Rumbling Hearts
Kimi ga Nozomu Eien, or Kiminozo for short, is a Japanese adult visual novel developed by Âge and released on August 3, 2001 for Windows. It was later ported to the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2. The gameplay in Kimi ga Nozomu Eien follows a branching plot line which offers pre-determined scenarios with courses of interaction, and focuses on the appeal of the eight female main characters by the player character.
The game was adapted into a 14-episode anime television series, which aired between October 2003 and January 2004. Funimation licensed and distributed the anime in North America under the title Rumbling Hearts. The series was also licensed for release by Revelation Films in the United Kingdom and Madman Entertainment in Australia and New Zealand, under the title Rumbling Hearts: Kiminozo. It was one of the first anime shows to be officially made available for the iPod through the iTunes Store and is also available through Microsoft's Xbox Live Marketplace. A four-episode OVA series called Kimi ga Nozomu Eien: Next Season was released between December 2007 and December 2008. The OVA series follows an alternate ending that centers around Haruka.
Gameplay
Kimi ga Nozomu Eien is a romance visual novel in which the player assumes the role of Takayuki Narumi. Its gameplay requires little player interaction as much of the game's duration is spent on reading the text that appears on the screen, which represents the story's narrative and dialogue. The text is accompanied by character sprites, which represent who Takayuki is talking to, over background art. Throughout the game, the player encounters CG artwork at certain points in the story, which take the place of the background art and character sprites. When the game is completed at least once, a gallery of the viewed CGs becomes available on the game's title screen. Kimi ga Nozomu Eien follows a branching plot line with multiple endings, and depending on the decisions that the player makes during the game, the plot will progress in a specific direction.There are eight main plot lines that the player will have the chance to experience, one for each heroine. Every so often, the player will come to a point where he or she is given the chance to choose from multiple options. Text progression pauses at these points until a choice is made. To view all plot lines in their entirety, the player will have to replay the game multiple times and choose different choices to further the plot to an alternate direction. The game is divided into two chapters, with the first one revolving around the events leading up to August 20 and the second chapter set three years later. It is in the second chapter that the game allows the player to choose to pursue one of the eight heroines and also has endings if the player chooses to pursue more than one of the girls at the same time. The updated version for Windows Vista, Kimi ga Nozomu Eien: Latest Edition, contains a third chapter. The original Windows edition has 14 endings, and the DVD version for Windows has two additional bad endings. In the adult versions of the game, there are scenes with sexual CGs depicting Takayuki and a given heroine having sex. Later, the consumer port versions were released without the adult content.
Plot
Kimi ga Nozomu Eiens story revolves around the main protagonist Takayuki Narumi, a male high school student. The first chapter, which takes place between July 6 and August 20, 1998, serves as a prologue to the second chapter. Takayuki is set up with Haruka Suzumiya by their friends Mitsuki Hayase and Shinji Taira. Takayuki ends up in bed with a nude sprawled out Haruka, but their relationship is not consummated due to performance anxiety. Mitsuki stops Takayuki on her birthday and has him buy her a ring, which results in him being late for his date with Haruka. At the end of the chapter, caused by Takayuki not being able to arrive in time, Haruka ends up in a coma because of an accident. In chapter two, during the three years since the accident, Mitsuki has been taking care of Takayuki and they have formed a relationship. Takayuki has also taken a part-time job at the Daikuuji family restaurant. Haruka's sister contacts Takayuki to tell him that Haruka has come out of her coma and is asking to see him.Characters
Development and release
Kimi ga Nozomu Eien is the fourth visual novel developed by Âge. The producer and head planner for Kimi ga Nozomu Eien was Hirohiko Yoshida, the executive director of Acid, the publishing company that Âge is under. The scenario was written by three people: Hayato Tashiro, Ai Shibuya, and Hokuto Matsunaga. Art direction and character design was done by Kai Sugihara. The music in the game was produced by Lantis and composed by Abito Watarai.Kimi ga Nozomu Eien was released as an adult game on August 3, 2001, playable on Windows PC as a CD-ROM. It was re-released as a DVD on July 25, 2003 under the title Kimi ga Nozomu Eien: DVD Specification, and on March 28, 2008 in a Vista-enhanced edition known as Kimi ga Nozomu Eien: Latest Edition. In addition to being built on an improved game engine and featuring improved graphics, the re-release also included the story content of the Special FanDisk and an all-new third chapter for selected heroines. The first consumer port of the game was released for the Dreamcast on September 26, 2002 by Alchemist. A PlayStation 2 port by Princess Soft was released on May 1, 2003 under the title Kimi ga Nozomu Eien: Rumbling Hearts.
The Kimi ga Nozomu Eien: Special FanDisk released on June 25, 2004 contains Kimi ga Nozomu Daiisshō, a retelling of the first chapter of the game allowing for greater control over Takayuki's actions in the first chapter. The player is now allowed to prevent the accident or end up with someone else altogether. It also includes a collection of short stories featuring the game's various characters, a game version of True Lies from the Kimi ga Nozomu Eien Drama Theater vol. 4 Radio Special, the Kiminozo Radio Shucchōban radio special, a parody of Muv-Luv Extra featuring Kimi ga Nozomu Eiens characters called Muv-Nozo and a version of the puzzle game Marii no Okatazuke 2: Ayumayu Funtō-hen.
Adaptations
Print media
Two novels based on the visual novel, written by Mariko Shizimu, were published by Paradigm in February and April 2002. Three novels based on the anime adaptation, written by Kenji Nojima, were published by Media Factory between March and May 2004. An artbook for the visual novel titled Âge Official Kimi ga Nozomu Eien Memorial Art Book was published by MediaWorks on November 8, 2002. An artbook for the anime titled Kimi ga Nozomu Eien Visual Complete was published by Media Factory in April 2004. A picture book titled Mayauru no Okurimono, written by Ann Margaret Sawyer and illustrated by Teruyo Miyazaki, was published by Media Factory on March 25, 2004. A second picture book titled Hontō no Takaramono, written and illustrated by Haruka Murakami, was published by Media Factory on September 25, 2004.Radio shows
An original radio drama of Kimi ga Nozomu Eien aired on the radio program Chiyoren Channel from July to December 2002 on Radio Osaka and NCB. Four CD compilation volumes of the radio drama titled "Kimi ga Nozomu Eien Drama Theater" were released between October 30, 2001 and December 22, 2002. A radio show titled Onsoku Hitomishiri Channel to promote the anime aired 13 episodes from July 2 to September 24, 2003 on Radio Osaka and TBS Radio. A radio show titled Kiminozo Radio aired 78 episodes from October 4, 2003 to March 26, 2005 on Radio Osaka and TBS Radio. Kiminozo Radio became an Internet radio show on April 1, 2005 and broadcast until December 28, 2007, spanning 144 episodes. Additional Internet radio shows followed under the Kiminozo Radio name included: Kiminozo Radio: Next Season, which aired 45 episodes between January 11, 2008 and January 5, 2009; Kiminozo Radio: Still I love you..., which aired 23 episodes between January 25 and June 27, 2008; and Kiminozo Radio: Silver Ring, which aired 12 episodes between July 4 and September 26, 2008.Anime
An anime television series based on the game which was animated and produced by Studio Fantasia first aired across Japan from October 5, 2003 to January 4, 2004. The plot consists of a blend of multiple storylines from the game, mostly the Mitsuki route with a bit of Haruka's route mixed with elements from the Akane route. The general fate of Amakawa is also disclosed through one scene between Fumio and Takayuki with a line by Fumio at the end of the final episode indicating she died. Manami is limited to one line at the very end and several dialogueless cameos. Materials not included in the game, due to its perspective being in first person, such as depictions of Mitsuki having sex with Shinji and Haruka telling Mitsuki that she has a crush on Takayuki while walking home, are also included.The anime was later licensed for American distribution by Funimation Entertainment under the title Rumbling Hearts: Kiminozo. It was originally released in three DVD volumes between December 2006 and March 2007, and was later re-released in a box set in August 2007. The writers for the English dub of the anime in the North American release received a mixed reception for taking a liberal approach while producing the script. This resulted in an interpretive script, which at several points reworks the dialogue. By contrast, the writers for the subtitle script in the North American release produced a script which is more faithful in its translation, going as far as including honorifics. In addition to the differences in dialogue, there is also a marked difference in the displayed level of affect between the Japanese and English voicework, though both were generally well received. For the most part, Takayuki's Japanese voice actor portrays him as severely emotionally numbed, consistent with PTSD. The English voice actor does not perform the role this way.
A four-episode original video animation series, animated by Brain's Base and distributed by Bandai Visual, was released between December 21, 2007 and December 19, 2008 on DVD in regular and limited editions. The limited editions contained a bonus CD soundtrack with each DVD and a different cover artwork. The story of the OVAs follows Haruka's route, in contrast to the TV series' modified version of Mitsuki's route. Haruka Suzumiya awakens after a three-year coma. Time has deprived her of many important things, but one still remains: her love for Takayuki Narumi. They visit various places they remember, as if to recover the time that was lost. However, there is one place they refuse to visit: the phone booth in front of the Hiiragi-cho station, where Haruka had her accident three years ago.
A comedy original net animation titled Ayu Mayu Theater was released from September 2006 to January 2007 on Kiminozo Radios homepage. The main characters are SD versions of Ayu and Mayu, and various other characters. Although it is technically a Kimi ga Nozomu Eien show, many characters and even a senjutsuki from Muv-Luv show up. The series contains many references to Muv-Luv and the fourth episode is more a parody of Muv-Luv Alternative. The series' main theme is "Koi no Bakudan de Ito" by Uyamuya, while the song "Carry On" by Masaaki Endou is used as an insert song.
Music
Kimi ga Nozomu Eien has two pieces of theme music: one opening theme and one ending theme. The opening theme is "Rumbling hearts" by Minami Kuribayashi and the ending theme is "Kimi ga Nozomu Eien" by Rino. Four cold open theme songs were added in subsequent releases of the game: "Yours" by Kuribayashi for the Dreamcast port, "Kaze no Yukue" by Kuribayashi for the PlayStation 2 port, "Blue tears" by Kuribayashi and Tomoko Ishibashi for Kimi ga Nozomu Eien: DVD Specification, and "Sweet Passion" by Kuribayashi for Kimi ga Nozomu Eien: Latest Edition. The ending theme "Omoide ni Kawaru made" by CooRie was added for chapter three in Latest Edition. Kimi ga Nozomu Eien: Special Fandisk features four ending themes for the first chapter: Haruka's theme is "Hitokoto dake no Yūki" by Kuribayashi, Mitsuki's theme is "Silver Ring" by Ishibashi, Akane's theme is "Innocence" by Tomomi Uehara, and the theme for the normal ending is "Rumbling Hearts" by Kuribayashi.The Rumbling Hearts anime television series has two main theme songs: the opening theme "Precious Memories", and the ending theme "Hoshizora no Waltz", which are both sung by Kuribayashi. Two additional songs by Kuribayashi were also used: "Kimi ga Nozomu Eien" as the ending theme of episode two, and "Nemuri Hime" as an insert song. The ending theme for episode 14 is "Rumbling Hearts" by Rino. For Rumbling Hearts: Next Season, the opening theme is "Next Season" and the ending theme is "Eternity"; both songs are sung by Kuribayashi.
Reception and legacy
On release, the video game magazine Famitsu scored the Dreamcast version of the game a 31 out of 40. The anime series was reviewed at Anime News Network, where reviewer Theron Martin commented that Rumbling Hearts "proves to be an involving and compelling look at how tragedy can impact matters of the heart." He also commented that the series' slow pacing, especially during the first two episodes, were a problem, comparing it to Saikano, although it worked better in later episodes. He also stated that the animation was not adequate, stating that "The character artistry looks good enough to support the story and offers a wide variety of physical appearances for its female characters, but often isn't fully integrated with the backgrounds and has a not-completely-refined quality about it in many scenes."Appearances in other media
Characters from Kimi ga Nozomu Eien can be seen in other works by Âge. Akane is the main heroine in the Kimi ga Nozomu Eien spin-off and Muv-Luv prequel Akane Maniax. She also appears in Muv-Luv as a student in Hakuryou Hiiragi.Several characters appear in the alternate world sequel to Muv-Luv, Muv-Luv Alternative.
Haruka, Mitsuki, and Akane are members of the special task force A-01, also known as the Isumi Valkyries, while Homura Manami is a nurse at the Yokohama base. Takayuki is also mentioned, but he was killed in action prior to the start of the game. In the epilogue, Haruka and Mitsuki can be seen walking around together near the station, Mitsuki with her pre-accident hairstyle. This suggests that the events of Kimi ga Nozomu Eien may be taken by future games to have never happened, allowing for Mitsuki and Haruka to show up as best friends in newer games as they did in Alternative.