There are so many great characters in visual novels who don’t get the chance to be in the spotlight. While fandiscs or expanded versions occasionally fill the void (even if we don’t always get them in English), more often than not we’re left wanting. So why not take the chance to highlight a few of my favorites?
If you want to pick up some of the ones not in English, using ZenMarket, who have kindly sponsored this article, is a convenient way to get this. They’re an import service that focuses on helping to order items from Japan, consolidating packages to keep the delivery costs down, and sending items worldwide. We’ve given an overview of our experience with their service and how to use it in a previous article.
Here are just a handful of the heroines who never were:
Mizuho Saionji – Clover Day’s Plus
We get to see a lot of Mizuho in Clover Day’s Plus, especially in Izumi’s route, but spending more time with her would be more than welcome. She’s certainly quite a contrast from Izumi, being polite, somewhat soft-spoken, and quick to give honest praise.
The bespectacled beauty has led a rather restricted life due to her circumstances, but we see her slide into the group of childhood friends easily, even with her reserved attitude, and start to enjoy life more. By the end of Izumi’s route, she certainly loses some of that reservedness and gets closer to them all.
It’s often played off as a joke or done as a way to tease Izumi, but there are some flirtatious moments between the two. Seeing where that could go would be a worthwhile read.
Rise Amenomori – Secret Agent
While Secret Agent perhaps isn’t the best visual novel in developer ensemble’s catalog, Rise stands out as an intelligent, fun-loving, and sweet character, who drags the protagonist Jin into the ongoing situation between her and her sister Yui (who is romanceable).
There’s a very interesting sibling dynamic between Yui and Rise and it was one of my favorite parts of Secret Agent. Seeing it from Rise’s perspective, as well as spending more time with her would make a Rise route more than worthwhile.
Rise does appear in the fan disc, but it doesn’t exactly lend itself to a dedicated romance with her.
Akari Yuuki – Making Lovers
Appearing in multiple routes, Akari always brings a lot of energy to scenes she’s in, often getting fired up by the events around her or having over-the-top reactions. And considering that Making Lovers is a SMEE title, there are always absurd events going on. What other visual novel would have a character like Akari blackmailed by a lobster?
She might tease the protagonist or joke around a lot, but she can act nice at times too. In the end though, an Akari route would be great just because of how fun a character she is.
Komachi Murasaki – Sugar Sweet Temptation
The black hole into which all cake disappears, Komachi from Sugar Sweet Temptation is an easygoing and gentle girl who the protagonist often sees clearing the snow away next door or in the cake store. She always has a bright smile for you as she sees you off.
Despite claiming to be ladylike, you’ll find her climbing up ladders and being an absolute glutton. She can go more than a little overboard when it comes to cake…
She has deep ties to the town, so aside from being both amusing and adorable, a route with her would be an interesting angle to step outside of the bakery and learn more about the setting.
Reiko Satou – Aokana -Four Rhythms Across the Blue-
One of the top members of the Flying Circus team of the protagonist’s rival school Takafuji, Reiko Satou (or Satouin as she prefers) would be an interesting character to explore further. It’d even give us another chance to see events from Takafuji’s side.
Between her ‘ojou-sama’ style of speech, absurd bet about the name of the school, and contest with Asuka who had never played Flying Circus before, she makes a huge impression when you meet her.
She’s often more than a little arrogant, but she’s a hard worker who backs up her attitude with skill and acts gracefully when needed. Despite her attitude, she kindly watches over her team and even gives tips to competitors. It helps that her attitude helps her stand out in a lot of the more comedic moments.
Saki Inui – Aokana -Four Rhythms Across the Blue-
Aokana has some of the best side characters in visual novels. I’d not want to fill the article with them, but we couldn’t leave it as just one.
Perhaps the strongest active player of Flying Circus, Saki Inui uses revolutionary tactics to defeat everyone else, becoming what feels like an insurmountable challenge for the other players to overcome.
It’s sometimes obscured by her friend Irina’s challenging personality, but Saki comes across as a quiet but rather strong-willed character. She’s expressionless most of the time, but we do begin to see this break at points. It’d be nice to see how she acts if given a chance to come out of her shell. We almost did get to see this with Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm: Zwei, but that title was unfortunately canceled.
…And More?
These are just a handful of characters that never had romance routes. There are certainly plenty out there, and even more if we count those we never got in English like the various expanded versions of Da Capo or console-exclusive heroines like Nozomi in Love, Elections, and Chocolate. If you want these, you’ll have to pick them up in Japanese.
Who are your favorite visual novel characters who never had their chance to shine? Drop us a comment on X or Discord to let us know.
Thanks again go to ZenMarket for sponsoring this article. If you’d like to import any goods from Japan, please consider checking out their service and don’t forget to use code NOOKGAMING when signing up for 800 Yen worth of ZenPoints toward delivery.
If you are looking for another visual novel, you may enjoy Angelic☆Chaos RE-BOOT! We have also covered a wide variety of visual novels both original to English and localized from Japanese, which you can check out here.
A gamer since the days of Amstrad and DOS and someone who has dabbled in a variety of professions. He enjoys a wide variety of genres, but has been focusing on visual novels and virtual reality in recent years. Head Editor of NookGaming. Follow him and the website on @NookSite.
