Green

バイバイ

フィルムの中にそっと心をこめて
遠くあなたのところ近づけるように
たった一度の夏の思い出だけど
それはすぐ隣に寄り添っている

大事なものほど過ぎ去って消え去っていく
「二度と戻らない」
あの頃は考えもしなかった

わたしだけ大人になった
いつか見た笑顔探して

フィルムの中にそっと願いを込めて
いつかあなたの元に飛んでいくから
たった一度の夏の思い出だけど
それはすぐ隣で居眠りしている

愛する人ほど傷ついて失っていく

Yeah…

I just finished playing Green Green 2. That’s the ending theme for Kawase Mana, the main girl. (well, not the full version though, this is all that’s included with the game)

Green Green 2 is not really related to the original game. You play a new student in Kanenone Gakuen, the first batch to have both girls and boys. (it was original a boys school) So, on the first day of school, you wake up with no memories and naked in the forest beside a river. Somehow you end up at the opening ceremony (still naked) and after being questioned by the teacher, come up with the name “Midorigawa”. (midori being green and kawa/gawa being river… I think you can tell where that came from) Through shear coincidence, the name “Midorigawa Yukata” is on the namelist and you become a student of Kanenone. (if you know the original Green Green storyline, you would know that this is no coincidence…)

So anyway, you are introduced to your weird (really, really weird) roommates and of course, four girls (what else?). You also meet the perverted trio from the original game, who are now final year seniors. Bacchiguu (his real name escapes me), the leader of the Baka Trio, then proceeds to teach you the law of Kanenone: “３年は神、２年は人間、１年はゴミ！” (“Third-years are god, second-years are humans, first-years are garbage”). In other words, they get to boss you around.

I’ve only bothered playing through two endings, but from what I can tell, the story branches into radically different subplots from here on depending on the girl you go for. I liked Hiiragi Maria’s path better than Mana’s. Basically, Hiiragi Maria’s path involves her manupilating your good friend and roommate, Helth (lol, I can only remember these people’s nicknames), into forming a secret rebellion to fight the oppressive third-year seniors. In between, you discover her real intentions and, as dictated by good guy meets bad girl stories, you help her find her true self. Sounds cliched, but still works. Mana’s path on the other hand is about her passion for taking pictures (yet sucking at it) and, as dictated by guy meets girl-with-ambition stories, you helping her to achieve her dream. The good news is that I enjoyed both stories. The best news is that they both had bittersweet endings.

What follows might contain HUGE spoilers if you have not played the original game.

Some cameos by the original cast.

Midori returns as a teacher! (of course none of the third-years remembers her. And the fact that she looks older than the current Yuusuke means that she probably spent some time in the future before having the chance to return)

And you find her in deep thoughts in front of this tree… or rather, THE tree.

FUTABA!!! It is implied from Maria’s dialouge with her that she is secretly going out with Yuusuke now (dating has been banned, following the school’s change from boys-only to mixed). I like her new look. XD This is, sadly, her only appearance. (at least for the two paths I’ve played through)

Yuusuke, Bacchiguu and Whatshisface. Notice that Yuusuke’s face is still hidden even though the main character of Green Green 2 has a visible face (at least for the few times you get to see yourself). You can also clearly see the age difference that now exists (or so I believe… and hope for) between Yuusuke and Midori. Go Futaba~

Now that Ive completed Green Green 2, I can’t wait for 3 to come out summer next year. Judging from the screenshot I took from Groover’s website (because it’s a flash animation…), Green Green 3 will finally conclude the Midori-Yuusuke-Futaba storyline and put a final end to everything.

Hopefully we get a REAL happy ending for Green Green 3.