Kari Gurashi Ren'ai
Entry posted by Clephas
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For those who are interested, here is the first real comedy VN of the year...
The protagonist, Takuma, having returned to his hometown to live alone in his family's old house, finds that it has collapsed in on itself, and, desperate for a place to stay, ends up staying at the homes of his four childhood friends (osananajimi). This leads to various hilarious antics and situations, with most of the heroines being 'ponkotsu' types (meaning that they are the kind of girls no sane man would want as a girlfriend if he knew their real personality).
First is Kyou, the 'older sister' of the group... to be blunt, she is the single laziest human being I've ever seen in a VN. She and her mother are the type that seek marriage solely so that their husband can feed them, clean up after them, and support them financially. If she tries to cook, explosions ensue; she won't even consider doing laundry; and her room looks like mine did in middle school (I never really did see the point of putting things away back then, lol). Incidentally, don't expect any of this to change (the heroines are fundamentally ponkotsu types from beginning to end).
Second is Hiyori, the blonde idiot daughter of the owner of a cafe that specializes in Japanese sweets and teas. She is air-headed, clingy, and she has a tendency to do stupid things just because she feels like it. Worse, her mother, a widow, takes aim on Takuma almost from the moment of his arrival.
The third is Ayaka... Ayaka, when compared to her family, is a quite normal girl. However, with an OCD mother who thinks men are filthy pathogens, a little sister who is yandere over Ayaka herself, a little brother who is addicted to masturbation, and an overprotective father... that really isn't saying much. In reality, she has a strong interest in sexual matters, wants Takuma to be her oniichan, and is very much a schemer/manipulator by nature.
The fourth girl is Rito, the childhood friend that Takuma used to think was a guy. This leads to an immediate argument, of course, but she quickly turns into a clingy, emotionally dependent girl who alternates between aggressively seeking Takuma's affections and snarling viciously at anyone who gets in the way.
With that particular cast of characters and a protagonist who tends to want to turn everything into a joke himself, you have a recipe for a first-class comedy game.
Of course, most of it is boke-tsukkomi (manzai) type humor, save for the fact that all the characters are running jokes in and of themselves. There are no real serious points in this VN, and the only time the story actually feels romantic is during Rito's path... and that actually made it the least enjoyable of the four main paths.
There are also three endings other than those of the four main heroines... a 3P ending with the yandere imouto, an extra ending with Nanako (the girl who steals Takuma's food all the time), and a 'normal ending' that probably would have ended up as a yaoi ending in some other games, lol.
Overall, I left this VN feeling laughed out. I probably won't replay it, because I don't imagine it would be funny twice, but I honestly enjoyed it for what it was... an excuse to break out into real-life laughter to the point where my throat and head started to hurt worse than they already are (I have the flu right now, yaaay!).
- Jartse, Nuberius, Mr Poltroon and 1 other
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