#rin/sharaku

[giggly-squiggily]

Attention (Tengoku Struggle)

*kicks door in* Hey! :D That was aggressive- How are y'all? So I'm kinda addicted to Tengoku Struggle. Sharaku is literal perfection in my eyes, so it only felt right to start off the first fic of the fandom with him! :D I hope y'all like it!

CW: Suggestive humor (Sharaku's a bit of a slut lol)

Summary: Sharaku's feeling needy and wants attention. Rin learns firsthand what happens if you ignore such a demanding soul.

“Hey…” A poke to her back brought Rin out of her book. “I’m bored.”

“Congratulations.” She didn’t turn to look at him, fighting down a smile at the small whine he made. Sharaku could be quite needy from time to time. Truly a cat, personified.

“So cold..I’m gonna die of a broken heart, you’re so mean to me.” He poked her back again, flicking at the ends of her long hair and further cementing her mental comparison. “Those plant books really are more important to you, huh?”

Rin merely turned the page of her book, humming as she carried on reading. The pokes continued, her hair getting gently tugged and swatted at from time to time. Eventually she felt him sit up, gathering it to braid. “It’s silky. You’ve been using that tea tree oil I gave you.”

“Everyday, without fail.” She finally let herself smile, his fingers gentle as they folded the dark strands into a neat plait. “Though I do like it when you apply it. It works better.”

“Ah, so that’s what I am to you- your personal stylist!” He was grinning, she could hear it in his voice as he worked the braid down her back, tying it off and giving it a playful tug. “I’m gonna have to start charging- 300 ryo per hairstyle.”

“That’s surprisingly low, given how much you charge the others.”

“You get a discount.” He leaned in and kissed her ear, making her skin warm and breath shudder. “Of course, if you really insist on paying me in full, you can in other ways~”

Rin rolled her eyes, fighting down a blush at his lewd comment. Instead of humoring him, she pointed at one of the plants in her book, murmuring about how lovely it was.

 It wasn’t long before she could feel him leaning into her, resting his chin on her shoulder. “Riiiiiin…”

“I’m reading. Join me if you’re so bored.”

“Books aren’t interesting to me. I’m more of a visual guy.” Sharaku poked her side, making her twitch. “Wanna watch a movie? We can recreate a steamy scene or two..”

“Stop being annoying!” She elbowed him, squirming when he poked her sides more. She knew there was no mercy in her future now that she reacted. “If you don’t wanna read, go draw something!”

“I need inspiration. A muse.” His little pokes grew, both hands joining the fray in tickling her. “Give me a smile- I wanna paint you.”

“Paint something e-else! Ugh, Sharaku!” Dropping her book, she grabbed his hands as she twisted to face him, glaring as hard as she could. “You’re acting like such a child! Stop it!”

Sharaku merely grinned back at her, eyes twinkling. Without any warning, he leaned in and stole a kiss. “S-Sharaku!”

“Don’t act like you didn’t like it. I can feel you blushing.” Oh, how insufferable he was! Trying to pretend his comment didn’t ring true, she battled the hands resuming their annoying quest at her sides, fighting down giggles whenever he landed a poke. “Come on, you know you do! You love me soooooo much!”

“Yoohou’re so stuhuhpid! Ahehaha, stahhahap!” Unable to fight back- or perhaps she wanted to lose- Rin fell back against the sheets of his bed, twisting this way and that as his fingers danced up her ribs. “Shahahahahhaku! Gehehhet ohohf meehhehe!”

“No way! I figured you were ticklish, but this? This is amazing!” His fingers were inquisitive as they walked up and down her torso, gently prodding along her hips and waist to see what would give him the best reaction. When he poked along her highest rib, she let out an embarrassingly high squeal. “Uh-oh, I found your tickle spot~”

“Shuhuhuhut uhuhuhp! Thahaht’s nohooht truhuhue-EHehehehehehk!” Okay, maybe it was true. Sharaku focused his efforts on drilling two fingers onto each side of her upper ribs, using his body weight to keep her pinned beneath him as she shrieked and cackled like a witch. “Shahhahaku, pleahhahahahse!”

“Please what? Keep tickling you?” He grinned against her neck, gently nuzzling it and worsening her ticklish state. “For someone who acts so stubborn, you sure are cute when you’re laughing like this.”

“Iihihihihm nohohohohot cuhuhuhuhte!”

“Sorry, but you’re really cute. Adorable even.” He kissed the spot along her pulsepoint, the feeling both tingly and ticklish. Too bad the latter was far more present as his hands shot back to her waist, kneading like a cat’s paws. “I like making you scream my name. Wasn’t it you who said I have magic hands the other night?”

“Dohohohn’t be soohohoho grohohohoohss! Gehahahaha, cohohohme on- tihihihme ohohohut, tihihihime oohohohut!” She tugged at his sweater repeatedly, gasping for air when he paused his antics. “Geahhaha..hehehaha..hohohold on..juhuhst a sehehehcond mhohohore…”

“Wow, you want me to keep going?” Sharaku looked both surprised and delighted, kissing her flushed cheek as she rolled her eyes. “I didn’t know you liked this sort of thing, babe.”

Did she? Rin couldn’t recall the last time someone tickled her like this. Oshichi would occasionally poke her sides when they sat by the Sanzu River, and she could recall small occasions where Sensei Nono ran a quick finger along the back of her neck whenever she was too lost in thought during lessons.

Maybe in her forgotten past, perhaps. Even without that- she couldn’t deny the lightheaded feeling was refreshing. So much had happened since she came to the human realm- it was nice to really let herself go and just breathe.

“I think I do..” She found herself speaking out loud, blushing bright red at his brow. “Shush.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“Your eyebrows are too loud.”

“Pfft-” Sharaku fell into her, laughing against her neck. It was tingly like before, but Rin found she rather liked the feeling. “Yohohou’re cute. But seriously- you really like this?” He ran his hand against her side, tapping against her ribs and making her tense. “Me tickling you, yeah?”

“Iihihs it a bahahd thing if I do?” She giggled through her words, her voice catching when he met her gaze. There was such a love in his eyes, it made her nearly forget where she was.

“Farthest thing from it. I like that about you. Our Lord Hell Guardian has some really sweet quirks about her.”

She would have pinched him for that if he hadn’t started tickling her again, bringing both hands back to her waist as she attempted to curl up on herself, giggling like a child. “Ahehahahaha! Yohohohou’re goohohohd at thihihihis!”

“Like you said the other night- I have magic hands.” He grinned, laughing when she did pinch him. “Just so you know- I’m gonna tickle you more if you don’t pay attention to me.”

“Oohohoh so thahhaht’s hohohow it ihihis? I’hihihll hahahve to ihihihgnore yooohohu more ohohoften- EHEHEHEK!” She squealed when he went for that bad spot again, digging ruthlessly into it. “Shahhaharkau pleahahhahahhase!”

“Take it back!” He demanded, nose to nose with her with eyes full of warmth. “Take it back right now.”

“Fiihihih-EHEHEHE! FIHIHIHNE! I thahahake it bhahahack! I tahhahke it bahahahck!” She really needed to watch her mouth around him. With another kiss to her giggly lips, he finally stopped tickling her- pulling her lightheaded form into his arms as they laid back in bed. Gasping for air, she clung to him- truly believing at some point this was the end.

Well, technically they were already dead. Not a terrible way to go out, though.

“You good?” He asked her in a soft voice, running his fingers against her messy braid as she nuzzled further in his chest. Now that the tickling was over, she felt a wave of embarrassment flush through her body- the high from all that giggling coming down. “Did I go too far?”

“You’re fine.” She reassured him, wrapping her arms around his waist in an exhausted hug. “I just feel really good right now. And embarrassed. A ticklish Hell Guardian- how silly is that?”

Sharaku laughed beneath her, rubbing her back. “It’s really silly, but it’s not like you’re the only one here who’s ticklish. Everyone is.”

She blinked a few times, the words melting into the cracks of her mind. “Everyone?”

“Yeah- especially Kiku. Something about those hyper-senses or whatever.” That made sense to her. She could see their resident wolf being ticklish. Yona as well. Goemon was hard to picture, but she couldn’t deny it felt like a genuine possibility.

And then there was…

“I know what you’re thinking.” He met her gaze with a small pout. “Yes, I am too. But if you tickle me, I’ll tickle you back tenfold. I’ll get you so bad, you’ll have to explain to the guys why you ended up in the onsen after.”

Rin could barely hold back her smile- let alone her amusement. Falling into him, she clung to his sweater with a hearty laugh, feeling him tremble beneath her as he joined in. “I lohohove you so muhuhuch, Shahaharaku!”

“God, I love you too, you dork!” He pulled her closer and rolled them on their sides, nuzzling and kissing her neck until she was practically squealing once more.

She’d get him back eventually. Maybe not today, but definitely at some point. For now though, she let herself enjoy her big cat of a boyfriend and his silly antics.

Thanks for reading!

[my-current-obsession]

Tengoku Struggle: Strayside - Thoughts

I'm a bit late getting to this game, but I enjoyed it quite a bit! I definitely have some frustrations both minor and major, some of which I'll get into below, but overall it was a fun and engaging ride and one of few VNs where I can honestly say I like ALL the routes and romances - with the caveat that I have a bone to pick with one of them.

I think the premise of the story, the transient (amnesiac) daughter of the Lord of Hell being assigned to capture several escapees from Hell alongside four handpicked former prisoners (all of which are presumably heinous villains themselves), is very fun and creative. I was immediately drawn into the story and loved all the world-building relating to the Six Realms and Hell specifically.

It helps that in addition to the colorful main cast, the supporting cast in this game is fantastic. I particularly love Fujimori, King Enma, and Nono-sensei.

My play order was: Kiku -> Yona -> Sharaku -> JacK -> Goemon.

My thoughts and criticisms are down below. Beware spoilers if you haven't played/beaten the game yourself!

First off, while it's not necessarily a criticism, I do think it's an... interesting choice to clearly establish in the very beginning of the game that she knew and loved one specific love interest prior to her death, and then to further establish at the end of the common route that he remembers and loves her too. While I know most otome have a favored/intended canon route, pushing one guy this hard this early is kind of shooting itself in the foot, IMO. It's hard to really get into and love the other possible relationships when Rin is this obviously "meant" to be with Goemon and you're aware of it and imagining him quietly pining for her all while she gets cozy with another man. I can think of multiple other otomes which also have a similar conundrum, but at least in those cases you don't know about the history and connection with a specific love interest until actually doing his route, allowing you to fully enjoy all the other routes first.

But you could consider the early Goemon reveal more of a double-edged sword, because while it might dampen your enjoyment of the other romances, it would also encourage players to not give up early for any reason, wanting to make it to his route to get answers and resolution to what exactly his past with Rin is.

Kiku: I think his route was a good one to start with. Outside of his own backstory as well as his connected "villain", Azami, there are no major reveals here. There's also nothing I found particularly amazing OR frustrating. His route was solid, I liked it, but it didn't wow me either. His romance with Rin felt very light and fluffy. You could tell he was falling for her pretty fast and hard early in his route, and the two got along really well.

I also do really like Azami as a character and as the antagonist in this route, although if I have one complaint it's that the situation honestly could have been MORE dramatic and messy than it was. Maybe this is entirely on me for getting my hopes up, but I assumed there would be more to her backstory and behavior than there ended up being. I figured she was either gay, adding another layer to her general dislike of men and her immediate and enduring friendliness to Rin, OR... she might have secretly had incestuous feelings for her brother, further complicating THAT situation. Neither turned out to be true, which left me a tad disappointed. But I can't hold something that I created and wanted in my head against the story too much. Her backstory and behavior is perfectly understandable for what it is, I just wanted a bit more drama I guess.

Finally, I really like how Fujimori was incorporated into this route and I thought his budding friendship with Kiku was incredibly sweet.

Yona: I spent the first half of his route too frustrated to really enjoy it, to be honest. The story hammers home the idea that samurai are supposed to be honorable, yet Yona immediately fights dirty and nearly gets Rin killed as a result. And while the other guys (and Goemon in particular, which was a nice touch) were understandably furious at him, Rin herself WASN'T. If anything she blamed herself - the VICTIM - for letting things get out of hand.

What made matters worse is that while Yona IS overall a good, honorable guy, and he DOES actually have a good reason for his deep mistrust that led him to act out... we don't get it until literally the end of the route. We have to just sit back and forgive him and wait several hours to hear an explanation as to WHY he did what he did. It doesn't help that for me, his backstory just feels weaker than everyone else, which makes withholding it until the very end all the more unreasonable.

We got like 85% of Kiku's backstory in the beginning of his route, which helped in understanding why his relationship with Azami was so fraught. Sharaku opens up about his backstory a little over halfway through his route in a moment of emotional intimacy, which helps in understanding/justifying his outlandish behavior before and also significantly shifts the tone/feeling of his relationship with Rin moving forward. And we're drip-fed Goemon and Rin's semi-shared backstory throughout his entire route, like getting one piece of a puzzle at a time and finally getting to complete it near the end.

Even if you disagree that Yona's backstory of growing up an outsider, desperate for love and attention, ultimately getting deceived and dying before getting what he wanted isn't as compelling as the others... the placement of it (not even told to Rin as part of bonding and/or apologizing! told to Sansaburo to try and get through to him and keep things "honorable"!) still bugs me. We should have gotten some or even all of it early on in the route, so that we could understand and forgive what he'd done. Because personally without any context, I wasn't okay with how his fighting dirty nearly got Rin killed, and the fact that SHE was okay with it made it all the more vexing.

My issue with the beginning of this route then rippled out to impair the middle a bit. Because while I could definitely understand why Yona would like Rin so much... every scene of her being super into him just felt unearned. And the fact that it was discovering he read books that might sometimes have smut in them being what DID briefly turn her off from him? Ugh. It's fine if he's a dumbass who nearly got you killed for (seemingly) no good reason, but I guess liking porn is inexcusable. Priorities, girl!

IN ISOLATION, I think nearly all of their romantic moments are very solid. It's just that because their starting position was so poisoned for me, it was hard to reconcile Rin liking him at all at that point. All that said, the route definitely got better over time and the last few chapters were very solid. By then there'd been enough development that I could buy the romance despite my initial hangups, so I could fully enjoy their relationship when it finally blossomed. And Yona's confrontation with Sansaburo was pretty good too.

Once again, this route made good use of Fujimori. His dynamic was certainly more strained with Yona than Kiku, but the story used that to give Yona a necessary wake-up call, I think. I love that both guys got something valuable from the other, with Yona getting more accepting/comfortable around technology and how things are now compared to when he lived, and Fujimori being shown that looks and strength alone don't define a person or make them happy/successful, which encouraged him to be more confident in himself and accepting of others.

Sharaku: I'll admit that I had a bit of a bias going into this route since due to his VA and certain mannerisms, I already liked Sharaku a lot. He reminded me of Marius from Tears of Themis (same Japanese VA, similarly flirty and overtly manipulative in a childish way that I find endearing rather than upsetting).

That said his route is certainly... a lot. And I can bet he'll be a "love him or hate him" type for a lot of people. Personally, I love him, though I absolutely understand why he might turn off or really upset others. He comes on STRONG in the beginning, pushing for sex as a way to "bond" and "develop trust" with Rin.

That's obviously not okay, but for me it's enough that after Rin electrocutes him and sets a boundary, he doesn't cross it again (arguably. We'll get into that). Rather, while he still brings up the idea of having sex often, it's more playful/joking, and he physically keeps a safe distance. To me this reads as him making it clear that while he's still down for or wants it himself, he IS respecting her wishes by not pushing for it. He's just letting her know it's still on the table as an option if she ever changes her mind.

Personally I don't think the idea that he's "coercing" her into it holds water when, later in the route, she DOES decide she wants to have sex with him in a moment of desperation, but he TURNS HER DOWN. By then, he knows her well enough and CARES about her enough that he doesn't want to do anything she's not fully onboard with. Consent isn't enough. He wants her feelings to matter, too. For them, for the bond they now have, sex is no longer a means to an end, and he won't let her reduce it to that even when that was once what he wanted.

Sharaku is a very messy individual. His backstory is HEAVY. I might have a small corner of my mind permanently stuck ruminating on how he was forced to live as a prostitute for an unknown length of time just to make ends meet, and then eventually got OUT of that life and started supporting himself financially with art instead, just to ultimately die at the ripe old age of eighteen. Because he eventually got caught for the crime of mercy killing women who BEGGED him to do it. It's just... a lot.

All the characters' backstories inform their personality and behavior in the present, but I really feel it with Sharaku. He's been desensitized to sex, possibly as a coping mechanism for what he's been through. From his perspective, it's nothing more than a physical act at this point, and what better way to "get close" to someone? There's also the idea that prostitutes are trained/perceptive when it comes to romance. It's a trait that all the "prostitute" characters we see share, even Shinobikuni. While I doubt anyone would argue that Goemon knows Rin as a person best, it's definitely Sharaku who notices the budding romances on every route. He even took it a step farther and tried to play matchmaker for Yona! He's also the one to notice and call out that Goemon is softer towards Rin right from the start, even if he tries to hide it and act as uncaring/aloof as the others.

I think this also extends to his route though. When Rin really starts to fall for Sharaku, HE NOTICES. He's completely unsurprised when other people infer that Rin is in love with him. The "school uniform date" and his kissing her were prompted by him responding to her feelings. It's just that there's a miscommunication here. He hasn't let her know how HE feels (and to be fair at that point he might still be figuring it out, going along with things because that's what he's used to doing), thus she assumes he's playing with her feelings and gets upset.

Something I really love about Sharaku's route is that he takes it upon himself, multiple times, to try and change or open up to Rin, without being forced or prompted to. His most sincere, vulnerable moments are predated by him unintentionally hurting her, and then resolving to do better. Which he does! When he sees how their blood bond has barely risen, it's clear that it hurts Rin. And he KNOWS it's his own trust issues to blame, so he pushes through the discomfort to open up to her, at least a little, prompting the first big spike in the blood bond. When he takes their "date" too far by kissing her and Rin runs off crying, he finally opens up about his past to her once he finds her.

Rin herself ALSO makes an effort to change, after Sharaku calls her out for being overbearing and falling back on her training to mistreat the prisoners. This isn't really an issue in other routes, since she has a good relationship with the other love interests, but here, her initially strained relationship with Sharaku makes it harder to shake off her training and treat the men the way she WANTS to treat them. The struggle makes it more impactful than the other routes where she just decides to change and then... does, without effort, IMO.

Sharaku as a person and his relationship with Rin is just... so much more complicated and messy than the other routes. Outside of JacK where she's literally romancing the enemy, this is the only time she has any real conflict WITH her love interest as opposed to a conflict elsewhere. But it makes perfect sense that these two would butt heads given their near polar opposite personalities and his... wealth of romantic/sexual experience compared to her literal blank slate. If anything it's a miracle they reached a compromise!

This route COULD have been a disaster. With Sharaku's backstory and obsession with sex, it could have gone to some truly unpleasant, unforgivable places. But for me, this route was beautiful. This is a route where two VERY different individuals both decided, of their own volition, to try to be better for the other person. They weren't being forced to change by an outside party, nor were they fundamentally changing who they were. Rather they were allowing themselves to be vulnerable, exposing their soft underbellies to the other. To meet the other halfway. This was harder for Sharaku, naturally, but they both managed it and from their initial tense and distant acquaintance, a healthy and beautiful love bloomed.

JacK/Tetsunojo: This route had the misfortune to sit between Sharaku, who I clearly hyper-fixated on, and Goemon, who has a lot of "true/final route" reveals to dig into. Thus I admit I probably didn't give this route as much attention as I should have.

That said, from what I remember, it's solid. I appreciate that the more you learn about him, the more Tetsunojo comes across as just a chuuni. A total loser playing at being edgy and cool. His mostly one-sided vendetta against Goemon is also a lot of fun. It's hilarious to think about how Goemon didn't know or care about him at all until his own route, where he ultimately DID "beat" Goemon entirely unintentionally, by stealing his girl.

I was a bit miffed for a decent chunk of the route because it seemed the writing couldn't decide how much, if at all, Tetsunojo actually liked Rin or if he was just using her all along. He certainly turned HARD on her when he got what he wanted. But then the story slowly walked it back and he DID like her, he was just pushing her away. The execution was a bit sloppy and frustrating, but not terrible I guess.

I'm torn between liking and hating that this is the route where Rin finally gets to be proactive. In general I like it when the heroine is more assertive and goes for what she wants. But where was that in the other routes? You're saving it for here, the route where from a logical standpoint it makes most sense NOT to pursue him, especially once he's threatened your life? It feels like she's only proactive because this relationship would never get off the ground otherwise, whereas living with the other guys - most of whom are confident and willing to make moves themselves - gives plenty of opportunity for romance without Rin forcing it.

Ultimately while the romance was okay, this relationship was probably still my least favorite because it lowkey took Rin away from her other love interests. That's her found family! It's like Sholmes' route in the Code Realize FD. Even IF the route and relationship is solid, you don't take the girl away from her group of friends! Thankfully Tetsunojo joined the group at the end (even getting his own mug! Truly Goemon is a softie to do such a thing for the guy that stole his girl) rather than completely taking Rin away, but this route still felt removed from the group dynamic we see everywhere else.

Goemon: He was SO soft and attentive to her, in general but especially his own route. You'd think after a few hundred years he would at least start to move on, but no, he's clearly still down bad for her. VERY cute.

I loved getting little peeks of his jealousy in other routes. When he lost his cool at the manager asking if Rin is a virgin, wishing to himself that they WERE having a rendezvous when Sharaku caught them together, a lot of his behavior in JacK's route... It all got me amped up for his route, for sure.

I have basically no complaints about the romance in this route, or at least nothing too critical. The pacing is a bit wonky at times, but I think that can be explained as Rin is essentially starting at 0 for Goemon while HE is starting damn near 100 for her - as shown by the blood bond, even! He near fully loves and trusts her from the start, so the route is just getting her to the same place he is and revealing their shared backstory.

They have a lot of sweet moments together. I love how she made him "poison" onigiri which he then made sure to warn off others so he could keep them to himself. I love how for a good chunk of the route Rin was despairing over being in a love triangle with HERSELF. I do wish she had confronted him directly, told him it hurt to be compared to or a replacement for that girl. But we got something similar at least that FINALLY led to him telling her the truth.

As for their backstory, it really is a tragedy. Their own hesitations and insecurities kept them apart. He didn't want to drag her into his problems, she didn't want to tie him down since she was blind and he was a free spirit. And yet even though they never got together she was STILL killed just because of her association to him. Which meant he was right to blame himself for it, to an extent. The fact that her ONE sin that sent her to hell was telling a lie that hurt him is the cherry on top of this painful sundae. Oof.

The plot/conflict outside of the romance is where this route loses me a little. It just has a bit too much going on, including TWO separate twist villains! Surely one of them could have been used elsewhere? Personally I would say Sharaku's route because the idea of finding Oshichi's lost love is brought up there too and yet for some reason it's Goemon's route where they have the idea to have Sharaku draw the guy based on Oshichi's description.

I mostly liked Fujimori's inclusion in this route once again. The bond he and Goemon had in the past and start to form again is very sweet. That said, I don't really like how it's implied he was also close with Rin (to the point where he called her sister at one point and she also felt like he was a little brother to her) yet we NEVER got interactions between them in flashbacks. It's hard to buy that relationship when we don't actually see it.

I think both twist villains were done very sloppily. Kamuro's actions just don't seem to fit with what we've learned about angels and how they're basically stupid and useless and GOOD. How on earth did an angel with those kind of restrictions for getting into Heaven (remember, telling a SINGLE lie that hurt someone got Rin cast into Hell) end up even capable of evil? And Shiroku...

He was an incredibly weird combination of OVERLY foreshadowed and not nearly foreshadowed enough. He has a very distinct silhouette so it's clearly him we see in Rin's nightmare flashback at the beginning of the route, making him immediately suspicious. And yet in all his prior appearances and up until the end of the route, he does nothing to raise suspicion. If not for that one moment we'd have NO reason to doubt him. And then again, literal minutes before the reveal, we get the second piece of evidence against him. Which is... Sharaku - the MOST guarded and untrusting of the group - thinks he's suspicious and doesn't want Rin to go off alone with him. Again, a rather heavy-handed piece of foreshadowing, and yet it's potentially ruined or overlooked since it's coming from Sharaku.

In theory, I'm fine with Shiroku being a twist villain. Especially since Goemon's primary "flaw" is that he's too soft/trusting towards those he cares about. So having a trusted longtime friend stab him in the back makes sense. It's just the execution sucks. And Shiroku as a villain is not nearly as interesting or likable compared to the main five. His motivation is... feeling spurned that Goemon left so he decides to go full evil?

Meanwhile the five escapees are all seemingly GOOD or at least neutral people who just lived awful lives - or in Asaemon's case, he was a guy with a really bad job. But someone's gotta do it - and now want a chance to live happier, peaceful lives as opposed to continuing to suffer in Hell as if their lives before death weren't bad enough.

Compared to all the others, Shiroku taking over as the last minute true bad guy was disappointing. It made sense that Goemon wouldn't fight Shinobikuni since she seemingly wasn't a fighter, but what I really expected and felt outright ripped off not to get was a fight with Okuni. Of ALL the escapees, Okuni got the least development and time to shine. But since it was established she KNEW Goemon and she had a really cool power that COULD be used in a fight, I expected her to be the "final boss", as it were. Instead she literally never faces off against anyone directly, instead just retaliating against Yona in his route when he fights dirty against Sansaburo. She was SO cool and SO underutilized.

She was shafted in favor of a pretty shit twist villain though. In the end her "importance" boiled down to being the source of a popular legend that Rin secretly liked - after death, being cared across the Sanzu River on your lover's back. At least that concept finally got to come full circle when Goemon carried Rin home on his back after the final battle. That was a nice detail. He wasn't able to go to her in death, but they first reunited at the riverbank that she was staring wistfully at, and he got as close as he could to fulfilling her wishes in the end.

I suppose it was too much to expect a violent battle between a man and a woman in an otome, especially with the woman as a final boss of sorts. At least Rin got to contribute to the fight. Not directly, but her powered up ability was instrumental to the fight and the gang couldn't have won without her. So I'll take it.

Misc: A few random final thoughts/observations - this game is very punishing in terms of the choices. A single wrong choice will land you the bad end for a route. In fact, I noticed that a wrong choice early on will ensure a "bad" ending to the chapter and every chapter moving forward. Which is why starting with Yona I made the decision to save scum until around chapter 8 so even if I got a bad end I wouldn't have to redo damn near the entire route.

...Which accidentally led to me NOT getting Goemon or Sharaku's bad endings. I happened to get their final few choices right and haven't seen their bad endings. That said, based on the OTHER bad endings... I don't mind that you fall into those endings so easily. There ARE unique CGs and the endings are about 20 minutes of unique content. And it seems like the bad endings aren't even "bad" so much as bittersweet, stalling a happy ending that WILL still come in the future. Plus the music for the bad end movie is a BOP that I will GLADLY listen to.

One other thing I noticed that bothers me a tad is that the routes follow a very similar formula in terms of the romantic development. You can see this very clearly while looking at the CGs for different guys. All five guys have exactly 15 "unique" CGs, the difference being how many of those have variations, and how many of said variations there are. Exactly 2 of those unique CGs are for the bad ends, with another locked away in the bonus "Memory" content. ALL FIVE guys have their "happy" end with a CG that is just before the couple has sex. Kiku, Yona, and Sharaku all have Rin kiss their mark to take their pain twice, with the second time leading to another CG of the pair kissing. That kiss CG is even the 9th one for all of them, and it's the last CG before the happy/bad end split. Goemon only has one "kiss the pain away" scene, but his also immediately leads to a proper kiss as well.

While the specifics for the conflicts and the relationships are different in each route, I just couldn't help but notice this huge consistency in when and how the romantic beats happened. There are definitely minor ways in which routes are the same in other games (like tending to the needs of a Fury in Hakuouki), but I couldn't help but notice EVERY route ending in a sex scene. EVERY route having the first (mutual, in Sharaku's case) kiss after Rin took the guy's pain. It's a minor nitpick, but by the third route I was starting to really sense when things would happen and accurately predict incoming CGs. So it took me out of the story a bit.

In terms of my feelings on the routes as a whole, best to worst: Sharaku > Goemon > Kiku > JacK > Yona

In terms of my feelings on the romance/relationship with Rin: Goemon > Sharaku > Kiku > Yona > JacK

[hellcatinnc]

I Can't Be The Only One!?!?

Ok I can not be the only one that thinks this was him hinting at her father (daddy) wanting other things done at night?

Now may I remind you this is the interaction you have with the daddy in the very beginning.

There is some underlined tones there I just can't.....

[hi2chan]

Hiroki Reviews! Tengoku Struggle Strayside [Common route]

Some minor disclaimers before continuing.

There WILL be spoilers

Most of these are of Hiroki's personal opinion and preference, if you think differently, it is OK.

All CGs rightfully belongs to the production company and are not of Hiroki's property.

You can jump to 'Read more' for the summarised review.

｀、ヽ｀ヽ｀、ヽ(ノ＞＜)ノ ｀、ヽ｀☂ヽ｀、ヽ

Game Title: Tengoku Struggle Strayside Game port: Nintendo Switch Language: English Gameplay status: 2/5 routes completed [Sharaku & Kiku] Started on: June 2024 Game Plot/Premises: Rin Enma, adopted daughter of the king of the underworld, has been tasked with tracking down and recapturing a group of escaped sinners. Accompanying her on her journey are four sinners hand-picked by her father. Will Rin succeed in her mission… and will she discover love?

♫•¨•.¸¸♪ Common Route ♪¸¸.•¨•♫

The opening shows Goemon at his execution ground, and then the scene with the MC appears with a narration about her loving some guy. With how they literally put Goemon before this scene… It felt as though Goemon is the said person and while it could be a very obvious plot line, I didn't want to jump the gun. It is certainly nice that there were some slight animated scene as an opening to the game!

After the OP video (which was sung by one of my fav utaite-), the game shows Rin with a friend called Oshichi. The nickname did catch me off guard since they didn't really explain it right off the bat…(if I am remembering correctly) This scene with Oshichi kind of sets the pace where the focus and setting of the game is about Hell, punishments and even 'rewards' for those in Hell for redemption etc. The premises about a 'model prisoner' is allowed to work outside of Hell is interesting. Even more interesting that there are humans in that specific section just chilling with all these 'model prisoners'. The part where Goemon suddenly pops up near Rin at the sanzu river… His personality certainly feels more hmmm how do I put it… He obviously knows who she is, more than an average Hell prisoner… he acts really nice, and then poofs off after helping her. I honestly didn't know what to make of that scene until I remembered the whole "crossing sanzu river" legend.

So basically, almost everyone in Hell kinda has a 'soft spot'(?) for Rin and also looks up to her as not just King Enma's daughter, but also because she is like a model student of sorts. Then there is a Hell Cat…kek, I mean Tamao (whom they shorten to call as just Tama throughout the series). Certainly cute, but definitely has a blind devotion to Rin// There was a tiny segment of Sensei Tama's Lecture where Tama teaches the terms used for Hell etc and I really wanted more of it but… sighhhhh I really wondered if there was a need to talk about the realms since there wasn't much exposure for the other 3. (Human, Heavenly, Starving, Asura, Hell, Beast realm) I was more interested in the different types of hell!

The first scene with King Enma made me jump because of how LOUD he is. It doesn't help with his way of speaking… ESPECIALLY WITH THE "MY SWEETIE" LEMME ROTTTT I don't completely dislike his voice, it is just… the premises and.. I was playing this game at past midnight// Sir was literally booming in my speakers while everyone else was soft- Anyways. The scene with the 4 dudes entering made me chuckle a little since it felt like a fight entry scene. The thing that stood out the most was… Goemon… no, not him but his clothes. I really wondered why was he the only one wearing that// (I STILL DO) The nicknames King Enma gave each of them made only half sense to me at the start. (Taro = Goemon, Aka = Yona, Shiro = Sharaku, Pochi = Kikunosuke) They all seemed way too obedient and Goemon was clearly acting like it was his first time EVER meeting Rin. It was heck freaky with all the guys answering so unitedly…

Nono-sensei (whose full name is Ono no Takamura) gives off the super sus vibes but not in a bad way which is later shown that he is exactly like that. I love his Angyu and Ungyu though! Remember how I said the 4 dudes was being weird? Yea, it's because it is a facade. They have also been to the human realm a few times, even as a prisoner. Which explained why they were more adapted to the things in the house etc. At this point, Rin gives off a "super sheltered ojousama" vibe, with a good moral compass(?). There are some important facts that keeps getting brought up with is Rin being a transient (a soul with no memories when they were alive, usually disappears quickly) and 'desire' (a type of..power?). These 2 feature becomes quite important in different ways in each route. As I am currently still on my 3rd route, I have to say that it is interesting how each route uses that 2 details differently from each other.

So the main mission in this game is to recapture/surveillance on some 'escapees' from Hell. (The actual person behind this is an idiot btw. Dude so cute but dumb.) After getting the explanations and some details from Nono-sensei, the 4 guys start showing their real attitude towards Rin. As much as Rin doesn't trust men, these men don't trust women either. Hence, there is a huge conflict from the start. However, it is quite interesting to note that Rin's 'hatred' is mostly due to crappy male prisoners who kept wooing her in Hell and what she has seen in Hell, but that means she herself has not experience what it is like being around men. As a transient, she doesn't even remember such feelings etc. Which is why I personally felt that she would likely drop her guard really quickly with the group. She just had some biased views without having her own experiences.

The not so mystery of the sandwich placed at her door was initially something I thought would be the trigger to choosing a route. Like maybe, I pick a dude who I think gave me that sandwich as a route LOL IT TURNED OUT TO NOT BE TRUE SINCE THE COMMON ROUTE WOULD BE TOO SHORT IF SO// What's surprising despite Rin and the men saying they don't like men/women… is that they are still very civil… Goemon with Coffee… Kiku with onigiri… Sharaku cleaning… Yona…….. Yona with……………what does he do? Anyways, they also each briefly reveal bits and pieces of their past life, except Goemon. It is clear that eventhough it SEEMED like he was also sharing something about himself, there are mostly things that others had already known/open and public information since he was famous. There are also times where he is clearly helping out Rin with voicing out things in a way that the other guys would understand etc. Man legit made me so confused on whether he is a good guy or not… but his face is…

Moving on, finding out that Kamuro, the being with the highest position in the Heaven realm was the reason why/how some prisoners were able to escape Hell…….. Dude deserves a punch tbh, the main charas are being way too civil about this. I mean, they did kinda verbally abuse Kamuro at every chance LOL We then get a bit more information about the situation etc and stumbled upon a male kiddo (Fujimori Shin) who was about to be mugged and the gang saves him lol. I guess this the scene where Rin seeing them in a slightly better light. I MEAN, JUST BECAUSE THEY ARE IN HELL DOESNT NECESSARILY MEAN THEY ARE BAD, RIGHT RIGHT RIGHT- ……

I'll be honest, I'm getting a little lazy to continue with talking about the common route ヾ(´〇`)ﾉ

Oh! Gotta talk about the AMAZING ONSEN (yes, that means some naked torso for sure-) The fabulous onsen that can heal any injury if it is within 24hrs! I want one too… (￣▽￣) To showcase the wonders of this miraculous onsen, they have their first battle against uhhh Asaemon who is quite literally the guard for Shinobikuni. Ofc, the team lost! This was all in play for them to use the Hell onsen in their house backyard to heal~ Although their injuries were healed, their bruised ego and pride did not… so Kiku and Yona kinda decided to slack off lol Then they got scolded badly by Sharaku since they put sand in the living room. I actually like the scene of them doing grocery shopping and having a barbeque at the rooftop. They may not fully trust each other yet, but it definitely seem like they are taking the first step! THE CG IS GORGEOUS IN THIS SCENE. The following part where they all start to actually buy things to decorate their own rooms is pretty cute. Despite saying they wouldn't listen to Rin, they started getting stuff when she told them they could.

Around ch.6? is when the plot thickens! Root Joudo mobile app, an application that will allow you to be pardoned from going to hell! AS LONG AS YOU PAY A FORTUNE! Damn, this is scamming on a whole other level… I was going to say it sounded so stupidly crazy until I realised that the premises of this game is that those living in Asakusa knows of Hell's existence and also 'model prisoners'. I have to say that the thing that caught me off guard was that Azamin is Kiku's sister… cause I thought they just happened to look similar… We also get the naked torso scene………………….. NO BUT WHY DOES SHARAKU HAVE SUCH TONED ABS TOO??? Anyways, Rin slowly gains a bit of her memory from her past? It's quite vague, but it's something. Nono-sensei and King Enma also begins to reveal what Rin's 'desire' is, where it is located and how she can utilise it for combat against the escapees. …yea, her's is on the tongue. I was sincerely wondering where she gotta lick to use it- Moving on, the gym room in the house was hilarious to me. IT FELT SO MODERN XD The onsen scene of Rin with the other guys were…..ummmmmm IDC how to say it, but it was…ok……….? Not too bad since they all conversed and teased each other. It's the part with Hari - a spirit in Rin's phone - who keeps track of their 'blood bond' aka trust between each guy and Rin. Pretty interesting set up since it really only shows the trust bond, not really the 'affection' rate. It's not very linear, but a good gauge of how close Rin is to the love interest.

✺◟( • ω • )◞✺ LONG STORY SHORT! I love the pacing! It didn't feel that long despite having 7 chapters. There's quite enough data/info to move on with a route, and each characters have their distinct traits which makes them distinguishable. Even the side characters such as Azamin, Shinobikuni, Asaemon, Fujimori, etc. Plot and setting of the game is quite interesting as it is a full mixture of fantasy, lore, modern, etc.

Regarding the characters… Rin: Maybe due to her being a transient, she definitely seem super clueless with some basic stuff lol. Her obsession of saying she hates men definitely stemmed from only what she has heard and seen in Hell, with 0 self experience to back it. However, despite this, I like that she does admit when she is in the wrong and wants to be better.

Goemon: …THE ONLY THING I CAN TALK ABOUT IS HIS CLOTHES? LIKE BRUH? YOU ARENT COLD? YOU DON'T HAVE CLOTHES? WHY? Like… his super casual shirt at home looks good, but he mostly wears that…garb with little cloth… Besides talking about his clothes, as I've mentioned, Goemon subtly helps Rin when she is unable to properly convey something to the other three. He is also quite elusive when talking about himself. He knows he is famous and he goes along with it, but without revealing anything too personal. He does occasionally let slip some stuff later on// I'm just pissed the game had that very last scene of him saying he loves Rin. GDI STOP TOYING WITH ME.

Yona: uh…. hmmmm Ok, I initially did kinda characterised him as muscle brained Mineo (CxM). Yona's personality felt really close to Kiku's at the beginning since they are both quite vocally straightforward. However, he just has a lot of pride. I'm genuinely interested in knowing who exactly he was when he was still alive, since I am not well versed with his story basis.

Sharaku: I DISLIKE HIMMMM- was my first thought since I generally do not like 'sexually foul mouth' characters. Although he seem as though he speaks straightforwardly, his words always sound like sarcasm or laced with some hidden meaning. Basically, he feels like someone I gotta peel all the layers to understand even if the bulb inside is essentially similar/close to the outer layer.

Kikunosuke: My first thought was "why does this VA somehow always voice charas of this type…" Anyways, Kiku and Yona are quite similar, but I thought Kiku would be the 'quieter' version. However, he isn't LOL Maybe it is because he died really young? That's why he still has that child innocence, especially when it comes to things he likes. Adorable but aint my type-

Pacing of the common route was great, it kept me intrigued and invested that I went on to play a route right after.

✿Hiroki's rating: 8.5/10✿

Thank you for reading! ☆’.･.･:★’.･.･:☆’.･.･:★’.･.･:☆’.･.･:★’.･.･:☆

[otomebanshou]

Opinionated piece on Tengoku Struggle -Strayside-

Below is a very opinionated piece based on my feelings after completing Tengoku Struggle Strayside. Please do not take any of my comments to heart, I just like to ramble and get things off my chest to throw into the void of the internet. Enjoy.

SPOILERS DISCUSSED!!!

Let’s start off with strong feelings. I didn’t like the game. 4/10, I may give it a 5 just for Sharaku being the saving grace of the game to be generous. I was always with the crowd that was down for some longer routes for love interests. This game put that to test for me with 12 chapters (13 for Goemon) for the boys and god damn did it wear me out.

So let’s move on to that. The game is way too fucking long for its own good. Not in a good way is it long, it’s way too damn fluffed up with pointless shit and beating around the bush. I could barely spend quality time that mattered with literally all the guys because the route wanted to push it’s very subpar plotline. 

The plot is atrocious. Not as bad as Charade Maniacs but honestly it was just as insulting. “We need to get the bad guys who escaped hell! …but we can’t fight them.” is honestly a really stupid plot. They had me going for a second, hopeful, that based on how things went down in Sharaku’s route (my first route) that it was all just leading up to a pokemon battle with the route’s villain and Rin was the pokemon trainer. Me, playing it at the time, when I got to the fights with Asaemon, I thought “oh ok! Maybe this is how the game is going to go, that’s cool I guess!” Boy was I fucking wrong. The game doesn’t know where it fucking wants to go other than beat around the bush for 90% of the chapters. 

The routes honestly would’ve been better off at 7 each, 8 for Goemon I guess. Like I said, a lot of the routes spend a majority of the time beating around the bush especially when it comes to feelings and where the fuck the plot is trying to go. Or maybe you’re Kiku and you are bitching and moaning about your sister who hates your guts for 11 chapters. No seriously his route can literally be summarized by: Kiku: Azami! Stop helping the bad guys! 🙁 Azami: ew no I hate you! Kiku: 🙁

Meanwhile, Yona and Sharaku had some of the better routes, developments, and just overall better everything. It doesn’t save the game for me however. It still left me feeling “wtf is the plot actually trying to be” for the entire time. But to give some praise, Yona is a very interesting character and his love for novels, including smutty ones, was a very nice touch that leaves me feeling very fond of him! Sharaku was just wonderful and I really enjoyed how deeply sweet his gestures for Rin were.

JacK, I love you but your route (and your personality) is a bit all over the place. I somehow felt like ranking him as my number 2 because, honestly I don’t know, I just liked him? He definitely had me on a rollercoaster of what the fuck is going on because he’s just so hot and cold and I still don’t really have a grip on who JacK REALLY is. But, like everything else, I’m blaming the writers here.

Finally, Goemon. Disa-fucking-pointing. LOL. He’s not as bad as Kiku, but lmfao, the common route hinted at the fated lovers trope, like a very typical otomate game. Fine ok, I ADORED Akaza so I had some hope. Some faith. DASHED!!!! Goemon is somewhat cute at the very least, questionably obsessed with himself that he kinda sweeps under the rug and never really talks about again, and he’s well liked. But that last part made him kinda boring to be honest. My main issue with him is the route sucked!! Rin and Goemon LITERALLLLLLYY beat around the bush about this whole “I loved you in the previous life” for ELEVEN CHAPTERS. It’s not even like rewarding. Goemon KNOWS and Rin doesn’t. I thought in like chapter 4 or 5 this shit would get cleared up and they’d build into something really amazing. Nah bro Goemon is just like “yeah uwu i really loved this dango shop, the girl there was beautiful uwu” and Rin spends nearly EVERY chapter going “god i wish i was the dango shop, the dango girl, hell the dango he ate ;_;” and Goemon kinda just.. Lets it happen which I found absolutely annoying LOL. I think the only real positive I have for this is Sharaku was funny, no shocker he’s funny in every route, and Goemon’s VA is really good, because otherwise I was really bored. My face when it said: chapter 13 PLEASE JUST END IT PLEASEE I DON’T WANNA KEEP PLAYING THIS SHIT

ALSO THE WRITERS PUSHED IN A RAPE SUBPLOT AND A OUT OF NOWHERE “BETRAYAL(????)” AND IT WAS SO BAD LMFAO like holy moly I felt nothing for that part other than “yup there it is, that's the shit they love to do for no fucking reason WHAT SO EVERRRR”

Ok, we are nearing the end I promise.

Side characters? They ranged from pretty cool to what the fuck is the point of you. 

The coolest? Asaemon, and the couple that I forget the name of. I also kinda like Shin.

Azami is pretty mid tbh. She’s just a bratty girl. Nothing really new.

Shinobikuni is the most disappointing villain? Like she literally… did nothing. Lmao @ the ending where she just kinda lets Goemon win without a fight like “lol you got me i guess!”

Lol Mukkun wtf, the whole betrayal was so short lived it lasted like 2 minutes before it just… moved on… and changed the villain… LOL…………………

And then the white haired dude I forgot the name of. He was actually ok until… yeah lmfao wtf. I honestly couldn’t really even be mad at him because it just was such a sudden and weird choice that I just… didn’t feel anything. I was more mad at the TERRIBLE decision here. And so fucking out of nowhere like why? Actually I know why, it’s only purpose was to cause shock and I’m so disappointed.

The characters who stole the show are obviously King Enma and Mr. Corporate slave. XD They were the most enjoyable and honestly very intriguing of the cast. Always bringing humor to the table and overall brightening up my glum mood from a shitload of pointless text that brought nothing to the table. King Enma was a delight, I wish his presence was more prominent in the game.

Now, Rin.

She’s honestly just ok. The eventual background information about her that you get, obviously, from Goemon’s route was ok. I was kinda with it but that was ruined by how Goemon’s route ended up. Sometimes I really liked Rin then other times I was kinda bored with her. Not that she’s bad or I think she’s a deadpan MC, just… I don’t know, I didn’t really end up loving her. She was just ok. The whole man hating thing makes sense now but I feel more bad for her in the sense I can’t believe the writers just did that to her randomly. I don’t think I’ll ever be over it.

I forgot the cat. He was ok I guess. I wasn’t crazy about him. Did chuckle a few times at the dick biting jokes tho.

Last thing, I did *most* of the memory stuff extras, but tbh after Goemon’s bullshit route, I was just so fed up with the game I skipped about the last 25% of them. I completed them by force skipping. I just couldn’t anymore with the game. It was already so long and I was so drained by the game’s refusal to just.. End things.

So yeah. 4/10, other people will probably like it. I also didn’t really think Birushana was a very interesting game, but a lot of people really like Birushana. So, to each their own. I'm happy the game was localized and am thankful for everyone who worked on the game!

That’s it! If you read this far, you get a gold star sticker from me and I’m sorry for my opinionated piece/rant. lol

[faceclxims]

[giggly-squiggily]

{Puffs are now CLOSED!}

~Squiggily's choice~

Because I've recently finished Tengoku Struggle and needed to write for my favorite boy! :D

CW: Swearing, some suggestive humor (if you played TS, it's a given with Sharaku)

“Lord Shiro is ticklish!” Tamao could be a real snitch when he wanted to be.

“Oh?” Rin’s brows raised, eyes turning to the mentioned man before her.

“Tama, you son of a-” Sharaku called after him, glaring at the retreating tail turning the corner. “He’s not getting brushed by me anymore- I hope he enjoyed it while he co-ohohould! Oi! He danced away from her curious pokes, covering his side. “Rin!”

“I want to tickle you.” She smiled and raised her fingers, eyes shining at his reddening face. “Tama wouldn’t lie to me, so it must be true!”

“You really want to touch me that bad, huh? Can’t say I blame you.” He grinned at her, trying to fluster her. When that didn’t work, he fell back into the wall. “500 ryo upfront.”

“You’re really going to charge your girlfriend? After all the times you’ve tickled me?” She was within touching range now, fingers poised and ready to strike at any moment. “If you don’t want me to do it, I’ll back off. Seriously- just say the word.”

Sharaku looked conflicted, hands raised defensively as he averted his gaze. Rin had a feeling what he’d pick, but waited patiently for him to speak.

“Well…if it’s you, I suppose I don’t mind..” He finally caught her eye, yelping when she feigned a poke. His knees gave out as he hit the ground, Rin’s giggles filling the air. “Come on, I wasn’t ready!”

“Sorry, sorry! Hehehe, are you ready now?”

“Sure-Wait, I lihihihihied! I lihihied, hhoohohld ohohohhoohn! Shihiihhihit!” Sharaku let out a string of giggly curses and swears as her fingers found his ribs, focusing on the highest ones as he curled up in a half-ball. “Rihihihihin, wahhahahait!”

“Okay.” She did as asked, watching him take a few shaky breaths. “Ready now?”

“Eheh..ehehhe..okay-Ehheheheheehe! I wahahhaasn’t prehehehpared!” He yelped when she attacked him once more, lips pulling into a reluctant grin as he shrank tighter into himself. “Hohohohld ohohohohn, hohohohld ohohoohn!”

“You’re not very good at being tickled, huh?” She giggled as she paused once more, watching him groan and push back his bangs. “Safe word is broom. Can you remember that?”

“Oohoh, safe words. How Ki-Ehehehahahahaha!” He squeaked when she grabbed his sides. “Fihihihine, fihihihne I’ll rehehehemember it!”

“Good.” Rin nodded, eyes twinkling. “Hope you’re prepared, Sharaku- you’ve got quite the tickle debt to pay back!”