HelloGoodBye: May the Best Girl

 Hello,Good-bye is a parallel world experience visual novel where certain aspects of history have changed the course of the modern-day idea of Japan and the world around it. I did do a little research so I could do a better job of describing the exact differences between what happened in our history and this alternative history. The basic idea is that things for Japan changed after the end of the Edo Period of their history.

Quick history lesson, the Edo Period started after the Warring States Period in which Lord Tokugawa unified the nation under his banner and became Shogun of Japan. The Edo Period would last 300 years until the Meiji Revolution that saw the end of the Shogunate and the powerful rulers of that era at the hands of the Meiji Imperialist Army.

In this alternate timeline, the end of the Edo Period came with the declaration of separation between two factions. The United Provinces of Japan (UPJ) which was founded on the principles of the United States Constitution and the creation of a Democracy based government. The Commonwealth on the other hand was founded with the idea of solidified power behind the Emperor and those that directly served under him. This created a powerful distinction between those who held power and those that did not. 

In the wake of this separation, there was a small city-state that was formed called Morino that acted as a third neutral party (much like the Swiss)  and was classified as a Demilitarized Zone. This city-state through the mutual defense of both the UPJ and the Commonwealth had established itself as a powerful international trading, education, and scientific stronghold. Both the UPJ and Commonwealth sent people to work, learn, and improve in Morino. 

Enter our Protag, Kaito which isn't his real name but the name he is using while he's in Morino. His real name is never given and depending on which storyline you go through you will find out what his real name is...which ends up being his assumed name...but I'll cover that later. Kaito is a member of the United Provinces of Japan Elite Security and Special Operations Unit. His call sign is 'Page' which he was given as a way to make fun of him as his adoptive father was called 'King' due to his position as the founder and head of the Unit.

Kaito's mission isn't clear though as he was instructed to simply get into the city and then to attend a standard civilian high school. After that, he was simply to check in every night and report anything he felt needed to be reported. On the first day in the city, he finds himself at one of the parks of Morino that sets on top of a hill overlooking the city. While he is there he meets and is introduced to the girl named May.

May is a unique girl that you meet while she is tending to the flowers of the park, something she has been doing for some time. She is a fragile and somewhat sensitive girl that is extremely perceptive and smart. She is a bit sheltered but despite this, she can sometimes be just as blunt as anyone. She is a good student and volunteers for the Church a great deal. She is the kind of girl that never seems to get mad or upset and is genuine to a fault.  

Upon meeting her you quickly become friends and she helps you start your journey to and from the school and introduces you to another girl Suguri which is another girl you can have a love interest in.

I want to touch lightly on one thing without spoiling a great deal of the story, and that is that the Prologue is long, but that is because it covers a great deal of material and then is used in the next chapter. 

There are not much in the way of choices so I suggest you pick your path and look at a guide if you have a certain girl in mind you want to go for to make things easier. With the limited choices, things move at a pretty decent pace which in some cases Visual Novels tend to have problems with. In May's route, you meet Suguri, Natsume, and another girl that for the sake of argument we won't talk about at this time.

Suguri is May's best friend and while May is originally from the UPJ, Suguri is a native-born of Morino. Natsume is a transfer student like you. However, you later find out through her own botched attempt to get you to out yourself that she is part of a spy group based out of the Commonwealth, technically this makes you two enemies but because Kaito's orders are basic and simple he has no reason to instigate any fights.

As the four of you become friends and a variety of events transpire you eventually find yourself invited to May's house where you meet her butler that she refers to as "Uncle". She leaves you with the butler as she goes to change and that is when the story gets interesting. The butler in question is none other than 'King' and the adoptive father of Kaito. He had retired out of the Special Unit but was asked to May's father to become part of his household. The two share their greetings and some moments where Kaito really just wished the old man would go away but eventually they fall into a good manner as May returns.

More time passes and you start to get feelings for May and she apparently has feelings for you. This comes to ahead after you meet her father who has been gone quite a bit for work. It isn't until a week prior to the school's festival that you find out what it is that her father does. The news station states that the elections in the United Provinces of Japan are over and the man elected to become the next President is none other than May's father. Her father is a well known UPJ Moderate and has been working to build up the power of the Moderate factions in both the UPJ and the Commonwealth to work together in a unification project. 

Soon after his election, however, things breakdown as the Commonwealth is hit with an attempted Coup that is caused by military students at one of the nation's military academies. Natsume is recalled back to return to her nation in response to this threat and she leaves without telling May or Suguri why she's leaving. A day or so after these events unfold while May and Kaito are watering the garden at the park a series of terrorist attacks and possible military strikes against Marino leads to Kaito taking May to her house and preparing for the worst-case scenario. 

By this point they have already affirmed their feelings for one another and have already had sex, yes...there are H-Scenes...keep up. It is during this time that King shows up and with information that a group of well-trained operatives are on their way to the house to kidnap or eliminate May.

The security of the home is top of the line and there is a spot in May's room that has a hidden passage that leads outside of the house. Kaito has May enter the passage and stick close to the door while he and King prepare to take out the operations unit. Kaito who has lost his memory from the age of 10 and prior uses events of the Prologue to come to a conclusion about himself. He has an ability to perceive the future but at the cost of him losing his memory of other events. 

This also has another flaw such as the creation of a confused mental state in which he has created another Kaito or the 'real Kaito' that he believes comes to stalk him and terrorize him. However for him to ensure that she survives he begins to use his ability to see how different events play out through different actions, through this his head begins to hurt and memories begin to fade. Eventually, though he is able to figure out a plan of action that would work and allow him to remove all threats and keep everyone alive. 

He manages to pull off the plan and is able to save King and May, as he returns to her room to collect her he runs into the 'real Kaito' who he draws his gun on. As he's arguing with 'real Kaito' he feels a sense that something is off and eventually he hears the voice of a girl calling to him. At first, he doesn't recognize it but eventually, his memories come back to him and in return, he is able to realize who 'real Kaito' really is. At that moment his reality returns and he has his gun drawn on May. He drops his gun and embraces May and they exchange a moment of relief with one another. 

It is at this moment however that King returns with news, the attack on the house was part of a bigger plan. In the end, the real threat came from within the UPJ itself, this led to the death of May's father and President of the UPJ.

With May's father killed by insurrectionists and terrorists, she is left in distress. Kaito helps her through the rough times and a friend and aid to May's father ends up asking her to do something on behalf of her father, to hold a speech introducing her father's Reunification Plan. At first, Kaito is against it believing that doing it would put her at risk for another attack, plus with her father just recently passing, she was in no emotional state to be doing a speech. However, despite his protests, she decides to do it and with her speech, the Moderates of both nations begin the process of reuniting the nation as a single nation.

At the end of this storyline, Kaito is given permission to maintain his student life and to graduate school under the guise of being there to protect May. King pulls some strings and ensures that eventually he will be placed on 'reserve' status to where the chances of him being sent on missions will be less likely. This allows him to plan his life around May and their future.

This Visual Novel is not bad, I enjoy the alternate world idea and even enjoy the characters, while I think some development is slow in places and there are holes in the stories, (later you realize that those are filled as you complete the girl's stories) and this leads you to really get interested not only in the main character but also the girls themselves.

The H-Scenes are all pretty much at the end of the Visual Novel which is ok, and each story tends to head in the same direction with small variations towards the end which isn't bad at all really.

I would like to note that the 18+ feature is not needed, and is a free download from the Publisher's site. I do enjoy this game and recommend it to those that might enjoy something refreshing and new.

 The Eden of Grisaia: Bad Ending

At the end of Yuuji's battle with Heath Oslo, he is introduced to the "First" Heath who is in a wheelchair and living on machines. This is where he finds out that the name Heath Oslo is actually a title given to the one that takes over their organization. The man that he killed was the second Heath Oslo a cloned copy of the first. But the first is soon to depart from the world and he makes a request to Yuuji. "Become the next Heath Oslo, make the world the way you want it by making mankind your enemy." The Organization that Heath Oslo runs is based on ensuring that wars are fought and then subdued and they profit from these wars. When one nation gets too strong they find ways to bring them back down, when a nation is on the brink of destruction they go in and raise them back up from the ashes. They create the 'balance' of the world.

If you choose to accept this offer you become the new Heath Oslo and you have your sister join you in the organization. There is a very short scene that has Yuuji and his sister talking about what is to come as well as the girls that he left behind. The girls are on the island that he was given creating a new life for themselves and waiting on Yuuji, though he will never get a chance to see them again. He has made the decision that he will not see them, or more so they will not see what he has become.

Effectively with his sister at his side he has gained all of the Thanatos System and now holds a very powerful trump card against the largest and most powerful nations of the world. His sister can enter the system at will using a pod to connect to the system. When he makes the remark about why she joined him her only response was she gave, in essence, was "my brother is the most important person in the world, and my love for him is endless. If he wishes to change the world by becoming mankind's enemy I will do the same." 

In a way, I don't really know if this would be a "Bad Ending" per se but it is certainly one that is different. Plus from what is said and stated I think it goes without saying that the siblings have more than just a...family relationship. Though this has been pretty much verified through the entire thing. 

 The Eden of Grisaia: True Ending

The Eden of Grisaia is the final installment of this particular series of Grisaia. There are several other side stories, add ons, and alternative stories you can obtain and play through but to my knowledge, this is the final chapter of the story of Yuuji and the girls of Mihama Academy.

Unlike the previous games where your path is subjective based on the girl that you decide to spend time with and your ending is based on the girls themselves, this one could be seen as an alt world experience where the story centers around the protag and his past finally catching up to him and how he has grown as a person since attending the Academy with the girls.

So to keep concise on this story the first two Grisaia's are still considered to have happened with some minor alterations. The idea is that thanks to Yuuji he has managed to help all of the girls with their issues to some extent and in doing so they have all fell for him in their own way. Some changes such as Makina no longer calling him 'papa', Sachi still wearing her maid outfit and the school was not destroyed, Yumiko didn't have to run and hide with him for a year, and Amane and he was never attacked. The only one that stayed pretty much the same was Michiru, I have a feeling this was because she is 'best girl'.

The Academy however is slated to be shut down after Yumiko did get her father removed as the Chairman of his company. Because of that, they are all told that they will have to leave the Academy on a certain day. Before this happens Yuuji is called out on a mission to 'eliminate' a Terrorist that has made his way into the nation. Upon getting to the location he finds out that his target is none other than Heath Oslo the man that had made him into the killing machine that he was before being taken in by Asako. 

Yuuki unable to pull the trigger is taken into the custody of the company he works for. It is there that he finds out from JB of a very sorry situation. Heath has declared he has a new weapon of mass destruction that he's smuggled into Japan and is setting it up to be used unless his demands are met. This involves them handing Yuuji over to him.

To keep the status quo the Government and the Company agree to the demand and begin to make the preparations including setting Yuuji up to be seen as a Terrorist himself. The girls see the events unfold on television and they can not believe that Yuuji was in fact a terrorist.

The events all come down to the day they leave the school, it is on this day they are all told they have to make a choice on what to do with their lives now that they are being removed from the protective walls of the school and are now forced to enter back into society. The turn of events that led to Yuuji being arrested left the girls each searching for their own way to handle the situation. To that end, Yumiko determines that she will do all she can to help Yuuji and get him from the company he works for.   

Amane for her part has the ability to return to her home and help her parents with their restaurant and in her mind, she can also bring Makina with her which has become like a daughter of sorts to her. Of all the girls her past may be one of the more gruesome of them all but she still has a home to return to if she chooses. After thinking though she realizes that she can't leave things as they are, her love for Yuuji is stronger than that. And with that as her resolve, she decides to join Yumiko in her idea of finding a way to save Yuuji.

 

Sachi has no home to return to, her father died in a traffic accident and her mother is in a coma most likely to never wake up again. Her only salvation was the Academy itself and with it soon shutting down she has little else to do. She is offered the chance to transfer schools to continue her education, but her circumstances may not be ideal for such a thing. However she knew full well she can not integrate herself into society as she is now nor may she ever be able to she only has one thing on her mind, she wants to save Yuuji and be with him.

Makina whose father was murdered by men loyal to her mother and the Main Family of their company has made it clear she would never return to her mother or to the family she ran from. Instead, she rather spends her time learning and excelling in the things that Yuuji taught her. He had started teaching and training her to be a sniper much like he was, she has always looked up to Yuuji and it was through this that she realized she loved him. With that in mind she, as well as Sachi both, agree to help Yuuji any way they can, and that means joining Yumiko and Amane.

Michiru is the last one to make the choice and it fits her character. Despite her being a complete idiot and slow, she is the one that places herself in a position to keep the others together and places them above herself in almost everything she does. The girls give her a hard time but at the end of the day, they know that without Michiru they wouldn't be able to continue on the way they have. Michiru however has her own worries and problems, namely the multiple personalities that she has that can at times take control of her body. Though they have both gotten good at trading places instantly there is still hesitation on her part to jump all in. She wants to, she believes in Yuuji and loves him, almost more so than the other girls, but she is also indecisive which leads her to second-guessing herself in just about everything she does.

With the girls all agreeing to do their part to help find and rescue Yuuji, they set off from the school in the pursuit of their dreams or to die trying. The girls find themselves living in a houseboat that Yumiko bought to act as a base of operations while she gathered information to find Yuuji. The other girls did what they could as well, Amane cooked and took care of supplies, Sachi and Makina hit the streets and looked for information or helped with other chores. Michiru really doesn't have any real talents but she does try to help when she can. 

Through their investigations, they find an info broker that Yumiko goes and visits to get information on Yuuji. At first, she isn't sure what to make out of the man she meets but soon the man lets her in on a secret, he's a former 'Bush dog Member' the one and only Robert 'The Invincible' Wooley. He was also a former technician in the employment of the same company as Yuuji until his termination.

At around the same time, the girls are doing their part, Yuuji and JB are relived of their posts. Yuuji is drugged around the clock to keep him from doing anything to escape. JB is being held until the trial and court marshal of Yuuji. It is at this time that Yuuji is requested by 'her' the Scientist in the basement. And her word is absolute so he is taken to her. He finds out the sorted story of his sister and how she has become the 'organic' piece of a new system that is used to keep track of everything from personal emails, phones, corporate, CCTV's and is part of the National Defense Network. It is called Thanatos a newer and more advanced version of SIGNET the US-based Intelligence gathering system. 

Despite this development, Yuuji doesn't seem overly overwhelmed by the news but this could be due to the drugs he's been given. It is at this time that Kasumi or "Thanatos" actively seeks out and contacts the girls themselves and begins to provide them with much-needed support. Between the girls and Thanatos, they start to make preparations to help save Yuuji and to make their dreams come true.

It is here that things take off and the girls with the help of Thanatos that the group is able to prepare, Sachi is tasked with getting Yuuji as well as use her homemade explosives to distract the enemy. Makina is tasked with taking out the armored cars that are taking Yuuji to the drop point with Heath. She is given a custom AMR (Anti-Material Rifle) with specialized shells to do this task. Yumiko is tasked as the field commander and gives orders as the situation changes, Amane is the getaway driver. And Michiru is used by Thanatos to acquire the funds they need to get things ready. 

In the end, Thanatos reached out to others that she wanted to help as well, Chiziru the teacher and principal of the Academy, JB the former Handler of Yuuji, Captian John 'J' the former commander of the Bush Dog Unit, Mellie a newly trained pilot that was a former member and sniper in the Bush Dog Unit. And another former Bush Dog Unit member to help Mellie get her Attach Helio off the ground. With all the people ready, Thanatos got the items she needed, weapons, supplies, a ship, aircraft, a car, and funding.  

On the day that Yuuji was being transported a team led by Heath's personal guard attempted to take Yuuji for themselves and it was at that time that the girls launched their own plan. With Makina knocking out the engines with her AMR Sachi was able to collect Yuuji by hiding herself in smoke and getting him away from the enemy. Amane shows up with Michiru and picks up Yuuji and the other two girls and they leave the area with Heath's guards in tow.

After a bitter fight and long amounts of travel, they finally make it back to the houseboat and meet back up with Yumiko. During the time that Yuuji is being rescued by the girls, Thanatos is disconnected from the computer system she was part of. Her body has been repaired and the once damaged arm had been replaced. Not using her body in years she wasn't able to do much which is where JB came in.

JB and the girl that now calls herself Thanatos make their way out of the facility and meet up with a CIA Operative that has helped them on their mission. Once everyone is ready they get the ship that they had Michiru purchase and then meet up with the girls at the houseboat. The ship is a full size and fully optimized version of a Germany U-boat Submarine. This acts as a platform for them to leave Japan. 

As they are moving into open waters Yuuji makes the call to head to the large floating fortress that Heath is on to end things once and for all and to confront and to kill Heath and bring himself some closure. This of course will mean he can't allow himself to be unresponsive when he has to kill. Using the Helio that Millie stole she flies him close to the fortress and drops him off. 

The drugs he had been given are wearing off and as they do he places himself into a killing frenzy like state that allows him to freely move and kill anyone in front of him. Moving through the fortress he uses the enemy's knives and guns against them moving down each hallway and removing the enemy at every turn. 

Reaching the deck of the fortress he comes face to face with his 'brother' which is nothing more than a clone of sorts. Long short, using Yuuji's genes and placing them into a fertilized egg and putting it into a woman they were able to create this soldier that looked much like Yuuji and had his skills. It is a tough fight and during the fight, Yuuji is given several injections of drugs that enhance the abilities of those that use it to the point that his body almost collapses on itself. The stimulants are given to agents in the field for a variety of reasons but they all end up the same way, eventually, these stimulants can cause death.

With his 'brother' dead and Yuuji on the brink of bleeding out himself, he makes his way to Heath where they fight one last time and Yuuji ends up killing him. It is after this that he finds out that Heath Oslo is actually not just a person but a 'title' given to the person that takes that position within the organization. This is one of the only choices you can make in this Visual Novel. You can choose to refuse the position of the next "Heath Oslo" or you can become the next one. To get the "True Ending" You have to decline. 

The Visual Novel then discusses the aftermath of the destruction of Heath and the fortress as well as the loss of Yuuji. While he's not dead they for a while didn't know where he was or when he would return. During this time they find an island that was left to Yuuji when Asako passed away. Using the ship they had they went to the island and established a paradise of their own. They rebuilt the school and got it credited to be a true school of the nation of Japan. In the end, 2 years have passed since the events of the fortress, Yuuji returned to them after 6 months of medical attention. He is no longer part of the Company, the Company as disbanded as well as the Thanatos system destroyed. 

The lives of Yuuji, his sister, and the five girls along with the adults that have been supporting them continues on in our thoughts only. 

I feel it important to let you know that as far as the 'sexual aspect' there isn't much in the way of H-Scenes or anything like that, but there are several discussions about some sexual events between Yuuji and other women. That said this Visual Novel does have a lot of blood, guts, and violence in it compared to the others. There are a few pictures that are a bit rough for some people to stomach but beyond that, this one was actually pretty tamed. 

NEKOPara Vol. 4 Release Coming Soon

 NEKO-Para Vol. 4

I am happy to announce that the 4th installment of Neko-Para is coming out on November 26th, 2020! This series developed by NEKO WORKs and published by Sekai Project has gained much attention for its unique style and story development. This particular Visual Novel has even obtained a recently published 12 episode Anime version that is currently running on Funimation.

I have played through all the current Volumes including NEKO-Para Vol. 0, as well as seen the Anime, and it has come to be one of my favorite Visual Novels to date. The character development is great and the overall dedication to the story and characters goes beyond that of what you might see in other Visual Novels. That said though that doesn't mean it's the only one of its kind. 

Currently, it is not posted as to how much it will cost to get this Visual Novel yet, but based on previous installments it will most likely be in the range of $20 to $25 pushing possibly 30$.

If you think you may be interested in this Visual Novel series I recommend you check out my previous reviews of the series as well as visit the Steam Store Page to see more on it.

NEKO-Para Vol. 1

NEKO-Para Vol. 2

NEKO-Para Vol. 3

Currently they do not have a preorder available.

They Labyrinth of Grisaia: The Cocoon of Caprice

 The Labyrinth of Grisaia: The Cocoon of Caprice

The Cocoon of Caprice is a side story that is available in this particular Visual Novel. It is the log of Yuuji's life before he became the current I-9029 and friends with the girls of the school he now attends. 

I want to be upfront with you on this, the story is extremely long so I will be doing an abridged version that will leave out minor details. This particular story probably accounted for about 4 to 6 hours' worth of playtime over a stretch of 5 days or so. I would get to a point that I would have to save the game, get up, and do something else before my eyes would bleed.

Another thing I need to mention is the fact that this story is extremely emotionally driven and has plenty of things in it that some people may not want to see, know, or hear. The scenes are not all that graphic but some of the text that describes some incidents can be disturbing. There are also situations that some people may not be able to fully grasp or wish to. I personally don't have an issue with anything in this story but I can see where some might. 

This story is told as a file that Yuuki had to create and turn into his boss JB in order to get a promotion. He wrote everything down and then after doing a final draft he destroyed the original, or so he thought. The girls end up finding his destroyed copies and putting them back together starts to read about his history.

Yuuji was born two years after his sister, his sister Kazuki was a genius and was labeled so by the time she was four. Her IQ was recorded as over 160 and her ability to learn things quickly and then applying those same things to her work earned her a great deal of attention. However, because of that Yuuji who held no real exceptional skill of his own was shunned by his father and mother. 

Yuuji's father was a man that sought riches above all else and after being removed from his family for multiple reasons he found himself in need of money to complete his lifestyle. To that end, he became something of a fence for artwork. He married Yuuji's mother who was a 'working girl' after she became pregnant with Kazuki. Kazuki being who she was began to do artwork at a young age and showed a great deal of promise in the field. Her father would sell her artwork and many art colleges were wanting to sign her when she was of age.

As Kazuki grew older and watched over her brother she took an interest in his daily life. When the 'family' would go out to eat Yuuji would be left at home to fend for himself because his father didn't want him to tarnish the name of his sister. It was at this time that Yuuji noticed that his parents would not go against anything that Kazuki wanted. Their parents practically worshipped the ground that Kazuki walked on, and Yuuji was just an afterthought.

On a certain night when the family was out eating at a restaurant talking to someone interested in buying artwork done by Kazuki, Yuuji was left home with no real food to eat as his mother had forgotten to leave him something so he ended up getting some bread to eat. The bread was a bit hard so he simply ran some water over the bread to soften it up and then drank some of the water as well. Unknown to him his sister was the first to come into the house and see what he was doing. 

Completely taken aback by the treatment of her brother she went into a rage and went off on their parents. This however had the reverse effect of what she wanted as this meant that their father would do what he could take a sort of revenge against Yuuki.

As they grew up Kazuki started to decrease the amount of her work and focus on other hobbies that left her parents slightly scared of losing the money they were getting from her works. Yuuji questioned her on this and she gave a simple answer, "I just want to have a somewhat normal life, and being a genius isn't going to lead me to any sort of normal life." The simplicity of the answer was a nice contrast to what many would have thought.

Kazuki had a bit of a dark way of looking at things as well, but this was brought to the forefront when she made a comment to him after he had found a friend in a young girl in their neighborhood named Sachi. Kazuki had run off several other friends that Yuuji had that were girls and he wasn't sure why. When he talked to her about Sachi she asked him if he had feelings for her. He responded that they were just friends. 

This led to Kazuki telling Yuuji that he was already a "playboy" and that he would grow up to be one as well. But with that said she made the statement, "I am the only girl that will love you that way, no other girl can love you as much as I love you." That simple statement was the precursor of Kazuki and Yuuji having an incestual relationship of sorts. 

As was stated in Amane's story, Kazuki would later die (or so we are led to believe) in the tragic bus accident that Amane was the only survivor of. This led to the complete destruction of the family, with no money coming in any longer it led Yuuji's father into a spiral of alcohol abuse and beating Yuuji's mother and Yuuji on a regular bases. This leads to Yuuji's mother to run away from his father. Sadly after only a couple of weeks, he finds them and brings them back home.

This would last a few months before they would flee again, this time they went somewhere new where they had never been before. This however highlighted a point that Yuuji makes later on when talking to Makina about when you run. Don't run out to the countryside, people there are close and they don't welcome outsiders well. Despite everything, his mother worked two jobs and he attended a normal school and they were slowly making headway despite the neighbors treating them coldly. 

Later his father would find them, and a serious of events leads Yuuji to slam a bottle into the head of his father. His mother has him run from the house and he did so, but thinking about it he realized how much of a coward he was and decided to run back to the house to help his mother. Upon getting there he sees his father and mother both dead. 

An acquaintance of Yuuji's father decides to take him in. His mind warped by the tragedy of his parents left Yuuji in a state that he spoke pretty much never, he only done what Oslo told him. Oslo used Yuuji, though the story is vague as to what all he was forced to do and probably for good reason, but one thing it does state is he was forced to wear a wig and girls clothing.

Yuuji was then sent to a Terrorist training camp led by Oslo and trained to kill, he would show his talents when sharpshooting this along with personal training by Oslo in the art of using knives would lead to Yuuji becoming an assassin. After months of training and watching other children from broken homes and orphans live, fight, and die for Oslo he was sent on some very important missions. 

Dressed as a girl he would infiltrate places and assassinate people in power. After these events, however, Oslo would run from his mansion that was hit by the international counter-terrorist group called CIRS. During the raid the woman that would become Yuuji's master named Asako found him chained to a bed, dehydrated, lacking in food, and later finding out that he had been used to test new 'sensory enhancing' drugs he was mentally unable to understand anything going on.

Asako decided to take Yuuji in and along with JB they moved him back to Japan where he lived with Asako for several years. His rehabilitation took a while and eventually he was able to regain himself somewhat. However, some mental wounds don't heal. He was naturally a coward and weak but forced into bloodshed and murder he had created a story to keep him in check even if it was wrong. Later he would find out that he couldn't kill anything human or animal without having an adverse effect. 

Through his learning from Asako how to live a somewhat better life he eventually started doing some jobs for Asako for her 'job' and hid the fact for some time before JB found out. This led to JB too and Asako having a decent argument before Yuuji finally deciding that he wanted to do the same job as Asako no matter what. It was during this time that his 'playboy' looks and attitude were brought back up as it was apparent by how it was discussed that he and Asako had an on and off again sexual relationship.

Yuuji would eventually be granted status by Ichighya or "The Company" to attend Marine school in the US in San Diego. It is here he met one of his only friends Daniel Bone. He would make his way through the first stage of his training and then be shipped to Virginia for the second part of his training. Here he is introduced to Milly a farmer girl that is also a sharpshooter like Yuuji. They are both placed into a squad with Daniel and two other men that Yuuji met while in training. 

His 2 term of training required 'practical training'  so he was first deployed with his unit to Afghanistan for a short tour. He would later be sent to a jungle region where he would meet up with his new CO who called their small squad the Brushdogs and the "Squad of Rejects" as they were all problem people as far as the military was concerned.  It is during this excursion that Yuuji is put to the test when they are hammered by terrorists he is told that he is to hold the front. He asks his CO how many he has to kill after he had already killed several. Each kill pushed him to the brink of mental exhaustion and he had already puked more than once.

His CO handed him 9 rounds and said, "I'd like you to kill 17 but all we have are 9 rounds so, kill 9" With that, the CO acted as his spotter and using a type of field hypnosis was able to help Yuuji use up his ammo supply, one shot one kill 9 confirmed kills.  This ended with Yuuji passing out. 

Upon returning to the States he was released from the Marines and accepted into Ichighya Corp as a 'loner from Uncle Sam' until he could pass his license course in Japan. He was in Japan and had gotten his license to work in Japan when the call came in, Asako was dying. 

Years of abuse, injuries, and the use of 'sensory enhancing' drugs led to a condition that would end up being fatal. Returning to the mountains here Asako lived, he spent time with her until she passed. Upon her death, he had resided in the cabin that had belonged to them until the day that JB asked him to move in with her.

JB who had grown up with Asako at an orphanage and Yuuji both were in a state of shock and couldn't register the fact that Asako had passed. This led to an awkward relationship that was mostly sexual as a way to help each other through hard times. He then decides one day to leave and head out on his own for a while to find answers to his own life and what he is to do now without his Master.

He eventually decides to do something he wanted for a while and that was to attend school, a normal High School. That is when he is able to meet the girls. During all this time he had taken over Asaka's position and number of I-9029. 

The VN leads to a moment when Yuuji is called out on a mission and something happens, the VN ends with the girls seeing Yuuji on TV, and from here it ends which leads us to the final installment of The Eden of Grisaia.

All in all, this part of the VN leads you to believe he has at least at this point hadn't chosen a girl to be with, and without playing The Eden of Grisaia I can't say at this point how it will end. I have read that for the most part with the exception of a couple of choices it is a pretty static Visual Novel.

This particular VN also has several 'short stories' but I am not sure if I will do anything on those. I hope you all will read the next installment of this series when I have it posted. Overall this VN was well done, full of information, and really helps you understand why Yuuji is the way he is.

 The Labyrinth of Grisaia Makina's Afterstory

Makina's Afterstory is the most unique out of all the ones on this Visual Novel. While the others brought some sort of closure (with the exception of Michiru's) this one takes on a life of its own and to be quite honest I could see this being used as a spin-off series. 

Admittedly while I get that the choice was Makina's to make, I also think Yuuji should have done a little bit more to get her to go down a different path. But I guess that wouldn't make as interesting a story. 

Makina's Afterstory takes place a year following the events of the first Visual Novel. Yuuji and Makina had fled from Japan and moved to Florida and had used the money that she had given Yuuji to buy them a home. Eventually, news reached that they had been told that Yuuji was an active agent once again. Due to the injury, he sustained in helping Makina Yuuji now used a prosthetic arm. Makina decided to go into the same program as Yuuji had been in and within a month or so Makina was shipped off to Virginia for training. 

After her training was complete she was given her Licence to apply her trade in the United States. Eventually, things died down in and Yuuji and Makina wanted to return to Japan to see their friends and to have Makina get her Licence in Japan to work there as well.

Upon returning to Japan Yuuji went straight to the companies HQ to present himself to JB who had been waiting to see him again. While there he gave a detailed account of the incident and what he and Makina had been doing since they left the country. While this was going on Makina decided to pay her mother a little visit. Makina setting up her "toys" waited and after taking a 'sense heightening drug' she was able to shoot two rounds, the first created a 9in hole in the wall, the second was able to cause shrapnel to remove her mother's finger.

Using the only two rounds she had she packed her things up and made her way downstairs and waited for Yuuji to show up. Yuuji and Makina decided while they would be there for a week or two they should pay everyone at the school a visit. They hadn't seen any of the other girls in a year and no information had been released about what happened to either of them. Upon returning one by one the two met up with each of the girls and explained the situation with them.

Not long after they had spent a day or two at the dorms per the request of the remaining students Makina was sent to training to obtain her license. During this time Yuuji had a lot of time to spend with the girls and debating over his choices he had made in allowing Makina to follow in his footsteps and become a tool of the Government. Every time he had asked her if she was sure about it she would always respond in kind saying, "I made this decision on my own so only I am responsible for my own actions." and yet he felt the sting of regret. 

The other girls also questioned him about this as well though in their own way. He remembered his own past, his own master, and some of the events that led him to where he was today. These things weigh heavily on his mind and the girls in their own right done what they could to help him through this uncertain time. The day would come when Makina would return announcing proudly she had passed and got her license to work in Japan. 

Yuuji using his position as the 'I-9029' ensured that he would be deployed with Makina whenever she got a job. He used it as a means to stay with her and make sure she was safe. Makina 'V-9029' didn't exactly like it at first but she realized that it was his own way to spend time with her and to make sure that she didn't end up like he did. She had never taken a life and Yuuji wanted to be there should she ever have to. Unlike her, he had taken lives before he had met his Master and those deaths had weighed on him heavily. 

With Makina getting her license Yuuji and Makina were allowed to return to school and go through classes with the rest of the students. It is the first day of school and soon the call is sent via Makina's handler to head to the field. Yuuji and Makina being deployed were a bit of a pain in the ass as Yuuji would say but it was what it was.

Comparably to the other stories, this one was relatively short in duration. While it did hold a great deal of detail it wasn't as long as some of the others. I feel this one stuck out more and tended to be one of the better of the five stories that dealt with the girls themselves. I also like how they left it off where if you did Makina's route in the first game you already have a grasp of how things are and that they end up returning to Florida after a time, but you are pretty much able to imagine yourself what happens after the events. 

As I stated earlier I think this one could easily be used to make a spin-off with Makina as an agent. I also think it should be mentioned that the relationship between Yuuji and Makina is a special case, she still refers to him as 'Papa', and yet they are as mentioned several times in the story having a sexual relationship as well. So the relationship is a bit unique though with learning about Yuuji's past will shed more light on this odd happening as well.

 The Labyrinth of Grisaia: Michiru's Afterstory

The Afterstory of Michiru is similar to Yumiko's as it takes place only in a span of a few days which again isn't exactly something that I found to be very in-depth and didn't answer a bunch of other questions that most people may have about the relationship between Yuuji and Michiru. Considering that it is posed that Michiru is the "best girl" the fact that this story wasn't advanced more actually worries me slightly. 

Beyond my own apprehension at the fact that this Afterstory is really thin, I still like this particular story. It shows a different side of Michiru and even includes the 'other Michiru' as they go out on multiple dates over the course of a few days.

Despite many things, this story was pretty short and focused heavy on the dates between Yuuji and Michiru with little interaction between the other girls, in fact, I can only think of a couple of times that Amane was even in the picture. Makina was stripped down to a couple of appearances. The only ones that showed up quite a bit were Sachi and Yumiko. Though Yumiko was used for a sort of comedic relief to the whole story.

At one point in the beginning Michiru changed her hair color from the normal blonde to a black. Honestly, I think she pulled it off pretty well but that is a controversy all unto its own per the Reddits posted. Despite that though Michiru in all her antics provides her own comedy and the dates are full of her attempting to put her own spin on things while Yuuji just allows her to do it.

On the surface this doesn't seem to be a bad thing but as the other Michiru eventually points out that, both sides are trying too hard to show affection and love towards one another. That the best thing to do is to simply act normal and allow that to be the building block of their relationship. The conversation between the Michiru's takes a more serious tone when it comes to the ideal of life, death, and relationships.

Both agree that the thought of eternal love is a farce created by hopeful people that in the end, everything ends. While the Michiru's do take a more pessimistic look at things they are not hopeless instead they use that as a reason to make things seem so much more meaningful. This leads to the other Michiru agreeing to help Michiru on her date with Yuuji by giving her advice. 

It is at this point you realize just how the other Michiru sees things. When it comes to dates she never allows herself to take over, she usually sleeps or at the very least watches from the darkness and never interferes. Yuuji accepts this and the other Michiru understands his thoughts on this. In a way, it's his way to respect her as if she was to start feeling a sense of being 'alive' again she may become restless that Michiru has things she can't have anymore.

This takes a unique twist when Yuuji and Michiru end up at a hotel. Michiru tells Yuuji that she wants her to sleep with the other Michiru because she knows that she also loves Yuuji just as much as she does. This of course takes the other Michiru by surprise but Yuuji agrees to the request.

In the end, Yuuji calls in a connection of his to help him make a dream a reality for Michiru, this leads to them agreeing that until the day they no longer live they will be with one another and love each other until the end. 

While I feel that this ending was unique and nice, I also feel it is another rush job or at the very least it wasn't planned out as well as Amane or Sachi's was. Without doing Makina's story at this time I can't very well make an evaluation on that one. 

While I don't really agree that Michiru should be 'best girl' I do at the very least enjoy the unique story that is hers. I think that the writers may have done this in order to let one's own imagination run wild with their story. A story of love till the end between Yuuji and the Michiru's is something that has that nice calming effect, at least that is my opinion. 

 The Labyrinth of Grisaia: Yumiko's Afterstory

Of the now four stories I have played through this one was slightly a bit disappointing in the fact that I felt it didn't go far enough with the ending shown on Fruits of Grisaia. That said I won't say it was a horrible Afterstory but I do think it felt a bit rushed and heavily focused on a short span of time.

The events of this Afterstory takes place over a few days or possibly a week or so. It is based right after Yuuji and Yumiko make their way back to the dorm and school after being on the run for a year from the company that Yuuji works for and from Yumiko's father's company. After having Yumiko's father removed as head of the East Beach Company she is now in a position of deciding the future of her own life. 

With the removal of her father the school, they are currently attending has been notified that they will be closing down. As it was considered a project by him alone the new heads see that it doesn't make any money and therefore it will be shut down and the students will be transferring out.

Yumiko has always been a shut-in of sorts, and she has always had an abrasive personality. However, after returning to the dorms she realizes her own weakness, and realizing the time they have left with everyone is short she works hard to come out of her shell and really spends time with everyone. She decides to also focus on skills that would help her with Yuuji as she felt like over the past year she was more of a burden to him than anything else.

 Each of the girls has something they are special at and through observation Yumiko decides to have each girl help in those fields of interest. First, she starts learning to cook from Amane who is extremely proficient in cooking and doing so extremely healthy, as well as learning to make every yen count on supplies. She then seeks out Sachi's advice and help on learning to clean properly and how to do the basic of household chores. 

Later she has Michiru teach her the way of a Tsundere as well as how to use those situations to help others around her to get past situations that may be hard to otherwise. Lastly, she has Makina help her learn how to read movements and anticipate those movements to then counter them. This of course is used more so to allow her to catch Yuuji by surprise so he doesn't try to dodge her when she wants some affection.

With all this in mind, Yuuji begins to help her understand that even though they will soon be parting with everyone that she needs to share the moments they have with one another now and cherish them. Overtime Yumiko realizes that she was the one that had placed a barrier between her and the others and the others knew eventually those barriers would come down and when they did she finally released the emotions she held back for so long. 

Sachi and Michiru would be transferring to another private academy, Makina would be heading home with Amane and live with her and her family. This would leave Yuuji and her to be together but she wasn't sure what she wanted to do. Yuuji was allowed to come back to his job and the past year was removed from his record. As far as anyone knew I-9029 was on a mission over the past year and that was just that.

Yuuji takes Yumiko on an overnight date to a hot spring town where they spend time just walking, shopping, and spending the day with one another. With the school closing the Principle had quite a bit of funds leftover and no one knew how to spend it before the school closed. So Yuuji unknown to Yumiko had asked everyone about one thing in particular and they all agreed.  With the arrangements sat up Yuuji took Yumiko to a beach and there he asked her what was something she wanted from her childhood that she never got. After spending time at an Amusement park while they were on the run she stated the only thing left was fireworks show up close. 

With that, he simply looked at his watch and said, "well, keep looking up and here we go" with that statement the night sky was filled with fireworks. Smiling Yuuji simply said that the class had voted to use the last of the money to put on the fireworks show just for her. And with that, the story ended.

Like I stated at the beginning I'm not upset so much at the ending as it was very mild and nice all things considering and it at least filled in a small amount of the gap between what happened in the Fruits of Grisaia and the ending of her story there. However, I do feel that it left out a great deal of more information that could have been put in. I think this one was forced through and may have been a last-minute call on the production side. 

To that end I am still happy with it and I think you would be too.

 The Labyrinth of Grisaia: Sachi's Afterstory

Sachi's story begins after a few months after the end of her story in The Fruits of Grisaia. Yuuji was able to defeat her at her only request to become her husband and in doing so they decided they would get married after they graduated. However, the Principle and JB had other ideas. They decided to use the marriage as a PR campaign to bolster the school's reputation and the township ate it up. 

During all these events Yuuji has been teaching Sachi different things that pertain to his job one thing he taught her that she excelled at was 'Bomb Disposal' which was an odd thing in itself. Sachi has started to show more and more of her emotions after the events that led to her breakthrough and slowly removing the rules she set for herself she is finding the happiness she had never had before.

The girls are all excited to see them get married and while they are also a bit sad that none of them will get to be with Yuuji they continue to support the happy couple every step of the way. Sachi however is still somewhat guarded about a certain feeling she has, in her mind she wants a marriage like her mother and father had. Their marriage was one where her mother didn't just wait for her husband to come home from work, she helped him with his work by supporting him every step of the way. This appeals to Sachi even if she doesn't know exactly what his job is because she hates the feeling of helplessness she has when he is out "on the job" and only knowing that his job is dangerous this thought of him not coming home brings a sense of dread. 

This becomes apparent during a wedding game where the girls made questions that would show how in sync the couple was with knowing each other. What started out as fun turned quickly into a descent into the shadowed territory. Realizing they really didn't know how each other thought and how different their perspective was caused a little issue between them. 

Realizing they really had never talked about it at length they started to share their ideas as to what they wanted from each other and how they wanted things to go forward. Neither side really understood the other but they believed that time would lead them to an answer. She presented Yuuji with an envelope and inside was an application to go to a private Nursing Institute. When he asked why she decided to go there, her answer was simple. "I know your job is dangerous and while I can't be there to support you with what you are doing, I can at least help heal you when you return." In her mind that was the best, she could do to support him. 

The day of their wedding comes and there is a sentimental moment between JB and Yuuji as JB ties to play the proud parent of Yuuji even though she is only his guardian on paper and his handler at their company. But the emotions are true and he realizes just how much JB cared about him.

On the same day, the other girls approach him and make a statement that caught him off guard. The girls decided among themselves that they wanted to have the closure of sorts by confessing their love to him and have him turn them down. And so he did, each feeling relieved about the outcome and ready to move on. 

The wedding only an hour or so away gets interrupted by a report that a bomber has made a statement that he plans on blowing up the wedding chapel. A package makes its way into Michiru's hands that appears to be a bomb. However, later Yuuji realizes that it's a fake, and after a Bomb Squad goes through the Chaple the wedding is back on. Though it doesn't take long for the bomber to call Yuuji and tell him there is in fact another bomb and it's in a duct that is too small for Yuuji to climb into.  

With only 30mins to disarm it, Yuuji makes the call to have Sachi to attempt to either disarm or retrieve the bomb. JB opposes this but Yuuji trusts Sachi completely and knows she will make the right choice, plus the only one small enough to get into the duct. Sachi enters and after several minutes returns from the duct with the bomb in hand, the bomb is not able to be disarmed. Yuuki then makes the decision to use a trick to 'kill the bomb'. Rushing to the kitchen of the Chapel he finds a large steel iron fridge and places the bomb inside and closing the door places his body against the door.

During the events of the bomb exploding in the fridge and not able to cause any damage or fatalities the other girls along with JB and the Principle are able to arrest the bomber who was still in the building. Sachi while in the duct made a realization, she finally understood Yuuki's way of thinking and why he thought the way he did about their future and why he was so deadset to protect her no matter the danger to his own life. Yuuji after the explosion and talking with Sachi realized her own way of thinking and why she wanted to be beside him and not left at home and to support him no matter what it took. 

With this in mind, Yuuji and Sachi were married. The ending of the story ends with Yuuji and Sachi talking to their own daughter Soho who was turning 10 and giving her the music box that was left to Sachi from her parents at the time of their death.

I actually found closure in this story, I think the ending was well done and leaves just enough information open to come to your own conclusion as to how things will end up between Sachi and Yuuji. The growth of Sachi through the first part of the story and the continued growth even in the Afterstory I think should be highly commended. I also think that Sachi's ending was at this point (I still have 3 other endings to go through) one of the best ones.