Gahh I just read Shintaro's story again and... I fell in love with him again!!
Seriously, Shintaro is just the most perfect voltage guy I ever saw! He is so sweet, so funny, so caring, and just so...realistic! He is the very definition of friendzone. Your coworker you get along with who has been hinted since the start to have feelings for you. But he tries not act on it because he treasures what you two have now and he's afraid things may change. The first few chapters were a tad bit cringe-worthy, but after I got the hang of it, everything really falls into place. I relate with the MC a lot! And Shintaro is just the kind of guy you'd wish to meet in real life.
I know this is quite late since I said I would post a review for Wataru, but I finally found time with finals finished for the semester.
Anyway, the main points about reading his main story and POV show that he is actually pleasant in his interactions with other people. However, he teases the MC so he can be more of a guy who likes her with his coyness early on. It's terrible how dense and purely naive the MC is since people have to cinstantly tell her the things she should be able to learn and comprehend how people are. As stated before in the prologue, she lacks intimacy from having a past relationship broken and the guy she dated before didn't find her to be the woman she needs to be (as with several Voltage apps because she's inexperienced even for her age, which tends to be a recurring thing among them.
It doesn't take long for the MC to find out that Wataru and Enzo Ichizono (as with before) are the same person. It's normal for people in the entertainment industry to use stage names even when they debut, so only the MC is shocked about it. Another thing that becomes apparent is that Wataru is also engaged to a very attractive young woman, which sets off the doubts about the MC's chance to pursue him. What's nice is the writing once it becomes more emotional because it's adorable to interact with him than in the other routes. It's also fun to read before it feels like a tearjerker. I ended up tearing up but not crying with the last few scenes.
On the other hand, I didn't feel it was necessary to have Shintaro as a rival for the MC's affections. He is the older brother figure of WDCK and takes care of her food needs, so he doesn't have a strong pursuit for her. I could never picture him as an actual bachelor even though he has his own route. Wataru's route is actually the most natural one compared to the other main stories. This story as well as his POV are well-done with the writing, but I do not recommend his Lusty Night routes. The reason is that the MC's intelligence is the size of a pea because she can't understand anything; other characters have to point things out for her. She immediately becomes one of the worst MCs due to how she fails to comprehend things on her own, yet she was better in the main story.
priest, business owner, love expert, pretty face...
what a catch, am i right???
[ SPOILERS AHEAD ]
guji’s special story came out recently for 200 coins so me being me, i dropped half of my free coins on him, and for the most part... it was okay? i liked getting to know him more, but he’s just not my bias shintaro 😅 but ANYWAYS!! here’s my review:
so ofc, the most important part... PERSONALITY !! he’s the same guji with the lectures, but we see more of him. he cooks for mc (+15 points) and it’s p damn good AND healthy (+5 points) he’s very neat and organized. his home is modern and minimalistic. mc mentions how she imagined him living at the shrine, and guji turns around and basically implied that he SINS and couldn’t possibly be like that at the shrine... 😳
so a thing that annoyed me was how mc and her friends kept bringing up guji being gay??? like... sure. think that. but did it he is def more in-tune with women and stuff but having it all throughout the story? annoying! especially when they promoted the story with mc sleeping with him... also, fumine and chiyo even teased mc breaking her gaydar and i’m just like 🙂 okay.
but a good !!! thing !!! was !!! their dynamic. like always, mc complains about her dry spell and guji is there with some good old tough love. he can be kinda mean, but it’s all for mc’s own good. he gets to know mc more and sees that she’s a hard worker and admires that. so he cooks for her as a treat and makes her a nice bento and it’s just cute.
a lot of the story was guji doing little things and mc finding good fortune after said things. she goes on a mixer and “hits it off” with a tool guy (he’s rude to servers, like 15/10 would not recommend, -100 points) she eventually realizes that she would rather spend time with guji than him, aaannd... that’s it.
in retrospect, it was silly of me to be expecting romance in a 3 episode special story, but i couldn’t help it!!! ever since i saw it on voltage’s release schedule i’ve been D Y I N G to read it, and i felt kinda let down by the vague ending 😔
