Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom [Heisuke Toudo Route]

I decided I never wanted this game to end, and so I played Heisuke even though I initially didn’t want to.

Oki’s Review

Alright, I wasn’t completely wrong. Compared to Sano and Souji, Heisuke’s route falls flat. But honestly, that’s just because they have amazing routes. Heisuke’s isn’t bad, and in fact it’s actually really cute. Heisuke loves to yell at you when you’re dumb. “You idiot, you’re gonna die!” is something he loves to say…and actually, it’s super cute. He’s always willing to tell you what he thinks, without the harshness of Hijikata, and he’s really young and at times vulnerable. If you’re looking to date an equal in the game, Heisuke is definitely not as strong or aggressive as Hijikata or Souji. He is instead sweet, caring, young, naive, and a pretty good take on a lot of themes in the game.

Incidentally, Heisuke has a great voice actor. His route is about average length, it’s definitely not daunting. I felt at the end that the conclusion came short and almost seemed uncharacteristic of both people, but it’s still fairly good. I think the translation of the final line he has in the game kind of ruined the effect. There were definitely issues with his I didn’t have with others and overall it’s not my favorite. I’ll put it this way, I like it. It’s cute. It’s not as bad as Saito’s but not astronomically good either, but I can also see why he’s popular. Who knows, maybe he’ll be your favorite, so give it a shot!

~~Spoiler Land~~

Heisuke’s route takes a freaking great turn about three fourths through where Sanan has gone so insane that he feeds his fury blood (which has become so powerful that it is now like the water of life) to Sen. Yeah. Princess motherfucking SEN. Sen is one of the reasons this story is definitely worth playing, you get a whole lot of insight from her. For instance, if Kazama wants an heir so bad why didn’t he go for Sen? Demons really are rare and Sen’s bodyguard does her job, because they’ve never seen each other face to face and Kazama only heard of her from rumors. Sen actually offers to bare his child in order to spare Chizuru from it, because this storyline features a far weaker character who could not even slightly challenge Kazama and well gotta get him off our backs anyway right, he actually hesitates but then agrees. So when Sanan pulls this shit, Kazama is doubly pissed. MY FUTURE BABY MAMA! And also HOW DARE YOU TOUCH A PURE BLOOD DEMON YOU FAKE! So you, Kimigiku, Heisuke, and Kazama are all like, this fuckers going DOWN.

That plot right there is why I’m actually pretty fond of Heisuke’s route. I love Sen and I actually wanted to see Kazama not die or be portrayed viciously for once, so I was really happy with the outcome. Everyone gets to live, except Sanan of course, and you get to be with Heisuke. Unfortunately it’s here where it stops short. Even though you learn during this that you need to go to your old home and drink the water there to lessen the blood of a fury I just don’t think Chizuru and Heisuke would leave the Shinsengumi with just a HAY WE’RE LEAVING. I feel like they’d stick around a little more and then leave when they realized how lost the battle was. But hey, the routes good. Just not perfect.

On one final note, the ending is sweet. You wake up from a happy dream about all of the Shinsengumi and Heisuke is smiling down at you and telling you he loves you. It’s just…the last line. “Even when we’re dead, I’ll still love you.” It really bothers me how they translated that. It doesn’t sound sweet or come off the way I know it’s supposed to. How about, “Long after we’re gone…I’ll still love you, you know.” Or something cutesy! It’s just not romantic to make it sound that way. Also just think of it this way, the phrasing is awkward because it’s implying a state of inability to love yet a continuing state of love. I know this is a ridiculous thing to harp on but would it have been so hard to use a different word, or to use the phrase, “Even when we’re dead, my love for you will still live” come on.

So there you have it. Cute, not bad, play it for the Sen and Kimigiku moments.

oh…wait. one last thing. You know the blood drinking scene you get after two times giving your lover blood? Well, everyone else has a sexy one. HEISUKE LOOKS LIKE HE’S SLOBBERING ALL OVER YOUR ARM

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Eva’s Review:

Heisuke’s route in comparison to the others was far more lighthearted, fun and sweet. You get to go on an ‘adventure’ to save the Princess and get more involved with secondary characters such as Sen, Kimigiku, Kazawa and of course, Sanan (who is, in fact: the main villain for this route).

Lets face it, without our beloved secondary characters’ involvement, this route would be not only boring, but not worth your time. It’s them who you want to learn more about, NOT Heisuke- for all we care, he can do whatever shit  he wants. What matters: is these guys.

They are the ones that make this route worth taking.

These guys were badass. Sen is awesome (and I felt terrible for her to be assaulted by Sanan…that bastard), I found Kazawa to be tsundere in this route in oppose to how he behaves in the other’s. Sanan, as expected is a mad scientist who lost his sanity and Kimigiku – well she can’t fight but she is definitely brave as she was the one to save and snap Sen out of it in the first place.

Sen had me laughing in many occasions, mainly when she took a bitch-fit about how Kazawa more interested in the Heroine than her QUALITY, PUREBLOOD THAT CAN PRODUCE BEAUTIFUL BABIES and not only felt offended, but also hurt her pride.

Then we have Kazawa. His interactions with Heisuke were hilarious and his tsundere personality “I’m not doing this because I want to, baaakkka~” is exactly what made this experience so much fun.

I was definitely surprised to see that Kyuji wasn’t really involved, even though he was the one responsible for getting Heisuke injured at the start in the first place. However he’s saved for Saito’s route, and that’s fine. His calm nature suited that route better anyways.

While Heisuke obviously was not in my spotlight, there was one thing that I did enjoy. That was his character development.
He grows to be a bit more mature and gradually stops being so naive all the time, not to mention: quite oblivious. He also tries to be a bit more calculated and take a step back to observe the situation- but trust me, that happens once or twice, but that’s it. Any other time is the Heroine making the decisions. In other words, while she’s not as physically strong, she’s definitely smarter than him (lol).

In the end, this route wouldn’t have been enjoyable nor memorable if it weren’t for our beloved secondary/minor characters.

To me, Heisuke is corny, boring and not ideally someone I’d like to go after. However Sen, Kazawa and Sanan makes up for it. They are the ones that make this route not only bearable, but enjoyable. Without them, I would’ve pretty much skimmed right through it to get it done and over with. So if I were you, save Heisuke for after Souji or aim as your third or fourth route.

PS: My favourite scene: THE BITCHSLAP!