Studio Ryokucha.  This company is fairly unique, utilizing an art style that differs dramatically from the standard for moege/charage but still falls into the same realm nonetheless.  In addition, this company has produced a disproportionate number of excellent games, despite the fact that they are all essentially charage (though the degree to which they fit the genre differs from game to game). 

Natsuiro Koi Uta is their latest work, a ‘pure’ charage set in modern Tokyo.  It starts out with an archetypical turn of events… a young man (the protagonist) and a woman (one of the heroines, Yuuna) faking being lovers to deal with their families trying to arrange a marriage for them.  The ‘fake lovers’ trope is one of the single most annoying tropes in existence, not the least because it makes actually forming a real relationship unnecessarily complicated.

As a ‘pure’ charage, this VN’s drama is quite limited and easily resolved, despite the seeming seriousness of the obstacles and drama in each path.  To be honest, I was looking forward to a more interesting set of events popping up in the heroines’ paths, but things tended to settle down with surprising ease, leaving me feeling a bit left behind.

This VN has its emotional moments, but I will be honest with you when I say that the VN pales after having played Yomegami immediately before it.  As charage go, it is a high-level VN.  Two of the four heroines are interesting (I dislike genki-kei baka imoutos and wannabe oneechan osananajimis as heroines), but, because of the fake relationship thing, the protagonist has a tendency to go half-hetare right before the formation of the relationship.  I honestly have very little patience for VNs that keep you in suspense about the formation of the relationship for better than half of each path, so, despite liking Shion and Yuuna, I still felt that their paths were a bit frustratingly tedious at the beginning and a bit too sexual once the relationship formed (think seven h-scenes per heroine…).

If it sounds to you like I’m just using this post to bash this VN, that isn’t how I mean it.  I enjoyed parts of this VN and I honestly like the setting.  However, it lacks a central story that isn’t entangled in romance, and I’m afraid that, after Yomegami, my tolerance for pure romance VNs has fallen a lot lower. 

Overall, if you just want a normal charage full of adolescent romance, this VN is a good choice.  However, if you want an interesting story, this VN will leave you wanting.