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I'm not dead…

Tuesday, February 26th, 2008

… just waiting for another day…

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To Heart 2 OVA: Episode 2

Saturday, June 30th, 2007

To Heart 2 OVA

The second episode is about the sisters Manaka and Ikuno Komaki. This marks Ikuno's anime debut! The game featured a bit of her in Manaka's scenario, and so I was looking forward to her stint in the OVA. The OVA finally arrived, and well… it is still typical To Heart 2, aside from more fanservice than the usual. Anyway, this is the ever-present beach episode, and Ikuno is quite bored.
(more…)

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To Heart 2 OVA: Episode 1

Wednesday, February 28th, 2007

To Heart 2 OVA

At first I was not particularly anticipating the new To Heart 2 OVAs, seeing that the TV series failed my expectations a bit. Of course, having Ma-ryan and Sasara (and present-day Yuuki) animated is a nice bonus, but otherwise I stick to the original game for my fandom. I would only wonder in horror how they would dilute Sasara's scenario (the longest scenario in the game) in a mere episode or two.
(more…)

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To Heart 2: Last Review

Wednesday, March 30th, 2005

FINAL THOUGHTS

I'm finished!!! Finally, after almost a month, I finished the Konomi scenario in To Heart 2! I never thought I would.

Anyway, my big hurdle was really the language barrier. Not being able to read the Japanese text, I rely and listen closely at what the voice overs are saying in their dialogue. Technically so many details may be wrong in the entirety of the feature, but as a whole all the things that happened in the scenario gives Konomi her necessary character development.

We see her as a fun, klutzy girl who seems always positive but has her share of down times too. She definitely loves her onee-san Tamaki. She is also somewhat superstitious, and likes to buy and give Takaki some charms and stuff like that. She's definitely a girl, and seeing her cry after her junior school graduation develops her characteristics of vulnerability as a girl. And of course, her "eheee~" habit makes her as cute-sounding as she is cute-looking.

Of course, the other characters which had their share of character development in this scenario are the siblings Yuji and Tamaki. They are very comic siblings. How they punch each other with words or rather physically ups the comic humor a bit in the game. And Yuji serves as the crossover king, citing references to many of the other Leaf games including no less than the first To Heart.

Which brings me to this subject, a possible major flaw in the structure of To Heart 2. How come that all those girls do not remotely know each other? I know that Yuma and Manaka are friends, but that's just about it. Other than that, no rapport is seen between the other girls. Why is that? I would have wanted some kind of love triangle plot, or some petty fight issues between the girls. I haven't played the original To Heart game, but why do the To Heart girls know each other in both anime series? In fact, they know each other too well you'd think they're friends already. Is this an anime-only thing? Will we see rapport among the To Heart 2 characters when the anime arrives? I'll have to see about that. In any case, it is sad that the To Heart 2 girls have little or no relation to each other in this game.

That said, it really seems to be a straight-forward game. Follow one girl, discard the rest. But if you stray away from her scenario, you get the generic bad ending. Seemingly as simple as that. I guess what really matters here is the story rather than the gameplay. You could see yourself idling away with not pushing any buttons for a period of time, since the choices and place directions are few and far between. It isn't too hard to stray away from a girl's scenario either. Just pick the choices that attune to the character, and also go to places where you can possibly meet her. To Heart 2 is an easy game.

On to the technical aspects. For a visual novel or bishoujo game, the event CG is rather good. Only in rare instances did I see the character drawings to be inconsistent. If I'm right, there are a total of 227 event CGs in the game. Character and background CGs blend along well. There are a few special graphical effects seen though, like zooming in the characters, but there are lots of screen fading styles employed (if anyone is ever interested in those). The music is great too. Just recently I realized that many tracks in To Heart 2 are actually revivals or remixes of To Heart PSE tracks! This recreates even more the original To Heart feel, but unfortunately I have a "heard first" tendency, so I rather like the To Heart 2 versions more.

By the way, I am playing the Playstation 2 version of To Heart 2. Actually, there will be a PC port of the game soon, possibly featuring new characters and scenarios to the game. I'm thinking that I may update some parts of this project to include some new events in the PC Konomi scenario in the game, if they will exist (and if I get the game of course).

My many thanks to the people who supported this project. To the people to posted a comment, and also to the game players I (annoyed) asked to help me on this project. Thank you very much!

Well, until the anime or the PC version comes, I officially declare this project… COMPLETE!

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To Heart 2 Review (Part 7)

Tuesday, April 27th, 2004

Review Coverage: April 25 to 27, True and Alternate Ending

The end is here!

April 25
The entire Sunday has passed with Konomi still in the house. At night, she's about to go home, but first she tries to confess to Takaki. Well not quite yet.

April 26
Konomi picks Takaki up again in his house in the morning. After class, they go home together again. She seems to have a problem with some sort of practice. Takaki volunteers to help her, so that made her happy. Along they way, she tries to confess again, but she fails again.

April 27
This is the final fateful day. After class, we see Takaki, Konomi, Tamaki and Yuji together. The boys react on how how the weather is. Konomi suggests that they eat ice cream. Everyone agrees and so they go to the cafe. While Tamaki and Konomi gets to buy everyone the ice cream, Konomi's two friends arrive! It seems that they know about the sleepover events, and so they tease Takaki again about Konomi. On Konomi's back, Takaki reacts rather badly, saying that she's really just no more than a childhood friend, or a little sister. Actually, Konomi hears the conversation. She starts getting nervous, and was about to cry, and so she fled and went home. Takaki tries to follow her, but she first gets stopped by Tamaki. Tamaki now becomes his second conscience. So she tries to let Takaki realize his true feelings for Konomi. Is she just a childhood friend to him? Or a potential lover? Tamaki gave Takaki two choices:

I see her as a girl.

I see her as just a childhood friend.

The To Heart 2 game player now has a choice that leads to two different endings.

It's better for you to go to the page instead of me summarizing the two endings, so anyway go to each ending to find out!

To Heart 2: True Ending

To Heart 2: Alternate Ending

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To Heart 2: Alternate Ending

Tuesday, April 27th, 2004

I see her as a childhood friend.

Tamaki "How about it?"

After explaining that she's really just a childhood friend…

Tamaki "I see…"

Tamaki "If that's that, just sit back here. I said a while ago. Because of your kindness, Konomi was just hurt a bit."

Tamaki "Don't worry, I will go to where Konomi is, just leave it to me."

I tried to reason out that it may be better that I'll go instead.

I think she agreed.

So we ran everywhere, until we found Konomi in front of her house, tending Genjimaru.

Konomi "Hey, what's wrong Genjimaru?"

Konomi "Hey stand up. Let's go for a walk."

Konomi sees me.

"Taka-kun…"

We go for a walk instead.

(Park)

Konomi "Sorry about earlier, when I went home suddenly."

Konomi "Anyway, Genjimaru is cruel, even though I said to have a walk, he doesn't want."

Whatever I said made her a bit happy this time. Maybe I was explaining about the event at the cafe.

Konomi "Is what you said true?"

Konomi "Taka-kun, do you know…"

I may be telling her that I don't like her as a girl right now. But I like her as a childhood friend and that's a given.

Konomi "Maybe not now… it's okay. But, someday I'll be more beautiful, and I'll make you like me."

Konomi "I like you Taka-kun. More than anyone, I like you."

Konomi "This feeling, I won't lose to anyone."

Konomi "But Taka-kun, you may see Tama-oneechan as more special."

(Huh?)

Tamaki "Ara, I won't intend to lose either…"

Konomi "Sorry, Tama-oneechan, we got lost a little bit."

Tamaki "Well then, Konomi. Whomever Taka-kun picks, whether we win or lose, no regrets… ok?

Konomi "Ok. Even if you're my opponent Tama-oneechan, I won't lose."

Tamaki "Yup, as I wanted."

(Something tells me that Takaki is gathering his harem)

What the heck are you guys talking about?

Tamaki "You haven't noticed?"

Tamaki "I like you too. I knew you won't notice. Hah, that's that."

Anyway they put their arms around me, and we're side-by-side close together.

Chie "Whoaaaaaah… Something's big happening over here…"

Michiru "FBI vs. KGB… Aliens coming over in summer. Next Comipa theme is SF."

Yuji "Ahh futile. I told you not to regret."

Yuji "Huh? This is not supposed to be?"

Tamaki "This Golden Week, maybe we can go play somewhere… Taka-bou's treat."

Why me?

Konomi "Really? Then… is the amusement park ok?"

Tamaki "Ok, it's fine. First, the amusement park, then maybe onsen is ok too."

Konomi "Maybe Tama-oneechan wants to join my sleep over at your house too."

Tamaki "Ara, it's ok with you?"

Konomi "Yup… I wanna learn some cooking from you…"

I wanna get out of this mess.

Both "Refused."

(It's a nightmare! This is a harem To Heart 2 ending!!!)

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To Heart 2: True Ending

Tuesday, April 27th, 2004

I see her as a girl.

"Do you love Konomi?"

Finally, a proper answer… YES!

"If you realized it that way, I have nothing else to say."

"Ok, hurry up and follow her."

"The answer is already in you, do you still have worries?"

"If you worry too much, just say "I love you" before today ends."

Tamaki…

"What?"

Thank you.

"Do your best, boy."

I run through all streets, trying to find Konomi.

Back in the cafe:

Yuji "Is this okay that he left?"

Tamaki "It's okay, they are really a troubled pair."

Chie "Hmm.."

Michiru "Hah…"

Chie "It feels like we've seen something huge… hm.. hey wait! Where are you going?"

Michiru "Nowhere important."

Chie "Don't lie, you wanna peek at them?"

Michiru "Oof."

Chie "You…"

Tamaki "You two…"

Chie "HAH!"

Tamaki "I feel like drinking tea and relieve myself. You girls wanna join?"

Both "Okay!"

(Streets)
I'm still running…

I ran to Konomi's house to see if she's there.

Konomi's mother greeted me. She says that Konomi went away to walk Genjimaru.

I said thanks to her and ran again, trying to find Konomi anywhere…

Anywhere…

Well I was about to give up when…

(Riverside)

There she is.

"What will I do?"
"Nee, what do you think Genjimaru?"
"I got refused by Taka-kun again…"
"Konomi is just like a sister, he said…"
"Genjimaru, what can I do?"

Genjimaru "~~~" (a bit of a sad howl)

"Thank you."
"You're kind, Genjimaru."
"But… it's okay."
"Being like a sister means we can still be together, that's why, it's okay."
"I would not like it more if I couldn't be with Taka-kun anymore."

Genjimaru "~~~" (a bit of a hopeful howl)

"Taka-kun, did he eat the ice cream?"
"Me leaving just like that, is he angry?"
"But, since it's Taka-kun, if I say sorry he'll forgive me right?"
"What is not good?"
"Me being uncute is not good?"
"Is it me eating too much?"
"Is it wrong to be taller than before?"
"But, Taka-kun seems to like girls with bigger chests…"
"But, Konomi too, I have grown you know…"
"Just a little bit though."
"Drinking milk, eating healthy food, so that I can't lose with Tama-oneechan…"

Genjimaru "~~~" (a bit of an agreeing howl)

"If I would be like Tama-oneechan, would Taka-kun take notice of me?"

Genjimaru "~~~" (a bit of a questioning howl)

"eh.. hehe… I sound like an idiot isn't it?"
"I knew I couldn't be like Tama-oneechan at all."
"Besides, even if I do, I still would not know what to do."

Genjimaru "~~~" (a bit of a sad howl)

"No… I knew I couldn't."
"I couldn't think of not having Taka-kun with me."
"Is being cute not enough for Taka-kun?"
"Always being cute is not good?"
"I love Taka-kun."
"I'm helplessly in love with him."

Yuji "Well, believing on me or not depends on you. Just don’t regret later."

"Why did I feel like this…"
"It wasn't like this before."
"I know I like Taka-kun a lot back then…"
"But, this troubling feeling in my heart wasn't there before."
"It hurts, my heart hurts…"

Genjimaru "~~~" (a bit of a sad howl)

"It's okay…"
"It's okay, it can still go on like before."
"Like before, I can still be Taka-kun's childhood friend…"

Genjimaru "?"

Genjimaru seems to notice me listening to Konomi!

"T… Taka-kun?"
"You… heard?"
"That was, that was wrong…"
"That was all a lie!"
"It's a joke!"

I try to explain…

"I don't want to hear!"
"I don't want to hear!"
"Konomi is Konomi"
"I'm the Konomi who's always together with Taka-kun."
"That's why… from now on, we'll still be together right?"
"It's okay to be together right?"

She makes a run for it, so I chase her. Genjimaru runs along.

I remember a scene where a child Konomi is trying to keep up with me…

I think she ran so fast, I am unable to keep up. I slipped and fell.

"Taka-kun?"
"Taka-kun!"
"Taka-kun, are you okay?"
"Are you hurt anywhere?"

Flash back.

"Wait… waaaaaiiiitt!!!!"

Why are you crying?

"Taka-kun runs so fast…"

I'm gonna leave you now…

"Nooo! Don't leave me!!!" Crying.

After a while, I came back and held her hand.

"Ehhee~"

"Taka-kun…"
"Taka-kun?"
"Are you alright?"

By this point…

CONFESSION! (Honestly, I don't know how this goes, just assume that Takaki already said "I love you Konomi" ok?)

Why are you surprised?
"Eh… but… it's not like that."
"But… why?"
"That… but Taka-kun. You said I'm just a childhood friend…"
That was back then.
"Back then?"
But now it's different.
"B-B-B-but! I have small chest…" (!)
I don't care about that. (is Takaki lolicon?)
"Taka-kun…"
"I was really happy, that you came for me…"
"Back then, when we were kids, when I was about to cry, you were always there holding my hand."
"That's why I thought you will come for me again."

"Taka-kun, from now on, can I be by your side always?"
Of course.
"As a childhood friend?"
Not anymore.

Konomi seems very, very happy!

"What will I do? I'm so happy, I don't know what I am doing anymore!"

(By this point, Konomi and Takaki should be officially boyfriend-girlfriend)

"Genjimaru, let's go home."
"Thank you, Genjimaru."

Genjimaru "~~~" (a bit of a happy howl)

Why were you thanking Genjimaru?

"Genjimaru was quite worried about me."

Genjimaru huffs…

"After this, I should meet everyone again…"

"Taka-kun… I… I always have been…"

THE END

EPILOGUE

(Home)

"Good morning Taka-kun!"

I think she's cooking for me again. You shouldn't be doing this for me too much.

"I'm fine, we're lovers already anyway…"

"I'm almost done with this, so just wait ok?"

Apparently Konomi is noticing and doing a lot of service to me.

You really shouldn't do this.

"It's okay, as I said we're lovers already."

For this, I should give you a prize.

"A prize?"

"So if I do my best I get a prize?"

Well, this is the prize…

This is getting too long, we're gonna get late.

"Nope, it's still okay."

"Besides, I want to feel your energy charging me…"

I wanna stop this…

"Hmph~ Just around 5%. I need 120%…"

Maybe let's take a nap a bit this way…

"Ok, let's do. Konomi's energy comes from liking you so much!"

After a nap… apparently… some trouble… we're gonna get late!

"Uh… un?"

She's still groggy…

"Captain… I still need energy? Is there any more?"

"Sorry everyone… Konomi will be leaving with Taka-kun…"

What the heck is she day-dreaming about?

HEY WAKE UP!!!

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