VN Talk: Variable Barricade - Part 6: True Route

I'd like to preface this with a comment that the true route is not supposed to be the canon route for a game. It is supposed to be a route where the overall truth behind the story is revealed.

Sometimes a separate true route is necessary in order to tie up story details that did not get a satisfactory ending in the traditional romance routes. Maybe some characters had pieces of the overall story, but no one person knew everything. Maybe the romance derailed the political or action-oriented parts of the plot. But the thing is, I didn't feel like there were any lingering, unanswered questions in Variable Barricade. We know what prompted the suitors being thrown at Hibari at such a young age (Kazuya's marriage proposal, and Takamune's limited ability to block it due to extended family problems), and Hibari eventually falls in love with one of the men her grandfather has chosen. What else is there?

Well, that's obviously spoilers so follow along after the break!

VN Talk: Variable Barricade - Part 5: Ichiya

I know what I expected from Ichiya from Variable Barricade's promotional art, and it's not what I got. Given that he's the poster boy and poses with a suave, debonair air, I expected him to be a flirty ladykiller. While I got the flirty part right, a ladykiller he is not. He's always one bad line away from Hibari wanting to be sick.

That isn't to say that Ichiya has no dating experience, he's good looking and women are attracted to him, but all his previous girlfriends both initiated the relationship and ended it. So when it comes to courting Hibari, he actually doesn't know how to attract her. As a result he flirts like crazy, but all his lines are so over the top cheesy that, to paraphrase Tsumugi, it sounds like he was flipping through some shoujo manga to find all his material.

As with all of Hibari's suitors though, there is more to Ichiya than we initially see, and since this title is still fairly new, be aware there will be major spoilers after the break.

VN Talk: Variable Barricade - Part 4: Taiga

This week's love interest is Taiga, who seems to be fairly popular among English speakers. He's loud and abrasive, but Hibari can be too, which means that she's not one to lay down and take it. As always for these types of posts, this is a recent game and there are spoilers ahead, so if you want to avoid them you'll want to stop reading now.

That said, I found Taiga very strange and off-putting in the common route. He's blunt and likes to tease Hibari (and not in a romantic fashion) to get a rise out of her. Though insightful like Shion, he lacks Shion's sense of discretion. And this is weird, because he's supposed to be one of Hibari's suitors, but in the common route he doesn't really do anything to try to court her. Ichiya's always cooking and showering her with cheesy romance lines. Shion tries to cuddle with her and take her to spas or fashion boutiques. Even Nayuta tries to get her attention in order for her to pick him.

Taiga doesn't try to be nice. So he was the last of the suitors whose barricade board I did in the common route, but when I did it, I saw that beneath the crass exterior was a guy with a big heart. I mean, I figured something of the sort was coming as a character detail because this is a rom-com and not the kind of otome where you expect to find assholes (though, hello Shion), but it was nice to see how the game would soften him.