Tsugaru's Palate

The very real Japanese delicacies and oddities that Her Love In The Force's fluffy haired Tsugaru shares with his cohorts.

[tsugaruspalate]

"Now I Am Become Tsugaru, the Destroyer of Palates." - Me, unironically.

I haven't been posting much recently, or online at all, but I just did something so heinous to people I care about it was only fitting I get it on this tumblr right away.

These are, as the label says, Genghis Khan caramels - as in, grilled mutton and veggies in a rich, spicy-sour soy sauce BUT that flavor in a sweet chewy caramel form. I ordered a box of these because I'm evil curious, and passed them out, sans the box or any explanation to my friends (former?). Well. I enjoyed it, it was weird but in a good way. My one friend simply said the flavor was "strong." My poor other friend nearly cried and I think spat it out? So, in conclusion, I have just Tsugaru'd people AND I liked the terrible food enough to have seconds.

[sterkeyra]

Voltages 1st Place Election Movie 2022: Takaomi Tsugaru

Voltage released the prizes of the last election and since first place went to Tsugaru, they did a long video for him. It's a Video for the song New Hope by Amenohi Records. It shows moments of his story, and many different glimpses at MC, the important persons in his life, and the trauma he has to live with each day.

Though it felt weird at first that they used MC shots from different routes, I think it might even be clever as it shows that he appreciates all different sides of MC!

It also portraits the contrasts between light and dark so well, and symbolizes perfectly that Little Hare became the light in his life and is like a miracle to him! She also helped him to appreciate the persons that support him even more and the zoom in on his gang, Momo, Noa and Shirogane was so beautiful! It had me in tears!

The scenes about Tsugaru's past were dark and bloody and the light changes between black and white, just show how conflicted Tsugaru was after the incident, and that there was just no normal for him anymore.

That's also why he is so mesmerized by MCs presence around him, because she enjoys life as it is, and makes him hopeful for a bright future to come for them both. At the same time he can't help but have doubts, and is afraid that MC will get dragged into his darkness or that she will disappear. That's why the lyrics fit Tsugaru's thoughts perfectly, as he keeps on seeing the bright light that is MC, and enjoys their time together so much, that he doesn't ever want the day to end. In fear of the next days to come. He finds joy in the simplest things MC does and is unsure what to say or do for her to keep her smile. IT'S SO VERY SWEET! T-sugary sweet. The hand panels, of reaching out, holding hands and getting patted on the head were so gorgeous.

Speaking of the last one. IT WAS CRIMINAL TO END THE VIDEO LIKE THIS.

Showing us unseen footage of child Takaomi, celebrating his birthday. Then his mum reaching out to him stroking his hair I CAN'T- Then the shaky animation to show it's old and the abrupt ending I- ughuuu

It shows the last happy birthday of Tsugaru before he gets traumatized forever. And I just... have to imagine Tsugaru keeping the tape in his cluttered storage room because it's too emotionally heavy. I imagine him finding it when he cleans up the room, unsure what to do. Watching it alone or together with Little Hare only to gave an episode of ugly crying. omg. THIS HURTS. BUT IT WAS SO GOOD.

I'm happy and I'm tearful. This ends my report. Enjoy and scream with me!

[voltagevibes]

Kaga route, full spoilers

[sterkeyra]

PLUST Secrets

So now that all routes are released in JP we can narrow down what the Secrets on their introduction sheets are.

Mikoto Amamitsu: CEO's son

His father is not happy about him pursuing his career as idol, and throws a lot of stones in his way. Like canceling concerts etc.

Ryoga Buto: Former Punk

In the past he witnessed his friend getting abused by some people and he knocks them out to teach them a lesson and protects his friend. He's not really a punk but he was labeled like one from then on.

Wataru Ebisu: Wants to Quit

While being the leader of PLUST he takes on more of a background position and handles everything with the manager. His popularity falls down and because he has not as much time to train he thinks Plust does not need him and would be better of without him.

Kotoha Dohima: Trendy Streamer

Kotoha is secretly a popular gaming streamer, with his room consisting of plenty monitors and recording devices. He once auditioned for an idol group but was rejected. He rebranded himself for Plust.

Claude Sui Saigu: ??? Idol

I read his story however I'm still not sure what his secret word could be? Does someone else know?

[tsugaruspalate]

Kotoha Dozono, not Dohima. Claude’s main theme is getting revenge, so I assume that’s what the fuzzy text says. I mean, in his story he literally says he wants to show everyone that’s wronged him how good etc he is, so that seems the most fitting.

[tsugaruspalate]

"New people... " - Momose (being... Momose.)

Okay so I might not have found anything that exciting on Golden Week, and ended up getting sick, and several other problems, BUT...

Umi Setouchi has the most hilarious name ever because it's the same kanji characters as the Seto Inland Sea. That area is famous for its lemons and citrus fruits. Sour things... Sounds familiar. Given his ability to infuriate the MC, Oishi, Momose, Kaga, Shinonome... Hell, I bet even Goto would cuff him upside the head if he were pushed. As sour as Setouchi the newbie is, I'm sure he's got redeeming points somewhere deep, deep inside. I mean, you can take lemons and make them into some pretty decent things, right?

For example, Seto lemon fizzes. These are a seasonal specialty from McDonalds - in fact right now it's lemon season in Japan, so Starbucks has lemon cheesecake fraps, my local bakery has Seto lemon pound cake, lemon chicken is the big seller at my local take-away...

Sometimes sour things just make the world a sweeter place.

[kasumisnowdrop]

OH MY GOD FINALLY

[tsugaruspalate]

Ooo, I can’t wait!

[kamyru]

A summary to the family relationships in Voltage Inc stories

I once posted about how the MCs from Voltage Inc are mostly mentally healthy girls from complete families, with both parents being more than adequate and usually with siblings. The statistics for the games I am writing for are like this:

Her Love in the Force: Two alive parents that are good at parenting and an alive sibling good at "siblinging"

Irresistible Mistakes: Two alive parents that are good at parenting and an alive sibling that briefly mentioned

Oops! I Said Yes?!: Two alive parents that are adequate at parenting

Plust: Love U So True: Two alive parents that seem to be good at parenting

Romance MD: Always on Call: ... She is the one whose family status can be compared to the LIs

Tokyo Love Hustle: I don't remember, but I'm not sure both her parents are alive

So, out of 7 MCs, only one and a half (if anyone remembers TLH's MC's backstory, tell me what's up with her) have a tragic backstory regarding their families, which makes up around 80% of MCs with no family trauma. If we take more MCs, then it probably is 85%. Now, let's see how we are with the boys. (I don't remember or know all their stories, so correct me if I wrote something wrong).

Alive parents with alive siblings (if they have any): Seiji Goto, Toshiaki Kijima, Toma Kiriya, Natsume Asaoka, Kuranosuke Kiba, Shu Hasunuma, Munechika Takado

Alive parents with dead siblings: Shusuke Soma

Alive parents with dead siblings and questionable love for them: Eiji Takao, Tetsuya Hosho, Sentaro Kyogoku

Alive parents with questionable love for their children: Yukihisa Maki, Shunichiro Tachibana, Ukyo Senkawa, Kunihiro Kasai, Sui Claude Saigu, Mikoto Amamitsu, Kaede Ekuni

Another fatherless child with his dad away: Hyogo Kaga (he can fall in the previous category too), Taku Hayama

Adopted orphan: Ayumu Shinonome, Rei Kamiki, Keita Mitsuura, Go Okubo, Daimon Togo, Toshiki Kasumi, Suzumu Mado

Adopted orphan with dead siblings: Takaomi Tsugaru

Adopted orphan with dead siblings and questionable relationship with the parents whose at least one adopted parent died: Hideki Ishigami

Not adopted orphan: Jun Araki, Taro Akuchi

Characters about whom I don't remember/know anything (please, tell me in the comments what's up with them): Jin Namba, Toru Kurosawa, Eiichi Matsunaga

Status unknown (please, tell me if you know anything): Ryoga Buto

So, here we have 35 characters. The ones about whom I don't know anything don't fall into the first category, from what I remember. And even if we put the last one in the first category, we still have a rate of 23% with no family trauma. By games, it looks like this:

Her Love in the Force: No trauma = 12,5% (1/8)

Irresistible Mistakes: No trauma = 30% (3/10)

Oops! I Said Yes?!: No trauma = 33,3% (2/6)

Plust: Loving U So True: No trauma = 66,6% (2/3)

Romance MD: Always on Call: No trauma = 16,6% (1/6)

Tokyo Love Hustle: No trauma = 0% (0/2)

Besides the fact that we don't have information about Ryoga yet, these are still not accurate because Kuranosuke theoretically falls into the "No family trauma" category, even if this man has trauma regarding his family and his entire personality can be explained by his family's behavior towards him. 

Even the story with the "happiest" families (Plust with 66,6%) isn't close to MCs' 80%. 

I want MCs with traumas who went through something and overcame it. And if Voltage Inc likes to make it hard from the beginning, using their families, then there it be. I don't want men characters who went through hell and back to come to MC so that she could fix them. I want MC to have her struggles that don't involve her man. Women's lives don't revolve around their men. They can have struggles outside their relationship. 

Don't get me wrong, I understand that it is important to support your partner and everything. I like how the LIs have character development. But if you look at these games, MCs' lives seem so good and careless before meeting their SO. Their problems begin after men appear in their lives. They go through problems that aren't as serious as their partners, while the men save the day and are named heroes. 

The family thing is only ONE aspect of the traumas that Voltage gives to MEN in their stories. There are so many struggles that a woman can go through: toxic exes, physically present but morally absent parents (especially fathers), high expectations, double standards, and sexual harassment. 

I have had a pretty normal life compared to Voltage Inc men's. But I still can't identify myself with the MCs in here. I'm only 21, and I have seen more sh*t than the MC from "Her Love in the Force" when she entered the Academy. It makes me uncomfortable when I play for a plant from a greenhouse whose strongest personality trait at 23+ is naivety. 

I want to live in a world with parents that love me nonetheless, there's no depression, sexual harassment, toxic relationships, messy breakups, divorces, bad relationships with siblings, mental illnesses, double standards, or high expectations. But it's not possible right now, and I want to see problems depicted in fiction to know that I am not alone. 

I want to see a LI who goes out of his way to help MC with her problems, at least sometimes. I don't live on this earth to save men from themselves. I also want to have support to overcome my problems. 

[tsugaruspalate]

I totally get what you’re saying here and have talked about it with my Japanese friends before, and the fact that the MC has 2 loving parents/siblings and has a carefree life is mostly down to that being wish-fulfillment for the Japanese players. That the LIs have some messed up backgrounds is another story.

Aside from the extremely under-reported rates of sexual assault, groping, etc of little girls and women, the blatant sexism of not being considered for universities/jobs because you might get married/have kids, and various other crimes and mistreatment by gender, the family is where most women learn how they can expect to be treated by those they love.

So many people here grow up with parents that are either politely but distant towards their partner, ignore their partner, or downright hate one another. Divorce is common enough here (but there is no such thing as alimony, child support, or shared custody - nothing enforceable at least). I can count on one hand how many of my friends parents actually love one another and act like parents from a Voltage game.

Unlike the games, many Japanese people once they have kids end up with dead bedrooms. Couples call one another “Mom” and “Dad" and act like roommates instead of partners. Some end up sleeping in different beds/bedrooms.

Plus if you’re the mother, that’s all you are. Anything else you've accomplished in your life is over with. Even if you are a working mother, childcare and housework are still your responsibility because you're a woman. Again, things are somewhat better than they were even 10 years ago, but not really by much. So if you grow up in a society where, as a woman, you know after suffering just for being female eventually you’ll just be ‘Mom’ like yours was before you, wanting a game where your parents love you and some guy is madly in love with you before and after you have kids, is the ultimate fantasy.

Regardless of his upbringing/family/circumstances, he loves you because you're you (overeating, lazy, whatever so-called bad habits the MC is said to have and all).... That's the ultimate wish-fulfillment right there. Japanese fans want a game where being themselves is desirable. Where their parents love one another, a handsome man is madly in love with them, and even if they have kids, they'll still be deeply loved by their partner.

[tsugaruspalate]

“Momo, it’s time to hit up the souvenir shops!” - Tsugaru off on an adventure

Happy Golden Week! It’s essentially Japan’s spring break at the moment and so, while I can, I’m looking about for more Tsugaru-friendly (everyone else not so much) treats. Wish me luck!

[kamyru]

I used to hate on the MC from Destind: Mr. Almost Right. However, the MC in Hikari's MS is wonderful. For the first time I met a Voltage Inc MC whose response options were exactly my thoughts. She is so blunt, yet cute and honest. Probably, one of the best MCs so far. (Only in Hikari's story. I don't really like her in other LIs' stories.)

[tsugaruspalate]

He’s adorable once he stops acting like a tool.

[kamyru]

Can someone explain how do you become an architect in Japan?

It is said that Daimon doesn't have a postgraduate degree, nor does Kiba, because he got in Miyoshi at the same time with Kunihiro, who has a Master degree. Daimon and Kiba started working at around 22 years, from what I remember. (Though I don't remember from where I calculated this).

The thing is that in most countries, you can't become a licensed architect with only 4 years of university. And from what I have read, in Japan you need 4 years of engineering, 2 of postgraduate school, and 2 of apprenticeship. So, there's no way any of them would work before 26. However, even MC has a pretty good experience, and she is 28.

So, what's up with them? And how did they become architects?

Also, I want to know what's Shu's degree, because it's said that he wanted to work in something artsy, not his department.

[tsugaruspalate]

I can! Mostly because I’m procrastinating working. Sooo... The long and the short of it is, it depends on what kind of architect you want to be and what kind of schooling you go to. And please remember, entrance exams in Japan are incredibly difficult - students in junior high (3 years) quit their club activities at the end of 2nd year so they can spend the next year preparing for high school exams. For university it’s about a 1000 times harder than that. From a textbook on becoming an architect: “In order to qualify for the first-class and second-class architect examinations, it is necessary to acquire the number of credits for designated subjects at a university, technical college, junior college, or vocational school.” So if you do a 4 year university degree in arts/design specialized in architecture, or architecture in science/engineering (BUT not civil engineering), you can take the second-class architect exam with 0 practical experience. In other words, technically, you can become an architect at 22-23, but you have to be incredible intelligent and test well. The exams are the main point  - they’re like taking the MCAT or LSAT exams except you don’t have to go to post-grad, you go to work and get practical experience there. If you get a high enough score, you’ll be scouted by good architecture firms since the competition is fierce. Post-grad is a thing in Japan, but it’s not considered necessary for most careers unless you want to teach it or are that passionate about it. I don’t know what Shu’s degree is, but a lot of people don’t work in careers that match up with their degrees in Japan. Which is unfortunate but that’s what the job market has been like since the early 2000s. I know accounting majors that are home support care workers, and of course plenty of others who work in temp/part-time customer service still because the job market is garbage.

[tsugaruspalate]

“This is more like it.” - Tsugaru souvenir shopping in Tochigi

Tsugaru does go on a lot of business trips, and in the before times, so did I. One of my favourites was a full day trip to Tochigi prefecture, which is home to one of the most unusual but amazing drinks in the Kanto area.

Kanto Tochigi Lemon Milk. Which if you want to be technical, doesn’t actually contain lemon juice, is a sweet, somewhat rich drink that reminds some people of the milk left in your bowl after eating Fruit Loops/Lucky Charms.

It’s so popular in fact that it’s been made into tonnes of different souvenirs. Like...

Lemon Milk Curry (you put the bag in water, boil it and then serve it with rice)...

Lemon milk popcorn (which is pretty good if stale)...

And salad dressing. Fun fact, this salad dressing also doubles as a dip, so you can put it on fries, chicken nuggets, fish, etc as well. You can have an entire MEAL made with Tochigi Lemon something. Which, having now done it to myself, I don’t recommend. Good things in moderation is probably the better course of action - unless you’re Tsugaru and it’s time to pass out souvenirs to your adoring coworkers.

[neerons]

Freaking finally

[kamyru]

One of the things that I would change in "Her Love in the Force" is MC living alone in the dorms.

Okay, I understand that this is for romance and in any other way the Instructors won't be able to secretly get into her room.

However, I don't know how many of you lived in dorms. Yet, that's one of the best things that happened to me so far. Imagine the closeness MC could have with Naruko if they were roommates. Imagine the depth of their conversations. Imagine the emotional support.

Half an hour ago, one of my roommates started to talk with me about the meaning of life. I saw that she was crying, but said nothing. Then, after five minutes of silence, she asked me if I feel the will to live every day. Another five minutes of silence followed by us laughing because both of us were crying now. The third roommate woke up, put her glasses, and checked on us, feeling that something was wrong. And that's not the first time things like this happen. I have a lot of heartwarming stories about my roommates.

A roommate for MC would have added so much coziness and warm in her life and in the story.

[tsugaruspalate]

More obscure knowledge from me, but the Western image of dorm life does not really work in Japan. Universities are more like apartment style Western ones where you have your own much smaller bedroom space but still. Work or career related dorms however, are very functional. Sterile even.

Communal living spaces obviously exist in the stories and are also a part of career dorm life in Japan in general. But bedrooms are private and often very tiny because you’re not supposed to be hanging out in them, especially not a police one. I’ve seen the dormitories my former-cop friend lived in and on Japanese TV shows. They’re tiny.

It’s a little hard to see here, but this is an example of the Metro police dorms in Tokyo. That little curtained off space, that is your entire room. There can be up to 10 of these per floor. That green tatami flooring in the front there? That’s your living room/communal hang out space. My friend said you’re not allowed to decorate whatsoever, you have your space inspected, and you’re expected to stay out of there unless absolutely necessary.

Here’s a National Police Agency dorm. Instead of a curtain, you have a sliding door and a desk in your room. The fact that the MC could even sneak anyone into her room, given that sound-proofing is garbage in Japanese apartment buildings in general, is astounding. And purely fictional, but still. Yikes.

[kamyru]

tsugaruspalate thank you so much for explaining this. It's actually interesting to know more about this, because I have never thought that something as trivial as dorm life can differ so much. In the first episodes of HLITF if I'm not wrong, it's said that boys are living with roommates, so I thought it's not so different.

[tsugaruspalate]

No problem! Yeah, so much that people take for granted from one culture can be seriously different in another. I still get culture shock to this day because of it. Yeah, for men, they can and will double bunk, but for women, not so much. From what I’ve heard, the fact that there were two women at the Public Safety Academy (fictional though it is), is pretty rare. Regular police academies have far more women (relatively speaking) but still not as many as they do men.

[kamyru]

One of the things that I would change in "Her Love in the Force" is MC living alone in the dorms.

Okay, I understand that this is for romance and in any other way the Instructors won't be able to secretly get into her room.

However, I don't know how many of you lived in dorms. Yet, that's one of the best things that happened to me so far. Imagine the closeness MC could have with Naruko if they were roommates. Imagine the depth of their conversations. Imagine the emotional support.

Half an hour ago, one of my roommates started to talk with me about the meaning of life. I saw that she was crying, but said nothing. Then, after five minutes of silence, she asked me if I feel the will to live every day. Another five minutes of silence followed by us laughing because both of us were crying now. The third roommate woke up, put her glasses, and checked on us, feeling that something was wrong. And that's not the first time things like this happen. I have a lot of heartwarming stories about my roommates.

A roommate for MC would have added so much coziness and warm in her life and in the story.

[tsugaruspalate]

More obscure knowledge from me, but the Western image of dorm life does not really work in Japan. Universities are more like apartment style Western ones where you have your own much smaller bedroom space but still. Work or career related dorms however, are very functional. Sterile even.

Communal living spaces obviously exist in the stories and are also a part of career dorm life in Japan in general. But bedrooms are private and often very tiny because you’re not supposed to be hanging out in them, especially not a police one. I’ve seen the dormitories my former-cop friend lived in and on Japanese TV shows. They’re tiny.

It’s a little hard to see here, but this is an example of the Metro police dorms in Tokyo. That little curtained off space, that is your entire room. There can be up to 10 of these per floor. That green tatami flooring in the front there? That’s your living room/communal hang out space. My friend said you’re not allowed to decorate whatsoever, you have your space inspected, and you’re expected to stay out of there unless absolutely necessary.

Here’s a National Police Agency dorm. Instead of a curtain, you have a sliding door and a desk in your room. The fact that the MC could even sneak anyone into her room, given that sound-proofing is garbage in Japanese apartment buildings in general, is astounding. And purely fictional, but still. Yikes.

[sterkeyra]

He truly is just a goofy guy~

In celebration of Tsugarus upcoming S5 have a small meme eyy For real though, I'm curious what kind of hurdles they will throw at him again to overcome. Slowly but surely all of Tusgarus insecurities and fear get revealed and that's the first step to health.

I fell for all of his conflicts, and I'm very proud to see him slowly getting better.

[tsugaruspalate]

Agreed. Most of Public Safety are traumatized to be fair. Even Shirogane’s got that thousand yard stare thing going on. They’ve all just got different mostly unhealthy coping mechanisms.

My friend who introduced me to HLITF has to pace herself when she reads it. She loves all the characters and gets depressed when she remembers that if you go to another character’s story, all the others are still dealing with their trauma without the MC to help them.

[tsugaruspalate]

“I’m not a problem. Am I Momo?” - Tsugaru after distributing the wealth

I came across these candies and knew at once they were designed for people like Tsugaru.

These are called Miwaku (魅惑) soft candies. Miwaku means “charm, attractive” but I’m pretty sure if the rest of Public Safety wasn’t careful and just popped the candies in their mouths, they’d be calling him and them Meiwaku (迷惑) - a problem, nuisance, burden...

“Pain in the ass” (Kaga’s definition).

Mostly because these are soft, chewy, semi-sweet candies filled with... corn. Yeah. There’s a whole kernel of corn inside a buttery, also corn-flavored core. Which is great, if you like corn. If you don’t... I guess Tsugaru got you then.

[tsugaruspalate]

Happy 2023~~

After a long hiatus, I’m back and thinking about games (mostly HLITF) more in a general sense. Not only am I over the freakin’ moon about Kurosawa finally getting his redemption updates, I’m also seriously feeling appreciative towards the sheer amount of work that people in the industry go through to get these games out to people. They deserve way more thanks than a lot of fans seem to post in their in-game/social media comments.

I think a lot of otome fans forget that these apps are made by and for Japanese fans first - then get translated into English if they’re popular enough with the Japanese fans. It’s not cheap getting stuff translated (especially on the level that some games strive for - have you ever tried Court of Darkness?! New words every friggin’ story!) and it takes time to polish everything. Not to mention all the other work that goes into the games.

The other thing people forget is that if a game doesn’t sell in Japanese or English (or any other language for that matter) then it’s done for. No matter how awesome it might be, you can’t keep games going without an influx of cash - and if the fans love something but won’t pay for it, well... As people often say, love doesn’t pay the bills. Can you imagine the pressure they must be under with all this inflation and rising costs of literally everything?

Okay, rant over. Time to share the torture my friend inflicted on me.

The above video is a fairly old song by now, by the band Bump of Chicken, entitled 「天体観測」(Tentai Kansoku, Astronomical Observation). It’s a cute song, very catchy and...

“It’s like watching Tsugaru’s childhood before everything goes wrong.”