Wind that scatters the flowers: let's talk about Hanachirasu

Before the behemoth that is FMDM, Narahara wrote another VN, Hanachirasu. In comparison to its successor, it’s incredibly short. Reading it probably took me some 5 hours?

Hanachirasu shows what it's about right off the bat by opening on an h-scene, where our protagonist, Akane—described as “short and girlish”— is playing the role of a rich woman's “pet”. When terrorists attack the building, he shows his true colors—a masterful swordsman that kills people like second nature.

We are then given a brief lesson on the history of this world. Nuclear weapons were never developed, the USA and the USSR took Kyushu and Hokkaido, respectively, and Yukio Mishima(who here is called Ishima Kaigen, and also, crucially, a girl)’s coup succeeded, and Tokyo is now a walled city where there are no firearms nor explosives, but people constantly kill each other with swords.

This insane setting is the backdrop to an incredible story of rivalry, revenge, and maybe most of all obsession between two swordsmen who were once friends.

Much like FMDM, kendo takes a center stage in the writing. The lavish descriptions of sword fighting technique I'd come to expect were paired with cgs showcasing the action in an almost comic-book like fashion. It's really cool!

There are only a few choices, two of them leading to “joke” endings…or maybe the yaoi ending is the true one. I mean, it has necromancer girl Yukio Mishima and also a turn-based sequel game—

Anyway. If you like FMDM, you should read Hanachirasu. If you don't know whether you like FMDM or not, you should read Hanachirasu. If you've already read Hanachirasu, you should read it again until you've developed your ma’ken. If you've already developed your ma’ken, you should meet me tomorrow night at Tokyo Tower and—