Da Capo II: Anzu Yukimura

Gothloli know-it-all. The female counterpart of Suginami. First impressions tell me that I might not be interested in her (except the loli part). Indeed, her story started out slow, but after the Ski Trip event which I thoroughly enjoyed from start to finish, I got some much needed urge to finish her story. Thankfully, I wasn’t disappointed. Anzu’s scenario is solid and simple. Moreover, so many characters get involved, including a seeming teaser for the upcoming “Da Capo” story. Very intriguing.

This time, there doesn’t seem to be a direct correlation between Anzu and Minatsu’s scenario, as opposed to the Koko and Nanaka partner scenarios. Minatsu is quite prominent in this one, and I liked her character a bit. I should get started on that one. For now, here’s Anzu Yukimura.

Disclaimer: Lacking Japanese will mean lack of story details. I expect that there will be a LOT of errors in the way I understood some events, because I rely only on the spoken dialogue. To the Japanese-literate game players who may have found this page, please do help me in case I have mistaken in understanding some parts of the story. Please do post a comment or contact me.

Da Capo II
Timeline:
Merry Christmas (December 16 – December 24) – events at the Christmas Party
The Winter Holidays (December 29 – January 2) – events during the New Year
Powdery Snow and Cherry Petal Fall (January 11 – onwards) – events during a new school term

Relevant Characters:
Yoshiyuki – Main guy.
Otome – Elder sister. Seems to harbor Nemu’s responsible side. She’s part of the student council.
Yume – Younger sister. Seems to harbor both Dark Nemu and Junichi’s boredom.
Suginami – Is he the same guy? Also part of the student council.
Wataru – Yoshiyuki’s friend. Yoshiyuki, Suginami and Wataru form an infamous weird trio at school.
Koko – Yoshiyuki’s childhood friend. Has a secret crush on him.
Nanaka – Koko’s best friend.
Akane – Koko’s friend. Has a very mild voice, and a big… heart.
Anzu – Koko’s friend. Loli know-it-all type. Koko, Akane and Anzu form a trio.
Minatsu – The robot student. Quite close to Anzu.
Mizukoshi-sensei – The school doctor.
Sakura – School principal. Lives with Yoshiyuki.

— MERRY CHRISTMAS —

The female Suginami

She’s not as annoying as Suginami, but she does pack some punch. Anzu Yukimura packs a lot of brainy punch. Probably the most intelligent girl in her batch, Anzu helps her friends with their homework, exchanges blows with Suginami himself, and basically fools around with Yoshiyuki. She teases Yoshiyuki a LOT. Sometimes to Koko, sometimes even to herself! It is indicative that she has some sort of interest with Yoshiyuki.

For the upcoming Christmas Party, their class will hold a puppet show, where the main characters will be Yoshiyuki and Koko. The actual story and script will be made by Anzu herself. As usual, Iincho manages the play, and she can be quite strict at times. One time Anzu and Iincho have conflicting ideas, and it upset Anzu a bit. Time seems to be running out, and Anzu needs to draft the script so that the class can practice as soon as possible.

Minatsu

One day, Yoshiyuki and Suginami were loitering around a hidden cave to find what seems to be a female robot. It was Minatsu, and since then, Yoshiyuki was ordered by Mizukoshi (the school doctor) to take care of her while she tries to live as a normal human. She has some spunk, she hates guys, and REALLY hates bananas. Minatsu has been following Anzu, and they had become quite close.

Script

Anzu admittedly knows that she has amazing memory. She remembers just about anything she reads or experiences, right down to minute details. In the library, she tells Yoshiyuki that so many things (eg. stories, literature) are borrowed, and it’s hard to be unique. For the next few days, she is so focused on finishing the script just in time. Yoshiyuki notices that she doesn’t get enough sleep, and sometimes skips meals. Yoshiyuki tries to help Anzu out in some ways to finish her story script for the play.

One day in class, Anzu suddenly faints. Yoshiyuki takes her to the clinic. Mizukoshi tells that it may be just fever due to stress, and suggests that she should take care of her health more carefully. Thankfully, her story is almost complete, just in time for the practices.

Puppet Show

The practices went on without a hitch. Anzu still seems to look tired, but she continually assures that she is all right. The day of the performance came, and everyone was in panic, but in the end they pulled it off rather nicely. It was a rousing success! After the play, the whole class went to a nearby restaurant to hold a celebration. Yoshiyuki praised Anzu for such a nice story. Anzu said that it was not just her story, it was everyone’s.

— THE WINTER HOLIDAYS —

Ski Trip?

One day, Anzu called Yoshiyuki up to meet at Hana Yori Dango, a nearby restaurant of sorts. Actually, the whole gang was there too, as Anzu and Suginami announces a very exciting activity for them… a SKI TRIP! Moreover, it seems to be dirt cheap! The gang would comprise of the girls Anzu, Akane, Koko, Nanaka, and Minatsu, and the boys Yoshiyuki, Suginami, and Wataru.

Otome and Yume

Otome and Yume asked Yoshiyuki to some happening which coincides with his ski trip. Because of this, he was forced to tell them about it. This actually made Yume upset, because he wasn’t planning to tell them about it. As punishment, the next day the sisters forced Yoshiyuki to be the bag-man for a day! Otome and Yume went shopping, and Yoshiyuki carried their shopping bags. This left Yume quite satisfied.

Sakura

Sakura also came to know about the ski trip. She gave Yoshiyuki a present, it was some sort of necklace. Sakura tells Yoshiyuki to always wear the necklace at all times… with a somewhat sad tone. She seems to be hinting at something, but Yoshiyuki doesn’t understand.

Ski Trip!

And so the gang finally went to the mountains! They started enjoying the snow by skiing. It is evident that the pro skiiers are Suginami and Anzu. Yoshiyuki, Akane, Nanaka and Minatsu are learning rather well. As for Koko and Wataru… they are the total newbie couple! They are so bad, they always fall down, and keep embarassing themselves at all times!

The much required…

This kind of thing is getting so cliche… it’s the freaking “peeping” scenario! Wataru dragged Yoshiyuki to join him in this act of peeping at the girls bathing in a hot spring. Unfortunately, this blog has a no-hentai policy, so I need not dwelve into much detail, except that to Wataru’s disappointment, Nanaka wasn’t there in the baths. Guess where she is… behind them! They got found out! Thankfully, Yoshiyuki’s charm prevails, so Nanaka promised not to tell, in exchange for some minor punishment of course.

Ou-sama Game

Anzu suggested a game to heat up the cold night… the ou-sama game! If I recall correctly, it’s some sort of party game where players draw lots. Depending on the lot, someone will be King, while the rest get a number. The fun part is that the King orders random people (depending on the number) to do some tasks! In their first run, Suginami was King. He orders person #3 to punch person #5! Incidentally (see the fun in it?), Wataru was #3, Koko was #5!

More chaos ensues. Anzu became King, and orders Nanaka to kiss Koko in the cheek! What if it were a boy… or much worse… two boys?!? Koko was next to be King, and orders Minatsu to massage Akane. Akane was rather… aroused… Minatsu was like a pro massager!

The night went on with all fun and laughter, until it was almost time to sleep, so it’s time to ramp up the excitement for the final round! They get their lots and… Nanaka was King! Nanaka decided to make the night much hotter… by giving this order: A person will act out to confess his/her love to another person! Then they embrace for 5 minutes!!! And the lucky ones are… Yoshiyuki and… Koko!!! (you thought it was Anzu? me too…) Incredibly embarrassed, Yoshiyuki uttered those infamous Ai no Kotoba (words of love), and proceeded to hug Koko for 5 minutes! Oof… not exactly, it was cut short by a brownout! The lights suddenly went off and on again, and we see Yoshiyuki and Koko separate from each other. Ah, too bad it wasn’t 5 minutes, but all were satisfied anyway, so it’s time to go to sleep.

Moments

Yoshiyuki actually had lots of sweet moments with Anzu throughout the trip. They go to the more advanced ski slopes together, (they were supposed to tutor Wataru and Koko by the way, and so those newbies end up embarrassing themselves again), they eat together, and even encounter each other in the baths (insert ecchi cliche). One time, Anzu entered the boys’ room, and only Yoshiyuki was around watching TV. Anzu watched with him, but it’s getting kinda boring, so Anzu dozed off. Yoshiyuki lended his shoulder for Anzu to sleep on.

But the sweetest event may be this one. After an (albeit illegal for their age) alcohol session in the boys’ room, the girls went back to their room. Anzu was the last to leave. Moments later, Anzu went back to the room, saying that she got locked up, the other girls sound asleep inside. Yoshiyuki agreed to share a bed with her. Anzu said that being with Yoshiyuki, she seems to be at peace, and can rest and sleep soundly. Apparently she seems to be slightly insomniac, remember that she faints and gets sleepy easily.

Confession

It was almost time to go back home, so they took a picture as memorabilia. Back at town, they each said their goodbyes to each other, and went their separate ways. But before Yoshiyuki had gone home, Anzu appeared before him again.

Anzu admitted something to Yoshiyuki, that she lied about being locked up one night during the trip. She just wanted to sleep with Yoshiyuki, because he calms her down. She also said that indeed she has powerful memory. She can remember everything… even the bad things, the sad memories she wanted to forget. That keeps her awake at night. But with Yoshiyuki, she can be happy. Anzu confessed her feelings to Yoshiyuki.

— POWDERY SNOW AND CHERRY PETAL FALL —

Couple

It’s the new school term, and it seems that Wataru is the only one who doesn’t know… Yoshiyuki and Anzu are now a couple! After class, Akane and Koko seems to keep distance so that the lovers can enjoy their time together. Before leaving though, Akane called out Yoshiyuki. She whispers to him if he has already visited Anzu’s house. Yoshiyuki said no, and surprisingly, Akane hasn’t gone to Anzu’s house too. She told him to find more about Anzu and her family. Apparently despite being best friends, Anzu hasn’t opened herself to Akane and Koko too much.

Oh, Yume doesn’t know too! At home, Yume rushed and confronted Yoshiyuki about the rumors she heard. Oof… but Anzu is actually there too! Stunned and embarrassed, she bid the couple good luck anyway.

Alone

One day, Anzu fainted again. Yoshiyuki brought her to the hospital. Mizukoshi-sensei tells that it’s the usual, fever due to stress. Surprisingly though, she told Yoshiyuki to bring Anzu back home, and even drove them to Anzu’s house (lol she knows the rumors too). Anzu was quite reluctant to let Yoshiyuki enter, but he does anyway.

Inside, Yoshiyuki discovers a number of things about Anzu. Aside from the possible maintenance staff of the huge mansion, Anzu is mostly alone. Her parents left her, and she used to live with her grandmother. Her grandmother took care of her as if she was her own child, but then three years ago she died. She may be alone, but not anymore, Yoshiyuki is with her now. With him, she can be at peace. He gave Anzu a kiss.

The Gift

Anzu was happy that Yoshiyuki remember her birthday, which is on January 29. With Yoshiyuki’s influence, she also agreed to invite Akane, Koko, and others to her house. Akane and Koko were so happy that Anzu is slowly opening up to them, thanks to Yoshiyuki. Yoshiyuki and Anzu set an important promise to be together on that day.

Because of this, Koko offered to help Yoshiyuki in buying a present for Anzu. This seems to be quite an important event later on. The decision point here directly affects the later outcome of the story. If you reject Koko’s offer to help out, it will be a bad ending.

Sakura is missing

Yoshiyuki sees Sakura going out. Sakura acted weirdly, but assures him that she’s alright. She said goodbye, as if she’ll never come back again. Indeed, the following days, she never came back.

Yoshiyuki then tries to search everywhere for her. At one point, even Anzu and Yume tries to help out. This would go on for days, Yoshiyuki not getting enough sleep, until his body gave in, and he faints. Anzu and Yume brought him back home. Anzu then told him that she will be staying at his home for a few days to take care of him… and live with him from now on? That seems to be the plan.

Memory

But things are still not going well for them. Yoshiyuki wakes up one morning and finds Anzu, apparently dazed, asking him… who he is. It’s a temporary memory loss. Anzu woke up to her senses seconds later. Yoshiyuki was worried, but Anzu assures that she’s all right.

Things are about to get more disturbing. At class, everyone knows that Anzu is living with Yoshiyuki now. At dismissal, her friends bid her farewell. It was weird to her, because she thinks she will go with Akane and Koko on the way home… wait… she was supposed to go home with Yoshiyuki! Anzu finally realizes that she may be losing her memory.

Meanwhile, news broke out that the huge sakura tree has withered. All of a sudden, Yoshiyuki faints again. He wakes up back home, and Anzu with her. Anzu tells that she is slowly losing her treasured memories. She also forgot about the ski trip, and is now fearful that she may forget Yoshiyuki too. Yoshiyuki remains hopeful that they can get through this.

“Who are you?”

One morning, Anzu went totally haywire. As if she had a split personality, she switches from being the Anzu who loves Yoshiyuki to being the Anzu that doesn’t even know who Yoshiyuki is. Anzu cries that her worst fear is coming true, she will forget Yoshiyuki soon. Yoshiyuki promised that no matter what happens, he will love her.

One morning, Yoshiyuki woke up to find Anzu… in total amnesia. Anzu asked him who he was, and Yoshiyuki replied that he is just a classmate. Anzu apologized for her weak memory, and went back home.

Birthday

It was Anzu’s birthday. Yoshiyuki visited Anzu at her house. She was dressed up, apparently waiting for someone. She said she was supposed to meet someone at that day, but she didn’t remember who. She apologizes because of her weak memory lately. In any case, Anzu asked Yoshiyuki to stay with her for a while, she feels like she knows him but can’t pinpoint exactly.

They went to the park, where Anzu told her story, or at least what she remembers of it. Back when she was a child, her parents were having problems with her. Anzu seems to be forgetful, and has weak memory. Her parents ran away leaving her alone, and she was taken care of by her grandmother. Although those were her happiest days, she still had her share of hardships due to her ill memory. That is why she wished on the sakura tree, to give her good memory.

Indeed, after a while, Anzu became smarter and more intelligent. She can memorize and remember so many things now. With her mind ability, she can hopefully be happy, garner many friends, and be at peace. Of course, this became a double-edged sword, because she can also remember the bad memories she has. Moreover, she thought about the possibility of her ability being taken away someday, as it indeed happened now. She was about to cry out of loneliness, until Yoshiyuki hugged her.

“I want to remember”

Anzu thanks Yoshiyuki for staying with her even if she still doesn’t remember who he is. Back at Anzu’s house, Yoshiyuki offered to celebrate her birthday. They whipped out a cake, and sang a birthday song. He also gave the present. Anzu said that it is a mysterious feeling that with Yoshiyuki, she can be at peace. Anzu now asks what exactly is Yoshiyuki to her. She is envious of her old self, the one who remembered. Anzu wants to remember.

While Anzu is asleep, Yoshiyuki stumbled upon a notebook. It was actually Anzu’s diary. It contained almost everything from her childhood to present. It showed that Anzu already loved Yoshiyuki from way back, and was always mentioned. She was also still writing even when she was losing her memory. With the diary, hopefully she can read and remember whatever memories she lost, including this Yoshiyuki guy whom she apparently loved… but forgot.

That early morning, Yoshiyuki was about to leave. Anzu, with a big smile, thanked him for everything. Did her memory come back?

Epilogue

Apparently not. The class was quite surprised about Anzu having a low score in a test. She said that her stint as the memory girl are over, and this is the true Anzu. Anzu’s condition has gotten quite better since then, and she assures Yoshiyuki that even if she forgets again, sehe will always love him.

THE END

On retrospect, I’d say that Anzu’s ability of amazing memory recall is similar to Nanaka’s reading of minds. With their mind abilities, they were able to gain friends and happiness. But when the powers are taken away from them, they will be at a loss. I was totally expecting a memory comeback, but this was a more fitting bittersweet ending. I enjoyed the Ski Trip event too… it was awesome!

With the sakura tree losing its powers… wait a minute, are we missing something here? Sakura is still missing! Where the hell is she? And why did Yoshiyuki just quit searching for her all of a sudden? This seems to be foreshadowing the “Da Capo” scenario. Da Capo is Sakura’s kinetic novel scenario (no choices in gameplay), which will be unlocked once all the DCII scenarios have been finished. Hopefully the answers are there. For now, I still have halfways to go before that.

Minatsu is up next… see you. (when?)

This is a [Summer of Bishoujo 2->summer-of-bishoujo] feature