Welp, it took me a while but I'm finally done with the game! lol So here are some of my general thoughts (sorry in advance for any grammar mistakes or typos lol)
I would definitely recommend this visual novel a lot. First of all, I think it's really nicely made. The artstyle is pleasing to the eye, it's got a nice interface (the only thing I was really missing was the CG gallery) and a sick anime-like opening! (Seriously, that one was such a cool surprise! Looks like a lot of work went into it!). Besides that, I really appreciated how smaller characters in the story (Ichigo, Minami, Student council vice president, crafts club president, parents etc) all got their own sprites (some even with many variations!). I also loved the way Aya's family was presented! I think it's really neat how each of them had some character, and they had adorable interactions as a whole (I really liked Takkun a lot haha he was such a cool big brother ^^). It's nice that they actually played a role in the story - like some other parents too. One of my favourite things was that each route was different (though they still made sense with the overall story??? idk how to say this xD) It wasn't just a copy + paste list of events with some small changes depending on which character you chose to romance. This is actually one of the main reasons why I liked this game so much. It was really refreshing - and speaking of refreshing, same could be said about how there were no real bad ends in the game. Although the sweet ends were definitely more satisfying overall in my opinion lol. What else... Oh, the protagonist! I actually liked Aya. She seemed more real to me than other visual novel protags, and I found myself thinking the same as her in some situations. Though she did share the common "too oblivious for romance" trait, I though it to be actually kind of cute with her lol. And I definitely could appreciate that she was able to stand up for herself (+ she looked really cute in the cgs! I need her sprite ah! xD). Now the love interests....
[THIS PART CONTAINS SPOILERS, LIKE A LOT OF EM PROBABLY-]
> IKKI <
My first impression of him in the game was "looks pretty cool and he'll prolly grow on me". I didn't have that high of expectations for him, because generally I'm not that driven to the tsundere bad boy type. Although I did find him cute at the end of the demo. And also I got worried by all the hints about like medical issues (I didn't know if I should expect any minor hearbreak or not lol). I went with him first in the full game (following the recommended order throughout my gameplay) and weelll. I did end up liking him. I think both he and Akane had cute interactions with Aya (and also Akane made Ikki's character cuter too lol). Also even though he started off pretty terrible, I found Toshio's development in his route to be funny lol ("But rejoice, you aren't a trashy, disgusting bitch-thing anymore. You're just ugly now." being my favourite line XD). I think my favourite scene from Ikki's whole route was the fight between him and Toshio, at Ryu's place. A 2nd place would probably be either Ikki and Aya at the aquarium or drunk Ikki. One thing I kind of didn't like was Ikki's mood switches where he would just revert to him from the start and push Aya away =v= Oh and also I accidentally thought I did something wrong on his Sweet route because his Friend end is smashed in there, and has a cg and all lol I thought it was gonna end but then it just kept going thankfully xD Oh and... I liked that his Sweet end had sort of two variations but then it unfortunately gave me false hopes for the next boy..... [*]
> TOSHIO <
God. Toshio. I don't even know where to start lmao. Okay my first impression was, unsuprisingly, pretty bad. Looking at him generally, without taking his own route into account, I'm still not sure how to feel about him. He was definitely better or worse in some routes lol. But his own, though. Damn. Okay well going into it in the demo I started thinking "oh well, he is pretty crappy but I'm sure he's got some tragic backstory to back it up + Aya is actually putting him in his place and standing up to him, so it is kind of satisfying in a way to see him getting dragged off of his high horse lol". Like, I expected him to just be a harsher version of Ikki - a big tsundere. But I absolutely did not expect how he changed at all. I'm still overwhelmed thinking about his route xD. I really shared Aya's thoughts on this one. He turned out to be so cute!!!! and weird???? ahh sad too... asdisak0dak- The way he got so completely devoted to Aya and he was just literally like a little puppy and ahhh.... And he was so adorable when it came to sweets (in most routes actually lmao), and his expressions were so soft and he was so straightforward and cute..... Of course his pain-affection-issue-thingy was kind of weird but overall ahhhh what the heck how did he turn out so adorable.... My favourite scene is probably the one where Aya accidentally calls him her pet... lmao Actually it's hard to choose one xD I liked his confession a lot too... BUT! OH my god. I can't accept his ending. I am sooo bad with separations and I was finishing his Sweet ending at like midnight right before bed and I literally wanted to scream when he left and ahhh.... ;-; I was seriously uspet XD I thought "no- this- this can't be the end, right??? Ikki had 2 variations, please tell me Toshio stays in one please please please-" but he did not XD And ahhh.... justice for Toshio omg. I think after his route I got way more into it, and like idk if it was the game's magic or what but I started getting really emotional lol I may or may not have cried bcuz Toshio wahhh.... I seriously need some epilogue or something, just to see them reunite bcuz my heart can't take this T-T
> YUTA <
Okay well character wise, Yuta is kind of more my type. A bit too formal, but still cute lol. Although after I did his friend end options in the demo, I started getting suspicious. I was kind of thinking "oh jeez he is totally faking all this, is he going to turn out to be like an awfully rude bad boy too lmao". But. He did not xD And gosh, the way he snapped. I actually suspected he might be the yandere of the game, that was hinted in some routes with all the locking up in a cage lol. I did not really expect him to turn out to just be a closeted otaku xD He was fun though. I liked how cute he could get and CAN I JUST MENTION HIS ADORABLE CG FOR WHEN U ASK HIM FOR THE CONFESSION-. Although he was also a bit frustrating with all the pushing away and avoiding, I kinda felt for him (with all this pretending and keeping up a perfect image). Plus he was definitely fun to see teased by others lmao. I also liked the whole club in his route. Hazuki was a nice character to see. Oh and the rivarly between Haru and Yuta >.> I liked it, made me kinda think in his friend end we're just gonna get with Haru instead lmao. Oh and his Sweet end was really cute ^^ Thankfully Aya was well Aya, because I don't think my heart could handle another separation TvT Though I don't think Yuta's friend end was too memorable, seen as I can't remember it at all as I type this xD
> HARU <
Okay, Haru. Hmmh. Well for starters I think it's cute how in most routes you can see Haru has some feelings for Aya. This is why I was sort of excited to get to this route from the start. And I have to say, before anything. I did not see Haru's big reveal coming and I feel kind of betrayed tbh XD (my girls love route.... </3) Like for some reason, I did not suspect anything in both the demo and the routes before Haru's. The only real moment where I had suspicions towards Haru gender was when Aya fell from the stairs on his chest. And even then, I was kind off not right there bcuz I was thinking more like trans? Struggling with body dysmorphia? BbBBb idk I'm slow =w= Overall though I think Haru was really cute... I liked the scene where they were playing horror games both times lol And Haru with short hair.... I'm weak for him. Even though I couldn't get used to thinking he's a boy in routes later on, and had to be reminded by Ryu's hints lol Ah and Haru being jealous over Yuta was my jaaaam. And Haru's interactions with Ichigo were gold too xD ("Someone, rub a lamp. If really genies do exist, then please make her stop. It's one of my three wishes." so savage XD) Oh and also I think Haru's friend end was one of the best. Even though I still prefered the sweet end lol
> KENJI <
Okay, well first of all Kenji is kind of my character type xD But then again, he gave me suspicious vibes in the demo. So I wasn't sure how to completely feel about him. But in the end he did turn out to be a really good boy! He's so cute and pure, and ahh I feel bad for him in his route because of his cousin ;-; Also hot damn his family is so pretty, what the heck. I fell in love with his mom and his dad, I'm sorry Kenji XD Their sprites are just so pretty... Ah and also Kenji was acting so cute when jealous lol I just can't believe Aya couldn't figure it all out after she held Ryu's hand for a bit xD Oh also, while playing the demo for a sec I thought Kenji and Tanaka could be the boys from Aya's memory mentioned in Ryu's route lol Well I thought Ryu was one of them at first cuz of his reactions, but then I played Kenji's route and Aya mentioned two boys and it seemed to fit + they lived in the mountains buuut in the end it was not them lol I wish we kinda got more of Tanaka, I actually thought he and Minami might have something going on like Ichigo and Hazuki lol I think my favourite scene was hiding in Kenji's room from Tanaka. The CGs were so cute ahhh.. Just Kenji blushing, 10/10
> RYU <
Okay, well I just finished his route and I'm still kind of processing XD. I ah.... Going into his route I was stil a bit unsure whether he's actually related to Kenji or not, but he was definitely suspicious. At first I just thought he was an adorable hyper boy but Ichigo just kept hinting something was up with him, and then again - he did seem too happy to be true lol Plus he was always there! He kind of reminded me of 707 from Mystic Messenger in a sense lol I did not see his complete personality switch coming tho. Not gonna lie, at first I was a bit bummed out. He did seem less fun, and I was afraid I might not enjoy his route as much with such a big change. However, even his true personality grew on me. I don't think I'm completely used to it, but I did end up finding his interactions with Aya cute. Ah, especially that one CG where he takes off his glasses and lays on her chest.... Definite fave >< Oh but I do wish we could get more interactions between him and Kenji, seen as the cousin played a big role in his route. One thing I couldn't understand about Ryu in other routes was his relationship with Ikki and Toshio - he did not seem to care as much, but well, now I know why lol And he did all of this for them too... T-T Oh and I feel like his relationship with his adoptive parents could've been explained a little better? Idk it just felt kind of weird to me that he could just stay at Aya's place for so long, like he was about to get adopted lol But then again the interactions with Aya's family were cute, so I didn't think on it that much xD Overall liked his route, although I did miss his happy persona, even if just for the looks... (and I can't remember which routes this happened on right now but I died when during the sports fesitval they were talking about the figurines and well, something else XDD Ikki's and Yuta's reactions were gold, bless Ryu for that lmao)
And I think that's all my brain can come up with right now lol I don't usually write long reviews bcuz I don't have enough braincells for this, but I really enjoyed playing your game ^^ Tears well shed. Thank you for making a lovely long game with interesting characters that helped me escape reality for a while. It was really fun <3
Please though. Toshio justice is all I ask for XD