Monday, December 4, 2017

Himehibi ~Princess Days~ Review

ひめひび -Princess Days-
Game: [Himebibi ~Princess Days~] 
Genre: Otome Visual Novel. 
Developer/publisher: Takuyo.
Platform: PS2, PSP, PS Vita.
Release date: 2017-07-20

After the previous disaster otomege I wanted a more normal otome game that doesn't take itself
too seriously with light drama and since this is like the only recently (re)released game in my backlog I went for it. Being a Takuyo game, no one probably gives 2 cents about their games... but here I am!

Its pretty fun despite the cliche setting of girl goes to all boys school...
I went into this with little expectations which was probably for the best.
You've probably realized this ain't a story heavy otome game, it does have a story, some members
of the board of directors don't even want the heroine to go to this elite boys only school.
Some developments actually surprised me but its not much, I liked how every route
tried it slightly different. The language used isn't that difficult, they don't
 use that many Kanji so this is perfect for beginners but keep in mind
having a fair grasp of the language is still necessary.

Pro's
- Comedy, (mostly) light-hearted shojo-like otome game.
- Great cast of characters.
- Art, old but it still looks great.
 - Read text marking, no copy pasted scenes and can skip over with ease.

Con's
- Can't skip minigames on 2nd+ play.
- Have to hold R button to read skip.
- Repetitive scenario.

System... typical choices to make but also you need to do a minigame and succeed to give
out flyers to people so Aizaki can become the school idol(thank you Ken for this brilliant keikaku).
If you fail the dude may never notice you- nah I am kidding about that.
I still think the minigame solely exists to break the mold of only having to read
because I really don't see the point outside of Ken's subplot, it quickly became a nuisance
of having to hand out flyers and score 500~ points. Okay its not that hard because
it becomes memorization game, if blond bishonen, short black haired kid
or bandana dude show up on the screen its ok to press the button really early. ^^;
There's another minigame in the 2nd half to give fanservice... but you can get away
 with button mashing a little so its less of a hassle to get the needed 1000+ points.

Common route itself is pretty long, the latter part is shared with another character
but the routes aren't long its of average length, doesn't beat around the bush!
There's a flag system something like Geten no Hana or Harutoki, if you ignore
 characters it won't get you their ending. A downside... only way to skip is to hold
the R button but for some reason they automatically put it on skip all
from the start I don't even know if there was a readskip.
I wish Takuyo would have upgraded this game a little because this is so 2006-ish
well atleast the text already read was marked so it was easy to stop skipping
However I am sure I missed a new line appearing here or there... sometimes
I can't be bothered to go back for it, a line of text or two is not going to be a big deal.

The art... it doesn't look like it belongs in the current generation
but is it bad? not at all, infact its beautiful and fine the way it is
besides the characters still look handsome especially Rinto.
Music fits the mood... its not as bad as ye olde idea factory bgms that's for sure
as for the OP I let it play once or twice but then I skipped it.

In short:
If you are looking for an otome game with an amazing ''story'' I suggest you look elsewhere
himehibi is anything but that, its a simple but classy modern day shojo-like story.
Compared to the last otome game I played Aizaki was actually a decent heroine
Aizaki will speak her mind and isn't a doormat constantly moaning about her problems
she can't fix, she's pretty head-strong but that doesn't mean she's not allowed to be weak
or have girl problems.
The first route took me a while to finish maybe its because early on each ingame
day was relatively short and a bit of a repeat but I am glad it didn't go on longer than needed.
Overall this game's length is average but when I think about it its just right, most will fly by
on 2nd+play the unskippable minigames started to annoy me by route 4 but to be honest
they're not that bad at all.😅 The characters are all great tho except Kitsuneme-san😡
 they threw in a good dose of comedy I often found myself snickering at a piece of dialogue
so yeah it has fun, serious and sad moments but all in all it is light-hearted.
 You could say this game is like prince of stride except much older.
A turn off could be like two of the romantic interests are cousins to the protagonist
and she had a crush on one of them from the start but atleast they're not blood related.
 Ahaha this excuse will never get old will it?
That aside I still found them likeable so it didn't bother me that much... like I have seen worse.
I suppose I could critize the subplot of becoming the school idol and the minigame it
brings with it but eh... its part of the game and if you remove it you'd be left with very little.
If you are going to play this otome game I recommend to start with Naohito the rest of the order
doesn't matter just try to do the characters that are paired up with each other right after the other.
Naohito > Masaya > Hikaru > Yamato > Shinobu > Rinto; should be a good order. 

The game ends where it should, there's plenty room for more but part of me is glad
Takuyo doesn't really milk their games. Yes there's a himehibi 2 but it has a completely
different protagonist and some returning faces. That aside this didn't really leave that big
of an impression on me but it was still refreshing. Himehibi is perfect
for beginners/those who don't expect much out of otome games.

Since this is just a straight port there's nothing new or updated except now it can be enjoyed
on the clean psvita screen so if one has already played the ps2/psp version there's little reason
to get it unless you're a fan, ''i'd recommend himehibi if one want an otome game
with fun characters, a simple story that doesn't try to be something it is not''.

You should probably stop reading here if you don't want spoilers.

When Ken sees a bud there's no stopping him trying to turn it into a star...
So the protagonist Aizaki Koi is just a normal highschool girl, her best friend Harumura Maaya
is trying her best to get Aizaki to get over her old crush Naohito which she hasn't been able to so far.
So one day after school Aizaki and Maya went out when they run into students
 from a popular elite all boys school tenjouji gakuenbut those ''cool guys'' just ignore their plea
to go join up and continue whatever it was they're doing.
... atleast Yamato still introduced himself when Maaya did, Masaya got all annoyed
but introduced himself either way but he ends up pissing Aizaki off when he insults her and Maaya.
So then Aizaki and Masaya end up throwing insults at each other... to the point they hate each other
 only for Yamato calm the situation down WOW this was pretty hilarious.
When they go back home they spot two hella suspicious dudes Hikaru and Shinobu and they
apparently know Aizaki... they here to bring the news from the president of Tenjouji gakuen
who turns out to be Aizaki's grandfather which means she's also Masaya's cousin....
Aizaki's supposed to enroll at this school as a test and these two fine men are her body guards
since not everyone on the board want this test to succeed because TRADITION.
This school is for the elite and Aizaki isn't able to always keep up...
Ken sees potential in this female transfer student  and tries to get her to be the school idol!

The game had many classy moments as well... like for one dudes undressing in the classroom
as usual totally not minding the presence of the one and only girl that transfered into their school😂
atleast there's a nurse office so she can get ready for gym/swimming class in peace, lol.
Or Aizaki walking into Yamato's room in the morning only to watch Masaya waltz in
butt-naked from the shower... 😂😂😂 leaving Aizaki incomprehensible only to run out the door.
So yeah you can expect that sort of stuff and more in this game...

Tenjouji Masaya.
CV: Yoshino Hiroyuki
 His family owns tenjouji gakuen, he's is pricky little tsundere brat who
doesn't know how to handle girls... and ends up hating Aizaki but his jiji still forces him
to watch over her against his will, he couldn't even believe she's his cousin lol.
Oh and apparently they're engaged too... I mean gotta keep it in the family. :eyeroll:
Masaya obviously can't stand her at first and how it will work out is interesting to find out
his behavior could be a little annoying so i'd say its a good idea to not do this route first.
Really though Aizaki and Masaya are constantly bickering and insulting each other early on
but its better than Aizaki just taking his shit this makes it even more hilarious.😂
So Masaya may act like a brat but he does care for Aizaki he's just brash about it
its also pretty amusing how often they're in sync even when they're fighting. xD
Masaya's pretty popular himself, Aizaki forced a chick on his ass one day during practice
he didn't like it but the girl was overjoyed, that was rather evil of Aizaki.
Well school life and handing out fliers continue and then Aizaki gets love letters from her
own ''fans'' at one point as well wow yeah thanks Ken-kun turning into the school idol
 sure is working out! I guess it was cute to see Masaya get jealous at one point.
After that shady phone call Masaya sort of becomes her overprotective hotheaded knight.
Honestly it was hard for me to actually feel the romance though...
Hmph just shut up and come along with me... i'll protect you! is a good way to sum up this CG.
 part of the romance felt like hmm hmm just get married already because 
with all the bickering these two sure act like husband and wife, lol.
The rest was sort of ok, forgotten childhood promises and disagreements aside...  I kept
triggering scenes with Naohito while going for Masaya, this was like showing Nao the middle
finger. It felt like Nao genuinely cares for Aizaki but holds himself back to the point
I really felt bad for Nao for picking Masaya since Nao's been so supportive and actually spend
more time with Aizaki than Masaya did! this is all due to Masa/Nao having a shared common route.
There weren't even that many CG's early on with Masa/Aizaki like I am not sure if I missed
something, like yeah dat CG of him coming out of the shower naked was nice but... there was
not many memorable moment early on. At one point I thought did I do something wrong
like I thought I was on Nao's route since Aizaki hangs out more with him. >_>
Before I knew it, already near the end of the route where Masaya avoided Aizaki on purpose
because Maaya blurted out Aizaki's she had a crush on Nao which made Masa's tsun
go through the roof and starts being all cranky for no good reason.😓
Yeah Masaya is a cute but... too frustrating to watch him at the end
to the point Naohito's like mate if u hurt her like this I won't let you have her.
At that point I was like I don't mind if Aizaki end up with Nao... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
This CG is another example of how most cg's are either paired up with another guy or a solo shot.
 This route isn't bad but its not that great due to spending the majority of the time with Nao
 while Masaya is idk being hella tsundere somewhere else, you cannot avoid this.
Also considering the fact Nao freaking confessed his feelings to her only cuz Masaya told him 
to be honest as well, again its the equivalent of the middle finger to Nao cuz it ain't his route
and at that point Aizaki doesn't really care about poor Nao anymore.😭
Either way Masaya sneaks into Aizaki's place one night and tells her in his own way he likes 
being around her because its fun to be around her and then they both remember their promise
in the past, Masa's more than resolved to protect Aizaki from those shady hooligans.
Romance wise its not that bad since its obvious Masaya liked Aizaki... he just so tsun about it
nor was the writing bad this is like the first time I have seen a love triangle in an otome game
where both guys confessed their feels, usually the other never gets a shot if it ain't their route.
All that aside... I don't like Masaya that much... (he's ok for a tsun) nor do I like conveniently 
forgotten childhood promises so it should be obvious I sat there with a straight face😑
while these two all get nostalgic and finally confess to each other. Like yeah I found it to be OK
but since it shared with Nao I feel Masaya got the short end of the stick. Masaya being a tsun
won't save it like i've said the two barely had scenes together, atleast he had a kiss CG. :(
In the epilogue they go on a date and have a picture taken... but that's it they got together.
That aside the extra omake was gold... now if you'll excuse me I'll crawl my way to Nao.
Also I'd love to share more CG's but this is pretty much it in terms of just the two of them.
きっと大丈夫だ
Romance ★★☆☆☆
Plot ★★★☆☆
Enjoyment overall ★★☆☆☆
 ~

Hayami Naohito.
CV: Hamada Kenji.
 Aizaki's cousin and she has a crush on him... then he disappeared for a bit.
Naohito is also Masaya's brother but different mother, he also goes to tenjouji.
He's really kind and there's a gag scenario to imagine him being a bodyguard... it...wouldn't work.
Due spending the majority of the time with Nao in the Masaya/Nao common parts it really
is better to do Nao first, nothing against Masaya but something about doing him first
felt off and its still obvious that while they're paired the bias is towards Nao cuz not only is he
sweeter I doub't you'd feel happy when you spend half the time with Nao instead
of Masaya the first time around :eyeroll: Atleast they made Masaya look nicer in this route
and not just a cranky tsuntsun. That aside the common event of Nao cooking, how can he
be so chill about that?! Hikaru feared for his life! I guess said chillness is his charm point 💦💦💦
I can totally understand why Aizaki liked him... he's a refined handsome young man, can cook and
used to play piano but at present Nao only likes Aizaki as a friend...? liar I know how you really feel!
Truth is after not seeing her for a while he realized how much he really cared for her and how
beautiful she had become, honestly the romance felt more believable than Masaya's side
sure Masaya and Aizaki are the perfect bickering couple but there's something more sweet
and gentle to Naohito's story that I just like more. Somehow I still feel bad for rejecting
Masaya since he was such a wing man in this route but you know how love triangles go!
It can't be both someones gotta suffer rejection. Drama aside it was okay...
but due to skipping half of all the shared scenes it was too short! atleast it managed to
go into Nao's case and his parents divorce plus Masaya never letting something like that
happen again with Nao being all self sacrificial after getting some letter of sudden transfer
it all comes down to him pursuing the path of a pianist and him thinking ah well maybe
Aizaki will be okay err- Masaya just basically tells Nao to stop being a drama queen or else
he'll steal his girl and they throw a good punch at each other. If I had played this route first
my enjoyment may've been higher also Ryuuya screw you! you're insane if the previous route
wasn't clear this sure made it clearer as did the relationship between Masaya and Nao plus
their whole family situation so in terms of plot/writing its miles better than what came before.
Nao ended up realizing he almost hurted the person precious to him but won't do it anymore
he won't ever part from the person he cares for now that he knows her feelings or sth like that.
Sadly Nao had a pretty bad kiss CG... pretty much the most hideous one I have seen all year.
In the epilogue Nao gives Aizaki an engagement ring on one of their dates... *w*
this made me happy and felt like an actual end even if he's still going to study abroad
and basically telling Aizaki to join him there after she graduates.
I'm sure Masaya would to but it would take him a long time with that tsun of his! 
I guess the only bad part about Nao/Masaya routes is that depending who you go for
their situation are reversed, like the one you don't go for will be the wing man 
but I won't go back on my opinion that doing Nao first is probably for the better.
Romance ★★★☆☆
Plot ★★★☆☆
Enjoyment overall ★★★☆☆

 ~

Natsuyagi Hikaru.
CV: Suganuma Hisayoshi.
 13 year old shota who is also Aizaki's bodyguard, Hikaru really does
take it seriously perhaps a bit too much some stuff flies over his head.
Hikaru doesn't like being headpatted since he doesn't want to be treated like a kid, lol.
Never been a fan of shota's... but hey atleast he's not annoying? so gotta praise the writers for that!
My bodyguard can't possible be this adorable! ... so much its illegal. >_<
I always wondered why is a kid like him a bodyguard, surely there must be a good reason
and his route goes into it. You might've gotten the hint on day 9 during the shady phone call.
Much like Masaya and Nao, Hikaru and Yamato share the latter half of the common route.
So during common parts, Hikaru made a mistake while perfoming his duties and tries really
hard to make up for it by making sure it doesn't happen again because he's indebted to folks
for taking him in as Hikaru's an abandoned child and Shinobu's sort of like a role model for Hikaru.
He doesn't celebrate his birthday but Aizaki gave him a present when they went out...
Romance wise I am a bit eh but the development was there and it was somewhat believable
for this adorable shota to fall in love, so when Hikaru fell for Aizaki near the end
he got worked up about it how it was interfering with his duties as a bodyguard
like I can't be with you because you make me go crazy this sort of writing isn't bad
but it was predictable how he still managed to get himself together in time of need
because who else would? its sort of thanks to Aizaki's cats though
but he's gonna protect her for life now, with all his heart.
 Overall I thought Hikaru's route was satisfying but it was over before I knew it
so while Hikaru's a shota this route wasn't half bad at all but also not that special.
Honestly Hikaru's affection felt a bit one sided... and Aizaki's reply a bit forceful
true this kid deserves a family but romantically hahaha maybe after a few years?
I'd love to write more but there really is not much else I could mention...
It is sad the game is short but atleast its comfortable to fullcomp, true some stuff repeats
even if mr kitsuneme is always the last boss the way they let it play out is unique.
The Hikaru/Yamato common parts explained more things about Tenjouji's tradition
of being an all boys school while not much its nice there's still something new.
Romance ★★☆☆☆
Plot ★★★☆☆
Enjoyment overall ★★☆☆☆
 ~

Takashiro Yamato.
CV: Nojima Kenji.
 
Glasses boy and Masaya's friend, unlike Masaya normally he's actually polite. 
Well its route 4 and the minigames started to annoy me ... skip button please! 
While Masaya is the loud and cranky tsun, Yamato is the coodere... cold at first but
his moe moments are in plain sight, even better than Masaya. Also he's sort
of not want Aizaki at the school nor likes the whole school idol plan from Ken because
Yamato is the student council pres basically a prim and proper boy, should be obvious
he comes from a classic japanese family, he was raised this way.
I can't really recommend this route to be done first... since its so much more obvious
who is the one behind the threats and the person responsible even wanted Yamato
 to help him, good thing Yamato would never hurt someone let alone a girl so take that!
That aside he apparently likes cats... so much he doesn't really care about appearances for once!
when Hikaru and Aizaki finds out he gets so embarrassed about it and says he hates cats but lol
we saw you  play with them and enjoy yourself! geez appearances sure seem to matter for him.
 He's also like no I can't go into your room even if just to talk! thats improper behavior, lol.
Later on like past day9 after hearing about the call Yamato gets a bit overprotective...
then there was a scene where Rinto was up in Yamato's ass- or so it seemed.😂😅💦💦💦
The worst part about that scene was Aizaki, Hikaru and Nao overheard them and they including
the reader had ZERO CONTEXT too bad it wasn't anything lewd. Rinto was just being
a good nurse to tend to Yamato's injuries, he just got too into it or so i'd like to think.
Still I felt like I was playing a freaking BL game that entire time... not that I mind lol.
While its obvious Yamato got closer to Aizaki over time... he started to distance himself.
Its more or less because he realized who the culprit might be aka someone
they all know aka kitsuneme-san who just takes advantage of the situation either way.
The turn of events was unique atleast since he went after Yamato too... so he can take the top spot
and prevent Tenjouji from allowing girls to join their school, Ryuuya does all this crap because
of his parents. >_> Yeah he didn't do it because he wants but is twisted enough to follow
his parents ideals but atleast they aren't alone in stopping the brat they got rin-sensei.
 Yamato gave a long speech about how letting go of tradition at Tenjoujis a good thing
in the long run then he goes on and let the whole school know he likes Aizaki. >///<
Its nice we got to hear a bit more from Ryuuya though... and how Yamato could never hate him
even after all he did, sigh some people will try and believe in their good sides against all odds
its true though Ryuuya's parents are at fault here not he himself but that's still no excuse.
Part of me thought Yamato would have the asian parents thingy all over his route, he's very
japanese but I feel the victim of that was more or less Ryuuya, atleast Yamato has a good
sense of justice plus he's so sweet despite starting out so cold which made it satisfying in the end.
(Yes I firmly believe Yamato classifies as a coodere)
Now that I finished both Hikaru and Yamato I found the latter to be better overall nothing against
Hikaru but Yamato's route just felt right to me, the bonding and confession was more believable.
 Perhaps this makes it even more clear I am not into shota's at all. Yamato sort of gets screwed
over in his CG's, sure he looks great in them but there are not many 'otome' moments.
Other than that I thought his ending was the most memorable with the whole confess to the whole
school thing and then in the epilogue go on a make out spree when they're alone.
Romance ★★★☆☆
Plot ★★★☆☆
Enjoyment overall ★★★★☆
~

 Tsukimoto Shinobu.
CV: Ishikawa Hideo.
 Shinobu is Aizaki's main bodyguard, he has different personalities depending on what mode he is.
Bodyguard mode: wear sunglasses and only nod, makes gestures but never speaks.
Butler mode: He acts like Aizaki is his oujou-sama... sometimes he literally
molds into the background to suddenly startle Aizaki. Then there is his... housewife mode
when he turns into a mother like figure cooking up all the meals for the students. 0_0
Oh and apparently Aizaki's cats love being around him...
The worst part is he acts the part... and seems to have the idea he's acting the same as always
well this got to be a joke route either way because he seems more like a side character
and honestly romantically I am like... no. Like to me this guy just does what he's supposed to
and has a bit of a weird side. Basically if you take this route this is a what if
Aizaki noticed and took an interest in her bodyguard. I suppose Shinobu has
issues of his own... if his three modes aren't a good example already.
On day 9 when she gets the threatening phone call Aizaki went to Shinobu who was still in
housewife mode prepping dinner for kids at the dorm once he knows  whats going on
he was like can I get a moment, he goes out and returns in butler mode dunno why
but I laughed at the transition. Oh and the common parts are shared with Rinto.
Rinto tried to make Aizaki be more aware of her situation by catching her off guard
but eh Aizaki saw right through him... she really cuts him no slack.😂
Rinto was really coming onto Aizaki in the common parts to the point where
I was like please wait for your turn already😡 like Shinobu was pretty much the same
as ever it might as well be Rinto's route cuz Shinobu be avoiding unnecessary interaction.
The reason for them being paired up makes sense, he and Shinobu knew each other
very well and Shinobu had a fiance Yuriko but she passed away in an accident.😭
Shinobu hasn't been able to fully let go... and pretty much copes in his own way.
There's a time and place for guys like Shinobu and I think he's a great character but
he even said it himself Shinobu cannot forget Yuriko he won't allow himself 
to fall in love with Aizaki or any other person. So the romance felt really one-sided. 
As usually Kitsuneme's antics were... annoying especially how he tried to fool Aizaki
by being on her side and all but like always Aizaki has her friends so all's well that ends well
or better put, Shinobu found someone else in his life which turned out to be Aizaki
maybe because she cared and Rinto made Shinobu see... either way it was open-ended.
Some parts felt like Masaya route with Rinto being the Naohito.
 If not for Rinto things would've never progressed with Shinobu... in all honestly
Rinto was more or less the shining star,\to look back on this as a whole maybe they could've
done more to it in the end this route was probably the least satisfying, I like Shinobu but this 
didn't live up to my expectations not that I had a whole lot mind you.
Its nice Shinobu gets some spotlight to get to know him more but as love interest... lol no
they did not have much chemistry the only thing I could see was Shinobu caring about Aizaki
not romantically but platonic like family not to mention most of the common parts
are pretty boring maybe if you like it slow but even then.. it was pretty one-sided.
The writing wasn't that bad or anything but I expected more?(not a lot) its sort of obvious they
winged it with this route, also not sure if its a good or bad Shinobu has no kiss CG.
Oh god not another I gotchu ending...
 Romance ★☆☆☆☆
Plot ★★☆☆☆
Enjoyment overall ★☆☆☆☆
~

Bad end(Maaya friend end).
I did this real quick before moving on to Rin-sensei...
Basically fail minigames, avoid flag events and agree to leave the school
when mr kitsuneme threatens Aizaki... its funny even if you fail all the minigames
she still gets fans which means minigames are just sorta there the only reason they're important
is to be able to get the guys good end(as point system) its not even hard to fail them.
Well Aizaki leaves Tenjouji after shit got serious and goes back to her own school....
Maaya sees Aizaki is pretty sad about it so they go out and Maaya treats her to a big parfait
and they spend the rest of the summer together, wow thats sort of nice.
This is more or less a consolation price... the CG was nice but there's not much else to it.
~

Kashiwagi Rinto.
CV: Ishida Akira.
 A teacher at Tenjouji... now I am usually not interested in ''teachers'' but for some reason
I can stand him, maybe its because he's the only one who shows an interest in Aizaki
even if its just teasing... Normally i'd be like ewww someone almost twice the protagonist age...
Maybe its because he's not boring? and he's the one that makes it feel like an otome game
plus I was interested in what makes Rin-sensei the way he is besides he's not that old... 😅
Hmm.. can't say I was amused when he asked Aizaki for her 3 sizes or if she had a boyfriend...
but still has the nerve to say I am joking, Aizaki was pretty tsun towards him as well.
EITHER WAY I DON'T really TRUST HIM... like he is teasing his student almost
every chance he gets I mean wtf?! (I sort of liked this but... wow dude CHILL)
Rinto's like that throughout the game and I guess I fell for him the moment he appeared
because he just stands out?! I don't even care if he's a flirt he was interesting.
Though Rinto always gets roasted by Hikaru and Shinobu for trying to hit on Aizaki. 😂 
I liked the scene of Maaya fantasizing a bit when she hears about how Aizaki
and her teacher are seeing each other in the evening...
GIRL I SWEAR NOTHING HAPPENED but uhm thanks for that CG.
 Despite acting the way he does Rinto is a good teacher, he multitasks and do side jobs
across the school to help out the missing spots like school nurse(they don't have
one). he also often rests in the nurse office in spare time since he's hella tired
but for some reason he still has energy to hit on his student when Aizaki goes there
to change for gym class. :eyeroll: Don't worry he still looks out for her when she amasses
so many male fans Rinto goes out of his way to tell her that's a bad thing to be so naive
yep Rinto had a damn good point, what if Aizaki got some crazy fan... >_>
 Due to doing this route last it flew by but honestly I do not want to do Shinobu last.
Instead of falling for her bodyguard, Aizaki fell for the flirty teacher... 😅
Rinto is basically a troubled person but he just... tries to hide most of it behind a smile
and his playful personality, you'd never figure he'd actually misses the good old days
with Shinobu and Yuriko, he's pretty lonely... Shinobu was also better this route
we got the situation of their past from another perspective. Romance wise its believable
as was the story, Kitsuneme-san was a shit for trying to make a scandal of their relationship
but I liked this sort of writing its only realistic for the possibility it got found out
the way Rinto handled it was also very mature, he took responsibility and made it seem
it was all his own fault for following his heart and did it against her will(not true).😭😭😭
Its not wrong love someone? well... if they're underage it is but if they both love each other
and I mean really really love each other it should be OK if age is the problem
I pretty much draw the line at 15+ also one of them shouldn't be a preteen.
All ends well that ends well though Rinto lost his job(expected😓) at the very least
Kitsuneme-san and his dad got caught red handed on tape for all the shit they tried
to stop Tenjouji from opening its doors for female students. Rinto ends up proposing to Aizaki
during the summer so no one will question them about their age gap.😅
If you're really uncomfortable with this stuff you probably won't like this at all...
atleast the way they handled some of it was realistic.
Somehow I enjoyed it and am glad I saved it for last, this route might be the best overall like atleast
I was satisfied unlike Shinobu, also for some reason Rinto got one of the better kiss CG's.
Also IDK why but I sort of liked Ishidai voice such a troll~ nothing against the usual ''loners''
but its just so refreshing I wish he voiced these type more, lol.
 Romance ★★★★☆
Plot ★★★★☆
Enjoyment overall ★★★★☆
~

Fave route:
Rinto > Naohito > Yamato > Hikaru > Masaya > Shinobu.

Fav character:
Rinto > Naohito > Yamato > Hikaru/Shinobu > Masaya > Ken > Maaya > FanboyA,B,C > Ryuuya.
 Out of everyone I liked Rinto the most... tease-a-lot aside he's a great teacher character
who cares for his students. I suppose Nao and Yamato follow...
except for a few this was sort of the same as ''fave route order''.

Final Thoughts
 I thought himihibi was pretty decent, I got exactly what I wanted something simple yet fun.
At the start it was hard for me to motivate myself, the overall story wasn't particularly interesting
till like day9 but overall the length was just right no scene or day dragged on too long even if
my first play took like a week, I was able to pick up the pace after I finished a route!
Story? it there but it doesn't need a strong plot to carry itself if anything it relies more on
comedic factor, that doesn't mean things never got serious because it did in the second half.
The characters... some stand out a little more than others its pretty much a shojo-like otome game in
modern setting; a guy strikes your interest? you chase him! The scenario is common throughout
each  route handles it differently some may even give a bit more detail on motivation of antagonist.
This game doesn't suffer from the: this old content is forced down your throat as new bullshite
as read text is marked, even then Himihibi could get a bit repetitive.
So while CG's looked great the first route I did was awful like at one point I thought
I was going for another person or worse a bad end also there's a lot of shots
of just the guys and with other guys that one could mistake it for a BL game.😅
The protag didn't annoy me, glad she had a feisty personality and the romance...
I could atleast see it build up in traditional fashion unlike the last disaster I played
but some route like Shinobu I wondered if it was really alright.
Atleast the protagonist didn't ruin this game for me but its all what you want really, I just tend
to like the ones with a bit of personality if they're too timid or act irrational its just meh.
System well minigames got old fast but its not like its wand of fortune level of annoying.
I enjoyed Himihibi, like I could actually relax for once without having to worry
about a plot thread here or there, I still think I won't really play these type of otome games much
because no matter how fun some parts still bored me, I think i'll play himehibi2 as well for Ken
but that's it for modern day highschool otome games. I just tend to prefer the ones with
fantasy/mystery to them if at all. Also thank god there's no Ryuuya route.

It was a good thing I played this after bad apple wars... I feel refreshed
this was a simple but fun otome game, didn't try hard to be something else
maybe the otome parts could be better because it was a bit subtle.
It was probably aimed at younger girls.
What else can I write? its pretty obvious himehibi is a good selection for beginners.

Characters ★★★★☆
Art  ★★★★★
Scenario/plot. ★★★☆☆
Music ★★★★☆
System  ★★☆☆☆
Enjoyment overall ★★★☆☆

Next? Usotsuki Shangri-La because how bad could it be? I doubt it could top
moshikami in terms of wtf onii-chan wut u gone and dun now, lol.
I got Chouchou jiken as well... I imported the manga and liked what I saw so far
the art is pretty and the mystery bits seemed interesting (its a trap isn't it?)

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