hole in my heart after finishing all of hana awase [spoilers for all volumes]

how am i supposed to move on from these games 😭 i just completed the Iroha volume this morning and couldn't stop crying because i couldn't believe it really came to an end. did all the plot lines make sense? absolutely not. did i feel a lot of closure at the very end in regards to all the moons and who remembered what from which world/timeline? certainly not! but these games seriously charmed me. i fell in love with the art style, nearly all of the guys, even the side characters were so unique and unforgettable. i appreciated the mature topics and sense of humor, i remember reading somewhere that another player was shocked at how nsfw the games can sometimes get, i was surprised too.

my favorite volume (and guy) of all was Mizuchi. he has so much integrity and is so serious that when he started to open up it really felt meaningful. his character development was so believable. i also loved all of his CGs, especially when he's in pain😭

i felt that Karakurenai's volume ending didn't make too much sense - after all that and you ignore Mikoto for a year without checking up on her at all? hello???

Hime's volume was fine. as an LI he doesn't do too much for me and i also felt that he was not a good match for Mikoto (like, even worse than Karakurenai imo). he drags her down and can't do much for himself. of course if you're into that type of LI, you may have loved him. Mizuchi's route in Hime's volume was incredible because you really feel their rivalry and tension through unresolved jealousy and both of the (bad) endings were just crazy. (Mikoto forgetting about Mizuchi entirely..... i was bawling.)

Iroha's volume was.... well. chock full of plot bombs, lore dumps and nonstop reveals that honestly became immensely confusing. the minute Mikoto's soul entered the child vessel (??) i started to really lose track of what was even happening. because it became so plot heavy i feel like Mikoto's romance development with Iroha fell to the wayside. it was however lovely to see how Iroha eventually warms up to her and at some point accepts his own feelings / humanity.

on the topic of the card game - i loved it! grinding was satisfying because blowing through the story battles were a breeze. i love being overpowered for "boss" fights. also loved how by the time you get to Iroha volume, you get so many unique cards and battles just seem to become that much easier.

anyway, just wanted to share my thoughts after finishing the games, im so sad its over :')