Strawberry Panic! is a series of Japanese illustrated short stories written by Sakurako Kimino, which focus on a group of teenage girls attending three affiliated all-girl schools on Astraea Hill. A common theme throughout the stories is the intimate lesbian relationships between the characters. The original artist was Chitose Maki, who was succeeded by Namuchi Takumi when production of the manga and light novels began.
PLOT:
The plot of Strawberry Panic! revolves around the lives of the adolescents who attend one of three affiliated all-girl schools which share a campus and dormitories. The schools are: St. Miator's Girls' Academy, St. Spica's Girls' Institute, and St. Lulim's Girls' School. There are twelve characters the story revolves around, four at each school. The story's main character is Nagisa Aoi, a young girl entering her fourth year at St. Miator after being transferred from another school. On first entering the campus grounds she is overcome with joy by the overall appearance of the surrounding area, but her joy is soon turned to sorrow as she accidentally stumbles down a hill, causing her to be lost and disoriented. While walking around the grounds trying to work out where she is, Nagisa comes across an older student named Shizuma Hanazono, who happens to be Astraea Hill's Etoile, a very important person who acts as a representative between the different schools and has specific duties that she must fulfill. Nagisa is instantly overcome by Shizuma's beauty, and after Shizuma kisses her on the forehead, Nagisa loses consciousness and awakens in the school's infirmary. In an adjacent chair is another girl of the same age, Tamao Suzumi, who informs her that they are to be roommates in the dormitory.
In the ensuing story Nagisa is introduced to other students from each of the three schools; some she admires, some she is intimidated by, and some are merely friends encountered while attending St. Miator. The series encompasses the relationships the characters build with each other, climaxing whenever two of the characters start dating.
VIDEO GAME:
A visual novel named Strawberry Panic! Girls' School in Fullbloom was released on the PlayStation 2 on August 24, 2006 in Japan by MediaWorks. Two versions of the game were released, a regular edition and a limited edition which included a drama CD; there is a different cover for each of the versions. The drama CD contained three tracks, one for students of each school.
This is a girl's adventure game, featuring relationships among girls on three girl's high schools. You can choose "Boy Mode" or "Girl Mode". If you choose "Boy Mode", you will be a brother of a heroine. If you choose "Girl Mode", you will be a girl who has transferred to a high school and meets girls there. Don't miss unique systems that recreate a girl's feeling in love.
There are three playable characters, one from each of the schools: Nagisa, Hikari, and Kizuna. They have no family names in the game, as when the series of short stories were first published. While Ai Shimizu maintained her role for Kizuna in the game, Miyuki Sawashiro performed the voice for Tamao Suzumi. The game features a "boy mode" and a "girl mode". Choosing the male version means that the story is told via emails from the player's younger sister; choosing the female version means that the story is told in the player's own diary. The player is given the chance to pair their chosen character with one of the other nine available girls, not including the other possible playable characters. There are twenty-seven different combinations depending on which girl the player chooses at the start of the game.
The game is played over the course of a school semester; the first day of school is on April 1. In "boy mode", each day concludes with a super deformed image of the heroine the player chose at the onset of the game slumped over her computer in her room; an email message from a girl that she interacted with during the day in on the monitor. As the heroine sleeps, the object of her affection appears in a thought bubble above her head. In "girl mode", she is seen writing in her diary instead. The first day in the game requires no interaction from the player. The player gets through the first day by reading the text and getting acquainted with the girls. The game uses an angel and devil system where miniature angel and devil versions of each girl float beside her when critical decisions have to be made; this is not restricted to the three playable characters. It also features a "Strawberry chance" system, where the outcome of some scenes changes if the player presses one of the analog sticks fast enough after the message "Chance!" is displayed in the upper right screen corner.
MANUFACTURER'S DESCRIPTION:
Maiden system adventure game which drew on the stage the prestigious girls' school of the three men's forbidden, the girl petting each other. Allows the player to choose to play in either mode girl and boy mode, and enjoy the story of each. I am full of system that reproduces the feelings such as panic and systems devil and angel system, a girl in love.
FEATURES:
- First person perspective.
- 2D graphics
- Cartoon graphics
- Romance & Anime themes.
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