Himawari – The Sunflower – Review – Between Earth And Space

Sunday, August 4, 2024

Genre – Mystery, Sci Fi, Slice of Life Play Time – 40 hours Developer – Blank Note & Frontwing Steam VNDB

Blooming Under The Sun

A girl mysteriously falling from the sky and changing the protagonist’s life is a well worn cliché. So when Aries crash lands the player likely thinks they already know where this is going, but Himawari has more than a few tricks up its sleeve to prove them wrong. Divided into two halves, earth and space, this is a tale of love, sacrifice and loss played out by a broken cast of colourful characters. It is an odd mix of an early slow burn with a dynamic second part where the game shifts genre dramatically which will either turn people off or intrigue them. The twists and turns present in the later parts of the game work to keep the game feeling fresh, but there is a definite feeling that the game does not quite understand when it should stop adding more elements. Does this story of heaven and earth glitter brightly or collapse under the weight of its own dramatic reveals? Let’s escape from space and find out.

Crash Landing From The Heavens – Narrative and Themes

The opening section of the game is a decidedly slow burn in terms of pacing with the narrative content taking its time after Aries arrives. Slice of Life antics become the focus of events and there is an effort to establish a baseline for the characters and world which the later parts can build upon or undermine. Having the Space Club being the binding element helps provides a means to connect the sci-fi existence that is Aries and Co. to the otherwise grounded presentation of the setting so they do not feel out of place. It also works as a means of giving the characters an objective to aim for in the form of their miniature spacecraft in order to offer a sense of direction these opening hours might otherwise lack. On a surface level, there is nothing here that the player has likely not seen many time before as it leans into a lot of the standard story tropes of the Slice of Life genre, but it is in the finer detail where Himawari begins to expose its true nature. There is an unsettling air hanging over the entire of this section with character’s behaving very slightly off and key gaps beginning to form in the player’s understand of what is going on. If the player takes a step off the beaten path and into one of the bad ends then they are greeted by events which call into question the reliability of the protagonist and the intentions of those around him. These feelings build up over time while the game still maintains the bright and happy veneer which does a good job at keeping long term interest and unease. All this build up is paid off when the first part ends and the mask comes off as Himarwari reveals what kind of story it really wants to tell.

Aries is far from a normal girl who falls from the sky

Once the narrative shift occurs the game moves into being more direct with its themes and character arcs. Despite the dramatic change in setting there a sense of continuity maintained through the duality of earth and space as a core motif around which it can place its twists and turns. The new characters introduced do a good job of getting the player invested in them quickly so the plot does not have to slow down and returning ones are looked at from a new angle to make them stand out once again. The many twists and revelations come to define the feel of this half of the game with it often adopting the approach of putting major plot reveals in every other scene. As the truth nature of what was witnessed in the first part becomes clearer it retroactively adds layers to its story while keeping the focus firmly on what is happening in each new event. If a player remembers anything about Himarwari it will be these sections given the contrast it utilises to carve out its own identity. After these twists are finished the game returns to the original setting to wrap up the remaining plot threads and bring the other characters back into the narrative to provide closure. The route following this return to the familiar works well as a means to bring the game down from its previous high into a more grounded sense of place so the themes and ideas can once again be examined from this angle in light of the new information the player has learned. At the end of this route there is a feeling of conclusion to all that has come before as the important characters reach a suitable resolution.

Everything is normal right?

Unfortunately the game does not end at the route following the twist section, there is still one last route before the final credits roll. It focuses on a side character who up until this point has been mostly a plot device to motivate the primary antagonist. This does give them a chance to shine after being sidelined for so long and there is no doubt that an expansion to her role within the story was a much needed element. However, it is in its execution and placement within the overall structure of the game where it falls down and creates the feeling of the game not knowing when to stop. Part of this stems from the attempt this route makes to have the primary antagonist appear sympathetic which in theory sounds like a good idea, but in execution does not sit well with the rest of the game. The issue stems from the way the antagonist has been shown to be irredeemably horrible to characters the player has been made to care about and then game then turns around expecting the player to forgive them without them really doing anything to make amends for the harm they have caused. It also hurts the side character who is meant to be the focus of the route by cutting into their presence within the story and undermining their character arc. Overall the route is messy and leaves Himawari feeling inconsistent and unable to end its own story properly.

A Field Of Sunflowers – Characters

Nobody is as they first appear in Himawari as their scars run deep and twist them in ways which are not immediately obvious from the outside. It is from this duality that provides much of the tension within the narrative as the player constantly finds themselves uncertain about character’s motivations. Rather than framing this act of concealment as negative and deceitful, it is instead shown as a desperate act of someone afraid of the pain they might risk from opening themselves up to another. Each character plays this fear from a different angle with some putting on a confident and energetic front while others choose to be cold and abrasive, but all do so for similar and interconnected reasons. The exploration of how and why they became the way they are forms a lot of the appeal of Himawari as it gives a long term feeling of progression for the player to dig into and an easy means of tracking it. Through this concealment and revelation, the characters can reflect the change between the first and second section by performing the character equivalent to plot twists and keeping up with the increased narrative drama. The unique textured and sense of humanity this gives to the cast cannot be oversold and makes them memorable long after the game has concluded.

Everyone has a side to them they don't want others to see

Due to the need to the characters’ motivations hidden so the twists have their desired impact, the cast are noticeably restricted in the first section and become more dynamic later on. On paper this might sound like an acceptable compromise for the sake of the overall game, and to a certain extent it is, yet the opening part is what the player is initially presented with and it can struggle to hold their interest until the meat of the narrative. Once the characters finish their introductions they more or less remain static for the rest of the opening in way which is obvious to the player and prevents the cast from feeling like real people or providing reasons to be invested in them. This hurts in the long term as it encourages a detachment from the events of the story given it is the approach to its characters the game has inadvertently warped the player’s emotional state. While the more dynamic and developed character presentation of the later sections do a lot to remedy this issue, the damage never quite goes away and there is a definite sense of unbalance to the game’s structure as a result.

On Earth And In The Stars – Visual, Audio and Technical

The version of Himawari available in English is not the original release, but instead the remaster. This is reflected in the higher quality visual and audio design as well as some interesting technical features for player convenience. Visually there is a core moe art style with cute and round characters who fit right into the slice of life and light hearted opening section and act as a contrast to the darker elements displayed later on. It works as an upgraded version of the original game’s visual design by preserving the intent of its choices while giving it a much needed facelift to allow it to appeal to a wider audience. The soundtrack has received a similar injection of new life where the tracks have been provided with a wider range of sounds and an improved audio quality. This invokes the same feelings as the original but smooths off the rough edges to give the player an overall more engaging experience with the fewest barriers to their enjoyment as possible. In this vein the scene viewer Himawari has available offers accessibility for the player to any of the content they have already seen without having to play through the entire game again. It is rare for a scene viewer to allow for the picking of any scene in the game and most just show a select few important ones, so the presence of such an expansive one here is notable and leads to a more pleasant repeated play experience.

It is a very pleasent game to look at

Conclusion

More than most visual novels, Himawari relies on its plot twists and the overall structure of its narrative and characters to present its ideas and themes. It is a good thing then that all these elements are so strong. The plot starts out as a slow burn where tension is built up and it transitions into a plot twist driven drama before coming back down to earth for a grounded wrap up of loose threads. Backing this roller-coaster ride up is a cast of dynamic and deeply flawed people who hide behind masks out of fear of being hurt again which gives the narrative a unique texture. The game does have its weaknesses such as static feeling characters at the beginning and the story going on far beyond the point it should have reached its natural conclusion, but none of this is enough to overshadow the outstanding and human tale being told.

Verdict –

There are few titles which can match the perfect balance of personal and thematic storytelling of Himawari. Even if it does stubble in executing some character developed pacing and dragging on beyond its narrative conclusion.