D.C. II: Da Capo II

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D.C. II: Da Capo II
Da Capo II logo.
D.C.II ～ダ・カーポII～ (D.C. II ~Da Kāpo II~)
Genre	Drama, Fantasy, Harem, Romance
Game
Developer	Circus
Publisher	Circus
Genre	Eroge, Visual novel
Rating	18+ (PC), All-ages (PS2)
Platform	PC, PlayStation 2
Released	May 26, 2006 (PC, limited ed.) June 23, 2006 (PC, regular ed.) June 29, 2007 (Vista compatible ed.) July 7, 2007 (PC-CD) May 29, 2008 (PS2)
Novel
Author	Circus
Publisher	Paradigm
Published	May 12, 2006 – June 25, 2007
Volumes	2
Manga
Author	Circus (story), Syo Ryuga (art)
Publisher	Kadokawa Shoten
Demographic	Seinen
Serialized in	Comptiq
Original run	November 10, 2006
Volumes	1
Novel
Author	Tasuku Saika
Publisher	Paradigm
Published	November 24, 2006 – October 11, 2007
Volumes	7
Manga: D.C. II Imaginary Future
Author	Circus (story), Tsukasa Uhana (art)
Publisher	MediaWorks
Demographic	Seinen
Serialized in	Dengeki G's Magazine
Original run	January 30, 2007
Volumes	1
Game: D.C.II Spring Celebration
Developer	Circus
Publisher	Circus
Genre	Eroge, Visual novel
Rating	18+
Platform	PC
Released	April 27, 2007
TV anime
Director	Hideki Okamoto
Studio	Feel
Network	Chiba TV, Sun TV, TV Aichi
Original run	October 1, 2007 – December 24, 2007
Episodes	13
TV anime: D.C. II S.S.: Da Capo II Second Season
Director	Hideki Okamoto
Studio	Feel
Original run	April 5, 2008 – ongoing
Episodes	13

D.C. II: Da Capo II (D.C.II ～ダ・カーポII～, D.C. II ~Da Kāpo II~^?) is an adult Japanese visual novel developed by Circus which was released as a limited edition version on May 26, 2006 playable on the PC as a DVD; a regular edition followed on June 23, 2006. Da Capo II is apart of the ongoing Da Capo series of games by Circus, and is the direct sequel to Circus' previous title D.C.: Da Capo released in 2002. Da Capo II is self-described as a "ticklish school romance adventure (こそばゆい学園恋愛アドベンチャー, Kosabayui Gakuen Renai Adobenchā^?), according to Circus. A sequel, D.C. II Spring Celebration, was released on April 27, 2007 and features springtime stories set after the endings for each of the six Da Capo II heroines. The simplified gameplay in the sequel allows the player to select the story they would like to see from the onset. An all-ages consumer port entitled D.C. II Plus Situation is in production for the PlayStation 2, and is scheduled for release in May 2008.

Similar to its predecessor, the story takes place on the same island, Hatsunejima, in Japan, and set fifty-three years after the original game. The Asakura sisters are the granddaughters of Junichi Asakura and Nemu Asakura from the first Da Capo. Sakura Yoshino and Junichi are the only returning characters, and Nemu is the only other character to be mentioned by name. Yume, Nanaka, Minatsu, and Sakura's themes are remixes of themes from previous Circus games. Yume, Minatsu, and Sakura's are remixes of Nemu, Miharu, and Sakura's from Da Capo, and Nanaka's is a remix of Sayaka's from Suika.

There have been three drama CDs, and two separate sets of novels and manga created based on the original game. An anime adaptation aired in Japan between October 1, 2007 and December 24, 2007 on TV Aichi, and was also broadcast on other networks as well. A second season of the anime began airing on April 5, 2008.^[1]

Contents 1 Visual novel 1.1 Gameplay 1.2 Release history 2 Plot 2.1 Story 2.2 Characters 2.2.1 Main characters 2.2.2 Supporting characters 3 Adaptations 3.1 Drama CDs 3.2 Internet radio show 3.3 Novels 3.4 Manga 3.5 Anime 3.6 Visual novel sequel 4 Music 5 Reception 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Visual novel

[edit] Gameplay

The gameplay requires little interaction from the player as most of the duration of the game is spent on simply reading the text that will appear on the screen; this text represents either dialogue between the various characters, or the inner thoughts of the protagonist. Da Capo II uses the same gameplay system that was used in D.C.: Da Capo. Every so often, the player will come to a "decision point" where he or she is given the chance to choose from options that are displayed on the screen, typically two to three at a time. During these times, gameplay pauses until a choice is made that furthers the plot in a specific direction, depending on which choice the player makes. These decisions can make the protagonist do, or say something, or otherwise choose to go somewhere. When there is a decision on where the player would like to go, there is an image of which girl is at which location to make the choice easier. The player is also given the chance to choose at what time Yoshiyuki will set his alarm clock which mainly affects the scene that appears first the following morning.^[2]

There are six main plot lines that the player will have the chance to experience, one for each of the heroines in the story. In order to view the six plot lines to their entirety, the player will have to replay the game multiple times and choose different choices during the decision points in order to further the plot in an alternate direction.

At the start of gameplay, the player will most often be given choices on something Yoshiyuki can do, or say, but around the third day in-game, location choices and setting the alarm clock become more frequent. The game is split into three main parts: the first story arc revolves around an upcoming Christmas party, the second arc takes place during the winter holiday break, and the last arc is back at school in the new year.

[edit] Release history

On April 15, 2007, a free game demo of Da Capo II entitled The Spring Breeze's Ultimate Battle! (春風のアルティメットバトル, Harukaze no Arudimeto Batoru^?) became available for download at Da Capo II's official website.^[3][4] The demo was a prologue to the story in Da Capo II. The full game was first introduced to the public in Japan as a limited edition version on May 26, 2006 as a DVD playable on a Microsoft Windows PC, and retailed for 9,800 yen (~US$84.85) without tax.^[5] The regular edition followed on June 23, 2006, and retailed for 8,800 yen (~US$76.19) before tax.^[5] A version compatible with the Windows Vista operating system for the PC was released on June 29, 2007 retailing for 8,800 yen. The next month on July 7, 2007, an edition of the game on CD-ROM was released retailing for 9,800 yen.^[5] A version for the PlayStation 2 under the title D.C. II P.S.: Da Capo II Plus Situation (D.C.II P.S. ～ダ・カーポII～ プラスシチュエーション, D.C. II P.S.: Da Capo II Plus Situation^?) is scheduled for release on May 29, 2008. The PS2 version will promote three of the former supporting characters — Maya Sawai, Akane Hanasaki, and Mayuki Kōsaka — to become obtainable heroines, along with the introduction of three original heroines — Erika Murasaki, Mahiru Takanashi, and Aishia.^[6]

[edit] Plot

[edit] Story

The protagonist, Yoshiyuki Sakurai, was born when Sakura Yoshino, weary of being alone for so long, wished upon a prototype artificial wish-granting magical sakura tree for a family. Years later, though, the tree starts malfunctioning, granting all wishes, regardless of how impure. Sakura and Otome Asakura at first try to handle all the problems caused by it, but the situation gradually worsens and they have to choose whether or not to save Hatsunejima (初音島, Hatsunejima^?) — the island in Japan where the story takes place — by deactivating the tree which would erase Yoshiyuki's existence in the process. Sakura makes a last-ditch effort to stop the tree by entering it directly, but fails. Yoshiyuki eventually manages to persuade Otome to choose the island over him, and she has the tree wither, revoking all the granted wishes, including Sakura's.

[edit] Characters

[edit] Main characters

Yoshiyuki Sakurai (桜内義之, Sakurai Yoshiyuki^?)

Voiced by: Mikado Sumeragi (game, regular), Rina Misaki (game, child), Shintaro Asanuma (anime)

Yoshiyuki is the protagonist of Da Capo II. The son Sakura and Junichi never had, brought into existence by the new unwilting sakura tree. His name refers to this as well as it can be taken to mean "Yoshiyuki born from within Sakura". Like Junichi, Yoshiyuki can create wagashi with magic. He also appears to be able to see either the future or peoples desires and dreams when he himself is asleep, as shown when at the beginning of a couple episodes in the anime version where it shows a dream he is sharing with someone and later when the actual event occurs and he recognizes the relation between the reality and his dream. In the anime, Yoshiyuki is depicted to be very caring about people around him. His actions as such frequently results in girls misunderstanding his helpful nature as signs of confession. Yoshiyuki is very insensitive to the people, especially the feelings of girls surrounding him. It is also not clear who he habours feelings for even though he accepted Koko's confession and even dated her in the first season.

Otome Asakura (朝倉音姫, Asakura Otome^?)

Voiced by: Ai Hinaki (game), Ayahi Takagaki (anime)

Otome is the main heroine in the game and one of Junichi and Nemu's granddaughters. She is the chairman of the student council. She refers to Yoshiyuki as "otōto-kun", meaning "little brother". Otome inherited her mother's magical abilities. Otome seems to be one of the two persons, besides Sakura, to have known that Yoshiyuki was created due to the a wish upon the Sakura tree. It is also not clear whether Otome's feelings for Yoshiyuki are that of a brother or more. In the first season of the anime, Otome is portrayed as a caring elder sister to Yoshiyuki and also a very responsible council member in school, to the extent of falling sick in worries of matters regarding Minatsu. In the second season of the anime, Otome is shown to be very reserved when she was young only to become more open with the help of Yoshiyuki. They then share a promise to be whole-heartedly together. Otome is seen to care very much for Yoshiyuki and his daily affairs. This is shown when Yoshiyuki has an upcoming play where he is to play the main character. She forced Yoshiyuki to practice with her every night just to perfect his skills. Otome describes herself as a 'Magician of Justice' and has overwhelming passion to uphold what is right and what is wrong. However, Otome is shown to be very emotional in her part. This is depicted when she replaces Koko as the female lead in the Puppet show where she cried while acting out her role.

Yume Asakura (朝倉由夢, Asakura Yume^?)

Voiced by: Hijiri Kinomi (game), Yui Horie (anime)

Yume is Otome's younger sister, and one of Junichi and Nemu's granddaughters. Due to her magician blood, she sees the future in her dreams. In the first season of the anime, Yume's accommodating personality is being portrayed when she easily became friends with Minatsu. Yume is also there to support Minatsu in times of trouble and also show signs of defensiveness towards Minatsu when others found out about the latter being a robot. In the second season of the anime, Yume is depicted to be rather lonely after Minatsu leaves the school. However, she puts on an independent front when in front of others, especially around Yoshiyuki. Yume is also shown to habour romantic feelings for Yoshiyuki and is shown on a few occasions to convey her feelings indirectly by asking Yoshiyuki out. However, Yoshiyuki does not seem to know about it. When Yoshiyuki first came to stay at the Asakuras' place when he was young, the younger Yume is shown to be very open in her feelings and immediately grab Yoshiyuki's hands to introduce herself.

Nanaka Shirakawa (白河ななか, Shirakawa Nanaka^?)

Voiced by: Myū Nonaka (game), Minori Chihara (anime)

Nanaka is the school idol. She likes singing, but not in front of others. Nanaka is the lead singer of the school band together with Koko her childhood and her best friend who places the bass. Like Kotori in the previous game, she has the power to read minds (due to a wish granted by the magical sakura tree), but only when she is touching the person whose mind she wants to read. She starts to fall in love with Yoshiyuki when he starts being genuinely worried about her and helps her when she is picked on by other girls for playing with guys' feelings (even though those are just jealous rumors), but later she finds out he was worried about her not because he liked her, but because he saw her as a good friend.

Koko Tsukishima (月島小恋, Tsukishima Koko^?)

Voiced by: Yoshino Nanjō

Koko is a childhood friend of Yoshiyuki and Nanaka. In the first season of the anime, she confesses her feelings for Yoshiyuki, which he accepts and they start dating, but later on in the first season, she breaks up with Yoshiyuki after coming to light that Yoshiyuki has been spending too much time on others, particularly Minatsu. Koko felt left out as a result and develop feelings of insecurities due to Yoshiyuki's insensitivity to the her feelings of loneliness. Koko is shown to be weak and cries frequently when she was young. Only after much persuasion from Yoshiyuki, does she smiles. Koko also has a forgiving personality as shown when she has a quarrel with Yoshiyuki when they were young but forgives Yoshiyuki after he apologized. In the second season, she develops to become a more confident individual but still holds signs of weakness in her falling sick due to unknown reasons just before the puppet show where she is stated to play the female character.

Minatsu Amakase (天枷美夏, Amakase Minatsu^?)

Voiced by: Sayaka Aoki

Minatsu is a robot who runs on bananas, but claims to hate them. She is upset over the fact that she is a robot but does not have a rocket punch. In the first season of the anime, Minatsu is friends with Yume. She also claims to hate humans in the beginning stages of the anime but starts to fully understand that not all humans are like that. After the school finds out that she is a robot, people became wary of her. Although she acts as if nothing has happened, in reality she is really depressed about the matter. Subsequently, the school became impressed with her courage and determination and the whole school even pleads for the school to not expel her. However, she was expelled but gets to attend a graduation ceremony arranged by the Students' Council. She was touched by the actions of Yoshiyuki and the others and graduates in a high note. In the second season of the anime, it is not known where she went.

Anzu Yukimura (雪村杏, Yukimura Anzu^?)

Voiced by: Tae Okajima

Anzu is one of Yoshiyuki's classmates. Due to a wish granted by the magical sakura tree, she has the power to never forget anything. In the anime, she is best friends with Koko and occasionally hangs out with Yoshiyuki. In the second season, it is revealed that Anzu was abandoned by her parents when she was young and was adopted by a kind woman who she addressed as grandmother. The latter subsequently passed away when Anzu enrolls in middle school. She starts to open more towards Yoshiyuki and seems to trust Yoshiyuki a great deal into revealing her family and personal background. She is shown to not want others, especially Koko, to worry by not telling the others her family background.

Sakura Yoshino (芳乃さくら, Yoshino Sakura^?)

Voiced by: Minami Hokuto (game), Yukari Tamura (anime)

Sakura is one of the two returning characters from D.C.: Da Capo. She is now the principal of Kazemi, the school Yoshiyuki goes attends, and still maintains her childlike appearance while being in her seventies. In the second season of the anime, Sakura is shown to be unsure of the continuing warmness of the family together with Yume, Otome and Yoshiyuki. She is related to Yoshiyuki in some way and created Yoshiyuki out of a Sakura tree which granted her wish when she was lonely and needed company. The effects of the Sakura tree is seen to worsen as the town they were staying in has more frequencies of fire outbreaks. This greatly worries Sakura and Otome at hand.

[edit] Supporting characters

Maya Sawai (沢井麻耶, Sawai Maya^?)

Voiced by: Kaori Mizuhashi

Maya is the class representative of Yoshiyuki's class. She once hated robots until her younger brother is saved by Minatsu.

Akane Hanasaki (花咲茜, Hanasaki Akane^?)

Voiced by: Natsumi Yanase

Akane is one of Yoshiyuki's classmates.

Mayuki Kōsaka (高坂まゆき, Kōsaka Mayuki^?)

Voiced by: Rina Misaki (game), Shizuka Itō (anime)

Mayuki is the vice-chairman of the student council and one of Otome's friends.

Suginami (杉並, Suginami^?)

Voiced by: Daisuke Kishio

Suginami is one of Yoshiyuki's male friends. He happens to look almost exactly like Suginami from D.C.: Da Capo.

Wataru Itabashi (板橋渉, Itabashi Wataru^?)

Voiced by: Jun Fukuyama (game), Kappei Yamaguchi (anime)

Wataru is one of Yoshiyuki's male friends. He is part of a music band consisting of him, Nanaka, and Koko.

Maika Mizukoshi (水越舞佳, Mizukoshi Maika^?)

Voiced by: Azusa Yuzuki (game), Yu Asakawa (anime)

Maika is a teacher in Kazemi, the school Yoshiyuki attends.

Yuzu Kohinata (小日向ゆず, Kohinata Yuzu^?)

Voiced by: Yuzu Miyashiro (game)

Yuzu is a young girl Nanaka befriends.

Shin Kohinata (小日向慎, Kohinata Shin^?)

Voiced by: Kentarō Itō (game)

Shin is Yuzu's father.

Mu (Greek: μ)

Voiced by: Sayaka Aoki

Mu is a maid-robot created by Maya's father.

Junichi Asakura (朝倉純一, Asakura Jun'ichi^?)

Voiced by: Daichi Kiryu

Junichi is Otome and Yume's maternal grandfather. He is one of the two returning characters from D.C.: Da Capo.

Harimao (はりまお, Harimao^?)

Voiced by: Sayaka Aoki

Harimao is a dog-like life-form, and Sakura's pet.

[edit] Adaptations

[edit] Drama CDs

There have been three drama CDs for Da Capo II. The first, entitled D.C.II prestorys entrata, was written by Chihare Ameno, the director and one of the main scenario writers from the original game, and was released on February 24, 2006. The second drama CD, called D.C. II Otome's "Chocolate Box Memories" (D.C.II 音姫の「Chocolate Box Memories」, D.C. II Otome no "Chocolate Box Memorie^?), was written by Kōta Takeuchi, another one of the scenario writers for the original game, and was released almost a year later on February 10, 2007. The third drama CD, under the name D.C. II Setsugekka no "Dokidoki Omimai Daisakusen" (D.C.II 雪月花の「ドキドキお見舞い大作戦」, D.C. II Setsugekka no "Dokidoki Omimai Daisakusen"^?), was not released in stores, but instead given out to those who had already signed previously signed up for the Circus fanclub in mid 2007.^[7]

[edit] Internet radio show

An Internet radio show for Da Capo II called D.C. II: Da Capo II Kazami Academy Broadcasting Club (D.C.II ～ダ・カーポ II～ 風見学園放送部, D.C. II ~Da Kāpo II~ Kazumi Gakuen Hōsōbu^?). The show, produced by Lantis Web Radio, had a pre-broadcast on March 27, 2006, and officially began on April 3, 2007. The program airs every Monday at midnight featuring Ai Hinaki, Hijiri Kinomi, and Aya Tachibana; they played Otome, Yume, and Koko from the original game.

[edit] Novels

There have been two separate novel series written based on Da Capo II, both published by Paradigm. The first series contained two novels that were written by Circus staff members; the first was released on May 12, 2006, and the second on June 25, 2007. The second series is written by Tasuku Saika and six volume have been produced between November 24, 2006 and August 29, 2007. A seventh novel, and final novel, in this series is scheduled to be released on October 11, 2007. Each of the novels covers the story for one of the six heroines, except for the last two volumes which both cover Otome's story.

[edit] Manga

There have been two separate manga series created based on Da Capo II. The first, illustrated by Syo Ryuga, was originally serialized in the Japanese seinen magazine Comptiq on November 10, 2006, published by Kadokawa Shoten. The first bound volume of this series was released on August 9, 2007, and was published under Kadokawa Shoten's Kadokawa Comics Ace label. The second manga series, illustrated by Tsukasa Uhaha, was originally serialized in the bishōjo magazine Dengeki G's Magazine on January 30, 2007 under the title D.C.II Imaginary Future (～ダ・カーポII イマジナリーフューチャー～, ~Da Kāpo II Imajinarī Fūchā~^?), published by MediaWorks. The first volume was released on June 27, 2007, and was published under MediaWorks' Dengeki Comics label.

[edit] Anime

See also: List of D.C. II: Da Capo II episodes

In May 10, 2007, the magazine Comptiq revealed that a Da Capo II anime adaptation would be produced.^[8] The anime began airing in Japan on October 1, 2007 on TV Aichi, and was broadcast on other networks soon after, including, but not limited to, Chiba TV and TV Kanagawa. The series is produced by the animation studio Feel, and contains thirteen episodes; the last episode aired December 24, 2007. A second season began airing on April 5, 2008.^[1]

[edit] Visual novel sequel

A sequel based on the Da Capo II visual novel entitled D.C.II Spring Celebration (～ダ・カーポII～ スプリング セレブレイション, ~Da Kāpo~ Supringu Serebureishon^?) was released by Circus on April 27, 2007 as a limited edition version playable as a DVD on the PC. The limited edition version retailed for 7,800 yen (~US$67.54) without tax.^[5] Spring Celebration features springtime stories set after the endings for each of the six Da Capo II heroines. The simplified gameplay in the sequel allows the player to select which of the heroines' stories will be played through from the onset.

[edit] Music

A CD single containing the main opening and ending themes of Da Capo II was released on June 7, 2006. The main opening theme, "Da Capo II: Asaki Yumemishi Kimi to" (ダ・カーポII ～あさきゆめみし君と～, "Da Capo II: Asaki Yumemishi Kimi to"^?), was sung by yozuca*, and the main ending theme, "Spring has come", was sung by Rino. There were two other opening themes: "Beautiful flower" was sung by Aki Misato, which was also used as an insert song, and "Especially" was sung by Miyuki Hashimoto. Additionally, there were four other ending themes. "Mabushikute Mienai" (まぶしくてみえない, "Mabushikute Mienai"^?) was sung by yozuca*, which was also used as another insert song, was used as the ending them for Nanaka's route. "Little Distance" was sung by Seiko Modaka was used as the ending theme for both Anzu's and Koko's route. The third ending theme, "If...I wish", was sung by Aki Misato and was used as the ending theme for Otome's and Yume's routes. The last ending theme, "Aogeba tōtoshi" (仰げば尊し, "Aogeba tōtoshi"^?), was sung by twenty of the cast from the game. The final theme song used in the game was "Time will shine" sung by Alchemy+, and was used as an insert song.

An album entitled VocalAlbum Songs From D.C.II containing the theme songs was released on July 26, 2006. Da Capo II's original soundtrack was released on August 23, 2006. A single containg the theme song for the Internet radio show entiteld Dream on ~Koiseyo Otome~ (Dream on ~コイセヨオトメ~, Dream on ~Koiseyo Otome~^?) was released on October 25, 2006. A character song album featuring songs sung by voice actors from the game was released on December 13, 2006. A maxi single containg the opening theme of Spring Celebration called Happy my life: Thank you for everything!! was released on May 9, 2007. A mini album for Spring Celebration containing five of the game's theme songs was released on May 23, 2007.

The anime's opening theme is "Sakura Kimi ni Emu" (サクラキミニエム, "Sakura Kimi ni Emu"^?) sung by yozuca*, and the ending theme is "Yasashisa wa Ame no Yōni" (優しさは雨のように, "Yasashisa wa Ame no Yōni"^?) by CooRie.

[edit] Reception

The original Da Capo II release was positively reviewed at visual-novels.net, commenting: "I know a lot of gamers may not enjoy Da Capo, but whilst I think the story on some arcs was weaker than on others they were still amazing paths to play. On the stronger paths you really start to feel a lot of emotion for these girls, and because they're so closely tied together, someone always gets hurt. That for me bought some realism to the game."^[2] In the October 2007 issue of Dengeki G's Magazine, poll results for the fifty best bishōjo games were released. Out of 249 titles, Da Capo II ranked ninth with forty-seven votes.^[9] Da Capo II was the most widely sold game of 2006 on Getchu.com.^[10] D.C. II Spring Celebration was the second most widely sold game for the first half of 2007 on Getchu.com, just behind Kimi ga Aruji de Shitsuji ga Ore de.^[11] Furthermore, D.C. II Spring Celebration was the sixth most widely sold game of 2007 on Getchu.com.^[12]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Da Capo II official website (Japanese)
• Spring Celebration official website (Japanese)
• Plus Situation official website (Japanese)
• Da Capo II anime official website (Japanese)
• Da Capo II Second Season anime official website (Japanese)
• D.C. II: Da Capo II (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia