Remember those teenage boy characters from the ‘80s and ’90s teen shows? You know. The ones that are mischievous and reckless but with a good heart? The ones that pull “harmless” pranks on the principal (or other authority figures), with no thought to the consequences. Yet somehow, they seem to avoid the worst possible consequence due to their charming personality.
I could go as far as to label this troupe the “bad boy with a heart of gold.” Only, the boys I’m talking about aren’t necessarily committing serious crimes. These boys have an itch to make mischief and are reckless enough they don’t think about the consequences. Yet, they don’t have a malicious bone in their body. They just do stupid stuff because it seems like a good idea at the time.
These boys make you scratch your head and say, “Really? That’s the solution you’re going to go with?” You question how they’ve made it this far in life, and why things just seem to work out for them. And while you find their immaturity unattractive, you can’t deny that these boys are never boring!
As always, character and plot analysis and spoilers after the cut!
Otoko Yuukaku is the PSVita version of the mobile/Steam/Switch version of The Men of Yoshiwara: Kikuya. And while the setting and plot are the same, there are some differences between the PSVita and mobile/Steam/Switch versions.
First the Vita version has voice acting, which is fantastic! There is Vita exclusive route, which I’ve heard explains some of the fantasy elements of the story (though, I have not read this route yet, so I can’t confirm). And the Vita version is also censored, compared to the mobile and Steam versions which are more sexually explicit during the intimate scenes.
Tokiwa (VA: Kohsuke Toriumi) was born on the mainland and was sold to Kikuya by his mother. Due to being mixed raced, Tokiwa’s bright jade green eyes and blonde hair drew attention and derision wherever he went. Eventually his mother tired of dealing with all the bullying and sold her son to rid herself of the problem.
Tokiwa’s goal is to become the top courtesan in Kikuya, and he uses his foreign looks to garner attention from the ladies. But while women compliment and fawn over his green eyes and blonde hair, Tokiwa hates his appearance because it has caused him so much pain.
Now, around the brothel, Tokiwa has a horrible reputation. Rumors swirl about him trying, and at times succeeding, in stealing other courtesans’ clients. And his position as the top courtesan took a hit when one of Takao’s clients tried to abduct Tokiwa. Now, the writers don’t explicitly explain why this woman tried to abduct Tokiwa. But due to his established character, I’m assuming he flirted with her constantly (when he shouldn’t have) and she decided that she wanted him instead of Takao.
Due to this, Tokiwa is forced to go through “courtesan training” again under Takao. Which means, he lost his previous top position (to Takao) and he has to be Takao’s assistant. He has to sit behind the lattice wall, like a piece of merchandise, and wait until an interested woman stops by Kikuya and buys his company for the evening. Basically, Tokiwa has to re-climb the steps of the brothel hierarchy.
Tokiwa is flirty and he does, at times, overstep boundaries. However, not all the rumors are true. Yet, when confronted with untrue accusations from other courtesans, Tokiwa never denies them or stands up for himself. And when another courtesan starts a fight with him and they get in trouble with Iroha, the brothel manager, Tokiwa never tells Iroha who started the conflict. Because he believes that denying the rumors makes him appear uncool.
Yet, in reality behind the courtesan façade, Tokiwa is a bit of a dork.
With Misao in Kikuya waiting for him, he takes the time to try to pull a prank on Takao. Tokiwa leaves oil spread all over the floor in front of Takao’s door. So, I’m guessing Takao would slip when he leaves his room? I’m not sure what Tokiwa was going for. But it doesn’t even matter because Tokiwa gets caught by Takao. Of course, Tokiwa won’t admit to any wrong doing, so Takao takes it into his own hands and tries to drop ashes from his pipe onto the floor. Well, knowing the oil is on the floor, Tokiwa has to stop the falling ashes with his bare hands! And of course, in the process, burns himself.
WHY ARE DOING WHAT YOU ARE DOING, TOKIWA?
I want to sit down with Tokiwa and ask him if his actions are leading to the results he desires. He wants to be top courtesan, but is his horrible reputation with his fellow courtesans and his pranks helping his cause?
It wasn’t until the second half of the route that I could see Tokiwa’s charm. Once he completely opens himself to the heroine, Tokiwa becomes like a wide-eyed (kind of dumb) Labrador Retriever puppy. His earnest and sincere nature shines through and he faithfully trusts that Misao would never do anything to hurt him. Like seriously. Once he opens his heart to her, Tokiwa has all the faith in the world in Misao. And it’s darn cute to read!
In this route, Misao was a bit different from the other two routes I’ve read, but the change wasn’t much. She is a soft-spoken, polite, and kind young woman. She works at her family’s wholesale store, that deals in items from the mainland. She’s not wealthy, but her and her mom live comfortably. Now I’ve detailed Misao’s character extensively in another article. I’m not going dive into her character again, so if you’re interested in Misao please consider reading her article.
Misao arrives at Kikuya with a delivery from her family’s store and Iroha mistakes Misao as the daughter of a wealthy merchant. Iroha assumes she is a wealthy young woman and rolls out the red carpet for her. A couple of times, Misao tries to tell Iroha that she’s not wealthy, but Iroha brushes her comments aside as “humility.” Iroha steam rolls ahead and asks her to pick a courtesan for the evening. Misao timidly picks Tokiwa.
In this route, the writers actually give Misao a reason to return to Kikuya after the first night. Misao gets a hairpin that she thinks would look nice on Tokiwa and she spontaneously decides to give it to him. On one hand, this does give her a concrete reason to go back to Kikuya, even after she told Tokiwa she wasn’t interested in sex. On the other hand, one can question why does she ardently want to give Tokiwa a hairpin after spending one night with him?
The writing is still weak, but at least she does have somewhat of a reason to return to a brothel when she isn’t interested in sex. However, her reason to return to Kikuya is weakened by the fact she doesn’t give Tokiwa the hairpin right away, because she forgets to give it to him. I mean I think it takes at least two to three trips to the brothel for her to actually give the hairpin to Tokiwa.
So, it’s still not great.
Another thing I noted about Misao in this route is that she is first attracted to Tokiwa because of his green eyes and blonde hair. This is the same as all the other women who visit the brothel. And for Misao, who’s entire character is built around the fact she’s different from all other women, this was a noticeable change.
Now, something I wasn’t expecting from this route was the slasher story line. And the way it was introduced as VERY abrupt! One night, Misao is walking home from Kikuya and she hears someone being attacked nearby. She makes a mental note that doesn’t sound good and hurries along her way. I was like, “WHAT?” Is this turning into a crime mystery drama?
Then very little to nothing is mentioned about the slasher for a few chapters and then lo and behold, Takao is attacked during his oiran procession! And all of a sudden, Tokiwa has his chance to return to the top of the brothel hierarchy and take Takao’s place in the next oiran procession.
So, what does our kind of dumb Labrador Retriever puppy do?
He agrees to take Takao’s place only if he can be used as bait to catch the slasher. Which I know! Sounds so brave and thoughtful of him…right? Well, when asked by Iroha if he has a plan, Tokiwa admits he’s got nothing. No plan. No thoughtful consideration that he might get himself killed. No. Our kind of dumb Labrador Retriever puppy wants to be used as bait with no thought as to what could actually happen to him or how he will be kept safe.
FACEPLAM
It turns out the slasher has been targeting high-profile courtesans. So, Tokiwa says that if he’s to be in the procession, he needs to actually be the top courtesan of Kikuya again. So, Iroha asks Misao to buy Tokiwa for the next seven nights and to hold a lavish banquet each night. Then the rumor of Tokiwa’s popularity will spread throughout Yoshiwara and when time comes for the oiran procession, the slasher will target Tokiwa.
Misao agrees, though she knows she will use up all the money she received from the runaway couple. After the seventh night, she will no longer be able to afford to see Tokiwa anymore. However, Misao knows how much it means to Tokiwa to be the top courtesan again, so she agrees with Iroha’s plan.
The seven nights pass without incident. On the night of the oiran procession, Misao goes to Yoshiwara to watch the procession from a distance. She has no more money to buy time with Tokiwa, but she didn’t want to miss his big night.
Tokiwa finishes his procession but there is still no sign of the slasher. He spots Misao in the crowd. She runs away, but Tokiwa follows her. He catches her at the Inari Shrine and he questions why he can’t see her anymore, because Misao never had the courage to explain why she can’t come back to Kikuya (not cool, Misao!).
While they are chatting, the slasher shows up and abducts Misao. Turns out a rival brothel manager was targeting the top courtesans of other shops (attacking these men is pretty extreme, Mr. Manager, Sir). Well, Tokiwa finds her and saves her. The two of them can report the men responsible for the attacks to the authorities. Which means, Tokiwa and Misao become somewhat celebrities in Yoshiwara.
Iroha, as Kikuya’s manager, is given a reward for the shop’s part in catching the slasher and ending the crime spree. And Misao receives money and gifts from relieved and sympathetic (apparently people felt bad for her spending money on lavish banquets and then being abducted by the slasher…umm, who does this?) patrons and business owners of Yoshiwara. And wouldn’t you know it? The amount she receives is more than enough to pay off Tokiwa’s contract to Kikuya. So, in the end, Misao and Tokiwa are free to live their lives together.
Yes, this ending is completely contrived. How much had Tokiwa already paid off of his contract? Because I really question that the gifts Misao received were more than enough to pay off a courtesan’s contract to the brothel. I mean, she even had some gifts leftover to do whatever she wants with. I guess this is just a testament to how relieved the Yoshiwara community was to continue their partying and prostituting routine in peace.
Oh well. At least in this route, Misao’s actions had a direct impact on the conclusion of the story. And that’s not something that every route in this game can claim.
-Final Thoughts-
Okay, so, Tokiwa was a good hero for me. I can’t believe I’m saying that. And for sure, the first half of the route, I found Tokiwa amusing in a “why are you so stupid” kind of way. But the second half of the route, his sincerity and earnestness were simply too cute to ignore. While Misao did not deserve his unwavering faith (please, don’t lie to your lover, Misao) for quite a bit of the route, it was still very sweet of him. He’s a wide-eyed-kind-of-dumb-Labrador-Retriever-puppy kind of hero. And I haven’t been entertained by that kind of hero for a very long time!
Misao was fine. She’s still not a very compelling heroine, but I certainly don’t think she is the worst. I did appreciate her actions had a direct impact on the story, and mostly didn’t feel like a waste of time.
The route was definitely average for me. I didn’t love it. I didn’t hate it. I do think this route was better written than Kagura’s route, but it’s still nothing sensational. If you like Tokiwa as a character, this route can be a short and pleasant read!
And there’s nothing wrong with that!
Otomes as Novels 