[ Let us begin ]
[ To climb together ]
[ This long, cherry blossom-lined slope ]
"Interesting! This is too interesting!"
When Kawasaki Toshihiko said "interesting," he wasn't referring to the gameplay. He meant the opening was fascinating.
He had never been a typical gamer; his tendencies leaned more toward those of a spectator. For someone like him, the most appealing aspect of a game was, first and foremost, its art style.
This was the work of the master Hayao Miyazaki—there was no question about that.
Second was the story: how it began, how it unfolded, and how it developed. These were the true criteria Kawasaki Toshihiko used to judge a game.
If all went according to plan, this girl would be the main heroine.
Yes, that has to be it.
Kawasaki had always trusted his instincts.
Or rather, even if she wasn't the only heroine, Kawasaki had already made up his mind—
He was going to conquer this girl named Nagisa Furukawa first.
What followed was a sequence of events at school.
The male protagonist had a close friend named Sunohara. The protagonist himself was already a habitual latecomer, but unexpectedly, Sunohara was even worse.
From the dialogue and game progression, Kawasaki Toshihiko gained a better understanding of the male protagonist.
This guy is always late to school and never pays attention in class. He's a top-tier delinquent in the teachers' eyes.
Is it really a good idea to have a protagonist who doesn't fit the popular mold?
As he continued playing, Kawasaki Toshihiko learned even more about the protagonist:
His mother had passed away in a traffic accident when he was a child.
What a truly sorrowful story.
After his mother's death, his father sank into a deep depression and turned to alcohol, neglecting Tomoya.
Tomoya's childhood was defined by constant arguments with his father.
But then, a single incident changed everything—
One day, his father returned home drunk and furious. A violent argument broke out between them, and in the struggle, his father caused an injury to Tomoya's shoulder.
Tomoya had earned his place at this school as a sports scholarship student, his basketball skills being his ticket in. But this injury ended his basketball career instantly.
From that day on, his father began treating him with cautious deference, even speaking to him in formal language.
This infuriated Tomoya. He felt his father was intentionally distancing himself.
As a result, Tomoya became utterly listless. To avoid his father, he started leaving for school only after his father had already gone to work each morning. This way, he could avoid the awkwardness of seeing him.
But it also meant he was constantly late.
This life continued for three years.
Ugh, how depressing.
What a suffocating life.
Kawasaki Toshihiko, playing the game, felt an overwhelming sense of gloom.
Fortunately, the story soon took a lighter turn.
The male protagonist, Tomoya, had sneaked into his best buddy Sunohara's dorm at night to scrounge some food and drinks. They were busy joking around with each other. When the time felt right, Sunohara went to take a shower.
I can't wait around for that guy to finish washing up, the protagonist thought. It's time to leave.
But just then, Tomoya spotted Sunohara's tape recorder.
There was a cassette tape inside. When he played it, he discovered it was music from the last century.
So tacky, the protagonist thought, cringing.
At that moment, several options appeared on the game screen:
[ Record something over it ][ Forget it ]
Hahaha, the producer of this game must be a real sadist who loves playing tricks on people. Otherwise, they wouldn't have included an option like this.
There's no contest here. For a player like Kawasaki Toshihiko, who lives for the chaos, the only choice is to record over it.
As a result, Tomoya recorded an original rap song.
It was a cacophony of sound, a truly earth-shattering performance.
Once he finished recording, he vanished from the room at lightning speed.
As expected, when Sunohara came out of the shower and heard Tomoya's recording, his ears nearly exploded.
"What the hell is this?!"
The scene jumps to the next day.
April 15th (Tuesday)
On the way to school, under the same cherry blossom tree, Tomoya encounters the same girl from yesterday.
Tomoya: [ You again? ]
[ Can't you manage to walk on your own? ]
[ Um... ]
The girl hesitates, her voice trailing off. "That's..."
"Um... how should I put it?"
Tomoya quickly cuts her off. "No, there's no need to say it."
"After all, we don't even know each other."
Ah~ What a terribly blunt response.
Kawasaki thought to himself, I was actually trying to help the male protagonist romance this girl, but he's not even giving me any dialogue options. What is he doing?
The girl froze for a moment, then replied awkwardly, "Um, you're right."
Tomoya's heart softened immediately. I should have been more considerate on the way to school.
"..."
The male protagonist ignored her and continued walking up the slope toward the school.
But just then, the girl called out to him, "Um..."
"Hmm?"
Tomoya turned around.
The girl was standing right behind him.
"Um, can I walk with you?"
"Why?"
"That's... because I'd feel uneasy walking alone."
[Ah... Is she an idiot?]
The male protagonist complained internally:
[Surely she has at least one or two friends, right? Why is she clinging to me?]
Squinting against the glare, the male protagonist looked toward the end of the slope.
It's not much farther anyway.
"Do whatever you want," Tomoya Okazaki said, resuming his walk.
"Please wait a moment," Nagisa Furukawa called out to him again.
"What now?"
The female protagonist timidly closed her eyes and called out, "Anpan!"
Tomoya felt utterly speechless. He had no idea what this girl meant, constantly talking about anpan.
In fact, Kawasaki Toshihiko didn't understand it either.
Could "anpan" be a catchphrase?
Or maybe it's a magic spell?
Could this game world, which looks like an ordinary high school slice-of-life, actually be filled with magical powers?
[ How should I respond? ]
The male protagonist thought for a moment and replied tentatively, "Baguette."
Hahahaha...
Kawasaki, playing the game outside the screen, burst out laughing.
Nagisa Furukawa stared at him as if he were an idiot. "What are you talking about? You're being so weird."
Hahaha, Kawasaki laughed until his stomach hurt.
Tomoya complained loudly, "I should be the one saying that, right?"
Ah~ Although the bizarre buildup in the first half made the atmosphere feel heavy, this part was surprisingly refreshing.
This game is quite heartwarming, and there's a joyful atmosphere to it.
It's nothing like what many people described—saying you should never touch the Kogahara Tsubaki route because it will stab you right through the heart with a knife.
They're exaggerating.
The two of them exchanged a few nonsensical words before heading toward school.
Another day of school, another tedious lecture.
The male protagonist was nodding off.
After class, the class representative, Ryo Fujibayashi, approached Tomoya Okazaki.
Ryo was a petite girl with purple hair and a face that was both serious and cute.
"Um..."
"What?" Tomoya asked, his tone irritable.
She stammered, momentarily intimidated by his aura, but finally mustered the courage to say, "This is for you."
She handed him a piece of paper.
Tomoya's heart skipped a beat. "This? Don't tell me it's a love letter?"
"Eh?" Ryo's face instantly flushed. "N-no, it's not."
Ah, she's actually kind of cute, Kawasaki Toshihiko thought. Could she be one of the romanceable heroines?
Though he hadn't played many galgames, he knew they were basically games about romancing girls, some even having adult content. But CLANNAD was all-ages, so those kinds of scenes were unlikely to appear.
"I didn't know you were so proactive, boldly giving someone a love letter."
"Ah~ It's not a love letter!"
"Then is it a curse letter?"
"Ah~ It's not a curse letter!" Ryo exclaimed, completely stunned.
"It's a notice from today's class meeting," she explained.
So that's how it is.
The delinquent student, Tomoya Okazaki, shoved the letter into his desk drawer without even glancing at it.
But Ryo wasn't ready to leave. She stammered, "Um... Okazaki-kun, could you please try not to be late?"
"So what?"
"Okazaki-kun, I just think it's better if you aren't late."
Tomoya teased her, "Ah, you're talking just like a class representative."
"I'm not talking like one. I am the class representative."
Hahaha, Kawasaki Toshihiko laughed until his stomach hurt.
He'd never seen such a timid and gentle class rep. And yet, despite being terrified of the male protagonist, she still took the initiative to guide her classmates toward a better path.
I have to admit, this girl is actually pretty great.
Just then, a book came flying through the air.
The male protagonist quickly ducked to avoid it.
Looking closer, it was Ryo Fujibayashi's older sister, Kyou.
The two girls were twin sisters. Both were beautiful, but to tell them apart, Ryo wore her hair short while Kyou's was long. To protect her younger sister from being bullied, Kyou had developed a fierce personality. Seeing Tomoya bullying her sister, she had rushed over to intervene.
Whoa.
Kawasaki Toshihiko's eyes lit up.
Twin sisters, huh?
Looks like Pokeni's producer really knows what the players want.
The next long stretch of the plot was basically the game's common route, designed to let the male protagonist meet and get to know various girls in school. Although the initial triggers for these scenes always felt a bit contrived, the beautiful girls were genuinely stunning.
Each one also had a distinct personality—a classic galgame trope. To cater to different players' fantasies, developers always created a diverse cast of female characters.
After strolling around campus, he encountered Ichinose in the library and witnessed Tomoyo Sakagami's formidable combat prowess as she single-handedly took down two towering delinquents. He also heard about a supernatural rumor circulating through the school—
Apparently, there was a ghost delivering gifts to people. If you received one, something would happen...
And so on.
In short, there were countless plot threads to follow, and an overwhelming amount of information to process.
Fortunately, each girl had such distinct characteristics that Kawasaki Toshihiko had managed to memorize them all.
However...
This game was certainly fun, but wasn't it a bit too slice-of-life? It felt like there was a lot of filler content.
Was it designed this way on purpose?
Kawasaki Toshihiko couldn't quite understand.
At noon, Tomoya Okazaki was eating with Nagisa Furukawa.
Only then did he learn that she had been held back a year due to poor health. As a result, all the classmates she had known in school had already graduated, leaving her alone.
This point made her quite similar to Tomoya Okazaki, who was also isolated after being hated by others for his [ fall ].
Hmm...
It seems Nagisa Furukawa is a better match.
I should stay focused and just go for her route, Kawasaki Toshihiko thought.
Please Support me by becoming my Patreon member and get 20+ chapters.
[email protected]/Ajal69
change @ with a
Thank You to Those who joined my Patreon