First Impressions: Break Chance Memento, Pt. 2

Well after Part One my friends, I’ll promise to keep this short. After all, I don’t want to drop below average in the second part, especially since most three-part series don’t get any higher than its midway point. I assure you that the intellectual quality of my work will not shrink in the face of your growing expectations of me and I promise you this will be a head above any other blog happy to remain underwhelming. Yes my friends: today is going to be a good day to go big and ignore anything that stays small.

Also, Chiaki is short.

While the Amamiya Family brings a heavily load of drama into this one, do not be deceived. Break Chance Memento is funny as Hell. One of the big reasons for that is Chiaki who tag teams with Shuuki in snark. The fact that he may be one of two characters who can actually go toe-to-toe with Shuuki and WIN is a big plus in his favor…no these height jokes aren’t going to stop. It also helps to have an outside to the Amamiya drama to give everything a bit of perspective, especially when it comes to Natsume.

The game doesn’t hide the fact that Chiaki’s feelings for Natsume may not be 100% platonic and everyone seems to recognize this BUT Natsume. It’s classic as far as UST goes and to watch Chiaki put up with Natsume’s depression. But that bond may have reached its breaking point by the events of the story proper. In the scene above, Chiaki is venting his slight frustration with Natsume and Shuuki assumes he’s just pissed and will get over it. If he does ditch the big oaf, where that leaves ol’ Chi-chan is anyone’s guess. Logic dictates that he plays a stronger role in Natsume’s story than Shuuki’s. But of course, Shuuki and Chiaki are roommates which means a little levity will most likely get interjected whenever Shuuki wants a minute of privacy.

One of the biggest dangling plot threads involving Chiaki is the fact that he basically moved out his house the minute he hit high school age as he is one of the dorm’s longest residents. We know he has a Mom, like most human beings, and that she will be involved in the plot as some point. What we don’t know and have no idea of is exactly WHY he’s on his own. Maybe his folks are just insufferable pricks…but if that was true then he wouldn’t hang around Shuuki. There is a possibility that he joins the ranks of darkness that seems to be swallowing everyone around him and his back story will trump the time travelling madness, BUT I’m willing to wait to find out on that one.

Overall Chiaki is a solid addition to the cast who can add a small touch here and there. I’m sure he’s looking up to see where he can play a bigger role, but for now I can just appreciate the laughs. Especially in thinking of all of the ways I can make fun of the fact that he is officially shorter than my 14 year old cousin Gabbie. Sweet.

So…where do we go with this little weirdo?

Yukinari is just…odd. Even by the standards of the other boys in the cast he’s odd. On the surface he’s a pretty standard archetype: a rich kid who doesn’t want to live by the rules and traditions that come with a life of privilege.  That part is pretty easy to get…it’s the rest of it that I don’t get. Like the fact that he did something to weird out Natsume and considering what it takes to get that guy to even change expressions, it’s a short list on what it takes to get under his skin. Or how about the scene here where he was asleep on a public bench, his head ends up in Shuuki’s leg and he proceeds to have a five minute conversation with his head practically in Shuuki’s lap?

The hell does he want? His official profile lists a potential masochistic streak, but even then he clearly has no issues screwing with whoever he wants to just because, screw it, he can do that. I think of everyone introduced so far he’s closer to Shuuki’s psychology than anyone else, just a different side of the coin. Where Shuuki sees his antics in a more cynical light, Yukinari seems (keyword: seems) more innocent of the consequences of his choices. Considering his background, this makes a degree of sense as he WOULDN’T have had to face a great deal of consequences as a part of a wealthy family. But by now you’d think he would’ve wised up a bit.

But that takes me back to the original question: what in the Hell does he want? Motivations are blurry in this game, but everyone does want something rather specific. The only one with unclear goals is Yukinari as he seems more than happy to just pull everyone’s strings for now. I’m not saying he’s the murderer or anything. I am saying he’s worth keeping an eye on. Just because he’s not the main villain doesn’t mean he won’t be a pain in the ass.

I wish I had more to say than that, but like Masaharu, Yukinari didn’t have a great deal of screen time to flesh out. I guess we’ll get a better look into his head in the game proper.

I honestly don’t see how anyone can hate this character? She is living, breathing fictional awesome.

Let’s start with the simple fact that she has to keep order among a bunch of teenage boys. The fact that the building is still intact is a miracle in and of itself. How about the fact that the minute Shuuki tried some crap, she shut him down with the quickness of a Mama Lion crushing the head of a gazelle? If it isn’t obvious, I appreciate anyone who can jump into enemy turf and win a battle and she did it easy.

And more than that, she’s genuinely funny as well. Of course it isn’t always the nicest of humor as she had way too much fun reminding the guys that while they were locked in a dorm with no air conditioning, she had a home to go to. But Hell, if ALL comedy was meant to be nice, we wouldn’t have comics. Dorm Mom is awesome. I’m not even sure of her real name…but she’s awesome! PLAY THE MUSIC!

We do each other good Dorm Mom. We do each other reeeeeaaaaal good.

In Part III I wrap it up with time travel, death and more death! Stay tuned!