Rewrite - Common Route Discussion

Key Discussion
#1

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Complaints have been popping up (including my own) that Rewrite doesn’t have a thread for the Common Route. Since I have been reading it, I decided to formulate my own thread for it.

Discussion for the common route of Rewrite. Since Rewrite has one of the longest and most elaborate Common Routes in existence, all the events of the initial runthrough of the Common Route will be the main focus of this thread. Please mark references to any events outside of or any changes caused by the completion of certain routes with [spoiler], specifying exactly what you are spoiling so people know whether to click on it or not. (Call me out if you see something wrong, Aspi. Thanks.)

My first impression of the common route is quite conflicted. On one hand, the scenarios presented are well-written and occasionally quite funny. It seems to focus more on suspense and mystery rather than drama and sorrow, which is a bizarre but welcome change to Key’s usual formula. Some characters are quite complex and interesting, and many of the scenarios presented deconstruct modern society and go into detail about the importance of nature and the environment. Unfortunately, a lot of scientific terms used within the route feel phoned in for the sake of having intelligent dialogue.

Furthermore, the common route is a good example of indignant characterization, which I would describe as developing characters in a way to make the player feel hatred towards one character and empathic for another. It’s quite common in Key novels, and it was used to astounding effect in one of the routes in Little Busters!. Unfortunately, the individual I am supposed to empathize with in these situations is also without dignity or respect for his fellow women, which justifies the malicious character’s motives to crush him. As a result, I end up wondering if I’m supposed to empathize with these characters or hate them. It’s a minor complaint, but I think Tanaka did a good job getting me to like Shizuru, Kotori and Chihaya, but not Akane and Lucia. I don’t know what to think of Koutarou at all at this point. That being said, I have very few qualms against the majority of the minor characters, especially Yoshino and Chibimoth. Also, the music and art direction is pretty good so far.

The very end of the Common Route was very intense. It really made think as to why all this is happening, and even as I start Kotori’s route, I am full of so many questions. Why is Koutarou’s power so dangerous? Why did Lucia and Shizuru turn on him after taking on that dragon? Who is the girl Koutarou saw in the moon? Why did the dragon target Kotori?

There’s still a lot left that I have to cover here, and perhaps my impression of these characters will change as I continue to read. So what are everyone else’s thoughts on the Common Route? (Please keep your "Amigooo"s to a minimum. We do not want anyone banned for spamming.)

What would you rate this route?

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0 voters

Rewrite - General Discussion
#2

ok, let’s talk a little bit about common route. I will keep it short though.

It does good with being comedy like and I also like how they introduce each character and you instantly kinda start to like most of them, at least that’s how it was for me. They are all really different and that’s a huge plus there. It has some stereotypes, but what VN or anime doesnt have those.

The end really hit me as it came really unexpected. I was so surprised about that sudden twist.

Well, I told ya I will keep it short, but there is one thing I have left to say: Amiiiigo!

4 Likes
#3

I think this is a matter of personal preferences, not Tanaka’s fault. You didn’t like Lucia, but until now she is the girl I most loved in any Eastern media. From her first appearance, I just fell in love with her. But for me, Kotori was the worst girl. I found her simply boring and uninteresting.

#4

Going by the book-club rules, the common route would be from start to 31st of October as that is when it ends if you’re not invested in a heroine.
Most important part of a fantasy is to create a hook so the reader wants to learn more about the world. That definitely worked on me. Kotarou’s ability to “accelerate” is pretty normal(super strength/speed) on paper but it was presented really well with the analogy of drawing power from some magic fuel. Since it’s a galge we also need to be interested in the characters, especially the heroines, and Rewrite has a lot of my favorite individual characters so good remarks on that one. The common route is quite long and they most certainly don’t spoil you with the super natural. The ratio between SoL and fantasy is probably like 5:1 if not more skewed towards SoL. Personally I never felt bored while reading though. I’ve spent a lot of time on just the common route but I’m not tired of it, I can still jump in for a laugh now and then.

4 Likes
#5

Yes I totally agree. I like Lucia and Akane more than the other three. And I can’t stand Chihaya at all. At first I thougt she will be funny but later she was annoying. And Sakuya did his best to make it even worse.
Chihaya Route Spoiler I liked him in her Route, though. But Chihaya was still annoying all the time.

Yep the part where the Leaf Dragon attacks was a big WTF moment for me. Suddenly everything changes and you don’t know whats going on at all.
Lucia Route Spoiler I played Lucias route first and I thougt that the common route ends where her part beginns. But then I go for Kotori and the common route goes on and on and on and then a goddamn DRAGON attacks me?!

Oh, and edit because I forgot to say something.

Amiiiiiiiiiigo!

2 Likes
#6

Same thing for me. On her first appearance, I liked her. But then as time passed, she became more and more annoying. But still, I think Rewrite cast was well chosen, and the characters work well (all of them, despite some of them not being that good) as a group.

I also played Lucia’s route first. And yeah, that shocked me too. But another problem I had was that Lucia’s route was SO good that none of the others could surpass it.

Also, if anyone’s interested, here’s a link for @Aspirety-sama’s review of the Common Route. It summarizes the common routes events pretty well: https://kakeracomplex.wordpress.com/2012/06/16/rewrite-common-route-reflection/

1 Like
#7

[quote=“sillylittlemelody, post:3, topic:1065”]
But for me, Kotori was the worst girl. I found her simply boring and uninteresting.
[/quote] I found Chihaya to be the least interesting during my runthrough. She does next to nothing to keep herself interesting, and she seems to quickly forget her grudge against Koutarou. Her butler is more interesting than her. I actually want to know more about Kotori from the little time I spend alone with her in-game.

#8

Personally I liked Shizuru, Akane and Kotori were okay, Lucia was annoying, and Chihaya was… there.
Lucia somehow went on to be my favorite, and Shizuru quietly fell into a “she’s a good character, but nothing standout” position.

Best moment in the VN for me. I knew it was coming, and it still worked amazingly well. The atmosphere of fear and confusion is so perfectly handled. You slowly unravel strange thing after strange thing, and then everything goes crazy.

Despite how long the common route was, I don’t remember being that bored or much else about the route. I skipped a few things (such as the moments where you pick a mystery for the club to follow) but aside from that, I read most things. I think the mappy segments really helped break it up. Interaction the savior.

That bike scene… I was like “whoa, I didn’t think I’d like this character!”

Then they kept her in the VN, and they brought Sakuya in too… Ugh.

I think that’s meant to be a running gag - just not a very good one.

2 Likes
#9

Beat me to it :stuck_out_tongue:

2 Likes
#10

Okay so I’m always alone in this opinion but I’ll try again here. Did anyone else actually like Sakuya from just the common route? I mean, I get why everyone tended to dislike his antagonist stance, but since it was very obvious he knew something, I was very intrigued to know what that was. I was actually of the opinion that Kotarou was being too dense and immature in his response and just furthering the antagonism instead of considering what Sakuya had to say, but to be clear, this was more just my first impressions. Rather than being upset with Sakuya, I was constantly hoping he would eventually spill the beans and reveal his (what I assumed to be) good intentions.

4 Likes
#11

As I stated I liked all the characters in common and Sakuya of course too.

#12

Yay! I also liked everyone in common. No doubt one of the reasons why I love Rewrite so much, since normally there’s at least one heroine that I’ll dislike. Chihaya was arguably close but I never really disliked her. She just didn’t manage to do anything I cared about D:

#13

I DID!
I knew hes gonna be fkin epic and stuff in others route. I was just waiting for that moment when Im get to know everything about him and then scream “YEa I KNEW ITTT”.
But I did actually like him cuz he seemed mysterious and interesting.

#14

[quote=“Kaze, post:10, topic:1065”]
Did anyone else actually like Sakuya from just the common route?
[/quote]I like Sakuya about as much as I like Yoshino. He actually reminds me of a character from an RPG I used to play, except nicer. :slight_smile:

#15

ok, can we now talk about the best part of Common Route? I mean, we all know nothing beats the YO-SHI-NO part. I died laughing at that part.

3 Likes
#16

It was amusing, but not overtly hilarious. I laughed more at ‘SEISHUU DE! NANIYAAAA?!’ than the YO-SHI-NO song.

4 Likes
#17

It’s been a while since I played Rewrite but there was one thing I remember about common route quite clearly: Everybody kept saying it was soooo long and dragged out but, honestly, I didn’t feel it. The entire time of the common route, I was thoroughly entertained. Entertained to the point of not even realizing it was long at all. The comedy was just so fun, the relationships between the characters were perfect: Kotarou and Kotori’s duet, Kotarou trolling Chihaya, Chihaya’s rivalry with Lucia, Kotarou abusing Shizuru’s good nature, Shizuru becoming Yoshino’s only weakness, and Akane scoffing at everything happening around her. In other words, I absolutely adored the common route, and I think it was one of the winning points of Rewrite, in my book.

Another thing I loved about the common route is the sheer amount of interaction you get to do. This was such a small thing, but I loved Kotori’s sidequest: The planting as much seeds as you can. It really speaks to my inner adventure gamer by forcing me to try and experiment all sorts of different choices and try to achieve the mini-goal. It actually felt like a game! And then there was Mappie! Mappie was awesome! Amigooooo! I even adored the BGM of mappie!

tl;dr Rewrite Common was super fun, should totally play again

7 Likes
#18

Yeah Say it with Flowers is really funny. Erohim’s Blessing or whatever it’s called, the porn book collecting, is also a good one; I managed to get that one on my first playthrough ever. I thought Mappie was a bit clunky but it allows for great comedy; the events where you walk around with one of the heroines are all awesome.

3 Likes
#19

I think the worst part about it was that I was a completionist, so whenever I got to a Mappie I spent so much time moving my mouse everywhere just so I don’t miss anything.

It was worth it.

Common route is really ling but really funny. My favorite scene would be Kotori’s “shake it now baby now”

3 Likes
#20

Indeed. And also, there are some interesting references in Mappie segment, Doraemon for example. There’s a Giant’s recital, the empty lot, and breaking a person’s window (Old man Kaminari’s).
I also remember the one where there’s a group of boys are talking about Gaki no Tsukai lol. ^^

thiiiis!! w w w w w

aaaah I thought I’m the only one. I absolutely bear no hatred towards the heroines, man. I feel like, every one of them have a side that I can’t hate even though there’s also a downside to their characters.

he’s always really fun to watch. Especially when he starts laughing and belittling Kotarou. And there’s more like to him if the common route also scope the Occult Club’s visit to the Ohtoris’ residence.