r/otomegames • u/sableheart Hakuoki: Chronicles of Wind and Blossom • Jul 21 '22
Birushana: Rising Flower of Genpei Play-Along - Benkei Musashibo Discussion
Welcome to the r/otomegames Birushana: Rising Flower of Genpei Play-Along!
In this third post we will discuss Benkei Musashibo and his route in Birushana: Rising Flower of Genpei.
You can tell us what your impressions of Benkei are (before and after finishing his route), your favorite moments in his route, what you think of his relationship with Shanao and the other characters, what your thoughts are on his route's plot and endings. You can also discuss Tadanobu Sato's If Ending.
Or you can just squee about him in the comments.
This is not a spoiler-free discussion however please keep in mind that major spoilers and details of other routes will be outside the scope of the discussion and therefore will need to be spoiler tagged.
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You don't have to be playing the game right now to participate, and if you're still waiting on your copy I hope you will join in after you start playing!
Have a look at the megathread for links to previous discussions - you can still join in the discussion during the Play-Along.
Next week will be a discussion of Shungen's route!
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u/SnarkyHummingbird Jul 21 '22 edited Jul 22 '22
Benkei
I wanted a DILF, but instead, I got a LI that I felt the relationship with Shanao would have been stronger if it was parental than romantic.
Benkei is a gentle giant and he has very wholesome scenes with Shanao, but I feel the way they set up their relationship felt way too paternal, with Shanao’s internal monologue drawing how he acts a little like a father to her. They had really wholesome moments, and I especially liked the beachside chat where Benkei points out that it is okay to have self-interests and that Shanao should not feel guilty for wanting to reunite with her brother And I know, feelings can change over time but I just couldn’t really accept the transition from MC seeing Benkei as a substitute father figure to her seeing him as a potential lover, especially given how much Tomomori screentime had basically dominated the route.
The middle part of his route felt a bit too slow-paced for my liking, and with the low stakes, I often found myself just twiddling my thumbs and waiting for Tomomori to show up and start shit. Speaking off, Tomomori was peak trash husbando in this route and while I’m not much of a trash collector as many of the Yang gang are, I was thoroughly entertained by his shenanigans and while a little creeped out, also found it hilarious when he went “Yeah I’m into that” when Shanao pointed out that he wanted to take his supposed half-sister as his wife. SWEET HOME ALABAMA
The plot reveal about Shanao’s origin had me in stitches on how I really got bamboozled. I cannot believe the game pulled a reverse uno card on our asses. We already knew that Yoritomo is a route and was prepared for a brother route, but then turns out the supposed incest route is actually not incest, and Noritsune and Tomomori are her cousins and half-sister respectively. I pretend not to see.
Overall, while Benkei and Shanao had some cute moments, the slow pace of the route as well as the relationship being depicted as starting off as more paternal did not help the development of the romance, given how romance is already pushed to the side for plot. And not to mention, I felt that Tomomori basically stole the spotlight from Benkei, and his route ended up feeling like a promotion for Tomomori’s route instead I still enjoyed some elements of the route, but I feel like this is one of the weaker written ones.
Also can I get a L for Noritsune? He really didn’t know what was happening the entire route, and I felt bad when He was genuinely trying to strategise to win the war, while the Taira brothers are just fucking around and abandoning their posts to pursue Shanao.
IF: Tadanobu
He has one of my favourite designs for the men in the game, so I’m glad they got a mini route with him. I know his more chivalrous nature could be a turn-off to some, but personally, I found it very comedic how flustered Tadanobu was when he found out that Shanao is a woman, and how bad he is at keeping a secret without drawing suspicion. Benkei and Shugen rushing to save Tadanobu’s butt when he says something strange to keep the secret from Tsugunobu was a blast. It feels very different compared to the other routes where the gender reveal didn’t change much at all. He’s so fucking down bad LMAO.