When we first meet Komine Sachi inThe Fruit of Grisaia, she’s introduced almost as a caricature: she plays the role of “the perfect maid” to everyone else at Mihama Academy, right down to wearing a maid outfit when she’s not in school uniform.

But it doesn’t take a great deal of perceptiveness to notice her behaviour isn’t what you’d particularly call “normal”.

Specifically, it’s apparent pretty much from the outset that Sachi’s unusually compliant nature and tendency to take things literally is something out of the ordinary. Protagonist Yuuji isn’t quite sure what the exact problem is to begin with, but it gradually becomes clear to him as he starts to spend more time with her.

“She resembles me,” he says at one point. “Organising her life around diligently following orders, she never allows herself to doubt them, let alone defy those who make use of her. And almost as an extension of that, her ‘private’ activities are little more than the bare minimum routines of daily existence. Looking at Sachi, I’ve been seeing myself… and the discomfort I felt was a reflection of my uncertainty about my own way of life.”

Read the full article on MoeGamer .

When we’re first introduced to Sakaki Yumiko in the common route ofThe Fruit of Grisaia, it’s clear that she is both troubled and likely to be trouble for protagonist Yuuji.

When Yuuji first attempts to introduce himself to her, she initially tries her best to ignore him, and subsequently goes to slap him when he persists. This eventually escalates into her lashing out at him with a box cutter whenever she sees him, a fact which Yuuji’s fellow students just shrug off as being “something she does”, because they’ve all been through it too.

Yuuji, being a certified badass, shrugs off Yumiko’s attacks without injury easily, and eventually they stop altogether, though she still proves herself to be a prickly individual who is generally unwilling to interact with others.

Except, of course, it’s not that simple.

Read the full article on MoeGamer .

Matsushima Michiru is one of Grisaia’s most unusual, interesting characters, initially appearing to be present primarily for comic relief, but subsequently showing herself to be a complex, fascinating character with a considerable amount of depth.

We’re first introduced to Michiru in the common route of The Fruit of Grisaia, when protagonist Yuuji comes across her doing vocal exercises in an empty classroom, closely followed by her practicing bellowing out stock tsundere phrases such as “i-it’s not like I’m doing this for you or anything” and “d-don’t misunderstand!”

Already well aware by this point that his new classmates are a little on the peculiar side, Yuuji doesn’t probe too deeply into the matter, but it’s immediately obvious whenever Michiru interacts with Yuuji or her other classmates that her tsundere personality isn’t who she really is; rather, it’s a façade she’s putting up for reasons that, at the outset of the story, aren’t entirely clear.

Read the full article on MoeGamer.

 In this episode, Midori, Yumi, Penelope and I talk Grisaia, bonking, Ace Combat and more.

You'll notice a few tweaks from the pilot episode, most notably the addition of a custom interface and font as well as some distinctive PC-98-inspired FM synthesis music.

The font is the work of Style64, a North American demogroup for the Commodore 64 and PC. It's the same font used for MoeGamer's logo.

The music, meanwhile, is from MusMus, a site run by a composer from Japan known simply as "watson", who rather generously releases all his work royalty-free.

I made the interface, because I'm so 1337 pro noscope with Paint.Net. Also that's why the buttons look a bit shit.

I'm going to aim to release one of these each Monday for at least a little while to see how practical it is. Doubtless they'll become more ambitious over time. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy Episode 1!

Find out more and download the episode for Windows or Mac on MoeGamer .