Leaderboard

Now, anyone who has seen pictures or videos from Hapymaher will have noticed the VN's resident loli, Maia. For various reasons, Maia is easily the character who leaves the strongest impression in the VN, hands-down. She is the center of the VN's obvious conflict, and she easily has the greatest variety of character poses and non-H CGs. If there is drama of some sort throughout the common route, Saki's route, Keiko's route, or Yayoi's route, she is somehow involved or the cause of it. In a game that is focused around dreams, she is the devil's whisper, always giving people that last push they need to cross a line or jump off a cliff. If Tohru, the protagonist, is the picture of the human capacity for self-control, she is apparently a representative of the part of the human psyche that denies that same control. However, that is only a small part of who she is. In fact, that surface appearance and her symbolic role are actually less important than what lies at the core... a person who's motivations are neither inscrutable or incomprehensible (though she lies like a rug when it suits her). In fact, she repeats her motivation verbally throughout the VN, mixed in with the lies and half-truths she tells habitually just to see the look on other people's faces. She hides nothing of her nature or personality, but she is quite capable of using that truth to deceive. In fact, in a regular chuunige, she really would be the ideal antagonist, as that combination of lies, half-truths, and truth that defines her makes for precisely the kind of antagonist chuunige-makers love. Heck, just listen to her theme song. That is precisely the kind of music they'd normally give to the last-boss type protagonist in another game... Nonetheless, at the core of her is a deep and abiding love and devotion that surpasses all barriers, allows her to bear anything... except that emotion itself. To be honest, she even makes the yandere-ish Saki (she really seems like it sometimes) seem mild in terms of her degree of emotion. That love contains everything that love should contain, including the fundamental duality of human nature... what we want for ourselves and what we want for others (I'm not saying anymore on this, as going any farther would be a real spoiler).

Naitou Tohru is the protagonist of Hapymaher and the character whose viewpoint you share for about 85% of the VN. He is a character whose personality and situation are defined by a sense of loss and guilt so painful, it has literally driven him to the brink of insanity. Oddly enough, the thing I find most admirable about him is the fact that is self-aware enough to actually rely on someone (most of the time) when he is at his limits and outside his specialty (which is altering/controlling his own dreams). A few words about his situation without giving away anything that would ruin the story. If you know the concept of a 'lucid dream', you also know that it is a dream where you are aware you are dreaming (this often leads to you remembering more of it). In Tohru's case, he sees nothing but lucid dreams... which means that the barriers between reality and dreams in his consciousness are extremely blurry and he is incapable of 'resting' psychologically when he sleeps. He rarely, if ever receives what we would call 'restful sleep' without the aid of drugs that send him into utter insensibility, and in his dreams, he is capable of doing practically whatever he wants, in many cases. Tohru's character can sometimes be seen as a symbol of self-control - as I said in my post on Maia - because he really does have a ridiculous level of self-control for someone still in his teens. He is not really that dense, though he often pretends to be out of self-defense. However, he has a lot of psychological hangups even in real life that have reinforced his somewhat blurry view of reality... ones he actually needs to maintain his mental and emotional balance, even if he realizes they are ridiculous. Tohru's clear-eyed view of dreams can be seen as a contrast to his somewhat blurry view of reality, as he is almost always the first to realize when he and the other characters are dreaming and when they aren't... and what the nature of the dream is. To him, nightmares are everyday stuff, and he is so inured to the pain that accompanies them by experience that it would be tempting to see him as nerve-dead from the outside. He does have his weaknesses, even in dreams, though... and their names are Saki and Maia. He is heavily dependent on Saki (self-evident within seconds of encountering her) and... holds other emotions towards Maia. So what can I say? In another VN, I might seriously dislike him, because he is too aware of those around him to be your standard harem protagonist, but he does have some seriously admirable elements... such as a sense of compassion and good Samaritan-ism (limited to women most of the time) or his willingness to endure pain for the sake of others. However, he is also more than a little clumsy when it comes to handling those close to him and he frequently makes a wild boar look mild and easily moved.

Before anyone asks, no I'm not translating this VN as a whole. For one thing, it is long and I'm lazy. For another, it actually has a small chance of coming over here, so I'm not going to do something that will spoil the whole game for them (I want this officially localized). This is a fully narrated version (narrated by the poster of the video) of the first few scenes of Hapymaher, which was my VN of the Year 2013. This VN has ridiculously good music... and a frequently heartbreaking story. 2:38-14:42 The youtube guy voices the narration and the protagonist, in a way that is pretty good... and this is a translation. There is no need for you to do anything. Just leave everything to me. Also, when it comes to your 'true desires', they are something you just think you understand. Misfortune, happiness, difficulties, weeping, pain, pleasure, and fun… I will provide them all. I know for certain what to do to make it so, after all. But even so, you will still force yourself to go on. You like to give up as well, don’t you? That’s why I’ll capture you. You like that as well, don’t you? You always need to be looked after, after all. That place was an extravagant room. In the center was a wide, heavily-built table. Upon the table, a pot with steam wafting from it and colorful candies and treats were lined up. The fluffy couch and the handwoven rug upon the floor were all intended for the guests that came here. Here, the preparations for a tea party are always complete. That room, which seemed like it had lept out of a dream or a story, looked like a bad joke to me. That was because of the coloring… black, white, red, purple, pink, blue… all the colors I could see were vivid ones. It was as if the room were decorated like a butterfly. Though it was a room that seemed as if it was from an aristocrat’s mansion, the color made it seem as if it had tossed aside all forms of dignity. It wasn’t just the inside of the room that was strange. Outside the window, vegetation grew so thickly that it was if it were a botanical garden. The only light was the flickering light of the stars and the moon. However, even that was blocked by the thick growth of the forest. Thin trees, thick trees, flowers blooming despite the fact that it was night, and the overgrowth of grass, vines, and leaves. The excess of plant growth around the room seemed to indicate that no human hand had intervened there in centuries. However, the room itself was new, in all ways. That strange place was filled with the silence of the forest and the presence of living things. Suddenly, a single shadow appeared in the room. Roses, which were not amongst the flowers blooming outside, began to bloom as if in order to conceal the shadow. The white roses, which seemed to grow in fast forward, began to give off the sweet smell of burning honey as they bloomed, as if someone had set fire to them. The roses spread slowly like spilled water, giving off the scents of tea, honey, sweets, and the deep forest. And then the shadow took on the form of a young girl and stood there as if she had been there from the beginning. The girl who stood amongst the white roses laughed quietly. “Since I’ve been called, I must treat you to my hospitality.” With a mien of mixed enjoyment and sorrow she whispered. Opening Second Scene And so, I dream once again today. When I came to, I was lying in the forest at night. “Why am I dreaming this dream again…?” There is no point in complaining. I rise and begin to walk through the forest in my dreams. I walk, I walk. In that deep forest, the light of the stars and moon filtered through the trees is all the ilumination. Even though the forest holds the sense of no presence other than “ours”, even though it is perfectly silent… Even so, I can’t seem to believe there is no one else there. A beast, a bird, a person, or perhaps even something like a ghost. I’m not sure, but I sought to leave that forest, holding her hand amidst the intense sensation that something is there. I almost trip over thick roots and stumble over buried stones. Even so, I continue to walk holding the hand of the silent presence following me. I know that this is a dream. In the end, a dream is a dream. I know. This is the past. Even if this actually occurred in the past, what I am seeing is merely a dream. So, what I am seeing here is utterly meaningless. This is a dream. I know that better than anyone. I know! However, even so. No matter how well I know it is meaningless, I can’t bring myself to let go of this hand I'm holding. “It will be all right ______. Let’s return home.” There is no answer, nor is there a sense of a nod. However, I don’t release that hand. I know what will happen after this. It is a dream I’ve seen countless times. I can leave this forest. It is a dark forest where I can’t figure out where I am, but I can return. However… “Ah… will we be able to go home?” The direction of the light changes changes. The forest goes from deep forest of the inside to the shallow forest of that which is close to the outside. The trees are thin, the young ones begin to stand out, and the light filtering through the trees increases. “We will return for sure this time… together this time for sure…!” My legs shiver from walking through the forest, and I’m not sure my voice is coming out. Even so, the sensation of the hand gripping mine was there. -I know what happens after this. ---Please stop. I can also here my own voice screaming those words. However, I also think ‘this time for sure’. .It’s just a dream! Why give up if it is only a dream?! Even if it is just in a dream…! We walk, step by step, toward the outside. If we get through this forest, we can return home. The light from the outside gets stronger. The area becomes brighter. And when I exited the forest… … the hand I was supposed to be holding was no longer there. “Why?! Why…?!” I knew it. I knew it would be this way. Only I can leave the forest. We will never be able to return together. “Why...?!” You gave up didn’t you? You know, don’t you? I should already know… know that only I returned. It took me a long time to understand and I caused a lot of trouble in the process, but shouldn’t I have figured this out by now? “That’s… even so…!” And… Even if you returned together in the dream --- it isn’t like she’ll come back, will she? After all, this is just a dream. It changes nothing. It is just self-satisfaction. Even if I know it is a dream, it can’t have any effect on reality. Yes, I know. In the end, a dream is a dream. I can’t return with her… “Then, if you could return with her?”