[b] NO LONGER PLAYABLE AS IT CRASHES AT START-UP! IF THEY FIX IT SOON I WILL REMOVE THE BOLD NOTIFICATION AT THE START OF THIS REVIEW. IF NOT. I WILL HAVE TO PERMANENTLY CHANGE MY REVIEW TO NOT RECOMMENDED [/b]
[b] Brief Summary [/b]
The story begins when Lyla and her friends notice there is a new guy at school. In an effort to make him feel welcomed, Lyla attempts to befriend him only to discover that he is not very open or friendly. After a series of failed attempts, Henri slowly begins to open up and they become friends.
Lyla starts to fall in love (of course) and Henri also seems to be interested, but there are things constantly left unspoken. Henri is occasionally absent from school and no matter of probing or friendship can seem to get him to explain where he is going.
[b] Mechanics 3/5 [/b]
The game is fairly polished, but there are several spelling mistakes that including mix up of letters in words, omitting letters in words altogether and a few instances where words needed to be omitted. Although they can be noticeable they are not terrible and won’t prevent anyone from enjoying the novel nor did it prevent me from understanding what was being said.
The only other issue I had with the writing was the parts in the novel where things like --…-- began to show up frequently. If there is a heavy price tag of $30 dollars on a game I expect things like this to be fixed to feel more justified in spending that kind of money. I bought this on sale so I wasn’t too overly annoyed, but that last bit of polishing in the writing does need to be fixed.
The only other problem I had were the parts where the game would crash on me for no reason. There were a few times that I had to restart and try again only to have it crash again, but eventually, it did manage to pull through and I got to the ending so it is still playable. Just be warned.
Choices, unfortunately, do not really matter. There are these points when you confront someone for hiding information or lying. You cannot continue the story without finishing these confrontations and there are no avoiding them. There is only one correct answer and finishing these prerequisites lead you to the same ending. Ergo, choices do not really matter.
[b] Characters 4/5 [/b]
Lyla was the only reason I cannot give this visual novel a character score of 5 out of 5. Lyla is the ideal character you would love to meet in real life. She is literally the ideal person you would grateful to have as a friend. The only problem is while she may have weaknesses (if she is hurt it cuts her deep) she has NO flaws. She is literally flawless. She can get jealous, but those moments are justified and tend to add a very rational mature outlook to the situation despite that brief moment she felt hurt. It was a scene that was a bit melodramatic. There were numerous areas where the others jokingly call her Mother Teresa except unlike Mother Teresa who is a human with flaws she does not have them. These type of people are wonderful human beings, but in novels, flawless characters are a little bland.
Otherwise, all the characters were a delight even Lyla if we overlook this one flaw. All the characters get angry, annoyed, shy, embarrassed, excited, happy, hurt, and scared. The roller coaster of emotions was done amazingly well. Even the minor characters that were a bit stereotypical were well balanced, thorough and believable. I don’t think this could have been handled better.
The best character, however, was Henri as he was the most developed character. He struggles with insecurities all throughout the novel. Here was a man who desperately wants to be accepted for who he is and not because he is also a famous pop star. There is a constant feeling of tug and war as you watch Henri hide from the world versus his desire to come out – even a little – to be himself. It was a lovely touch and was a job well done on illustrating the burden a character like him might have in this kind of situation. Bravo!
[b] Story 3.5/5 [/b]
There are clichés in the story. It doesn’t really take away from the story as much as they simply exist. I only mention them because they are there, but just because they were there doesn’t mean it really bothered me. It is sort of what I expect from a slice-of-life high school story.
There ARE times, however, when the story felt like it was dragging on forever. There is a long part where Henri shows his obvious attraction to Lyla, but because of his insecurities, he pushes her away. Then, just when you think he is getting over those fears and things are good, he does it again. It is not really a huge flaw as much as it has the tendency to drags on, but at the same time, it enhances the story in showing the development of these characters. Conflicts are not simply introduced and instantly overcome. The characters struggle with their internal conflicts and this brings out the development of these characters out nicely.
Otherwise, my only other complaint was the fact that the climax was too short when it could have been dragged on a little longer. I would have loved to see Henri in anguish and tortured a little longer. It was far more interesting seeing Henri in anguish than it was seeing Lyla in pain. Unfortunately, those scenes were cut disappointingly short when you compare it to the other scenes that were less intense, but sometimes extremely long.
When we get to the resolution of the novel it begins to drag on again and becomes a bit repetitive. Readers do not need to have scenes of characters constantly declaring their love to one another to convince the audience their love is real and while I understand that new young lovers can become embarrassingly passionate - it felt almost desperately needy. I just felt the balance was not quite right here. The whole basis of their last fight was basically whether Lyla truly knew who Henri was as a person or whether he was fake the entire time. However, once she accepts these new revelations she becomes a bit ravenous unable to handle a few seconds without him. It wasn’t necessarily bad as much as it was a little too much for me. It was cute and certainly passionate, but it was also a tad bit silly and immature. On the other hand, they did accomplish in wrapping up all the loose ends. I can't really complain about the ending otherwise. You win some, you lose some.
As for the the theme, it was a huge highlight. The ability to see each other for who we really are was constantly and consistently explored in many different conflicts and scenes and not only within the main characters.
[b] Conclusion [/b]
I would highly recommend this novel for any otome enthusiasts. The quality was on spot. I would have preferred for the cost involved in buying this otome at full price to fix those spelling errors and grammatical mistakes, but again they did not impede me from enjoying the novel. Honestly, based on the quality of the artwork, the sheer length of the novel, and the decency of the story itself it is not really off the mark charging its full price. Still, those mistakes should be fixed and if you can buy this novel on sale and if it sounds like your cup of tea, try to not miss out.
Whew, thanks for reading my lengthy review. Later!
