Aokana’s route system is
as straightforward as they go: forget about affection meter and hidden flags,
landing on your desired route is determined by a single — and pretty obvious —
dialogue choice. The common route comprises a whopping six chapters, while the
girls’ routes comprise two to three chapters; while this may seem a tad
unbalanced, it actually works perfectly, as you get to know the whole crew
before diving into romantic entanglements. I’ll lay down the routes in the
order I played them, which happens to be the order suggested by internet
wisdom; without further ado, let’s get to it!
Rika Ichinose
Rika is the goody-two-shoes of the crew, a highly focused girl who works hard to improve her game; while that seriousness and dedication of her
are commendable and would get her far IRL, they do little to improve her case
in a gal game. She’s a complete stick-in-the-mud with — excuse my French — a
real poker up her arse, a killjoy who takes everything literally and seems
addicted to getting embarrassed and apologizing. Yet she’s also quite touchy
with a bit of an angry streak, and she’s highly territorial when when it comes
to FC.
I’ll admit it: Rika is my least favourite girl by a very long shot.
Her personality didn’t click with me at all, and her dull looks did little to
improve her case. Still, I have to admit that said dull looks are perfectly
consistent with her serious personality, and commend the writers for
introducing such an unflashy character and sticking with her to the bitter end.
She’s the perfect embodiment of the Japanese gaman, and I’m pretty sure
she has aficionados out there.
As for me, I tried to focus on her story rather than on her looks and
personality, and I ultimately enjoyed her route enough not to regret playing
it. Sure, her story keeps in character by being the most uneventful of the
bunch; still, it was heart-warming to see her get out of her comfort zone,
learn that enjoyment and dedication can go hand in hand, and save herself and
her childhood friend while remembering that FC is darn fun.
Mashiro Arisaka
A.k.a. the resident tsundere. Tsunderes are usually not my cup of tea;
but Mashiro is so zesty, cheeky and generally hilarious that she made it work.
And of course, it also helps that she actually hides a much deeper, layered and
nuanced personality under her tsundere coating. Her dedication to all things
Misaki masks a desire to belong and an intense fear of being left stranded with
nothing to hold dear; and it’s not long before the veneer cracks and she
realizes that my oh my, it’s not love that she’s feeling for her senpai.
Mashiro’s torturous relationship to FC can be summed up in four words:
feeling like a fraud. She initially took on FC because of Misaki, yet ended up
loving it in earnest; yet she remains quite average at it, while being
surrounded by uber-talented people in the club. We can probably all relate to
that feel of being kinda out of place despite genuinely liking what we do —
which is why it’s immensely pleasant to see Mashiro finally overcome her
insecurities and make peace with herself and her limited FC abilities.
Misaki Tobisawa
All hail my favourite lady! Darn, Misaki Tobisawa is the sh*t. She’s
fun, witty, quirky, and so similar to MC Masaya Hinata that she could basically
be a female version of him. Not only that, but Masaya and her have a common
FC-related past, and learn to overcome their limitations and fears together
while falling in love with each other. I swear, Misaki’s route totally
has ‘canon’ written all over it.
Yet that’s not all, folks. Misaki’s route fascinated me because it
touches on the deeply interesting and interwoven problematics of innate talent,
improvement through hard work and fear of failing. Both Masaya and Misaki
cannot bear the thought of losing against FC players more talented than
themselves; yet at the same time, they’re reluctant to work harder to improve
and overcome their limitations. Claiming that they reached the natural limits
of their abilities and giving up on FC entirely is a convenient way of
protecting their ego, while saving themselves the hassle of training and the
risk of further failures. Yet that protection comes at the cost of their
passion for FC itself; something’s ultimately got to give, and that something
is (fortunately) their fear of failure. Shindo Kazunari shows them what inborn
talent backed up by consistent training can do, and he becomes a model to
emulate for Misaki and Masaya — and the reader as well.
Asuka Kurashina
Asuka kinda has a tie with Misaki in my heart. I dig her infectious
good mood and stubborn positivity, and her burning love for all things FC is so
contagious that it makes me want to dive senseless into my own hobbies. Beyond
all that, I’m fascinated by her monstrous innocence when it comes to FC.
She’s the only player who can keep enjoying matches in the face of loss,
cheating and physical abuse; that passion borders on a total lack of moral and
limits, and it makes her kinda terrifying in her fellow FC players’ eyes. As
for me, I completely relate to that side of her: she’s a good sport with a
consuming passion, and that’s totally something I want to emulate IRL.
Beyond offering a positive and highly loveable role model, Asuka’s
route explores the transformation of a sport — and by extension of any industry
— as it slowly leaves the amateur sphere and reaches professional levels. Saki
Inui represents the frightening, fun-devoid side of professional practice: she’s
all about winning, even if it means renouncing the very spirit of FC and
everything that makes it enjoyable. Asuka fortunately manages to overthrow her,
and to expand FC competitive horizons through clever use of shoe settings while
she’s at it; yet the threat of schism remains looming, as Irina is not quite
ready to renounce her ‘true FC’.
As a gamer who’s followed the evolutions of the gaming industry for
the past 30 years, I cannot help but spot similarities. Just like FC, gaming was
originally an amateur affair that was all about fun and experimenting, before
morphing into a full-blown industry as it aged. Fun now has to share the stage
with business; yet as long as it endures, the essence of gaming will be
preserved.
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Mai waifu!
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Aokana is much more than
a mere romantic romp, and that’s what makes it so awesome. This is a deep and
nuanced story about the levels of involvement in things we hold dear: being
good but stiff, feeling not legit yet wanting to progress, being talented yet reluctant
to work, being passionate and wanting to progress no matter what. I don’t have
much more to ask for, really: just a mere fandisc that lets me romance my
beloved Reiko Satouin, a.k.a. the girl that should totally have been a romantic
option in lieu of Rika Ichinose. With that said, I’ll see you soon with my new
game of the week, dear fellow gamers; in the meantime, keep playing and take
care!
