History VisualNovel / Hakuouki

* TheShinsengumi: [[CaptainObvious No, really]]?

In UsefulNotes/{{Kyoto}}, Japan, near the end of the [[JidaiGeki Edo period]], a young boy is being chased through the streets at night by a pair of revolutionaries loyal to the Emperor. Hiding in an alley, the boy is horrified to witness his pursuers' brutal murder at the hands of demonic looking men with [[RedEyesTakeWarning glowing red eyes]], who laugh maniacally as they hack their victims to pieces. When the fiends turn their attention to the boy, his life is only spared by the timely appearance of two samurai belonging to a group of powerful warriors loyal to the Shogun, known as the {{Shinsengumi}}. Unsure just where the boy's loyalties lie, the Shinsengumi take him into custody and return him to their headquarters.

* CastFullOfPrettyBoys: Justified since this is about a [[{{Shinsengumi}} military sect]], though the presence of Chizuru makes this more of a ReverseHarem situation.

* ''Hakuouki Shinkai'': An UpdatedRerelease of the original ''Shinsengumi Kitan'' for Playstation Vita, incorporating the ''Zuisoroku'' fandisc and some additional new content, incluiding routes for former supporting characters Sanan, Yamazaki and Nagakura and three new orignal character routes. Released in two episodes: ''Kaze no Shou'', covering from Chizuru's arrival to Kyoto to the Shinsengumi's leave for Edo, and ''Hana no Shou'', covering the rest of the story. Licensed in the West for PSV and Steam under the names ''Kyoto Winds'' and ''Edo Blossoms'' respectively.

* ''Hakuouki Shinkai'': An UpdatedRerelease of the original ''Shinsengumi Kitan'' for Playstation Vita, incorporating the ''Zuisoroku'' fandisc and some additional new content.

* ''Hakuōki ~Otogisōshi~'' (April 2016 - ): A gag series of 5-minute shorts based on the style of ''Yūgiroku''.

'''''Hakuōki''''' (often [[JapaneseRomanization romanized]] as '''''Hakuouki''''' or '''''Hakuoki''''') is a popular video game franchise developed by Otomate, Creator/IdeaFactory, and originally released in Japan in 2008. The series comprises eight different games: two main titles and a fan-disc first released on the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2, two spinoffs, and three handheld [[GaidenGame gaiden games]]. Most of the games have been ported to multiple platforms (namely: UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable, UsefulNotes/PlayStation3, UsefulNotes/NintendoDS and UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS).

* IAmAMonster: Several characters, especially [[spoiler:Heisuke]] in his route and also including [[spoiler:Sanan and Okita]], feel this way about their transformation into furies. Contrast with [[spoiler:Saito and Hijikata; Saito in particular tells Chizuru ahead of time in his route that if duty led him to become a fury he would not consider it any different from anything else he's done in the service of the Shinsengumi up to that point, and true to his word never looks back once the deed is done]].

* ChasteHero: Chizuru.

* BlondGuysAreEvil: Kazama.

* IAmAMonster: Several characters, especially [[spoiler:Heisuke]] in his route and also including [[spoiler:Sanan and Okita]], feel this way about their transformation into furies . Contrast with [[spoiler:Saito and Hijikata; Saito in particular tells Chizuru ahead of time in his route that if duty led him to become a fury he would not consider it any different from anything else he's done in the service of the Shinsengumi up to that point, and true to his word never looks back once the deed is done]].

* IAmAMonster: Several characters, especially [[spoiler:Heisuke]] in his route and also including [[spoiler:Sanan and Okita]], feel this way about their transformation into furies . Contrast with [[spoiler:Saito and Hijikata; Saito in particular tells Chizuru ahead of time in his route that if duty led him to become a furies he would not consider it any different from anything else he's done in the service of the Shinsengumi up to that point, and true to his word never looks back once the deed is done]].

* ''Hakuōki ~Shinsengumi Kitan~'' (2008): The first of the two main titles; a [[HistoricalFiction historical]] [[VisualNovel visual novel]] with some [[RomanceGame romance game]] elements.

* PaperThinDisguise: Hijikata, Saito, and Okita recognize Chizuru as a girl the moment she speaks, and Harada and Sanan at least suspect. Only Kondou, Heisuke and Nagakura are actually surprised to learn of her sex.

* AmbiguousEnding: The ending of the anime for [[spoiler: Hijikata]]. It's unknown if he dies from a combination of his wounds and from LivingOnBorrowedTime from the Water of Life. But [[spoiler: since his body doesn't disappear and he wipes Chizuru's tear away and says her name]], it's also suggested he may still be alive.

* DeclarationOfProtection: Once they've taken her in, the Shinsengumi captains are entirely committed to protecting Chizuru no matter what difficulty it causes them, and nearly to a man they respond indignantly to any suggestion that it might be better for her to leave, taking it as questioning their ability to handle the challenge.

* ImplausibleFencingPowers: Whenever [[DodgeTheBullet Sanosuke fights Shiranui]].

* ThemeNaming: Demon names tend to have the character "千" ("a thousand") incorporated into them, either directly or as a component of another kanji. Characters whose names sport this character include [[spoiler:Chizuru, Sen, Kazama (in his given name of Chikage), and Kaoru]], as well as [[spoiler:Chitose Kazama, Kazuya Yukimura, Kazutake Amagiri, and Shin Shiranui]] in Hakuoki's distant prequel game ''Toki no Kizuna''.

* KansaiRegionalDialect: Kimigiku speaks Kyoto-ben in her role as a Shimabara geisha, customary due to Kyoto-ben being thought of as a softer and more refined manner of speech.

* NotWhatItLooksLike: In his route in ''Zuisoroku'' and his OVA, Hijikata runs into a snag when he tries to extricate Chizuru from her brief stint spying at Sumiya - onlookers take her for the geisha she's dressed as and assume he's either kidnapping her or trying to elope with her without clearing her debt. Trying to explain that she's not actually a geisha fails to convince anyone, and it apparently takes Hijikata a while afterwards to live down the rumors.

* AluminumChristmasTrees: The historical Hijikata did in fact compose the collection of haiku that Okita and the others keep making fun of - including the "ume ume ume" poem that so baffles Saito in the DramaCD - and those who have read it generally agree that it's pretty bad.

* JapaneseSpirit: Referenced by name when Shiranui quotes Takasugi Shinsaku, and of great importance to the Shinsengumi, Hijikata especially... albeit cast in a more bittersweet light than usual. Resolve and persistence are presented as great virtues of the Shinsengumi, but at the same time it's clear that "fighting spirit" is not enough to make up for the disadvantages they face in the Boshin War.

* TheStoic: Saito and, to a lesser extent, Hijikata. Also Amagiri Kyuuju, who always fights rather grudgingly, and has several ''extremely'' polite and understated confrontations with Saito.

* ThemeNaming: Demon names tend to have the character "千" ("a thousand") incorporated into them, either directly or as a component of another kanji. Characters whose names sport this character include [[spoiler:Chizuru, Sen, Kazama (in his given name of Chikage), and Kaoru]], as well as [[spoiler:Kazama Chitose, Yukimura Kazuya, Amagiri Kazutake, and Shiranui Shin]] in Hakuoki's distant prequel game ''Toki no Kizuna''.
* ThisIsUnforgivable: There are a number of examples in the game, the most emphatic being Chizuru and then Hijikata's furious declarations to Kazama after the latter [[spoiler:kills Inoue]], and the Shinsengumi's reactions to [[spoiler:Kondou's beheading]].

* FriendlyEnemy: Despite facing off on several different occasions, Harada Sanosuke and Shiranui Kyo rarely seem to bear one another much real ill will. Almost every time they fight, Chizuru observes that their banter and broad smiles make it seem like they're having a wonderful time. In Harada's route and in the anime, [[spoiler:they unsurprisingly end up as allies of sorts.]]

* GenkiGirl: Sen-hime.
* GoodIsOldFashioned: Embodied in Kondou.