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Review of Harukoi * Otome ~Otome no Sono de Gokigen'you.~

SubjectHarukoi * Otome ~Otome no Sono de Gokigen'you.~
Harukoi Otome ~Greetings from the Maidens' Garden~
ByHelpfulness: 2
Vote: 3
raymcsriff on 2021-08-09 last updated on 2022-04-05
ReviewSumming up Harukoi Otome is rather simple, but I will provide a detailed explanation after. Harukoi Otome is a VN with an innocent looking veneer, and a sunny, slapstick exterior during the common route, but dark, depressing routes that monotonously (and sometimes repetitively) drag out to the point that it's hard to appreciate the H art in any way.

It's a commonality that all routes share; you get into them, and you go on a roller coaster ride of drama, climax, drama, climax, etc. The main character and all heroines become very unsympathetic at times, and when some routes complete, you wonder just how the main character and the girl get together at all. Seems like they would need therapy rather than any kind of relationship. The H art appearing at the end can be rather jarring because of this too. It seems to just "pop in". It's the complete opposite atmosphere than an eroge should have. Further adding insult to injury is the paltry amount of H art, and it's inconsistent usage between various routes/girls. Some routes have more, some less. Some routes have "choices", others don't. Some give you something before the drama ends, then at the end. Others literally "dump" all the art at the end as an afterthought, which is beyond stupid.

I didn't find any of the routes enjoyable. Kasaya's wasn't all bad, but it was really up and down like in a loop, and contains an optional "Bad End" that's a "NotRape!" scene, which is really a rape scene in spirit using excusing dialog. The worst route by far though is Yuika. In order to even play her route, you have to completely clear "Umi's" route. The writers thought it would be a good idea to tie the two characters together narratively (and enforce a playing order). What that means is, if you don't like incest-type routes, too bad, you have to play it first in order to play Yuika's route. Fear not though, because Yuika's route is nearly "slit-your-wrists" level depressing, so you're not missing much if you don't. They even managed to ruin the male sidekick character by giving him too much of a roll, and using him as mild netorare bait. Then, at the very end, you're given only two tacked on H scenes, and they're the worst H scenes for any girl in the VN (and you get no "choices" as well). Complete failure of a route.

I'm giving this VN a simple "don't try, don't buy", and a VNDB ranking of 3, because the H art is pretty good, and the writers at least have some talent (although misplaced here). Find the CG somewhere else if you're interested in this game's art. The only people who will enjoy the story are people looking for dark, depressing drama that drags on too long with few to no H scene respites in between. However, those people have much better options that are tailored to them, so this VN is sort of obsolete.
2 points