Hakuoki: Demon of the fleeting blossom: Okita Route (yes, spoilers)

 So my first play through of the first USA released ladies focused PSP Visual novel. What a mouthful. Normally I play VNs directed towards gentlemen where you spend your time dating lovely ladies and getting up skirt shots. But this is a different feeling all together!   Funny enough I read the manga this VN was based on back in the day when they first started releasing Shoujo Beat, the old girls manga magazine in the US titled 'Kaze Hikaru' . This VN has similar themes to it and I think is based on it. Don't quote me on that!

So on to my feelings about this VN route. I played it while suffering severe depression over my Fathers death (yes, yes you are tired of hearing about it I get it) The dark themes were wonderful to wallow in. I felt the characters despair and sadness and this route was full of these emotions. (HEAVY SPOILERS AHEAD KIDS!). Okita's route is a very sad one. It ends in a mutually sad way with the characters fading into death together, so I just wallowed in my sadness with them.

Okita's route seems to explore the ideas of what is ones meaning in life, what are you living for, why do you do the things you do. When faced with the reality that everything you care for and depended on is falling apart, what choices do you make? With the main character on his side, he seems to endure, but without her he dies(yes I found some fun bad endings). Realizing that your body is not ideal and will keep you from doing the things you want to do in life is so depressing. I've been struggling with many of these feelings myself.  I found myself not wanting to put the game down after I got past Chapter 2, I needed to know what would happen.

I really wonder if The heroine is injected with the fake demon blood in the other routes like she is in this one. It was a pretty dramatic turn of events. Having your little brother be so bitter and evil as to wish you unhappiness in life would be a terrible fate. Yet in a way she found happiness in her illness. To live out your life just being with someone you love can't be the worst of fates.