Uta no Tsundere sama!
If you like idol games and being the manager of a boy group, but also enjoy emotional high school stories – Dynamic Chors Reve Parfait is for you!
Story
Our shy glasses heroine is a smart high school student with the coolest child hood friends you could imagine, as they all became the top ikemen of their school and she has the privilege to be able to stand next to them and talk to them (〃￣ω￣〃)ゞ so of course in good shoujo manner she needs to be targeted by bullies because she’s so ugly and her boy friends so beautiful. Thinks gets worse as the last boy of the group, her mean ex boyfriend returns and doesn’t make her life easier. Because that wasn’t enough tsun power yet, the boys decide they want to form a boy group with the hyper tsundere flirt of the school. So our heroine has her hands full trying to be the manager of this lively cast.
Characters
- no locked routes
Tsumugi
- don’t tell your mom about him
- he’s not good for you
Tsumugi is the tsundere / brat / flirt / all evils combined.
He and the heroine first met in a bookstore by coincidence fan girling over the same artists. He then approaches the heroin,e saying he’ll join their band if she kisses him! That’s his bad boy level!
Yeah, I wish I could tell you he turned out super sweet…erm, no. He stays a bad boy with no sense for boundaries and for other people’s feelings. Morals aside – I still like his character and he might be my favourite funny sarcastic sassy tsundere!
Kuon
- your mom will love him
- because they are so alike
Kuon is the leader of the band because of his mommy and negotiating strengths. When the other members fight, he will calm them down and find a compromise. He appears like the picture book boy, but inside, he feels he is quite the opposite. And this low self-esteem makes him such a marshmallow in social relationships. He is a big brother character who would give up everything in order to save others.
While I liked his complex character, their love development seemed pretty sudden to me, practically being in love after the common route and then finding out his background story in his 3-hour route.
Aki
- he’s already friends with your mom
- care-taker
Is the younger brother of Leon, though they have different mothers. He appears gentle and kind, but in his heart carries a deep loneliness and desperation no one seems to be able to fill. His caring strongly for others leads him to neglect himself, and it takes the whole route to have him admit his self-worth.
I think I actually liked their love story the best, as it unfolded the most slowly and subtly in his 5-hour route.
Leon
- your mom secretely likes him
- he’s too cool
Leon, the king of the band, is apparently supposed to be played last, but I don’t think it really matters in this character-driven game.
So Leon is only mean, ignores her, and insults her. What is there not to love about him? But unlike Tsumugi he actually becomes nicer over the course of the route, which made for a really cute, slightly bashful, high school sweethearts love story.
Art
As this is a game about a band it does not surprise that the soundtrack is lovely, even though they will never play the whole version of their songs – gotta buy those CDs!
Voice acting is as superb as ever with a stunning voice cast:
With Toriumi Kousuke (Ichiya in Variable Barricade)
Tsumugi might be one of my favourite roles by Kimura Ryouhei now! (Nicola in Piofiore)
Hirose Yuuya for Aki still isn’t casted much in otome games, though he has a wonderful soft and emotional voice. (Noa in Balckish House, Sora in UnBirthday Song)
And maybe the favourite of this game Eguchi Takuya (Rei in Hanakare).
CGs are cute and in important moments – no complaints here!
Japanese
Japanese level is pretty easy as it’s only slice of life, definitely suitable for beginners!
Tone
This game is a great example of a sensitive and emotional portrait of high school love and suffering. For some reason I thought this game would be pretty dark, and while sad things happen, like bullying, lost of a loved one, – now that I start thinking about it – self harm, violence…while these things happen, they are not portrayed in great detail or with grotesque voyarism, but these subjects are touched softly and delicately without suffocating you, but making you think and feel deep empathy with the characters.
Next to Hanakare I can recall no other slice of life game that touches on emotional topics seriously without exaggeration, without misplaced sarcasm (looking at you Variable Barricade – mental illnesses are not funny!), by just staying real and relatable.
As you already tell, this game is character-driven, driven by the characters to accept themselves, driven by the characters to find their place in the world and driven by the characters trying to find love and belonging.
Which means, the whole routes are spent together with the characters, as you get to know each other and even slightly steamy scenes are waiting for you.
Verdict
What I liked most about Dynamic Chord Reve Parfait are the characters and their hilarious interactions! The process of everyone becoming really close friends, who fight, even with fists, go out together, stand up for each other, support each other no matter what, is so so moving to witness! One of the few games where I might like the character interactions more than the romance, which is rarely the case for me as a romance maniac!
But these characters are funny and likeable I enjoyed every second I spent with them on the school ground, sharing ice cream and watching fireworks.
- platforms: PC, PsVita, Nintendo Switch
- language: Japanese
- length: 25h