History VisualNovel / Hakuouki

* ''Hakuōki: Tsukikage no Shou'' (2019): A fandisc for ''Shinkai'', released on the Nintendo Switch in the form of a visual novel. It adds new moments for the past (in the form of Chizuru reminiscing) and the Good Endings. It covers Hijikata, Sennan, Kazama, Yamazaki, Okita, and Iba; a second planned fandisc for Saito, Heisuke, Harada, Nagakura, Souma, and Sakamoto is to be released in 2020.

** Kaoru is only relevant to the plot in four routes: Okita's, Kazama's, Sakamoto's, and Sanan's, disappearing completely from all others. Also, [[spoiler:his background and stance on his sister changes slightly; in all but Okita's, he escapes Yukimura Village with Chizuru, and is implied (stated on Sakamoto's) to have performed some form of HeroicSacrifice to protect her from the Nagumo. In Okita's, he was separated from her during the massacre and wants to see her suffer for the pain he endured at the Nagumo's hands.]]

** Kaoru is only relevant to the plot in four routes: Okita's, Kazama's, Sakamoto's, and Sanan's, disappearing completely from all others. Also, [[spoiler:his background and stance on his sister changes slightly; in all but Okita's, he escapes Yukimura Village with Chizuru, and is implied (stated on Sakamoto's) to have performed some form of HeroicSacrifice to protect her from the Nagumo. In Okita's, he was left behind and captured by the Nagumo.]]

** Objects and characters can disappear or appear depending on your choices. For example, in Okita's battle with Kazama, if you choose to look around the room, you warn Okita of a samurai attempting to stab him InTheBack. If you choose to distract Kazama, the samurai is absent.

** Kaoru is only relevant to the plot in four routes: Okita's, Kazama's, Sakamoto's, and Sanan's, disappearing completely from all others.
** The characterizations of Kazama, Sanan, Kodo, and to a lesser extent Kaoru vary in the game, depending on which route you end up on.

* ShipperOnDeck: Sen just generally wants Chizuru to be happy, but in Hijikata's route of the game she's actively encouraging of Chizuru's feelings for him, even before Chizuru is sure of her feelings herself.

** On a personal level, [[spoiler:if Chizuru's love interest becomes a Fury, he's expected to die young due to her [[CastFromLifespan their powers work]]. [[FromBadToWorse Ten out of twelve of her love interests become Furies, and only four of them]][[note]]Hijikata, Okita, Saito, and Heisuke[[/note]][[FromBadToWorse are cured, even in the Good Ending]]. And even then, Okita will probably have an even shorter life, as he's still dying of tuberculosis.]]

* BittersweetEnding: All over the place, even in the Good Endings.
** For starters, while Chizuru's love interest [[spoiler:is cured from being a Fury, if he became one, he's still expected to die young due to how [[CastFromLifespan their powers work]]. [[FromBadToWorse Ten out of twelve of her love interests become Furies]].]]
** On top of that, [[spoiler:Okita will probably have an even shorter life, as he's still dying of tuberculosis.]]

** In Heisuke's route, [[spoiler:Kazama's investigating the activities of the Furies, which leads to him intervening when a several at giving Heisuke trouble.]]

* FriendlyEnemy: Despite facing off on several different occasions, Sanosuke Harada and Kyo Shiranui 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.]]

* GreyAndGrayMorality: On one side, you have the Shinsengumi, who are dedicated to protecting Kyoto and upholding the values of a samurai...but on the Shogunate's orders, participated in experiments that turned men mad or into monsters. On the other side, you have the Choshu and Satsuma, who are fed up with the shogunate and want to bring the Emperor back to power...by using tactics and weapons from the modern world, which threatens the samurai's way of life. The Demons help the Choshu and Satsuma, but only [[spoiler:to uphold vows or debts made between their ancestors (Kazama and Amagiri) or out of friendship (Shiranui).]] And that's just the broad strokes of the factions; individuals have moral intricacies and, depending on route, can make different choices or have [[SchrodingersGun different goals]].

%%* LastStand: [[spoiler: Harada, Okita, and Saito.]]

%%* ManlyTears: Hijikata for both [[spoiler: Kondou and Okita]].

%%* MultipleEndings

%%* TeamSpirit

%%* {{Tragedy}}

%%* TrueCompanions: [[DownerEnding Together till the end]].

%%* {{Youkai}}

* AchillesHeel: Due to their ability to [[HealingFactor instantly heal their wounds]], demons and furies are [[NighInvulnerable nigh invulnerable]]. They must be stabbed through the heart or decapitated [[DeaderThanDead in order to be killed]].

%%* TheAnimeOfTheGame
* AmbiguousEnding: The ending of the anime for [[spoiler: Hijikata]], which lacks the epilogue scene from his good ending in the visual novel and thus is unclear as to whether or he has died from the combination of his wounds and using up his lifespan to fuel his powers as a fury. [[spoiler:His voice is heard saying Chizuru's name and his hand is shown wiping away her tears, implying that he's still alive, but the way the scene is framed leaves it ambiguous how much is really happening and how much is Chizuru's wistful imagination]].

** [[spoiler:Harada and Kazama]] mostly avoid this and have a genuinely happy ending, [[spoiler:as they're the two love interests who don't face shortened lifespans]]. But even then, [[spoiler:the Shinsengumi are no more, the shogunate has fallen, the samurai class has become obsolete, and most of the main cast are dead]].

%%* CostumePorn: And ''how''.

%%* DontYouDarePityMe: Everyone to Chizuru.

* FromBadToWorse: Season 1 of the anime follows the Shinsengumi as they gain power but season 2 show their decline and remains quite [[AnyoneCanDie faithful]] [[ForegoneConclusion to history]].
%%* GenkiGirl: Princess Sen.

%%* GreyAndGrayMorality

%%* HeroicRROD

%%* HeroicSpirit: Displayed, in varying degrees, by each of the main characters:
%%** HeroicResolve
%%** HeroicSecondWind
%%** HeroicWillpower
%%* HeterosexualLifePartners: Harada and Nagakura in the game.

%%* HistoricalBeautyUpdate
%%* HistoricalDomainCharacter

%%* IncurableCoughOfDeath: [[HistoricalDomainCharacter Three guesses who]].

%%* KidHero: Heisuke.

* KnowWhenToFoldEm: Shinpachi and Sanosuke, in contrast to Kondou and the other captains, [[spoiler:leave the Shinsengumi when they see the writing on the wall after Koufu, which is one of the reasons that Sanosuke's route has the happiest ending in the game]].

%%* {{Mooks}}

%%* {{Bishonen}}: EVERYWHERE.

** For starters, while Chizuru's love interest [[spoiler:is cured from being a Fury, if he became one, he's still expected to die young due to how [[CastFromLifespan their powers work]]. [[FromBadToWorse Ten out of twelve of her love interests became Furies]].]]

* BittersweetEnding: All over the place.
** For starters, Chizuru [[spoiler:can expect to be widowed young if her love interest became a Fury, due to how [[CastFromLifespan their powers work]]. [[FromBadToWorse Ten out of twelve of her love interests become Furies]].]]

* AFateWorseThanDeath: The game's bad endings, when they don't involve Chizuru's death, sometimes turn in this direction; for example, one bad ending of Sanosuke's route has Kazama catching Chizuru alone, followed by Chizuru's narration saying only that she has no desire to tell what happened after that or how she spent the rest of her days.

* SchrodingersGun: The characterizations of Kazama, Sanan, and to a lesser extent Kodo vary in the game depending on which route you end up on. In addition, Kaoru is only relevant to the plot in three routes: Okita's, Sakamoto's, and Sanan's; disappearing completely from all others.

* SupernaturalGoldEyes: When a demon activates their full power, their eyes turn bright gold. The trope is subverted, on the other hand, by Sanosuke, who has golden eyes but is completely human and [[spoiler:is the only potential love interest in the game who never drinks the Water of Life in any route]].

* YouShallNotPass: [[spoiler:Inoue]] in Hijikata's route and in the anime, [[SenselessSacrifice although it doesn't accomplish much]]. [[spoiler:Saito]] in episode 19 of the anime as well. None of them ever work[[note]]although historically, Saito survived his final battle and was taken prisoner under a fake name[[/note]].

* BittersweetEnding: Each of the character endings in the game. [[spoiler: Particularly Okita's as he's still dying of tuberculosis on top of living on borrowed time as a fury. Harada's is the only route to mostly avoid the trope and have a genuinely happy ending, but even then the Shinsengumi are no more, the shogunate has fallen, the samurai class has become obsolete, and most of the main cast are dead]].

* CastFromLifespan: Furies gain [[StockSuperPowers various powers]] at the cost of shortening their lives.

* EmergencyTransformation: [[spoiler:Heisuke]] is given the water of life and turned into a fury in order to keep him from dying from the mortal injuries he receives [[spoiler:at Amagiri's hands during the Aburano Koji Incident]].

* JerkassFacade: Hijikata deliberately cultivates his demonic image in order to play the [[GoodCopBadCop Bad Cop to Kondou's Good Cop]].

* PurpleEyes: [[PurpleIsPowerful Hijikata]], Yamazaki, [[SupernaturalIsPurple Shiranui, and Kimigiku]].

* TheAnimeOfTheGame

* {{Bishonen}}: EVERYWHERE.

* CostumePorn: And ''how''.

* DontYouDarePityMe: Everyone to Chizuru.

* GenkiGirl: Princess Sen.

* GreyAndGrayMorality

* HeroicRROD

* HeroicSpirit: Displayed, in varying degrees, by each of the main characters:
** HeroicResolve
** HeroicSecondWind
** HeroicWillpower
* HeterosexualLifePartners: Harada and Nagakura in the game.

* HistoricalBeautyUpdate
* [[HistoricalDomainCharacter Historical Domain Characters]]

* IncurableCoughOfDeath: [[HistoricalDomainCharacter Three guesses who]].

* KidHero: Heisuke.
* [[spoiler: KillEmAll: The game's Normal Ending and the anime's second season.]]

* LastStand: [[spoiler: Harada, Okita, and Saito.]]

* ManlyTears: Hijikata for both [[spoiler: Kondou and Okita]].

* {{Mooks}}

* MultipleEndings
* MyFaceIsUpHere: Humorously performed via third party in the visual novel, during the scene in which Sen and Kimigiku arrive to ask Chizuru to leave with them. When Nagakura fails to recognize Kimigiku as the same woman who waited on them in Shimabara, Harada helpfully advises him to look at her face instead of her chest.

* TeamSpirit

* {{Tragedy}}

* TrueCompanions: [[DownerEnding Together till the end]].

* {{Youkai}}

* SnowMeansLove: Chizuru watches the snow fall with Saito in his good ending.

* OurVampiresAreDifferent: Furies are turned by drinking the water of life, a red liquid originally made from demonic blood. Like vampires, they are [[WeakenedByTheLight nocturnal creatures]] that [[BloodLust subsist on blood]]. [[spoilers: This is brought up sometimes, but only in some routes, such as the end of Sanan's: It's mentioned that "western demons" are known as "Vampires" in the west.]]

* OurVampiresAreDifferent: Furies are turned by drinking the water of life, a red liquid originally made from demonic blood. Like vampires, they are [[WeakenedByTheLight nocturnal creatures]] that [[BloodLust subsist on blood]].

** Sanan requests one from Okita after [[spoiler:his modified water of life fails to work the way he'd hoped]], although he ends up surviving.

** ''Hakuoki ~Demon of the Fleeting Blossom~'' (2012): The [[http://www.siliconera.com/2011/07/02/hakuoki-demon-of-the-fleeting-blossom-will-be-north-americas-first-otome-game/ North American version of the PSP port]], released by AksysGames.

* SubmissiveBadass: Everyone in the Shinsengumi under Kondou. Special mention goes to Saito, who does virtually everything Hijikata asks him to do.

* SchrodingersGun: The characterizations of Kazama, Sanan, and to a lesser extent Kodo vary in the game depending on which route you end up on. In addition, Kaoru is only relevant to the plot in Okita's and Sanan's routes and disappears completely from all others.

* SchrodingersGun: The characterizations of Kazama, Sanan, and to a lesser extent Kodo vary in the game depending on which route you end up on. In addition, Kaoru is only relevant to the plot in Okita's route and disappears completely from all others.

->''"At the end of an era, the men of the Shinsengumi struggle to uphold the samurai ideal. When a young girl is thrust into their midst, she finds herself irrevocably tied to to their tragic fate."''

'''''Hakuōki''''' (often [[UsefulNotes/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).