-SPOILER FREE ZONE!-
Everyone knows shojo titles like Kamisama Kiss and Inuyasha that draw on details of Japanese folklore while maintaining a mostly modern-day timeline and romance.
I have to admit I was reticent at first when I heard that AG was a game about folklore creatures in a modern-day world setting, but the game veered in a direction different from what I had expected, and that was quite refreshing.
AG makes use of themes such as the nostalgia of a simple suburban/countryside lifestyle, family and homely settings (in particular, eating together), simple folk traditions, and to some extent, time and the mystic.
Romance-wise it was better in some routes than others, at least in my opinion since I've read quite a number of reviews that liked every character's romance. I just thought that some characters had better motivations than others, and some characters had more chemistry with the heroine than others.
In my opinion, lots of things make up for the romance that was a little lacking. Things such as plot, art, characterisation/character development, music, setting and overall charm.
The overall plot only ties together at the last route, but it is a good plot nonetheless.
Individual artworks of each character ranged from 'meh, okay' to 'wow that is BEAUTIFUL', so in a nutshell, none of them sucked and all were pretty much above average. There was a sweet bit of fanservice in the extra chapters you get from completing the game though. I quite liked those.
Characterisation was good because most characters have solid, believable motivations, including the heroine, and even if they didn't have superb motivations they at least had unique personalities that fit in with the rest of the cast.
The BGM was good, and quite to my personal taste - generally quiet, tranquil, traditional in some parts. It communicated the mood of the game quite well, but I didn't think the BGM was inserted perfectly with some scenes; either they didn't quite fit the situation/ voice acting, or were too loud above the voices for some reason. That really didn't bother me too much though.
The biggest charm factor of this game, I believe, is really the fact that it happens in a charming location that I assume will evoke nostalgia in many people - a peaceful, lovely and quiet valley town complete with a shrine, river, local nature, etc. etc. away from the noise, stress, and whatnot.
The building designs are generally quite rustic and non-cosmopolitan, which I quite like:
The setting generally facilitates the game's attempt to foster a family-oriented perspective of simplicity, helping and being kind to your neighbours and friends, and other things like boy-next-door/familiar stranger/local acquaintance feels.
I've gotta say though, the game's pretty expensive last I checked (£55+/USD $75), which, no matter how charming I thought it was, wasn't really worth its price. I would pay USD $45 at most, in all blunt honesty. However, if you have the cash and won't feel the sting for sure, then you should really try this game.
My recommended playthrough order is: Uta>Hagi>Suou>Yomi>Manatsu>Asagi, because plot. I like plot, lol. And I wouldn't recommend taking a detour from the plot in this game.
.......Aaaaaaand here is my spoiler-present commentary! So go play/watch a playthrough before you read the following.
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I enjoyed that little thing where the sakura tree in the title page wilts a little after every playthrough, which I noticed but didn't pay much heed to at first.
(first versus second playthrough!)
Personally, I enjoyed the relationships Rin had with all characters, but the romances felt somewhat weak in general, because it was difficult to buy the attraction between Rin and the character in point in some routes.
(the scene where he randomly comes into ponpokorin to sleep and asks to use her lap as a pillow creeped tf out of me she is 16 and he is 25 wtf!)
Most of the efforts spent in making the game seem to have gone into the art and the plot. The art was very good in general, so I don't have any complaints. The plot was tied well from start to end, but it does have some serious holes that are difficult to gloss over.
I was confused af in the beginning about Rin's relationship with Gin. The assumption I get after playing the whole thing is that he's supposed to be a surrogate father/family friend kind of guy, but again, this bit was iffy, even when he had Tsuzuri. I think the game could've made their relationship as guardian/ward clearer and solidify the strictly, only familial bond they have with each other.
Another thing is that the problem of Ayakashi + human just somehow doesn't work itself out very well. We all know that ayakashi will outlive their human lovers, but so much emphasis is placed on this and not much of a solution is given that it gets a little pointless to keep pointing it out, especially in Uta/Yomi's route. I gotta admit I was secretly hoping at some point that Gin was actually Rin's father or something so she'd be a halfie like Tsuzuri cause then they'd be siblings and why her mother didn't come back with her or didn't let her go back for as long as she lived would make sense. Or better, Rin's some kind of ayakashi herself and so it makes sense for her to always stay in Momiji Village. Realistically and objectively however, that wasn't very likely anyway.
Because of all this stuff, I couldn't help but feel that despite my great personal bias towards the very poignant character of Asagi, the best match for Rin was Haginosuke because a) he's human and b) he's gonna inherit the shrine and its duties, making Rin a good match for him too. High school sweethearts! Makes simple sense for a rural location like Momiji too, imo. Thing is, I know Manatsu's human too and he can see ayakashi but I couldn't really buy the Manatsu + Rin pairing and so it was too cringy for my personal taste.
I gotta say I think the biggest hole in general is that Rin doesn't return to the village each summer after her first great one, which, although most people could close one eye to this, it weakens the potential romance between her and all of the characters.
If it was canon that Rin came back to the village every summer, her absolutely cheerful and positive personality in the ayakashi route would be 100% believable. She would've developed a close relationship with Gin as a familial presence just as her grandma and this bond would only strengthen when Mafuyu and Sumi passed away.
Tsuzuri would've been the little brother she always loved and cherished and spoiled during those summers she came, perhaps, and so the eventual realisation of the poor child's demise would be more meaningful.
She would've known Manatsu from a young age and establish their relationship early - she would think of him as the older brother she's always wanted at first, but this would change in his route, and it would make sense to her why he's always tried to distance himself as only a brother to her all these years.
She would've become acquainted with Uta and Yomi when they first came to be as ayakashi, and develop somewhat of a childhood friendship with them like they were the local playground kids, and also her protectors, and so there would be more potential to resolve the ayakashi-human problem that's always stood between them because they've known this problem from a long time back anyways so it's finally time that they thought of how to move on.
She might have ran into Haginosuke a couple of times though whether or not this happened it wouldn't affect their relationship in the present time so much - at most she would call him by his first name rather than his last in the ayakashi route.
Suou would be the cat she likes to play with every now and then when it came by Ponpokorin - and she wouldn't have to know he was actually an ayakashi until she enrols in the school.
Asagi wouldn't exist until she was 16, but then, that would add to the mystery factor of the stranger she had never met until now but feels affection towards for some reason, not knowing that it is because he is the embodiment of all nostalgia, innocence, memories and happiness of the place she loves so much. His fondness and will to protect her, as well as his eventual love for her, also becomes more believable, significant and meaningful since he would've known of her annual visits to the village, how happy she was, and how much she loves the village. The realisation at the end that the whole village was wiped out would crush her as much as it did to Gin, but them being there for each other and the other 12 ayakashi would make the resolution of saving the village a great exploit indeed at the cost of all the memories she had built up over the last 10 years.
On the other hand, such developments would cause problems like how it would be impossible for her to be always gloomy, and so the human route wouldn't have a good reason to exist. The question, however, is, must it? Why do we have to have the extremes anyway? The game could've gone for a compromise - that the selection of choices during the childhood chapter could just make her gravitate towards different characters and have a different personality rather than throwing us all into two entirely different routes. Instead of 'human' and 'ayakashi', we could've had 'snow' and 'shine' or 'blue' and 'pink' or just anything that had to do with her different personalities rather than 'human' and 'ayakashi', which I didn't really get what the point of the difference was anyway since she accepts and falls in love with both ayakashi and humans in both routes.
I dunno. If I could alter the plot of AG, I would do the following:
During the year her father suddenly and randomly passed away, Rin goes to live with Grandma Sumi that summer because her mom needs time to work stuff out. The sudden passing of her dad changed her life and made her the way she is during the childhood chapter - kind of scared, lonely, afraid and hesitant, her familial household having been robbed from her.
Her response to Gin during that summer triggers the two different routes, except!!
If she goes on the human route, she never goes back to Momiji until Gin comes for her because she couldn't accept the way they lived together and couldn't reconcile her guilt and fear and so chose to stay alone all this while although she always knew she could go back. Eventually when her mother passes away, the story goes as per normal and she mends her relationship with Gin although she never really finds out the truth behind Momiji Village.
If she goes on the ayakashi route, she goes back to Momiji every year and whatever I said earlier happens, except that in the summer of when she is 16, her mother passes away suddenly and so she goes away for a number of weeks to mourn the loss of her mother, at first accompanied by Gin who goes in Sumi's stead. During this time, the landslide happens without her knowing but because Gin returns earlier than her, he finds out everything and decides to hide everything in order to relieve himself of his great sadness, but also save Rin from knowing that right after her mother's death, the village got destroyed and now she has lost everything. Rin, without knowing this has happened, decides to move on and return to the village.
Upon her return to the village, everything is the same as before, except that Asagi, the tree spirit, has suddenly now come to life. Of course, like Haginosuke, Rin notices the sakura tree is suddenly blooming out of season, but doesn't question it since she brushes it off as regular ayakashi stuff.
And then, the main story unfolds, and the chapters for each character gets embellished accordingly. How's that sound for a change?
All in all, Asagi's route punched such an unhealable hole into my heart which made me pull my hair in sadness and frustration at how LOTS of things could be resolved in better ways that would still maintain the innocence, poignancy and nostalgic feels that Ayakashi Gohan strives to evoke. On a positive note, however, the game managed to make me reflect and think this much because I was very in love with its concept of family, nostalgia, innocence, and the charm of rural mystic and peace. I will definitely be thinking about this for some time while rewatching the opening movie, which imo has the most feels in the main guitar theme and is one of the best openings movies of otome games I have ever seen. I shall leave you a clip of that opening movie, which was confusing af at first then becomes sad af once you understand everything T_T
