Title: 明日の君と逢うために COMPLETE BOX
Developer: Purple Software
Release Date: 27th November 2009
Age Rating: 18+
Length: 30+ Hours
Links: Official Website, VNDB
Mikazejima, a remote island known for its verdant forest and beautiful coastline. As a child Yashiro Shuuji used to spend much of his time outside playing with his good friend Wakamiya Asuka. They were warned not to play inside the forest due to a local legend but being children they ended up wandering in one day. However, only Shuuji returned home that day with no memories of what happened to his dear Asuka.
Being scarred by what happened, Shuuji moved away from Mikazejima for the past seven years before his cousin sent him a letter requesting him to come back. Reluctantly he returns and there by that same forest lake he meets Asuka again… Except she has amnesia and remembers nothing about her past or where she’s been all these years. Just what will happen to Shuuji now on this island where gods were rumoured to exist.
The “Complete Box” release of this game combines the original with its fandisc Ashita no Nanami to Au Tame ni into one game.
My Thoughts
Given that Ashita no Kimi to Au Tame ni (Asukimi from here on out) has perhaps one of the most iconic and beautiful opening movies in eroge history it should be no real surprise that this has been on my radar for a while. This is also partially due to the fact Asukimi is generally considered one of Purple Software’s better games. So, considering the high expectations set up for this title, did it manage to achieve it?
One thing that should be noted about this game is that it has a pretty restrictive play order with it being:
* On your first playthrough the only available routes are for Ruriko and Saya.
* Following one of their endings, the routes for Asuka, Asahi & Mai are unlocked.
* Completing the five available routes unlocks Rika’s route.
* Completing Rika’s route unlocks the fandisc content beginning with Nanami’s route
* Completing Nanami’s route unlocks Manami’s route
* Once all routes have been played a bonus ending is unlocked, available from the main menu.
I guess I should begin with the common route – it felt like a good length and was a nice introduction to the plot, setting and characters of the game. I enjoyed this section quite a bit and it felt like a decent balance of slice of life and comedy while maintaining the aura of mystery surrounding some aspects of the island. The character interactions in this game are just generally very fun and enjoyable to read so that probably helps.
I also was very impressed by the volume of the game as a whole – the original game is pretty long and, while the fandisc is comparitavely very short, the fact that the two come bundled together for a reduced price is extremely appealing and fair – it definitely feels like you get a lot for your money here.
Moving onto the heroines and I’ll introduce them in order their routes are available to read. Thus we begin with Ruriko, another of Shuuji’s childhood friends and a neighbour who has suffered from ill health for years. She is a softly spoken, kind girl who loves to bake sweets and lives with her older brother who is trained as a doctor. Despite being one of the first routes you play, I actually found Ruriko’s route to be one of my favourites in the game. It was a good mix of emotional, romantic and dramatic, which made it a satisfying read. She’s a good girl.
Saya is the first heroine you meet when Shuuji bumps into her (quite literally) on his first train journey to the island. It eventually transpires that she’s his tsundere classmate who lives on the mainland. Despite the fact she barely attends class, she’s actually incredibly intelligent yet seems to have a strong rivalry with Asuka, who just wants to be friends. Whilst Saya wasn’t my favourite heroine, her dere side was cute when it (rarely) shows up. It makes sense why her route is so early once you play it and was okay overall.
Given that Asuka appears so prominently in the game’s promo material and story it’s no real surprise that she feels like its central heroine. She’s Shuuji’s beloved childhood friend who went missing and mysteriously turned back up recently. However, she seems slightly different than before and this strains her and Shuuji’s relationship a little. I feel like this aspect of the game was handled really well and was nuanced enough to be an interesting read. As a heroine, Asuka is very likable and her route was good also. Definitely a worthwhile read.
Mai is a bit unique amongst the heroines as she lives on the mainland and doesn’t really spend time on Mikazejima. Her parents own a chinese restaurant in town that she works at alongside both Shuuji and his classmate Nanami. Mai’s playful, teasing personality make her extremely fun to be around so it’s no real surprise she was the most popular of the original heroines. Sadly, as much as I liked Mai, I found her route a little frustrating to read.
Asahi is the cheerful and outgoing senpai who is also the leader of the academy’s drama club. She’s pretty popular with the members of the club, especially Nanami who adores her. Asahi is currently on a mission to recruit Shuuji to the drama club but he doesn’t seem too interested so far. While she wasn’t my favourite heroine and the twist to her route was perhaps a little predictable, it was an interesting read and concept compared to the others so was definitely worth my time.
Rika is Shuuji’s cousin who called him back to Mikazejima and is currently the headmistress of the school most of the characters attend. She also lives with Shuuji and Asuka in a house owned by her family. Rika tends to treat Shuuji more like a younger brother and can scold him at times but always has his best interests at heart. I’m happy that the devs gave Rika a route because she was definitely a strong presence throughout the rest of the game but her route was much shorter than the rest and felt a little bit like bonus content. Was still cute though.
Now we move onto the fandisc routes, beginning with Nanami. She ended up being the most popular character in the original game’s character poll and I can’t say I’m surprised. She’s an extremely fun character who reminds me a bit of Sana from Mashifoni in the fact that after reading a certain route you’ll be absolutely gutted that she doesn’t get a route in the original game. Luckily the fandisc corrects this problem and it’s worth putting up with her weird sister for this fact alone.
Manami is Nanami’s younger sister and is a pianist with a strong fear/hatred of men so finds it hard to perform on stage. In order for her to get over her stage fright her sister convinces her to live with Shuuji for a few weeks to get used to men which is how the basic setup of the fandisc goes. Manami is a little… unhinged… shall we say and is extremely violent at the start of the game – she puts the “slap” into slapstick comedy for sure! I cant say I really warmed to her but I was only here for Nanami’s route anyways so it wasn’t the end of the world.
The bonus ending is a nice, slightly silly way to end the game off and is primarily comedic in nature. It wasn’t long but was fun!
As for side characters, there’s only a few notable ones but they tend to play quite important roles in the story. Rin, the mysterious small girl who appears around Shuuji periodically, is a particular favourite of mine and there were a lot of surprisingly cute/heartwarming scenes with her.
I was actually really impessed overall by the artwork by Mappiirakku. Considering the original game came out in 2007 the artwork truly is outstanding for its time. There’s a really good amount of CGs per heroine and the actual quality of the images and colouring was very good – there’s a lot of CGs with interesting perspectives and really well-drawn backgrounds which is definitely not the norm for galge lol. The backgrounds in general were great also. If you like sunsets then this is the game for you because I noticed going through the gallery a lot of the CGs have that soft orange glow.
As for the music, it’s Hashimoto Miyuki in a Purple Software game so it’s obviously good on the vocal song side. The BGM was fitting with a solid amount of tracks and definitely feels reminiscent of the era the game came out in which is pretty nostalgic actually. I also enjoyed the voice acting and thought all the heroine’s voice actresses did a superb job, with Sawano Mirika as Mai being particularly enjoyable to listen to.
Final Thoughts
Original Game: 8/10
Fandisc: 6.5/10
Overall: 7.5/10
Despite its age, Asukimi delivered a great mix of developed setting, likable characters, enjoyable humour, nice artwork and good story to deliver a game that feels like the complete package. I was a little disappointed in how short the fandisc content was and that I didn’t like Manami but the fact the download version of the complete box is only ~5000 yen at full price makes this game worth it overall anyways. Plus, you do also get a route for Nanami who is clearly best girl.
After the disaster that was Haruiro Ouse, this has restored some of my faith in Purple Software so I will once again begin my journey to get through their back catalogue as best I can. Now what to play next?
Thanks for reading!
Zettai Renai! 