Finally completed the game. It was fun to say the least. Maeda didn’t make people cry just yet, but the common route was still good.
I’m not sure which one is my favorite heroine: Akane or Mio.
Surprisingly, the most memorable thing was… the protag. I kinda hated him. I’ll assume that clueless protagonists were still somewhat new back then, so that part was almost fine. I did feel the urge to facepalm forever after how oblivious he was to Nanase’s feelings and how much he hurt her as a result, but that wasn’t the worst part.
What ticked me off was that Kouhei was such a selfish bastard. Fully aware of the fact that he would disappear soon, he would still try to get in a relationship with a girl, then leave her behind. It was like the worst thing he could ever do to Akane, but he went for it without a second thought? Why? Cause he was too dumb to figure out what had happened to her former love interest. And don’t even get me started on Nanase’s optional H-scene. Yeah, let’s not talk about that. H-scenes don’t count, right? That scenario was too unnatural, even for Kouhei…
Nagamori’s route threw me for a loop, though. I was expecting a generic childhood friend drama scenario, but Kouhei’s thought process took an unexpected turn. Instead of remaining clueless, he became passive-aggressive. He started hating all the stuff about Nagamori that he used to find natural. That was kinda great. It was unusual. What I don’t understand, however, is how the heck he arrived at the thought of wanting to hurt her in such a horrible way…
On a side note: If Maeda could create characters like Sumii in One, who’s not a wingman, but at least a legit silly guy friend, why did he screw up so badly with Kitagawa in Kanon?