Waffleman_ posted:

Its legacy continued into at least 2002 though, it seems.

Waffleman_ posted:

Its legacy continued into at least 2002 though, it seems.

Phanos posted:

I looked into it and its really weird. Apparently, Anna Miller's had an almost Hooter's style appeal to people in Japan and was almost like a proto-maid cafe. But then most of the franchises collapsed in the 90s when the bubble economy burst and I guess the rise of maid cafes was the final nail in the coffin. Really strange as the Hawaiian location is just a family style diner restaurant without any overt sexual overtones.

ChaosArgate posted:

2004.

vibratingsheep posted:

Sindai posted:

Look at their hair, it's fairly different.

Then look back at the childhood updates, she's hidden in there. I had no idea either until I went back and looked. It was kind of misleading of VS to say her identity is obvious when we saw her once and never got her name.

quote:

BlitzBlast posted:

Wait so how can you tell if your friends succeeded? Does each girl just have a "in a relationship" ending and a "not in a relationship" one?

Einander posted:

It sounds like the Part-Time run is kind of boring, though? No dates, no stat requirements (other than "avoid everyone else"), just look up the list of events and reload until she shows up at the right places and times.

Waffleman_ posted:

Holy poo poo.

Hellioning posted:

Well then, I completely forgot about her.

I was honestly going entirely by hair color. Brown is way less common in this game than it is in real life.

booksnake posted:

Heartwarming. The bro-est run.

Based on last poll and the taste from this run, perhaps Homura next? Though I'm probably in the minority opinion who wants to actually see what Hikari's route looks like instead of pushing it back forever.

UrbicaMortis posted:

Well, I still think Mei would be pretty fun but I'd quite like see Hikari's route as well, not just because crushing her hopes every time is brutal but she's a lot more interesting than the last game's childhood friend.

Actually, those in this thread with a better understanding of Japanese culture, why is the childhood friend archetype so commom in Japanese media? It's not that common in the West so I'm curious if there's an obvious cultural reason.

Happy Blue posted:

Who did Takumi fail to impress this time?

UrbicaMortis posted:

Well, I still think Mei would be pretty fun but I'd quite like see Hikari's route as well, not just because crushing her hopes every time is brutal but she's a lot more interesting than the last game's childhood friend.

Actually, those in this thread with a better understanding of Japanese culture, why is the childhood friend archetype so commom in Japanese media? It's not that common in the West so I'm curious if there's an obvious cultural reason.

I posted:

Why are the Japanese so fixated on childhood friends, anyway?

It's not just the Japanese. What the Japanese call an osananajimi ("childhood friend") operates on many of the same levels as the "Girl Next Door" and "Girl Back Home" archetypes that have been a staple of fiction for centuries. It's an easy way to establish the kind of relationship between two characters that takes the entirety of When Harry Met Sally to build otherwise. Want to show that two characters have a strong familial/fraternal bond that hints at the potential for romance?

Step 1: Write the words "Remember that time when we...?"
Step 2: Make up something that the speaking character would remember X years later
Step 3: Profit!

On a less jaded level, the osananajimi archetype is a flexible tool that sings to different parts of the Japanese soul. In many cases, the osananajimi is the Sibling You Never Had But Is Okay To Marry, playing the role of a playmate and surrogate family member to legions of latchkey kids deprived of parental affection. Or, to the many Japanese who move from suburban and rural areas to work in the city, the osananajimi represents everything that is good back home, the Family and Tradition that have been left behind and replaced by the Office and the Corporate life. And in many teenage romances, the osananajimi is a desperately needed anchor/safety valve in the turbulence of adolescence, a person who knows who you were and accepts who you are becoming - and conveniently happens to be both pretty and very much in love with you. There are many more levels to it, but that's a topic for a completely different time (plus, The World God Only Knows has already done a ton of yelling about it).

Poulpe posted:

"I wish you happy and ?????,
and you will be my friend forever
from Akane with love"

It's especially hard to make out because it's a weird font on top of being blurred, but I think that's what it says. (Akane's name really looks like M**** for example.)

quote:

Goon: By the way, that girl in the sunglasses called you Sis. What's that about?
Akane: Oh, don't worry about it.

vibratingsheep posted:

[list]
[*]Akane's father is a martial artist, and he is currently on a warrior's journey to train. Their mother went with him to stay by his side.
[*]Supposedly, their mom is even stronger than their dad is.

Phanos posted:

Why is Kaori so popular? See seems like a rather boring character compared to the rest. I don't know anything about her, but she looks like the "damaged girl who we save with the power of true love" archetype. I guess that's a popular one or something?

Nemo Somen posted:

This seem a bit too dark for Tokimeki Memorial. My guess is that she actually plays the quiet type who enjoys being with animals, at least according to the more common tropes I've seen in anime.

Kay Kessler posted:

I'm surprised Hikari scored so high. Nowadays the "canon" love interest would never be at the top (though still in a respectable position like the top 5). It doesn't hurt that from what we've seen of her, Hikari isn't exactly as boring as the usual childhood friend characters.

vibratingsheep posted:

There are a few things at work here.

First, the kanji for "boku" tends not to be used in informal settings because it literally means "manservant" (僕)- the archaic use was paired with "kimi", (君) which now means "you" but previously meant "master" - which is also why Akane's Kimi is written キミ instead of in kanji.

That's one part of it. Another part is that using hiragana (as when Akane says "Goon-kun Goon-kun") implies a measure of childishness, since writing out everything in hiragana usually means that you're a kid who doesn't know the kanji - so the use of the hiragana ぼく has a lot of baggage to it too.

The katakana ボク form is the most neutral, so that often comes up.

Nemo Somen posted:

This seem a bit too dark for Tokimeki Memorial. My guess is that she actually plays the quiet type who enjoys being with animals, at least according to the more common tropes I've seen in anime.