Review: Irotoridori no Sekai

Yuma is a rather forgetful young man who has lived with the constant companionship of Shinku, the young girl that only he can see, that grants him the power to heal people's wounds in exchange for his memories being consumed at random. He works as a 'nigashiya', helping to free people from the situations that plague them, binding them in place, under his teacher, Suzu and the manager of the school dorm, Shigure. Gradually, he comes to know the girls that have been gathered at that dorm, and in the process he becomes fond of them...

Characters: I know, it is unusual for me to introduce the characters, but I felt a need to change the way I do things... in the rush to avoid spoiling the story, I have a bad habit of not giving people any real details on the games.

Yuma

The protagonist of the story, he is a man who is driven instinctively to help others, when asked. He is rather free with his healing power, despite the cost to him in memories, and it is only because of Shinku's constant reminder to write in the special 'diary' that he is able to retain memories from day to day. He frequently dreams of a blue sky from which white feathers rain and a voice that calls to him 'Please... please save us.' He is a strong believer in the necessity of free will, especially when it comes to his 'work' as a 'nigashiya'.




Shinku

The 'Magician' whom only Yuma can see. She is very much the serious, intellectual type, but at the same time a passionately caring individual. She has an aversion to 'ecchi' things as well as an endless hunger for pancakes. She continually reminds Yuma to write in his diary in order to retain his memories from day to day, and whenever he uses his power, she reminds him of its cost, desperately wanting him to care for himself as well as those he heals.




Mio

Yuma's childhood friend, she is a mild tsundere with a tendency to try to force a 'clean and proper lifestyle' on Yuma whenever possible, bribing him with her homemade lunches in order to get him to come to school. While Yuma seems to think she might dislike him, it is obvious to anyone else that the reverse is actually the case.




Kana

A young girl whom Yuma saves when she falls from the lighthouse. Bright and cheerful, she claims to have known Yuma from long ago, when he made a promise to her that she refuses to tell him about. She frequently proclaims that she is his bride, attempting to hug him and the like. For some reason, her cooking is utterly poisonous in taste, even though it looks normal, even delicious. She openly says that her name is fake, and refuses to tell Yuma why she does not use her real name.




Tsukasa

A cheerful girl who works hard to make money for a reason she refuses to explain. She has a habit of apologizing for the least of things, and her gratitude when given something (such as food) is far out of proportion with what the gift is actually worth. Oddly, despite her need for money, she refuses to borrow money from Yuma or anyone else, saying that 'there is no meaning if I don't earn it on my own'.




Kyou

The hikikomori resident of one of the dorm's rooms, she is a devoted otaku who frequently speaks in anime/eroge/manga slang and seems to be incapable of fully separating reality from her hobbies. She mistakes Yuma initially for her older brother, and even when she realizes that he isn't, she continues to call him onii-chan, for obscure reasons of her own.


Sub-characters

Shigure

The manager of the dorm, who works at searching for lost items and people on request, using his 'Shiki', glowing butterflies that answer to his commands. He is a kind man who can't refuse to help people in need. He has a bad habit of collecting all sorts of mystical junk he finds on his travels to other worlds through the basement of the dorm.




Suzu

Yuma's 'master' in their profession as a nigashiya and in life in general. A lazy bibliophile who never met a book she didn't like and lives in a room so messy it would make a chimpanzee die of shock, she is unbelievably strong in combat and unhesitatingly does her best to help those who ask for her help.




Ayumu

A mysterious transfer student who appears on the same day Kana starts going to school with Yuma and also moves into the dorm at the same time. His halting way of speaking and his habit of observing people carefully before choosing to make contact only make him seem more mysterious.




Haku

A kitsune living in the 'Merchant's Town' one of the 'other worlds' to which Yuma and the other travel regularly. She is a fortune teller who is good at predicting the weather.

Ren

Haku's adorable daughter, who has a bad habit of getting herself lost. She is extremely shy with people she hasn't met before, though she is quite fond of Yuma.


Plot 8.5/10: Generally speaking, I don't choose to review this type of game, but I felt that the experience I got out of this was worthy of note. The general setting of the story, with the travel from world to world and the mysterious vanishings caused by the supposed will of 'God', are rather fascinating. In addition, each of the regular heroines has a decent story (with Mio's and Kana's standing out strongly from the other two) and an excellent 'true' ending that wraps up the loose ends quite nicely with Shinku and the world in general. This game's dramatic moments tend to be quite emotional, and I was frequently driven to tears by certain developments... especially Shinku's path. In addition, there were some points where I seriously blew water out of my nose with laughter, especially in the common route and Kyou's path.

Visual 8/10: Mmm... from a visual perspective, I suspect some people would have complaints, but that is more due to the style rather than any lack of quality, from what I could tell. Personally, I adore the color choices in this game, as they add to the mysterious feeling that a good deal of the story gives off, and I loved the design of the dorm. (From a purely visual perspective, I would have loved to have had Haku as a heroine... but oh well)

Sound 8/10: This game has a strong affinity for mysterious background music, and as a result, it does a good job of using said music. I had no real complaints about the voices, and I do think they did a real good job with characters like Ayumu, whose voice was done in a manner that was quite consistent with his background and Shigure, whose gentleness is his strongest defining trait.

Overall 8/10: Generally speaking, I'll end up recommending this story to anyone who likes nakige and games that manage to distinguish themselves by making proper use of the surrealism that is Japanese games' and anime's greatest plague as well as its greatest attraction. This game is a good choice for anyone looking for an eroge with a strong touch of the supernatural without a need to beat you over the head with the corpses of townspeople or frame the entire or even half the story within the confines of a high school.