Discussion - Emi Route (*Spoilers* Warning)

[Kamon]

I think I might be missing an image from Emi's route, unless it's actually unlocked through Rin's route. It's the image right after the scenes of Emi lying on the ground/on the grass. Oh well.

Besides that, great route, really enjoyed it and looking forward to going through the route again to pick up on things I missed.

The one where she is lying on the grass is unlocked on Emi's route... just FYI

I have that one, the one I meant was the image directly to the right of that set, but before the first set of intimate pictures. Thanks, though.

[Demango]

I think I might be missing an image from Emi's route, unless it's actually unlocked through Rin's route. It's the image right after the scenes of Emi lying on the ground/on the grass. Oh well.

Besides that, great route, really enjoyed it and looking forward to going through the route again to pick up on things I missed.

I had the same problem the answer to it was however a few posts above your own.

I just went back and chose all the other options in Emi's path. The image you're looking for I think only comes up if you follow Emi when she walks away from the table at her mother's house and then you still manage to get the good end by confiding in Misha when she asks you about Emi. "Instant Replay"?

[Demango]

I think I might be missing an image from Emi's route, unless it's actually unlocked through Rin's route. It's the image right after the scenes of Emi lying on the ground/on the grass. Oh well.

Besides that, great route, really enjoyed it and looking forward to going through the route again to pick up on things I missed.

The one where she is lying on the grass is unlocked on Emi's route... just FYI

I have that one, the one I meant was the image directly to the right of that set, but before the first set of intimate pictures. Thanks, though.

Yeah sorry about that my brain is still smoking a bit after the 62 hour KS marathon

[Kamon]

I think I might be missing an image from Emi's route, unless it's actually unlocked through Rin's route. It's the image right after the scenes of Emi lying on the ground/on the grass. Oh well.

Besides that, great route, really enjoyed it and looking forward to going through the route again to pick up on things I missed.

I had the same problem the answer to it was however a few posts above your own.

I just went back and chose all the other options in Emi's path. The image you're looking for I think only comes up if you follow Emi when she walks away from the table at her mother's house and then you still manage to get the good end by confiding in Misha when she asks you about Emi. "Instant Replay"?

Oh, hm. I'll be sure to check on that. I think I have a save state right before that decision. Hopefully. Maybe. Thanks

[INFERTakuya]

I'll be honest--if there's any difference in tone, it's solely because while developing the path, there were several different versions that got tried and discarded--and some of them had a more sexually active Emi, while others gave center stage to the broken bits. In the end we (me and the devs) didn't really care for any of them, so we combined them into what (I hoped) was a more well-rounded character. Unfortunately there were still some tonal issues that Cook and the other editors valiantly tried to smooth out, but at some point even they had to call it a done deal.

I think it's fine. The "slutty" Emi can be seen as her trying to convince herself that she's in it just for the sex. She just decided to go steady with Hisao on impulse, thinking it would turn out like her previous relationship and she would be able to push him away easily. However, she finds herself falling for him more and more and resorts to sex to convince herself that Hisao's nothing more than a sex friend labelled as a boyfriend, so that she wouldn't feel as attached. Of course, the writing doesn't really bring this across too well, so if you're planning to upload some kind of patch to amend some stuff (even if it's just technical issues), you might want to amend Emi's script to bring this across better as this could be a plausible explanation for it all.

Come to think of it, how about getting all the writers to read through the script again so as to improve on it and patch the amended script into the game? Well, if that's even feasible, I mean.
__________________

Anyway, back to the route itself and Emi as a character. I really like Emi, though such a sporty girl isn't really my type (I prefer quiet types like Hanako. Actually, I was gunning for Hanako's route and stumbled into Emi's and just went "oh well").

[Hastein]

It's really stow strange how this game is unpredictable. I thought Emi would be quite normal, or let's say it I thought she wouldn't have much problem in it. I wasn't really found of her, she was funny but since she didn't had a real impact on me in act1 I didn't really care. The beginning is funny and when she goes for sex, well I thought okay it's weird but it seems to be in charracter, the anal scene is priceless by the way. And then you start to see things behind the smile and man, that was great, even if Hisao is stupid sometimes it was really good. I loved the fact that you don't fix her, she doesn't need to be fix, she just has to face her fears and you just have to be there for her. I loved every single bit of it ! She's now the third of my list. ^^

[Guest]

I liked all the positive energy of this route before the introduction of the main conflict: the banter between Emi and Hisao, and the jokes with Rin and the Nurse also. The sex scenes were lighthearted as well. Even when the conflict came to the forefront, I personally avoided most of the negative emotions of the protagonist because the main conflict was clearly defined and well explained. The conflict was that Emi didn't let anyone close and hiding secrets due to a past trauma, and it was easy to see from the first mention of the conflict that the solution was to be patient and to become closer in gradual steps. Comparison to Rin route: If Rin's route was hard for the reader emotionally, then Emi's route was easy.

Mirroring Andere's post on the first page, I agree that the route was well structured. Each event in the plot flowed and motivated the next. The plot occurring in contiguous days of the week made it easy to sum up what happened so far.

[Merlyn_LeRoy]

I'll be honest--if there's any difference in tone, it's solely because while developing the path, there were several different versions that got tried and discarded--and some of them had a more sexually active Emi, while others gave center stage to the broken bits. In the end we (me and the devs) didn't really care for any of them, so we combined them into what (I hoped) was a more well-rounded character. Unfortunately there were still some tonal issues that Cook and the other editors valiantly tried to smooth out, but at some point even they had to call it a done deal.

I think it's fine. The "slutty" Emi can be seen as her trying to convince herself that she's in it just for the sex. She just decided to go steady with Hisao on impulse, thinking it would turn out like her previous relationship and she would be able to push him away easily. However, she finds herself falling for him more and more and resorts to sex to convince herself that Hisao's nothing more than a sex friend labelled as a boyfriend, so that she wouldn't feel as attached.

I think it's more along the lines of a tradeoff between sex and intimacy; Emi is afraid of intimacy, but as a result is quicker to have sex in a relationship as a substitute.

Also note the parallel between running and your relationship with Emi:
Emi keeps after you to make sure you run
The way to win Emi is to keep running after her

[INFERTakuya]

Comparison to Rin route: If Rin's route was hard for the reader emotionally, then Emi's route was easy.

What can I say? Rin's a total eccentric, screwing the minds of everyone around her on a daily basis.

Also note the parallel between running and your relationship with Emi:
Emi keeps after you to make sure you run
The way to win Emi is to keep running after her

True that, but it's also important to know when to not press on the attack; keeping your cards close to your chest, as Kenji says. Sometimes, Shizune doesn't give the best advice, what with her preferring aggression and all.

[Murex]

Frankly, I thought that the shed scene was the single funniest thing in the VN, closely seconded by Rin barging in for no adequately explained reason.

"Let's never do that again."

"AGREED."

Rin needed to use the window. That was her explanation. As she would probably say, it is what it is.

But yeah both scenes are hilarious, but I think Rin's is actually serious of course, and funny. But serious, for Rin. I'm sure she really did just want to use that window and thought it was a perfectly adequate explanation.

I laughed my ass off through most of Emi's route, when I wasn't crying.

Anyway, I really like how Emi's personality is presented in this route. She seems very realistic.

[Aten]

My favourite route so far though I hate to admit it, largely due to how closely it paralleled an event in my past that left a particularly deep impression on me. It hurt even more that I got Emi's bad ending first (yeah, herp derp, I'm an idiot, etc. etc.) but honestly the storyline was amazingly well put together.

The "I'm smiling and keeping busy to disguise my emotional hardship" mask is also painfully realistic. ah

[konoa]

Ive only read 2 paths so far. Im somewhat new to the game having discovered it a while ago but never following it very well until my cousin brought it up. Picked it right up and tried to play through normally, getting Shizune's path first, but second Emi's. I have to say i can relate very well to Emi's father dying and causing her to close up emotionally. My own father died from MS about a year ago, and I somewhat closed up myself. Not as badly, but I still tried to push people away for fear of loosing them for about 4 months after the event until my family and friends snapped me out of it. Anyway, I dont think there is a clear "best" story between the 2 ive read now, they were both fantastic. Emi's i feel i can relate to more, for reasons explained.

[Daverost]

I registered an account just to express how pleased I was with this route, namely the writing. I unfortunately found myself a bit too attached to Emi for my own good. It was a great ride and I have a new favorite character, not just for games, VNs, anime, anything like that, but for all fiction that I've ever read. Emi really hit me on an emotional level. As is pretty evident by the thread, it's easy for everyone to see a bit of themselves in Emi, some more than others. Not only that, but the relationship between her and Hisao just came across so naturally. You could just see the steady progression from acquaintances to friends to lovers and it never felt out of place.

Now as far as my favorite between the two paths at the end, it definitely had to be the near-bad end. That scene on the track was great. Hisao finally confronted her and managed to completely shatter her emotional defenses and have her open up in a way that damn near left me standing up and clapping (save for lack of room and enthusiasm for physical exertion). It just made that scene on the rooftop in the alternate path seem silly when all it took was an "I love you" to make her come running into his arms and patch things up immediately. The stuff on the track about determination? Her hesitance but willingness to welcome Hisao back into her life? Glorious.

Oh, also, about that bad end. I saw it after getting the good end and it still damn near crushed my soul. The parting words between the two of them quite literally hurt me. It was so hurtful. Even I couldn't stand to see it end like that and I wasn't a part of their relationship or even their world. That's what I meant about getting a little too attached to Emi. I hope you're happy that you did this to me D:

Congratulations to the entire staff (and namely to Hivemind) for your success in building such a great story. I really hope that the other routes can live up to it. At the very least, I'm already convinced that none of the other girls will mean as much to me as Emi does.

[alabaster]

Oh, also, about that bad end. I saw it after getting the good end and it still damn near crushed my soul. The parting words between the two of them quite literally hurt me. It was so hurtful. Even I couldn't stand to see it end like that and I wasn't a part of their relationship or even their world. That's what I meant about getting a little too attached to Emi. I hope you're happy that you did this to me D:

"See you around, Hisao." ... We don't speak again after that. Oh my god I thought I was going to die of heartbreak.

Congratulations to the entire staff (and namely to Hivemind) for your success in building such a great story. I really hope that the other routes can live up to it. At the very least, I'm already convinced that none of the other girls will mean as much to me as Emi does.

I've gone through Lilly's path now and while I thought it was well-written and lovely, it just didn't hit me the way Emi did. Wonder if I would have felt differently if I'd played then in the other order.

[Dylan]

I unfortunately found myself a bit too attached to Emi for my own good. It was a great ride and I have a new favorite character, not just for games, VNs, anime, anything like that, but for all fiction that I've ever read. Emi really hit me on an emotional level. As is pretty evident by the thread, it's easy for everyone to see a bit of themselves in Emi, some more than others. Not only that, but the relationship between her and Hisao just came across so naturally. You could just see the steady progression from acquaintances to friends to lovers and it never felt out of place.

Pretty much this. I'm playing Lilly's route now and it seems similar with regards to the prominence of Hisao and the girl's romantic relationship in the path (unlike Shizune's and arguably Hanako's). Both are really pleasant stories, at least when they're trying to be. But Emi's just hits me on another level. It's because of how attached to her I became throughout the route. Not sure if that's the artwork or the writing or everything combined, but Emi just hit me like no other girl has in the game.