I did not enjoy this route in a typical sense. I did not find this route romantic and I didn’t like the “secret” hero as a love interest. My interest in this route and in our hero was strictly from an analytical viewpoint.
So, even while recognizing our hero’s actions where highly problematic, I can honestly appreciate that he, and his route, were well written. And that is what I enjoyed about his route.
I really only have one complaint:
Our secret hero really needs to see a…licensed therapist.
As always, character and plot analysis and spoilers after the cut!
While I did not find this route romantic at all, I can’t deny that this route worked for me.
The writing was tight and the backstory of our “secret” hero was perfectly utilized in forming the hero’s actions throughout the story. We even have a completed character arc with self-reflection, apologies, and accountability for his highly problematic actions.
Our “secret” hero…aka YOFY…aka Soh Yoshioka (Yes, that Yoshioka) is a textbook yandere.
Now, I want to be clear! I do not condone Soh’s yandere actions in this route!
What I’m saying is the highly problematic things he does, make sense given his character and backstory. And because of Soh’s self-reflection and accountability, there is a healthy way forward for him.
That said, I still believe the writers missed a chance to encourage and support mental and emotional health by not having Soh see a licensed therapist. Because, heavens! Soh needs licensed, professional help to overcome his childhood trauma and work on the feelings and thoughts that led to his actions in this route.
As the yandere of Sympathy Kiss, what surprised me was that both my husband and I can honestly say that we have known people like him.
Minus the stalking, sexual assault, drugging of the heroine, and abduction. That’s all on Soh.
Yeah.
Did I mention highly problematic things happen in this route?
But honestly, to me, this is the success of the writers in this route.
They took a nineteen-year-old, yandere character like Soh (VA: Soma Saito) and made two pedestrian adults say, “Yeah, I knew somebody like that in high school.”
Because, you see, before Soh became a yandere over Akari, he was an anti-social, recluse who worked from home and spent all his free time gaming. Soh had no friends, was not close to his family, and barely left his apartment. And on the occasions, he did leave his apartment he would always wear a face mask so people would not make a judgement of him based on his age. Soh hated speaking in general and had very little real human connection in his life.
And due to rarely leaving his apartment and not connecting with people, Soh really had no idea of how life and human interaction truly worked in the real world. He never cooked for himself and was content eating nothing but junk food. He especially struggled understanding the social mores of the corporate world (that he technically worked in) and other parts of adulthood, like that non-sleazy bars do exist.
Soh lived in his own little world that was created by his own experiences. And, due to that, his worldview was quite narrow and limited because Soh simply didn’t experience much outside his comfort zone. Because when your comfort zone is staying in your apartment, working from home, and gaming all the time, there is simply a lot of life that you miss! So, there was much about the modern world that Soh didn’t even know about.
And ALL of this went back to his childhood trauma.
A frail kid with asthma, Soh was in and out of the hospital until elementary school. And, because of his frail health and all the time spent in the hospital, Soh never learned how to make friends or talk to fellow kids his own age. With his frail health, small physical frame, and poor communication skills, Soh lacked self-confidence and was intimated by going to school.
Soh’s dad owned the large and successful tech company, Tempesty, and because of that, Soh’s fellow students believed Soh got special treatment. Which, of course, wasn’t the case. It was because of his frail health that sometimes Soh had to miss school or couldn’t join in PE class.
But, because some kids are the worst, Soh was bullied by his classmates. His shoes were hidden, people would purposefully bump into him in the hallways and he was excluded and ignored by his classmates.
And to top it off, at home, Soh realized that his older brother was the perfect son (*cough* Rokuro *cough*) who was good at everything while Soh was…not. And Soh noticed the different treatment he and Rokuro received from their parents. Rokuro had to carry the expectations of the family (which is difficult in its own way), while Soh was simply spoiled because his parents didn’t see him as the next leader of the family and company. Which led Soh to the classic case of sibling rivalry with his older brother.
You know…when a younger sibling looks up to their older sibling, but is painfully jealous of them at the same time.
All this led to Soh hating himself. He felt horrible about who he was and felt there was no one who really cared about him. Which led Soh to hate the people around him as well. So, Soh became quiet and withdrawn from the world.
The one thing Soh became passionate about was video games, which he played at home all alone. And due to his interest in gaming, Soh began learning how to write code and eventually became a freelance programmer.
And for a young man who was bullied, had no friends, and felt alienated from his family, computers gave Soh a sense of control. Because when programming, computers didn’t “talk back” or lie. They just did what they were told.
And so, this is the sad state of existence for Soh at the beginning of his route.
Chapter 1 begins with Akari being put in charge of the Estarci team’s communication with Soh, who is their programmer for the app they are revitalizing. Akari, understanding corporate culture, wants to meet Soh face-to-face so they can improve their working relationship. Akari believes that communication needs to be more than just emails, texts, and online chats, so they can avoid any miscommunications.
Soh, being the anti-social recluse that he is, has no real understanding of how business relationships function in the real world. So, he brushes off Akari’s attempts at face-to-face meetings. It takes Akari’s persistence in wearing him down, for him to agree to a call meeting. Yet, our clueless hero uses a voice manipulation machine to disguise his voice on the call. And he is extremely rude, demeaning, and condescending towards Akari.
Soh must be very good at his job because how many companies would actually put up with a freelance contractor like this?
Akari is, of course, frustrated!
Chapter 1 showed the spoiled, entitled, arrogant, rich-boy side of Soh’s personality. Because, honestly, who else can get away with this? Soh gets mad and huffy when the CEO of Estario asks him to come into the office and finalize his contract. He doesn’t care about anything but himself and expects everyone else to cater their needs to his own. He has attitude “tantrums” when he doesn’t get his way and gets mad at people when they have expectations for his behavior. He runs away, rather than communicate with people and gets huffy with those who try to engage him in conversation.
Like, boy! This is how business (aka the real world) works!
I am convinced that Soh got this contract to work with Estario because of his rich, powerful, well-connected father. Now, I’m not saying that Soh isn’t good at what he does. I’m saying there is no way, given his lack of people skills and understanding of corporate culture, that Soh got this job on his own. He couldn’t make it through an initial interview!
While in the office, Akari overhears the CEO in a meeting with another man. Of course, Akari is shocked when she recognized Soh because of the way he spoke. He recognizes Akari from their call (she was on video, but he refused) and immediately tries to walk away from her. Akari stops him and because he refuses to talk with her in the office, they go to a café for lunch to chat.
After their impromptu lunch, Soh softens a bit towards Akari. He understands that Akari recognized him solely on how he spoke, and she took the time to pursue a conversation with him and genuinely listened to what he had to say. This was the first meaningful conversation Soh had had with another human being for a very long time.
Soh became willing to communicate on the phone and have distance meetings with Akari. He gives his personal contact information to Akari, so it’s easier for them to communicate if she has any problems or questions. And for Soh, this is a big deal. This is the first person outside his family that he has given his personal contact information.
Soh self-reflects that he knows he is withdrawn from the world and he recognizes that even this short time knowing Akari has him thinking differently.
Chapter 2 rehabilitates Soh’s character.
Akari is working late on a Friday evening to make changes to the specs sheet that Soh recommended. She goes out to get a drink but realizes she left her office building’s key card on her desk. She doesn’t have enough money on her to get home or stay at a safe hotel for the night. With it being late on a Friday night, no one is left in the office, and her phone battery is running low. Akari quickly calls Soh (who lives nearby) for help.
Soh answers her panicked call. At first, he questions himself on why he should help her until he remembered the news about a suspicious man who had attacked a woman and was on the run. And since Soh isn’t a completely selfish man, he runs to her aid.
Because, deep down, Soh is simply not completely selfish. In fact, Soh has a conscience and is a good man under all his entitlement, indifferent attitude, and emotional and mental trauma. At his core, he cares.
Soh then lets Akari spend the night in his apartment, thinking nothing of it. Of course, Akari is shocked that Soh of all people would invite her into his home. And Soh’s reasoning is that internet cafes (the kind of places that Akari would probably have to go for the night) are “breeding grounds for crime,” and the suspicious man is still on the loose. Also, Soh feels guilty that he was the reason Akari was working late to begin with.
Aww, Soh, you do care!
Soh proceeds to feed her soda and potato chips and then he starts gaming. So, Akari and Soh spend the night talking about Akari’s school days and Soh teaching Akari how to play his zombie video game.
After Akari falls asleep on the sofa, Soh muses that he thinks Akari is cute and that she is the only person, besides his brother, that he has let into his apartment. He likes that she doesn’t treat him poorly based on his age and that she actually listens to him. Obviously, after being alone for so long, Soh starts developing a crush on Akari.
And at this point in the story, I was happy for Soh!
Like, yes! Find people who treat you well to develop friendships with!
There is nothing wrong with Soh becoming attached to Akari because she is kind, thoughtful, and a good listener! In fact, his actions should be praised! He didn’t attach himself to someone hurtful simply because he was lonely.
Akari makes it back home and finishes her spec sheet. Her work is well received and she is happy that she was able to exceed expectations! She sends the spec sheet to Soh, who praises her work as well.
Then Mitsuki, a coworker, offers to buy Akari lunch for the work she did on the spec sheet. Akari happily joins Mitsuki for lunch. Mitsuki, being Mitsuki, grabs Akari’s hand so they can quickly make it across a city street crosswalk before the signal turns.
Meanwhile, Soh is so happy with Akari’s excited response to his praise that he decides to walk towards her office and maybe invite her out to lunch. Well, he spots Akari and Mitsuki at the crosswalk and, not understanding the reality of corporate coworker lunches, Soh’s insecurities take over and he assumes the worst about what has happened between Akari and Mitsuki. He immediately goes to the most negative, for him, reasons for why Akari went out with another man.
And this is where the story takes a turn…Chapter 3
Because of his insecurities, Soh starts stalking Akari as she commutes home from work. This continues for a week. And, of course, Akari is terrified because she thinks it must be the suspicious man who attacked that woman.
Nope, Akari, it isn’t the suspicious man…it’s Soh.
After a while, Akari shares her anxieties about going home at night with Soh. And instead of owning up to being the one who is stalking her, Soh offers to escort Akari home at night.
Uh, hmm.
Soh, also, becomes jealous and possessive when he sees Akari with a male coworker at the office or hears her talking to a male coworker on the phone.
Because, once again, Soh struggles to understand how the adult corporate world works.
By this point in the story, Soh is clearly becoming more and more obsessed with Akari. But what sends him over the edge is seeing Akari with Rokuro.
Akari has to cancel plans with Soh on a Saturday because of a coworker’s going-away-party. It’s at a classy nearby bar called Evergreen. Well, Soh, once again trails Akari (as he’s accustomed to doing, by this point) and his brain can’t compute what is happening when he sees Akari enter the bar with Rokuro.
Now this was a complete coincidence. Rokuro just happened to have worked with Akari’s coworker and they happened to arrive at the bar at the same time.
But did Soh’s brain go to any logical explanations?
No.
Soh’s deepest insecurities regarding Rokuro, feeling betrayed by Akari, and his lack of understanding of the modern adult world, combined together to take him to a dark place. Immediately, he assumes that Akari lied to him and his thoughts spiral out of control from there.
He waits for Akari outside the bar until the party is over and then follows her home (per usual for him). Soh begins questioning her about what she did all day and can’t handle when Akari tells the truth, but what he believes to be lie. Soh catches her and forcibly kisses her, while admitting that he had been the one following her home.
Akari has to forcibly remove herself from Soh’s arms and, terrified, she runs home.
Now. This is not to excuse Soh’s actions. He is clearly in mental and emotional turmoil. Akari is the victim and it is not her responsibility to help Soh through his trauma.
Soh needs a licensed therapist.
Soh has made healthy improvements in his life, such as making friends and getting out of his apartment more. But, unfortunately, due to his childhood trauma and insecurities, he has taken a hard turn left into destructive behaviors. And in this case, he is not the only one affected by his bad choices. He is hurting Akari as well.
This leads to Chapter 4.
While at work, a virus affects the computers. Yoji, not knowing what Soh has done to Akari, asks her to stay in the office, after hours, to let Soh in to fix the virus. Soh comes in acting like nothing happened between them.
Akari not exactly sure how to act, gets them both cups of coffee. Well, eventually Akari has to use the restroom and leaves her cup of coffee on the desk. We find out later that Soh drugged her coffee.
Now.
I honestly thought that Soh had sent the virus to the computers to get back at Akari or to ruin her work life so she would be dependent on him or simply as a way to see her again. But apparently, I was wrong. And Soh had nothing to do with the virus.
Apparently, Soh wasn’t even sure he’d see Akari in the office. He didn’t know who would be waiting for him to let him into the building. So, how did he have sleeping pills with him? Like, is this just something he carries around?
This was just a bit bizarre to me. I mean, besides insomniacs who is carrying around sleeping pills?
Well, our emotionally unhinged hero, takes a sleeping Akari back to his apartment. He feels that the only way to keep Akari to himself is to not allow her to be around other men…especially Rokuro.
Because it makes perfect sense…any woman would pick Rokuro over him…
At least, that’s how Soh thinks.
The writers play up Soh’s unhinged mental state by making Akari feel uncomfortable with how eerily undisturbed Soh seems to be about the whole thing. And, at first, this is genuinely how he appears to be. He hears Akari’s stomach rumbling and he gets them both puddings to eat from his fridge in the kitchen. Of course, dragging her along by the wrist so she can’t leave his apartment.
What’s interesting is that through the whole scene in his apartment, Soh knows he’s done some really terrible things. He, also, knows that Akari is kind and even after he abducted her, she shows concern for him. And recognizing these two conflicting truths, Soh can’t mentally reconcile how this is happening.
So, Soh’s calm façade doesn’t last long.
He angrily questions Akari’s kindness and if she was just messing with him to amuse herself. He continues to accuse Akari about her lies of meeting Rokuro at Evergreen. And he continues to rage until the reader gets to make a selection.
I chose for Akari to start crying. She firmly admonishes him and, once again, explains what really happened. She also clarifies that Evergreen is a classy bar, and yes, corporate going-away-parties can be held there!
And this is what snaps Soh out of his mental instability.
And something amazing happens.
Soh apologizes. Soh admits that his bad emotions took over and he lost control. He admits his lack of knowledge about the adult world of bars clouded his understanding of the situation. And he admitted that Rokuro’s unintentional involvement in the situation made his bad feelings even more toxic.
Soh admits he loves Akari and he was terrified of losing her. And then he gives Akari her things and lets her go.
Soh self-reflects and takes full responsibility for everything he put Akari through. And on top of that, Soh has the self-awareness to know that he will be lucky not to end up in jail.
Now. I know for a lot of people that what Soh did would constitute jail time, or at the very minimum a restraining order with the thought that they would never see him again.
And I agree.
That is why I found Akari’s actions very underwhelming. She knows what Soh did was unacceptable. She even questions whether she could ever forgive him. And all her concerns are completely valid. That said. She does still care about him and she couldn’t stand the idea of living without him.
Which, okay.
People care about mentally and emotionally traumatized people every day, all over the world. There, inherently, is nothing wrong with wanting to help and support someone with issues. It’s very compassionate to look past someone’s failures and weaknesses to the human underneath.
HOWEVER.
Akari running back to Soh’s apartment the next day is not safe or healthy. Soh stalked, assaulted, drugged, and abducted Akari and he needs to be held accountable for those actions.
At bare minimum, Akari needed to set the boundary of Soh getting the help of a professional, licensed therapist before she allowed them to start a romantic relationship. Because this relationship is not safe as it currently stands.
Soh did take positive steps in his life in this route, but he clearly needs help not letting bad, negative thoughts run wild in his mind and cause dangerous trouble for other people.
This is a fairy tale ending that is not healthy in real life.
Now, with all this said.
I appreciate how the writers completed Soh’s character arc.
In the Perfect Ending, Soh starts doing his contracted programmer work in the Estario offices, with the thought that someday he’d become a full-time employee of Estario. Soh gets to know his coworkers and over time builds actual human friendships. Soh runs into Rokuro at the office and says he wants to get to know his older brother better. Soh even went to a bar for a work colleague bonding party.
This is a huge improvement from where Soh started the route, in every single metric of his life!
Soh has the self-awareness to understand that he wasn’t becoming a very good person and that he no longer thought about others. He knows he had caused problems for Akari. And honestly, it’s this self-reflection and self-awareness from Soh that saved the character for me.
Minus the reality of Akari needing specific boundaries and Soh needing therapy, the writers did a fantastic job with Soh’s character arc!
He becomes self-aware enough that he realizes he needs to change his life. And even with some terrible mistakes along the way, this is exactly what Soh does. All of his self-perpetuated fears and beliefs are completely changed by the end of the route. And Soh did that. He grew into a healthier version of himself.
I am not saying that his route doesn’t have flaws. It’s certainly not one of my favorites.
But I do appreciate the writers crafting an effective character arc from beginning to end. Because not all heroes in Sympathy Kiss have that.
-Final Thoughts-
Okay, so I don’t hate Soh, probably because I have known awkward, anti-social boys. Now to be clear: I do not find Soh romantic in anyway. My enjoyment of him as a character, comes from his completed character arc. His behavior in Chapters 3 & 4 is completely unacceptable and not the kind of stuff I like to read about. So, while I have compassion for his backstory and the trauma he went through, it’s not like I’m going to come back to his route often. I think for me he balances out to average. I didn’t love him. I didn’t hate him.
The route balances out to average for me as well. I appreciate this route solely on the writers’ ability to craft a compelling character arc, with the understanding they still missed the opportunity to support and encourage mental and emotional health by sending our hero to a licensed therapist.
I expected this route and hero to kick Amnesia’s Toma of the throne of my least favorite otome hero and route of all time. Sadly, for Toma, the throne remains his.
And nobody is more surprised about this than me.
Otomes as Novels 