Sunday, August 2, 2020

Gunka o Haita Neko - review

 Genre: Otome visual novel.
Developer/publisher: Primula.
Platform: Nintendo Switch.
Release date: PC: 2018-09-28, PSV:2019-09-12, NSW: 2020-06-18 

Since I was thirsty and there's not much otome coming out I decided to cave in and get Gun-Neko
primula's latest game which was recently ported to switch by prototype!
I originally passed on the vita release because it was at the end of the life cycle and all
then not even a year later this got a switch port and I ain't got anything else so I was like why not?
I'm actually surprised no one had blogged about this game... but after sitting through it I understand.

Takes place in postapocalyptic world where humanoid cat people live among the ruins
of civilization, Japan is Tama's country (Wakoku) she lives there with Yuzu, Kuu and
was to be married to her cousin Koutaro. Kitty and Willow aka imperials come from
outside of japan they live in western style and use more advance technology.
Tama has always been pretty obsessed with humans, she was raised with care since
she's a bit special knowing the writer i'm not surprised most of her heroines have a quirk. 
The plot be like all these different cat people live in harmony till some human boy crashes
the wedding plans of the heroine Tama a princess and her cousin ala isekai style, now they have
much more problems on their hands as the empire moves in on wakoku
and this human boy gets to see how they all live strangely like humans did.
Oh dear did I just sum up half of this game in the non spoiler section...
Jokes aside that is exactly what this game is about, why are these cat people living so much
like humans once did?! who are apparently long extinct. Yep that's it.

Pro's
- Likeable characters.
- Comedy.
- Art/music.

Con's
- Length, it will likely test your patience.
- Interesting but executed in the most boring way filled with politics.
In most routes 90% of the time nothing happens does this say enough?
- Relies too much on the true end to make sense of whatever ''plot'' there was.

The opening is done by Ether which gave me GUST vibes.
Most of the seiyuu's are unknowns to me except Murase Ayumu and Ishikawa Kaito.
 
Tama herself was pretty cute, most of the guys were attractive, they're all based off of cat types so if
you love cats this might be a point of interest? I don't know that much of it so that was lost on me.
Art be pretty the backgrounds were decent as well and music fit the mood 
so I can't complain about any of that atleast.
System is typical choices but they have you occasionally do this sense of self thingy
where you click something left,right,up or down but this felt so unnecessary I was like but why?
The jump to the next choice feature was fantastic though...

Now I don't want to be too harsh right of the bat but is it legal for an otome game be that boring?
I mean it had some nice ideas but the plot was ok at best, chara's be likeable enough
and it has nice sense of humor as expected from the creators of taishou x alice.
That aside primula decided to do a take on the overused isekai trope: an otaku getting transported
somewhere expect harem and be OP but he ends up in an ikemen paradise instead.πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚
 None of that really got explained or made sense till the true end which isn't unusual.
The length is definitely a blessing and a curse. Its good to get to know the chara's but if
the attention span is low one might get bored and in my case I did get bored at times, bored enough
to wonder if Ibuki was secretly the protagonist.πŸ˜” who doesn't even get a real route, most of
the time his entire existance is for comedic relief and support role, he gets written out
in many route very easily.πŸ˜“ It makes sense for it to be that way buuuut i'm eh about it.
Though the whole thing with Ibuki was amusing it was hard to see what they were
going for at times I knew my patience was being tested, considering the writer
I'm not surprised, couldn't help but wonder if there would be psychological elements involved
but it was mostly politics instead atleast there was comedy which made it slightly better
they also love to change the perspective of the characters at times though
it only made it look more complicated than it actually was.

NGL after clearing I think my fav routes were the two childhood friends.   
 
Overall this game isn't that serious and most of it was pretty relaxing? it took a while
to reach the individual routes or for things to get anywhere, if you don't have the patience
for this its gonna be an easy pass. I did find some of the political intrigue/world
to be interesting though it just wasn't engaging enough which just made me sleepy, I think
Kuunyan was my favorite but even his route left to be desired, each route does try
to do things differently so there's no copy pasta or 90% common 10% individual.
There is one landmine route which even lacks a proper ending, he may have deserved
such an end due to his behavior throughout but even so... atleast his route was short
still kind of feels like it was a waste I dunno just had to put that out there.
The true end wraps up any sort of questions one might have but it feels like the guys
just had routes because its an otome game and none really contributed to
the heart of the matter, when you do get there it also stops being an otome game.
 
At the end of the day this was mostly okay it might be better if you really love cats
and don't mind the militairy themes but if you want something short and sweet then maybe not
they know how to really pad it out at times which really bored me to tears.
I did like the romance and cute/funny moment which was for me the only saving grace
but considering how sleep inducing the plot is... I just can't recommend this game
unless you like games such as ye olde hiiro no kakera or Tsumikui so despite their being
a decently enough written plot beneath it all it was too long for its own good.
6/10

My play order ended up being:
Yuzu > Kotarou > Kuunyan > Shed > Kitty > True.
I'd probably recommend the same order, Shed and Kitty can't be done till 2nd play and
Yuzu or Kuu could be switched if need be, those two were probably most self-contained.

That ends the non-spoiler babbles.
 In the beginning, as a child Tama tries to get some ''human'' to show up while dragging her
her childhood friends Yuzu and Kuu-nyan along with her. Who knew that years later her wish
would be granted and this ''human'' shows up she had been waiting for all this time!
just when she was about to marry her cousin after her father had fallen ill, either way
most of the common route is about Ibuki explaining things of the human world and teaching
the cats how to use a sew machine, there's quite a lot of similarities between their worlds.
Common was quite long and nonbiri, things don't get serious till Tama's dad gets assasinated
and she has to take his place so i'll just focus on the routes itself instead.
Tama is a very special cat, her mom was attractive and had special powers of foresight
so because of that she was raised in a gentle and protective environment also
 humans are seen as gods in this world... who can make wishes come true.

Yuzu.
CV: Kanemoto Ryousuke.
 Childhood friend, he's loyal and kind TBH I don't have a strong positive or negative
opinion on him, even after that bad end. he's nice enough but its pretty much a what you see
is what you get experience. Probably better to do this route done sooner rather than later.πŸ˜…
Yuzu is really sweet and a good pillar of support for Tama when she needs it. Unfortunately
he doesn't have much personality than him, just being the nice and reliable childhood friend.
The least I can say is that by default he'd make a good husband but there's really
not much that stands out or was that memorable about him.
This route more or less was about just how much Yuzu cares about Tama.
Since these two are like unseparable Ibuki had to ask what's up and Tama does like Yuzu.
On the other hand Yuzu has liked Tama since childhood OH BOY this is a classic. That aside
as a kid Yuzu was a crybaby and weak so his parents told him that he had to do his best
or else he won't be able to be near the princess anymore so he has been trying really hard
 all this time because he doesn't want to be apart. Yuzu later starts to realize he can barely contain
himself around her but also understands his position and that she is engaged so he tries to keep face.
At the competition Tama not dodging the arrow made him a worry wart even tho they won.
Kotarou notices so he asks if Yuzu likes Tama but Yuzu be like not at all
and tries to say he understands his position that he is just a servant and there's no feels.
 Wingman Kuu-nyan tells Kotarou he doesn't buy it just by seeing the situation
and there's definitely feels of affection involved. The route was painful to sit through because
its Yuzu denying his feelings because duty also literally everyone else can read
Yuzu like an open book so I was like any moment now, just confess already plz. T_T
Then it turns out he even rejected a girl who is now confused because why would such
a perfect man want to keep being single? she understands the rejection that he only looks at Tama
but this situation isn't exactly fair and actually wants to do something about it
since Yuzu is suffering of loving someone he can't have. Tama talks to him and he gifts her
a hairpin since he thought it'll look good, Tama be like it'll be a better gift to your lover
but he is like i'm not interested in that and insists in giving it to her.
Ibuki returns home since he satisfied the cat god, before the empire cats leave
Willow tells Yuzu to stop being a little bitch and just confess his feelings to Tama
who is now avoiding Yuzu and things get awkward so he starts wondering if she hates him
so he finally confesses his feelings and that he wants to be with her. Yuzu asks if he can hug her
one more time before going back to being a servant but he actually really hates it.
Kotarou and Kuunyan start to notice they're oddly distant now and become true wingmans
because it can't continue on. Kuu gives Yuzu an earful, then Kotarou challanges Yuzu to a duel
and asks Sora to change the wedding plans and have Yuzu take his place as groom.
The girl that liked Yuzu asks if Tama will make him happy before going her own way.
Why is this so sad? either way Kotarou and Yuzu have their duel err more like fist fight.
Yuzu kicks Kotarou's ass and is really happy to finally confess his feels in public...
 Bad end 1: he loses the duel and leaves for the empire while praying for her happiness
and then Tama remembers that awkward smile of his as a kid.
Bad end 2: they lost the competition so Yuzu starts blaming himself for it
and basically flips his shit because he can't stand to have Tama go to the empire so he starts
choking her till she faints and kidnaps her to god knows where which gave me a good laugh
because she literally killed off whatever personality she had for food and head pats.
This bad end was so bad its good...
Nyan, this is cute but then you notice the chain...
I thought it was okay but also kinda meh... there wasn't much that was memorable except
for his suffering, though the bad end did give me a good chuckle only to end like nope.avi
Overall Yuzu's character didn't do much to stand out, the bad end only fanned the flames
as he already loved her and couldn't stand the idea of her ending up away from him
and if it was Kotarou he could atleast be the 3rd wheel her servant.
  I like how Ibuki was 'ejected' (for lack of better word) early on and in random matter...
they really wrote him out just the way they wrote him in. Well all he did was help
with the competitions not sure how that satisfied the cat god but whatever.
Romance was okay, the suffering however eeeeh both knew it could never be
since Tama was engaged, good thing the writers weren't that cruel and considering
some of the other routes in the game this actually made the most sense.
I didn't even dislike Yuzu or anything but I don't exactly like him that much either
though I am glad he found some happiness in his route, It was interesting getting to know
Yuzu a little but i'm not a fan, I also dislike how sometimes these childhood friend routes
make me feel bad for picking literally anyone else on the next playthrough
because now you know how he feels, atleast Kotarou and Kuu were great wingmans
other than that this was a pretty boring route!
Romance  ★★★☆☆
Plot  ★★☆☆☆
Overall  ★★★☆☆
~

Kotarou.
CV: Furukawa Makoto.
 Tama's cousin whom she was to marry, Kotarou has two sidekicks Haku and Seki.
Other than that he was a true wingman in the last route and could tell he's a decent guy
and they have good chemistry, Kotarou's very sweet with his heart in the right place.
So... his sidekicks thought it was a good idea to try out Tama and Kotarou's clothes and act as their
double so the two of them could go out without a fuss the whole thing was pretty random. πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚
 Schwarz decides to be a little bitch during their investigation and cause a scene because he's bored...
Tama decides entertain him for a bit before Kotarou challenges him
but Kitty and Willow show up to put a leash on poor Schwarz. After returning from their talk
with the kitties Yuzu freaks out when he sees Tama's injury, Sora the uncle doesn't make it better....
and gives Kotarou an earful for not protecting his fiance while also placing Tama in house arrest.
They won't even allow Kotarou to see Tama though that doesn't stop Ibuki from sneaking in.....
who just wanted to know what was going on. One night the assassin shows up again who
sounds like someone we know but luckily Kotarou over heard some noise and came to
the rescue when things calm down, Kotarou says he will definitely catch the culprit
but Tama can't sit still so she went out to find her to-be-husband under the starry sky
when they sort things out he princess carries her back though they decide to meet
with the empire cats to ask for their help atleast they were very accomodating Kotarou
and Tama even get the VIP room and they've basically moved in with them.πŸ˜…πŸ˜…πŸ˜…πŸ˜…πŸ˜…
At one point Tama gets obsessed with Ibuki's human-ness again which was hilarious...
there was a cute moment where Kotarou braided Tama's hair.
but uh what even was the plot about again? were they supposed to catch someone?
we'll get right to that.... them empire kitty cats wanted Tama and the human from the start!
I mean why not welcome them with open arms? Atleast they weren't being an arse
and actually helped them out. Oh and apparently Kotarou had a sickly sister
he took care of in the past... but he hasn't quite forgiven his uncle for not batting an eye
and may be using the marriage. That aside Since they can't catch the culprit
and they're basically running away from other problems as well they end up sending
Tama back with 1 bodyguard which sounds like bait to me and well the assassin attacked them... Kotarou shows up just in time mr assassin tries to run but Kitty, Schwarz and Yuzu corner him
take off his mask err hood... welp it was who I thought it was, the voice was a dead giveway.
Yuzu is supposed to take him to the castle so he can explain himself but then uncle Sora appears
and Seki loses it over Haku who got hurt before so Sora took a hit. Kotarou calms him down.
Kotarou... is really glad Tama's okay and they snuggle up... he loves her so much.
 Yuzu ends up rephrimanding them when they get back at the castle to the point he wants
to curl up with Tama cuz he worried so much but Kotarou is like nope stay back MINE hssss.πŸ˜…
Sora ends up being the misunderstood uncle, after 48 years Tama finally confesses to Kotarou
and he swears to make her happy as his wife. In the epilogue they enjoy a nonbiri date
and Kotarou reminds her how well the ring they found with Ibuki suits her. Then he got sweet, Aww.
 Tragic end, Tama decides to go back home like in the best end but there's some bad vibes
the assassin attacks, she gets hurt badly, Koutaru arrives too late and she dies in his arms.
Bad end, They all give up and go back to the castle and that's it, lame cuz it adds nothing.
There was also a short story with Haku and Seki of how they became Koutaru's sidekicks
Ibuki comments how this is just like a shoujo manga which was nice I guess.
Well, Kotarou had an okay route and he was very likeable except it was too long for its own good...
I can forgive that a little though since the plot was actually consistent all the way through
except when it was the end it kept going on! have you ever read/watch something
where you got like oh my god just get to it will you? Koutaro's best end was like that.
Unfortunately due to the shenanigans happening I sometimes was like what 
were they supposed to be doing again? Atleast I liked the romance between the two
which was probably what kept me going all the way to the end, so many cute moments
so I can still say yea I liked it and it didn't have as much personal suffering as Yuzu.
Romance  ★★★★★
Plot  ★★★☆☆
Overall  ★★★☆☆
~

Kuu-nyan.
CV:Murase Ayumu.
 The other childhood friend... who's a tsundere, he's so cute! that alone makes it a treat.
Tama bought something expensive and he's all pouty about it nope still gave in... classic.πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚
Eventually after her dad gets killed Kuu tells her she can rely on him NOT BECAUSE
HE WANTS TO OR ANYTHING just because uhm well yeah for the country! YEAH!
Okay so since they're convinced Tama is next on the list to be assassinated they want her to go
somewhere safe with Kuu while Kotarou stays at the castle to protect his uncle.
Kuu helps her cut her nails while she is stuck at Kuu's house, which was cute
other than that though it was pretty boring in terms of plot but at this point i'm used to it.
 Kuunyan goes back and forth to the castle Ibuki figures out that Kuu is planning something nice
for Tama since Kuu keeps getting into fights with her and bullies him.πŸ˜…πŸ˜…πŸ˜…
Too bad a sister of Kuu followed him and now found out about the princess
staying at here wanting to join in the fun but Kuu tells her to get out.
Yuzu sends a letter telling Tama to put up with this situation a bit longer, geez thanks.
Kuu keeps trying to please Tama and got some one-piece from Ibuki... which made
Tama unable to contain herself anymore, then Kuu's sister walks in on them...
...in that position making Kuu want to die of embarrassment.πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚
 Later Tama ends up trying out one of Kuu's clothes... and he got her glasses again as disguise?
his sister brings a better kimono so Kuu and Tama can go out for once.
Apparently this was a bad idea because the empire almost found her and Kuunyan
could barely reach her in time, he has something like asthma and uses medication.
Shed be like what're you two up too and i'm like FANCY MEETING U HERE. Shed offers
them a place to stay for the night, Tama is like why not? not like Kuu is in a position
to do much so they all go to this abandoned subway. Shed's in the same boat and on the run
and ended up ditching the two of them before they woke up, wao so nice.
 Yuzu shows up for some reason as well, wow nice timing there... apparently he was worried
since Kuu's sister told him they didn't come home so he came looking.
Well since the plot was boring, its funny Kuunyan freaking out when Tama called him cool
wearing his new uniform or his reaction to her wearing nothing but a t-shirt? other than that
the empire kitties got antsy and they go out to hide elsewhere with Ibuki, pretend she's dead. SIGH~
TL;DR They got yeeted and she now stays at Momo's place she had a boyfriend but ''he's just an
osananajimi'' Kuu was back at the castle and when he recovered and talked about the situation with
Yuzu, Kuu went back to Tama... who was more than happen to jump right into his arms though.
Ibuki got ejected since he satisfied the cat god except this time it was super random... i'm like ok.
Tama tries on some new clothes and Kuunyan is oh my... Momo reads him like a book though.πŸ˜…
Momo also sorta helps Tama realize her feelings for Kuunyan... tbh from my perspective
its all but obvious she loves Kuunyan a lot and likewise, HE JUST CAN'T SAY IT PROPERLY.
 Yuzu walks in on them, Tama let him rest on her lap... I knew Yuzu was jealous in that moment
and they finally go back to the castle. Kuunyan reminds Yuzu of a promise how they will
each protect Tama in their own way, Yuzu from the inside of the castle and Kuu from the outside.
The empire cats also gave up and went back to their ships...
They realize that things will have to be different, Tama won't be a princess anymore
and has to become the leader so they come back to the talk of marriage just as Tama wakes up.
Yuzu realizes that Tama is most as ease with Kuu and that Kuu likes her...
Kuu be like what about your feelings but Yuzu is like I dunno... fine with being 3rd wheel
as long as it makes Tama happy and he can be there in some way for her.
Kuu doesn't want Tama to be unhappy in some marriage then Yuzu just leaves it all up to him.
Tama ends up wandering away after a meeting with Kotarou, Kuu notices so he follows...
Ink ends up finding her first though. For some reason he is glad she's alive, if Willow
was here he'd cause some scene and take her but he isn't here so he skedaddles off and wishes
her well. I am like ??? oookay then Kuu shows up and rephrimands her for going off.
Kuu boldly says that instead of Kotarou being the ruler, she should be and that he'll help her
he'd even die for her if need be, then he walks up and kisses her and tells her he loved her 
all this time. Awww what a sweet boi he is, Tama is a little shocked
but this is no joke before he runs off calling her an idiot.
 Kuu can't believe what he said and screams and tosses as he tries to get sleep...
being all embarassed that he confessed Tama couldn't sleep so she came to his house
when they go back the next day Kuu gives her some flowers and asks her to marry him.
They deliver this news to Kotarou and he's like so happy like the wingman he is
Kuu tells him to leave the dress up to him. He later finds Tama sleeping in the forest
so he steals a kiss from her... turns out she was awake which made him all like don't look!
In the extra scenario Tama gives birth to their child... simply too wholesome.
 Bad end 1: she moves in with the two of them in some place but then one day he left and
Kuu dies from a sudden fever probably because he couldn't get the right medication
but he wrote a letter to her saying how much he loved her.😭😭😭😭
Bad end 2: Just as Kuu returned to Momo's place Ink found them and Tama has no choice
but to go with him and bring her to Kitty and Willow while Kuu's out cold.
Them kitties occupy the palace and thought she was dead all this time...
they also find the wedding dress eh weird NTR ending...?
Well while I liked Kuunyan and his tsun, the plot in this route was really dumb.... dumb but fun
atleast they had many cute moments and romance was satisfying but its sad that the route
had to be carried by a character trait. Also Kuu get's two kiss CG's what a lucky bastard.
Soo despite the route being fun and cute I think it had a really weak plot... and overall
I still was a bit meh about it despite liking the tsun, after it was all said and done
I started to wonder why they couldn't just do it differently... in all honesty
despite my complaints this was probably the most fun route in the whole game.
Romance  ★★★★★
Plot  ★★☆☆☆
Overall  ★★★☆☆
~

Shed.
CV: Ishikawa Kaito.
Literally the entire route without needing to say anything.
 Shed is an information broker, I can't help but call him Shady instead cuz he's a bit of a troll
as he fools around a lot, to the point he got jailed once πŸ˜‚ unfortunately due to story reasons
Shed and Kitty's route can't be done till 2nd play. As revealed in Kotarou's route he's actually an assassin. I really like Ishikai's voice acting for Shed, though I wondered what his route be like
unfortunately Shed is an asshole and unless someone likes being toyed with or like hate to love
brace yourself because this route is one of those can you forgive him or not??? even then
its to be desired the whole route is literally one hell of a shedhole or better put landmine.
So uhm he notices Tama is feeling down with the whole situation of the empire and all
so he ends up helping her out and improve her mood a little? hmm do not trust!
Later at night she gets some suspicious letter, goes to meet Shed which was a bad idea
he's like what do you want to know but then he  tries to choke her......
and calls her an idiot while telling her IT WAS ME.😈
 After she passes out he kidnaps her...... when she wakes up he explains what we already know
that he's an assassin and if not for party on the ship it would've been impossible for him to act
and he had to do it because for her country and the empire to get along would be problematic.
There was a long TL;DR of Yuzu and the others discussing the situation, trying to find Tama
but they literally disappear from the face of the planet for a good while.

Meanwhile, Tama refuses to even drink so Shed forces it in her with a kiss raunchy but eh
later he forces her to play a game with him, its simple as he will let her roam free for the night
and she can even run but if she runs someone might die who knows could be her fiance.
Shed just knew she didn't run... well who would if you threatened to kill someone you bitch.😑
I'm sorry this made me particularly angry... but atleast its more interesting compared to other routes.
Shed let's her tag along on one of his excursion to sneak onto a ship which involves
being stuck in a tight space, also why not rest in the VIP room? it was a good room eh.😏
 Shed pushes her down on the bed and tells her to rest since he noticed she was feeling unwell...
uhm well thanks my dude. Next day he literally forces the food into her mouth good god.
He continues playing games with her and even throws her into the sea, tells her to put up with it
for 5 minutes, all the people she loves flashes before her eyes I AM SO DONE AT THIS POINT
but she pulls through and completes the mission he gave her. Next time she wakes up
she is in some desert country with him pulling her by the chain............ 😑😑😑
They set up a camp in a library, he goes to play a harp at night and tells Tama about the past
how there was this cat Tiga who saved him when he was dying, he could never forget
that moment of warmth and kindness. Unfortunately in joining up with this Tiga
Shed really ended up joining a cult and traitors are not forgiven, he wanted to be useful
and to repay the debt of being saved. Since they're tired he snuggles up with Tama.
 Shed mumbles this must be punishment and what not the next day when he moves out for the day
he tells her she forgot something and asks for a kiss pointing at the spot he wants it
Tama was also extremely feisty but she doesn't have much of a choice. πŸ˜”
 Shed gets really angry when he gets back since Tama confronts him with a piece of glass in her hand as a weapon.... of course she couldn't do it. Next day Shed tells her to get up cause the empire kitties
are here WHAT TOOK YA'LL SO LONG he shields her when they shoot at them...
not going to lie but that's kinda sweet of him? maybe he cares afterall!
They pass through a church and go hide in a cave and Shed passes out he mumbles please don't leave me while he's sleeping. Tama is like oh well... atleast takes care of him, when he wakes
Shed went to look for water and notices Tama removed her restraints, though he ran into her
near the river and asks her why she didn't run which at this point would be obvious anyway
he thanks her. Some dude shows up which is a friend of Shed apparently they had to change
the meeting spot, they go take her to Tiga who is like the king of the desert country.
Finally there Tiga introduces himself but he is like son i'm disappoint and
tells Shed to die who's like NO I'LL BE USEFULL PLS, then Tiga decides yo princess
this guy is yours to do as you please and gives her the sword and tells her to kill him
she presses the sword against him which causes the old wound to open a little.
 Of course she doesn't do kill him even if Shed is like I KILLED YOUR FATHER YOU KNOW
and to just do it. Shed passes out, Tiga be like but why? why do you not finish him?
then tells her to scram and isn't interested in her anymore after seeing her use reason, I am
like lmao what?! at this dude. Tama tries to talk to Shed after he regains conciousness
and waits till Kitty and the others show up, Willow to take care of Shed's wound.
Shed's friend and that Tiga guy apparently packed their bags and left.
They take her back to the empire's estate and hears they made a truce between their two countries.
Oh and apparently Schwarz could hear the voice of the gods and went back to their own world
even Willow doesn't understand OK thanks I guess. Tama visits Shed in the jail cell
oh my what a dejavu, Shed admits he dug his own grave and wasn't useful.
He laments his past actions of how terrible he was to her.... then Tama
calls him by his real name Felix, though he says he no longer associates himself
with his old name since Tiga took him under his wing. Shed is convinced
that the only thing he has to do is die like Tiga told him to and tells Tama to end him.
Shed then tells Tama her dad's last words and that he was worried for Tama
and the future of the country and says how he was a good father/king.
Afterwards Shed tells her to get out since they're of different worlds and calls for the guard.
Some time passes and Kitty tells Tama Shed has died? in the epilogue
Kitty accompanies Tama as she visits the church she and Shed passed through
when they fled from the imperials and she mourns him. Okay...? that was some good end.
All things considered I'm sure if Tama had really wanted they would've spared him.
Normal end: Tama attacks Shed with the glass and later when Tiga tells her to kill him
she won't and convinces him to live, they both end up leaving before the kitties arrive.
They manage to survive the scorching desert heat and continue their adventures.......
there was an extra scenario in which Shed pretty much ends up becoming a manservant, LOL.
Bad end: Tama kills Shed just as Tigga tells her to, Tigga even steps on Shed's dying body
and Tama can't really fully comprehend what happened but that's that I guess.
Shed? more like shit amiright? not only does he treat Tama like shit for over half the route
by the time he becomes likeable even the writers give him the shittiest good ending imaginable.
And well despite the route making me angry and Shed being an arse i'm even more angry
that they ended his 'good end' the way they did. Because by that point we learned many things
about him and even I am like okay maybe? but Primula was like no... tbh I feel bad for Ishikai fans.
The only good ending Shed has is his normal end... but even that left me unsatisfied
and his bad end just showed Tigga is a cult leader who treats his subjects like trash.
Romance wise... not my cup of tea there was a lot of smut by the end he grew on me if only a little
but he was still a shedhole, the point where I snapped was when he threw her into the ocean.😑
Plot and pacing-wise this route probably was one of the better ones aside from the ending, it also felt shorter but it has no proper ending and like I said I was already miffed so this made it worse
Tiga aka Shed's boss, he literally makes everything that happens a complete waste
I mean come on what kind of writing is that? Despite learning more about Shed, this was
a waste of time.... I mean don't give characters routes in otome games if you can't give them
a decent ending but I guess beggars can't be choosers!  oh my god now i'm reminded
of Ookami from TxA well atleast the normal end is better than nothing.πŸ˜“
Romance  ★★☆☆☆ (2,5 A bonus point for smut)
Plot  ★★★☆☆
Overall  ★☆☆☆☆
~

Kitty.
CV: Takeuchi Shunsuke.
 Imperial big shot, he's very intelligent even though he's only 13 years old......
  Willow is his assistant, Ink is more like a bodyguard and Schwarz has a few screws loose.
The empire cats have also most of the technological advanced stuff from the human world.
Cruise ships to glass and guns... wait the last one is not a good thing!
he even tries to teach her how to handle one.... oh well the dance scene was cute though.
The route is basically just handing herself over to the empire kitty cats right off the bat...
everyone be like but why? Tama things this is for the best this pisses everyone else off which
leads to a long TL;DR featuring everyones worries and sweet goodbyes i'm not gonna go into
there was honestly too much slice of life which was pretty boring. Kitty is polite and
doesn't really seem interested in Tama in that way... and he takes a while to warm up.
Either way their worries are moot because Kitty is a gentleman... and Haku tags along
most of the route was actually pretty fun with Tama having to adjust to her new lifestyle
even the food served is different. Unfortunately Ink is watching her like a hawk as bodyguard
preventing her from moving too freely. Schwarz is still obsessed with the human so he's like
WHERE IS H00MAN and causes another fuss in broad daylight using poor Haku as hostage
though it doesn't last long as the rabid cat gets detained and sterilized, also since Tama
got hurt in the struggle Kitty gets lewd and starts licking Tama out of nowhere.😳
Tama had some nightmare where she returned to herc ountry but everyone was like
why are you here, do you know how much trouble you caused? when she wakes
she ends up talking with Kitty and go up on to the deck of the ship.
She realize how much she likes the sea and humans... Kitty notices
how much Tama beams whenever its about humans.πŸ˜‚
 Since it late Kitty goes to prepare some warm drink and brings it to her room
that turns out to be wine which made her drunk and all touchy-feely with Kitty-nyan
who is all like who do you think you're hugging let me gooooo~. πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚
 Kitty gets super cranky the next morning and Willow can't hold it in since Kitty made
 a weird face, says she is the best for making his day... Ink gives her some medicine.πŸ˜“
Not much happened I remember Willow screaming like a baby at some point...
but it wasn't anything important to the point the romance felt off because besides Kitty
we got along with Ink and Willow as well which also kinda dragged it on.πŸ˜“
Schwarz who has been tamed by now sneaks up on Haku whom still cries like a baby
for Ink to save him... turns out all Schwarz was wanted to talk about the h00man
and could smell it on Haku and Tama.  Once he hears the name Ibuki, Schwarz starts laughing creepily and wants to see him. (I SHIP IT) Schwarz even starts chanting his name...
they eventually manage to tire him out and Tama shows him her h00man diary and educates him.
Sterilization jokes aside, Schwarz doesn't have a route/end but I wouldn't mind if he did.
 Tama starts to be a little unwell... Willow comes screaming in saying Tama must have
a serious illness... Haku be like oh no what'll be do, Willow be like its not deadly
I'M LIKE GO AWAY DRAMA QUEEN. Willow then tells her Tama's condition
is all Kitty's fault... Tama talks about her feelings and then Willow figures
oooh the princess likes Kitty and screams out OH IT IS LOVE.
Willow then encourages Tama to act on her feelings and so she made him lunch, cute.
Kitty didn't have much of a reaction, it was normal to him... Tama will ganbare either way!
The imperials still need to decide who will marry Tama... Kitty mumbles to himself
how he has to be stronger to exceed their expectations. He doesn't particularly like or dislike
the empire and starts to think about what'll happen to Tama and if she'll be happy. Tama goes
to travel with Kitty through the country if any inconsistencies it seems I slept through half of it lmao.
They rested in Aerith's church I DON'T LIE IT REALLY DID LOOK LIKE HER CHURCH
after playing with some kids before some soldiers came looking so he carried
a sleeping Tama back with him who wakes up in the middle of a meeting.
 Tama ended up freaking out Willow because she brought a mouse back with her idk random
but aren't cats supposed to love those? shenanigans he'll remember aside they get back
to talking about marriage since she likes Kitty and this is all for the future of the empire.
Willow is a pro supporter of Tama potentially getting married to Kitty, he has his reasons
and that Tama likes Kitty is just a plus but he doesn't want her to get used by the oldgeezers.
Tama, Haku and Schwarz go back to play with the kids at Aeriths church...
Schwarz ends up smelling some thugcat and rescues the two. He got so fired up
his rabies start acting up again, Kitty hears and he was so worried.
Some noble tries to get buddy-buddy with Tama but she has none of it lol
one night she sneaks out just to see Kitty. We find out that he works on some
medicine and is also working things out between their countries.
 Tama doesn't understand but just hugs Kitty because he's such a hardworker
though Kitty tells her to sneak out the back because some maid came looking.
During some official meeting, Tama just straight-up walks in and kisses Kitty
infront of all the oldgeezers😳 as if she's claiming him and saying she wants him.
Tama pulls out a gun😱 and tells everyone that what she says is final.
 Kitty lectures her the next day saying how there was no need to rescue him from politics
and that he has allies as well either way Kitty promises to rely on her more.
Willow screams his lungs out how good it is to be young and wants to fall in love too.......πŸ˜“
Kitty enjoys lunch with Tama at his side, he tells her the food is still normal/average
which made her all pouty., and promises to cherish their time together.

Ink ending: Well mr handsome bodyguard had an ending... it happens when she wanted
to go out for some fresh air, instead of waiting she went out immediately and ran into Ink.
Tama tells him how she's homesick then he tells her how his country destroyed itself and
was taken in by the empire, it wasn't that different from wakoku. Ink was related
to the royal family but in their final days was told to run away, so he did and came to the empire.
He basically protects his countries legacy in some way and tells Tama is a good girl
when they're about to go back she trips and fell into the sea, Ink jumps in and saves her.
They wash up on some shore and Ink makes sure she can breath with an indirectu kissu
while also stripping her of her and his own clothes as they warm themselves up with bodyheat.
NYAAANYANYAAAA Tama is embarassed~ Ink tells her not to make so much noise.πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚
Next morning Ink goes to find some fish for them to eat... wow his survival insticts
are amazing, well considering how he once ran away from his country it to be expected.
Ink doesn't know where they are but they're the only two here, he tells her not to worry
and that Kitty will come. They try to use some bird to reach Kitty and they wait out their days.
They also got attacked by a beast in the forest but nothing Ink can't handle
in the end help came for them and that was that? weird ending.
That was cute too bad we never really know if it worked out... what a tease.
Bad ending 1,2 and 3: rather abrupt endings by making wrong choices nothing to
write home about all are endings where Tama essentially gives up... yea these are failure ends.
Gonna be honest here, this route was far too long for its own good, it was nice to
see Tama be so proactive in the romance but the politics made me so sleepy
I don't even remember half of the plot only the important moments.
My fav was when Tama tried to make lunch and the one were she got drunk.
While this was obviously Kitties route, it was really weird how we would spent
time with other characters, I don't mind if they're a part of the plot but here it was like
they kept Tama's options open... I think Ink's little ending was enjoyable and it actually felt
like it was an otome game again too bad it was really open ended. A shame because
I like Ink more than Kitty not that I completely dislike Kitty but he's the coodere type
and these can be difficult, they're either done really well or not at all. While it was obvious
Kitty came to like her and that he cared about her happiness... something felt off about it maybe
it was slightly one-sided? oh well atleast Kitty had an actual happy end unlike someone else.
The bad ends were even lamer as Koutarou's literally plain old game overs or better put
failure ends, nothing specifically tragic whereas the Kotarou atleast had one of those.
At the end of the day it was an okay route that at times really dragged on
and literally not much happened at all, no antagonist only political tension... just great.
also you know its bad when you can say after all's said and done that you didn't
give two cents about half of the plot, romance wise it was okay even
but the plot no thanks, it was some of the dullest stuff I have sat through
in a long time this even makes Kuu-nyan look more bearable.
 Romance  ★★★☆☆
Plot  ★☆☆☆☆
Overall  ★★☆☆☆
~
Kamiya Ibuki. (True route)
CV: Horie Shun.
 Otaku who is living every isekai fanboy's wet dream he even starts going on about trying
to go for a harem (too bad this is ikemen paradise) or getting cool magic powers.
Me: GIVE ME THE GUN! Speaking of guns, Ibuki has only seen them in movies
and was excited when empire cats had a real one.
That aside all Tama wants is getting to know all the things about ''humans''
either way Ibuki's character ended up delivering much comedy but its sad
how in some route he gets ejected back to his own world by just satisfying
the cat god, we never really know how or why he came here or what he had to do
so I'd had hope we get some better explanation in his route unfortunately
Ibuki only has 3 CG's so you can easily tell Ibuki got shafted! atleast Ibuki finally
got to experience what its like to be a heroine in one of those galge aka he is the heroine.
Ibuki wonders if the time has finally come that the heroine has found his route
and well couldn't be further from the truth, Tama asks about the empire
and Ibuki thinks its mostly a good place and she wants to go there.
Thus Ibuki wonders if he can do something about the princess's burdens because he notices
its weighing her down. He ends up asking Kuunyan about Wakoku's problems
but he really doesn't know anything about it.πŸ˜… Either way its because they think
the is involved in the assasination incident, Ibuki offers to help out to find who did it
and so them kitties agree and work with each other. Ibuki ends up the only one going
for now its not like he's never coming back but before they return to the castle
some officier comes running and informs them about Shed but there's nothing
to do about it or anything else they know so all they can do is wait it out.
Ink came and he wants Tama to come with him to the empire, as Ibuki has been captured
by one of Tiga's men... SON I AM DISAPPOINT Schwarz's supposed to be all over him
but even Tiga got to him and now is working for him.
Turns out they are searching for a white cat... while hugging her white cat got plush
and rethink what happen today she decides to go to the empire, Kuunyan and Yuzu
secretly followed her no-waited for her on the ship they read her like an open book.
They go pick a room to stay in but apparently they picked a shitty one and there
was this annoying squeek noise and Kuunyan needed a hand to hold to try and sleep.
Next day  they get to Kotarou and then Ink explains how the fuck Ibuki got kidnapped by Tiga
its really funny tbh how Tiga just yolo'd through an imperial mansion yet
in Shed route he couldn't be arsed to care and tell his subordinate to just die. :eyeroll:
Tiga asks Ibuki all sorts of questions but he can't even answer them since he
was just living with them kitties in peace, Tiga thinks this human has some the power
of death and destruction Ibuki is like wait what is happening. Shed creeps from the shadows
and explains more stuff we already know but even Shed doesn't know wtf Tiga wants.
This game unfortunately can't get to the point so it takes them 48 years to come up with a solid plan
oh well it is also revealed that Schwarz is a good boi but doesn't have long to live
he still tries to do his best so he uses some forbidden medicine but it makes him go craycray
and can hear the voice of god-err humans and hasn't done anything wrong really
but he desperately wants to protect the human and they don't wanna hurt him.
They have some training exercises as well okay i'm gonna sleep through this brb.............
eitherway Kitty cross-dresses as Tama to act as bait for Tiga to act on. Kotarou basically
pretend to hand over Tama to Schwarz but he realizes Kitties eye color is not the same as Tama.
They take him out and tend to him... while Tama and the others look for Ibuki.
They escape but his lack of exercise slows them down enough for Shed to catch up luckily
the others showed up and corner Shed so we get to have a cute reunion...
 also more shenanigans with Ibuki being a little too happy seeing Kuunyan, they end up
interrogating Shed but he didn't tell them anything useful at all, lmao. Ibuki starts tripping balls
and start hearing a voice telling him to come over and welp he gets carried off.
Tama sees this in a dream and it isn't long before she gets a calling either....
Tiga ends up kidnapping them both, just great! Ibuki tells Tiga to spit it out why he needs them
and its to kill humans, he has a grudge against the humans since he lost his waifu and has
been plotting their demise, Tama ends up stabbing herself because she can't kill Ibuki.
Tama basically did exactly as her ancestor did... Tigga also spouts nonsense how he made Ibuki
who is like lmao wut I don't remember i'm just a highschooler! he starts to remember though
how he came from the past of this world and that this world is the future of his world.
Wakoku is japan, Imperials are english everything adds up this is an apocalyptic future
of his own making.  Then the plushie starts to talk and explains who Ibuki is, he was a researcher who actually tried to mix animals and humans made them talk and behave like humans, the cat
of beginnings ''Shiro'' and ''Tora'' was his first creation. Tigga is basically a clone of Tora.
Either way humans weren't gods but still their creators they just died out due to
natural disasters they couldn't handle maybe it was divine punishment? the cat god
gives Ibuki two options: one where this world will remain and another where it won't.
Ibuki decides to grant Tiga-err Tora's wish and bids farewell to Tama to go back to his own world.
 If he hadn't come to know the cat people here he'd sure choose his own world but he can't
after seeing them basically live and behave the same way as humans did.
He tells Tama to continue to watch over this world.  In an extra scenario she remembers
a day they took a picture together and he tried to confess but it can never be because plot.
End 2: Ibuki decides to not repeat his actions and one day ends up finding a white cat with odd eyes
not sure what that was about other than to imply that the apocalyptic future where cat people
live amongst the ruins of civilization never came to be???
 Bad end: Deciding not to go to the empire, everyone starts dropping like flies Tama included
she's reminded of her father saying how her mom had some power to foresee the future but that's that.
This route was average it did have the it comes all together feeling but it was filled with
pointless padding, while Ibuki the heroine rots in a cell somewhere. I wouldn't be surprised
if people force skipped some parts, there was no real romance since it is impossible
because of the way the plot works. Story was a nice surprise but part of me didn't really
like it that much either. haha Ibuki really was the protagonist all this time, either way
it was a nice way to round up some questions you may have had which was pretty good.
Bad point, Ibuki also only got three CG's not counting the one in common... so sorry
for that wall-o-text because there really wasn't any eye-candy to rest your weary eyes on.
Most of the plot that carries around him is hidden plus the way
he disappears in others routes makes one go oh well he's going back, bye.
That might sound harsh but more than half of the time Ibuki is nothing but comedy relief
whether or not one likes this route is up to them, his character is ok but not my favorite.
Nice way in terms of story to wrap up the game buuuut disappointing for an otome game
and tbh its not even that bad, just idk what to say about it? I suppose when Ibuki gets
ejected in the other routes he had the same realization as shown in this route.
 Romance ☆☆☆☆☆
Plot  ★★★☆☆
Overall  ★★☆☆☆

~

Route enjoyment:
Kuu  > Yuzu > Koutaru / Kitty > True > Shed.
I think the two childhood friends had the better routes and everyone else just follows
because Kotarou and Kitty are plagued with politics I couldn't begin to care about
and in terms of fun/enjoyment both were equal since they had a lot of shenanigans.
Shedhole had the worst route, i'm not sure why he even had one as he treated the heroine
like garbage to the point he got a garbage good end also how was that even good?
if it was suppose to be hate to love i've seen ones that were handled better
and then there was Tiga who just looks like an inconsistent mess in Sheds route....
thank god for true end because atleast it started to make sense but that's all it did.

Fav character:
Kuu > Kotarou > Ink > Yuzu > Willow/Schwarz > Kitty > Ibuki > Shed.

Final Thoughts
 So Primula decided to make another otome game after TaiAli was a hit
except their new game was anything but a hit to me, potential was there though.
The cast was great but the story while okay wasn't anything to write home about
the art, comedy and romance was pretty much the saving grace atleast in my case.
Also there was another case of let's give this one char a route but not give him a proper end
so you're left to wonder which of his three ends would be most appropiate...........
the writers were also inconsistent with the whole engagement thing
in some its a huge deal and others its just oh okay that's good enough.
I think all the politics really killed this game for me, especially Kitty and to some extent
Kotarou's route... which did still have some good points but man did it drag itself out.
Did we really need the training exercises in the true end? apparently we did.
Other games would usually do sum it up in a few but here they decided
to actually pad it out and stall which in turn bored me as a reader.
Like I said in my non spoiler section, I can't recommend this game at all unless
you have trouble sleeping, can stand politics and enjoy slow games like ye olde Hiiro no Kakera
or even tsumikui, suppose it would depend on taste but its sad this was such a mixed bag, I really
could tell they had a decent story which was just hidden away and in most of the routes
nothing related to it happened and you are just stuck with politics instead, so welp
this was a pretty meh game to me with a lot of potential in it.
  
Characters ★★★☆☆(3,5)
Art  ★★★★★
Scenario/plot. ★★☆☆☆(2,5)
Music ★★★★★
System  ★★★★☆
Enjoyment overall ★★☆☆☆(2,5)

With Gun-neko done the only otome games I am looking forward to are Bilshana Senki
and Piofiore's sequel/fd but i'll think i'm just gonna take a breather till then.

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