Shinikake No Koi

the writing was ok but the programming was kinda amateur

Buckle up, for you are about to jump on Otokoshi's wild ride and there's no retreat until the evening is (almost) over. Shinikake No Koi offers complex dialogue that drags you deeper and deeper into a rabbit hole of self-exploration, paired with elaborate direction and use of imagery. This is a *heavy* story.

A foreigner without much to lose on his trip through Japan makes a pit-stop at a host club for the night. We don't have to get far into this novel to find out that, while certainly geeky, this isn't your stereotypical weeb on his journey through a country he worships. Our main character comes with a load of character and the appropriate amount of problems to go along with it.

Inside the host club, we're introduced to the star of the evening. Our host presents himself as your typical polite Japanese person. He's excellent at his job and carries the conversation easily. Much like our main character, the reader may find themselves glued to Otokoshi's lips, unable to stop digging deeper. However, this novel wouldn't be going anywhere, if Otokoshi weren't to match our main character's troubled mind with his own, complex and intriguing personality.

I have been told that this is not your average yaoi VN and it's not difficult to believe that. Shinikake No Koi ponders the philosophical and psychological. It dives deep into its characters' psyches and has a long, hard look, unafraid of what it may find. As someone who doesn't read ~~a whole lot of~~ romance, I'm in no position to give a comprehensive review of how this VN's romance compares to that of others, but the characters' relationship with each other grows smoothly and naturally. It just makes *sense*. These are two people that have *found* each other.

This story takes your emotions on a roller-coast ride in the most heart-wrenching way.