Character Previews

[Siloam]

I wrote a massively long review (found here if you're bored) for this game before I realized that there was a character limit. :( I had intended on including previews for each of the characters' routes to help players decide which might interest them most. Since it feels like a waste to not put it somewhere, I hope you will not mind if I put it here.

These reviews are purely my taste, so please don’t take it personally if I insult your boyfriend. I’m quite a bit older than the target audience, so my opinions may differ—everyone is different anyhow, and the variety in the routes takes that into account. Feel free to contribute your own additions if you feel I have misrepresented your favorite beau; anybody who wanders onto this page would no doubt benefit from a differing view.

Original Character Previews

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⠀⠀ ✿ Hijikata: Hakuouki’s poster boy and probably the most mature and ironically respectful of Yukimura’s growth, Hijikata has the longest and most painful route—and possibly the best written. He’s got a voice that makes you want to crawl into a corner and cower every time he shows up—and yet somehow you feel perfectly safe as long as he’s there. He carries the historical theme of a voice fighting to be heard, despite the opinions of others, and become the makoto no bushi, a true warrior. As the quintessential leader and definition of manhood, he also wields themes of detachment, delegation, and resource management—sound exciting?! But as a multi-layered pillar of strength he still needs your support to hold up the military family, leading to a sincere and respect-built relationship as you play a deadly game of follow the leader through history. Since his is likely the clearest and best explained route, it’s not a bad idea to start with it as later routes often feel like side-quests in his epic journey.

⠀⠀ ✿ Okita: At first he feels like a bit of a trope: the misunderstood bad boy that bullies a naïve, overly-sincere protagonist. But since every high school girl dreams of healing the suffering bad boy, I can understand why he is so popular. Precocious and petulant, manipulative and pouty, no wonder everyone loves him! His finicky feline personality is certainly unique, and his unexpected comments make him the most interesting to talk to. He’s the tease of the Shinsengumi, but his bittersweet story is also the most tragically poetic.

⠀⠀ ✿ Saitou: The unexpected moe boy and fukushou’s loyal assassin puppy. His special gift is sword-sharpening and making sense of whatever it is the protagonist is trying to say. This is probably the most self-reflective route, but it also includes some lovely humor. His quiet, subtle romance will leave you doubting yourself as it often feels like a personality treasure hunt. But it is this vulnerability that brings out what is by far the most traumatic and heart-ripping scenes in the game. Saitou, better than anyone, is the personification of the ephemeral life of a warrior (Hakuouki’s theme) and all the struggles, internal and external, that the decaying samurai caste suffered in the era. I find it to be a beautiful and respectful sentiment about the impact bushido values still have on Japan today.

⠀⠀ ✿ Heisuke: Being the youngest of the Shinsengumi captains, I think he was (perhaps unsuccessfully) intended for younger players. As an older player though, I enjoyed the nostalgia of his innocent, sincere relationship with Yukimura, and admire the thoughtfully crafted internal struggle of a boy trying to reconcile with the disappointments of manhood. Sadly, although I think he is one of the most admirable and genuine characters as he fights to find his own path, his youthful bravado is easily overshadowed by those who are stronger and more captivating, and as such, I don’t believe he is very popular.

⠀⠀ ✿ Harada: While probably the least interesting of the characters, with a voice that’s hard to pay attention to when competing against Shimpachi and Heisuke, this quiet charmer has the most realistic romance as he juggles relationship responsibilities, gender roles, and securing a future. The honest and relatable insecurities make for beautifully tender scenes, allowing for an emotional investment in this route stronger than in any other. His traditional values (his theme) will no doubt annoy a Western audience, so he’s more likely to appeal to a mature player that finds a little stability and emotional support to be one of the more attractive qualities in a man.

⠀⠀ ✿ Kazama: Lawful neutral antagonist that we all want to tame. Don’t think of him, or any of the villains, as the same character in every route or you’ll never forgive him for killing your boyfriend. But sitting down and listening to a villain’s pompous monologuing has never been so soothing.

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New and Extended Routes Reviews

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⠀⠀ ✿ Nagakura’s Route: It breaks my heart to say it, but this route is so poorly written that I actually liked poor Shimpatt-san less—unfortunate, since he is the sole reason I bought this version, and, in my opinion, the most entertaining of all the actors. But by Edo Blossoms, they had completely removed his boisterous humor and doused him in weaksauce. I was curious how they’d manage to turn that charming big brother/little sister relationship (in Kyoto Winds) into something romantic (in Edo Blossoms), and I can say pretty confidently that they failed. Because of the difference in his and Yukimura’s maturity levels (you can decide which way), most of their later scenes are just awkward and uncomfortable, finally ending in a sort of anticlimactic Northanger Abbey sort of way ("I guess I'll have you since there doesn't seem to be anyone else around"). There are some nice pieces of history, which is appropriate given who Nagakura really was, but even that felt rushed. I’m all for torturing characters until you can squeeze out their better natures, but it seemed more like they squeezed his true character into oblivion. I’d like to think the old Nagakura would have survived his trial by fire as more of a man. You do get new scenes that are true to the rambunctious man-child we all love in other routes though, so there is some happiness to be found elsewhere.

⠀⠀ ✿ Yamazaki’s Route: He’s not a particularly experienced voice actor, but I think that’s part of his charm. He adds a touch of normality to the story—their initial together time consists mostly of cleaning stuff and shopping….but it kinda seems like he’s the most reasonable partner for Yukimura. Sincere, respectful Yamazaki, always taking himself so seriously: unfortunately his route in Kyoto Winds is rushed, poorly written, and badly paced, but sweet and enjoyable nonetheless. It was nice to see Shimada show some personality too, and Kazama has some great one-liners that you shouldn’t miss. However the route takes a serious turn for the worse by Edo Blossoms. It’s like the writers weren’t sure what style they were writing anymore. Sometimes it was slow exposition, sometimes unexpectedly dark, frequently shonen-esque in the action sequences, and then ending in a disappointingly silly climax (a ridiculous image I will never be able to erase). However, Yamazaki remains true to his personality at least, and so it was enjoyable.

⠀⠀ ✿ Sannan’s Route: I mean, it’s Sannan. It’s kind of what you’d expect: more skulking creepiness and brain bullying. Of his semi-redeeming qualities (saturnine wit, self-interested empathy, misleading gentleness) we see but glimpses in Kyoto Winds. Now he’s even more like your creepy uncle that lives in the basement…and comes out at night to participate in questionable hobbies. And yet, how is it possible, but this route turned out to be one of the best in Edo Blossoms. An excellent positive is the mystery behind it, and a very few endearing scenes, and other surprisingly convincing romantic situations (if a tad suggestive). Another positive is that both the writing and translation for this route are -exceedingly- better than the rest, and felt much more true to the mood and direction of the original story.

⠀⠀ ✿ Souma’s Route: This is a great route to take if you want to learn about all that’s happened in the Hakuouki franchise in the most boring way possible. They spend most of Kyoto Winds catching Souma up on things that happened in the past. And his reaction is like: holy cow! Really! Wow! That’s so cool! But nothing happens. Unfortunately, I found his acting (along with Nomura’s) to be a tad too enthusiastic and his voice too grating to enjoy personally, but his route is clearly intended for younger people, and I can imagine him being a favorite for many. Edo Blossoms improves his story considerably as Souma matures, starting us off as bystanders in a long parade of sadness, but then returning us to some of the youthful silliness that I so miss from the earlier skits. Souma is the little boy given a big job, but as that is often the story of war, I feel it’s very appropriate here. One quality of this route was the presence of others, namely Miki Saburou, Kazama, Harada, and well, everyone, which rather made me feel like I was part of the old guard, a sentiment that turned this route into more of a love letter to the Shinsengumi themselves than to just one man. (Voiced by Yūki Kaji, the voice of Eren Jaeger, protagonist of Attack on Titan)

⠀⠀ ✿ Iba’s Route: Iba’s breathy, girlish giggles creeped me out so much that I almost didn’t play his route, but he seriously has an ASMR-worthy voice (headphones recommended). His early route adds a touch of gentle realism, much like Harada’s, historically reflecting the faults of court samurai during the day. In any case, his route kind of put me to sleep—or maybe it was his voice. The charm takes a plummet at the end of Kyoto Winds however, and only continues to get darker and more disturbing in Edo Blossoms. With Yukimura’s penchant for making really stupid decisions, in addition to a confusingly bad translation, it deserves its MA rating, and I cannot personally recommend it despite Iba having one of the best actors in the game. Takeda, on the other hand, wins most one-dimensional creep of the week. (Voiced by Mamoru Miyano, the voice of Okabe, protagonist of Steins;Gate, and Light from Death Note)

⠀⠀ ✿ Sakamoto’s Route: Sakamoto shoots first. The writing is subpar (though far better than the others), but the voice actor is perfect. His was the first new route that had me smiling pretty much every time he showed up. First off, Ryouma is a legend in Japan, so they really had no choice but to make this an awesome route. But what I liked best is that he is the first guy to actually talk sense about the political atmosphere of the era. Yukimura plays a realistic role, historically, and is quite a bit more capable than in other routes, and the story is refreshingly new, taking us into situations unrelated to the Shinsengumi and the scenes we’ve now watched countless times over. His acting alone is worth the purchase of the game, maintaining an energy that keeps us invested in his silly but entirely relatable relationship with Yukimura. But it’s Shiranui who wins the best line of the expansion, and I’m so glad he got some more face time because he makes every scene better, being about the only one who can beat Sakamoto at sass. (Voiced by Ono Daisuke, the voice of Sebastian in Black Butler)

⠀⠀ ✿ Kazama’s Extended Route: When not indulging in maniacal laughter, Kazama has the smoothest, most soothing purr of a voice in the game, and it is a real pleasure to sit back and listen in on his quiet moments. And there are a lot of those now. His modern philosophical perspective on the actions of the Bakufu offers the best foil to the Shinsengumi’s sacrificial attitude toward the war and their traditional ideal of bushido. He becomes the narrative voice of history speaking to us. There isn’t much new in Kyoto Winds despite claims of an extended route (others seemed to have far more revamping) until the final chapter, when the translation suddenly goes bad. Edo Blossoms is pretty slow, and the Ezo ending is far less moving than the original (part of it getting moved to Yukimura’s route for no reason whatsoever)—but we do get to see a glimpse of the last battle, which was—at least for me—pretty emotional. There are mild changes to the scenes, but not better by any means, with the one exception being that there’s more of Shiranui. There are no additional scenes of a romantic nature, unless you include the already-released final scene from Stories of the Shinsengumi, and it bears repeating that the translation was far, far better in the old version, simple and unpretentious as it was. Bonus though: at least Yukimura is no longer saying, “it felt…good.” -.-

⠀⠀ ✿ Yukimura’s Route: Even the writers didn’t want to do this route. Originally this was woven into Kazama’s story where it fit beautifully and poignantly. But now it is purely exposition with people just standing around feeling sorry for the protagonist, having nothing new to say at all. Fortunately the route is extremely short and you could easily force skip everything up to Ezo where you get what used to be the heart-wrenching finale of the Shinsengumi. But, I really recommend skipping the whole route entirely and watching the anime instead if you want a proper conclusion to this beautiful story.

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[D's Journal]

I played the Hakuoki on mobile and for you to say that Nagakura (I desperately wanted him in the game) was poorly written honestly breaks my heart. :c
he's literally one of the main reasons I wanted this game...but there's still Heisuke and that's all that matters LOL.

[Siloam]

Originally posted by D's Journal:

I played the Hakuoki on mobile and for you to say that Nagakura (I desperately wanted him in the game) was poorly written honestly breaks my heart. :c
he's literally one of the main reasons I wanted this game...but there's still Heisuke and that's all that matters LOL.

It really broke my heart too! Nagakura is my favorite--still is my favorite. Maybe that's why I was so disappointed by his new route. I so wanted it to be good. But the first half (before the 'romance') is sweet. So I still think it's worth getting the game for him. There are lots of new scenes for Nagakura in other routes, and they're a lot of fun and always left me smiling!

I'm so glad you're a Heisuke fan! He needs more love! <3

[D's Journal]

Originally posted by Siloam:

Originally posted by D's Journal:

I played the Hakuoki on mobile and for you to say that Nagakura (I desperately wanted him in the game) was poorly written honestly breaks my heart. :c
he's literally one of the main reasons I wanted this game...but there's still Heisuke and that's all that matters LOL.

It really broke my heart too! Nagakura is my favorite--still is my favorite. Maybe that's why I was so disappointed by his new route. I so wanted it to be good. But the first half (before the 'romance') is sweet. So I still think it's worth getting the game for him. There are lots of new scenes for Nagakura in other routes, and they're a lot of fun and always left me smiling!

I'm so glad you're a Heisuke fan! He needs more love! <3

Hello, I'm back to respond to this.
I finally done Shinpachi's route and I can safetly say, this was a terrible...romance-wise.
As I said on the other forum, they failed because he was already in the whole "Big brother" thing in the mobile where he didn't have a route. So they added a route in KW, where he STILL plays the part, and furthers it even more in Edo...They did not do this well at all. I felt no romance in KW, and I didn't feel it here. So out of no where, he says they're closer and they kissed.
I mean the timing was God awful and made no sense. I felt no build up and there was no "romance" to be had his entire route...I'm all for big bro! [Yes it's a weakness of mine, shoot me.] but it didn't transisiton well. It took 4 years (or 5 from the kiss) for him to see her outside that. -Sigh- I felt nothing for him this whole time, I barely even smiled in his route.
It's still an okay route, felt a little messy and all over the place, but the ending sucked ass.
Wtf happened?
I love Shinpachi, but he'd be better off without a route and as the big brother side character. :'c

On the side note: I literally cried during Heisuke's route...oooh my damn heart. <333

[Siloam]

Heisuke's route really gets to me too. He's so aloooone. But then, I suppose they all end up being pretty alone.

I went back and read some of the Sekkaroku scenes yesterday. The writing for that is fantastic! The characters are so funny and true to themselves. Why couldn't they get those writers to do Nagakura's route? :( If you haven't seen his (very short) route from that VN (it doesn't make it into the anime), you can see it on YouTube here. It might brighten your day. ^.^

[D's Journal]

aww yes! thank you for that, too bad I immediately got sad again because of okitas route. I can't tell from the writing if he died or not. if we follow the time line, he did. :c since following kondous death irl, okita died 3 months later. so I'm thinking he did pass right after telling chizuru his whole feelings...I feel so heartbroken u.u

[Siloam]

I just watched his last scene in the anime and wow, I think that's the hardest scene to get through for me. And it's weird, but that moment when he walks by Saitou, his best friend, for the last time...I kind of want to die.

I feel like the writers for the original game and the anime really knew what they were doing from first-hand experience. The scene where Okita is just watching the butterflies by himself, or when Harada visits him--it feels like someone must have known what it was like to have a terminal disease. I felt the same way about all the war scenes. Even though the Japanese are mostly pacifists now, I felt like someone really must have known what it was like to be a soldier. I envy their writing skills!

[Naruko Uzumaki]

2019 I just started KW. The biggest heartbreaking part is that all of these guys are real. Really real. Kinda sad when when you know that the real Harada died at age 27 and the real Hijikata at 34... playing it, I can't stop thinking about the real people they were (everything about the game characters is based on real people and their personalities and abilities [Okita :(((( ]... Harada( spear school for real)and ( my number 1 in game) had a wife Masa and son. It's a little funny when you can imagine that you really could be there... you might be able to save their lives... all of it just makes this game beyond the imaginable.
On the other hand, knowing their history, you're finally able to know what age they actually all are and the age gap between the protagonist and the chosen one. Knowing old Japan
( sometimes dark and really sick!) makes you understand Yukimura and that, that her actions (so modern) were very special , which makes her actually very brave and respected by male characters. Playing as her makes you feel like an unusual girl in Edo times...

(heh nothing better that drinking sake in the evening, eh? :P) Well, kanpai for the guys from Shinsengumi... we wish that you know, that modern Japan and the world still remembers you.