Okay, i got around to reading what is available for the other routes. A lot of my points still stand, especially the one about the characters feeling real. I think the biggest moment that contributes to that is when Misha asks the other characters out on a date. Giving them time to explore their thoughts before getting back to him was a really nice touch. Also I didn't really comment on the art at all in my first comment. I found that I really enjoy the blush and the like mildly annoyed expression on all the characters. It's just very cute.
Okay, comments on the other routes time. I started with Rohan. He was the one I was second most interested in of the group. Wow there's a lot more depth to his character than I was expecting. I tend to kinda enjoy the overly sexual character in VNs (which is weird considering I'm ace), but his backstory really added a lot. That and the argument that him and Misha get into while practicing lines was really well done. I love cute relationship stuff, but seeing that they can cope with an argument and learn how to move on together does a lot to properly establish things. I think he's probably still my second favorite, but I'll get slightly more into that after talking about the other two.
Next up I read Boaz's route. I think he was the one I was the most apprehensive about. I didn't get a whole lot of great vibes from the other routes, so I wasn't totally sure what to expect. I think my favorite moments came from hanging out eith him at the mall. Him treating Misha to lunch and Misha getting him the figure was really sweet. It's a different love language than is present in the other routes, and it creates a nice rounded package with everything. I'm honestly still not super sure how I'd rank him. I ended up reading his route broken up a bit between days, so I might need to go back and read it in one sitting.
Finally, I read Floris' route. In all honesty, I didn't really feel much about him prior to reading. I feel like he just didn't have too much of a presence in the shared scenes, so i didn't have much to go off of. That, and i am super not a sports fan in real life. His route i think was the most surprising to me. The reveal that he's autistic wasn't surprising to me at all, but I have a lot of experience with it. I myself have adhd and autism, and I'm in grad school to become a counselor. I'm pretty intimately familiar with the diagnostic criteria, so I had him pretty figured out early on. The heart to heart between him and Misha on their date was really nice to see. Floris detailing his trauma and Misha attempting to comfort him was touching. It was also nice that Misha isn't perfect. He wasn't always saying or doing exactly the right thing, and they talked about it when stuff wasn't working. I definitely judged Floris too harshly before his route.
Overall, I think Gin is still my favorite. That said, he does have the most content, so I don't think it is completely fair to compare him to the others. For the other three, it's honestly really hard to rank them. I think Rohan and Floris are probably tied for second place. Their backstories and personalities are just really interesting to me. Saying Boaz is my least favorite, while technically true, isn't entirely fair. It's like, if I were to rank everyone with letter grades Gin would be A+, Rohan and Floris would be A, and Boaz would just barely be A-. They are all really fantastic routes, and i think they could all stand strongly on their own. I just found a tiny bit more to enjoy in a few of them.
Apologies for the enormous comment. I just had a lot of thoughts I wanted to share lol. I can also tell it's gonna be at least a few days before I can clear my head of all of them. I'll probably be re-reading the routes at least once or twice in the next few weeks. (Edit like 10 minutes after initial comment: ehh screw it, I'm gonna re-read Gin'a route now) I'm definitely very excited to see what the future holds for each of the boys 💜