Snow Sakura (, ''yukizakura'') is a

visual novel A visual novel (VN) is a form of digital interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves. They combine a textual narrative with static or animated illustratio ...

first developed and published by D.O. and released on November 28, 2003. This

interactive fiction Interactive fiction (IF) is software simulating environments in which players use text Command (computing), commands to control Player character, characters and influence the environment. Works in this form can be understood as literary narrati ...

game was translated into English language and then published by G-Collections in December 2007. The visual novel follows the story of Yuuji Tachibana who moves to

Hokkaido is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...

unwillingly after having a strange dream about a girl by a sakura tree. He eventually falls in love with one of the girls in the village of the player's choosing, and learns the secret of his dream.

Story

Yuuji Tachibana recently moved in with his cousin and uncle after his parents go on a business trip to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

. Left in the care of his uncle at his inn in

, Yuuji struggles to get used to his surroundings. Shortly after arriving, Yuuji is enrolled in the local high school and makes friends with four students within a week. Yuuji first meets Sumiyoshi and subsequently become best friends, while Yuuji's cousin Saki helps him ease in with her group of friends. Saki's friends include Misaki, who seems to get nervous around Yuuji, Kozue who seems obsessed with Misaki, and Rei who is a second year high school student and a shrine maiden at the local temple. In addition, Yuuji also gets to know his teacher Misato and discovers that she is Misaki's older sister. While playing some

video tapes Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog or digital signal. Videotape is used in both video tape recorders (VTRs) and, more commonly, videocasset ...

his father sends back from Hawaii, Yuuji learns that aside from the teasing, he wants him to find someone to fall in love with. The player can choose one of five females to fall in love with which progresses the plot along, eventually leading to a good or bad ending.

Characters

; : :Yuuji is the main playable character in the series. He is a student whose parents moved to

for a period of time for a business-related reason. Before leaving, his parents enroll him in a school in

and leave him in the care of his uncle. Yuuji is also reunited with his cousin and childhood friend Saki who lives with her dad (Yuuji's Uncle). About a week after he is first sent to Hokkaido, he has a strange dream of a girl talking about a snow sakura

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

but wakes up before she could finish what she was going to say. Throughout the series, it is revealed through the other characters that Yuuji bears a striking resemblance to his father, something he dreads. ; : :Saki is Yuuji's cousin, she has blonde hair and blue eyes and wears black ribbons in her hair which is in the form of twin tails. She lives with her father in a house that used to be a

ryokan A is a type of traditional Japanese inn that typically features ''tatami''-matted rooms, communal baths, and other public areas where visitors may wear nemaki and talk with the owner. Ryokan have existed since the eighth century A.D. du ...

. Rather than a cousin, she feels more like a friend to Yuuji. When the user chooses Saki, their relationship grows and it is revealed that she has loved Yuuji ever since they were five years old, with him being her first love. She fills in Yuuji's fragmented dream of a girl talking about the Snow Sakura tree by saying that it was her. Saki tells Yuuji that while they were little she asked him to play with her and while doing so asked him to be her husband, which he accepted. Yuuji's uncle accepts Saki's love, and goes out of his way to protect it, her friends are supportive as well. After losing her

virginity Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereo ...

to Yuuji, she begins making advances to him while in school something that gets her into trouble. Her uncle is able to help her out in the end by surprisingly announcing her engagement to Yuuji. Two years later Saki is married and living happily with Yuuji, reopening their family inn with her dad as the owner. ; : :Misaki is one of Yuuji's classmates, she has brown hair and blue eyes with a white ribbon in her hair. A popular student, because of her looks she is a target of her male classmates, her best friend is Kozue. When the user chooses Misaki their relationship grows. Eventually it is found out that she met Yuuji when they were kids. Misaki lost a glove with a bunny on it and Yuuji found it for her, this girl ends up being the girl in Yuuji's dream in this take. Later on, things get more complicated when an accidental kiss by Saki in front of Misaki causes her to run away. Saki confesses her love to Yuuji but he declines it and chases after her leaving his cousin behind. With his friends help including Saki who realizes her love is not requited, Misaki and Yuuji mend back their relationship. Years later the two are married with the final scene showing them with a toddler they had together. They named the girl Sakura after the tree in the town, and have the glove framed as a symbol of their love. ; : :Kozue is Misaki's best friend, she has brown eyes and black hair with two

Braid A braid (also referred to as a plait; ) is a complex structure or pattern formed by interlacing three or more strands of flexible material such as textile yarns, wire, or hair. The simplest and most common version is a flat, solid, three-strand ...

s tied with red ribbons in the front. Her hobby is

photography Photography is the visual arts, art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is empl ...

and, like Yuuji she is not native to

. Kozue has some

Yuri Yuri may refer to: People Given name *Yuri (Slavic name), the Slavic masculine form of the given name George, including a list of people with the given name Yuri, Yury, etc. *Yuri (Japanese name), feminine Japanese given names, including a list o ...

tendencies saying out loud more than once that Misaki makes her "heart throb". Kozue later replies though that she admires her the most denying that she her-self is a

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

. When the user chooses Kozue, her first reaction to Yuuji is trying to push him towards loving Misaki to his surprise. After Yuuji pushes his feelings Kozue finally confesses her love to Yuuji though after

New Year's Day In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year, January 1, 1 January. Most solar calendars, such as the Gregorian and Julian calendars, begin the year regularly at or near the December solstice, northern winter ...

. Everyone eventually finds out that Kozue and Yuuji are a couple expect for Misaki. Knowing she would hurt her friend as she liked Yuuji too Kozue kept it a secret, eventually when Misaki finds out though she is hurt as a result. With everyone's help their friendship is mended, and she becomes okay with Kozue going out with Yuuji. Not long after Kozue tells him that she will

study abroad International students or exchange students, also known as foreign students, are students who undertake all or part of their secondary or tertiary education in a country other than their own. In 2022, there were over 6.9 million international ...

after they graduate, promising Yuuji she will be back. Kozue returns four years after they both graduate with a-lot to talk about with Yuuji. ; : :Rei is a third year student and Yuuji's senpai. She is the leader of a school club run by Misaki, and enjoys

mahjong Mahjong (English pronunciation: ; also transliterated as mah jongg, mah-jongg, and mahjongg) is a tile-based game that was developed in the 19th century in China and has spread throughout the world since the early 20th century. It is played ...

. ; : :Misato is Misaki's older sister and Yuuji's history teacher. She's a fan of the

Bakumatsu period were the final years of the Edo period when the Tokugawa shogunate ended. Between 1853 and 1867, under foreign diplomatic and military pressure, Japan ended its isolationist foreign policy known as and changed from a feudal Tokugawa shogunat ...

and of Hijikata Toshizou. ; : :Takeaki is Yuuji's uncle, and Saki's father, he has black hair and brown eyes. Takeaki likes to make jokes, and has been deemed as un-natural by Yuuji. Despite this, Takeaki has shown that he deeply cares for his nephew and wants what is best for him. It is revealed that Takeaki along with Yuuji's father had wild childhoods. ; : :Yuji's best friend he has brown hair and brown eyes. Sumiyoshi has a perverted mind often suggesting lewd things jokingly, but offers Yuji support when it comes to romance as well as good advice. At one point he develops a cronoush on Misato but when he confesses his love she turns him down due to the barriers that separate them. His mom runs an

okonomiyaki is a Japanese ''teppanyaki'' savory pancake dish consisting of wheat flour batter and other ingredients (mixed, or as toppings) cooked on a '' teppan'' (flat griddle). Common additions include cabbage, meat, and seafood, and toppings include ...

shop which is also his residence. ; : :Kuraki is a "pocket sized" snow

fairy A fairy (also called fay, fae, fae folk, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, generally described as anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic, found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Cel ...

, she has blue hair with a bell tied into it. Yuuji first encounters her sleeping in the snow when clearing

icicle An icicle is a spike of ice formed when water falling from an object freezes. Formation and dynamics Icicles can form during bright, sunny, but subfreezing weather, when ice or snow melted by sunlight or some other heat source (such as a poor ...

s from the inn. Kuraki is a bonus character in the series, and a short story is uncovered when the player finishes all five of the girl's storylines. In addition to being a character, Kuraki is also D.O's

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, sports team, university society, society, military unit, or brand, brand name. Mascots are als ...

appearing at the top right of the homepage.

Reception

Trushot Archer from visual novel cake gave the novel a score of eight out of ten.

References

External links

*
(Official website)
(

18+ Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number) * One of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the short story ''God's Dice'' * ''Eighteen'' (film), a ...

)
(D.O. Homepage)
{{in lang, ja (18+)

(18+) 2003 video games Eroge Single-player video games Video games developed in Japan Visual novels Windows games Windows-only games