Rewrite - Chihaya Ohtori Character & Route Discussion

Key Discussion
#48

Another few fun little tidbits I noticed from the latter portion of the Chihaya route:
(Lucia)

When Sakuya goes super-familiar, Guardian’s leaders actually consider tossing Lucia into it’s path in full bio-nuke fashion. (http://i.gyazo.com/578da7fb113c15a5bf743c12411a54bd.png). I had sort of noticed this on my first read, but it was so obscure due to my not having read Lucia’s route yet

Also,
(Akane)

Akane makes a comment about the “Key and the Choir being out of my reach”… I wonder what could have happened to the Choir? Since she won the fight against the Lunch Lady she should have had all of Gaia’s assets under her control. I wonder if maybe they used the Choir members/Earth Dragon to attack Midou/Tenma/Tenjin off-screen and failed? It’s one of the few possibilities I could think of offhand.

(I’d probably redirect responses to those discussion threads… Otherwise this would get very off topic very fast)

6 Likes
#49

Well noticed! I think the routes are more consistent than most give them credit for. Rewrite may have been rushed, but it’s not like the writers worked in isolation.

#50

OH MY GOD, that would’ve been like the perfect moment to throw in a silly line like

Kotarou: We must use the Lucia Nuke!
Lucia: I’m not a nuke!
Chihaya: But if we can’t use the Lucia Nuke, what else are we gonna do?!

7 Likes
#51

OH GOOOOOOD that would have been perfect ;_;

#52

19 posts were merged into an existing topic: Rewrite - Chihaya Ohtori Character & Route Discussion

#53

5 posts were merged into an existing topic: Rewrite - Harvest festa! Chihaya Route Discussion

#54

Hey, I finally finished it! Ahahaha…

THAT WAS HELLA LONG

Im not really sure how I feel about this one. I kinda kept going back and forth between “Oh, this is pretty good” and “Uhhhhhgg I cant believe this terrible writing.” Yeah, the action was kinda cool, but I dont know, it just didnt do much for me. Im not usually a huge fan of “Oh you thought it was over? Well here’s an even bigger boss you have to defeat. And of course since you already used all your power, you have to do something ridiculous to defeat it.”

It was also really bothering me how much the themes seem to conflict. Is Kotarou supposed to Rewrite himself? Or does it destroy him? Is he a superhuman? Or a familiar? Does the world need to be changed or preserved? Or both? Or are they the same thing? IS SAKUYA REALLY DEAD THIS TIME?

Well, anyways. Wasnt too bad, I still really like all the characters. Im excited to continue reading. I think its on to Lucia’s route next.

3 Likes
#55

Well, Tonokowa told in an interview that he want do a bright and straight route, where battles are used to move forward the storie. It is normal he takes some freedom to write his storie. Rewrite can be enough bleak, it was likely the only way to have a happy end.

What bothers me the most is that the power of Kotarou becomes a simple way to be stronger, in the other routes, he is much more careful in his use. Gaia becomes also an evil organisation which only appears through Akane, Chihaya and the three summoners.

I wonders if changes will be done in the anime adaptation to not distrub the watchers.

#56

Just finished last night- I had been almost done with it in the morning before work, but had to stop because I had already pushed how late I can start getting ready. I had like 5 minutes left :\

So I liked this route a lot better than Kotori’s route. It felt more like a story than a bunch of interesting events, and I thought it did a better job generally with getting its themes across. I really liked the dynamic between Sakuya and Kotarou - Sakuya reluctantly nurturing an almost mirror image of his past self that had led to deep regrets against Kotarou who ends up needing to begrudgingly respect the mentor who will always feel a few steps out of reach.

In this route I felt like Chihaya as a charachter was fine. I had heard murmurings that she is the worst heroine, and that this route was terrible, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I can see why most people say this is Sakuya’s route though - he and Kotarou were the active characters while Chihaya was almost just a static plot device.

I thought she was cute enough, I laughed in a good way with the humor around her, and in general enjoyed her. I think the idea of a rich girl who has never really faced the real world outside of her bubble to the point where she is not even really sure why she is fighting besides “that’s how it has always been” could have really gone somewhere in this complex conspiracy world they are building. But it kind of didn’t. I mean by the end she chooses to leave Gaia and do things on her own but she felt a bit dragged to that conclusion and it didn’t really have any emotional impact.

Chihaya does have my favorite character design though. I really want little wing hair clips like she has for myself.

This is my biggest beef with this route. If you are going to kill a character goddamn do it and stick to it. Touching character death scenes have diminishing returns and I was kind of upset to be crying over the first death march only to have him comeback and fight Kotarou. And then the single cherry blossom at the end? I am kind of partially choosing to ignore the implication that it is possible he was summoned again.

I really wish they had done a separate sprite or at least had a CG for Akane as she descended into madness.

One thing I thought was interesting was the function of the Key in this route. I really like the idea that she contains all of the memories of all the atrocities of mankind, but instead of judging humanity herself she forces a human to bare witness to them and it is up to that human to either give up on humanity or to decide that humanity should continue to fight on. Humans judging humans is a lot more impact than mysterious gods judging humans.

Pani and Gil worked for me too. I find them pretty grating early on when they show up, but the struggle they have where they are just looking for purpose - looking to be useful plays out really well. I especially liked that Pani sacrificed herself quietly and Kotarou doesn’t actually end up saying goodbye or thank you. They said that it was because they were familiars that they were so obsessed with finding a purpose, but needing purpose is a very human notion as well. I really like when stories make me care for characters who I found annoying when I first encountered them.

I also feel like I should take a moment to recognize that Shizuru is a character who I had a tough time not dismissing out right from the promo images I had seen before I played, and even when she first showed up. I should know better with Key girls, but an eyepatch loli with two tone chunibyou eyes was hard for me to take seriously. But I feel like she was one of the best characters in this route. The way she is written having to pick between fighting her friends and not being able to give up what she believes in was really well handled. At this point I am really looking forward to her route and finding out more about her backstory, because if she works this well as a side character I imagine the depth she will have after her own route will enhance things.

7 Likes
#57

I wouldn’t say at all that Chihaya is a bad character or that her route is the worst. On the contrary, her route is one of my favorites. It’s just that Chihaya doesn’t develop at all in what’s supposed to be her route. She basically does what the plot demands her to do, no matter how ridiculous it may seem.

[quote=“kyuketsukimiyu, post:56, topic:1990”]
If you are going to kill a character…do it and stick to it.
[/quote]It’s harder to do than you think if you as an author really liked that character. >.>

I do agree, however, that Sakuya’s implied return via Key Magic is kind of stupid. It practically erases any sort of character development that might have stemmed from it, and if it wasn’t for a particularly good purpose, it merely comes off as fanservice for the sake of it, and it weakens the story as a whole. (Looking at you, Charlotte.)

[quote=“kyuketsukimiyu, post:56, topic:1990”]
I really wish they had done a separate sprite or at least had a CG for Akane as she descended into madness.
/quoteRewrite+(cough)

[quote=“kyuketsukimiyu, post:56, topic:1990”]
I really like when stories make me care for characters who I found annoying when I first encountered them.
[/quote]Same. To cite another Key example, Rin and Haruka from Little Busters were rather annoying when I first saw them, but as time grew on and I got to learn more about them, I grew to like them more as characters. Haruka especially is one of my favorites in the LB cast so far. :smile:

[quote=“kyuketsukimiyu, post:56, topic:1990”]
I should know better with Key girls, but an eyepatch loli with two tone chunibyou eyes was hard for me to take seriously. But I feel like she was one of the best characters in this route. The way she is written having to pick between fighting her friends and not being able to give up what she believes in was really well handled. At this point I am really looking forward to her route and finding out more about her backstory
[/quote]The minute I laid eyes on Shizuru’s sprite in Rewrite, I fell in love with her. I loved her design, her personality and her attachment to Kotarou. I, too, thought she was handled extremely well in this route, both in terms of her personality and her fighting abilities. I do admit, this route spoiled me in terms of the sheer Shizuru fanservice this route got. It made her actual route kind of disappointing… :sweat_smile:

But I digress. The other routes are very different from this one, so it’s best to adjust your expectations for maximum enjoyment.

2 Likes
#58

The purple fire isn’t enough?

1 Like
#59

Not at all for me. That implied possession, with the way she was talking it should have shown n her expression. Seeing an elegant-type like Akane lose her grip should have had a bigger visual component to it.

1 Like
#60

Thinking back on this route after having finished the whole thing, this^ was definitely the best part. Sakuya is just freaking awesome.

#61

This was a great route. I can see why some wouldn’t like it but this is honestly one of my favorite character routes ever.

First some of the things I liked about this route:
The fights felt a bit odd for a Key visual novel but they were really well executed and I never felt like they dragged on or got boring. Tension was always high and it really felt like there was something at stake in each fight. Unlike other routes which didn’t really have many/any choices, this route had choices in some of the fights which helped keep things dramatic. The sprites and CGs throughout the route were also fantastic.

It was a bit fanservicey, but we really got to see characters at their most badass. Compared to the level of action in other routes this really did make this one feel like a shounen. Kotarou’s feeling of “Why is everyone I know a freak with superpowers!?” was fitting and hilarious.

And goddamn song placement game on point. Whenever Rewrite starts playing you know shit is about to go down.

There are two things that this route had that I generally hate in stories: overly pacifistic heroes to refuse to kill even the most evil bad guy and literally insane antagonists who want to destroy the world and themselves with it for little reason other than “just cus.” But Kotarou and Midou were used really nicely as a kind of “night and day” complete opposites way. It actually reminded me of (F/SN UBW)Shirou’s fight with Archer of all things.

I could be reading to much into this, but does anyone remember than throwaway conversation between Kotarou and Gil when they are talking about the Aurora swords attributes? Gil suggests the sword is currently light type, and if you add a dark attribute it will become the ultimate weapon. I feel like this is kind of what happened at the end with Fuego. Yeah, Fuego is technically lava/fire, but its definitely an evil familiar controlled by an evil guy. And once the aurora gains the power of Fuego it really is the ultimate weapon, capable of cutting through pretty much anything with ease.

I didn’t understand how people could love a character like Sakuya as much as many seem to until I read this route. First of all seeing someone else with a similar power to Kotarou’s was cool and it was a good opportunity for the story to explain some rules of the rewrite power via Sakuya.

There were plenty of minor holes throughout the route (some of which were solved here already) but nothing that couldn’t be chalked up to inconsistent authors between routes. In terms of enjoyment I’d say I liked this route even more than Lucia’s, although I would still say Lucia’s route is better. The “Fun” factor is just far to strong.

4 Likes
#62

All in all, after reading the whole Rewrite, then Harvest festa! I still have this one route as my favourite.
I always had a thing for mild tsundere characters like Chihaya, but aside from that, this route was bright.
Really, I’ve read it right after Kotori’s route and didn’t really know what to expect from the routes onward, but looking back at the whole picture now… Chihaya’s route (you may call it Sakuya’s route, if you wish) was a HOPE of this whole world.
Here is the reason why: in this route they found a way to cooperate with both Guardian, and Gaia to some extent. There was no massive blood spilling in this route. Akane went mad but recovered, Kotori was found by Akane and moved to some safe place (letters from her in the end of Chihaya’s route kind of shows it already). Shizuru is rather fine herself, and Lucia are recovering after whatever happened to her.
…
Ok. This was supposed to be my 1st post on Kaza, but I’ve totally stopped writing it… Forgot about it. And then, checking back on this thread it just appeared here in my text box.
Kinda funny, but I guess, I should publish it.
…
As of this moment I’ve just read Rewrite: Side-R manga’s 5th volume. As you may know, it depicts Chihaya’s route (and, yes, its exactly Chihaya’s route there, not Sakuya’s). There are some (striking?) differentiations from original route, though, as bits and bites of Akane’s route mixed inside as well.
If anything, Chihaya herself is way more proactive in manga than she was in VN. I really liked it. To be heck, even now… When I despaired at the way they’ve ended this manga, I still find it extremely nice and fun to read. Basically, in manga you have only Common Route + 25th chapter + Chihaya route’s finale. It was impossible to put all of the route into 5 volumes. And, actually, until the very end I didn’t feel that they were planing to end it so abruptly. I don’t know actual reasons beside canceliing this whole thing… Only that mangaka started his Nanoha’s adaptation and Rewrite was ended. (I actually hate Nanoha now, lol).
So, going back to Chihaya’s route.
I’ve already said it in the begining, but it was a bright part of Rewrite for me. No, I mean, I like the whole work. All of the routes. But… This one was extremely bright. Yes, it was very shounen-manga like. I heard that some ppl call this route as “UBW”. I don’t know, may be they are right. They probably are. Chihaya (in VN) was more of a side-character, than an actual heroine. Yes, she did overcome herself. She managed to escape from the cage of undecisivness. I mean, she started to make decisions on her own. She managed to face off with her’s past.
All of the characters tried to pierce their own beliefs. Some of those beliefs got shattered, some were enforced.
I liked the whole episode with Shizuru and Nishikujou. It felt a bit forced, but I liked the way how Akane went mad. We’ve got even a glimpse on Kotori.
Yes, we can say, that it was strange, than Kotarou managed to summon Phogo in his fight against Hyper-Sakuya, but it was enjoyable. It was very rewarding to read. Now I love how strikingly different it is from other routes.
…as for Side-R manga. Chihaya was extremely nice there. Its a pity that there is no English version, but to those who can read Japanese I strongly advise to try this one. Probably, you won’t be disappointed. Though, you may despair at its end as I did just now.

3 Likes
#63

I agrere with you. There are some common point between them. For example, Archer is the future Shirou like Sakuya is Predecessor of Kotarou, the protagonist batteles with his teacher and the protagonist persists in his justice. There are many opinions that points out it like https://twitter.com/search?q=UBW%20ちはやルート&src=typd

Aurora in this novel has the property of memorizing acquired character and also some summoners have power to take over consciousness like Akane and Phogo is a monster, so Kotarou could read the power of that from Aurora’s memory like Kotarou in terra used Lewis’s throwing technique and Midou might capture some of Kotarou’s consciousness when he died.

I felt this route is too optimistic at the end. For example, Akane came to oneself by Shizuru’s drug and it looks like fine, but is it a convenient rewrite of the personality, which Kotori agonized over in her route?
Why did Kotarou stuck to not killing people? Why Gardian changed themselves so easily? (However, I think Nishikujou and Esaka’s change of their mind was possible because they have special relationships to Kotarou.) Therefore I didn’t receive as much emotional impact as I had in other routes. I admit this route is enjoyable but I personally think this sort of delightful story is not the principal point of Rewrite, in which characters are suffering over the gap of ideal and reality.

1 Like
#64

I don’t really think that the whole Guardian changed itself. Indeed, Esaka, Nishikujou, and (obviously) Shizuru did support Kotarou in the end… But what about the whole organization? Even Gaia which lost its Saint still has branches in other countries. Besides… There are Moon and Terra after this route. We can easily assume that the sole thing that Kotarou acquired there is New-Okaken.
Well, I guess I just personally like it :smiley:

#65

It does, but not in the examples you named. The part from Akane’s route, (which is a spoiler, btw) namely the ability of the holy woman, has nothing to do with “taking over” consciousness. It’s turning dead or malfunctioning brain cells into familiars, thus reshaping them and copying one’s own memory into the successor’s head. And the Terra route thing was simple Rewriting iirc. Kotarou merely mimicked the way superhumans acquire their power. You’re also implying that Kotarou just sucked up Midou’s or Fuego’s aurora like getting exp and loot after killing an enemy in an rpg xD

#66

Taking over conciousness was wrong as you said, but I think the appearnce of Midou and Phogo power derives from the nature of Aurora. I explain what I think it now in detail.

In Moon route, Aurora is mentioned as omnipotent power and “it is said that Aurora has power to refer to history and reconstruct it”. (活動の履歴を参照し再現する性質が確認されている in Japanese) And whole things are caused by this nature.
In Moon route simulation, Shizuru made Hercules beetle crab and it turned out Aurora remembered that. Consequently, the structure of Phogo might be recorded in Aurora. And I think Kotarou’s ability of ‘Rewrite’ is actually manipulation of Aurora because his use of Aurora is not limited to reinforcement of body in Moon or Akane route. So he could read information from Aurorra and use it.In addition to that, in terra route Kotarou talked with Sakuya. It also might be a sort of reading Aurora.
Therefore, I suspect his use of Phogo and appearance of Midou occured because he tried to refer to something related to fire from Aurora and found the structure of Phogo and Midou’s memory and mimicked it using Aurora power as he read technique of superhuman and use it though it was unconscious process.

After all, Aurora in Rewrite is omnipotent, so you can make any explanation on it… :masdum:

1 Like
Rewrite - Terra Arc Discussion
#67

Maybe cause I read this route in one time (11 hours whithout stop, insanely long for a story like that, at least talk/persuade more and left aside the action for some time, the most of the time is not interesting cause you already know, cause the shonen pattern, that main character can’t die) I don’t have very good memories of it :yahaha:. In fact I don’t like at all the overwelming action and basically skiped all the battles explanation reading superficially and in some moment even do the same with the romantic dialogue and the most of the Chihaya’s dialogue.

Honestly I don’t even like the Yaoi but I’m the only one who thinks that Chihaya is “a bother in the middle” the most of the time and a KoutarouxSakuya is most interesting?. I don’t even know how can Koutarou fall in love with Chihaya’s almost inexistent personality (even the hateable :kotohino: (my tastes) personality of Lucia is a better option to me).