Hello all, you may not know it, but I am not only an avid Touhou fan, but also an avid Visual Novel player. About a year ago, a visual novel by the name of Yume Miru Kusuri came to my attention. For too long didn’t read sake, it was a fascinating read. Here is my review for it.
Yume Miru Kusuri -A Drug That Makes You Dream-
YMK (abbreviation for title) is a visual novel about life, well, basically. There are 3 arcs (stories, basically) told from the perspective of Kouhei Kagami. Kouhei is a straight A student, and at the same time, a self-proclaimed normal student. After you play through the story set up, you come to a point where you choose a path. Each path is different. One path is the drug path. The drug path concerns the heroine Nekoko, a cat fairy (thats what she calls herself), who is trying to reach the world in the sky. The next path, bullying, concerns the heroine Aeka Shiraki. Aeka is a quiet girl who is being bullied. Of course, if Kouhei gets involved, he too will be bullied. (My favorite arc). The third arc concerns Mizuki Kirimiya, the student council president, who is a bit of a trouble maker.
Nekoko Arc
Nekoko is a “cat fairy” that Kouhei finds in the garbage outside of his workplace, a grocery store where he works with his partner, “The Puff”. (More on him later). You can choose to give her food, or ignore her. Choosing to give her food starts the Nekoko arc. The Nekoko arc is the drug arc of YMK, and my second favorite. During this arc, Kouhei starts to lose track of life, and eventually gets into drugs. Along the journey, he decides to help Nekoko find the “fairy world in the sky”. This arc is strange, as it is kind of boring and fun at the same time. SPOILER!!!!!!!!thelibrarianisnekoko!!!!!!!! All in all, the arc shows the damaging and addictive effect of drugs and gives you a warm feeling in the end. 8/10 because of that stupid french music at the end.
Aeka Shiraki Arc
My favorite and at the same time least favorite arc. This arc makes me rage. Aeka is the subject of bullying by a girl who Kouhei calls “Antionette”. The arc is a journey through what happens when someone is bullied at school. I know how it feels, I have been the subject of bullying. The arc, at many times, induces tears because you can’t help but feel for the girl. Kouhei is afraid to intervene because he does not want to be targeted as well. What makes me rage is exactly that. About 50 times (exagerration) Kouhei could have stepped in and stopped it. The arc also deals with suicide and the wanting of love. 10/10
Mizuki Kirimiya Arc
My 3rd favorite arc, because I found the heroine to be boring and she has a boring figure too. This arc deals with interpersonal relationships and even explores the idea of strangulation sex. Weird right. But basically, Kouhei is blackmailed into a relationship with Mizuki, but eventually comes to like her. My least favorite arc because spoiler!!!!!!adadfdcdcshegetspregnant!!!!!!. 7/10 only because of the ridiculousness.
Music
The music was excellent, well, except for that god awful French music. WTF were they thinking? Anyway, the music always suited the mood and gave life to the story where it was needed. The opening was fascinating as well.
CG and Art
The CG and Art were excellent, having been drawn by the talented Kiyotaka Haimura. The art flows with the story and music and never fails to excite.
Character Voice
The voices are energetic and amazing. Even in the minor characters the voice actors succeed in excellency.
The Puff
The Puff. Oh, The Puff. The Puff is the manager and Kouhei’s partner at the grocery store where Kouhei works. He is gay, yet plays non-gay oriented visual novels. He occasionally hits on Kouhei as a source of comic relief, trust me, you need it many times in the story. But yeah, The Puff. Ohhhhhh.
Overall
Overall, the stories excellent writing and the perfect art and development get this visual novel a perfect 10/10. Below is the link to buy the game and also the opening video. You will continue to see reviews of my favorite visual novels throughout the course of this blog. Thank you for reading.
Opening Video
