Starry Sky
Starry☆Sky is a Japanese otome game series created and developed by software game company Honeybee and HuneX. Starry Sky is separated into four games, the first of which was released in 2008, with three love interests in each, for a total of twelve possible love interests across all four games. Starry Sky has released multiple Drama CDs, countless manga adaptations, and a 26-episode anime adaptation. In addition, sequels of the four original games were created for both Windows and PlayStation Portable in 2008–2009 and 2011 respectively.
Gameplay
The player takes control of Tsukiko Yahisa, the heroine of the Starry☆Sky games. The plot of the game is told in visual novel format, where the decision of the player affects the relationships she has with potential love interests.Plot
Tsukiko Yahisa is the first female student to enroll at Seigetsu Academy, a former all-boys school that specializes in astronomy. She is closely watched over by her childhood friends, Kanata Nanami and Suzuya Tohzuki, who often protect her from the male student body. Throughout the game, she befriends other young men whose personalities are based on the Western zodiac constellations.In the first game Starry☆Sky~in Spring~, shortly after Tsukiko transfers to Seigetsu Academy, a half-French boy named Yoh Tomoe pursues Tsukiko. This action stirs up emotions in Kanata and Suzuya, both of whom had long been in love with Tsukiko.
In the second game, Starry☆Sky~in Summer~, Tsukiko joins the academy's archery club. As she practices for the summer competition, she simultaneously solves the problems between her teammates.
In the third game, Starry☆Sky~in Autumn~, Tsukiko becomes involved with three teachers at her school.
The last game, Starry☆Sky~in Winter~, details Tsukiko's involvement with the student council, which includes Tsubasa Amaha, Kazuki Shiranui, and Hayato Aozora.
Characters
;'''Tsukiko Yahisa'''Spring
;Yoh Tomoe;Kanata Nanami
;'''Suzuya Tohzuki'''
Summer
;Azusa Kinose;Homare Kanakubo
;'''Ryunosuke Miyaji'''
Autumn
;Naoshi Haruki;Iku Mizushima
;'''Kotarou Hoshizuki'''
Winter
;Kazuki Shiranui;Tsubasa Amaha
;'''Hayato Aozora'''
Special character
;'''Shiki Kagurazaka'''Minor characters
;Idiot Trio;Oushirou Shirogane
;Takatsugu Izumi
;Haru Oshinari
;'''Makoto Haruna'''
Family
;Raoul Mathias Jean Aimée;Tomoe Imari
;Mayumi Nanami
;'''Sayuri Touzukii'''
Development
All character designs, covers, and background art were digitally painted by Kazuaki.In 2011, JAST USA announced it was considering licensing the Starry Sky series for an English release.
Media
Game
Starry☆Sky was separated into four games, each one taking place in a different season with three possible love interests, for the PC. The first game, Starry☆Sky~in Spring~, was released on March 27, 2008. The opening theme song was titled Starry Sky and was performed by Hikaru Midorikawa, the voice of Yoh Tomoe. Following its release, the second installment, Starry☆Sky~in Summer~ was released on June 26, 2008. The opening theme song was titled Shoot High and was performed by Hiroshi Kamiya, the voice of Ryunosuke Miyaji. The third game, Starry☆Sky~in Autumn~, was released on September 25, 2008, and its theme song was titled Lies, Truth, and Our Destiny performed by Daisuke Kishio, the voice of Naoshi Haruki. The last game, Starry☆Sky~in Winter~, was released on December 25, 2008, and the opening theme song was Grayed Out performed by Yuichi Nakamura, the voice of Kazuki Shiranui. Starting in 2009, all four games were ported onto the PlayStation Portable.The original games were followed by a spin-off, which takes place between the epilogue and the original time of the game. Starry☆Sky~After Spring~ was the first of the spin-off games to be released on the PC.
CDs
The limited-edition versions of all the games were bundled with a CD with the full version of the opening theme and a separate drama CD featuring the male characters in the game. A full-length drama CD for the spring characters was released on August 28, 1999. In addition, a soundtrack for the game's music was released on September 25, 1999.Throughout 1999, twelve date CDs were released monthly, starting with Yoh Tomoe on January 30, 1999, to Azusa Kinose on December 25, 1999. The date CDs feature the voice actors for each of the twelve possible love interests in the game and simulate a date and a romance between the listener and the character. Each CD came with a special coupon. If the coupons from all twelve CDs were submitted to Honeybee at the end of the year, one would receive a secret date CD featuring a 13th character, Shiki Kagurazaka, who represents the Ophiuchus, the 13th constellation.
Manga
Short manga stories about the characters of each game have been collected into anthologies by DNA Media Comics. Starry☆Sky~in Spring~ Comic Anthology was released on October 24, 1996, and features all the characters from the spring game. Similarly, Starry☆Sky~in Summer~ Comic Anthology was released on December 25, 1996. A 4 volume manga based off of the games was released in Comic B's-Log Kyun! between 2010 and 2013. Digital Manga Publishing partially released this manga series in English in North America.Anime
An anime adaptation was distributed through Animate.tv's website and Sun TV. It was written by Makoto Nakamura and directed by Kiyoko Sayama.There are 26 episodes lasting 11 minutes each. The first airing of the episodes was on Animate.tv in late December 2008. In February 2011, Sun TV started also simulcasting this series, airing two parts of episodes of this series as a whole episode. They are done in an episodic format, with each episode focusing on one character or subset of characters from the storyline.
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