Him, the Smile & Bloom – Tenya Minami Route ~ Plot & Character Analysis

I started out really invested in this route. Unfortunately, my excitement waned the longer the route went on.

For me, the miscommunication trope took over the route.

And while the miscommunication was rooted in the characters’ personalities and insecurities (so it does make perfect sense), for me, it just dragged on for too long.

This wasn’t a bad route. It just wasn’t for me.

And that’s okay.

As always, character and plot analysis and spoilers after the cut!

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Top 5 Otome Love Interests ~ Year 2

Well, my blog made it another year! To commemorate my two-year anniversary, I thought it would be fun to make a Top 5 favorite Love Interest ranking with all my “Final Thoughts” paragraphs for each guy! Mostly, this allowed me to go back and revisit my favorite heroes from this past year!

Every one of these Love Interests was either a “Great” or “Good” ranking! I omitted the two guys from Hakuouki; SSL. The game was so short and my love for them all was established in the games Kyoto Winds and Edo Blossoms, which I did not play this year.

This is all meant in good fun, and obviously just my personal favorites!

Okay! Here we go!

Character and plot spoilers after the cut!

Continue reading “Top 5 Otome Love Interests ~ Year 2”

Him, the Smile & Bloom – Wataru Tori Route ~ Plot & Character Analysis

I really wanted to love this route, but I just couldn’t get invested.

This isn’t a bad route, per se. So, I don’t feel right belaboring such a wholesome, sincere, and lovable route. There were just key components that I didn’t connect with, which overall gave me an impression that skewed more neutral.

Wataru’s route wasn’t for me.

And that’s okay.

As always, character and plot analysis and spoilers after the cut!

Continue reading “Him, the Smile & Bloom – Wataru Tori Route ~ Plot & Character Analysis”

Him, the Smile & Bloom – Hokuto Ichige Route ~ Plot & Character Analysis

I can honestly say that I’ve rarely read a route more tailored to my interests! I love the slice-of-life vibe, the characters, the story troupes, the voice acting, and how flowers feature within the story!

But most of all,

I love how our hero and heroine have weaknesses and faults!

Yes, really!

Weaknesses and faults are the fertile soil in which well-written character development and character arcs can flourish! And my favorite part of this route is how Hokuto and Fuuka are written as good people, who are still allowed to have flaws that lead them to do questionable and selfish things.

No unattainable perfection…and I am here for it!  

As always, character and plot analysis and spoilers after the cut!

Continue reading “Him, the Smile & Bloom – Hokuto Ichige Route ~ Plot & Character Analysis”