Title: 縁りて此の葉は紅に
Developer: Lump of Sugar
Release Date: 26th January 2018
Age Rating: 18+
Length: ~20 Hours
Links: Official Website, VNDB
In this world exist beings known as “Mahoroi”. Maharoi possess animal features, some can use spiritual powers and generally have an extended lifespan compared to humans. Humans and mahoroi have co-existed peacefully for hundreds of years.
The human Susaura siblings end up moving back to the town of Tsugumomi one autumn after their parents need to spend time overseas for work. The pair spent a significant amount of time in the town as children but haven’t been back for some years. They end up staying with a good family friend, the head of the Mahoroi in the local area, called Konoha, who welcomes the siblings into her home.
The afternoon he arrives, Sasaura Seiji goes for a walk in a local park and, surrounded by falling autumn leaves he meets a young mahoroi girl. In a scene reminiscent of a confession, she proclaims that she’s been waiting for him – her master – to return and introduces herself as his pet.
With this new addition to Seiji’s life, as well as his new surroundings, what kind of love story awaits him in the old-fashioned streets of Tsugumomi?
Characters
Sasaura Seiji
After an incident in his childhood, Seiji no longer has any memories from when he was younger (including any memories from when he previously lived in Tsugumomi). However, he doesn’t let this affect him. He’s a pretty laid back guy but isn’t particularly keen on treating Momiji as a pet. Seiji has a bit of a soft spot for his younger sister Suzuna and has a tendency to spoil her.
Kinari Momiji (CV Chigasaki Lily)
Momiji is the mahoroi girl Seiji meets that fateful afternoon. She has no memories except her name and that she’s Seiji’s pet. Her amnesia also doesn’t bother her as long as she can be by Seiji’s side. She acts in a very puppy-like manner and enjoys going for walks, playing fetch, being petted and drinking milk. She doesn’t understand human conventions very well and has no inhibitions but has a good heart and is a kind, cheerful girl.
Sasaura Suzuna (CV Momoyama Ion)
Suzuna is Seiji’s younger sister and is hopelessly in love with him. She often makes suggestive remarks to her brother or asks him to wake her up and help her get dressed in the morning but when he calls her bluff she gets incredibly flustered. Suzuna has a tendency to be lazy and relies on her brother to do things for her. Suzuna is incredibly jealous of Momiji and how openly affectionate she is towards Seiji.
Tarumi Konoha (CV Haruno Iroha)
Despite her appearance, Konoha is actually the 200 year old leader of the mahoroi in the Tsugumomi area. She took over the role from her mother and is technically a half-mahoroi, which explains her extended lifespan. She knew the Sasaura siblings from when they stayed in town as children so asks them to think of her as a kindly older sister whilst they stay with her now. Konoha is a hard-working, kind and gentle girl whom is popular with the people of Tsugumomi. She enjoys doting on and spoiling others. She enjoys having a little drink of alcohol in the evenings.
Ikaruga Kazuha (CV Kanau)
Kazuha currently works as a maid at Konoha’s household but she’s actually not very good at most typical household chores so spends most of her time clearing leaves in the garden. She has a tendency to be stoic. Kazuha is actually a mahoroi but her powers are weak so she has a complex about it.
Artwork
The main artist on this game is Moekibara Fumitake, whom is Lump of Sugar’s usual artist. the SD CGs were handled by Kanade Nakoto.
Sound
Opening: Akari no Arika – Kicco
Ending: Frame Over – Kicco
The game’s BGM was composed by the group HMR Entertainment.
System
Yorikure’s system is pretty standard but does its job. It certainly carries over the autumnal aesthetic that the whole game tries to portray.
The game has only a single choice towards the end of the common route, where you pick which heroine route you’d like to read.
My Thoughts
For better or worse, Lump of Sugar have developed a strong brand identity within most of their games – cute kemonomimi girls and high quality artwork. This formula was most prevelant within Tayutama, which was the most enjoyable title I’ve personally played from the brand as of now. However, with Yorikure taking the idea of co-existing/co-prosperity from Tayutama and applying it to a new setting, did Yorikure manage to live up to the expectations I had for it?
Compared to the three other seasons, there’s a real lack of good autumnal games so I actually really enjoyed the scenery and setting of this title. It made the game feel cozy and relaxing to play.
The concept of Mahoroi themselves was pretty much an excuse to have kemonomimi characters, although there was some in game lore and backstory to their existance. However, Yorikure is a game that is much more heavily focused on romance and character interactions so it’s more enjoyable an experience if you don’t expect too much from a story-perspective.
Since this is a moege, the heroines and how likable they are is probably the most important aspect of the game. Luckily, this is easily the area where Yorikure shines brightest – all four of the game’s heroines are charming and utterly adorable.
Starting off with Momiji and her puppy-like antics are just too cute! The whole “pet” thing could’ve come across as weird but the game actually handled that aspect of her route rather decently. She’s such a sweet girl and I’d imagine it would be hard to dislike her.
Suzuna is a spoiled, almost bratty type of imouto and the contrast between her ecchi advances towards her brother combined with her pure nature at heart was quite amusing. The romance in her route was good as well.
Kazuha was the biggest surprise to me – I typically don’t like the “cool beauty” type heroines, but, Kazuha’s backstory really endears her to the reader and you can’t help but root for her happiness. The perspective changes in her route were adorable too.
Finally we have Konoha, whom was my favourite heroine in the game (although it was a hard choice). The gap between her younger appearance yet mature personality was excecuted perfectly and her sugary sweet doting on the protagonist was wonderful. If you want to be spoiled by an onee-san type of character, Konoha is perfect.
There were various side characters in this game, although none left a particularly lasting impression.
I’ve mentioned before that I’m hella biased because I love his art style, but Moekibara’s artwork in this game was of high quality as per usual. He does still have a slight problem with drawing male characters but the girls themselves look great, which is the main thing I suppose?
The game’s BGM was decent but not memorable. Yorikure’s opening song is really great but I actually found the ending song didn’t fit for some reason – maybe it was just too upbeat? Kicco’s vocals were as lovely as always though.
Final Thoughts
My Score: 8/10
If you’re looking for a game with adorable characters, decent romance and a cozy autumn setting then Yorikure is an excellent choice. I was really impressed by how charming each of the heroines were in particular so if any of them take your fancy then this game is most definitely worth checking out.
Aside from Tayutama, this is actually one of the better Lump of Sugar games I’ve played. They’ve really perfected their formula and it must be working for them to still be around after 17 years. Personally, I’m actually interested in playing their recently announced title because it looks slightly more plot-focused.
Thanks for reading!
Zettai Renai! 