HelloGoodBye: Suguri The Childhood Friend End

In the last HGB review, I talked light on the events that led up from the Prologue to Chapter 1 and from there I discussed May's route. In this review, I will be doing a quick overview of May's best friend Suguri and the route that the protag takes with her.

In the Prologue, the first meeting with Suguri is a bit odd and strange, as Kaito doesn't remember ever meeting until May introduces them. However, Suguri breaks down into tears upon seeing Kaito and calling him out by name even before May really said what his name was. Suguri then makes several statements that make it seem as though she knew him from a long time ago. This leads Kaito into believing that his intel division had been slacking when they gave him the identity of Kaito. This means that Suguri probably knew the real Kaito and that puts his mission and objective in danger. 

Despite this, however, you are able to convince her that your not the same Kaito she knows and that in most circumstances it's just that you share the same name as he did. Of course, during this ordeal, you find out that Suguri is not a girl to be messed with as she performs a judo-style move that knocks you out and lands you in the nurse's office. Despite this mix up however you two become friends and start to have a friendship that is somewhat at first dictated by May who is kind of the middle man of sorts.

Time continues on and soon you are introduced to Natsume and through the course of events, many of the events are the same as they were in the first playthrough with May with some minor differences at first because instead of spending time with May you end up spending a great deal of time with Suguri. 

Prior to the events that lead up to the military and terrorist actions that hit Morino Kaito and Suguri admit to one another they have strong feelings for one another and spend the night with each other. The following day is when the attacks begin. Prior to the attacks May and Natsume leave the school, Natsume unknown to everyone but Kaito was sent back to the Commonwealth under orders. May, being the new UPJ President's daughter is placed under the protective custody of the UPJ Secret Service Unit. 

Unlike in May's line, you and Suguri are at school when the terrorist attack on the bridge happens to leave you and the other students stranded at the school building. Fearing that the terrorist or the Commonwealth Troops would attempt to hit the island you have Suguri assist in keeping the students in the school while you search for information on the island and the bridge. 

As more and more students get restless and start making plans to head to the docks of the island to escape Kaito is forced to reveal his identity as a UPJ (United Provinces of Japan) Special Unit Operative. At first, they don't believe him but after he pulls out his ID and his standard issued firearm they have no reason not to believe him. However, this comes at a drawback, now they know he's UPJ and he lied about his identity they begin to ignore him as a means to show their own distrust in him now. However, this is short lived as Suguri snaps everyone out of it by reminding them that his association doesn't change how he interacted with the students and how he had become a vital part of their school and class.

As night fell Kaito gets a call from UPJ Command, he is to be ready to move out within an hour as his helio will be there to pick him up to take him into action. With that knowledge, he and Suguri spend one more time together in an empty classroom where at first Suguri asks him to forget about her. But Kaito assures her that once this is over he will return to her. The helio comes and picks him up and he heads out into the city to fight against the Commonwealth troops and terrorists as he is about to leave the school he looks down from the helio and sees hundreds of paper lantern lights floating from the school it is a spectacle to be seen and later is even used by the UPJ President as a way to show unity and peace.

A few days go by and the Lantern festival is being held, and Suguri is at the spot where she and Saito watched the Lantern Festival 10 years prior when they were kids. While standing there watching the festival a familiar voice comes from behind her. Kaito is standing there and as they embrace he smiles saying that he now remembers everything from 10 years ago. He was, in fact, Kaito from then, the fake identity he had wasn't fake at all, and through a series of events, he had remembered everything from his past. The ending is of them promising to be together as long as they could and through it all he was told by the UPJ Security group that he was being switched from Active Status to Reserve and that was mostly thanks to his 'father'. 

In the end, I did enjoy Suguri's story and I find the past appeal of Childhood Friends to be one that is certainly cannon in many Manga, Anime, and Visual Novels. It is something that seems to be an enduring feature of most of these types of stories and in some instances, the Childhood Friend is 'best girl' but that isn't always the case. Suguri's story answers some of the questions you may have had in May's story as well as created some new ones. But from playing inline like I have been I have realized there is a certain order that you should play but if you did play it out of order it wouldn't hurt too much.  With May and Suguri path's completed next will be Natsume.