JACK JEANNE - MITSUKI ROUTE
Today I finished my second route of Jack Jeanne, Mitsuki Shirota's. I said I was going to do Neji's next but I'm a dirty liar who fell in love with Mitsuki while levelling his stats (actually I ended up starting a new save entirely for him because you get random events with your highest-affection love interest..........)
Spoilers! Obviously... Also this is really long but again, this post is moreso for me to put down all of my thoughts while they're still fresh.
I was planning to simultaneously level Mitsuki's stat (voice) while focusing on Neji's stats + affection events, but I realized that this wouldn't work when summer break came around because summer events rely on who you have the most affection with and that was Neji on that save file. It's technically possible, but I would have otherwise missed a lot of extra dialogue and cg events, so I ended up starting a new file and just skipping dialogue. I'll be doing that for my next runs unless I feel like rereading the story again...
Now my overall thoughts on Mitsuki's route are: so sweet... It isn't as nearly as romantic as Sou-chan's, but it was still undeniably very cute and had many moments that stuck out to me. The way Kisa and Mitsuki express their affection is very pure and unique to them. I can't rank my routes yet because I'm only 2/7, but Mitsuki's had a more overall satisfying ending for the characters.
I honestly consider Mitsuki's route to not only be his, but a route for the 77th term as a whole. A lot of his events involve Sugachi and Minorikawa from Onyx and Rhodonite respectively, Mitsuki's fellow second-year students. The 77th term are rather unmotivated due to the extremely talented Chui Tanakamigi from Amber who completely dominates every performance he's in. As a result, most of the 77th term get really depressed whenever Amber performs and there's an overall sense of defeat for that term's students. Mitsuki's route proves that the 77th term is more than just chasing after Chui's talents and that everyone can still prove themselves onstage.
Sui Ishida I'm begging you! Please! Make the side characters romanceable or have more screentime in JJ2...! I love evey second-year in this game...!!!!
I do admittedly feel a bit of disappointment after finishing Mitsuki's route purely because I was expecting it to be heavier and delve deeper into Mitsuki's background. Based on how his first affection event showcased his strained relationship with his mother, I expected more exploration into his childhood or his family but it isn't really talked about extensively outside of his first affection event. It makes sense with how little he talks about himself, but I thought we'd get just a bit more because his childhood is a huge part to why he acts the way he does.
I know for a fact that Neji's route is very dark, possibly the darkest in the game, so that's why I was expecting a more in-depth look into Mitsuki's backstory. One thing that I was kind of hung up on was how it was made very clear how much Mitsuki does not like being seen changing and I was under the impression that it would be because of some kind of insecurity that he would open up about but that doesn't really happen. This is moreso treated as a reason for Kisa to be able to hide her gender better because Mitsuki was a boy who also didn't like being seen changing. I feel like you can definitely read between the lines and assume that yes, Mitsuki probably does have body image issues due to some comments he makes, but it's not outright said.
It sounds like I'm complaining that Mitsuki doesn't
go through more hardships, but it just feels like that there's
definitely more to see. Still, there's plenty to infer and it's not
something I am totally concerned about.
Here Mitsuki quite literally bares himself to you. He's desperate for Kisa to be truthful to him and rely on him as an upperclassman, but Kisa has to hide the truth about her gender so that she doesn't get expelled from Univeil. It's a deeply uncomfortable scene. At this point in the story, I think that Mitsuki already suspects that Kisa is lying about being a boy but still asks her to strip to prove that she has nothing to hide. Even if you choose to strip, he stops Kisa and gets really upset at himself for pushing Kisa to doing that.
This scene is one of the most memorable ones from his route because I completely did not see this coming. It's a very vulnerable moment, especially with the emphasis made on how Mitsuki hates being watched changing and how generally withdrawn he is. He wants so badly for Kisa to open up to him and he feels forced to display himself to her.
I
want to talk about how much I adore this route's romance even though
it's not as explicitly as romantic as Sou-chan's or how I imagine other
routes to be. Mitsuki is a fundamentally very serious and withdrawn
person and has trouble expressing his feelings. As a result, the way he
shows affection for Kisa is unique to him and while they don't have a
kiss CG (I think only 1 love interest gets one?? But idk who and I have
to find out) it still has plenty of sweet ones like the confession hug
CG. I absolutely love how Mitsuki goes from very distant to taking on
Quartz's responsibilities as the next class leader and caring deeply for
his underclassmen the same way the third-years did for him.
Growth and acceptance are huge themes of this route. You watch Mitsuki grow into a reliable upperclassman who deeply cares for his underclassmen and Quartz as a whole. The way that Mitsuki wholeheartedly accepts Kisa is just so sweet. This is my first route with the gender reveal, so I can't say how this compares to others, but I think this was a very natural and nice way for things to go. Kisa opens up to Mitsuki on Christmas after the winter performance because of how scarily Chicchi and Rukiora resembled herself and Mitsuki. The day prior, Kisa cried her heart out on stage because Mitsuki whispered to her that he would accept whoever she was.
By the way this is probably one of the most, if not The most, queer routes. Jack Jeanne is fundamentally a game about gender and the roles the characters play. Mitsuki plays strictly Jeanne roles, which makes him the only Quartz character to be Jeanne-only. Fumi and Neji (and Sou-chan I guess lol) all play both Jack and Jeanne roles. This makes Mitsuki's route unique because of how femininity plays a role in both his and Kisa's lives. There are several times in this game where it feels more like yuri than a het ship, lol. One of the characters even says that Mitsuki is "totally a girl", prompting Mitsuki to tell Kisa that he's "more of a girl" than she is.
Something I really like is that Mitsuki does not deny his femininity nor does he really seem to have issue with it? He actually completely devotes himself to the Jeanne role and expresses how he knows his strengths as a Jeanne and a Tresor, the best singer in his class. It's refreshing to have a feminine character who isn't played as a joke or forced to become more masculine, which largely contributed to the queerness of Mitsuki's route.
The gay is concentrated in the Winter performance, Oh Rama Havenna, AKA my favourite performance in the game by far. Everything from the writing to the characters and music are just amazing to me. Playing Mitsuki's route completely amplified everything I loved about Oh Rama Havenna and made me love it even more.
For some background, Oh Rama Havenna is focused on two women: Chicchi and Rukiora who live in Havenna, a town of pleasure. Rukiora, played by Mitsuki, is a singer at a bar and Chicchi, played by Kisa, is her best friend who came to Havenna to become a mugwort seller. Selling mugwort is seen as the lowest occupation because mugwort sellers are women who help the men of Havenna fall asleep by lighting mugwort and choking them until they pass out. Rukiora despises mugwort because of how it ruined her father, and as a result, Chicchi lies to her best friend and hides her true occupation.
At the end of the play, Chicchi is forced to come clean and confess she's been lying to Rukiora this whole time. This very scarily resembles how Kisa hides her gender and is forced to lie to her classmates. At this point in time, Mitsuki is frustrated that Kisa won't tell him the truth and at the climax of the story, whispers to Kisa how he will accept her no matter who she is. This makes Kisa cry onstage which amplifies her performance as Chicchi. The audience may see Chicchi crying after being forgiven, but Kisa is truly expressing her frustration and fear onstage.
Chicchi and Rukiora are 100% undoubtably gay. It's very plain to see. Chicchi is pursued by 2 men in the story, but they misunderstand her desires and project what they want onto her. She rejects their advances and tells the truth to Rukiora because Rukiora is the person she wants to be with in Havenna. Rukiora originally wanted to leave Havenna with a man she had a crush on, but realizes that she wants to stay with Chicchi in Havenna because the two of them love each other more than anything in the world. Rukiora detests Havenna, but stays because she wants to be with Chicchi.
Rukiora is also the only person that Chicchi is completely honest with. Chicchi confesses that she came to Havenna to become a mugwort seller, despite its poor reputation as an occupation. Chicchi is a woman with desires and is no different to anyone else in Havenna. I honestly quite appreciate the acceptance for sexuality in this story because it's the biggest thing people misunderstand about Chicchi. People think she was pure and tainted by Havenna, but she did it completely by her own volition. Chicchi is her own person and I really love that.
In the final performance, Mitsuki is assigned as the Al Jeanne, while Kisa is a Jack Ace........ WHICH MAKES ZERO SENSE LOL? I was fully expecting a switch-up where Kisa realizes she and Mitsuki work better as a double Al Jeanne duo and the script adjusts, but no. I just don't get why because in the Winter performance, Mitsuki and Kisa win gold as a double Al Jeanne duo and it was extremely successful. It would make more sense if the story continued after Chicchi and Rukiora and made Carlo and Sissia both women. Kisa's Sissia in this route is a man, which I find really odd because Sissia's mannerisms are not really changed and neither is the 3D model for Sissia in the dance section lol.
Sadly Sissia and the Great Nation (the final performance) still needs to grow on me more, but it definitely grew on me a little more. The songs were initially kinda meh to me, but now I'm really into it. My favourite tracks are Quartz Anima and Depature. I imagine the full story is better understood when finishing every route because every route has a differing story for Sissia. People draw Neji in his SATGN outfit a lot, so I think that this performance in particular is very fufilling for him. Again, I won't know until I play.
Singing is a huge part of Mitsuki's character. He comes to Univeil because he wanted a place to sing, but ended up forming the same dream as his peers to be able to put on great performances onstage. Mitsuki shares his passion for singing and trains Kisa closely, even noticing how Kisa's singing sounded like Minorikawa's after they practiced together. It's pretty cute how posessive he can get over Kisa and repeatedly gets jealous because Minorikawa wants Kisa as a Jeanne partner lol.
Overall, I really love Mitsuki and his route gave some really lovely insight to the dynamics of the classes. I loved the spotlight the other second-years got, as well as Mitsuki's relationship with his senpai. The Quartz third-years love him so much and teach him what they can before they graduate. The old Mitsuki wouldn't have taken on these responsibilities, but he grows into a reliable and confident upperclassman and Quartz's next class leader. It's really endearing to see him so receptive to change and willing to lead his peers.
Mitsuki himself is just so charming. I was drawn in by his tsundere charm but I really truly apreciate him as a character. Everyone in Jack Jeanne has so much depth and I'm very pleasantly surprised so far by how much I love the wriitng. I didn't expect to be so smitten by this game.
More routes coming... Neji is next (I PROMISE..!) then probably Fumi or Kai, Suzu and Kisa's route will be last. I actually haven't done Mitsuki's normal ending yet because I know it's going to upset me, but I know normal ends are very short.
Thanks for reading if you got here somehow. I don't actually think people read these blog posts or retain the information but if you somehow do, I appreciate it. At the end of the day, this is a blog for me lol.
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