LogFAQs > #972779235

You overestimate your borger, my friend!

Takatoshi Hijiyama
Hijiyama's path is fun. A third of it is about Okino's research and the overarching story, and then the rest involves Hijiyama running around school picking up change left by a nearby cat, Hijiyama wrestling with his feelings for Okino, and Hijiyama embracing his feelings for Yakisoba Pan. I had never heard of Yakisoba Pan before this game and now it's all I can think about. Someone on the writing team was very hungry.

We cross paths with pretty much everyone here at some point, though it's mainly glimpses while they're going through their own stories. In fact, one of the only people we don't see is the one Okino is searching for, our Deimos commander herself! One of my fav smaller scenes is the one between Keitaro and Takatoshi, a genuine conversation between two old friends reconnecting, and then arguing about food.

Takatoshi is still pretty isolated in this world, his only real relationship is the complex give and take between him and Tsukasa. Their dynamic is by and large a good one. They're mainly up front with each other when it comes to serious issues, and there's an easy chemistry between them. I'm rooting for Takatoshi to accept his feelings, though Okino does overreach sometimes when it comes to teasing Hijiyama's insecurities. Monitoring his brain activity like that was too far! You've gotta cut the guy a break, he's been transplanted out of the '40s into an unfamiliar world and clearly has a lot to sort out in his head. Offering Okino half of his Yakisoba Pan is probably as close to a declaration of love as he can give! The poor guy winds up thinking Tsukasa's in a relationship with Nenji, Ei, and Tomi lol.

Takatoshi is a good guy, despite everything he's trying his best to help people and wants to protect the world. The visit back to a ruined 1945 is good, though I once again judge the 2188 crew for deciding to pick a slightly pre-World War II Japan for one of their eras. A real case of trauma tourism there, folks! Hijiyama is, of course, affected by the devastation of the war, and it'd be no different if there weren't giant mecha kaiju involved. The two get so close to realising there's no time travel going on, but don't quite make the (admittedly large) logical leap.

The best scene here, unsurprisingly, is the one with 2188 logs from BJ. Where would this story be without BJ? Hijiyama and Okino are a couple in this time, it's nice seeing their romantic relationship be stated explicitly and for Takatoshi to be so effusive about his love. Though I see Okino has kept his penchant for manipulation across incarnations! Curse that corner-cutting code. Then we see the aftermath of an energy dispute, which for some reason resulted in Ogata opening fire. Tsukasa is killed (an interesting decision having the shooter be Izumi, a reminder if we needed it that he's not always an all out amazing guy!), and Hijiyama annihilated Ogata's whole crew in response. It's noted that Ida and Shinonome got out safely (hmm), and then Takatoshi muses that he'd like to save his friends if Project Ark comes to pass. A sad scene, even in humanity's last days something so trivial caused so much destruction. Hopefully our Hijiyama and Okino will be able to live a happier life than their 2188 counterparts after this is all over.

Takatoshi is noticeably shaken by seeing this, and declines to tell Okino what he saw. After an amusing sequence with the dysfunctional Nenji/Tomi and Takatoshi/Tsukasa pairs, we reach our final scene of the day as Okino lays all his cards on the table. We learn a few new things. First, Sector 4 has been left til last by the kaiju as their commander is based here. Second, the D-code maintains regular updates with UC, the automated factories in Sector 1, and the artificial satellite, and third, the D-code only uses a small amount of the innerlocitor processing power and we don't know what 80% of the nanomachines are being used for. Or who implanted them in the first place. Is this merely Izumi's meta-upgrades at work, or have we got another major reveal left to come. I'm thinking the latter, as Okino feels he's missing something fundamental, and to my great surprise we are locked out of the final Hijiyama section.

Checking the event archives, this scene took place before the scene with Juro in Okino's lab, so next time we should get a clearer view of events from him. But I am shocked that we're locked off behind Gouto's story, which has just opened up again! You love to knock me off my guard, game.

Cleared:
Shu Amiguchi
Ryoko Shinonome
Tomi Kisaragi
Yuki Takamiya
Natsuno Minami
Nenji Ogata
Juro Kurabe
Megumi Yakushiji
Ei Sekigahara
Iori Fuyusaka

Uncleared:
Keitaro Miura- 87%
Takatoshi Hijiyama- 85%
Renya Gouto- prologue done

NEXT UP: Keitaro's last scenes are unlocked and I won't be able to resist going there. After that, we'll see what the second shadiest glasses wearer in Ashitaba has been up to.