Saku Saku: Love Blooms with the Cherry Blossoms (Anna)
This is the fourth installment of the Saku Saku series I am doing and this particular one will be geared towards the protags love interest, Anna. Anna's story I think was one of the better ones of the set that I have played thus far, but I need to also state that I have yet to finish Tina's path yet. The main reason why I think this particular character's story is interesting is it ties together a lot of loose ends and really helps in understanding the basics of what led to what has happened to Yuma up to this point.
If you are interested in reading up prior to reading this one, please check out the other three by following the links below:
Anna is the current Student Council President and is a bit of an eccentric. She is unpredictable and tends to do things on the spur of the moment. She has an overactive yet very friendly attitude. Despite how it appears at times, however, she is very considerate of others and while to some she can seem a bit selfish, the reality is that she does things that ultimately help others and makes others happy. Anna takes an interest in Yuma from the start of his school year and is seen taking down one of the 'Wanted' Posters that got posted up about Yuma.
Eventually, through the course of several weeks and months, Yuma is drawn into the Student Council by Anna and becomes a member to assist the PMC and the Student Council. At first, he's hesitant about it but soon finds that it is something he can do and it helps everyone else out as well. A couple of choices has to be made to end up with Anna with the most powerful choice made at the swimming party that the Student Council has. You have to choose to listen to Anna and this will put you down the right path. Anna for the record is also a bit of a pervert and tries to get Yuma into some compromising positions, though the truth is she just does it to get a rise out of him, when he actually starts to try and push it back on her she tends to cave quickly.
You will later find out that Anna isn't a normal person, in truth, she isn't really even human by most standards. Her mother was a human and her father was a Soul Reaper. Upon her mother's death, her father left her to her own care. While it never actually states how old she is it is safe to say by some comments made she is well over 100 years of age. Because she is half Soul Reaper she is immortal. However she, herself does not participate in the job of a Soul Reaper, which is left to her other half and other personality Elenora. In essence, Anna has a split personality, but it is more as if two separate souls inhabit the same body.
Elenora, unlike Anna, is direct, brash, harsh, and a bit of an exhibitionist. She is the personification of what a Soul Reaper should be. She does her job efficiently, quickly, and with little regard to what it is, she is actually doing. Elenora also has the best understanding of what it is that a Soul Reaper actually does and is able to explain that to Yuma.
Despite this type of personality, however, she is timid around Yuma and a bit of a Tsundere, though she will not admit to it like most won't. Elenora is also the Soul Reaper that is in charge of training Tina to be a Soul Reaper. You later find out that Elenora was also responsible for teaching Tina's older sister Rina how to become a Soul Reaper. Elenora despite doing her job the way she is expected still has times that she feels sorry for Anna who is forced to participate in the Soul Reaper task, but also because of her being Immortal which makes Anna the same, she has tried to force Anna to not get involved with anyone because in the end, they will die and she will live on meaning that one day the one she loved will leave her behind.
Yuma knowing this however decides that his love for Anna is more important and through their time together he eventually gets Anna to become his girlfriend, albeit against the wishes of Elenora. Despite this at first though eventually Elenora accepts him to some extent and allows Anna to finally express her feelings towards Yuma and for him to return those feelings through the usual things that couples do, including sex. Yep multiple H-Scenes.
It is during this time that Anna makes several remarks that she doesn't care if Yuma releases himself into her that she (in a way) wants to have his child. Now note that this is never actually shown or indicated that she ends up pregnant though, even though I think that would have been a great addition to the story but eh). It is also at this time that Yuma realizes that Elenora can see everything going on between him and Anna and that of course the body that belongs to Anna also belongs to Elenora.
Anna and Elenor's story is a cluster of regret, desire, love, and the desire to make the other half happy. Anna helps Elenora in her work by providing support to those that are left behind from when Elenora reaps a soul. She also is able to see the memories of those that Elenora reaps and through these, she is able to help their families either directly or indirectly. In exchange, Elenora helps Anna by providing her advice and doing what she can to allow Anna to be happy. Despite this though both also hold deep regret over the fact that because the other is in the body, the other can never have the life they really want. In a way, they feel as though they are a bother to the other and if they were gone then the one that remains would be able to be fully happy.
During this time of romance, sex, and dating Yuma finds out that Rina, Tina's older sister was the Soul Reaper that gave her life to save Yuma when he was a child. This takes an emotional toll on Yuma at first but soon he is able to recoup from this and use it as a means to push forward to not only support Tina but to become closer to both Anna and Elenora. The next thing that happens is a bit unusual to an extent and one that I figured would eventually happen but it did kind of come in out of nowhere.
During an intimate moment between Anna and Yuma, Anna forces Elenora to take control of the body and she enters a slumber. It is then that Yuma realizes that not only does Anna love him, but Elenora has fallen in love with him as well. It is during this realization that Elenora and he perform a sexual act with one another (not actually sex though which honestly was a bit of a let down). After they are done when Elenora decides to let Anna have her body back she becomes frightened. It seems that Anna has sealed herself off from Elenora within her mind and so Elenora is unable to speak to Anna or bring her back.
Yuma and Elenora seek help from Tina at first but being a young Soul Reaper that has no real experience with things like this she is unable to really provide advice, but she suggests one that can. The Soul Reaper they call 'Pansy' is older than even Elenora and has hundreds of years of experience. With this in mind, they find him out one night and ask him what they can do to help Anna. While discussing the issue he makes a comment that cuts both Yuma and Elenora deep. He makes the comment that it sounded as though Anna didn't want to come back and instead was looking for a way to end her own life and that the reason why was because she saw what Yuma and Elenora did and felt like she had been cheated on.
Yuma and Elenora feel guilty for what they did but then Pansy said he would help them at the very least find her and discuss the matter but to do so Yuma would have to enter an 'almost death' state. So with that in mind and knowing time is limited Elenora summons her scythe and swipes Yuma with it removing his soul from his body. It is at that moment he enters into the dreams that belong to Anna and soon he is able to meet with her.
During their talk soon Elenora joins them and finally Anna and Elenora come to terms with their situation and realize that they are happiest when they are with one another and that neither one needs to leave or die off for the other to be happy. They also realize that both of them have strong feelings for Yuma and because of that he has become a part of their world and their happiness. Though they know in the end he will die, and they will remain. They then return to the real world.
A few days pass and on a particular night while taking Anna home after school and after spending a very...sexual and hot time with one another Yuma makes the decision to go ahead and ask Anna something. With his courage and mind made up, he takes her hand before she can leave and places a ring upon her finger. No words were really needed but they have spoken anyway and in the end, even though they were in high school they were done committed to being married.
This story was one of the better ones, I would go as far as to say that it was really developmental of the primary story and it unlocks Tina's path. I enjoyed how Anna and Elenora's characters were developed and think that they were very well done. I still think that Elenora should have gotten a bit more time with Yuma and should have had some proper intercourse with him, I also think that additional storytelling of Anna actually getting pregnant would have made the story more interesting, I mean have a full dialogue set of her finding out, telling Yuma and then both of them telling Aoi (Yuma's stepmother) and Konami (Yuma's sister) as well as the rest of their friends that she is going to have a child.
All that said though I highly recommend this game and this route.
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