![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
seimeinotakaContinuing from the trash route of garbage, I decided to pick up Ikki because his route seemed less intense than Shin's (and featuring less Trash was good) and I'm leaving Cinnamon Kent for last.
At this point, I decided to rely on saving-parameter checking-reloading because I couldn't be assed to try it once, because Ikki's route is hard. Even if I had figured out the twists early on, it was nothing compared to knowing the right answers. In the end, I couldn't max his trust and affection and suspicion stayed between 25% and 50%. I managed somehow to avoid the bad endings and I was like "Um ok" then "LOOOOOL" as I got the good ending and I somehow managed to not fuck up badly.
Ikki is the sort of playboy character you might want to punch him in the face at the start of the route and his route is the kind that works in game land but probably not in real life. We also see A LOT of new faces, which is always good, so off we go! (I did this in separated days so the details are hazy)
As usual, the game starts with the heroine being clueless about herself and her life. This time, her phone is new and only has one "Ikkyu" so she and Orion are like WTF. The heroine apparently is like me in that hardly takes pictures, actually if I had the same issue, I'd be in the dark as I happen to have 0 pics of myself and a strange bunch of cat ones but I digress. In any case, Orion and Ari just wonder what the hell is going on. This Ikkyu person is asking to meet with Ari because they don't have work and have the day off, so he'll arrive in 30 minutes which somehow turns into an hour, something that will be TYPICAL in this route. Ari and Orion decide to go outside to meet a man with a bunch of many girls surrounding him and being all CLINGY.
Orion tries to deny this guy is our Ikkyu but...
Even if I knew who he was because he appeared in Trash's route, I'd have figured out he was our guy. I just didn't think it was that bad.
In all honesty a lot of interactions outside buildings with Ikki usually involve him and these girls and I've seen the first GC far too many times to even count.This is probably a good sign of who the true devil in this route is.
In any case, Ikki tries to make hilarious innuendos and they end up going to the movies. Unlike Trash's route, Ikki's Suspicion stat is not secure so we're basically trying to pretend to be our past selves except there's no workable clues to see Ari's previous behavior AND Trash's route was pretty bad in this regard. It basically goes like:
Ikki has a peculiar condition. Those who look at him in the eye immediately fall in love with him, though wearing sunglasses decreases the effect, slightly. Because of this, he has a fanclub full of highly questionable territorial women. These women go as far as to literally say "Break off with your girlfriend" in front of her face. Ikki also has a peculiar habit. He has dated several women, and will break up with them after three months. Ari has been with him for two already so the entirety of August is her final month. The crux of this story is how Ikki can blatantly say mean and cold things in front of her yet be considerate in the shadows. Orion and Ari at several times wonder if Ikki is merely playing with her or if their deal is real. But since Ari has no memories, apparently no friends or family, staying close to Ikki is her only option if she wants to regain her memories.
The truth about the issues in this route is more hilariously awful if one finished Trash's route first.
To make things even worse, Ari has no clue on what the fuck she did before. First she gets some insane message asking her for a report but since you can't say "Um what report???" she and Orion shrug it off. Then, there's her job. She had to cleverly trick Ikki to walking her to her job because she had no way of knowing where it was and when she discovers she works at a maid cafe, she even gets personal lessons because everyone thinks she's completely lost.
If only you knew...
While at first, the excuse of "I'm not feeling well" holds nicely, Ari has to quickly learn how to behave, and work without arising suspicion. In Trash's route, that was sort of helped because Trash and Shin told the manager so she got a health vacation and then she was trapped in a fucking cage, so there wasn't anything work-related issues she had to worry about. This time, we're not stuck with a nutjob BUT YEAH.
When work is over, Ari wants to walk home with Ikki to talk and recover memories but the fanclub is hijacking his time. She has to leave by herself but fortunately is ok enough to walk home on her own. Now conversations with Ikki become complicated as he will say confusing things. Since Ari is acting entirely different than her previous, more assertive and independent self, Ikki comments on how she would not rely on him in the past but her being so defenseless right now and relying on him makes him happy. This makes picking the right choice a nightmare because Suspicion vs making him happy.
He is only saying this because she asks him to help her.
He also tries to kiss Ari but since she's ??? because she has no memories, he asks if she actually feels anything for him. It's kinda hard because the first impression of him is that of a terrible Playboy (I knew the truth but Ari and Orion didn't) and his cold treatment isn't any better.
As days go by, the constant incidents with Ikki and women make it hard for Ari and Orion to get a clear picture of him. Talks with Shin and others just drive the point that Ari previously wasn't very fond of Ikki's philandering actions. Shin is very clear in his dislike and Sawa, Ari's University friend not appearing in Trash's route, even goes to the cafe to learn about Ikki. She actually says that Ari had disliked Ikki in the past but somewhere along the line, she ended up joining his fanclub and then become his girlfriend. No one can understand Ari's thought process but Sawa does realize that Ikki's eyes are the real thing. His eyes were the first rumor, others include the break up after 3 months. Mine, Ari's coworker, is even downright dismissive of her and is waiting for the three months to be up. She will even patronize Ari if she tries to ask about this 3-month deadline everyone but she knows about.
At this point I honestly felt bad for Ikki because everyone really wants him but not in the very nice and flattering way.
Mine goes as far as to basically ask him that since Ari hadn't really fucked with Ikki, he should dump her, THAT'S HOW BAD THINGS ARE. Another of the rumors goes that Ikki will discard the women he has slept with and several wonder if the reason pre-amnesia Ari didn't try to go beyond holding hands was because she feared she'd be discarded. Because of this, others try to use it to their advantage and make promises of sexual depravity in exchange of becoming the new girlfriend. However, Ikki does have a code, along other things, and will brush off these advances. Even if he blatantly talks to these girls in front of Ari and is like "yeah she can go home by herself".
Other than Ari, there is, however, one person not affected by Ikki's eyes.
There are some inconsistencies in his name, but Cinnammon Kent is here and he plays a prominent role in this route. Kent is honestly Ikki's only friend.
Kent is a fucking big ass math nerd, and the kind of guy who is very blunt but also logical and kind of an idiot but an endearing one. :U
Anyway, Ari mets Kent while waiting for Ikki at some special designated place so they walk home because they can't absolutely be seen together by the fanclub, which is very sad. They all end up going to Ikki's place. While Kent is curious that Ari is very "WOW WHAT IS THIS PLACE", it just turns out that her amnesia can be excused because Ari had actually never been there. Kent is also curious because
Through Kent, Ari learns that Ikki is studying Accounting. He and Ikki met because Kent's girlfriend back then fell in love with Ikki and that's honestly a great way to make friends??? Even if Kent ended up breaking up with her, he got interested because Ikki excused himself with the "Eye problem", which is as good of an excuse as saying a cage is a perfectly good way to protect someone. I honestly give up in people's reasoning in this game which goes from "huh?" to "?????????". They also get along because Kent makes math problems and Ikki solves them.
Kent is actually interested in Ari because Ikki had never struggled with a woman but she seems to be very plain, which is kind of very mean sexist shit on its own yet at the same time it's kind of hilarious. Actually, without lots of context this is honestly the route that would make anyone think Ikki is a big sexist douche.The whole concept of conquest though is very eyebrow-arching-inducing though.
Next day there's fireworks. Mine, having been brutally shot down by Ikki, flaunts about her win because he's going with two men (Shin and Waka, the manager) because being baby-sat somehow counts? As usual, Ikki is delayed by the fanclub, except someone else also joins.
Everyone, meet Satan.
As one would have assumed from the insane ending in Trash's route, Rika is the actual psychopath in this route. The fact that she makes this very statement about Ikki's girlfriend really shows how messed up she is. Because you know Ikki is Ari's boyfriend and they were going to watch fireworks together, but how dare Ari ask or expect Ikki to be with her and not his fanclub of unrelated-to-him-girls?
Yeah.
It doesn't help to Ari that Ikki somehow agrees with this and she is somehow turned into an enemy because "how fucking selfish of you". However, as soon as the fanclub leaves, Ikki shows his considerate side and takes Ari to a tall building because reaching the festival is out of option thanks to the fanclub's intervention and delay.
Ikki is sweet and genuine, except from some very "Excuse me, keep it in your pants" comments he makes at times because Amnesia is hard on "A boy is bad news and they have little self-restraint". While Ikki does say that if Ari were to say no, he'd stop, the fact the comment is made in the first place is "Ehhhhhhh" to me.
No points for guessing who says that.
After the fireworks, Orion shares his input about Rika. He is right about her being the ringleader of the fanclub and he is wary about her. While Mine was mean to Ari, she's actually pretty harmless to the dangers Rika can be. In Trash's route, Rika ordered the fanclub members to seriously bully and harass Ari because they thought she was dating him, so who knows what they can be capable of doing when Aki IS THE girlfriend.
Amusingly, after the reveal of Rika and the phonecall threat from Satan, I wondered if I wasn't going to be harrassed by another psycho we met on the last route and
Surprise plot twist, Ukyo appears.
Unlike Trash's route, Ukyo here is quite polite and never turns into a psycho, unless he did in one of the bad endings I somehow missed.
(Except when he disses Cinammon Kent as a good dating option :U)
Ukyo is hardly an important character in this route, appearing exactly twice. He is however, very kind and considerate to the heroine, as far as giving her the biggest advice in not getting killed but that is for later.
Eventually Ari meets with Sawa, after being dumped by change-of-plans Ikki and that is a hilarious description of Ikki. Sawa can't really understand how Ari got to date Ikki in the first place, since Ari really disliked him before, and then joined the club. Ari never disclosed her reasons to anyone, not even her best friend and her boyfriend. Sawa is also worried for Ari since her month is almost up and the rumors of being discarded. This makes Ari remember some conversations and she falls unconscious to wake up to this...
JESUS FUCKING CHRIST
Fortunately, this is a different world. In this one, Trash is actually nice and not a psycho. He is also Ari's former step-brother, since her dad and his mom married but then they divorced. Ari's dad being a shit at marriage is actually important. Sawa phoned him and he went to help her, since he still sees Ari as a little sister. News of Ari' fainting also reach someone's ears
And Ikki was just so desperate to see Ari without being unhinged by the fanclub that he literally wore a hilarious mask to cover his eyes. As I've said before, his eye-power is decreased by sunglasses. Some girls, like Sawa's short enchanting time, get over it, as long as they don't see Ikki in the eye. If Ikki covers his face, he can decrease considerably his power, same as being in a dark room. Kent explains that Ikki did it out of concern and love because he couldn't absolutely allow anyone to stop him to get to her house. Ikki also almost murders Touma because he was like WHO IS THIS DUDE. This was actually Kent's idea because he is a shit but he was hilariously surprised that Ikki went along this.
FRIENDSHIP.
Eventually, everyone figures shit out and Ari asks Ikki to stay with her.
He confesses he was very worried about her condition, since she fainted and then caught a cold because it started raining. He is so worried he even stays at her house and hardly sleeps because he is worried she might get worse.
However, he quickly goes back to being cold with her in the presence of others.
I'm kind of amused because Orion was very critical of Ikki but he wasn't this extreme with TOUMA, you know, the guy who drugs and puts Ari inside a fucking cage. I mean, being a philanderer is a big no no to me, but I'd consider the cage the bigger offense here...
But we all know that Amnesia doesn't really share my views ~shrug~
Eventually, Ikki gets very drunk and phones Ari to which Ari goes to his house after a long speech of "Men are vile creatures and you are exposing yourself".
A lot of Ikki's route relies basically on trust. Continuing with the spoilers, Ikki, as a kid, wished upon a star to be popular with women. Some idiot god decided to be a cool chap and help him and eventually all women would fawn over him, but this caused him more issues. Women would start fighting for him and try to steal him from other women. He eventually made some dating rules because he just can't be like "Um no, pls go away", because they all love him and he feels bad. So he came up with some shenanigan to date them for a short while and then break up, arguing that if they had fun and he had fun, it'd be a good scenario.
The game doesn't really go much over it but I think he missed the fact that even if women would onlyd ate him for 3 months, there might be several who would be under the wishful thinking that maybe SHE would be THE ONE and he'd quit this for her. In any case, Ikki feels guilty for what he has done. He also makes it very clear that he loves Ari, and actually whether she believes him or not and if she trusts him determines his endings.
A few days later, we meet Ukyo again.
But yeah, it's hardly a surprise but Ikki really wishes Ari would love him and he's been trying HARD all this time to win her heart but it seems to him like it's a lost cause. They do kiss and Ari has yet but be like "I love you."
After that, there's some very scary talk next day.
Mine isn't even kidding, on the contrary, this is a huge understatement.
Turns out, as I suspected, the map was a fake but it was all a huge bullying attempt because Ari was "monopolizing" Ikki's time and affection. Every fangirl was in the forest by the time Ari got in and they had carefully left anyone, Ikki, Sawa, Mine and the two guys, out so they couldn't go help her. Ikki had figured somethng was fishy when his partner suddenly bailed out and wanted him to escort her to the house, so he did but quickly got to Ari in time. If you wonder what happens if Ikki doesn't make it, WELL...
But that's for later. They also discuss that in the past Ari had been under Ikki's charm for a short time but then she somehow broke free of his spell. Ikki is curious about how she did it but Ari is like "Well can't say", but she has no shitting clue. Days back at home go harsher, as Ikki acts colder to Ari and Ari is like "Why" though anyone else would have figured it out. Ari and Orion decide she should go wait for him at his house and naturally Ikki flips his shit out because "What if someone saw you."
Ari is like ??? and wonders why he is so mad so he basically lays it out to her: Ari is being severely bullied by the fanclub. The failed shtick at the Shinano trip was to threaten her and Ikki is trying to appease these monsters by treating her coldly. It also happens that one of these shits saw Ikki's phone and the ruse was gone. Before anything, Ikki and Ari had agreed on some special terms to their relationship. On the outside, he would even treat her coldly and ignore him if it was necessary but he was caring on private terms. When his phone was seen by the club members, they realized that Ikki wasn't just playing with her and they decided to be the worst kind of human being.
Ikki does say that while he finds it touching that Ari is jelly, he is the one suffering the most and while that is pretty much selfish it also does make sense kinda. Ikki's life is pretty much determined by the whims of these girls, and even though he doesn't know how deep this goes, he has to manage them and be unable to have fun with his girlfriend or have friends or anything. He was like "Why can't you believe me" and I thought THIS WAS A GOOD TIME TO BE LIKE I'M SORRY BUT AMNESIA but this game never lets me have my way.
This is exactly my point on this route not being feasible IRL. From the heroine's perspective, Ikki's actions are very vague and ambiguous and she can't exactly down-right ask what the fuck because Ikki thinks she is on with the program. But to her as a new bystander, she questions most of the time if his feelings are true because it's at times hard to tell, at least to her and Orion. Ikki is angry at her but mostly at himself because he put them in a situation where he can't be trustworthy.
In any case, Ikki has some thinking to do and isn't with Ari for the next days. In a talk with Kent, Ari learns that Ikki was very happy to do dumb things like walking home, so it's kind of a confirmation that he loves her. Furthermore, there's a new thing here. It turns out that her father tries to reach her. Ari not only had to decide whether she liked Ikki or not, she has to decide if she is going back to her parent's house, you know the dad who remarried like a bazillion times. Ari hated how he used women and went to live on her own, but her dad pays the place until the end of August. Amusingly, Ikki comes forward and says she can live with him and how he is very capable and he has actually his lifeplan ready.
There is something else Ari worries. Ari remembers that the first time, as previously said, she had been entranced by Ikki but since she had heard the rumors, she hated him and went to scold him for his attitude. In a matter of basically wills, she broke free because she was stubborn and willed enough to not do as he said and Ikki was surprised. Ari worries that if there was someone else who did the same, Ikki would like them, which is very understandable. Also, because she's remembering much, Orion is fading away and he suggests she talks to Ikki about her amnesia. Orion reassures her he loves her.
And FINALLY SHE CONFESSES THE TRUTH. Her story is pretty much ridiculous but since Ikki has magical eyes *shrug* He does realize that it makes sense, since her attitude at the start of August made no sense and she has done some things in a suspicious way. He also realizes she must have been very scared and anxious because she had to go on with her life without anyone to trust and if Ikki had been more forward and honest, she'd at least trust that his feelings are 10000% real
It works out because Ari does trust him, I mean, she told him the truth and she remembers also why she joined the fanclub. In the past, Ari had heard the rumors about him and went to confront him. This caused him to be interested and then genuienely like her. Ari was suspicious about the fanclub's activities, and joined them. Then she learned that: 1. Ikki was actually a good guy and 2. The fanclub was full of shit. Basically, all members had to join some ranking system and get achievement points to get in line to ask Ikki out. If they became the GF, they'd have to give in daily reports (the one Ari got asked early on). Furthermore, members bullied girls. Several of Ikki's actual attempts at dating quit because they were bullied by the girls. Those who weren't bullied were the fangirls.
Ari wasn't bullied at first but since she forgot her reports and got much of Ikki's attention became the target of bullying, and VICIOUS one, especially because Ikki ASKED HER OUT. Ari had just joined but Ikki asked her out and that had never happened before. But Ari couldn't say the truth because it'd hurt Ikki. Eventually, she confesses Rika had threatened her and Ikki decides that enough is enough. With some advice of Waka, Ikki comes and says Ari is his girlfriend and he'll never forget nor forgive those who do something to her. If Ari is ok with him talking to the girls, he'll do so.
Basically, he can't cut them off entirely but he'll show that if they misbehave, he won't like them. He has to have some balance so that they don't try to harm Ari and leave her alone, for good. He also makes sure to tell Rika that he knows so she drops this shit entirely, since she set up everything because she's just batshit insane.
In the end, Ari decides to stay with Ikki and Ikki is finally free to live his life with the woman he loves and not hide in the shadows and shit!
Normal Ending
This one is achieved by basically not liking Ikki enough, so that he doesn't even consider them living together or sees it as a distant possibility. In it, Ari learns that her dad seems to have decided to change his ways and is really in love with the fourth wife of his. While they don't agree to much, Ikki still loves her but won't try to reach out to her and it's up to her. Ari goes back to her parents, two hours away on train but she still tries to talk to Ikki and they end up making some appointment for the weekend.
Bad Ending 1.
I had to redo the fucking game because this one is achieved around half the month by acting suspicious as fuck. I suppose it needs real skill because some options are obviously bad ideas, I still crack at "Hey Ikster". It basically implies no common sense and being pretty out of it, so much that it's very ????
Amusingly in this ending, Ikki realizes that Ari has amnesia but is very pissed that she didn't trust him to tell him the truth. He then pretends that he'll abuse her sexually because they supposedly did but Ari got very scared and ran away. Ikki cries to himself because Ari doesn't trust him enough to realize that it was just bad acting and really thought he'd do something to her. He wonders if this is punishment for all he has done. Ari goes home after crying a lot and Orion tries to console her.
Bad Ending 2.
The bad endings in Ikki's route aren't as wild as Trash's cage circus and drowning well but this one is BAD. Remember the whole "Not a nice story?" Turns out my paranoia was right. If Ari tries to go with Ikki in courage test, Rika will get pissed and after she is left alone, Rika will come, instead of Ikki. Ari remembers the threats Rika said, about how if she tried to take Ikki for herself, she'd have to die and loses contact with Orion. Ari tries to run away but falls off a cliff to where Rika catches her up and god knows what the fuck she did to her. Ari wakes up later in a hospital with Ikki at her side. Ari can't see nor hear and is broken so Ikki says he'll be out for a while but will get back ASAP, only after he "breaks those who broke her".
JESUS FUCKING CHRIST
But then again, Rika is nuts and she is high on the WHAT THE FUCK PSYCHOPATH scale along scary Ukyo and Trash. Why can't this game have normal people
Bad Ending 3.
Unlike the other ending, this one doesn't end with a death or anything, it's kinda boring too LOL. Pretty much Ari can't trust Ikki so there's no actual decision or questioning about Ari going to her parents'. Actually, days just pass, Ari and Ikki don't interact and one day Ikki talks to Ari. He knows nothing of the amnesia and thinks she doesn't love him, so they are breaking up. Ari goes to her family and Ikki wants to go to the beach with Kent, considers quitting his job and maybe drowning his sorrows OR drowing himself :'D
In short, the moral of this game is to never wish for anything and live a life of conformity because you don't know when some idiot god will try to help you out but will somehow fuck it up.
-
Impressions
I didn't feel much love for Ikki but I did like him and the affection and love for Ari was good, it's just that the whole shtick with the insane fanclub was WILD. It was definitely a step above Trash's cage but it was still very LOLWTF. Most of the route's issues were because Ari couldn't ask and Ikki wasn't clear enough, so we got into a very wild shenanigan that almost involved someone dead. Ikki is, htough, a charming guy except when he makes comments about how he might do mean things and I was like PLEASE NO.
So next dude is Shin.
At this point, I decided to rely on saving-parameter checking-reloading because I couldn't be assed to try it once, because Ikki's route is hard. Even if I had figured out the twists early on, it was nothing compared to knowing the right answers. In the end, I couldn't max his trust and affection and suspicion stayed between 25% and 50%. I managed somehow to avoid the bad endings and I was like "Um ok" then "LOOOOOL" as I got the good ending and I somehow managed to not fuck up badly.
Ikki is the sort of playboy character you might want to punch him in the face at the start of the route and his route is the kind that works in game land but probably not in real life. We also see A LOT of new faces, which is always good, so off we go! (I did this in separated days so the details are hazy)
As usual, the game starts with the heroine being clueless about herself and her life. This time, her phone is new and only has one "Ikkyu" so she and Orion are like WTF. The heroine apparently is like me in that hardly takes pictures, actually if I had the same issue, I'd be in the dark as I happen to have 0 pics of myself and a strange bunch of cat ones but I digress. In any case, Orion and Ari just wonder what the hell is going on. This Ikkyu person is asking to meet with Ari because they don't have work and have the day off, so he'll arrive in 30 minutes which somehow turns into an hour, something that will be TYPICAL in this route. Ari and Orion decide to go outside to meet a man with a bunch of many girls surrounding him and being all CLINGY.
Orion tries to deny this guy is our Ikkyu but...
Even if I knew who he was because he appeared in Trash's route, I'd have figured out he was our guy. I just didn't think it was that bad.
In all honesty a lot of interactions outside buildings with Ikki usually involve him and these girls and I've seen the first GC far too many times to even count.
In any case, Ikki tries to make hilarious innuendos and they end up going to the movies. Unlike Trash's route, Ikki's Suspicion stat is not secure so we're basically trying to pretend to be our past selves except there's no workable clues to see Ari's previous behavior AND Trash's route was pretty bad in this regard. It basically goes like:
Ari says one thing.
"You didn't say that before" or
"I'm glad but"
So anyone could quickly see why I used underhanded means.
Or as Orion pointed it out
Ikki has a peculiar condition. Those who look at him in the eye immediately fall in love with him, though wearing sunglasses decreases the effect, slightly. Because of this, he has a fanclub full of highly questionable territorial women. These women go as far as to literally say "Break off with your girlfriend" in front of her face. Ikki also has a peculiar habit. He has dated several women, and will break up with them after three months. Ari has been with him for two already so the entirety of August is her final month. The crux of this story is how Ikki can blatantly say mean and cold things in front of her yet be considerate in the shadows. Orion and Ari at several times wonder if Ikki is merely playing with her or if their deal is real. But since Ari has no memories, apparently no friends or family, staying close to Ikki is her only option if she wants to regain her memories.
The truth about the issues in this route is more hilariously awful if one finished Trash's route first.
To make things even worse, Ari has no clue on what the fuck she did before. First she gets some insane message asking her for a report but since you can't say "Um what report???" she and Orion shrug it off. Then, there's her job. She had to cleverly trick Ikki to walking her to her job because she had no way of knowing where it was and when she discovers she works at a maid cafe, she even gets personal lessons because everyone thinks she's completely lost.
If only you knew...
While at first, the excuse of "I'm not feeling well" holds nicely, Ari has to quickly learn how to behave, and work without arising suspicion. In Trash's route, that was sort of helped because Trash and Shin told the manager so she got a health vacation and then she was trapped in a fucking cage, so there wasn't anything work-related issues she had to worry about. This time, we're not stuck with a nutjob BUT YEAH.
When work is over, Ari wants to walk home with Ikki to talk and recover memories but the fanclub is hijacking his time. She has to leave by herself but fortunately is ok enough to walk home on her own. Now conversations with Ikki become complicated as he will say confusing things. Since Ari is acting entirely different than her previous, more assertive and independent self, Ikki comments on how she would not rely on him in the past but her being so defenseless right now and relying on him makes him happy. This makes picking the right choice a nightmare because Suspicion vs making him happy.
He is only saying this because she asks him to help her.
He also tries to kiss Ari but since she's ??? because she has no memories, he asks if she actually feels anything for him. It's kinda hard because the first impression of him is that of a terrible Playboy (I knew the truth but Ari and Orion didn't) and his cold treatment isn't any better.
As days go by, the constant incidents with Ikki and women make it hard for Ari and Orion to get a clear picture of him. Talks with Shin and others just drive the point that Ari previously wasn't very fond of Ikki's philandering actions. Shin is very clear in his dislike and Sawa, Ari's University friend not appearing in Trash's route, even goes to the cafe to learn about Ikki. She actually says that Ari had disliked Ikki in the past but somewhere along the line, she ended up joining his fanclub and then become his girlfriend. No one can understand Ari's thought process but Sawa does realize that Ikki's eyes are the real thing. His eyes were the first rumor, others include the break up after 3 months. Mine, Ari's coworker, is even downright dismissive of her and is waiting for the three months to be up. She will even patronize Ari if she tries to ask about this 3-month deadline everyone but she knows about.
At this point I honestly felt bad for Ikki because everyone really wants him but not in the very nice and flattering way.
Mine goes as far as to basically ask him that since Ari hadn't really fucked with Ikki, he should dump her, THAT'S HOW BAD THINGS ARE. Another of the rumors goes that Ikki will discard the women he has slept with and several wonder if the reason pre-amnesia Ari didn't try to go beyond holding hands was because she feared she'd be discarded. Because of this, others try to use it to their advantage and make promises of sexual depravity in exchange of becoming the new girlfriend. However, Ikki does have a code, along other things, and will brush off these advances. Even if he blatantly talks to these girls in front of Ari and is like "yeah she can go home by herself".
Other than Ari, there is, however, one person not affected by Ikki's eyes.
There are some inconsistencies in his name, but Cinnammon Kent is here and he plays a prominent role in this route. Kent is honestly Ikki's only friend.
Kent is a fucking big ass math nerd, and the kind of guy who is very blunt but also logical and kind of an idiot but an endearing one. :U
Anyway, Ari mets Kent while waiting for Ikki at some special designated place so they walk home because they can't absolutely be seen together by the fanclub, which is very sad. They all end up going to Ikki's place. While Kent is curious that Ari is very "WOW WHAT IS THIS PLACE", it just turns out that her amnesia can be excused because Ari had actually never been there. Kent is also curious because
Through Kent, Ari learns that Ikki is studying Accounting. He and Ikki met because Kent's girlfriend back then fell in love with Ikki and that's honestly a great way to make friends??? Even if Kent ended up breaking up with her, he got interested because Ikki excused himself with the "Eye problem", which is as good of an excuse as saying a cage is a perfectly good way to protect someone. I honestly give up in people's reasoning in this game which goes from "huh?" to "?????????". They also get along because Kent makes math problems and Ikki solves them.
Kent is actually interested in Ari because Ikki had never struggled with a woman but she seems to be very plain, which is kind of very mean sexist shit on its own yet at the same time it's kind of hilarious. Actually, without lots of context this is honestly the route that would make anyone think Ikki is a big sexist douche.
Next day there's fireworks. Mine, having been brutally shot down by Ikki, flaunts about her win because he's going with two men (Shin and Waka, the manager) because being baby-sat somehow counts? As usual, Ikki is delayed by the fanclub, except someone else also joins.
Everyone, meet Satan.
As one would have assumed from the insane ending in Trash's route, Rika is the actual psychopath in this route. The fact that she makes this very statement about Ikki's girlfriend really shows how messed up she is. Because you know Ikki is Ari's boyfriend and they were going to watch fireworks together, but how dare Ari ask or expect Ikki to be with her and not his fanclub of unrelated-to-him-girls?
Yeah.
It doesn't help to Ari that Ikki somehow agrees with this and she is somehow turned into an enemy because "how fucking selfish of you". However, as soon as the fanclub leaves, Ikki shows his considerate side and takes Ari to a tall building because reaching the festival is out of option thanks to the fanclub's intervention and delay.
Ikki is sweet and genuine, except from some very "Excuse me, keep it in your pants" comments he makes at times because Amnesia is hard on "A boy is bad news and they have little self-restraint". While Ikki does say that if Ari were to say no, he'd stop, the fact the comment is made in the first place is "Ehhhhhhh" to me.
No points for guessing who says that.
After the fireworks, Orion shares his input about Rika. He is right about her being the ringleader of the fanclub and he is wary about her. While Mine was mean to Ari, she's actually pretty harmless to the dangers Rika can be. In Trash's route, Rika ordered the fanclub members to seriously bully and harass Ari because they thought she was dating him, so who knows what they can be capable of doing when Aki IS THE girlfriend.
Amusingly, after the reveal of Rika and the phonecall threat from Satan, I wondered if I wasn't going to be harrassed by another psycho we met on the last route and
Surprise plot twist, Ukyo appears.
Unlike Trash's route, Ukyo here is quite polite and never turns into a psycho, unless he did in one of the bad endings I somehow missed.
(Except when he disses Cinammon Kent as a good dating option :U)
Ukyo is hardly an important character in this route, appearing exactly twice. He is however, very kind and considerate to the heroine, as far as giving her the biggest advice in not getting killed but that is for later.
Eventually Ari meets with Sawa, after being dumped by change-of-plans Ikki and that is a hilarious description of Ikki. Sawa can't really understand how Ari got to date Ikki in the first place, since Ari really disliked him before, and then joined the club. Ari never disclosed her reasons to anyone, not even her best friend and her boyfriend. Sawa is also worried for Ari since her month is almost up and the rumors of being discarded. This makes Ari remember some conversations and she falls unconscious to wake up to this...
JESUS FUCKING CHRIST
Fortunately, this is a different world. In this one, Trash is actually nice and not a psycho. He is also Ari's former step-brother, since her dad and his mom married but then they divorced. Ari's dad being a shit at marriage is actually important. Sawa phoned him and he went to help her, since he still sees Ari as a little sister. News of Ari' fainting also reach someone's ears
And Ikki was just so desperate to see Ari without being unhinged by the fanclub that he literally wore a hilarious mask to cover his eyes. As I've said before, his eye-power is decreased by sunglasses. Some girls, like Sawa's short enchanting time, get over it, as long as they don't see Ikki in the eye. If Ikki covers his face, he can decrease considerably his power, same as being in a dark room. Kent explains that Ikki did it out of concern and love because he couldn't absolutely allow anyone to stop him to get to her house. Ikki also almost murders Touma because he was like WHO IS THIS DUDE. This was actually Kent's idea because he is a shit but he was hilariously surprised that Ikki went along this.
FRIENDSHIP.
Eventually, everyone figures shit out and Ari asks Ikki to stay with her.
He confesses he was very worried about her condition, since she fainted and then caught a cold because it started raining. He is so worried he even stays at her house and hardly sleeps because he is worried she might get worse.
However, he quickly goes back to being cold with her in the presence of others.
I'm kind of amused because Orion was very critical of Ikki but he wasn't this extreme with TOUMA, you know, the guy who drugs and puts Ari inside a fucking cage. I mean, being a philanderer is a big no no to me, but I'd consider the cage the bigger offense here...
But we all know that Amnesia doesn't really share my views ~shrug~
Eventually, Ikki gets very drunk and phones Ari to which Ari goes to his house after a long speech of "Men are vile creatures and you are exposing yourself".
A lot of Ikki's route relies basically on trust. Continuing with the spoilers, Ikki, as a kid, wished upon a star to be popular with women. Some idiot god decided to be a cool chap and help him and eventually all women would fawn over him, but this caused him more issues. Women would start fighting for him and try to steal him from other women. He eventually made some dating rules because he just can't be like "Um no, pls go away", because they all love him and he feels bad. So he came up with some shenanigan to date them for a short while and then break up, arguing that if they had fun and he had fun, it'd be a good scenario.
The game doesn't really go much over it but I think he missed the fact that even if women would onlyd ate him for 3 months, there might be several who would be under the wishful thinking that maybe SHE would be THE ONE and he'd quit this for her. In any case, Ikki feels guilty for what he has done. He also makes it very clear that he loves Ari, and actually whether she believes him or not and if she trusts him determines his endings.
A few days later, we meet Ukyo again.
See? If only you had stopped your psycho alter ego in that other route.
His advice IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. Orion pretty much fails to notice this but there's a bazillion girls out there for Ari's blood. While he does think it's important to keep distance in the fanclub, he has NO IDEA. Especially when Ari recalls some talk with Satan and Satan just happens to be the coordinator for some billiards event on the 19th, where they all go to Shinano. The entire thing is a mess because it includes Rika and the fanclub, Sawa and Mine, Ikki and two other guys. Ever since Mine got her hopes trashed, she's actually an ally in that she doesn't get along with the fanclub and just likes Ikki on her own.
Ari eventually skips some game and finds Ikki as he tries to hide in her room to get away from the fangirls.
Ari correctly guesses that Ikki has always felt lonely, something that even surprises him because NO ONE had thought about it. Since he got his stupid wish granted, he got the mad love of women but no actual friendship. His male friends eventualy got very jealous of him and his popularity. His reputation isolated him because no woman would turn to him in hopes of just being friends and the men considered him a threat, so he was either loved or despised with no in-between. He yearned for years for a friend, someone to talk to, have fun, scold him and do the shit normal people do. I do believe this also had to do with the tendency of elevating him to some higher status. The fanclub girls always refer to him as Ikki-sama and you can already see how shit this is getting.
Pretty much, Ikki only has Kent and Ari to talk like a normal person. In a way, his story is very sad because a silly kid's wish just fucked him BADLY.
Day 20 is the weirdest shit ever. Rika plans some idiot courage test to see a fucking grave. Ari and Ikki are separated and Ikki suggests ditching the partners and go together. Ari is like "Maybe this is a bad idea" (Surprise plot twist IT IS) and goes with her designated partner. The forest is so dark and she has a hard time figuring out the map (I had suspected the map itself was fake and only another ending confirmed this) and then she realizes she is all alone. She hears steps and I swear I thought I was getting a bad ending and getting killed but it was IKKI.
The feelings of OH MY GOD I'M SO HAPPY TO SEE YOU are up to the level of THANK JESUS SHIN in the normal trash ending. Ikki had suspected something was amiss and caught up with Ari, he then suggests going somewhere else. He ends up telling Ari about the idiot wish and how he deeply regrets wishing that and instead he would have wished that he was loved in return.
But yeah, it's hardly a surprise but Ikki really wishes Ari would love him and he's been trying HARD all this time to win her heart but it seems to him like it's a lost cause. They do kiss and Ari has yet but be like "I love you."
After that, there's some very scary talk next day.
Mine isn't even kidding, on the contrary, this is a huge understatement.
Turns out, as I suspected, the map was a fake but it was all a huge bullying attempt because Ari was "monopolizing" Ikki's time and affection. Every fangirl was in the forest by the time Ari got in and they had carefully left anyone, Ikki, Sawa, Mine and the two guys, out so they couldn't go help her. Ikki had figured somethng was fishy when his partner suddenly bailed out and wanted him to escort her to the house, so he did but quickly got to Ari in time. If you wonder what happens if Ikki doesn't make it, WELL...
But that's for later. They also discuss that in the past Ari had been under Ikki's charm for a short time but then she somehow broke free of his spell. Ikki is curious about how she did it but Ari is like "Well can't say", but she has no shitting clue. Days back at home go harsher, as Ikki acts colder to Ari and Ari is like "Why" though anyone else would have figured it out. Ari and Orion decide she should go wait for him at his house and naturally Ikki flips his shit out because "What if someone saw you."
Ari is like ??? and wonders why he is so mad so he basically lays it out to her: Ari is being severely bullied by the fanclub. The failed shtick at the Shinano trip was to threaten her and Ikki is trying to appease these monsters by treating her coldly. It also happens that one of these shits saw Ikki's phone and the ruse was gone. Before anything, Ikki and Ari had agreed on some special terms to their relationship. On the outside, he would even treat her coldly and ignore him if it was necessary but he was caring on private terms. When his phone was seen by the club members, they realized that Ikki wasn't just playing with her and they decided to be the worst kind of human being.
Ikki does say that while he finds it touching that Ari is jelly, he is the one suffering the most and while that is pretty much selfish it also does make sense kinda. Ikki's life is pretty much determined by the whims of these girls, and even though he doesn't know how deep this goes, he has to manage them and be unable to have fun with his girlfriend or have friends or anything. He was like "Why can't you believe me" and I thought THIS WAS A GOOD TIME TO BE LIKE I'M SORRY BUT AMNESIA but this game never lets me have my way.
This is exactly my point on this route not being feasible IRL. From the heroine's perspective, Ikki's actions are very vague and ambiguous and she can't exactly down-right ask what the fuck because Ikki thinks she is on with the program. But to her as a new bystander, she questions most of the time if his feelings are true because it's at times hard to tell, at least to her and Orion. Ikki is angry at her but mostly at himself because he put them in a situation where he can't be trustworthy.
In any case, Ikki has some thinking to do and isn't with Ari for the next days. In a talk with Kent, Ari learns that Ikki was very happy to do dumb things like walking home, so it's kind of a confirmation that he loves her. Furthermore, there's a new thing here. It turns out that her father tries to reach her. Ari not only had to decide whether she liked Ikki or not, she has to decide if she is going back to her parent's house, you know the dad who remarried like a bazillion times. Ari hated how he used women and went to live on her own, but her dad pays the place until the end of August. Amusingly, Ikki comes forward and says she can live with him and how he is very capable and he has actually his lifeplan ready.
There is something else Ari worries. Ari remembers that the first time, as previously said, she had been entranced by Ikki but since she had heard the rumors, she hated him and went to scold him for his attitude. In a matter of basically wills, she broke free because she was stubborn and willed enough to not do as he said and Ikki was surprised. Ari worries that if there was someone else who did the same, Ikki would like them, which is very understandable. Also, because she's remembering much, Orion is fading away and he suggests she talks to Ikki about her amnesia. Orion reassures her he loves her.
And FINALLY SHE CONFESSES THE TRUTH. Her story is pretty much ridiculous but since Ikki has magical eyes *shrug* He does realize that it makes sense, since her attitude at the start of August made no sense and she has done some things in a suspicious way. He also realizes she must have been very scared and anxious because she had to go on with her life without anyone to trust and if Ikki had been more forward and honest, she'd at least trust that his feelings are 10000% real
It works out because Ari does trust him, I mean, she told him the truth and she remembers also why she joined the fanclub. In the past, Ari had heard the rumors about him and went to confront him. This caused him to be interested and then genuienely like her. Ari was suspicious about the fanclub's activities, and joined them. Then she learned that: 1. Ikki was actually a good guy and 2. The fanclub was full of shit. Basically, all members had to join some ranking system and get achievement points to get in line to ask Ikki out. If they became the GF, they'd have to give in daily reports (the one Ari got asked early on). Furthermore, members bullied girls. Several of Ikki's actual attempts at dating quit because they were bullied by the girls. Those who weren't bullied were the fangirls.
Ari wasn't bullied at first but since she forgot her reports and got much of Ikki's attention became the target of bullying, and VICIOUS one, especially because Ikki ASKED HER OUT. Ari had just joined but Ikki asked her out and that had never happened before. But Ari couldn't say the truth because it'd hurt Ikki. Eventually, she confesses Rika had threatened her and Ikki decides that enough is enough. With some advice of Waka, Ikki comes and says Ari is his girlfriend and he'll never forget nor forgive those who do something to her. If Ari is ok with him talking to the girls, he'll do so.
Basically, he can't cut them off entirely but he'll show that if they misbehave, he won't like them. He has to have some balance so that they don't try to harm Ari and leave her alone, for good. He also makes sure to tell Rika that he knows so she drops this shit entirely, since she set up everything because she's just batshit insane.
In the end, Ari decides to stay with Ikki and Ikki is finally free to live his life with the woman he loves and not hide in the shadows and shit!
Normal Ending
This one is achieved by basically not liking Ikki enough, so that he doesn't even consider them living together or sees it as a distant possibility. In it, Ari learns that her dad seems to have decided to change his ways and is really in love with the fourth wife of his. While they don't agree to much, Ikki still loves her but won't try to reach out to her and it's up to her. Ari goes back to her parents, two hours away on train but she still tries to talk to Ikki and they end up making some appointment for the weekend.
Bad Ending 1.
I had to redo the fucking game because this one is achieved around half the month by acting suspicious as fuck. I suppose it needs real skill because some options are obviously bad ideas, I still crack at "Hey Ikster". It basically implies no common sense and being pretty out of it, so much that it's very ????
Amusingly in this ending, Ikki realizes that Ari has amnesia but is very pissed that she didn't trust him to tell him the truth. He then pretends that he'll abuse her sexually because they supposedly did but Ari got very scared and ran away. Ikki cries to himself because Ari doesn't trust him enough to realize that it was just bad acting and really thought he'd do something to her. He wonders if this is punishment for all he has done. Ari goes home after crying a lot and Orion tries to console her.
Bad Ending 2.
The bad endings in Ikki's route aren't as wild as Trash's cage circus and drowning well but this one is BAD. Remember the whole "Not a nice story?" Turns out my paranoia was right. If Ari tries to go with Ikki in courage test, Rika will get pissed and after she is left alone, Rika will come, instead of Ikki. Ari remembers the threats Rika said, about how if she tried to take Ikki for herself, she'd have to die and loses contact with Orion. Ari tries to run away but falls off a cliff to where Rika catches her up and god knows what the fuck she did to her. Ari wakes up later in a hospital with Ikki at her side. Ari can't see nor hear and is broken so Ikki says he'll be out for a while but will get back ASAP, only after he "breaks those who broke her".
JESUS FUCKING CHRIST
But then again, Rika is nuts and she is high on the WHAT THE FUCK PSYCHOPATH scale along scary Ukyo and Trash. Why can't this game have normal people
Bad Ending 3.
Unlike the other ending, this one doesn't end with a death or anything, it's kinda boring too LOL. Pretty much Ari can't trust Ikki so there's no actual decision or questioning about Ari going to her parents'. Actually, days just pass, Ari and Ikki don't interact and one day Ikki talks to Ari. He knows nothing of the amnesia and thinks she doesn't love him, so they are breaking up. Ari goes to her family and Ikki wants to go to the beach with Kent, considers quitting his job and maybe drowning his sorrows OR drowing himself :'D
In short, the moral of this game is to never wish for anything and live a life of conformity because you don't know when some idiot god will try to help you out but will somehow fuck it up.
-
Impressions
I didn't feel much love for Ikki but I did like him and the affection and love for Ari was good, it's just that the whole shtick with the insane fanclub was WILD. It was definitely a step above Trash's cage but it was still very LOLWTF. Most of the route's issues were because Ari couldn't ask and Ikki wasn't clear enough, so we got into a very wild shenanigan that almost involved someone dead. Ikki is, htough, a charming guy except when he makes comments about how he might do mean things and I was like PLEASE NO.
So next dude is Shin.
no subject
Date: 2015-12-02 04:34 pm (UTC)I never go for playboy types but Ikki surprisingly grew on me because, as you said, he's actually quite sweet once you look past the questionable parts (lol) and dodge the insane fangirls. I also thought his drunk calling thing was really funny lol
And definitely the balance between the criticizing comments on Ikki and Toma are like... "Questionable manwhores are worse than zookeepers" :U
Shin goes Sherlock in his route, and I think you'll be screaming internally or externally for a certain reason near the end :) GL
no subject
Date: 2015-12-04 05:36 am (UTC)Ikki is a good guy and surprisingly nice, but the bad thing was his fanbase which was a huge dose of DO NOT WANT.
OH MY GOD I DON'T KNOW IF I SHOULD LOOK FORWARD TO THAT.
no subject
Date: 2015-12-02 09:49 pm (UTC)Ikki is very cute (and looks like the cat in my icon) but this whole thing seems like more trouble than it's worth l-lol...or maybe that's a summary of his whole life sob
I cracked up at JESUS FUCKING CHRIST lol
no subject
Date: 2015-12-06 07:49 am (UTC)You DO have to solve math puzzles tho. He's a fucking nerd.
Ikki's life is sad and complicated, I felt bad for him because god he tries so hard