Yes, I meant Yuzurihaâs voice actor (I just call her Yuzu for short). The list of VNs she has been in is very long Mizusawa Kei | vndb
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Off-Topic - English Yuri VNs
This was actually my first Japanese Yuri VN. But it read some in English. Maybe someone of you has read those or wants to read them in the future. I can recommend them:
Synergia (vndb): I can recommend this to anyone interested in cyber punk. If you think the trailer, ost or art are cool, you should read it. I really like how the art is done. Itâs not super beautiful. Itâs not as detailed or well drawn as a high budget VN. But the use of neon colors together with the sound track are very effective at conveying a mood. Also, instead of putting a character sprite in the middle of the screen with whatever background, the characters are drawn as a part of the scene. The down side is that you will often look at the exact same image and sometimes have less facial expressions available. The upside is that itâs more immersive. For a comedy game that would be the wrong choice. But here itâs great. I think more VNs should be done this way.
A Little Lily Princess (vndb): This is based on the classic novel A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I have not read the original novel, only watched the anime adaptation. I think the VN is better than the anime. I think this one (unlike many other VNs) has very good prose. Maybe thatâs no wonder given that large parts are taken from the novel. But to itâs credit, itâs not like the original parts are obvious by the quality of itâs writing. The writing style is quite different from other VNs in that it has much more narration (displayed at the bottom of the screen) and is written in 3rd person. Dialog is displayed as speech bubbles (which I like, makes it easier to see who is speaking). The downside is that there are six different character based routes. Thankfully there is no true end that requires you to read all of them. But unfortunately the route specific plot is interwoven with the main plot, so that you have to go skip the same main-plot every time. If you want to play only some of the routes, I would skip the maid and the baby, but donât skip the villain characters, I thought they had the best route.
Off-Topic - accepting VN recommendations
I played Flowers because itâs the highest rated âGirls x Girls onlyâ VN on vndb (well, except for pintemps. And since that acts as a filter, the ratings are probably inflated).
By that logic, I should put the 2nd highest rated on my to-read list. That would be SeaBed (vndb).
Another logic would be to say that Flowers is @AzusaChan favorite VN. So I should check out their 2nd favorite.
Iâve also started watching the Visual Novel Book Club-Thread. I kind of want something that is long, like a Flowers game, but not long like the Flowers series and also somewhat serious. Though this time I would take more caution with the language barrier (using text hooks or English translation depending on the difficulty). Iâve put Fata Morgana no Yakata from this vndb search on my wish-list (having already read Steins;Gate (elite)). And hey, SeaBed also shows up on that search.
@Akashelia, @AzusaChan I think you both read Flowers and Island. How would you compare them in terms of difficulty? Itâs less that I want to try Island and more that I want to confirm my theory that the JPDB difficulty ratings are completely useless (they rate Flowers at 5 and Island at 6, so JPDB thinks Island is more difficult. But I found Flowers very difficult and would expect a higher number.). And maybe for SeaBed, if you have played it (6 on JPDB). Iâm beginning to wish Natively would do video games or at least visual novels.
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I think that I can answer that, but Azusaâs answer will probably be more accurate, since I have read Flowers in English only.
It does seem to me that ISLAND is easier in term of language, less flowery descriptions of peopleâs feelings. It is very long though, I would estimate that length wise it is the equivalent of all 4 Flowers together!
As for the story, I really enjoyed it, I know one other reader did too. But there are also people who disliked it so much that they have quit reading. Not sure how you can assess if itâs for you or not.
That would be awesome 
Iâve heard that it was in the works but not sure when / if it will actually happen!
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VN recs
If youâre looking for yuri recommendations, Iâd recommend Usonatsu. Itâs about the length of a single Flowers game and its separated into chapters (I think 15? Canât remember the exact number). I think Iâd say that one is my second favorite yuri VN.
Yuri Ghosts on the Rooftop is another good one. I read that in English back when it released like a decade ago so my memory of it is a little fuzzy but I liked it a lot. The game follows around a bunch of different couples.
There is also this Chinese yuri VN series that was inspired by Flowers (it even has 4 parts). Only the first two are translated though. I read them in English (I donât know Chinese). The translation is kind of stiff but the story is good.
For non-yuri VNs, Fata is really good and you already have that on your wishlist it sounds like.
I canât remember if you liked ăă«ăłăšéæČłç« or not but the writer for that did Monkeys!ÂĄ which is very similar in the type of humor they use.
I canât recommend Seabeds. I tried to read it in English before I started to learn jp on two separate occasions but dropped it each time. I really hate the low production quality in that game, it made it very hard for me to read. The story itself was also just incredibly boring. It seems like a lot of people like the VN so Iâm not sure if it gets better later on but I couldnât force myself to read anymore of it.
Iâd say Island is significantly easier. There is no weird kanji usage in Island and the narrative sections tend to be a lot shorter. The main hard parts of Island for me were one of the characters slangy style of speech and some of the long info dumps near the end of the VN. JPDB difficulty ratings do seem random at times. It seems accurate for 1-3 range but the 4-6 range seems all over the place (I havenât read anything they rate an 7+ I think).
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I finally finished 
Alternative Routes
What I enjoyed the most from the alternative routes was how many new scenes we had with Chidori + Suoh.
LOL. As an H.P. Lovecraft fan, thatâs the funniest reaction Iâve ever heard to someone hearing Lovecraftâs name for the first time.
Also, hearing that Yuri flowers are poisonous to cats was the most depressing news Iâve heard in a while =._.=
Rikka Ending
This ending is⊠just weird, I feel. Rikka and Suoh become nuns-in-training? Thatâs just feels so unlike Suoh, which in no way seems to be religiously inclined.
True Ending
Itâs nice that the game mostly wraps up everything, and we finally get Mayuri to interact with the rest of the cast a bit more after missing for 2 games and 90% of the last one.
I still feel thereâs many things the game didnât make very clear. When I read this in English I never did understand what exactly they found in the hidden room behind the library, but now it seems the only (almost) logical explanation is that they find Sayuriâs remains there? The game literally only says that they see a figure hunched in a dark corner.
The game does mention during the ending that Sayuri âfinally rests next to Shionâ, which I guess means her remains were taken from the hidden room and finally buried properly next to Shionâs grave. I still find it really weird though.
If Sayuriâs remain were still in the hidden room, it would only make sense to think that Dalliah didnât know they were there, otherwise sheâd have surely taken the effort to bury them. So, in Dalliahâs mind, the room only contained some of the old history of the previous school. While I guess there was some info there about how it changed hands to the Basquiat family, it doesnât feel incriminating enough or anything for her to go all to way to hiding the key so carefully.
And if the key was so carefully protected, how on earth did Sayuri manage to get in there, lock herself and then commit suicide? I guess she might have found some copy of the key, but one would imagine it was just as carefully stored⊠maybe?
As others have mentioned, I feel that while now I understand Mayuriâs decision to leave Suoh in the first game, I still donât get why she needed to keep it a secret, and why Dalliah went as far as âhiringâ Yuzuriha & co to get in Suohâs way. It sorta feels that the overarching drama of Mayuri going away that spawns the 4 games is a bit overblown.
Also, thereâs the thing with who attacked Yuzuriha in the first game, that @AzusaChan explained from the artbook. Only having that in mind I kinda finally figured what she meant here in the ending when Yuzuriha and Nerine are talking to Suoh:
In a different topic, I enjoyed the nice song our main trio sings at the very end. Itâs really warm, calm and sweet, and feels like a very suitable ending song for the whole series.
Final thoughts
I think that this is the weakest game in the series. Probably the reason why I feel that way is that this is the only Flowers where thereâs basically no romance at all, despite Suoh having some moments where she gets really close to some of her friends. #NotEnoughYuri
This is also probably the game with some of the toughest mysteries. Back when I played it in English (and without a guide), I suffered quite a bit trying to decipher the puzzles, and for some of them I basically had to brute force through the combination of options. In that sense, I donât feel they were quite as enjoyable as mysteries in previous games, where at least I felt I had a chance to figure out at least parts of them 
So my ranking in order of enjoyment is: été, automne, printemps, hiver.
I love this series and itâs still my favorite Yuri series of all time. The characters are very enjoyable, multidimensional, and in general pure joy to watch as they make friends and fall in love. The music is stellar, the themes around fairy tales, the mysteries, the flowery language, everything is combined really well to create an amazing atmosphere.
Despite some of its flaws, no matter how I look at it, itâs a masterpiece.
Wow, itâs been a whole year reading this series. Funnily enough, I ended up reading every season of this game in the corresponding season of the year. I loved it, but it was definitely above the level where I could read comfortably and it was really exhausting. Still, no regrets - it was always one of my dreams to read this series again in the original language.
Huge thanks to @AzusaChan for leading this club, and to everyone who participated for all their insights and opinions, it was really fun reading everyoneâs reactions to the game!
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I felt the same way. I wish we had more scenes of them together. Its kind of sad that those scenes happen when you make the âwrongâ choice so theyâre not really canon.
They did mention the shoes to hint at Sayuriâs suicide there but there was an interview with Miki where they confirmed it was Sayuriâs body in there. Itâs not explicitly said in game though.
I think Dalia did know and thatâs why she went out of her way to try and prevent Suoh from finding out. Itâs kind of a dark secret of the school and her family. I donât think its mentioned anywhere but I assumed the room only became a secret after Sayuriâs suicide and they locked it up after that.
I think Mayuri kept her disappearance a secret because if word ever got out about what was happening, their entire reputation would be ruined. Itâd probably be hard to tell only Suoh too and not Rikka or anyone else. They mention somewhere in the game that once three people know a secret its no longer a secret so that logic was probably applied here.
I feel like they really should have gotten rid of that ending Suoh says she is Buddhist in the first game too so becoming a Catholic nun doesnât really make sense.
Thanks for joining the club! I enjoyed reading all of your thoughts throughout the entire series.
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If I remember correctly, pritemps did end with Suoh praying to God for the first time in her life.
But yeah. Rikka is terrible and it makes me sad to think that Suoh couldnât get away from her.
Oh cool, I didnât catch that. But yeah, itâs weird.
I had read the theory somewhere that Dalliah found the room while she was a student. And that it scared her so much, that she hid the key very well. Also, the school wanted to keep the suicide under wraps. But if true, thatâs some heavy stuff. Iâd imagine itâs against the law to not report a body. And just imagine going to work each day or living somewhere, where you (and only you) know of a secret room with a dead body of some girl (or was Sayuri an adult at that point) that went missing and her parents potentially still donât know if she is alive or not⊠But it would explain some of why itâs all kept so secret and why Dalliah clearly didnât want to speak about anything related.
As I understand it, Sayuri intentionally hid in that room so that she would âjust disappearâ to the world. But she wasnât quite consequent and didnât want to disappear completely. So she left some hints in her letter and that statue about the location of her body. The key was later hidden by the Basquiat family.
It doesnât quite make sense to me why the school had a âsecretâ room in the first place. But otherwise I donât see how to make sense of the hints Sayuri left or how her body is still there and the Basquiat family managed to keep her suicide a secret.
I donât quite get why there was need for secrecy for the students before her that took care of the elderly woman. But I think Mayuri explained in one of her novel style segments why she didnât tell Suoh.
Her justification was that it would hurt Suoh that she is leaving her. And she thought that she could just disappear and Suoh would just forget about her. But in truth she was afraid of rejection. That Suoh would not want to continue their relationship when she isnât with her at school (either at once or in time).
I also thought (at first) that Mayuri wasnât quite comfortable with her sexuality and having a relationship with woman. There was a scene were Suoh treated Mayuriâs homosexuality as a secret. But werenât they quite open about their relationship in Printemps?
Yeah (on the lack of romance, not the weakest game part). I thought the end was a bit strange. I really wasnât sure at the end if Suoh and Mayuri are still/again a couple. I wish the game had ended with a wedding or something. Like, what does their relationship status on their facebook page say?
There was the end of the play, where Mayuri switched with Chidori. That was very romantic. But a) as I wrote before, I thought it wasnât real. Just Suoh projecting Mayuri onto the role and confirming her feelings for her to herself. Or maybe Suoh finally loosing it completely. But even if you know itâs real. Itâs not like it was confirmation of their relationship status.
There was the scene in the library in Rikkaâs end, where Mayuri and Suoh did kiss and confirm their feelings for each other. BUT THATâS NOT IN THE TRUE END.
Then there is the true end. I think Mayuri makes her feelings clear in her monologue. But not to Suoh!
And after true end is the grand finale (the part where all three of them cook and sing a song). That seems to be all about how the three of them are co-equal amitees instead of two of them being lovers and one being a jealous, blackmailing third wheel (did I mention that Rikka is terrible? I mean, I love most of her scenes, but her story makes her terrible).
What a shocker that Ă©tĂ© is at the top, given that your avatar is of Erika! Iâm also more of an Erika/Chidori fan than of any other character. Personally, I just know I liked automne least, as I didnât like what it did to the characters of Yuzuriha and Neri. I quite liked hiver, but more for the engagement after finishing it (such as writing this reply) than for playing it. All the mystery stuff (and there wasnât much else in that game) wasnât very interesting to me until after I finished the true end, as I felt I didnât have enough info to be intrigued. But after true end it began becoming interesting.
I felt the same. And unfortunately I have never read it in English before. So I regret it a little. I should have read it in English or at least with a text-hooker. But it seems people that read it in English have similar problems understanding the details.
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That certainly makes more sense. Someone committing suicide in the school premises would be pretty bad for a schoolâs reputation. I guess in my mind I always felt that Dalia was very strictly catholic (with her admiration for her foster father and all), and something like hiding a body would not only be illegal, it would certainly be against her own beliefs.
I agree that itâs strange that Mayuri would be told the whole story, including Sayuriâs suicide. It would make more sense if they just told her how Shion died at the fire in the previous cathedral and how that traumatized her family - nothing wrong with that or with Mayuri telling Suoh about it.
However, she seemed to know about Sayuri, considering that she also drops the hint about the Mary with the serpent under her feet, which is linked directly to Sayuriâs final letter. Then again, thatâs also very strange on itself - how did Mayuri know about Sayuriâs letter? While Mayuri attended school, they never went to the classroom where the letters are stored. I imagine Dalia didnât know about the letters either, otherwise sheâd have surely secured them somewhere else or destroyed them - so itâs unlikely that Dalia herself would tell Mayuri about it.
Yes, I had the same impression here - both the Good End and the Grand Finale seem to emphasize them as Amities and thereâs no real mention of Mayuri and Suoh being in a relationship at all.
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Yeah thatâs probably my biggest issue with Hiver is the lack of focus on their relationship at the end. We had the kiss scene in the library but that was it. All of the stuff released after (the drama CDs, artbooks etc) have a lot of focus on them being together but I wish that was in the VN instead. The grand finale really should have ended with just Suoh and Mayuri. Having Rikka be there at the end kind of soured the mood.
Some of the extra stories are translated on the wiki for anyone that is interested in checking them out that doesnât have the artbooks. A lot of these stories I wish were incorporated into the VN itself⊠Shirahane Suoh/Extra Episode | FLOWERS Wiki | Fandom
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