Lilly's Route

[ProfAllister]

Let's consider this:
1. Hisao enters Yamaku during early summer, so it is safe to assume that all storyline takes place during the particular season.
2.The end of Lilly's timeline extends to the end of summer--possibly to early fall (based on the CG art of the epilogue).
3. The little field trip with Lilly and Hanako takes likely takes place during summer vacation. In Japan, summer vacation lasts from late July to early September lasting about 2 weeks.
4. Lilly's parents demanded their daughters to return to Scotland possibly during late summer, to which they tried to comply near the end of the season (but failed to do so considering the incident at the airport).
5. Hisao is hospitalized. For how long, it's uncertain but most likely 1-2 weeks that leads up until the ending.

Now then, with that in consideration we go back to Akira's boyfriend problem again. By experience, obtaining a Visa takes approximately one month--two if the officer who works in the embassy is a douche. When Hisao left the hospital--assuming he is hospitalized for one week--the date of the ending could possibly be around early-mid September and let's say that there's an unexplained one-week gap in the story, that would total to about 2-3 weeks which is less than the regular time to obtain a visa (not to mention one that would let you stay there permanently or work there).

First, since I'm a little obsessive about details, a few corrections/clarifications for the timeline:

1. Hisao enter Yamaku on June 4 (cf. Act 1"Mind Your Step").

3. The field trip takes place during a 3-day break prior to summer vacation (cf. Lilly Act 3 "Renewal"). Hanako's Birthday is July 10, a Tuesday (There are various indicators to peg the year as 2007). Lilly leaves for Scotland on Saturday, June 30 (cf. Hanako Act 3 "Treading Softly"). She returns on Friday, July 13 (cf. Lilly Act 3 "Renewal"). Exams start almost immediately after the 3-day break (June 18 or 19 is a fair guess) and last for "a couple weeks." Lilly's weekly shopping, is on Friday (rather than Monday in Hanako's route), making it most likely June 20 when Hisao learns that Akira's leaving in "a couple of weeks." The date at the fancy restaurant is on Sunday, July 22, then. The last day of exams is on a Monday (cf. Lilly Act 4 "A Morning's Reverie"), so July 30 or August 6 (Ending on the 23rd would mean a stretch of 5 days with a weekend in the middle, hardly "a couple of weeks"). Per Lilly Act 4 "Blackout", classes end 2 weeks after exams, so August 11 or 18.

This gives us a (potential) conflict. Tanabata is traditionally the seventh day of the seventh month according to the lunisolar calendar. Japan has more or less adopted the Gregorian calendar wholecloth, with some northern regions displacing the calendar one month. According to the Gregorian calendar, that places Tanabata at July 7 or August 7. If Yamaku happens to be one of the few holdouts that still celebrates Tanabata according to the traditional lunisolar calendar, my previous calculations could potentially hold true. I do not have the time, inclination, or understanding to calculate Tanabata in 2007, but a back of the envelope calculation makes it plausible.

That places the end of classes at August 4, 11, or 18. If at August 4, Hisao sucks at counting. Regardless, Hisao and Lilly's Shanghai date is the last Sunday before classes end - 29. 5, or 12. Following the conversation in the Shanghai, Hisao concludes that they won't be able to go to Tanabata together, so that rules out Tanabata being on August 7 with classes ending August 11.(Incidentally, that would probably be the easiest reconciliation with Shizune's Route having Tanabata while classes are still going on). There is the possibility that Tanabata was ruled out not because it couldn't be done, but because they figured that it would simply be too painful. The Shanghai scene is effectively a "break-up" scene.

Lilly leaves the day classes end (4/11/18). Hisao wakes up from his heart attack 2 days later(6/13/20). "A few days" and another surgery, then an unspecified period of recovery after that.

Per Wikipedia, the Summer Break is closer to 6 weeks than 2 weeks (with some variation, of course)

4. Lilly's parents offered Akira a once-in-a-lifetime type promotion that would necessitate moving to Iverness. For Lilly, it is ostensibly a "we'd like you to come," to the extent that Lilly truly believes she has a choice. It's made quite clear that Lilly is still affectionate for her parents, and truly wants to "be a family again." Lilly is torn between two desires, not one desire and one obligation.

5. Things get fuzzy for the epilogue. Lilly and Hisao seem to be talking as if they're at the end of Summer break. Either that or Hisao's episode came with a "no travelling" caveat, since they express regret about not being able to go north for the holidays. , so I'd say the logistics potentially work out. Especially with a lawyer from a rich and prominent family to pull strings.

For what it's worth, I'm inclined to settle on classes ending August 11, with Hisao and Lilly choosing to miss Tanabata because of the condition of the relationship at the time.

And, having spent entirely too much time hammering out all those details and possibilities, I think I'll take a break before weighing in myself in the Great Lilly vs. Shizune Conflict.

[FoxtrotZero]

Let's consider this:
1. Hisao enters Yamaku during early summer, so it is safe to assume that all storyline takes place during the particular season.
2.The end of Lilly's timeline extends to the end of summer--possibly to early fall (based on the CG art of the epilogue).
3. The little field trip with Lilly and Hanako takes likely takes place during summer vacation. In Japan, summer vacation lasts from late July to early September lasting about 2 weeks.
4. Lilly's parents demanded their daughters to return to Scotland possibly during late summer, to which they tried to comply near the end of the season (but failed to do so considering the incident at the airport).
5. Hisao is hospitalized. For how long, it's uncertain but most likely 1-2 weeks that leads up until the ending.

Now then, with that in consideration we go back to Akira's boyfriend problem again. By experience, obtaining a Visa takes approximately one month--two if the officer who works in the embassy is a douche. When Hisao left the hospital--assuming he is hospitalized for one week--the date of the ending could possibly be around early-mid September and let's say that there's an unexplained one-week gap in the story, that would total to about 2-3 weeks which is less than the regular time to obtain a visa (not to mention one that would let you stay there permanently or work there).

First, since I'm a little obsessive about details, a few corrections/clarifications for the timeline:

1. Hisao enter Yamaku on June 4 (cf. Act 1"Mind Your Step").

3. The field trip takes place during a 3-day break prior to summer vacation (cf. Lilly Act 3 "Renewal"). Hanako's Birthday is July 10, a Tuesday (There are various indicators to peg the year as 2007). Lilly leaves for Scotland on Saturday, June 30 (cf. Hanako Act 3 "Treading Softly"). She returns on Friday, July 13 (cf. Lilly Act 3 "Renewal"). Exams start almost immediately after the 3-day break (June 18 or 19 is a fair guess) and last for "a couple weeks." Lilly's weekly shopping, is on Friday (rather than Monday in Hanako's route), making it most likely June 20 when Hisao learns that Akira's leaving in "a couple of weeks." The date at the fancy restaurant is on Sunday, July 22, then. The last day of exams is on a Monday (cf. Lilly Act 4 "A Morning's Reverie"), so July 30 or August 6 (Ending on the 23rd would mean a stretch of 5 days with a weekend in the middle, hardly "a couple of weeks"). Per Lilly Act 4 "Blackout", classes end 2 weeks after exams, so August 11 or 18.

This gives us a (potential) conflict. Tanabata is traditionally the seventh day of the seventh month according to the lunisolar calendar. Japan has more or less adopted the Gregorian calendar wholecloth, with some northern regions displacing the calendar one month. According to the Gregorian calendar, that places Tanabata at July 7 or August 7. If Yamaku happens to be one of the few holdouts that still celebrates Tanabata according to the traditional lunisolar calendar, my previous calculations could potentially hold true. I do not have the time, inclination, or understanding to calculate Tanabata in 2007, but a back of the envelope calculation makes it plausible.

That places the end of classes at August 4, 11, or 18. If at August 4, Hisao sucks at counting. Regardless, Hisao and Lilly's Shanghai date is the last Sunday before classes end - 29. 5, or 12. Following the conversation in the Shanghai, Hisao concludes that they won't be able to go to Tanabata together, so that rules out Tanabata being on August 7 with classes ending August 11.(Incidentally, that would probably be the easiest reconciliation with Shizune's Route having Tanabata while classes are still going on). There is the possibility that Tanabata was ruled out not because it couldn't be done, but because they figured that it would simply be too painful. The Shanghai scene is effectively a "break-up" scene.

Lilly leaves the day classes end (4/11/18). Hisao wakes up from his heart attack 2 days later(6/13/20). "A few days" and another surgery, then an unspecified period of recovery after that.

Per Wikipedia, the Summer Break is closer to 6 weeks than 2 weeks (with some variation, of course)

4. Lilly's parents offered Akira a once-in-a-lifetime type promotion that would necessitate moving to Iverness. For Lilly, it is ostensibly a "we'd like you to come," to the extent that Lilly truly believes she has a choice. It's made quite clear that Lilly is still affectionate for her parents, and truly wants to "be a family again." Lilly is torn between two desires, not one desire and one obligation.

5. Things get fuzzy for the epilogue. Lilly and Hisao seem to be talking as if they're at the end of Summer break. Either that or Hisao's episode came with a "no travelling" caveat, since they express regret about not being able to go north for the holidays. , so I'd say the logistics potentially work out. Especially with a lawyer from a rich and prominent family to pull strings.

For what it's worth, I'm inclined to settle on classes ending August 11, with Hisao and Lilly choosing to miss Tanabata because of the condition of the relationship at the time.

And, having spent entirely too much time hammering out all those details and possibilities, I think I'll take a break before weighing in myself in the Great Lilly vs. Shizune Conflict.

I'll be honest, I'm jumping into the middle here, but the one thing I want to point out is the reason they might not be able to go north for the hoidays is that Lilly specifically mentions that they had already sold the house in preperation for Lilly and Akira leaving Japan.

The other is a side curiousity; the game was complete in 2012, and is set to take place in the "near future" (if I understand correctly). What's the next year after 2007 that lines up the same way? If that's a reasonable timeframe, it could be that year, or else it might just be a side effect of nobody expecting the dates in the VN to be analyzed this seriously.

[ProfAllister]

I'll be honest, I'm jumping into the middle here, but the one thing I want to point out is the reason they might not be able to go north for the hoidays is that Lilly specifically mentions that they had already sold the house in preperation for Lilly and Akira leaving Japan.

Fair enough. Yet another point to make the epilogue indeterminate other than being in the general vicinity of the Summer Break.

The other is a side curiousity; the game was complete in 2012, and is set to take place in the "near future" (if I understand correctly). What's the next year after 2007 that lines up the same way? If that's a reasonable timeframe, it could be that year, or else it might just be a side effect of nobody expecting the dates in the VN to be analyzed this seriously.

Not sure where the "near future" comes from.

Friday June 8 is canon, it's in the text of the game. That puts the year at 2001, 2007, 2012, or 2018. The cellphones are feature phones AKA dumbphones, which retain some degree of popularity in the East, but are steadily being overtaken by smartphones. In Hanako's route, Hisao remarks that his phone "isn't exactly a cheap phone," which would imply it was one of the fancier models at the time. This doesn't exclude 2012, but that sort of comment fits quite a bit more in place in 2007.

The Devs say it takes place in 2007, but the devs also say that the only canon is that contained in the game itself. As such, I tried to stick my reasoning entirely to the in-game text.

Worth noting that Marine Day is the three-day holiday in question, which fell on July 16 in both 2007 and 2012 (and 2001 and 2018), further reinforcing the calibration of the dates presented up there.

[FoxtrotZero]

I'll be honest, I'm jumping into the middle here, but the one thing I want to point out is the reason they might not be able to go north for the hoidays is that Lilly specifically mentions that they had already sold the house in preperation for Lilly and Akira leaving Japan.

Fair enough. Yet another point to make the epilogue indeterminate other than being in the general vicinity of the Summer Break.

The other is a side curiousity; the game was complete in 2012, and is set to take place in the "near future" (if I understand correctly). What's the next year after 2007 that lines up the same way? If that's a reasonable timeframe, it could be that year, or else it might just be a side effect of nobody expecting the dates in the VN to be analyzed this seriously.

Not sure where the "near future" comes from.

Friday June 8 is canon, it's in the text of the game. That puts the year at 2001, 2007, 2012, or 2018. The cellphones are feature phones AKA dumbphones, which retain some degree of popularity in the East, but are steadily being overtaken by smartphones. In Hanako's route, Hisao remarks that his phone "isn't exactly a cheap phone," which would imply it was one of the fancier models at the time. This doesn't exclude 2012, but that sort of comment fits quite a bit more in place in 2007.

The Devs say it takes place in 2007, but the devs also say that the only canon is that contained in the game itself. As such, I tried to stick my reasoning entirely to the in-game text.

Worth noting that Marine Day is the three-day holiday in question, which fell on July 16 in both 2007 and 2012 (and 2001 and 2018), further reinforcing the calibration of the dates presented up there.

My apologies. The phrase I was thinking of was "somewhere in modern Japan", which I somehow remembered as being an indeterminate time, as opposed to location. *shrug*
The notion of it being set in 2007 is all well and good for the purposes of this here debate, but I honestly think putting a year to it spoils some of the magic of Yamaku being so removed from the world.

[NekoDude]

I know this poll is probably subject to a lot of selection bias -- if you didn't care for Lilly, you wouldn't have bothered with the thread -- but for me she's right smack in the middle. Anyone beats Rin by default, since I would volunteer for a manly picnic rather than go through that particular roller coaster of fucked up again. I went in expecting the stereotypical bipolar "tortured artist", but she's a damn space cadet. Shizune is entirely too bitchy for me (been there, done that IRL), but the bigger factor for me was the lack of choices aside from "Comfort Misha". I felt like I was just along for the ride -- probably not too far from the truth though, if the story were actually taking place.

Ruling out the two routes where even the good end left me with a bad taste in my mouth, Lilly can't fall any lower than third by default. I found Hanako's more powerful, even though she probably does better for herself in Lilly's route. Emi's was my first, and unexpectedly remained my favorite throughout. (The first time is never the best, right? Well it was here.) There was no hint of submission or coercion to the sex from either side, the scene in the equipment shed had me laughing harder than I ever expected, and at the end I felt as though I had genuinely helped her get on with her life whether we stayed together or not.

That said, I did enjoy Lilly's route, and I'm glad I played through all the branches. I can't say the same for Rin.

[NekoDude]

The Devs say it takes place in 2007, but the devs also say that the only canon is that contained in the game itself. As such, I tried to stick my reasoning entirely to the in-game text.

Worth noting that Marine Day is the three-day holiday in question, which fell on July 16 in both 2007 and 2012 (and 2001 and 2018), further reinforcing the calibration of the dates presented up there.

I also stand by the assertion that it takes place in 2007 and write accordingly. For one thing, the complete absence of smart phones rules out 2012 -- they were far too widespread by last year, to the point that even my relatives in their 60s and 70s had them. I was the odd one out, with a tiny flip phone. In the VN, phones like mine seem to be the norm.

[Lianam]

Anyone beats Rin by default,

Oh god...

What have you done?

Run for your life before Sea gets here!

[Xanatos]

I found Hanako's more powerful, even though she probably does better for herself in Lilly's route.

Ehhh, not really.

And there's no submission or coercion in most of the routes.

[bhtooefr]

It did say rate, not rank, so I went with 4.