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Review of Sousaku Kanojo no Ren'ai Koushiki

SubjectSousaku Kanojo no Ren'ai Koushiki
ByHelpfulness: 2
Vote: 6
casualreader on 2021-11-30
ReviewI started reading this with high expectations, as it's the same author of the Uso series, which had nice characters, an interesting plot and fun relationship development. However, after reading the common route and Kiriha+Erika's route, I've got to say that I'm disappointed. Despite all the talks about writing, what's important to create a good work, what makes an interesting writing and so on, it doesn't make a very interesting story, so there's little persuasive power to it.

Let's start with the good points:

+ The BGM is pretty good. I don't remember any other in which the drums and piano seem to be having so much fun (one track in particular has some nice drum solo parts).
+ The art is very good. It's a big change from Alpha's previous known works, but definitely not a bad one. I constantly confused his and Saeki Hokuto's art style, but that might not be case anymore.
+ Overall, it has good characters and not a bad common route. Supporting characters are not boring and actually have some background.

Now for the bad points:
- Very short character routes and epilogues. Common route has 8 chapters, while character specific routes have only 2 per character, with more than 50% of each character route being h-scenes. I really don't understand what the author wanted for this game, because it doesn't have an enticing/complex plot nor is it focused on the character/protagonist relationship.
- it puts too much emphasis on "this isn't how it happens on real life", just to keep throwing cliches at you.
- It keeps making use of cheap plot twists and cliches to spin drama into the character routes.
- The keep explaining some game plots the characters created or play but, in my opinion, they aren't interesting at all and it makes hard to understand the characters motivations.
- Yumemi feels like a side character who got a main route. Her situation and involvement are very simple and rapidly resolved and there's hardly much focus on her during the common route. Maybe they just felt the need for a sister character as part of the cast? For example, it seemed like a big deal for her to go school, yet they don't show anything at all about her adaptation process and just time skip it. She was also the only one not involved at all romantically with the protagonist.
- Aisa. Having her as the central heroine was the worst idea of the entire game as anything related to her feels like it's dragging on and on forever and it's hard to even sympathize with her. Read the spoilers below to understand if you want to know what I mean.

1. Chapter 1 focuses solely on resolving her and Toshiki's old crush. It was important for this to be resolved before developing the other characters and while the chapter ends up with both declaring they aren't in love anymore, she drags on for the next 7 chapters giving hints and acting like she is still in love, until in Chapter 8, when she kisses him before going away.
2. She seems to know how every character feels and the solution to all the problems. The worst thing was how she reacted when they were announcing the people who would be involved in the project by that outside company. For one, she reacts like she knew she would be chosen. And two, she reacts like she knew there would be two winners, which is impossible. Not to mention when she intentionally eavesdrop on a parent-daughter private conversation and goes on a rage for no apparent reason.
3. Now I haven't played her route (and not sure I ever will either), but I get the feeling they will be pulling a "terminal illness" kind of thing to her character, as they keep dropping these hints on her, like being on top of tree because she wants to feel closer to "life and death", how she's burning herself out while writing and her self-declared and weirdly unexplained "physical issues with her leg/foot". There are two reasons why if this is true it will make her even worse as a character: the first is that would mean she spent 8 chapters lying about her foot, about visiting the hospital to see a relative or about going to France to study as a pupil; the second is that the terminal illness thing is a cheap move that only works when you actually care about the character, and they don't do enough with Aisa for the reader to feel that.


All in all, I can't recommend this game, as there are so many other better ones. I feel they should have made Kiriha the main heroine, as she's the one who develops the most as a character and without the protagonist, has the worst future in sight. Really, becoming a "contracted prostitute" and most likely completely breaking off the relationship with her parents due to that...
2 points