Hiiro no Kakera, is a Japanese visual novel created by Idea Factory directed at the female market, known as an otome game. Released on July 6, 2006 for the PlayStation 2, the protagonist is a teenage girl who revisits a small village she remembers from her childhood and gets caught up in her family's history and supernatural dangers surrounding it. A 13-episode anime adaptation by Studio Deen aired in Japan between April and June 2012 and was licensed in North America by Sentai Filmworks. A second season began airing on October 1, 2012 to December 23, 2012.
PLOT:
The protagonist is a teenage girl (Tamaki) who revisits a small village she remembers from her childhood and gets caught up in her family's history and the supernatural dangers surrounding it. While walking along the hillsides waiting for the person who her grandmother sent to fetch Tamaki to the village, Tamaki comes across a small, white round object which has sticks for limbs and can talk. It runs off soon after with Tamaki chasing after it. Soon Tamaki finds herself in a place where "it does not feel like the world I came from." She gets attacked by three slime creatures, and a mysterious man comes charging in to save her by clamping his hands around her body and mouth then telling her to be quiet. After the young man (Takuma) saves her he walks her to the village where her grandmother is staying. Soon after her arrival she meets with her grandmother. It's later explained that she has to continue the role of ancestor princess (Tamayori), to seal the sword Onikirimaru with the help of her five guardians.
Hiiro no Kakera was developed by Idea Factory and released on July 6, 2006 for the PlayStation 2 (PS2) as the first in the Hiiro no Kakera series. The next two games were released in 2007 and the PS2: Hiiro no Kakera: Ano Sora no Shita de on February 15 and Hisui no Shizuku: Hiiro no Kakera 2 on August 9. Shin Hisui no Shizuku: Hiiro no Kakera 2 followed on October 1, 2009 for the PS2, and was later ported to the PlayStation Portable (PSP) on August 19, 2010 and the Nintendo DS (NDS) on June 16, 2011. Soukoku no Kusabi: Hiiro no Kakera 3 was released on August 7, 2008 for the PS2, and was later ported to the PSP on April 15, 2010 and the NDS on August 25, 2011.
CHARACTERS:
- Tamaki Kasuga: The main protagonist of the series. Her name is changeable in the PS2 and DS version. She is the next Tamayori Princess after her grandmother. She is very connected with, and can sense through her body, whenever something happens to the Onikirimaru seals. When she first comes to the village, she had no idea what was going on. But as the story progresses, she gets used to all the unusual things happening around her. She was saved by Takuma as soon as she arrives, but starts hating him because of his attitude toward her.
- Takuma Onizaki: He is the male lead character in the series and the first guardian to meet Tamaki. He at first does not accept her, and shows a cold attitude towards her. He later finds out they are to be classmates. Although he is annoyed with Tamaki at first, he grows to accept her, and even falls in love with her. Takuma Has powerful strength, and finds out he is the descendant of the oni, whose power is very hard to control, especially when near the sealed magical sword Onikirimaru. At times, the power inside of him starts to take over, but he becomes himself again when Tamaki is with him. His hobby is doing crosswords and he likes eating taiyaki. It's revealed that he's actually the reincarnation of the Underworld God, and was Tamaki's lover in their past life.
- Mahiro Atori: An upperclassman of the main character and one of the five guardians. Mahiro is the descendant of the raven and can control the wind. He is extremely self-conscious when it comes to his height, because although he is older than most of them, he is shortest. He is usually very loud and energetic, and can act immature. He is not afraid to say what he feels, however, when needed, he can show a serious and deep side. He likes women with big breasts and loves motorbikes, meat & Yakisoba sandwiches.
- Yuuichi Komura: An upperclassman of the main character and another of the five guardians. Yuichi is the descendant of the nine-tailed fox and specializes in using illusions and spirit fire. He is very quiet and can be emotionless. He can be found a lot of the times in the library, reading a book. He Likes spacing out and has the ability to sleep anywhere at anytime. His hobby is just relaxing & laying on the grass in the sun.
- Shinji Inukai: He is a the youngest out of the guardians, and is a grade below the Tamaki and Takuma. Shinji has the power of healing (kaifuku) and can use the power of words to control things. It is hinted he and Mitsuru were close before he went away, and were possibly in love. although, not much about their relationship is revealed. His hobby is cooking and is skilled at it. It's revealed that he was giving information to Logos and later finds out he is the twin to Mitsuru in the Dai Ni Shou.
-Suguru Oomi: Unofficial leader of the guardians and descendant of the giant snake. The tactician of the group and can also create powerful seals and barriers and also controls water. He is very polite and reliable but has a childish side. He is usually seen smiling. Loves drinking tea and teaches calligraphy. He has a strong dislike for Drei, but still keeps himself in line.
- Ryou Kutani: He is in the same year as Tamaki and Takuma but he is actually one year older than them. He is a lone wolf and does as he pleases. He has a penchant for sniffing Tamaki which is due to his powers. It is later revealed that he is actually a member of the Inukai household who would have been the Inukai Guardian however his mother hid his existence.
Soukoku no Kusabi - Hiiro no Kakera 3: One year after the seal of Onikirimaru.... Tamaki, a Tamayorihime, and Shugosha (protectors) live a peaceful life. But one day, all villagers except for Tamaki's relatives suddenly disappear and they are confined inside the village. They investigate what's going on and find out that the phenomenon is caused by a mirror....
MANUFACTURER'S DESCRIPTION:
New battle takes place around the series "piece of scarlet" women love adventure! The new loading enjoy the side story of the guardians "System reflecting mirror!" Nightmare one year from the previous work, the village that unmanned to guardians and Kasuga Tamaki that was spent in peace pounce. And what this means! ? Battle carve out the destiny of each begins!
FEATURES:
- First person perspective.
- 2D graphics
- Cartoon graphics
- Fantasy, Supernatural, Romance & Anime themes.
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