数乱digit

Completion date: February 7, 2026

I actually have not heard of this game during its release in the PSA era but came across the PV for the 10th year anniversary Switch port announcement. I’ve always liked anime with a “Fate”-theme where people from distinct factions/classes battle each other. Hence, I added this game immediately to my cart as it’s especially rare to see this topic in an otome game.

Suuran Digit does not have any locked routes, but would have benefitted from route-locking as you will be spoiled the entire game if you start with Ousuke or Yuuhi. Recommended play order and my own was:

Takagi (6) > Meguru (9) > Keitarou (7) > Mitsu (2) > Ousuke (1) > Yuuhi (4)

Yuuhi is the truth route and spoils entire game’s premise if you play his first.

Click me to go to final thoughts

Pros:

• Intriguing setting
• Fast-paced story without major plot holes
• Headstrong and smart heroine who stands up for and has the ability to protect others
• Lots of extra content that complements the main story and adds to the romance that is missing from certain routes

Cons:

• Art was mid with many CGs on the simpler side
• Chuunibyou plot. You either like or dislike the game’s setting and how dramatic the characters act.
• Trigger warnings: Bullying (Meguru), self-harm and psychopathy (Keitarou)
• Very few choices
• The same content is classified as new and unskippable in different routes

**All my reviews contain spoilers.**

Common Route

Our protagonist Reizaki Hiroka is an orphan who lost her parents to a traffic accident. However, she sometimes has dreams of a fire with her parents’ voice. She is fearful of fire as a result. She was raised by a family friend Muraki Yatsugu, who acted as her father figure, in the countryside. When Hiroka was 17, Yatsugu tells her that he got a new job at the prestigious Soyogi Academy. She becomes a transfer student there and meets the various successors of the infamous “suuke” – “number families” which govern all of Japan. At school, members of suuke are viewed as absolute rulers, with even the teachers having the bow to their will.

Hiroka sees Godai Tomoe (voiced by Takahashi Hiroki btw, not romanceable) of the “fifth” family bullying Shikata Yuuhi of the “fourth” family in the name of “inquisition” on behalf of the school council. She stands up to Tomoe and suddenly, the kanji “zero” is burned onto her left hand.

Tomoe gets excited and says with the arrival of “zero”, finally the digit war (“suuransen”) can commence. Without clearly explaining the rules to a confused Hiroka, he teleports the two into a different domain, throws a Japanese sword in her hand, and demands to fight her. At this time, Mitsu from the “second” family appears and defends Hiroka this time.

Mitsu explains the rules of “digit war” to Hiroka:

• The last digit war was 300 years ago (the sixth war). However, the “zero” family committed a crime and was extinguished. With the “zero” family absent, no further digit wars were held. The “first” family remained the ruling class of Japan since then.
• Hiroka’s arrival is an anomaly as it is thought that there are no survivors of the “zero” family. However, she now completes the conditions to trigger the seventh digit war, which has begun.
• Members can duel each other with their own family’s swords in the virtual zone that Tomoe took Hiroka to. After a certain period, the ranking of the numbers will determine the ranking of their respective families in Japan. The top-ranked number is called “Soyogi” (same name as the school), which is held by the “first” family at this time.
• The “zero” sword is missing since the sixth war. Hiroka uses the “tenth” sword as a tenth family was selected to replace “zero” and support the digit war. However, nobody from the tenth family were ever selected to participate (did not have kanji on their left hands).
• The number swords do not cause actual damage to their opponents. However, their opponents still feel the pain of being slashed.
• People cannot refuse challenges from lower-ranking numbers.
• Currently, the five top ranked members form the student council whose orders are absolute in this school. The rest four formed a club called “suuken” (math club).

We then quickly meet all of the suuke. First impressions are as follows:

Ousuke (1): The absolute leader of the school, never losing in any kind of competition. He has taken a special interest in Hiroka as she is an “anomaly”.

Mitsu (2): Nice boy who looks out for Hiroka.

Sanga Rihoko (3): A very pretty girl who is also ranked high among the suuke. She seems to have a special hatred towards all men but treats Hiroka kindly and stands up for her.

Yuuhi (4): Ranked last in the suuke. He is interested in the occult, supernatural things and usually gloomy and aloof. And very scared, like all the time.

Tomoe (5): All this guy wants to do is fight. And not very smart.

Takagi (6): He is tall and very quiet. His family is known for their pacifist nature, as they believe conflict leads to nothing good.

Keitarou (7): He helped Hiroka with directions on her first day and seems friendly and approachable.

Hachizawa (8) twins: An (darkness, brother) and Mei (light, sister). Mei is serious and the one who usually participates in the digit war while An goofs around and tries to pick up girls.

Meguru (9): He takes the role of right-hand man of Ousuke very seriously. Perhaps too seriously. To everyone else, he is extremely arrogant and bullies others, including Hiroka and members of the math club. He is also Hiroka’s desk mate in the same class.

Tomoe, under Meguru’s orders, continues on with his “inquisition” and eventually bullies Hiroka’s new friend, Touno Shizuku. Having had enough of Tomoe and Meguru’s tyranny, Hiroka stands up for Shizuku and challenges Tomoe to a duel, with the condition that if she wins, Tomoe has to stop bullying others. Initially, Tomoe is dominating the fight. However, Hiroka’s resolve to protect others shines through and she beats Tomoe, surprising all of the suuke as power-wise Tomoe is much stronger.

Tomoe agrees to not cause trouble to Shizuku or any other members. As a result, Hiroka becomes number 5 and Tomoe drops to last place. The math club and student council both fight over Hiroka. In the end we have the option to select which we want to join.

Regardless of which organization Hiroka joins, members of the club will take her to the library that is only open to suuke. There, Hiroka reads that her ancestor of the “zero/Reizaki” family used a woman as hostage and attempted to force the Ichizono (1) ancestor away from the position of Soyogi. However, the Reizaki ancestor was defeated and the family killed for their transgressions in the digit war. Hence, the zero family is no more.

Finally, I recommend everyone read the 20 something extra stories as they have CGs and are all entertaining. Some are extensions of good endings. Some feature side characters. Some feature characters going to Yatsugu for relationship advice

Rokuhira Takagi (CV: Okitsu Kazuyuki)

If you are like me and expected Okitsu’s voice you are going to be so disappointed as Takagi barely talks in this route. The first half was him going “……”. This is the route that is farthest from the truth of the game.

The Rokuhira family are known pacifists. From a young age, Takagi was told by his father to not participate in any kind of competition, as “when there is conflict, someone will get hurt.” Hence, whenever he gets challenged, he just concedes and doesn’t really care about where his ranking is. He is so averse to competition to the point that he doesn’t go to physical education class or participate in the annual school sports meeting.

Takagi tells Hiroka that he’s only let emotions get the better of him once this life, and caused a conflict with someone, yet he regrets it so much he will never do it again. When asked to elaborate, he says, “I killed my friend.”

Taking this literally, Hiroka is scared and assumes he must have literally took someone’s life, and swept it under the rug given he is suuke after all. Talking to Rihoko, she recalls that while they were in middle school, Takagi fought with someone and caused a bit of commotion, but unfortunately don’t know the details of that.

In the math club, Takagi is known for cooking delicious “barbecue onigiri”. He actually often sets up his stove in front of the residence building. One day on her way home, Hiroka sees him setting fire and gets scared because Hiroka is instinctively scared of fire. Taking note of this, Takagi quietly stops setting fire in front of the school building to avoid frightening Hiroka. He also tells Hiroka that “we are more similar than we think.”

Takagi sees Hiroka being bullied by a few girls who held a lighter to her face. To everyone’s surprise, he stepped in and stopped these girls, even though this is “seeking conflict”. When Hiroka asks him why, he says it’s because she helped Yuuhi, and that he knows she is especially afraid of fire.

Tomoe challenges Takagi to suuransen. Knowing Takagi dislikes conflict, Hiroka steps in and volunteers to fight on his behalf. In fact, she declares that anyone who wants to fight Takagi should fight her first. As thanks, Takagi waits for Hiroka after her battle cooks her his famous BBQ onigiri after.

Hiroka is alone in the math club one day, when an unfamiliar face introducing himself as Takagi’s friend comes in. More precisely, ex-friend, who had a fight with Takagi. Seeing he is alive and well, his friend explains that Takagi was often bullied in middle school and just took it like a punching bag. He was Takagi’s only friend. The bullies made him burn Takagi’s favourite book, saying if he didn’t do it he’d be next to be bullied. Being a coward, the friend burned Takagi’s book. Takagi became angry and fought with him, injuring his foot in the process. The friend always wanted to be a professional soccer player. Having an injured foot is essentially killing his career. Hence, Takagi says “I killed my friend”. The friend brings a new copy of the book and wants to apologize to Takagi.

Happy End:

Meguru bullies Hiroka around and eventually forces her to participate in suuransen with him. He is 100% loyal to Ousuke and explains that she and Keitarou are the biggest threats to Ousuke’s rule. He not only wants to win against Hiroka, but wants to wound her so she “can’t challenge Ousuke in the near future”. Takagi, who has been quietly watching Hiroka recently, to the point every time there is a battle he runs to the torii gate to see if it’s Hiroka and worries about her getting hurt, sees this and starts asking himself whether he did the right thing by listening to his father and blindly avoiding conflict, to what end? He makes up his mind: He will fight, to protect those important to him.

As Meguru continues to torment Hiroka, Takagi draws his sword and challenges Meguru instead, telling him to leave Hiroka alone. With willpower to protect the girl he loves, he defeats Meguru. (Meguru re-challenges him after three days where he concedes the fight and lets him have his title back.)

In the aftermath, Takagi tells Hiroka that he told his father that he does not regret fighting Meguru one bit, and that he will continue to fight for those who are important to him. He says the Rokuhira family is due for “some change”.

In the finale, Takagi and Hiroka wait to meet his friend again in the math club room. Takagi is nervous. Hiroke smiles and answers with a peck on the cheek.

Bad End: Takagi burns all of the swords, ending the digit war then embraces Hiroka in the fire, telling her that he will always be by her side. Some reviewers interpret that they commit suicide together in the fire, which I don’t think the game was necessarily conveying that.

Bonus Content: Was unfortunately the most boring out of everyone. Goes to Yatsugu asking for topics to talk with Hiroka about. He later apologizes to Hiroka for being too boring of a guy, Hiroka replies that’s what I love about you. Kiss CG was mid.

Thoughts: Takagi is just a good, simple guy who wants to move on with his life. I like how he quietly watched Hiroka and eventually challenged himself to change his way of thinking to fight for those he cherishes. However, his route unfortunately falls flat in comparison to the action that happens in the others. His route is also the farthest from revealing the truth, as Yatsugi only reveals to Hiroka that her parents didn’t die of some traffic accident but in a fire.

Kuori Meguru (CV: Morita Masakazu)

The number 1 character in the JP popularity polls because he is so oresama and do-S… Meguru is Ousuke’s lapdog, so is his family who exists to support the Ichizono family. He immediately takes a disliking to Hiroka due to her unpredictable addition to the suuransen and sudden burst of power beating Tomoe, identifying her as a threat to Ousuke’s absolute rule, despite Ousuke’s interest in Hiroka and not wanting Meguru to bully her.

To distract Hiroka from “plotting against Ousuke”, Meguru sends Tomoe to challenge Hiroka and later manipulates Mei as well. He talked to Hachizawa family, who has been abusing An, to give Mei the condition that if she rises in ranking, that they will treat An better. Being a good sister Mei has no choice but to challenge her friend as well. (Thought she still loses to Hiroka.) An also reveals that his nonchalant attitude is all in appearance. He was originally supposed to be the Hachizawa heir. However, Mei is doing so well he doesn’t want to take the spotlight away from her and wants to support her. Seeing Mei get hurt in suuransen made him pick up his sword and fight on his sister’s behalf.

Back to Meguru, the sports meeting begins where Meguru, Hiroka, Mitsu, and An are assigned the same team. Meguru immediately declares that their team’s goal is to win number 2 and support Ousuke’s team to the best of their ability, much to Mitsu’s annoyance lol. They do end up winning #2, because… Ousuke always wins.

The weather turns rainy, which the math club people say is a good thing because Meguru calms down from his bullying streak when it rains. One of the teachers asks Hiroka to deliver something to the student council, but for a few days, every time she goes the room has a sign saying “entrance prohibited”. Eventually, Hiroka gets impatient and enters anyway. She finds a sleeping Meguru on the couch. He has his brows furrowed and appears unhappy. For reasons she can’t explain, Hiroka took his hand and quietly chanted a childhood song. Meguru appears more relaxed. Lol okay emo boy I see you

Unfortunately, the weather gets better again, so Meguru is back to bullying not only Hiroka but the entire math club, moving a bunch of junk into their already small room. He smirks at Hiroka and says she can challenge him to suuransen, and that if she wins he will stop doing all of this. Hiroka does fight him but is defeated easily.

At the kendo club, Ousuke asks Hiroka if Meguru is up to funny business again, and is not happy hearing that he is not leaving her alone. Meguru only sees the two talking, and gets upset and says he must “do something about this.” He forcibly takes Hiroka to a storage room, pins her down, and TAKES OUT A REAL KNIFE?! He says he cannot let Hiroka just continue to be a “threat” to Ousuke any longer so he needs to wound her a little… Keitarou happens to pass by the scene with Ousuke, and starts yelling at Meguru to stop. Ousuke asks Meguru what all this is about. Meguru replies that he is taking care of threats for Ousuke and the Ichizono family. Ousuke interprets this as Meguru not having faith that he can beat Hiroka fair and square, and leaves in disappointment.

Since then, Ousuke and Meguru are no longer seen together at school. Hiroka is napping outside one day as usual, until she hears some adults from the Kuori family talking to Meguru in the corner. They do not care about how Meguru is doing, and are disappointed that he ruined his relationship with Ousuke. They tell him that the reason for the Kuori family to exist is to support the Ichizonos, and that if Meguru cannot do that and maintain a good relationship with Ousuke, then he “has no reason to exist” and is a “shame to the Kuori family name”.

Hiroka feels this is too cruel to Meguru and starts to have a soft spot for him. When Meguru doesn’t show up to the math club to give them ridiculous tasks as usual, Hiroka actually goes outside and finds Meguru, because she is worried about him. Meguru asks if Hiroka is wrong in the head, as he’s bullied her and the math club so much, or if she’s here to laugh and pity him, knowing she overheard the conversation earlier. He calls Hiroka a masochist.

Another rainy day arrives. Meguru appears down again. Hiroka takes his hand and sings the childhood song again. Meguru is surprised and asks where she learned this from. He grew up with his grandfather who also sang his song for him. His grandfather has passed away. He tells Hiroka that he has been under tremendous pressure ever since the number appeared on his left hand. He was no longer a child, but someone who carried Kuori clan’s fate of protecting Ichizono family. His life is no longer his but to be a servant of the Ichizonos. His parents do not care about him and made it very clear that if he cannot prove his “worth” then he is “worthless” to them and in general. However, when he met Ousuke in person, he felt saved by him, as Ousuke is such a natural leader and showed him so much kindness. He decided that he would serve Ousuke only, and not just any Ichizono, because Ousuke is someone who he accepts to rule.

Given it’s too awkward for Meguru to return to the student council as Ousuke has not forgiven him, Hiroka brings Meguru to the math club where he becomes their new member, scaring all the other members hahaha. The math club is planning a haunted house event, so Meguru offers to be the ghost/come up with scary things for that night. At night, Hiroka gets separated from others and comes into an empty classroom. She gets pinned down by Meguru on the floor who teases her and eventually pretends to lean down to kiss her cheek when the rest of the math club members arrive.

Hiroka struggles with her studies so Meguru also stays behind to teach her after school, though he is not forward about just wanting to spend more time with Hiroka. He and Hiroka grow closer. Eventually, he shares with Hiroka that he has been observing Ousuke and feels Ousuke is not acting like himself lately since the incident. Ousuke has become a “tyrant” at school and starts bullying innocent students and personally leading the “inquisitions”.

The school principal (Ousuke’s grandfather) pulls Meguru aside and says this is all thanks to him. Ousuke became insecure about his abilities since Meguru “betrayed” him and not trusted in him, so now he is going after power no matter the cost. However, the principal is happy about this and says it’s about time Ousuke finally acts like an Ichizono, then mockingly thanks Meguru for leaving Ousuke and allowing him to change. Hiroka finds a dejected Meguru who asks Hiroka if she thinks he is “necessary” to her.

Happy End: Hiroka replies yes. Meguru says before Hiroka, only his grandfather and Ousuke thought he was necessary, or cared about him at all as a human being. Even though Ousuke no longer needs him, he cannot sit and let Ousuke become a tyrant and a bad person any longer. He has decided to challenge Ousuke to suuransen to make him wake up and see his true heart. He thanks Hiroka for making him realize this, and tells her that she is not physically strong, but strong in her own way, and sees why Ousuke took an interest in her. Hiroka replies that she wants to also be there when he fights Ousuke, as she also wants to contribute and be necessary to Meguru. To add fuel to this fire, the principal (who is outraged that a Kuori challenged an Ichizono) demands Meguru that if he loses, he has to kill Hiroka for the reason that Reizaki family was not allowed to exist in the first place and will only cause instability to Japan and Ichizono’s rule.

Before the final battle, Meguru tells Hiroka that he has been secretly investigating the truth behind her parents’ death, as he feels it might have not been accident. We don’t learn anything of substance in this route, however.

The entire student council arrived to witness this unexpected battle. Ousuke dominates Meguru easily. However, he is using low tactics that previously he would never use, stooping to a new low. Ousuke says that being “beautiful and morally just” no longer matters to him, as it’s all about winning. Before Meguru gets defeated, Tomoe/Keitarou/Sanga/Hiroka all join. Despite this, Ousuke defeats all of them, with Hiroka the last one standing.

As Hiroka thinks her number would be slashed, Ousuke pulls out a real knife and says he, like the principal, thinks she should be “exterminated” like the rest of the Reizaki family. Wait what!?

As Hiroka is about to be stabbed, Meguru appears and takes the hit for her. This wakes up Ousuke, who realizes his wrongdoings and is put on probation as a result. Meguru is hospitalized but fortunately is recovering. Hiroka visits him. He tells Hiroka that he is jealous she calls Yatsugu by his name, even if he is her guardian. He tells Hiroka that her place is beside his, that he loves her and wants to make her happy. The route ends with a kiss.

Bad End: Meguru is ordered to kill Hiroka by the principal. Ousuke learns about this and offers Hiroka a place to hide in secret, “hugging her gently from behind”, but she has to leave the school without telling anyone. Hiroka accepts. In reality, Hiroka is locked in some basement and becomes Ousuke’s lover. By the time Meguru realizes, Hiroka is already nowhere to be found. He cries in the rain, saying that everyone who needed him, no longer needed him. Grandfather, Ousuke, and now Hiroka…

Bonus Content: Meguru goes to Yatsugu not for advice, but to warn him to lay hands off his girlfriend!! The voice acting for this was just too good and funny. Finally, the door-slam sound effect lmaoooo

Thoughts: The only thing I liked about this route is his voice. I can see why his “bad boy” with a sad story can appeal to an audience, but I found the romance very forced. Like Hiroka just lost her memory of being bullied and almost seriously wounded by this guy because uwu he is sad when he sleeps and when it’s raining and his family is mean to him? Finally, I am not a fujoshi but I really think his true love is Ousuke lol especially in some other routes. So when I see him being suddenly possessive of Hiroka in the end and obsessed with her in the omake I’m just like:

Shichihara Keitarou (CV: Maeno Tomoaki)

Keitarou appears to be the only normal person in the student council. He is friendly, approachable, helpful, reasonable, and would bitch about Meguru with Hiroka behind his back such as “well I wouldn’t say he is 100% insane… maybe like 99%”. He also doesn’t overwork Hiroka and guides her on her new position as his assistant. Hiroka wonders to herself if he is “kamisama” given how refreshingly normal he is in this school of crazy personalities.

Keitarou comes from the “seventh” family, who has the reputation of “lucky seven”. As a result, he has insanely good luck to the point he even passes it off on those who are around him. Hiroka gets to avoid Ousuke’s relentless pursuits and finally get her hands on the infamous limited edition Soyogi burger thanks to Keitarou’s unintentional ability. As a result, Keitarou is viewed as the second X-factor that can potentially disrupt Ousuke’s rule by Meguru, as those who battle him often lose not due to skill but due to Keitarou’s insane luck.

Keitarou also has a little brother and little sister who call him “uncle” because of how mature and held together he is. He spoils them to earth and back. He is also the one who takes Hiroka to the library to uncover more about her family in this route. Not only does he find what’s written about the Reizakis 300 years ago, he also talks about the “tenth” family Juumonji. The tenth family is added to the suuke after the zeros were extinct. However, it appears that the god of Soyogi does not recognize this family and hence, no one had a number appear on their hand in the tenth family, despite them having a sword (the one that Hiroka uses). The Juumonji family has two sons. The eldest son is married and the younger son… there is not much news about him.

Hiroka thanks Keitarou for being such a yasashii and good person to which he replies that this is just the side of him that he wants others to see.

During the sports meeting, Keitarou and Hiroka are both on Ousuke’s team. During the three-legged race event, Keitarou’s original partner is injured and he asks Hiroka to be his partner. I got so dokidoki from this scene and how he told Hiroka to just relax and follow his lead. This is also where Hiroka started catching feelings for this perfect version of Keitarou.

Tomoe challenges Keitarou and loses due to the latter’s luck (a leaf covering his eye at the climax of the battle). While Keitarou says “luck is also a form of skill” Hiroka notes and points out that Keitarou does not seem happy at all about winning. Keitarou then informally challenges Hiroka at the kendo club with bamboo swords, and again wins due to his luck. He appears disappointed and says he really thought Hiroka would win against him this time.

At the same time, random victims who get slashed on their left hand start appearing at school. The school council takes it seriously and starts and investigation. Hiroka is assigned as Keitarou’s partner. However, victims continue to appear without any leads on the perpetrator. Eventually, even Rihoko gets slashed…

In the meantime, Hiroka spends more quality time with Keitarou, enjoying shaved ice with him and one day falling asleep and waking up in his lap.

The newest victim is Shizuku, Hiroka’s best friend. Hiroka cries for her friend, vowing to find the perpetrator and saying she will never forgive them. Being the perfect boyfriend (despite them not confessing yet) Keitarou holds Hiroka in his arms and tells her that he will support her and bring who did all of this to justice…

On the day that Shizuku got attacked, Hiroka finds a page marker sticker with a unique colour. Where has she seen this before… In Keitarou’s books. She also confirms from Meguru that this type of sticker is not commonly sold and nobody else uses it. Hiroka starts getting a bad feeling… Keitarou also notes her acting distant and seemingly trying to pry information out of him, so he asks her upfront if she is suspecting him. Hiroka honestly answers that unfortunately, yes, she is suspicious of him. Keitarou bursts out LAUGHING. God damn Maeno really blew the acting out of the park here. Our boy is actually a PSYCHOPATH.

He tells Hiroka that because of his good luck, he has gotten everything he wanted easily in life without working for anything. Even when he intentionally falls down the stairs, due to his luck he doesn’t get injured. As a result, he became insanely bored and seeks thrills in his life. Hence, he was excited when Hiroka transferred here, not only starting the digit war but also defeating odds and beating Tomoe in her initial battle. Maybe, just maybe, Hiroka may be the one who can beat him and let him taste defeat – something he has never experienced in life. Hence, he intentionally left the sticker on Shizuku’s sleeve wanting Hiroka to find it and start suspecting him. He also tells Hiroka that her angry expression is “delicious” and his “favourite so far”. (This is straight up yandere drama CD plot I LOVE IT)

He then smirks at Hiroka and asks her to “punish” him by challenging him to a suuran duel, which she obliges. Hiroka wins, but Keitarou is satisfied saying:

Keitarou is definitely a psychotic do-M lol I don’t regard myself as a do-S girl (given that I am a loyal fan of Diabolik Lovers and can stomach the content) but I think what attracts me so much is how unhinged he is?!? (lol this sounds so bad. Crazy and hot do have its audience XD) Here’s another excerpt

Hiroka tells the student council of Keitarou’s wrongdoings. He is suspended but still lives on campus because how else is home girl gonna continue the plot with him lmao. In fact, she misses her hot psycho so much she sneaks into the BOYS’ FLOOR at night just to visit Keitarou. Now that he has “lost” he has become more tame. He makes her coffee and tells her that his dream was always to study abroad as he is bored of being in the same school for so many years and walking a path that was planned out for him. He thanks Hiroka for making him “feel alive”. He even helps Hiroka with her English homework. The two seem to be lovey dovey again, but still not confessed yet.

Eventually, Hiroka walks in Keitarou who has started to cut himself. He tells Hiroka “if I don’t hurt anyone, you won’t punish me. However, I am no longer allowed to hurt anyone else so I hurt myself. I still won’t forget the day you defeated and bestowed judgement on me. It was the only time that I felt alive…” 😳

Hiroka challenges him to a suuran duel. Keitarou defeats her easily and oh my god this CG how hot can one 2D character be?! Though in the end, Keitarou cuts his own number, saying he does not want to hurt Hiroka in any way, so he admits defeat.

Keitarou says that he only targeted non-suuke students, so he did not attack Rihoko. However, he saw Yatsugu near her when the incident happened. Hiroka reports this to the principal, who suddenly tells her that Yatsugu is indeed the younger son of Juumonji (tenth family) and tries to imply that Yatsugu also killed her parents, which Hiroka refuses to believe. She confronts Yatsugu but then runs off deciding she can’t handle what he is about to say. (Later, Yatsugu claims that Hiroka’s parents died from the traffic accident because he drove the car – which in later routes is confirmed to not be true.)

Hiroka goes to Keitarou who instead pins her down, kisses, and tells her that she should only look at him and focus her thoughts on him, not anyone else. He then says the solution to all of this is to run far away from this place and all the suuransen drama.

Happy End: Keitarou and Hiroka start a new life abroad. I like how they keep the details of the scars on his hand.

Bad End: Keitarou leaves the academy to go to school abroad without Hiroka, kissing her goodbye in her sleep the night before. (How did he get in her room?!) Hiroka only finds out after he leaves, and starts crying knowing that she is not needed anymore by him.

Bonus Content: Hiroka basically falls for Keitarou completely and tells him that all she sees is him and nobody else anymore… Delicious… Why not kissing CG followup…

Thoughts: Who would have known the most “normal” person ended up being a full-blown psychopath. What’s more, OH NO HE’S HOT!! I mean, Keitarou is tame, sweet, and loving in the ending, though I have a loooot of doubt about how long that will last. However, the contrast between his surface and thrill-seeking interior was a delight to see. I’m a bit ashamed to admit it, but he ended up being my favourite character this game despite first impressions!

Nitou Mitsu (CV: Nishiyama Koutarou)

Mitsu is the student who fought on behalf of Hiroka during her first fight with Tomoe. He claims he is her “prince” that arrives “dashingly to save the day”. Mitsu is a friendly, bright, courageous ray of sunshine who stands for everything nice and good in this world. To him, being a “prince” or “hero” like in the fairy tales he grew up listening to is important, and he can’t stand by and just watch those who are in need, even if he ends up paying the price, such as when he defends Hiroka against Meguru’s tyranny and gets assigned more labour. Given his reactions in other routes, he likely has a crush on Hiroka since he first saw her.

Mitsu is a member of the handcraft club who is responsible for making the costumes for the entrance ceremony of the sports meeting. Hiroka tries on her dress but it was too large. Mitsu is the one who designed and sewed her dress. He fixes her dress for her after school and takes her hand asking if he looks like a prince holding his princess’ hand. He is also dazzled by how beautiful Hiroka looked.

During the sports meeting, Mitsu also defied all expectations and won first place at his event because Hiroka cheers for him. An and Ousuke start fighting over Hiroka’s affection and both claim that she wore the dress for them lmao. After the event, Mitsu cannot help but feel a bit smug as he made the dress, as well as Hiroka literally wore it for him that night.

Mitsu’s route ends up taking a detour into Rihoko’s past. Today’s Rihoko has a reputation of hating all men, claiming they only deceive women for their own pleasure and gain. Mitsu, who has grown close to Hiroka, asks if she can keep a secret. He takes her to his older brother, Nitou Touji’s grave. However, to the public, Touji is said to have gone abroad to study. Mitsu says this was Touji’s last wish to tell the public that he went abroad instead of died, and especially to Rihoko, who was his girlfriend at the time.

We then see a flashback of how Rihoko and Touji met. Touji pretty much fell in love at first sight with Rihoko and started intensely pursuing her. Eventually, Rihoko responded to his confessions and started dating him. However, Touji has a chronic illness that often causes him to miss school. Unfortunately, this disease is getting worse. Rihoko at the same time tells Touji about her upbringing, where her mother was deceived and abused by her father, and thus told Rihoko to “not trust any man”. Touji’s heart breaks for Rihoko and promises that he will never make her cry or betray her. Thus, when Touji has to miss school and eventually passed away, he was fixated on fulfilling the promise of never making Rihoko cry to the point he would rather her hate him than cry for him. Hence, he told his family to make up the lie that he left Rihoko to go to school abroad.

Rihoko at the same time, is on a spree of challenging the men in the suuke. Eventually, Hiroka does not want Rihoko to suffer any longer and challenges her to a duel, which Hiroka wins. Hiroka then reveals the truth of Touji’s death. Mitsu sees Hiroka’s resolve to help Rihoko and decides that the right thing to do is to break his promise to Touji. He takes Rihoko to Touji’s grave where she breaks down and bawls her eyes out calling Touji a liar. Rihoko then sincerely thanks Hiroka and Mitsu for telling her the truth and releasing her of her hatred.

Mitsu and Hiroka continue to hang out in their free time. Mitsu thanks Hiroka for being beside him and guiding him to the correct paths that helps others, and makes her a flower crown.

However, Rihoko’s story does not end yet in this route! Tomoe has a crush on her for the longest time! Because Hiroka caught him snooping around Rihoko’s rooftop garden (that is only open to girls), Tomoe tells Hiroka that he likes Rihoko and asks for tips on pursuing her. Tomoe started liking Rihoko when he saw her crying in the garden (for Touji) and when Rihoko asked who was there, Tomoe pretended to be a girl lmao, and Rihoko ended up consoling “her”… Hiroka suggests to Tomoe to face his feelings and stop picking fights with Rihoko and just be nice to her. And then this is the product: a suddenly nice Tomoe and a weirded out Rihoko XD (Poor Tomoe even tried making cookies during crafts class and gives it to Tomoe who runs away…)

Because Tomoe keeps going to Hiroka for advice, rumours start at school that the Tomoe is dating Hiroka. This causes Mitsu to be jealous. After being saved by Mitsu from another pickle, Hiroka tells Mitsu about Tomoe’s crush. Mitsu is relieved that Hiroka isn’t dating someone else, and volunteers to help Tomoe with his relationship struggles, which do not get resolved until the bonus content.

Hiroka sees Mitsu frequently entering Yatsugu’s room, yet both are secretive about what they are discussing. Eventually, she eavesdrops and hears Mitsu asking Yatsugu to tell Hiroka the truth, as he believes she deserves to and is strong enough to handle the truth. Yatsugu is annoyed and says a boy like Mitsu has no place to tell him what to do. He chooses to keep the truth from Hiroka because he has thought long and hard, and believes this is the best way to protect her… Hiroka confronts Yatsugu who has no choice but to reveal the truth: The current principal (who is an Ichizono) ordered a hit on Hiroka’s family.

Hiroka confronts the principal who doesn’t even bother hiding and takes all responsibility for her parents’ death. He laughs at her: So what can you do? You have no evidence. The Ichizonos will continue to be Soyogi and rule Japan, and over you. Hiroka tells the principal that before, she didn’t care about suuran war or fighting for a higher placement, but now, she will show him that she can replace the Ichizonos’ place and become Soyogi. Yatsugu adds that he brought her to Soyogi academy because “He” told me to (in the bonus content this is revealed to be the Soyogi god who caused a young Hiroka to have the number “zero” shine on her hand, and live from the accident. This was the deal between the Soyogi god and Yatsugu that he would revive the suuran war in exchange for Hiroka’s life.)

Hiroka starts training herself day and night to the point she is neglecting her health and studies. Mitsu tries to tell her to take care of herself, but Hiroka is focused on beating Ousuke and the next Soyogi. Eventually, Mitsu challenges her to a duel with bamboo swords and hugs her, telling her that he will always be there for her, so please don’t work too hard or sacrifice herself.

Hiroka formally challenges Ousuke and tells Meguru to fuck off when he tries to threaten her. She tells Ousuke what his grandfather did to her family. Ousuke is taken aback at this and says this must be some kind of nasty rumour to taint the Ichizono’s image. Meguru says if Hiroka wants to fight Ousuke, then first she must get through him.

Unfortunately, despite Hiroka’s best efforts, Meguru overpowers Hiroka. As Hiroka’s revenge comes to an end…?

Mitsu suddenly gets a large burst of power, defeating Meguru in a few attacks. He then challenges Ousuke. Throughout this suuran war, Mitsu has challenged Ousuke on cooldown (as after the number is slashed, the owner has to recover for three days) and never beat him before. However, Mitsu says Hiroka taught him that the prince fights not to defeat the bad guys but to protect his princess. This time, he fights to protect Hiroka and serve justice to those who wronged her and her family.

The miracle, happened…

Mitsu and the Nitou family end up being the new Soyogi. The principal becomes very ill from shock and has to be hospitalized, though he never apologizes to Hiroka. Ousuke admits defeat and says Mitsu is more powerful than him.

Happy End: Mitsu gifts Hiroka a sheep doll that he crafted and confesses to her. The two have a kiss CG in the route but I like this CG better. Plus they have another kiss CG in the omake lol.

Bad End: Mitsu doesn’t win against Ousuke, but he goes on a murder spree and kills the principal and burns the Ichizono house. Hiroka tries to stop him, but gets drugged after being pulled in for a kiss by Mitsu, telling her that he will make everything right for her, his way…

Bonus content: Mitsu’s after story and Yatsugu advice episode was mid, but this kissing CG is nice.

I will also put Tomoe and Rihoko after story contents here:

Thoughts: Wow so many things happen in Mitsu route. Just as I was worried about Rihoko/Touji/Tomoe’s drama overshadowing his own story, the writer just made his story longer than others and crammed not only his arc but also some more crumbs of Reizaki family’s real history in there. Like his brother, Mitsu fell in love with his princess at first sight, and through knowing her as a person, he became determined to protect his princess. Love conquers all. The two had cute moments. This is a well-done route. Despite this, he unfortunately just gets outshined by three other routes, two of which I will mention below…

Ichizono Ousuke (CV: Yusa Kouji)

Ousuke was the character I’m most interested in going into the game. One because he is voiced by YUSA KOUJI. Two because I fully expected him to be some kind of haragumo character or secretly evil/yandere. Just like how I was wrong about Keitarou, I was wrong about Ousuke here as well! He is an angel from beginning to end awww

Ousuke is the only one who openly chases Hiroka around to the point it’s borderline harassment and stalking in the common route. He now finally gets her all to himself in his own route as Hiroka joins the student council. He takes her under his wing and wants to be with her at all times, literally. This has gotten so much to the point that Hiroka developed the ability to sense his arrival and run from him in advance. He tells Hiroka that he has never been so obsessed with anyone in his life before. Hiroka’s arrival and herself as a person is such a mystery that keeps him intrigued and wanting to know more.

As the “perfect” student council president and the next Soyogi, Ousuke works extremely hard. He shares with Hiroka his expensive chocolates and tells her about his sweet tooth and how it helps him relax at times.

Ousuke genuinely takes pride in his status as the heir to the Ichizono family. He has the hard work to match his talent. He always strives to be the best version of himself because he does not want to bring shame to his family: “I am from the Ichizono family. I will not commit actions that bring shame to this name.” He believes in “fighting fairly and winning squarely” and takes pride in that. He then tells Hiroka halfway in the route that he “likes her”. Ever since he’s met her, he couldn’t help but follow where she goes, and be curious in what she’s about to do next. He’s never cared about anyone else like this before.

Ousuke really puts his confession into action. He not only challenges MEGURU to suuran duel because he was jealous of Meguru being in Hiroka’s class and her desk mate (Meguru: god damn it I hate you Hiroka), but also shows up in the WOMEN’S RESIDENCE at night because he wanted to see Hiroka, stirring a commotion among his fangirls.

The summer break starts. Ousuke tells Hiroka he knows the best spot in town for a date… aand it’s the battleground/shrine for suuran war lol. However, I really liked Ousuke’s confession here. He tells Hiroka that dating is often a game of “whoever falls for each other more loses” (this is why I hate modern dating tbh). However, if it’s Hiroka, maybe for once in his life, “losing isn’t so bad.” TvT Hiroka for the first time tells Ousuke that she also likes him.

It’s now official that Hiroka is Ousuke’s girlfriend. Mitsu is heartbroken. Shizuku is happy. Yuuhi acts a bit weird but tells Hiroka if it’s her decision, then he has nothing to object. We eat so well as Ousuke fangirls TvT:

However, knowing what happened in other routes, it’s only a matter of time before Ousuke and Hiroka find out what the Ichizonos have done to others. Ousuke and Hiroka were having a study date in the library. An old book that is not categorized in the library is left behind. Ousuke reads it and finds it to be a diary/notebook about how… the Reizaki family was innocent, and how the Ichizonos unfairly won the suuran war 300 years ago. It talks about that in fact, the Ichizono ancestor took the Shikata ancestor as hostage forcing the rightful winner, the Reizaki ancestor to concede the position of Soyogi to Ichizono. Ousuke gets very upset about this as he thinks it’s someone creating rumours and tainting his family name. He keeps the book and says he needs to investigate this more.

He then starts becoming distant towards Hiroka. We know it’s because he found out that what the notebook wrote was in fact, true, and doesn’t know how to face her. Eventually, Ousuke tells Hiroka that he was “mistaken” in his feelings for her, that he was just infatuated, and that they should not be girl and boyfriend anymore.

Many people come to the support of Hiroka, including Rihoko and even Meguru. Meguru tells Hiroka that despite “dumping” her, Ousuke has been feeling very depressed to the point Meguru thought it was the other way around. Hiroka goes to Yatsugu about what initially was her relationship troubles. Yatsugu in this route straight up tells her that he is Juumonji Yatsugu, how Ousuke’s grandfather killed her parents, how he feels responsible for their death because it was only through the Juumonjis (Yatsugu accidentally told his father who was loyal to Ichizono) that the principal found out Reizakis were still alive…

Hiroka decides to confront Ousuke and have a heart to heart with him. After searching for him everywhere, she finds him at the kendo training ground.

Ousuke breaks down and cries in front of Hiroka. He has never stopped loving her. However, knowing his family’s crimes, he feels unworthy of Hiroka’s love.

In Suuran Digit fashion, the way to solve this conflict is… to challenge him to a duel. To make Ousuke realize his heart. For the two to communicate with each other on the deepest level.

THE MOST HYPE CG OF THE ENTIRE GAME:

Just as I expect Hiroka to have a burst of power and beat Ousuke like a in shounen manga, Hiroka actually loses. However, Hiroka is not angry at all at this result. She congratulates Ousuke wholeheartedly, because he won fair and square, with his own powers. She also trusts Ousuke will take the right action and not let history be masked any longer.

However, Ousuke’s grandfather shows up with a real sword and attempts to kill Hiroka. Ousuke duels him to protect Hiroka, and wins.

Happy End: Ousuke becomes Soyogi and reveals the real history, restoring the Reizaki family name. He also pouts at Hiroka because she’s been calling people from the math club by first name, but even as her boyfriend he is still “student council president”. He tells Hiroka to call him by his first name. Hiroka gets shy and flustered. Ousuke teases her that if she doesn’t call his name, he is going to kiss her.

Hiroka says his name, and he pulls her in for a kiss anyway: “I never said that I wasn’t going to kiss you if you said my name, silly.” God this is such a sweet route

Bad End: Ousuke blocks a lethal hit from his grandfather that was aimed at Hiroka, and dies in front of her.

Bonus content: Hottie takes his glasses off and we get more kissing CGs mmmm yes. Also Ousuke’s question for Yatsugu was literally “I don’t know what to do, my life is too happy and perfect with Hiroka as my girlfriend uwu” and Yatsugu was like… GTFO.

Thoughts: Ousuke, who I thought was the end boss of this game, turned out to be a cutie sweetie pie who actually relied on and believed in integrity. A pure angel is what he is! The way he bossed Hiroka around by voluntelling her to spend time with him and getting randomly jealous at Meguru are so cute. There were so many dokidoki moments. I loved this route a lot!

Shikata Yuuhi (CV: Suzuki Tatsuhisa)

Yuuhi is the last-ranked student out of the suuke. He is super weak and timid. I’ve already said this game is like an anime, and by anime logic the guy who looks the weakest always ends up being the big boss. I didn’t remind myself of this golden rule when I entered his route, even knowing he was last.

In the beginning, Hiroka adopts a black cat with Yuuhi. They both beg Yatsugu to find an adoptive parent for it as students are not allowed to keep pets in the dorm. Initially, the cat was wounded and would not allow Yuuhi to get close to it. However, it really likes Hiroka. Sensing some similarities between him and the weakened, wounded cat, Yuuhi tells the cat “you don’t need to put up a strong facade. You are great the way you are. It’s also okay to be weak. There is someone out there who will cherish your existence.”

Hiroka helps and stands up for Yuuhi a few times, including fighting Meguru on his behalf (and lost). Yuuhi would say “as expected of a Reizaki” but at this time, doesn’t elaborate. Yuuhi tells Hiroka that he hates his weak self who always requires Hiroka to be to his rescue. Hiroka replies that although Yuuhi is not the toughest fighter, he is not weak. He has a gentle heart, which is a strength many people lack.

Yuuhi is inspired by Hiroka’s kindness to the point he secretly practices for the relay event of the sports meeting. At the competition, he wows everyone by almost even beating Ousuke in running. Yuuhi hides in shame feeling he has failed the team, but Hiroka/Rihoko/even Tomoe find him and tell him that he did a great job and that they’re all so proud of him.

Yuuhi tells Hiroka that out of the suuke, the Shikata family is the most ostracized because they deal with the occult, such as curses, and the deceased. Back then, only the Reizakis treated them with kindness.

The summer break comes and the haunted school even starts. Even though Yuuhi’s occult club arranged the event and set the traps, Yuuhi and Hiroka are assigned as a pair. Yuuhi gets in his zone and starts excitedly explaining how they created the various props, while Hiroka is scared and grabs onto his sleeve, relying on Yuuhi for a first. She later has a bad fall and gets carried by Yuuhi back to the dorm. In his arms, Hiroka notes that for the first time, she realizes Yuuhi is a man.

Yuuhi starts to train himself for suuran war, even volunteering to fight Tomoe to gain experience and learn. The latter is very happy to teach him. He tells Hiroka that he wants to protect her. To do that, he needs to get stronger.

Yuuhi and Hiroka go to the library to read more about Reizaki’s history. The same book that occurred in Ousuke’s route appears again. Yuuhi explains its contents (the truths of the suuran war) to Hiroka who is in disbelief. The principal gets attacked. Members of the suuke start having their left hand slashed (and we know it’s not Keitarou). Yuuhi jumps out and starts directing people’s attention to blaming Ousuke, as if people’s numbers are slashed, the suuran war cannot continue and the ranking stays the same; if the principal/current Soyogi is gone, he is next in line, etc. etc.

Hiroka finds Yuuhi a bit too persistent in trying to prove Ousuke as the bad guy. She tells Yuuhi that she will fight Ousuke. If she loses, he should not doubt Ousuke anymore. Hiroka of course loses. However, someone stabs Ousuke from the back with a real sword and calls him “lower creature”… Yuuhi then holds up his number against an incapacitated Ousuke’s, and slashes the latter’s digit, becoming rank 1.

Yuuhi fully descends into a dark and sadistic personality. He reiterates that he is only taking back what the Ichizonos owed the Reizakis and Shikatas. 300 years ago, the Ichizono ancestor used the Shikata ancestor’s life for exchange of Reizaki ancestor offering up his rank, then killed the Reizaki ancestor. (In one of the bonus stories, while the Reizaki offspring was supposed to be all eliminated, one brother made it out and became Hiroka’s ancestor.) Yuuhi tells Hiroka now that he is Soyogi, she doesn’t need to do anything and just let him protect her. He will not let anyone hurt her again.

Yuuhi becomes the new student council president and punishes everyone who’s bullied him in the past. (Honestly I think he deserves to have his moment.) He’s suddenly gotten so strong, as if possessed by someone, that even when Tomoe and Meguru challenge him, they lose. However, worried for his sake, Hiroka asks him to calm down and reminds him what he said earlier in this route. It’s okay to be weak. Yuuhi replies that he’s gotten this strong for her sake, yet she likes the weaker version of him. This makes him annoyed. Hiroka replies that at some point he will hurt himself while hurting others like this. She doesn’t want to see this happen.

Happy End: Hiroka stumbles into the shrine of the suuran battleground, even though it’s always closed. She sees the missing “zero” sword in the ground. Pulling it, she experiences a flashback of the Reizaki ancestor’s vision 300 years ago and relives history, which is what Yuuhi said. Coming out of the shrine, she finds a possessed Yuuhi (by the Shikata ancestor, who has intense hatred for Ichizono family, as the Ichizono ancestor forcefully married her after killing Reizaki) and shows him a headband that was a token of love between their ancestors. This soothes the vengeful spirit in Yuuhi who leaves his body.

The suuran war ends. Hiroka and Yuuhi sit behind the building where she pecks him on the cheek, before Yuuhi pulls Hiroka in for a real kiss.

Bad End: Yuuhi basically tells Hiroka who Yatsugu really is and how he hid this from her. This breaks Hiroka and she becomes his puppet, agreeing to take revenge on this world alongside him.

Bonus content: A beautiful kissing CG, can’t ask for more honestly

Thoughts: I mean, the second half of Yuuhi’s route is pure plot where he gets possessed by his vengeful ancestor. The real Yuuhi is a soft boy. This route in a way is Takagi plus in a way where he starts out unable to fight, but then gets stronger (against his will, through being possessed???) to protect Hiroka, but goes overboard, and Hiroka/her ancestor comes out and saves the day? Surprisingly for this amount of plot, we still experienced quite a bit of fluffy scenes. I didn’t dig the “feeble” version of Yuuhi voice and really liked his do-S voice, but we can’t have nice things forever hahaha. Entertaining, but overall not my cup of tea.

Final Thoughts

That was a fun ride! Despite my interest in its central theme, I didn’t have high expectations going into this game. I don’t think this game has any experience-ruining problems. I was surprised a few times by what the characters ended up being like and their respective stories. This game did not fail to keep me wanting to know what happens next. They did a good job with the setting and premise. The omake content helped add fluff especially to certain routes that lacked a bit and give the supporting characters their screentime.

This is no masterpiece, but I couldn’t really ask for more.

Character ranking: Keitarou (7) > Ousuke (1) > Mitsu (2) > Yuuhi (4) > Takagi (6) >>> Meguru (9)

Score: 7/10