I honestly delayed coming back and playing Otoko Yuukaku for ten months because Kagerou’s personality was so off-putting to me. And yet, somehow, this arrogant, cynical teenager won me over…mostly.
Kagerou’s character arc centers around his stubborn pride, which makes sense for a young man struggling to assert himself. But, unfortunately, what could have been a compelling coming of age story was undercut by writing decisions that ultimately hindered Kagerou from developing the personal autonomy needed for character growth.
All that said, in the end, I enjoyed this route…mostly.
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.
Kagerou (VA: Kenji Nojima) is a teenager on the verge of his debut as a courtesan. After being sold to the brothel, Kikuya, as a child, Kagerou spent his life training under Kagura, who became Kagerou’s mentor and big-brother figure. Kagura was interested in academics and martial arts, so Kagerou’s education included these subjects as well.
If Kagerou could, he would continue his academic and martial art studies and seek a career that utilized them. However, he knows he will have to pay off the debt and contract to Kikuya.
Kagerou is very smart (as in too smart for this world), snarky, lacks peacemaking communication skills, and generally is not a good fit for the role being forced upon him by the adults in his life. And as with most teenagers, Kagerou has the convictions of wanting to support himself, make decisions for himself, and do things for himself.
Which leads to the main conflict of this route: Kagerou wants to get out of Kikuya by paying off his contract with his own work, EVEN THOUGH, his older sister (Shion) is able to pay off his contract before he has his debut.
Kagerou has the chance to continue his studies and find a career that suits him. He has the chance to avoid the life of a courtesan. He could walk out of Kikuya at that very moment and live the life he wants.
BUT HE DOESN’T.
Because of his convictions of not wanting to leave Kagura behind at Kikuya, wanting to work his way out and be a man who supports himself, Kagerou is “prepared” to condemn himself to a life he doesn’t even want.
Now, I put prepared in quotation marks because this is a very big caveat. Kagerou can’t really know how horrible a courtesan’s life is because he hasn’t experienced it for himself.
He doesn’t know the feeling of selling his body and “love” to a woman for the night. And then having to do the exact same thing for a different woman the following night, with this soul-sucking cycle continuing until he can maybe, possibly pay off his contract. He doesn’t know what it feels like to give up the studies he loves so much. He doesn’t know what it feels like to be restrained to Kikuya and the district of Yoshiwara, because as an apprentice he is allowed to leave Yoshiwara as part of his education.
And while part of this inexperience and naivety is due to the fact Kagerou is just an apprentice at Kikuya, the other factor is that Kagura has been doing his best to protect Kagerou. Kagura doesn’t want to crush the remaining innocence that still resides in our cynical Kagerou. So much so, that Kagura tells Misao that he has delayed Kagerou’s debut for as long as he can.
So, how can Kagerou make an educated decision?
The truth is…he can’t. He’s refusing the future he wants, for a life he doesn’t truly know.
Now.
Holding-to-conviction-at-all-costs heroes are usually a hard sell for me. I rarely agree with the convictions and life choices of these heroes, so I usually have a hard time relating. But the heroes I come to respect are the ones who genuinely understand and accept what they are getting into and make that choice anyway.
Like Hijikata from Hakuouki.
Hijikata drives me crazy in the historical games, but I understand his actions. They are not the choices I would make, but then, I have different priorities. Hijikata is who he is and he doesn’t let anyone sway him from the path he has chosen to follow.
Hijikata knew the stakes. He knew the consequences. And he accepted them for the life he wanted.
And I can respect that.
Sweet, naïve Kagerou can’t claim the same understanding of the life he is set to take on.
For me, Kagerou did not come across as a valiant young man fighting for control of his future. He came across as arrogant and mind-numbingly stubborn (as only a teenager can be) against all common sense!
And Kagerou’s stubborn pride reaches new heights, when the writers add to his list of reasons to leave Kikuya, like falling in love with Misao and having her future to consider too, yet this doesn’t challenge him to rethink his convictions.
Umm…okay…this is true love?
Now. Misao is a soft-spoken, polite, and kind young woman who lives in the town adjacent to the Yoshiwara district. 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.
After spending one night at Kikuya, due to a twist of fate because the brothel manager, Iroha, mistakes her as the daughter of a wealthy merchant, Misao had no intention of going back to Kikuya any time soon.
Yet, because Kagerou is able to move around town because of his “apprentice” status, the two run into each other as Misao runs her errands. They end up spending the day together and getting to know each other. Kagerou then invites Misao to join him at a festival in Yoshiwara (during the daytime, which is much less tawdry).
And because Kagura can see that Kagerou has feelings for Misao, Kagura invites Misao back to Kikuya for a banquet. Kagura knows he can’t protect Kagerou from the life of a courtesan any longer. So, mentor-and-big-brother Kagura does the next best thing he can.
Kagura asks Misao to be the one to take Kagerou’s virginity. Kagura wants Kagerou’s first time to be with someone he loves, and Kagura wants Kagerou to experience what real love is, before Kagerou is forced to sell himself to interested buyers.
Awww…I guess?
In the end, Misao agrees to become Kagerou’s first client, even though she knows that Kagerou is going to reject his sister’s offer to pay off his contract to Kikuya.
After spending the night and sharing a leisurely morning together, reality finally crashes down on Kagerou. While he is walking Misao to Kikuya’s entrance, two women ambush him competing for the right to be his “second.”
I know. Ick.
Yet Kagerou, because he is nothing, if not professional, prepares for the work ahead.
THIS IS NOT THE CORRECT COURSE OF ACTION, KAGEROU!
You should tell these two women to bugger off, contact your sister, and be with the woman you love, while you continue your studies and then look for a career in those fields.
THAT IS THE CORRECT RESPONSE TO THIS SITUATION.
Instead, what happens is Misao, who is having a hard time processing that the love of her life is willingly choosing prostitution over help from his sister, faints in the hallway.
So, the next three chapters are spent with Misao stuck in a spare room at Kikuya because she’s lost the will to live(?) she instantaneously comes down with a fever that refuses to go away. Over the course of a few weeks, Misao becomes weaker and weaker. She’s so sick with a fever that she essentially stops eating.
And while Kagerou is dedicatedly by Misao’s side during her illness (which is sweet!), he’s adding to his debt because he’s using resources from Kikuya but not taking on any clients. In other words, he’s digging a deeper financial hole that he will have to dig himself out of to leave Kikuya. And even when faced with this reality, Kagerou still refuses to see reason and accept his sister’s help!
Kagerou is concernedly watching Misao become weaker by the day, yet believes that after she gets better, he’s going to be able to focus on his “job” and start working as a prostitute.
Umm…what?
It takes Kagura, Shion, and the doctor lying to Kagerou and Misao to save Kagerou from himself! The doctor, with Kagura and Shion backing him up, tell Misao that a dormant chronic disease has become active within her body and she has six months to live. And this false news is what finally sets off the lightbulb of reason within Kagerou’s brain.
All this deception does is make me feel bad for Misao…she thinks she is dying!
Well, Kagura, Shion, and the doctor’s deception works. With believing that Misao only has six months to live and wanting to spend as much time as possible with her, Kagerou finally agrees to accept his sister’s offer to pay off his debt to Kikuya.
Then, thankfully, the charade was immediately cleared up and Kagura, Shion, and the doctor told Misao she wasn’t dying. Kagura lovingly, but sternly, tells Kagerou to be honest and follow what his heart truly wants and leave Kikuya. In an indignant huff, Kagerou tells everyone he needs some time to think everything through. However, by this point, everyone knows what Kagerou is going to decide.
Now.
This route could have gone one of three ways: 1) This is a story of a young man coming of age and taking control of his life; 2) This is a story of a young man coming of age and taking control of his life, who also learns how to rely on others when appropriate; 3) This is a story of a young man who needs to learn to rely on others and is denied personal autonomy in the process.
The writers obviously chose to go with concept #3.
And I’m left with this question: What was the point of Kagerou’s character arc?
He starts the route making life decisions without having all the information about the life he is choosing. And he ends the route making life decisions without having all the correct information.
I mean, any way you look at this, Kagerou is still making uninformed decisions about his future!
For a character that is hellbent to be in control of his own life and make his own way, the route ends with him being treated as a child by all the adults around him.
I mean, yes, objectively Kagerou “makes” the right decision to accept his sister’s help and leave Kikuya. But the way he got there was manipulated and dishonest. He didn’t make the decision by himself in the reality of the situation. He was manipulated by Shion, Kagura, and the doctor.
That’s not character growth.
That’s secondary and tertiary characters stepping in to manipulatively solve our hero and heroine’s conflict.
The writers chose to build the conflict upon Kagerou’s stubborn pride, only to undercut the character growth by not having him wrestle with the truth in true reality. Only the death of Misao and not being able to ever spend time with her while not being a courtesan, was enough to finally scare Kagerou into accepting help.
So, what the writers are saying is that they made Kagerou so prideful and stubborn that the genuine reality of his situation was not enough, in and of itself, to change his mind. He had to be untruthfully threatened with his lover’s death to rethink his life plan.
Honestly, if I was in Misao’s position, I would be pissed and seriously questioning this relationship!
But this is why Kagerou’s character arc and this ending doesn’t feel compelling.
The writers spent the entire route crafting a character that wanted to be in control of his own life and make his own way. This was all that Kagerou wanted. This was the focus and drive of the entire character and route, yet nothing ever came of it.
At no point in the route, did Kagerou experience personal autonomy. Even at the end of the route, when Kagerou seems to be finally making the decision to accept help and leave Kikuya, the truth is he is being manipulated into a decision desired by the adults around him.
That is not autonomy. That is being a child.
We, the reader, never get to see Kagerou grow up. He remains in perpetual childhood.
And, given the focus of the narrative, this ending is just disappointing.
-Final Thoughts-
So, Kagerou really grew on me! While he started off as a snarky, pain-in-the-ass by the end of the route he had shed the snarky outer layers to reveal the kind and compassionate man that was always underneath. And while his stubborn pride was frustrating to read for 13 chapters, never once did I think that his actions did not make sense for his age and life experience. Kagerou is a sweet boy and overall, he’s a good hero to me!
Amazingly, this route fixed many of my concerns about Misao from the other three routes I’ve read! I really liked that the writers did not have to concoct a reason for Misao to continue going to Kikuya for the first half of the route. Misao was great…until she passed out and proceeded to have a life-threatening fever for weeks on end. I did think this plot point was a bit over dramatic. But other than that, Misao’s character and actions made complete sense! The relationship development between Misao and Kagerou came off as much more natural, which was a pleasant surprise!
This isn’t a bad route. In fact, I was far more engaged than I ever thought I would be. I just wish that Kagerou’s character arc had been handled differently. He could have become a very compelling character, but his chance at character growth was pulled out from under him by the adult characters in his story. Still, I enjoyed his and Misao’s relationship development and the slow peeling back of his snarky layers.
Overall, this was a good route for me!
Otomes as Novels 