up to get them back since they're taking so long
but they have to fight seiryuu again since he's stubborn after that they four gods acknowledge
hakuryuu again since they can't defy him any longer also after all is over the gekirin is acting up
and after fighting some onryou she collapses when she says it fine they go out yet the same thing
happens they fight onryou and Nozomi can barely stand after being done its all because
Hakuryuu has grown too strong its making Nozomi suffer, they go meet Yoritomi but ofc
some onryou show up there too its like Nozomi has become a magnet! she's unable to seal it
so Yoritomo just takes care of it, lol oh well TL;DR Nozomi is becoming more and more useless.
Masako is planning to make some sort of deal with Hakuryuu to choose another person
as the miko but to Hakuryuu there's only one miko and thats Nozomi! he treasures her very much
he doesn't want her to suffer but he also cannot choose another so they will find another way to fix this.
 
 Kagetoki starts to notice that Nozomi may have fallen for our dragon boy and reminds her that Hakuryuu is like a god and not human at all, he's on an entirely different plane of existance 
something that is not the same as humans. Kagetoki's only telling her all this
because he doesn't want Nozomi to suffer like Saku did.
 So now Nozomi starts to wonder if it wrong to love Hakuryuu like he does her
after that Kagetoki immediately apologizes since its not like he is trying to stop her. ;;;;
Later Hakuryuu gives her a white dragon flower because it suits her and well it was a cute scene in general.
 Story proceeds as normal, they face Tadanori etc and Hakuryuu helps out Nozomi as she wishes.
 Nozomi wonders if he has a wish and just to see the miko smile makes him happy, Nozomi is still
like nope this is wrong he's a doragon and i'm human, there's no way but atleast Hakuryuu 
realizes part of it however the scene switches to an angry Kiyomori yelling to hakuryuu
 to prepare himself for the final battle at Dan no Ura, that night he reconfirms that he wouldn't 
mind disappearing for her sake no matter at what point in time all because he cares
which only reconfirms why the original hakuryuu did what he did back then.
Nozomi is like the moon that lights up the night, he loved and cherished her all this time.
 After hearing this Nozomi is like please stop... its not right and she goes to sleep.
 Next day they fight Tomomori... for the umpteenth time who loves it no less and once 
he knows the heike have pretty much lost the battle but B4 he jumps ship Tomomori calls her out 
for being a good woman he could never have. T~T ok they defeat Kiyomori at the end
who can't forgive that he's lost the war and people important to him died.
Kiyomori uses the scale of the black dragon to incite destruction  while Saku tells him to stop
 cuz its her precious Kokuryuu, Hakuryuu unleashes his inner dragon again to stop him.
My dear dragon... stay with me forever.
Kiyomori is defeated and he asks the miko what her wish is... she asked to return her to her own
world but he can't because its not her real wish because she is crying and asks her for her true wish
which is to stay at his side which is the same as him as he returns to human form Nozomi's scale
disappears and a dragon appears?! its original!Hakuryuu who gave his life for her way back and he's
protecting this world for Nozomi's sake while she and Hakuryuu go home to the present time, the end.
My significant other.
My son... i'm sorry but its time for me to go to jail for I have sinned.
 In the side story we get to see how adult!Hakuryuu is getting used to Nozomi's world...
Yuzuru has a stick up his butt and Masaomi has a part time job trying to get Yuzuru to help him
but Hakuryuu is like chotto matte I want to do something too and well  before you know it 
we have a dragon butler on our hands sadly shota!hakuryuu suffers from 
copypasta syndrome and his side story scenario plays out the same no matter what
ok maybe a tiny few changes in dialogue but nothing to write home about.
''I wasn't so sure at first but I know that I can love him? he just sincerely loves his miko, doesn't 
want her to suffer and will also not choose anyone else its like they're meant for each other. 
Honestly though I don't feel particularly hot or cold about him... but atleast the story
wasn't overly dramatic and actually made me relax so yeah there you have it. 
I thought the route was nicely balanced too... and brought upon interesting matters like
Hakuryuu not being a normal husbando and stuff oh well i'm glad this route was self aware.
Sadly you had to do this route twice for CG completion because you can choose the form of
Hakuryuu to that of a child or adult... I don't really care about that anymore either sounds good to me
but Hakuryuu doesn't have an izayoiki ending so I guess there's no reason to summarize anything else.
This route felt shorter than others but atleast it was overall enjoyable, I got no complaints and
the romance felt right to me but maybe also a little platonic, what else can I say? it was good.''

Romance ★★★☆☆
Plot ★★★★☆
Enjoyment overall ★★★★
 ~

The following two characters only have routes in the Izayoiki part of the game.

Shirogane.
CV: Hamada Kenji. 
A refined, loyal and reserved young man who works for Fujiwara no Yasuhira and he's on
 Nozomi's side, Shirogane also looks and sounds like Taira no Tomomori. 
Shirogane is the polar opposite of Hinoe, like he would apologize for touching Nozomi 
when it not needed, he's very chivalrous knight in shining armor.
Also for Shirogane I am sorta glad they redraw some CG's because some of them looked herp le derp.
The first time they actuallymeet is in chapter 6 after they are on the run from the genji whom are after Kurou.
Anyway it all starts when Nozomi was brought to a residence in chapter 2 by unknown means...
sh talked with a mysterious and has this air of loneliness and mystery around him.
Sadly Shirogane and Tomomori have the same seiyuu so here I thought 
Shirogane was either his bro/twin or a split personality... sigh I wasn't far off though.
Shirogane and Yasuhira only appears in the Izayoiki story arc they do not appear in the original
storyline, also if you want to get Shirogane love end you must get his bad end first...  
His route is shared with Tomomori since they are related so don't be surprised if you 
don't see him also he doesn't appear much at all the first time you try to get on his route
 Oh well some events in chapter 3 and after change and they decide to take another route to reach
 fukuhara palace, they are succesful this time but it ain't over, after the fighting ends
Nozomi thought it would be a good idea to take a walk alone at night and so she runs into Atsumori
who told her to run away from the approaching onryou and seals it, TL;DR Atsumori joins while admiring her.
The way Masaomi joined in chapter 4 was also different, quite hilarious actually oh well
 no one cares but he didn't join up till later and well at the river Nozomi fell into it because
the onryou caught her... so Atsumori saved her while forcing the onryou to back off
so Kagetoki shoots it in the face... afterwards they head Katsuura and reunite with Masaomi.

In town they lost sight of Hakuryuu and well some dudes try and take Nozomi with them
when she asked if they saw a silver haired boy only for Yuzuru to show up with 
an angry face telling them to stop harrasing her, anyway Hakuryuu shows up but he's
not the same as he's become a big boy now, lol no wonder they couldn't find him!
Also as per usual no one recognizes him... so Yuzuru tells him to shoo T~T. 
Turns out Hakuryuu found coral and thought it was pretty so he took some with him for Nozomi, d'awww.
Sadly the monk and the official took the onryou woman with them to the town... they've been fooled.
A rainstorm in Katsura breaks out and Nozomi runs into Tomomori while taking shelter from the rain,
 he isn't out for a fight and just monologues  like he's reading a poem from a book or whatever 
and finds our priestess fascinating and wants to unleash the fire in her eyes too, lmao.
Nozomi decides to come with him because she's worried about Masaomi, who is all surprised
but goes back since the other hachiyou may be worried...the next day they go on a trip
to deal with that onryou woman who has tricked the monk and the official.
Tomomori is tired of waiting and is like fuck this shit and stabs the woman
making the monk go ??? at first but is like i'll leave it to you miko while escaping.
They seal it and head back to Katsuura, Nozomi is worried about Masaomi who left but Yuzuru
reassured her, as does sensei and the battle at Dan no Ura it going to be one hell of a fight
since Tadanori, Koremori and Tsunemasa are all alive and kicking anyway they fight Tomomori
and defeat him, Nozomi tries to stop him from trying to walk the plank but its no use...
He just smiles and calles her a beautiful woman who is worthy of him
before falling off the ship into the sea like in every route. T~T
 Nozomi wants to go anywhere but here so they move on...
meanwhile Masaomi confronts Yoritomo who's power levels are over 9000
however Kagetoki jumps between them and stops him since he''s Yoritomo's dog.
The others arrive too and Masaomi is hell bent on killing anyone in the way of his target(Yoritomo).
Sadly Kagetoki is under orders to kill so he shoots at them along Nozomi tries
to tell Masaomi and Kurou to run away, Kurou is breaking down asking why his brother is doing this
and after Kage-tan is done explaining gets told by Yoritomo to finish this and despite Nozomi's
telling him not his mind is set and that his path has been decided the gyoku that resides in his body
 disappears showing that he is no longer a hachiyou, Yoritomo gets away, Kagetoki tells his sister
to stand down and Saku is still quite shocked at the betrayal here same for Kurou.
Masaomi tells them to get it together and that it time to run, Ridvan will open up a path while asking
Saku to decide which side to choose and in the end she chooses Nozomi like the true friend she is.
Masako wonders were they're running to... it'll be fun to chase and so the group decides to go to
Kyushu but end up running into a trap much like the kyou in flames chapter in the beginning
they retreat back to the ships and realize they have are being hunted by the genji everywhere so
Atsumori says they should go to shikoku in the end they decide to go to hiraizumi
in the north via yoshino - kumano thanks to Benkei and Hinoe's quick thinking.
 Sadly there are checkpoints everywhere so Benkei has to put on his friendly face
and lies out of his ass even if the soldiers almost recognize Nozomi as the miko
but just says she's his waifu this technically isn't a lie or is it? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) 
anyway Nozomi plays along and so they manage to pass the checkpoint, they camp at night
and they all complain running away like this is pretty hard, Nozomi is worried about Masaomi
so she meets him again in the dream on the school rooftop, she apologizes regarding Tomomori
but he immediately tells him to quit it since its not her fault, before you know it its morning.
Next day some villagers get harassed by soldiers and a girl rats them out...
Then suddenly when they are almost surrounded a man appears from out of nowhere
leading them to safety, Nozomi sees Tomomori in him meanwhile I am like no don't do that!
Honestly I would think the same though because look at those bandages...
He quickly tells the others he has no ill intent and that he works for Fujiwara no Yasuhira
and that his name is Shirogane he's here to help the miko and the hachiyou.
 Everyone isn't sure if they should trust him so they ask Nozomi's opinion.
The two travel alone afterwards because the hachiyou are tired and Shirogane is more than capable
the two go to meet Fujiwara no Hidehira so they can explain what happen with Kagetoki
 and Yoritomi also Hidehira is actually a big softie... lmao.
Aong the way they rest and Shirogane realizes all to well Nozomi is tired and be looking at him
as if she's seen a ghost and apologizes for inconveniencing her for not being him
he also reveals he has amnesia, wait could he be Tomomori after all? no it can't be...
Also just as it seemed he's opening up to her.. and take interest he goes no wait forget what I said lol.
After meeting with Hidehira we finally get to meet the oh so popular Yasuhira who won't hesitate
to tell a lowly soldier to shut the fuck up and respect the fact he's speaking to guests.
Shirogane is appointed as a guardian/servant to the Miko and accompanies her from now on
also in case you haven't realized Shirogane is the type to but his duty before his feelings.
Even Masaomi is conflicted about Shirogane... but its just appearance his personality is enterily
different, in short he doesn't care who he is as long as he's alive then suddenly Hakuryuu
says something is brewing in Hiraizumi and collapses, the problem is a stone
but Nozomi purifies it of the malevolence of this one.
Anyway Atsumori joins Nozomi on a walk outside and they end up watching
woman fawn over a bunch of samurais showing off their skillz, Shirogane is among them
so that's probably the case why the girls are screaming at the top of their lungs
sadly Nozomi still is is reminded of Tomomori... when she saw Shirogane fight.
The two go for a walk later because its such a nice day but she still is reminded of Tomomori
Shirogane admits while he lacks the bond a hachiyou has with the miko he takes his job
of protecting her very seriously however he is starting to regain his memories by interacting
with Nozomi, a town was in flames and Shirogane makes this pained and confused look when she
later asks he firmly says he doesn't remember but eventually tells her about the burning town
 when she insists,  he is the one who started the fire, Nozomi remembers how Tomomori
also started a fire attack way back then before she obtained the scale, Nozomi
starts to doubt who he is... but is certain he is not Tomomori.
In another area they investigate more of those stones and purify them eventually
Yasuhira tells Kurou and the others not to meddle in Hiraizumi's issues and when they
try to seal the onryou lurking in hiraizumi it fails because there is another stone, Shirogane
distracts the onryou so Nozomi can purify the stone, after wards the two go for a little walk
only to run into Yasuhira, he finds out about the gekirin and would love to have another chat later
Shirogane apologizes because Yasuhira is his master and he does everything for him because he
saved him... much like Masaomi pitying the Heike, anyway they take shelter from the rain
on the way back and they talk more about how he ended up here in Hiraizumi, Nozomi
gets him to think more about himself and well she has reached him if only a little he'll treasure it
however that night something strange happens his body lights up and he remembers Masako
speaking to him that hr will lose everything dear to him... then he goes back to zombie state
and says I have to go back(to Yasuhira), back in the residence Hakuryuu is in pain
 due to malevolence and transforms back into a shota later Hidehira ends up dying.
 In winter Yasuhira vows revenge upon Kamakura and prepares for war.
Nozomi is weakened too due to Hakuryuu losing power so Shirogane still spends time with her
and just as they're getting comfy Shirogane is overcome with pain and his memories flow back
when he's alright he walks off just like that./ telling her to go back for the day and well the next
day they fight Masako who is too powerful for her own good seems like she has
some of Yoritomo's hax powers this time around and the hachiyou are utterly useless
and just as Masako's bout to kill Nozomi Shirogane stops her and tells her he loved her
for most of the time they spend together, his feelings are true despite himself being an object
of malevolence and he doesn't want to lose her, he bids her farewell and Hakuryuu regain their power
and so they beat Masako, SHirogane is there as well however he's in a zombie like state
and can't even say anything but yes what are your orders... Nozomi recalls Shirogane's words
and wonders where it went wrong? there's only one thing left to do...
 try and prevent this outcome from happening again.
(I found it funny I got the common Izayoiki route end trophy here... I guess it counted? oh well.)
In chapter two she goes to the place she was warped out of... this time she herself uses the gekirin
and is brought to Shirogane? who was just about to leave to a faraway place.
He wonders why she is calling him Shirogane, but pays it no mind and just calls Nozomi
the Izayoiki no himegimi, he wonders why this shirogane made her so sad and just as she finally
sees him thanks to the moonlight the gekirin brings her back, she over hears
Koremori calling Shirogane Taira no Shigehira before being warped away.
Anyway we go straight to chapter 6 because there is no need to force yourself to redo the chapters.
Nozomi is more than happy to see Shirogane appear before her in the forest once in a safe place
 she immediately brings up the fact that he is Shigehira making him go ??? 
because he has lost his memories she keeps trying to make him realize but it plays out mostly
the same way untill when the curse placed on him shows and remembers Masako's words.
He definitely doesn't want to forget... also Nozomi warns Hidehira of what is about to come
and he'll be on guard more, Hidehira still gets attacked but Benkei can take care of his injuries.
Everything stays peaceful and winter comes to Hiraizumi and Shirogane takes her out for a walk
the construction of Taisha has also finished so they go there and explains Yasuhira's plans and when
ordered by Yasuhira takes the gekirin but she tells him she won't and tries to get thru to Shirogane.
Its revealed her Yasuhira ordered Shirogane to attack Hidehira, Shirogane takes the gekirin
while Nozomi tries to resist but she doesn't have the strength... so he takes her somewhere
because Yasuhira has a need of her in his grand scheme.
Nozomi asks him what the hell he is to them friends? sure but he's still Yasuhira's manslave.
She worries over the hachiyou and well they can't find her either and Yasuhira threatens
 the Hachiyou when they try to look for her, he's ore than capable to dispose of the miko
because now that Yasuhira has the gekirin he plans to take care of the genji.
 Next time Shirogane comes to check on Nozomi she asks if he really has no heartand he ofcourse
cannot answer and apologizes for inconveniencing her, Nozomi realizes she doesn't understand him at all.
 She starts crying and he in turn asks her not to because its hurts him to see her like this.
When he leaves he runs into Yasuhira who firmly believes he is doing the right thing
then the gekirin makes a sound and Shirogane remembers hearing it before
Yasuhira thinks he can get around with the gekirin... using it as some sort of super weapon.
 When Shirogane comes to check up on her again Nozomi asks him to stop the gekirin but he can't
comply and leaves he starts to realize she wants him to become his old self and regains his memories.
Shirogane decides to bring her back to the others knowing all too well he's betraying his master.
 Shirogane now ends up telling use how he left on his mission and caused the fire attack
he didn't wish for it to happen so he wished to forget there's no way he'd be forgiven and was
prepared to face the death penalty by Yoritomo's hand however Masako saw a use for him so she
places a curse upon him which makes him forget his sins, after that he ceased to be Shigehara
and found himself at Yasuhira's side and so he became his manslave.
 Now that his sins have been laid bare, he's overcome with pain again
and apologizes for troubling her before passing out.
When he comes too he apologizes again but Nozomi tells him not to mind...
also he's glad she's able to smile again and the two head back to rejoin the others but ofcourse
Yasuhira thanks to Kugane finds them before they can reach them its also revealed
that the last piece of malevolence is Shirogane, at this point this was expected.
When Yasuhira tries to hurt Nozomi, Shirogane gets serious and she sorta thinks its her fault
but Shirogane firmly believe this is his sin and he will deal with it, he's grateful for meeting her.
Shirogane asks Yasuhira not to harm Nozomi... and accepts death.
Nozomi remembers what happened in the bad ending and isn;t about to let it happen again
so she begs him to stop now but its too late Yasuhira stabs him and he falls down the cliff.
Yasuhira stops Nozomi from going to her doom since he's a man of his word he comments Shirogane
was nothing but a puppet after all, Nozomi slaps him for that and tells him to stop being crude.
Yasuhira tells Nozomi he has decided what he wants to protect... that being Hiraizumi and Shirogane
was a threat to that, he has Nozomi stay put and gives her a V.I.P seat at Taisha when he uses her
precious gekirin on Kamakura, Masako sees this as trouble and goes to stop it.
This is all going according to Yasuhira's plans because he knew she was suspicious and his
investigations showed she must be stopped for she is a monster after he deals with her
Kamakura is next, Nozomi can't have that happen and draws her sword and so he warns her
if she defies him further she'd be next to fall victim to the gekirin then suddenly
Shirogane appears, I don't understand how or why either but he's there, Yasuhira
 throws Nozomi around telling her to sit still while he taunts Shirogane
he vows to return to her side and has to fight a bunch of onryou...
Shirogane got paralyzed and viciously attacked by them but with his superior combat abilities he prevailed.
Just as Yasuhira is about to send Nozomi to hell and back, Shirogane appears before him yelling that
he is not a puppet but a human being who make mistakes, he also declares his love for Nozomi.
THe curse disappears because IDK Nozomi has slowly been purifying it by forming a bond with him.
Either that or he became the byakko of earth since that spot was open for the taking.
They fight the last boss together which is none other than Fujiwara no Yasuhira who fights with a fucking whip.
They won't kill him but have him take responsibilities for his actions, he says that if Nozomi had
come to Hiraizumi sooner things could've been different but tells her to forget this fact.
Anyway he will go wherever she will even if it means going back to her own world because his heart
belongs to her now, Hinoe is sour since someone else took his himegimi before he could,
meanwhile Masaomi is like what? first time I heard about a race for the Nozomi's heart, LOL.
Everyone cheers them on to take care of her in the other world and well they already getting
hitched??? IDK who the fuck cares where this bishie came from but he's her one and only 5ever
and we get to hear him monologue about how much he loves her and what she means to him
never once we hear Nozomi's answer... much like all other post credit endings.
I think it would make more sense for them to stay in the late heian period... but couldn't they write
something better for this ending? even my imagination could come up with something better.
Yeah Shirogane is still Nozomi's knight... but whats with her get up?
is she a high class ojou-sama now? ohohohono... >_>
The side story was about before the two got to Nozomi's world much like Kurou's
which was really confusing and backwards cuz nothing made sense when I first got the ending. -_-
They just go view the cherry blossoms at night, you have the choice to go see Yasuhira too
but I think thats just sad... he'll only tell Nozomi that her job is done and puts a coat over her
shoulders cuz the Hachiyou would wine if she'd get sick, anyway why even ignore the
boy who loves and wants you and probably doesn't want you to look at someone else at this point?
/Feelsbadman.
The best choice would obviously to ignore Yasuhira and spend some quality time with your husbando.
I think Shirogane route was pretty good I could almost never tell what was gonna happen next
but its boring having to sit through the no love/death end first... tho it made sense storywise.
(Whether he was actually dead is up to viewer interpretation but his heart was pretty much frozen.)
Also I actually triggered these Tomomori events when going for Shirogane and it felt
that I was going for Tomomori not this Shirogane person... I guess it worked out in the end
but I could tell it wasn't a very romance oriented route because there was not much time.
Anyway the new scenario was pretty fresh since by now I was pretty tired of same old stuff
 and some stuff surprised me like seriously I thought the whole thing was well written it really
 kept me on edge more than the normal plot in most routes, so many twists and turns 
only one thing I manage to guess but I won't go into that here.
Sadly romance wise I had issues... firstly he was never there in the beginning and I could tell
Nozomi fell for Tomomori... which made it hard since Shirogane looks like him and I don't want to
see him as a subsitute that aside I could atleast see the two bonded but romantically? not really...
like for the short time they spend together I can only see it as a platonic relationship.
Its sad it focused more on plot than romance not that that is wrong because it was interesting 
and I wanted to figure out the truth behind the amnesiac Shirogane but his confession
 felt random to me at the end atleast the first time, I like him but... it was so sudden?!
The ending and the lack of actual romanting scenes really brought down the potential of the route.
Shirogane also barely has CG's nor romantic moments... I expected more when going for his
 love end but alas i'm really sorry for the wall o text 😅 also I am disappoint that the scene
 in the rain with Shirogane had no CG  I mean come on? that was a perfect scene for one!
I could see that the two formed a bond but it wasn't very romantic they focused too much on plot
anyway I did enjoy it its just that I wanted more sweet moments with him but I barely got it. -_-
I can say I am satisfied but a little more romance would've made it perfect you know?
The main problem was in the first half he is just not there and all you're left with is new plot
which in turn sets up a whole new arc, it just makes me wish they made up for that later but alas.
Enough rambling I like Shirogane since he's such a sweet heart
 but his route was lacking in areas beside plot. OAO
Romance ★★☆☆☆
Plot ★★★★★
Enjoyment overall ★★★★☆
  ~

Grand Finale
 During chapter 5 Nozomi decides she has enough of Masako's shit and faces her
 because it should be obvious by now Masako is a manipulative witch.
Masako tells Nozomi doesn't stand a chance but she forgets our dear miko has hax powers and that
she's not alone she trusts her Hachiyou as some part ways to reason with Yoritomo, Kiyomori etc.
Just as Masako tells her Nozomi is finished Yuzuru and Ridvan show up... Hakuryuu won't let
Masako escape either, TL;DR Nozomi found a way to use her knowledge of everyones 
individual issues to end the war with a peace treaty before it got worse.
Nozomi runs into Shigehira and Tomomori too the latter is a bit surprised the miko is just a girl.
Everyone is saved in a fashion that may be a little hard to understand but it wasn't terrible.
 However just as talks are going right Kiyomori pulls the scale of the black dragon because
 he's an ass who can't forgive Yoritomo and here comes the soul devouring witch Masako
also known as Dakiniten who has been around for ages but had a soft spot for Yoritomi
 anyway Masako's thirst isn't satiated from Kiyomori so she want MORE so her eyes
move to Nozomi but before that Masako bids farewell to the one she cares about who just nods.
Nozomi sees that Masako is going to her world when she almost got devoured since there's
something Masako wants there that she won't find in this time period, everyone comes with Nozomi
to protect both worlds to stop Masako at tsurugaoka hachimangu in present day kamakura.
They naturally defeat her because even if she is like a god an all is well that ends well.
Everyone watches the sunset in the present... while crashing at Yuzuru and Masaomi's place
afterwards who cares about returning? we figure this out tomorrow... oh well I am sure it work out.

I think the grand finale was okay except the fushigi yuugi like ending not that it was bad
but it felt like any other ending where we all beat the big bad so there can be another day, lol.
I think I prefer this over fushigi yuugi anyway, which had too much melodrama .😓
(Wait why am I talking about fushigi yuugi?)
Okay moving on I suppose this ending ties into unmei no labyrinth but let me say this all in all
it was much better than Haruka 6's Gentou rondo though because I atleast felt satisfied.
 Romance ☆☆☆☆☆
Plot ★★★☆☆
Enjoyment overall ★★★★☆

~
Taira no Tomomori.
CV: Hamada Kenji.
Erm... ಠ_ಠ;
 A battle crazed man... he has an interest in Nozomi due to being skilled with the sword.
Is this one of those types that uhm enjoy it when a woman resists...? nah he just likes em stronk.
 I dunno the first impression this guy gave me wasn't favorable and definitely not my type.
This dude is マジきもい... but atleast going through the game let me saw him in a new light
but my first impression on him wasn't good! imo i'd sum him up as the typical alpha male.
Also I read somewhere his route was a pain in the ass to get onto in earlier versions
because the timing is so small to the point they didn't do it and they probably 
didn't know about needing to be on hard mode too. 😂
 Anyway during most of the routes despite Tomomori being a weird mofo 
I can't help but get sad that he just jumps ship like in actual history.
 Following Shirogane's scenario a rainstorm Katsuura breaks out in town 
and Nozomi runs into Tomomori... he isn't out for a fight and just monologues
 like he's reading a poem from a book or whatever and finds our priestess
fascinating and wants to unleash the fire in her eyes too, lmao.
Nozomi decides to come with him because she's worried about Masaomi, who is all surprised
but goes back since the other hachiyou may be worried... they next day Nozomi, Masaomi and
Tomomori go on a little trip sadly while passing through Hayatama Taisha some girl
takes advantage and  ask Nozomi to dance in her place since she did so well
 they ask her to do it one more time with someone else.
Anyway later when they're alone he just wants Nozomi to fight him with everything she got...
to entertain him with all her being, is this sounding lewd? cuz in the game it sure did.
Masaomi comes around before long to interrupt them before it got anywhere...
After they part they eventually meet again on the battlefield at Dan no Ura and he wants a fight.
He's delighted when Nozomi becomes serious he's waited for it... he wanted it so much
 because its the part he loves about her, they defeat him and he smiles as walks of the ship
intending to join the sea, however Nozomi tried to stop him but its no use
he admits she's a beautiful woman and says farewell before falling into the ocean T~T
After completing Shirogane's route... Nozomi decides to save this unfortunate fella and so she goes
to the time they met in the outskirts of Katsuura it will play out mostly the same way as before.
Its not untill the battle at Dan no Ura that Nozomi declares her love to him  albeit sudden but all
things considered understandable which he in turn finds cute and accepts it but still kills her, badend.
However in another choice Saku and the other hachiyou fall so the two are alone
 but he still kills her and we get another bad end.
In the end we have no choice but to fight him... which means he'll die anyway
 there's no happy end to get here since his route branches from the grand finale. T~T
Anyway the heroine wonders about him... so she ends up in a forest and runs into him
who is walking around he asks her what he wants from her, she's reminded of him
 liking THAT fiery look in her eyes and how she was responsible for his death back then.
Nozomi knows he doesn't remember all that she's been through knowing that words won't get
her very far with this man she draws her sword, Tomomori is pretty ??? at it
but is like huehuehue a fight? with a hot chick no less? can't say no to that.
It was a fierce fight Tomomori finds Nozomi absolutely beautiful when she is so serious
and well he realizes how much he enjoys connecting his sword... (ah innuendo... what is it)
How can such a pure woman fight so ferociously???
Once Tomomori realize she wants dat lovely ass of his he's all like ok you can have me
and well Nozomi wants EVERY PIECE of him, so they continue to fight
Tomomori can't help but want more and more then she uses her hax powers to pin him down
because this man only fights to the death eventually he's like come take my hand
you claim to know me I do not know you but I accept you because you are a fine woman.
He asks her one more time do you want me? and well Nozomi's like of course I wouldn't
be here if I didn't want your ass, Tomomori also wants more of her too so... thats that.
The two end up in the present time he's willing to do anything as long as she spends time
with him and let's him find out more and more about her, Nozomi has gone and done it
she's tamed this beast and now he wants everything that is her because she owns him.(LMAO)
 The side story was about Nozomi delivering the news ? she's tamed this lewd beast to the others
and guess what they were all like Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh wait wut you gone and done now, lol.
 Kurou's all like wtf man I don't even care about him being part of the heike you should've told us
sooner even Masaomi is like wtf man what are you doing here the others try and make
Masaomi take responsebility but Shigehira comes along to see why
his bro didn't come home last night but gasps the moment he sees that the woman
Tomomori banged last night is the miko herself. 😂😂😂shenanigans aside everyone sorta
 accepts it and are disappointed the miko was taken by this rough dude they don't even know.
Hmm do I hear disappointment in your voice Ridvan?
Sigh... this guy is more trouble than he's worth! but he's essentially a secret character so it ok.
Its sorta sad the heroine falls for him yet Tomomori can never remember those moments
that happened in another loop anyway I think Nozomi is a perfect match for him
no other woman can handle this lewd beast.. even I am like no but I still ship these two
maybe its those landmine bad ends I stepped on where he admitted she's cute but still kills her.😱
 The route itself was full of embarrassing innuendo... I expected this and do not mind
but I think it was way too short and they just leave the rest up to our lewd imagination.
Romance was okay even if Tomomori essentially becomes Nozomi's manslave once she tames him
 there wasn't much of a plot and I guess the peace treaty actually succeeded oh well whatever.
I enjoyed this route but I am disappointed that the lewdest character in the game 
doesn't even get a kiss cg. ( I like how I went from eww.. to I ship it with this guy... lmao. ) 
Also I applaud Hamada Kenji for being able to voice both Shirogane and Tomomori and still have
them sound different it really shows he's a veteran... sadly I don't hear him often enough.
I legit think this was the most enjoyable route in the game for all the wrong reasons... 
 Romance ★★★☆☆ (???)
Plot ★★☆☆☆
Enjoyment overall ★★★★★

~
Fujiwara no Yasuhira.
CV: Toriumi Kousuke.
Please do pay 2500 yen for his actual route.
He's very uptight and sharp-tongued man who does what he thinks is right.
This is not an actual route but a DLC one for reasons described at the start of the post.
If you bought the treasure or sono te de unmei wo kaeru box you got the route as first print bonus
if not you gotta pay up 2500 yen, no i'm not kidding about this at all. 
During my initial playthrough I was like who the hell is this guy and why is he so popular when
he never once appeared in the original games routes? well you only ever get to see him if you go to
Hiraizumi in Shirogane's route its obvious I failed to see what made people
 want to screw him, Toriumi Kousuke can't be the only plus...
I couldn't find many points that make me say hey i'd like to be his waifu, is it the fact he pushes her
away? or being the one unobtainable bishonen that makes you fantasize of being able to chase him???
Or the fact he's stubbornly willing to do whatever necessary to protect the things he cares about.
Anyway... this guy does what he thinks is right even if his methods are wrong
most of the time I like these types but I guess Yasuhira is a lost cause to me and I got mad at
Nozomi in Shirogane's sidestory because why would you make your man so sad? 
I admit I liked him in the Izayoiki common ending... it was shown that'll he protect Hiraizumi
from witches such as Masako, sadly in Shirogane's route I shook my head but atleast everyone 
was alive in it but Nozomi never end up with anyone it ok though since she loves everyone. 
Too bad Yasuhira gets gangbanged by some goons while out in the countryside it almost was a happy
end but those people want for revenge on Hidehira also known as Mitachi, fuck me I didn't expect
this normal end to be so sad... he saved the day back then and this is his reward?!
Why did it take KOEI for over a decade to give him a route?! DLC no less?
Now I am sad I didn't buy the LE boxes T~T and also pissed of KOEI's treatment towards him.
Imagine it being 2005 again and getting this end... T~T
 For his route you obviously need to go to Hiraizumi and well Saku and Nozomi make some food and
when Shirogane takes her to Yasuhira he's like lol no thanks I didn't ask for this get lost bitch.
Nozomi can't believe how rude he is and that's all events I could trigger... I don't wanna bother either.😥
(Even if I buy his DLC route I will make a separate post since this one is long enough...)
~







Fav route: (story/enjoyment)
Atsumori > Shirogane > Tomomori > Hakuryuu >Kurou > Ridvan > Benkei > Masaomi > Hinoe > Yuzuru > Kagetoki > Saku.
All route are very character focused and interesting but sometimes I wonder about characters their
motives in other routes which makes them hilariously inconsistent the writers didn't care so why should I care?
Also there are too many routes and almost couldn't be bothered but did it anyway ~_~
Kurou and Hakuryuu's route was well rounded nothing to complain about and Ridvan's was okay
but I felt it was full of holes despite liking it, Benkei's case is just complicated I won't go into it.
I also like Hinoe's route romance wise but the story was sort of lacking, for Masaomi they went too
far with the romeo x juliet theme to the point i'd prefer his izayoiki ending and with Yuzuru
I am like super sorry dude and so some routes just fall into the back, Kagetoki's left me with
the is that it feeling and Saku was great from a friend perspective but thats it.
Storywise Atsumori and Shirogane's take top spots, I thought Shirogane's route was just
the best written one not only was I motivated to find out the truth it also took advantage
 of the games system even better than Atsumori's route whom I have a soft spot for sadly while
Shirogane's route was great in terms of plot the post credit scene was balls... what's worse in the side story of Shirogane end there was a choice which made me feel so bad for Shirogane since Nozomi
consider trying to understand what goes through Yasuhira's mind which makes Yasuhira do
something nice at the cost of making Shirogane cry inside because his waifu
is looking at another man when for crying out loud its Shirogane's event. 😭😭😭
Finally I loved Tomomori route despite being short because it was literally like this:
I'll show you how much I want you! 😂😂😂
I guess because I did Tomomori last(not like much choice) it also left the biggest impression on me...

Izayoiki ending ranking:
 Benkei > Masaomi >  Hinoe > Ridvan > Atsumori / Kurou > Kagetoki > Yuzuru.
This is just based on personal enjoyment, I liked Masaomi's events much more here than
his original route and Hinoe's was simple and very enjoyable compared
to the deus ex machina emofest that was Yuzuru's dunno about Atsumori but
 his original route was better imo I know that I liked the ending atleast but you know
I have a soft spot for him, Kurou's was nice too and the side story made me laugh.
There is no doubt that I enjoyed Benkei's the most, I have some slight issues but who the hell cares?!

Fav character:
Atsumori > Tomomori > Ridvan / Benkei > Shirogane > Kurou > Masaomi > Hakuryuu > Hinoe > Yasuhira > Yuzuru > Kagetoki > Saku.
When there are so many stellar bachelors there's obv no point except to show your real fav.
Hmm... it cannot be a coincidence I like the genbu of earth twice in a row... why this?!
Yuzuru... even if there is sweet side to him I don't think he's my type.
Benkei and Kagetoki both have this dark history while they mostly are all ~smile~
outside of their own route but I liked to learn more about them... a sad fact about Kagetoki is
I cannot see him as a romantic interest, as much as I want to help him and
see him happy but... IDK there's too many routes and not all of them were as good as another.
I think Hinoe's great but I think he's too touchy touchy and all he does is hit on Nozomi there
 wasn't much plot to him and he's sorta just there, atleast he's thoughtful despite the flirtyness.
 Shirogane is like the polar opposite of Hinoe, he's so chivalrous instead of being touchy touchy
he would apologize for doing so, its only natural I like Shirogane more.
Atsumori is just an angel...😇 Sensei and Benkei deserves all the happiness in the world!
Also I legit think Tomomori is best match for Nozomi because it shows she will fight
to get the man of her dreams, I just have bias for Atsumori because he's such a sweetheart.
 I will forever  not be able to understand what is so great about Yasuhira
I didn't care bout him till I did the normal Izayoi end which was just down right sad.
Plus I do not understand why they took more than a decade to give him a route, DLC no less. ~_~

Final thoughts
 Good lord, I am done! man was this game long... and I do not mean the routes there was so much CONTENT. 
It like took me a full month to fully complete this I am not even kidding.
I really liked this otomege, it really feels like you are on an adventure like say beyond the future but
even better because its an RPG however there is imbalance in terms of romantic events maybe also
due to old timey war stuff since there just wasn't much time for actual dates which is fine mind you.
Also too much common story stuff, in some route it just ends really subtle which again is fine.
Back in the day I think it was more acceptable since there weren't many otome games
but today standards have changed in some aspect I like Haru6 more however this has a special place
in my heart for being able to do things I as a girl want and that is save my fave bishie and there's so much to do and I like most character even if there is one or two I am indifferent about. :)
The routes are not long as long as you know what you're doing the story take place over the course
of four seasons/year that like a full year so the bonding is believable even if there's not that much
events they do travel together everyday to get on some route you even have to replay chapters a lot.
It may be difficult if you are bad with japanese history specifically the Heian period. I could still
enjoy it though even if I do not know most facts so thats that and I felt I learned something new.
Even if this isn't an accurate take... it did make me want check the actual historic facts 
which btw weren't that far off so KOEI does know their stuff.
Also for the love of Tomomori FURIGANA, god bless it made my life so much easier.
The story was ok... far from perfect but I like that almost no route spoils stuff about another character
said routes revealed interesting facts about the character and their past but everyone elses issues
cease to matter in favor of whom's route you're on... I can't decide if this is good or bad.
Anyway who cares about the litte details when its mostly an overall fun experience.
When there's time travel there ought to be plot holes, Haruka 3 is no exception from this. 
Atleast there was no canon love interest because this is really a shape your own fate type of game
there is some bias for Masaomi but not once do they make it clear its the correct path or anything.
Oh and regarding Heike and Genji... I got the idea both were wrong.
I suppose one could say the scale is too convenient and Nozomi is too smart but would you 
rather have a heroine who lacks confidence and doesn't know how to go about things? I think not.
Nozomi is strong-willed but she is still a girl & at times that really shows esp regarding the guys.
The heroine is just your average highschool girl who can hold her ground and isn't 
afraid to fight, she just happened to get a little bit of power at one point in the game, once she 
knows a fact about a character in a route she will try her hardest to save him but after all's said 
and done she wouldn't mind chasing another guy once she knows he's OK now, one thing
I agree with Yuzuru on is that Nozomi is as kind as she is cruel...
Either way Nozomi will desperately try to protect thing things she cares about.
I'm honestly jealous of her in a good way! its perhaps a good thing they made her so self concious
of all the things no matter how many time you play Nozomi won't faceplant into that barrier twice
and will point out when there's an ambush coming, yes she remembers what happens because
she says so, the bad part is everything feels continuous, romanced Benkei?
no prob... go back in time and choose Ridvan or Masaomi even the heroine doesn't mind. ~_~
Yeah just like us... she knows the boy's darkest secrets while romancing them all by the end she
really had a harem of ex-boyfriends and a good poker face after knowing their secrets. 😂😂😂
Yes she really does remember, because she will bring it up in your next loop.
I'd say overall its okay but the otome game aspect is lacking in some areas and its pretty open ended
but after playing haruka 6 I should be used to this, its a neoromance thing and its the journey that counts.

Honestly this game is far from perfect even if the haruka fanbase says its a masterpiece
let me tell you it is not but what's more important is the feeling and that its fun and it was.
The romance with some characters is subtle and in the end it only the beginning for them.
While I do not want to use my imagination all the time honestly I think its mostly fine how it ends.
Also lol there were no kiss CG's but again this is KOEI so we should know what to expect
Haruka 6 also had some of these issues except a few in the end these games are really
 a big journey with plenty of memories I just wish there was more effort put in some places.
The only side stories I really liked was Hinoe, Kurou and Masaomi, Ridvan and Tomomori.
The bad part is that some side story for character like for example Atsumori or Benkei
 may happen before the ending and for some after it so here I am wondering why not
just show it in the right order the first time? its not that hard is it... -_-
It just sad how some characters like Masaomi, Hinoe and Ridvan's extra scenes are full on epilogues
yet for some of the others they cannot bother to do so... consistency what is it?!
7.6/10
I think its a fair score considering certain areas... the fact it is over a decade old and that it
 doesn't hold up all that well to standard of today, that aside its still a classic you probably shouldn't miss out on.

Characters ★★★★★ (Everyone's interesting, I can't bring myself to truly dislike anyone.)
Art ★★★★☆(Good... but the decision to replace some CG's for close up is questionable
but looking at some of the old CG i'm glad they did some looked herp le derp.)
 Scenario / Plot★★★☆☆ (Its not perfect...)
Music ★★★★☆ (Fitting, its pleasing to the ears...)
System★★☆☆☆ (Doesn't hold your hand... but once you know how it easy.)
Enjoyment overall ★★★★☆
I recommend if you want an otome RPG game.

The only real complaint I have is some inconsisties here and there and DLC content le deep sigh.
I've already wrote about that in another post so let's not go into that again.

Last words, as much as I'd love this to be localized pretty sure it won't happen, vertical text boxes
are too much of a bother and well harukanaru 6 has a better chance than an otome game set in  
a period westerners barely know anything about unless you went out of your way to study it.
So don't cross your fingers and hold your breath, go import it if it strikes your interest & ya like rpgs.
I feel like I wrote more than enough about this game i'm sorry dumping it all into one post
which makes it seem so long but I am too lazy to make individual posts.
Will Unmei no labyrinth get ported? IDK but I am eyeing the PSP version right now...
I wouldn't mind spending more time with these guys that's for sure, sadly I think KOEI will port it
anyway since Haruka 3 vita port sold pretty well to chart in the top 10 in the first week of release.

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for the review its hard to find people talk about this game the only
    other review I could find didn't even go into all of the characters.

    This seems like a good otome game with a strong protag that constantly
    goes under the radar because it also an rpg sadly hearing there's
    inconsistency re:romantic events and also of not giving everyone proper
    side story epilogues... its like they didn't care for half of the cast that
    makes me not want to bother even though the characters themselves are interesting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No problem... more than happy to write a little too much about
      games I enjoyed playing, I just wish there wasn't so much inconsistency
      but I guess time travek will never be gotten right.

      Delete