#bustafellows

Conveniently-Japanese-sounding-first-name Lyn O’Keefe

The structure of this game makes it so that the relationship between MC and the LI develops in the common route. In Shu’s case it's as early as the Edie and Roscoe arc.

Teuta didn’t know that Shu was a hitman until the beginning of this episode, but when she found out that he actually did kill people she was afraid and wasn’t sure what to think of him. After the time shenanigans and Edie is saved, Teuta asks Shu why he didn’t stop Edie from shooting a gun in the first place and he tells her that he wanted Edie to feel how it feels like to shoot.  All of this makes an excellent foundation for when the route actually starts.

You're finally on Shu’s route which starts when Teuta sees a scary-ass Shu appear all druggy-ass-looking right after his hit job, which allows her to continue being interested in Shu specifically, and to get dragged up in his plot points. Their conversations are engaging with the way the use each others' phrases against each other. Beyond that, Teuta’s bratty but very Teuta-like worry over Shu trying to be nonchalant about his death and Shu’s response really convincingly deepen their relationship into being “family-like” despite the wack circumstances that led them to live together. Moreover, we gain insight into why the other people he’s surrounded by (the other LI's) don’t provide the deep level of companionship Teuta could, because before her, they didn’t really band together and get in each others' business. Romance-wise, so far there’s only a hint of romantic development, I guess a bit of blushing from Teuta’s side, but nothing from Shu except for the tsundere-ness from the black bikini scene which is somewhat worrisome because usually routes with such a slow progression don't end up being slow burn and instead shove a lot of romance in last minute.

Shu as a character is rather complex and nuanced. There’s the whole trope of “the loved one you thought was evil was actually trying to protect you!!!” but this wasn't a surprise; Shu actually considered that, but there was a whole lot of emptiness left in him which explains why he lives and thinks about life the way he does, looking death in the eye. 

This thematic drama brings us to Shu assuming that Teuta is in love with him, and of course she brushes that off as it came out of nowhere and Teuta doesn’t have enough romantic development to consider those words for what they mean; honestly this is very annoying to me, it seems like a cheap way to take their relationship in a romantic direction as Teuta never considered him like that, but maybe I’m just biased against characters assuming romance just because they’re the opposite sex, but then again of course it’s understandable...

This would have been fine as its own unrelated event but nope, they’re really going full throttle on the romance progression because of this. Shu continues to insist Teuta is in love with him, and she just ends up agreeing I guess. 

Then. This gets dropped. 

“Young women often think older men love them when they’re really just being taken for a ride. But you’re different.” 

WHAT THE FUCK DUDE WHERE DID THAT COME FROM??? Not only are you two in the same stage of life (and you’re a killer so it’s not like you are in touch with societal norms nor do we expect you to when it comes to romance) but you’re only what, 7 years apart? Really? You even meet the “half your age plus seven” rule (and even bring it up in side B), DIE!!!! Even beyond that, when has age ever affected you two? Y'all watched the same stupid ass movie and knew the stupid ass song from it, so how the fuck was I supposed to know it affected you this much? Was it because he kept calling her “ojou-chan,” I thought it was because everyone mysteriously treated her as some rich/sheltered girl and not because of her age… Oh my god. AghHagharjrlai PAIN. SO CLOSE TO GREATNESS ONLY TO STUMBLE ON SUCH A SILLY THING. YOU BETRAYED ME!!!!!!

Look. I am the same age as Teuta. The only difference is that I AM STILL IN SCHOOL (university) while she is a PUBLISHED AUTHOR! What’s the issue???? And then she says “I mean, when you’re my age, romantic love as a topic feels so disconnected from reality.” Whatever is that supposed to mean? And this was in response to Shu telling her that he doesn’t want to get too close to her and get her involved in his crap, something that he thinks he needs to warn her about because he’s desperately assuming romance in the first place. I get the sense that she’s thinking that he thinks that she goes about romantic love like a teen watching Twilight with the whole “losing allure” he brought up (so he WAS being serious when he said that lmaooo). What even is this conversation?

Dammit. This route did a poor job transitioning into romance. GAH. I wanted to like this route but nope! The entire confession scene it was just Shu talking over Teuta and telling her how she feels. And Shu says he can do that because he feels the same way (which wasn't foreshadowed at all). Yes they develop a meaningful connection but that's different from romantic development.

Side B is simply a continuation of my suffering. They continue making the age gap a big deal for terribly contrived reasons just to build up to Shu’s surgery. There were some cute moments with the snowman and the parents and Shu talking about wanting to bone Teuta but really that’s about it. I was just spamming the Enter button.

I will keep nitpicking because that’s what I do, but why is one of Shu’s point-earning choices in the common route to take a puff of a cigar? Even just one puff can lead to addiction. 

Art wise, the CG’s are great. However, there was a continuity issue where Teuta was holding just a tub of ice cream in her lap, and then it cuts to Shu having stolen a spoon that she was never seen holding. Also, Shu’s hair makes him look like a triangle, and his hand on his shoulder looks really weird, do hands look like that? I’m seriously asking here.

Objective score: 4/10

Enjoyment score: 3/10

Conveniently-Japanese-sounding-first-name Nile Shepherd

I don’t remember liking the romance on here either, but dammit I want to see the Asperger’s asexual-looking guy fall in love. GET HUMBLED BY (specifically romantic) LOVE!

And you find out early on that Mozu isn’t really asexual. His first interaction with Teuta was complimenting her skeleton, and he even suggested and marveled at her swimsuit he picked out for her. And while those aren’t necessarily indicative of sexual attraction, the fact that he blurts out how much sex appeal Teuta has in that swimsuit solidifies it.

The beginnings of the route itself, Side A, are fun as well. There’s the drama with the school, but more than that, how Teuta and Mozu reflect on how they developed throughout their adolescent years and how that applies to the people they meet while doing their “jobs.”

And from there you really see how Mozu is attracted to Teuta in a pure friendship sense and also romantically. However, we don’t see much indication of Teuta feeling that way for Mozu; I was anticipating the somewhat controversial “pinning Teuta against the lockers to stir sexual arousal,” but I thought “It doesn’t sound so bad at all and is something he’d do in his autistic way of thinking.” However, it turned out that he wanted to stir sexual arousal in himself, and it was to make himself feel better on top of that, with no regard for Teuta's feelings.

I… don’t know what to think. First, I’m disappointed because Mozu was acting very interestingly before that, such as staring at her and being too quiet around her, which made me think he would unwittingly act out of attraction to Teuta. Second, it’s just tonally jarring, because after that he launches into being sad about his sister. And then he disappoints me again by saying “Hugging Teuta feels better [than hugging Shu or Limbo]” of which he clarifies “because biologically women are softer.” With no indication to make me think that that’s not literally what he thinks... Come on, writers. Does he feel sexual attraction or not? Surely someone as perceptive as him (like when noticing that Troy was trying to attract Teuta) should recognize such a basic feeling, I definitely thought that Troy would serve to make Mozu jealous and realize his feelings quicker, but no, Mozu even mentions not getting off to pornography in this route for some reason. Please God, the only thing that could salvage this is that if he says later that he was bluffing or something.

Well whatever, I kind of forgot about this after all the plot happened and he had to deal with finally finding his sister as a dried skeletal corpse. Then he decides to tell Teuta “oh and btw I might have helped dispose of your brother’s body.” Jesus Christ it’s just one thing after another can we catch a break? 

We move on to Side B where we take another break from each other, but it is very cute seeing Teuta be friends with Ivy. So earlier, my problem was that Teuta didn’t see Mozu “as a man” besides getting pinned against the lockers, because every time he patted her head, she would compare it to getting patted by her brother, and even while comforting him after confirming his sisters death she said she hugged him like she would a child like how her brother and her mom did, which wasn’t very inspiring to romantic development. That’s why I appreciate that this conversation with Ivy about prom was able to spur romantic interest in Teuta for Mozu, even if it was in Side B already... but the damage was already done with that weird locker scene.

Then Mozu and Teuta finally talk and Mozu tells her he only dropped that nuke on her about her brother because he wanted to cause drama so that she still has a degree of interest in him lol. It’s a crazy reveal but it does make Mozu vulnerable and it also leads into his confession scene, however I still have my doubts from him side solely because of the locker scene and how devoid of sexual appeal he was there, but maybe you can argue that perhaps that was also an excuse just like it was with the brother (still not satisfying because he should have clarified that then). Also I was wondering if they were implying that romance is the ultimate form of love (a trope I adamantly hate) when they were talking about how “my name sounds right only when you say it uwu” but to be fair they are the ones who connected to each other the most. But given the way that his alleged romantic/sexual feelings are handled… maybe he (or the writers) thinks he’s in love just because Teuta is the closest to him imfao. 

And holy shit the rizz that Mozu has. The two actually know they’re an item this time, he gives her the prom she (and they both) did not experience, and comes on to her. Much better than last route definitely, but still not enough romantic scenes like this for me especially after all the pondering I’ve been doing as to the nature of Mozu’s feelings for Teuta.

But. What the hell.

HE WAS VOICED BY JUN FUKUYUMA THE WHOLE TIME???? HOW????

As a side, I’m glad that the route never went into the direction of Troy grooming any of the girls because that would add a very different dimension to the game which is something I would bet against the route being able to handle. [lol]

Artwise, the CG’s are great and the character designs are consistent aside from general art complaints that every route has.

Objective score: 6/10

Enjoyment score: 6.4/10

Conveniently Japanese-sounding-nickname (and actual first name)

I thought this route was stupid but I really don’t remember why. But anyway.

SCARECROW. So CUTE. Even his horniness such as when complimenting her swimsuit, just so tender. And they do make a great pair even when their professions are so different, such as Teuta knowing how to negotiate information and verify its source even if Scarecrow knows how to do a cool boss voice.

Uh. A lot of what goes on in terms of action and adventure really tests my suspension of disbelief. First, the underwater hacker cave on the ocean floor is “in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean” (not literally but a good way out) but somehow Shu and Teuta could swim up no problem, AND Teuta could swim all the way down multiple times to try and rescue a drowning Crow. From there Crow somehow did not die or even end up brain damaged; hell, help didn’t arrive at the time Crow “gave up”. And how was she cognizant enough to know Crow was depressed and gave up on life down there (instead of fucking drowning like I assumed and would naturally happen) but not to go back in time? Whatever, this is stupid, but as long as the characters and romance make sense, I’ll continue.

Teuta tries to articulate the newfound aspect of Crow from the drowning scene to Limbo, but he unnaturally leaves the conversation upon finding out that his friend is suicidal… okay buddy. Although I do remember that he probably has a lot of trauma too so maybe he’s keeping his distance [this turns out to not be true lelellelel]

So the conversation Teuta has with Crow is strange. “It doesn’t matter if you strangle me we’re friends.” However, in Shu’s route (and even before that) she was afraid of him for being a killer, lmao… oh wait she tells Helvetica she lied about not being afraid of Crow. Omoshiroi, thanks route for avoiding this huge pitfall! Then Helvetica just gives her a box of tissues and that’s it. Honestly I would like to see the other LI’s shine on routes that aren’t their own in terms of being a friend to Teuta, but if that happened then romance wouldn’t bloom so easily maybe. Idk I’m just so used to this happening in Nasuverse works, because for such a "found family" they really only help each other out materially.

There’s this CinemaSins video about the movie Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children and in it the narrator removes a “sin” from the total "sin" score of the movie because MC actually went to therapy to address trauma. That’s what happened with Crow, with deciding to see Helvetica’s guardian, so good on Crow for being proactive in taking steps to address his issues, something that really makes his relationship with Teuta later on feel for authentic. Unfortunately, Crow’s suffering at this point isn’t over as he is launched into Bustafellows: Heaven’s Feel, something something choosing to save one over many.

After all the action, Crow confesses to Teuta right after surviving a train crash. I immediately got whiplash because Teuta suddenly says that she's not scared of him for strangling her after all etc. and then after that she says “I love you” … however she then includes the rest of the group and Crow realizes she meant that platonically rofl. Yet another pitfall the writers outmaneuvered. Instead the real confession scene is in a timeskip right at the end of Side A as it should be.

Unfortunately, on side B Teuta is just unlikeable. At first I thought her whining to Crow about how they didn’t go on a date before seeing his dad was a joke, but it seemed that she really meant it. Then she gives unsolicited advice to Crow on how to be more cool. Ugh. Why are you even dating him? How is this appealing to read about? Is there anyone who finds this charming? At least finally, the LI develops a proper relationship with someone else, talking with Kyle at the restaurant was cute.

Overall, the romance was believable on Crow's end. As for Teuta, I guess she was becoming conscious of him, but her not thinking much of the kiss to the cheek in the piano scene damped it. Then they were too busy with plot so again, Teuta can only think about her feelings for Crow (beyond his strangulation of her) after everything. Not to mention her attitude towards him at the end, it made me think that she really doesn’t desire him as a romantic partner but just likes him very much platonically. So no it's ultimately not believable.

Artwise, Scarecrow’s sprites are very inconsistent with his CG’s, his face looks way more mature. Also Teuta’s skull just seems so small, but this is a problem that seems to be about the entire game.

Objective score: 4.3/10

Enjoyment score: 6/10

New Non-Japanese-sounding full name 

Honestly I don’t like him from the start for his outlook on life as influenced by cosmetic surgery, because I don’t think they should be used to “fix” aging. It’s very typical of anime, but of course he has this pseudo-intellectual philosophy surrounding his job. It’s also eyebrow raising that his clients only ever seem to be female, like hm, you think woman have only been valued for their attractiveness to males, that’s why they seek these dystopian procedures out? There's also how he tells Limbo in every swimsuit scene “even if she is your sister you can still appreciate her sexual beauty”. Nah there’s no way I’ll like this guy. Well enough of that, I’ll give this guy a fair review.

Later on in the common route he does address the idea that women are judged on their looks more… only to say that the fact that they try to conform is “beautiful.” Lmao what? What a load of nothing he just said, how is that beautiful? More random anime bullshit philosophy. Ughhh.

So I finally get onto the route where he’s talking to his next victim— I mean, patient. It looks like the core of this philosophy is revealed when he says “I’m not going to tell you that you’re beautiful the way you are.” Even I can relate to that sentiment, not because “everyone judges by looks” but because some people are just dealt an unfair hand, whether because injury or birth defect. Unfortunately Helvetica just doesn’t draw a line anywhere, and because of that thinks that cosmetic surgery = “changing as a person and choosing your own path.” Look, it’s fine to be a plastic surgeon, but why does he have to fabricate some self satisfying worldview around it, especially a worldview so influenced by trauma? (this is a point that doesn't get properly addressed) That’s pretty much the rest of Helveticas route isn’t. And see, they talk more at the café about his vague ideals surrounding cosmetic surgery, and about how “changing your appearance means you change as a person”, so when he says “your eyes are yours and yours alone” how is that supposed to be sweet when he approves of cosmetic surgery for literally everything (provided you’re not a drug addict)?

Later on Helvetica’s victim patient actually becomes a victim and gets murdered. I guess this also has to do with the idea present throughout the route of how he could have been like that, which overall was handled in a very over-philosophical way because I never felt that Helvetica would care so damn much about that, I thought that he would move on given how in-depth he goes into validating his superficial worldview, especially with someone like Sauli around.

I forgot her name, but the burn face lady really tested my suspension of disbelief. How the hell did she find out anything about Helvetica? You can’t even use the excuse “she recognized him from a magazine” because he got his face changed lmao. So why? Plot for the sake of plot, it's just terrible.

In the end the way the writers wrapped up Helvetica's identity and appearance issues really made no sense. They never even addressed him burning himself like a moron, something I felt is the culmination of the route never letting Helvetica take accountability for his dumbass thought processes. And I can’t wrap my head around Helvetica himself. His entire career centers on this trauma he has from “becoming a new person” and the fear of returning to the previous person. Frustratingly never addressed. Oh well, at least the romance was believable.

Then Side B happens where Helvetica gets a lobotomy and licks sauce off a lady’s cheek. Teuta understandably says “I don’t know you” ROFL. There’s no recovering from that especially after his whole identity crisis. Then I’m subjected to how much Helvetica supposedly cares about Teuta even though he didn’t think twice about all his little activities. But wait, Teuta then frames all of this as her not being "one of the guys" enough to accept his philandering, because she says that in reality it actually didn't bother her, the only thing that bothered her was that he wouldn't hold her hand uwu. Really? After the shit you pulled in Crow's route, NOW you're going to be a doormat and accepting of all of Helvetica's flaws? Goddamn you, woman.

The childhood friends were also kind of annoying, god. I just hate this trope. “We’re just going to support her in being happy uwu” Jesus Christ, did she outright reject them or something? Why so annoyingly defeatist? Why shove it in my face that you want more from her friendship? When did they give up and form this camaraderie? I just hate seeing every single person simp for the MC.

Artwise, Helvetica looked good and consistent in the CG’s and so did Teuta.

Objective score: 4.5/10

Enjoyment score: 4.3/10

Original Non-Japanese sounding name

Nothing much really develops between Teuta and Limbo until this random kid Teuta knows through journalism dies… which was really random. Like uh, okay, this brings up a couple of issues about Teuta that’s been nagging at me the entire game. First, it’s stuff like this that could have established her as more of a changed person for using time travel, as she talks about how some things are unavoidable even if she goes back. Second, we really don’t see her work. I have no idea what goes on in journalism but I assume she works for someone? Because she talks about being put in charge of writing for certain topics. Does she not have coworkers or anything? Even Limbo and Mozu know people. It just feels like she doesn’t have a real job sometimes.

Limbo is all angsty and after a while finally tells us what’s going on. So apparently his friend bought a woman, Limbo rightfully indicted him, and that somehow makes it Limbo’s fault that this crazy woman’s child randomly died? Huh? This makes absolutely no sense. I was expecting him to have an abusive family or something (because he talked about having rich parents and that's all anyone knows about him), but this is so dumb. Good thing Teuta points this out to him, that it's absolutely the woman's fault and not Limbo's... because of what she said being so obvious, I get the feeling that maybe the event was just so traumatizing that it made Limbo feel that degree of guilt, as there was a really graphic CG I wasn’t expecting, but there was just so much built up only for it to be just this. Very underwhelming.

After Limbo uses his Stand, 「Star Platinum」, to stop his heart (🙄🙄🙄), Navid throws a tantrum about how he randomly fell in love with the woman he wanted to buy (how does buying her save her, just smuggle her into the country like everyone else does you moron. Maybe it’s because these illegal immigrants are somehow Eastern European and not from the southern border so the process is different? Lmfao). And that's the end of the shitty plot, the end.

Romance and relationship development-wise, I'm still puzzled at Limbo being so terrified of Teuta dying earlier in the route. He mentioned that when he first got the bomb threat, but during that forehead touch CG, he keeps saying that. They barely even had any special moments together, she had more moments with Shu and Mozu in the common route, so why does he care? It's all so rushed and contrived.

These two really have zero chemistry. Everything was platonic until he suddenly kissed her and they lived happily ever after. In side B there’s this thing about him being grown up and classy which was a really forced angle that never matched up with what we knew about him, even with how he plays chess (but this doesn’t make him classy at all because he just thinks this is normal).

I played the bad end because it was so hyped up. So THAT explains why there was a random scene of Teuta humming some piano song with Limbo, it was just so they can use it for the bad end and call back to it! Unfortunately, that was all I was thinking about as this happened, and everything ended up very underwhelming, especially on top of the fact I didn't care for their relationship, like at all.

The CG’s were mid. The CG of Valerie accosting Limbo made no sense. Is she supposed to be strangling him? How is she standing like that with her leg wrapped around him? 

I don’t know how this is worse than Shu’s route.

Objective score: 2/10

Enjoyment score: 1/10

Full Circle

So after the failure (of varying degrees) of the romance routes would a platonic route that touches upon everyone’s stories be the key to saving this game?

Well. It can. And in this case, Full Circle wrapped up the themes well.

I never understood it when people said they like “found family” and even more so while playing the romance routes because despite being “family” they don’t know much about each other. But this story made it click for me, especially with what Carmen said. She adopts Alex because family has a special responsibility to do so, which ties in to what Teuta was talking about regarding responsibility at the beginning of Full Circle. That’s an angle that makes the Fixer gang different from the "just friends" I thought they were, it explains why they simultaneously wouldn't meddle in each other's business and get close to each other yet also feel a sense of responsibility and camaderie to help each other.

Logically the overall conflict of this "route" and the overarching plot doesn’t make that much sense at its core. It’s all about the very-detached-from-reality illegal immigrant situation, which is more human trafficking than anything, and an organization with a terrible name that is just so comically big and dark with anime villain members everywhere. We just don't know how things got to this point: they tell us it's because something about brothers and now it's suddenly evil? Okay then.

Then. We get to the very end.

BUSTAFELLOWS: Heaven’s Feel

It’s a drastic change in tone. You’d never thought they go that direction. (Remember that comment I made about Mozu's route?)

I thought Zora, MC's brother, would turn out to be alive and involved with Ruy Lopez etc. etc. but jesus christ almighty. So Zora raped Luka and Adam killed him for it and then Ruy Lopez helped cover up everything? Jesus. DAMN.

And I was mad at Adam for being annoying romantically defeatist before, but of course he wouldn’t dare try to get close to Teuta because he literally killed her brother lmaooooo I’m sorry Adam. I’ve underestimated you this whole time. Damn am I a sucker for this kind of stuff. All the things about the childhood friend comes to light after the interesting and quirky people’s routes, it’s like in my favorite bishoujo game route. Even so, the whole thing is still very abrupt and ends very abruptly too. Nothing seems to be done about Adam’s brain tumor, and Sauli was kind of weird in this story. But oh well, I’ve seen worse.

…So? Is this the infamous “Auld Lang Syne?”

Is what I want to say, but really it’s far from anything good and worthwhile, nothing that's worth all this time getting to. I still felt that it wasn’t that bad, maybe because I’m a diehard stan of a certain route that people also accuse of shock value (hence the title of this section lol I have a huge bias for stories that attempt these tropes).

But because of the obvious worldbuilding issues and unfortunate lack of foreshadowing (any foreshadowing there was in the common route which I FORGOT ABOUT BECAUSE NONE OF THIS SHIT IS HINTED AT IN THE ACTUAL ROUTES) yeah I’d have to say this ending was mostly shock value for an ambitious but ultimately low-quality game (writing-wise.) Sad. I could see this being a lot better if this were a game that focused less on getting its romance quota for romance routes and more on plot (in other words, if it weren't a romance game). Or if it just took itself more seriously, I do not get that impression at all from the writers of this game.

Also what even was the ending sequence? Too much was left unsaid, the Japanese lines in the credits that I understood were just trying to make you feel sad about Adam, it gave zero information on what was going on or what would happen after that. What did the train tracks mean? Why is he looking back after the girls disappeared? The direction was cool and hype but combined with everything, wasa complete nothingburger.

This really is a discount Heaven’s Feel because they really did try to go for a psychological aspect, but in the end it flopped. Well hey, at least it was entertaining. The whole Full Circle and Auld Lang Syne was entertaining, I didn’t find myself wanting it to be over. But I know I will end up forgetting about it all in like 5 hours.

Conveniently-Japanese-sounding-first-name Bridges/common route thoughts:

Helvetica shows up at the pool and flirt with Teuta no matter how many points I have with other LI’s bruh

The Steam version is atrocious. Everything is so blurry and the best resolution I could put my display on still cuts out some of the screen.

After playing high-budget Nasuverse VN’s (Tsukihime Remake and Mahoyo) my appreciation for this game having animated interlude background and news segments soared. If only the Steam version wasn’t shit and it wasn’t FUCKING BLURRY!

⁠No seriously what is up with Teuta’s name. She’s stated to be Caucasian by Mozu, not to mention her last name. Whaaat.

⁠Luka’s name is also easy to pronounce to Japanese people, but I also like it because it’s a real name. They didn’t even try for the other characters lmao.

⁠Adam’s haircut is THE WORST. The gradient doesn’t help either.

Thanks to Jack Jeanne I got used to female characters being voiced by men.

The art style isn't my favorite, especially when viewing the characters from the side because there you can really see how hentai the art style is with how shiny and fleshy everything is.

I hate how Carmen and Vanessa have disproportionately massive breasts. Unless they went under the knife, that just doesn’t happen. Either way, their poor backs, all because of this gooner character designer. If they were going to be designed like this, there should have been men with insane dorito shaped bodies and small heads like from those Chinese manhwas the kids read nowadays. But nope, the director didn’t want them to be “too handsome” right (meanwhile the artist has a history of drawing tittymonster rape hentai). What the hell?

⁠Kind of bothers me that there’s a CG dedicated to ogling Teuta, especially because she’s alongside women with unsupportive ridiculously skimpy swimsuits adorning their tumors-for-breasts. But that’s only because I know the male side of the VN sphere would seethe and cry if they were ever expected to derive pleasure from looking attractive to the opposite sex like they’re supposed to. At least the guys get shirtless sprites with nipples… Why do I need an artist who draws women in misogynistic ways (an obvious carryover from her rape hentai) in order to actually see men with nipples and all sorts of lovely, detailed, softly rendered masculine bodies?

⁠Why do I have to read about how the tumor-breasted women’s soft chests press against me? Or about how Teuta feels “something large and soft”?

⁠Teuta: “uNdoCumeNtEd imMigrANts are a peOpLE wHO smUGglEd iNTo the cOuNTRy frOM aBrOAd, riGhT?” AHAHAHA. This game is so Japanese. Sasuga Nippon Entertainment.

⁠Why does the only black guy in the game talk like that when everyone else’s voice is normal.

Teuta is frustratingly naïve. As an American she has apparently never been to poor areas of town and there’s this very basic “””struggles””” of those affected by poverty she only just realizes despite only being middle class.

I like the Sauli test because it’s not simply a convenient way to make the MC more aligned with the LI you’re pursuing. The test is stated to be what a participant idealizes themselves to be like, so what that means for Teuta is that she admires the traits a given LI has. Nice touch.

I like how the boys became closer after Teuta arrived.

⁠I liked that they touched (a little) on the consequences of Teuta using her powers to change things. The support of Luka and Adam hit hard.

⁠Teuta has engaging conversations and interactions. Like, she’d say “isn’t it perjury to withdraw a guilty plea” and Limbo would say” oh you’ve done your homework” and then she’d say “preliminary investigation is the key to proper news coverage.” She knows how to respond, which makes it understandable how she can bond with men so different from her.

⁠You can tell the translators either forget or genuinely don’t know what’s going on and they have no idea how to translate things sometimes. Like in Crow's route they were talking about the cat, but they kept calling her “it,” even though they established she’s female.

ROFL at the menu screen showing Celsius and not Fahrenheit. Not American enough.

⁠The menu music sounds like Mario Kart music.

⁠The fact that Black Hawk, the poor and bad part of town that has gang warfare, has many Chinese shops in the background, really reminds me of the Piofiore controversy.

⁠Some of the BGM tracks sound like Pokemon music, from HGSS and D/P/PT.

⁠I thought Teuta was pretty self-insertable, even her philosophy on journalism resonates. Except Mexican food is just the worst. 

VERDICT

Overall... no.

First, the art, which really isn't my taste, especially given the weird choices such as how small Teuta’s skull is to the guys (when she is appropriately sized standing next to them in sprite form), even with someone like Crow, and how out of place the wrinkles are drawn on thicker fabric such as coats. Story wise, I have this to say: after everything, I've concluded that someone with a personality like Teuta should not be in a work darker than Slice of Life. Even after all the shit that happens, she still complains and whines that her boyfriend isn’t the coolest or does everything she expects in a romance.

BUT THEN YOU GET TO THE END AND HOLY SHIIIIIT. ADAM BEST BOY. PEAKAFELLOWS PEAKAFELLOWS PEAKAFELLOWS

Eh. I’ve seen better though, and this mess of a plot and worldbuilding isn’t it; combined with a dearth of tropes I like, I rate Trashafellows 2/10. Probably one of the most overrated otome games I’ve ever played, I can’t see why people love it “in spite of its flaws.” I want to expect more from these games, you should, too.