RECOMMENDED
Warning: Game has 18+ Scenes
When we think of visual novel classics, we find that most of them have had, or are more broadly known by their anime adaptations. From titles such as CLANNAD, Fate/Stay Night, and Steins;Gate, these are some of the most critically acclaimed VNs yet it is their anime adaptations that made them explode in popularity. Thanks to that, by the early 2010s it seemed that an anime adaptation was the ultimate goal for these stories to achieve maximum success. Enter Majikoi. A wacky almost cartoonish fun coming-of-age story that plays wonderfully to the strengths of its medium. A game whose popularity and acclaim spread through word of mouth rather than its anime adaptation which is as memorable as the Tsukihime’s.
We play as Naoe Yamato, the tactician of the Kazama family. A group of friends so close, even though they’re in high school they still do everything together. As if the very idea of drifting apart one day has never entered their minds. They care about each other wholeheartedly, and are the main motivation behind any actions one of them takes. They put the group’s feelings and well-being first to the annoyance of some, detriment of others, and most importantly to the hilarity of the audience. When they have fun, they have to do it flashily, and go all-out throwing the rules of reality out the window. Whether it’s beating world-class martial artists daily with one punch, or teaming up with the prime minister of Japan and a fighting robot/maid to win a competition, there is never a dull moment around these guys. One day Yamato is invited to the Monkey Banquet, a secret event only privy to some of the students at his school. When the time finally arrives, we realize its an underground auction where one student, The King, sells his photographs of the female students to anyone willing to buy. We, sadly, realize what some of the members of the Kazama family have been doing in their free time, but also learn why the most perverted student in class (who has never tried to hide it) is running this show. He is called The King because if the school or the authorities catch them, he agreed to take full responsibility. The craziness doesn’t seem to end. Just when they pull a stunt like this they follow it up with something crazier making you wonder what just happened or what were reading in the first place. The best part is that all of this is happening and you’ll have the biggest smile on your face just waiting for that extra bit of ludicrosity to arrive. When I was young we had a secret base, these people have a secret building!
Majikoi takes place in a mix between a highly advanced city (one that has robots fighting each other as a daily occurrence), and a peaceful student dorm reminiscent of the rural countryside. There we watch as the Kazama family grow closer with their new members Yukie and Christina with the latter especially becoming a target for Yamato’s endless teasing which also became one of my favorite activities as well.
Telling me and hopefully many other people that this game was written by the author of Akame ga Kill would’ve killed any interest we had in playing it. But just like Jun Maeda, Takahiro found his calling. He finally found a medium he could thrive in. Expanding the world and adding to it without having to sacrifice the pacing throughout. Majikoi’s pacing is masterful with every step drawing us further into its labyrinth of stories and relationships. It is so rich in content and characters, and continues introducing main characters even during the final route of the game without any of them losing characterizations or feeling rushed. I never wanted it to end. No, the story refused to end! Always assuring me that my patience will be rewarded, and that I’ll be coming back for more where it will have plenty to give me.
There are 5 main routes in Majikoi, and many other sub-routes. In addition to unlocking an unexpectedly long and amazing… well let’s leave that secret for future players. Each route has a completely different story, each with their own mix of high school hijinks and real world trauma. Here is where Majikoi shines through as a visual novel. Other games will include a very long common route, and a handful of decisions that let you decide which story to choose with very few differences between them. Majikoi though, has an early introduction section that counts as the common route then has you hang out with the girl of your choosing before delving headfast into their respective stories. You never feel like you are retreading the same ground again because each story is unique (a style I wish more visual novels would learn from). I love that the number of times you need to hand out with a girl is based on how much she likes Yamato at the beginning of the story.
The characters of in this game are its main draw. Each having their own mix of quirky and eccentric mannerisms. There is Mayucchi (cute new nickname for Yukie) who has conversations with her cell phone strap which is possessed by a spirit (although the other members just think she is putting on a ventriloquist act… but what do they know…), Momoyo the female version of Yuujiro Hanma destroying others with so much as a flex of her muscle, the Kouki conglomerate a family that refers to themselves in the 3rd person as one entity and never breaking character, etc… There are so many more. There are too many more!!! The school is filled to the brink with wonderful premium characters just waiting for the player to engage with. All of this wouldn’t have been such a memorable experience without the character designs of the illustrator, Wagi. They are a mix between anime aesthetic and adult Tom and Jerry. They are so full of life and bursting with energy. Hundreds of expressions and sprites exist in this game and its endless spin-offs. These characters will stick with you even after the game is long over. If not for their design, then for their personality. If not their personality, then their story. If not, then their relationship with Yamato. There is always something. Careful with the your choices though, if you fail too much, you might end up dating your pet crabs.
Majikoi is the penultimate friendship adventure. This is the final form of the power of friendship trope that anime and shounen manga have been trying and failing to reach for decades. It has deus ex machina, unbalanced power scaling, and ludicrous abilities, but while other stories stumble upon these issues, try to hide them, try the audience’s patience, and then insult them further by continuously using them, Majikoi wears them as a badge of honor, and puts them at the forefront of its appeal. The game has been out for more than a decade now, and what more is there to say. It has been reviewed and talked about to death. Its popularity spread through word of mouth and its status as a classic in the medium is a testament to how good it is. Almost fifteen years now and the game is still being recommended and commended daily. It is a shame that it has to fall short of being a perfect experience due to the author’s rape fantasy and a sad story blunder that needlessly damaged its pacing later on during its final act.
One of the routes has Yamato perform a despicable act on the girl he likes to “prove his love for her.” This results in the worst scene in the game leading both Yamato and his love interest to act out of character to satisfy the author’s fetish. What’s worse is that after the fact the game disregards anything wrong with the scene and both characters neither discuss it, nor does the game raise questions about it. This scene is a stain upon the game. It made me wish what was happening on the screen was just a dream. But it’s something the story can never wash off (not that ever seemed bothered by it) knowing that it didn’t do its characters any favors, and presented them in the worst way it could’ve only to appease the author’s growing kinks.
Majikoi has tons of spin-offs and sequels that I can’t wait to get into, and I hope they are all as good as the base game. The comfy cozy atmosphere of its world, residents, and the kazama family won’t be leaving me any time soon. I sincerely hope the rest of the series get localized and even more people discover them.
It is often said that when we were young we all went outside and played together for the last time, but none of us knew it. The true magic of this game is drawing out those emotions of nostalgia and making us relive them while playing. The game isn’t being sly about its manipulation, but its offer of nostalgia and childhood innocence are so strong we throw ourselves at it with open arms. We allow ourselves to be manipulated. We want that safety net we had as kids when we thought we had life figured out, and when everyday was as magical as Majikoi made it seem. I saw myself in there. Me and cousins during that final game of hide-and-seek when we got called in early because it was time to eat, now I wistfully wish we stayed out just a few more seconds…