#imp reviews eb

[impracticaldemon]

Interesting take and analysis! Does that mean you’re an active shipper now or you just found a new respect for the ship (Okichi)? I’d also like to get your rankings on the ships (I see this thrown out a lot before so thought I’d ask)!

Thank you, Anon!  I appreciate the encouragement.

I’m still not an active OkiChi shipper, but I’m far less ambivalent about it – it feels more real and more plausible to me now.  I’m finally satisfied that I understand how Souji and Chizuru ended up where they did, both physically and emotionally. I know that a lot of the story was there before, but it’s as if some of the gaps have been filled in now. 

I think I’ve always been put off by Souji’s style of put downs, many of which I perceive as too harsh to be called “teasing” when aimed at Chizuru (who was frightened and had no hope of fighting back). I’m just not attracted by that type of character.  KW reduced some of the harshness, and put a little more emphasis on Souji’s interactions with Chizuru; EB put the late-game personal, romantic and sexual aspects of the ship solidly on the map for me. I admire the intensity.  

I feel that OkiChi was unfairly blessed with romantic CGs in EB, but I am pleased on behalf of the many OkiChi shippers I know! (Just envious…)

Ships & Ranking

An acquaintance on Steam (the PC gaming site) commented that she understood where I was coming from with my character/route preferences, but asked “don’t you find them kind of boring?”  I thought it was a legitimate question, in the sense that it highlighted how personal preference and experience can shape your views.

My favourite characters, from a strictly “who is attractive to me” and “which ships strike a chord with me” pov, are Saito, then Harada / Hijikata / Yamazaki (order not clear), then Souma (I’m still thinking about where Souma fits into this).  I find these characters soothing to my jangled hyper-awareness, and I perceive them as a good fit for Chizuru as I perceive Chizuru.  Whether or not that means I’m looking for “boring” is a matter of perspective – but I understand the question!

I’m capable of significant objectivity, but I don’t believe an unbiased ranking is possible for anyone.  Personal attraction or dislike, romantic or otherwise, will always influence your decisions, and we’re all attracted to different things (some more common than others).  So I’m going to rank my favourite ships, and say why, and hope that everyone will take it all with a grain of salt. This is about my perceptions, and doesn’t invalidate anyone else’s.

SaiChi:  My OTP (in the literal sense of the expression).  Saito is calmly protective of Chizuru from the beginning.  He would have killed her under orders, but I’m strongly of the opinion that he didn’t expect Hijikata to give that order.  Saito generally seems to disapprove of making Chizuru any more uncomfortable, embarrassed, or frightened than she already is.  He also tends to treat her as a person, not as “a girl” or “an annoyance”.  He answers her questions, and doesn’t mock or undermine her efforts, although he is blunt when she makes mistakes.  Saito’s direct intervention with Sannan (about Chizuru not being a burden) is one of my favourite scenes. Saito may be reserved to the point of being cold (debatable, especially in KW), but his actions are almost uniformly kind, right from the start.  

There are indications of him caring about Chizuru’s well-being from very early on.  The scenes where he drinks Chizuru’s blood are the only ones in Hakuouki that are both sexy and rather cuddly (and frankly, this says a lot about how he feels).  He also fusses less over the whole thing, despite being apologetic, which I think Chizuru would prefer.

Saito and Chizuru actually talk more than it might seem (especially given that Saito doesn’t talk much in general), and Saito seriously considers and values Chizuru’s input.  I love that EB brought in some of my all-time favourite scenes from Stories of the Shinsengumi. I don’t care if it’s a rather shy, awkward relationship at times, it’s the ultimate slow-burn fic of Hakuouki, for me.

… Okay, better stop before I write (more of) an essay on this topic.  Or a 90-chapter story.

HaraChi / HijiChi / YamaChi / SouChi – Ships I ship

HaraChi:  His very earliest treatment of Chizuru is oddly uneven (a little less so in KW), but my headcanon is that he knows he’s prone to caring too much, and is trying too hard to guard against it.  His route always felt realistic to me, given the time period and Chizuru’s background.  Sano is flawed, but I find him very human, and I think Chizuru finds him both kind and comforting.  Plus, somebody needed to say this:

I’m immensely grateful that EB significantly changed the first part of the HaraChi interactions in Edo. It works SO much better now.  Sano’s a sweetheart, and he makes Chizuru his priority more than most of the others.  This is the route and character that I never expected to love as much as I did (originally); now I love it more. (And he has such awesome banter with Shiranui, and snark for Kazama. ♥)

HijiChi:  Hijikata should never have left Chizuru behind when he went to Ezo. Now that that’s off my chest… I like the ship because it feels realistic given Chizuru’s overall personality. Chizuru’s crush on Hijikata (from the beginning) makes sense to me, and I can see how his charisma, devotion to the Shinsengumi, and obvious disregard for his own needs eventually converts a crush into love.  He’s a difficult man not to admire, if you value the fiercely responsible type (which I do).  I don’t know if EB added as much to this route as to some others, but I definitely enjoyed seeing Hijikata with Souma and Nomura, and I liked the extra historical details.  The main flaw to this ship is Hijikata’s refusal to concede the validity of Chizuru’s feelings and wishes until he is driven to it.  I do appreciate the fact that he didn’t “fall for” Chizuru right away (there’s a big difference between 16 and 28!); on the other hand, he clearly came to care about her from early on.

YamaChi:  I think I enjoyed the KW portion of this story better than the EB portion; something about Yamazaki’s EB route was not quite as satisfying for me – but I’ll be playing the route again for a second impression.  I like the fact that EB established Yamazaki as a superb warrior as well as a caring medic.  The affection in this ship was endearing, and they seemed like a natural fit.  I thought the ending was solid, and the whole demonstrated a deep, ongoing commitment to each other.  It doesn’t hurt that Yamazaki is one of my favourite Hakuouki characters.

SouChi:  Chizuru getting to be a senpai was great.  If you want the wildest roller-coaster of feels and angst from start to finish, this is the route. I think I like this ship because of the honest respect for Chizuru and what she does, and Souma’s commitment to the Shinsengumi.  I’ll save my comments about the route itself for another time (there were aspects of the EB route that I was so-so on).  SouChi, like YamaChi feels like a solid, believable relationship with clear affection and respect on both sides, and the attraction resonates for me.  Also, I adore the Souma / Nomura friendship.  KW & EB did a terrific job with Nomura as a character. [And I can’t get over the way they brought so many of the others into this route – aaaaahhhhhh!!!! so cool!]

Random screencap of some cuties.  (Yes, okay, I put Saito in there – he did give Souma excellent advice, however.  Also, as stern as he was, he took the guys seriously, unlike pretty much everyone else they ran into.)

ShinChi / HeiChi / OkiChi / IbaChi Good points, but I don’t really ship them

ShinChi:  I liked the route concept for EB – Shinpachi having to deal with having been made into a fury, but not wanting to make Chizuru feel awful either.  I felt like poor Shin could have used a friend like Sano around even just to yell at, or drink with, or something. I really liked the idea of trying to fight his final battles without resorting to fury form, and I liked the watchful presence of the Oni.  And Shin finally got properly recognized for being a top-notch swordsman!  Problem is, I’m kind of neutral on the ship.  I never quite got past the brother/sister feel to it.  On the other hand, the epilogue was sweet and I’m glad they got there, so a replay is definitely in order (on Steam, since I’ve played it on my Vita).  I might change my mind on this one.

HeiChi:  I’m “positive-neutral” on HeiChi and always have been.  I don’t find the ship compelling, despite the reasonable argument that it can be seen as healthy and more “equal”. To be honest, I got a strong sense from the beginning of Hakuouki that Chizuru liked Heisuke, and appreciated his cheerfulness, but was *attracted* to Hijikata and the others.  The ship’s probably fine, objectively, although Heisuke does leave Chizuru behind to follow his aspirations with Itou, which always troubled me.  Heisuke’s a sweetie, but I don’t “feel” the romantic ship.  I sympathize with Heisuke, always trying and trying to come into his own, and make the decisions that are right for him, but there’s a sense of immaturity-despite-best-efforts that doesn’t work for me.  I leave HeiChi in the competent hands of those who love it! (And hope that my HeiChi stories make up a little bit for my personal ambivalence.)

OkiChi:  … I’ve said enough about OkiChi.  I leave it to those who love it best and write really cool fanfiction about it.  It’s a big change for me to move OkiChi up this far on my list (partly Shinkai, partly having friends who’ve been working on me with OkiChi!).

IbaChi:  Not a bad ship, or route, but left me neutral.  Having gone down the path with the Demon Arm, and the way it and Iba and then Chizuru were intertwined, I felt like there could have been a bit more to it.  I would have preferred Takeda to be a more well-rounded villain.  I didn’t feel a strong Iba-Chizuru connection in KW; I felt like Iba was pushing Chizuru to feel and remember things.  I kept wanting Iba to be a little more honest and a lot more direct.  There were upsides and downsides to both this ship and this route, and I’m in the middle.  The ending was good, and I liked that final CG (Iba looked really good).  This is another ship I’m going to leave to those who really love Iba as a character – I know you’ll do great with it! :)

KazaChi / SanChi /SakaChi*I don’t ship them, but I can see the possibilities, to a point* except SakaChi which I just don’t ship

KazaChi:  Maybe.  I still can’t wrap my head around the arrogance.  Smug doesn’t work for me, especially when it’s all one-way – it’s part of why I still struggle with OkiChi.  I’ve come to the conclusion that I do better with modern AUs for both OkiChi and KazaChi.  KW and EB provided some good KazaChi moments, and I really, truly feel for Kazama toward the end of EB (which is much more like Movie 2 than the original game or the anime).  @hidetheremote et al, this one’s yours, and I will continue to do my best to contribute from time to time!  I actually do have a soft spot for KazaChi in its end-state – Kazama does start to respect and care about Chizuru for herself, eventually (when is a matter of opinion).  I don’t think loving another person will ever come easy for him, but I have the feeling he’ll try, and he’s a very competent man (Oni).

SanChi:  This is another one where I think I preferred KW to EB, but it requires another play-through.  The route itself was rather fascinating, although I think it over-complicated itself toward the end.  Sannan and Kaoru (and Kodo) in a dismal castle full of furies – this is some serious Gothick.  The atmosphere was very well done.  Sannan as a ship with Chizuru – hard to get my head around.  And yet.  I couldn’t help but feel that tug on my heartstrings that said “Sannan is truly a tragic figure and deserves some happiness.”  Plus, he’s a damn good tactician and devoted to his cause.  Don’t ship SanChi, but still want Sannan to be loved and appreciated.  Hmmm.

SakaChi:  I can’t bring myself to like this ship or find it believable (though definitely more so in EB than in KW).  Everyone has their types, and Sakamoto is the exact opposite of mine.  He set my teeth on edge from (literally) the first time I saw him on-screen.  I know my opinion of this ship is biased, but there are just so many reasons I don’t ship SakaChi.  If you love Sakamoto / SakaChi, then I’m kind of glad, because I like every character to have their fans.  However, there’s probably no point reading my comments below unless you’re honestly curious about my perspective. I’m trying to outline my issues with the ship, not convince others that they’re wrong.  (I mean this – don’t let me upset you.  If you like something, despite seeing some of the flaws, and you respect other people’s preferences without hate, then stick with what you like!)

CG:  one of the scenes that I did like a lot

First, I found the entire development of SakaChi in KW totally unbelievable, and Sakamoto was disrespectful of Chizuru’s personal space to an extent that I’d call harassment.  He made Harada look tame, as far as flirting goes, and I’m firmly of the belief that Harada treated her personal preferences with more respect.  As a specific example (albeit from EB), Sakamoto asked to “borrow” Chizuru’s lap.  When she was taken aback, he settled in anyway, then said “oh come on, it’s not like I’m violating you.”  Just… no.  This excuse is used way too much in the real world for me not to flinch here.  I’ve seen too many women have to deal with this, and I don’t like it.

Second, Chizuru’s loyalty to the Shinsengumi is part of what makes up her character, for me.  So I struggled to understand why she got so involved with Sakamoto in the first place, given his total and complete disdain for the Shinsengumi (not unjustified disdain, but not likely to appeal to Chizuru coming from a guy who’s pretty much a stranger).  Chizuru also seemed too quick to let go of the fact that Sakamoto was a gun smuggler and general arms’ dealer whose weapons killed an awful lot of her friends (although at least she wasn’t altogether happy about it).  

** Must admit that I did better with Sakamoto as a character / person once I went and learned a lot more about him and the situation in Tosa.  I already had some background knowledge, but I definitely improved on it.  Sakamoto’s balancing act between powerful Satsuma and powerful Choshu, while working around Tosa’s locally powerful / abusive daimyo, was fascinating.

Third, although I found Sakamoto much improved in EB, lines like this were a complete “ugh” for me:

Look, buddy, she just told you that she wasn’t ready to sleep with you.  Complaining to her that it would suck if she made you wait until the wedding is not my idea of a good relationship.

What did Sakamoto / Sakamoto’s route do well?  The route presented a good story, told from the opposite side, that didn’t just repeat the basics of the rest of the routes.  Sakamoto is an interesting guy.  If you’re into the brash, self-confident, pirate types (Han Solo comes to mind, although I preferred Han), then Sakamoto’s a good fit for you. Sakamoto does, without question, rock the western look.  Despite my belief in the importance of Chizuru having some agency and self-determination, I think Sakamoto’s absolute refusal to let her go rescue Kondo was both right and appropriate (that’s the CG I picked, above).  To be honest, stern Sakamoto appeals to me far, far more than smarmy smiley Sakamoto, (another clear result of my personal preferences).  The scene out by the dock was good, and I had to appreciate Sakamoto’s directness, in that instance.

Okay, so despite my best efforts, I ended up putting a lot of my route review thoughts into my personal ship ranking list.  AND it’s all way too long again.

I hope that there’s something here of interest.  And – one more time – ship what works for you.  Canon (game-based) ships, “non-canon” ships, semi-canon ships, m/f, f/f, m/m, whatever.  We don’t have to agree for me to respect your preferences.  Otome games are all about so-called “problematic” ships; my preferences tend to be on the “serious and thoughtful”, or at least “responsible and honest”, side (or “boring” depending on perspective!).

~ ImpracticalOni

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[impracticaldemon]

As someone who I believe isn’t really into Okichi as much as others in the fandom (not a bad thing, I kinda feel the same), taking into consideration Kyoto Winds plus Edo Blossoms, has Shinkai changed your mind? Interested in a fellow not-really shipper’s thoughts on this! Hope you don’t mind answering this one! Thank you!

So, starting my route reviews with Okita! I apologize for all the delays. It was a combination of being sick and struggling with too much material for this review / character study / route study.  (Thank you for the prompt, Anon-san :)  

Note:  comments based primarily on plot, interactions, & changes 

Short Answer:  

Shinkai did make a difference to my views on OkiChi, especially Edo Blossoms (Shinkai Hana no Shou).  I thought Kyoto Winds provided more context for OkiChi, and a slight softening of Souji’s treatment of Chizuru, but it was Edo Blossoms, and the tighter focus on how much Souji *lost*, and the depth of his subsequent commitment to Chizuru, that impressed me most.  

What KW promised through its endings, EB delivered on:  a relationship in which strong mutual feelings and compassion eventually supported both characters, and a roller-coaster story in which Souji lost everything that he thought he needed to live – and discovered that it was worth living in order to both be with and be there for Chizuru.

My personal perception of Souji changed a little while playing KW and EB, since I felt that the effect of his illness, as well as the depth of his grief (for Kondo and for his own lost dreams), were more clearly portrayed.  In any event, setting aside some unfortunate translation errors, I found the route well done and most of the changes for the better.  The new art and enhanced CGs were really nice!

~ Imp 

[more below the cut, including screencaps]

Kyoto Winds:  Okita’s KW route had improvements on the original in terms of both added content and (for me) a slightly softer build toward the OkiChi relationship.  Overall, no big surprises, but I felt more buy-in for the ship.  Okita’s route, by its nature, is a tough one to break halfway through.  However, the final ending scenes (both very good and very bad*) added depth to the story, and gave me a stronger sense of romantic potential.

* The nature of the bad endings draws attention to the profound effect of a successful OkiChi relationship on the outcome of the story.  In contrast, most of the other characters’ bad/unrequited endings aren’t quite as brutally personal.  This showcases Chizuru’s importance to the story and the romance itself.  It’s a double-edged sword, however.  If I were playing devil’s advocate to myself, I’d argue that it also shows that the OkiChi relationship hangs by a thread in comparison to other relationships.  In most bad/unrequited endings, Chizuru dies, or the other character dies, or the other character decides to leave Chizuru “somewhere safe” for her own protection; this leaves at least an echo of potential or existing affection. In Okita’s route, if Chizuru’s reactions aren’t perfect (through the romantic “choices”), there is deep bitterness or hatred on Okita’s part.

To get it out of the way, I admit that I do struggle with canon OkiChi (as opposed to modern AU OkiChi, or stories that temper the roughness of Souji’s initial canon behaviour due to setting, plot, new characters, etc.). I note that my impressions of all the characters were shaped by the game (PS3 version), not the anime (which I didn’t know existed until a lot later).  

I have no problem with the concept of Souji as an interesting and charismatic character; it’s the *initial* OkiChi ship development that I get stuck on.  Souji genuinely scares Chizuru (in a way the others don’t), and he keeps putting her down.  He makes a point of calling her useless and a freeloader, both things that she’s already stressed over. I don’t see his comments as “teasing” until Chizuru is less afraid and isolated, and has a better gauge of Souji’s character.

In the end, I just have to accept that Chizuru is attracted to Souji, and that lets her overcome the fear/hurt enough to want to understand him better.  Eventually, his actions do speak louder than his words, and the tone of his words changes. KW let me see and believe in that shift sooner and more completely than the original game.

Edo Blossoms: Okita’s EB route did a good job of bringing in more detail, more character development for Souji, and more relationship development for OkiChi.  On top of that, there are more CGs! (Getting some of the best CGs from Hakuouki Reimeiroku was a huge plus, here.)

In terms of story flow and impact, I was impressed with the way EB drew out and demonstrated just how brutally the tuberculosis crushed Souji’s most cherished dreams.  Staging the critical encounter with Kaoru while Souji was finally on his way to support Kondo, and within reach of his goal, really drove home just how much it meant to Souji to get there.  And then he had to cope with not getting to protect Kondo, and allowing Chizuru to be harmed by Kaoru, and having Kazama be the one to tell him (and even taunt him) about Kondo’s death.  He even has to be saved from Kazama by Chizuru attacking with actual power with her sword, which has to be mortifying. (This bugged me, and is one of the changes I disliked.)**  

As much as I’d sympathized with Souji before (if perhaps less than others), EB somehow laid it all out in a more gut-wrenching way for me.

** Chizuru’s intervention was something right out of Demon’s Bond (Toki no Kizuna), the Otomate game set in the Sengoku Hakuoki-verse). I enjoyed playing Demon’s Bond, but I didn’t like how the concepts were used here. What happened seemed to come completely out-of-nowhere, and there were more credible story mechanics available to resolve the situation. Also, it didn’t even feel true to Demon’s Bond, though I admit it isn’t completely off base.

Some interesting points (good and bad):

Good:  

Souji makes a point of bringing Chizuru with him to Kofu and says with confidence that she won’t leave him. He eventually says that he is comforted by her presence, and there’s a fair bit of dialogue later on in which he is open and clear about both his feelings and motivations.  Moreover, the fact that he tends to manipulate Chizuru into saying how she feels about him (a lot more than once), may not be a credit to him, but does seem realistic and in-character.  As their relationship develops, Chizuru is able to identify this behaviour for what it is – Souji’s need for reassurance (”validation”) that he is loved, valued, and needed. 

To be fair to Souji, Chizuru does tend to be very conventional (or shy) about how she approaches admitting to her feelings and what she wants, which isn’t going to work well in this relationship. Getting her to say things out loud isn’t a bad thing, in and of itself. 

In EB, it is readily apparent that Souji does need Chizuru and he tells her so.  There is some very good writing here (if not always in terms of the translation, then in terms of the intended meaning of the dialogue and interactions).  To me, the best part is how Souji eventually conveys to Chizuru that he is 100% there for her (all other obligations and perceived needs having been either taken away or discarded), and at the same time, that he needs Chizuru to be 100% there for him.  He tells her, with some wonder, that this is the first time he desires a future for himself (with Chizuru, but not on account of somebody else’s dreams).

This is one of my favourite lines (among far too many others), because of the words “for me”. Souji is trying to prevent Chizuru from falling into darkness, and he doesn’t just threaten to kill her if she does, he makes himself vulnerable by asking her to hold on for his sake.

So… I’ve been over my (many) screenshots for the EB OkiChi route, and concluded that I’m kind of jealous of how much top-notch romantic and character revealing dialogue there is.  Since it’s already taken me far too long to express the things I like about this route, a couple more favourites:

(heart eyes)

Not-so-good:

I disliked Souji’s over-the-top comments to and in front of Dr. Matsumoto about how Chizuru just can’t get enough of him (and he does go on about it).  Without saying that Souji was wrong, none of it seemed in character as it was handled. Souji might say those things to Chizuru – but in front of the doctor?  Chizuru was mortified.  One can speculate on why this scene (a) was rewritten into more “modern” language, and (b) why the doctor was dragged into it, but it wasn’t a good change.  (I also wasn’t a fan of the wording/scene change immediately prior, where Souji tells Chizuru that she finds him “sexy” and should just say so.)

I’ve already mentioned the “Chizuru saves the day through the use of obscure Oni-Ochimizu powers and her sword” as a part I didn’t like.  Aside from coming out of (almost) nowhere, there’s also an implied sense that Chizuru – as she was before – isn’t sufficient. Since I’m a believer in what Chizuru is to the game and the Shinsengumi without swinging a sword, this bothered me. It seemed unnecessary and out of place.

Somewhat along the same lines, I wasn’t at all impressed with Chizuru’s rather sudden ability to kill people and be pleased about it.  While understanding that she desperately wants to be “useful”, why the need to show her taking pride in killing a man? And sharing a wink with Souji over the killing?  Unless the idea was to show some effects from having (unwillingly) taken the ochimizu, I can’t account for it and I saw no lead in supporting it.

How do I reconcile this (exact same scene)

With this?

Last comments (I swear):

Not to flog a dead horse (I probably am), but here are two of the more immersion-breaking translation errors of the route (there are others):

It was fine until the “zealous smacking”, but there are *very* unfortunate word choices throughout most of the more physical scenes in EB – romantic or blood drinking – which is too bad.

Slither.

So… this is way, way too long.  I think I wanted to do this particular analysis justice, given my previous ambivalence about OkiChi. [Note: I took out almost all of my analysis and examples about the reasons for that ambivalence.]  

What Kyoto Winds changed for me is that I now perceive a more plausible (to me) starting point for OkiChi during/after the whole “sword testing” scene. Although Chizuru notes that Okita-san has never been anything but “mean” to her before, she clearly reacts positively to his (possible) kindness. Small alterations to the scene allow for an entirely new “romance checkpoint” for Okita, indicating that he may be seeing something positive in Chizuru.  I’ve always thought that his next threat to kill her felt more like rough teasing and far less intimidating.  It’s not that he wouldn’t follow through on the threat, but something suggests that his perception of the necessity has changed. While I’m not a fan of how he still periodically puts her down after that, it’s no longer a breaking point for me. After all, he does protect her, despite saying that he won’t.

There is no question in my mind that Edo Blossoms portrays a wonderful and believable (and romantic and exciting!) mid-point to conclusion story about Souji and Chizuru.

~Impracticaldemon