At the stage event of Animate Girls Festival 2022 held in Ikebukuro, Tokyo on November 5, Cybird x Animate’s otome game project Koihana Bakumeiroku has revealed a bunch of new information under the presence of voice cast Shugo Nakamura (played as Saitō Hajime), Ryota Suzuki (played as Kido Takayoshi), and Ryohei Kimura (played as Saigo Takamori).
First revealed last month, Koihana Bakumeiroku is a romance game and the first project of +ONE by Ikémen Series, a new brand that was established to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Ikémen Series, together with the series’ new entry Ikemen Villains: Wrapped in Wicked Romance. It is set to release on smartphones in Japan in 2023.
This stage report tries to bring back the lively atmosphere of the Koihana Bakumeiroku AGF2022 stage event, with the cast digging deep into the worldview, characters, and charm of the work. A history trivia quiz corner was also held to light up the stage!
▍What is Koihana Bakumeiroku? Let’s Hear it from the Cast!
The streaming of the first promotion video of Koihana Bakumeiroku opened the curtains of the stage featuring Sogo Nakamura, Ryota Suzuki, and Ryohei Kimura, who greeted the audience.
Under the charming voice of the cast, we were introduced to the mysterious worldview of Koihana Bakumeiroku, which is set at the end of the Boshin War and the beginning of the Meiji era.
The player will play the heroine of Koihana Bakumeiroku, who lost her childhood memories in a certain incident. After your adoptive parents passed away, you visited the new capital, Tokyo. As soon as you were fascinated by the gorgeous cityscape, you were involved in an incident – a man suddenly appeared, giving you no choice but to pull out your memento sword. Known by his name Saito Hajime, he was once the captain of the Shinsengumi’s 3rd division of the rebels and is now the captain of the Meiji government Battou Corps.
After meeting him and the government officers such as Kido Takayoshi and Katsu Kaishu, you learned the existence of “Shikabito”, a force that threatens the Meiji government. While chasing the incident surrounding the Shikabito, the new Tokugawa shogunate army led by Ii Naosuke, who lost his life in the past, appears. Beside him is Hijikata Toshizo, the vice-commander of the Shinsengumi. On the other hand, general Saigo Takamori further drags you to an unprecedented three-way battle…
As the keywords such as “Shikabito” and “Shinsengumi” captured the attention of the audience, the voice cast gave an introduction to the character that they played in Koihana Bakumeiroku. And on top of this, they also shared their thoughts on the characters in their own words.
It was also the first time that the character profile of Saito Hajime, Kido Takayoshi, and Saigo Takamori, was revealed. It seems that Saito takes care of the main character for a mysterious reason, while Kido may look sociable, but you can’t read his true feelings.
On the other hand, Saigo has an affectionate and generous personality that is loved by those around him. What love story will the heroine share with these historical figures? I guess we’d have to wait and see when Koihana Bakumeiroku comes out next year!
Other ikemen characters include the “Charismatic x Sexy” Hijikata Toshizo (voiced by Makato Furukawa), the “Disciplined x Harsh” Ii Naosuke (voiced by Masaya Matsukaze), the “Fraternity x Seeker” Enomoto Takeaki (voiced by Kazuyuki Okitsu), the “Ambitious x Independent” Katsu Kaishu (voiced by Yohei Azakami) and the “Faithful x Eccentric” Kirino Toshiaki (voiced by Shogo Sakata). And just like your Japanese history book, Saito has a special connection with Hijikata, and Saigo has a connection with Kirino.
▍Can You Answer These History Trivia Quizzes?
Next, the Koihana Bakumeiroku stage event entered a special History Trivia Quiz corner to challenge the cast and their historical knowledge for the end of the Edo period to the Meiji era. There are five questions in total with three options that you can choose as the answer, and the winner receives a big round of applause from the audience!
The first question caught the cast in surprise by asking “What was the blood type of Saigo Takamori?” While Nakamura and Kimura got the same answer “Type B”, Suzuki answered “Type A” and was well left behind when the correct answer is “Type B”.
The question is actually quite interesting when you could really see how the cast interacted and came in with their own answer. The second question is “What is Kondo Isami’s favorite sword?” and the third question is “Which hand does the statue of Sakamoto Ryōma put in his pocket?”. In order to answer the third question, the cast stood up and posed trying to remember the correct answer. And all of a sudden the crowd burst into laughter when Suzuki started doing bodybuilding poses.
In response to the fourth question, “What has been incorporated into the architecture of the State Guest House, Akasaka Palace, and was considered rare in the Meiji era?” Suzuki finally got it right this time by answering “electricity”. He made a fist pump to celebrate as he never thought that it was the correct answer!
Until now, it’s a tie as all three cast members have three points in this match. And the fifth and final question would decide who won our applause! It was a critical question that doesn’t seem to be written in textbooks; “Which body part of Sakamoto Ryoma had hair since he was born?” miraculously all of them choose the correct answer “at the back”! Huge applause for the three cast!
After a splendid quiz show that the cast members had put on, the stage event finally came to an end. Nakamura also announced that he would be partnering with Makoto Furukawa to perform Koihana Bakumeiroku’s theme song as their character Saitō Hajime and Hijikata Toshizo. Stay tuned for more information about Koihana Bakumeiroku!
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