"Nice to meet you! I'm your daughter from the future, and I traveled all the way back in time to change your life for the better!"
After school, on the rooftop, drenched in the color of the setting sun... Yukiha Tenjo confesses his love to his childhood friend and longtime crush, Yukitsuki Asaka... and gets rejected. Immediately after, a young girl named Miu materializes in front of him, claiming to be his "daughter from the future". Swearing to change Yukiha's life for the better at all costs, Miu pushes Yukiha into a maelstrom of drama as she tries to guide him away from the tragic future she experienced firsthand.
Fragment's Note is a romance Visual Novel developed by Alvion Inc. and ULLUCUS HEAVEN. Originally released on Android and iOS in 2012, it was given an English translation in 2014 and a PS Vita port in 2015. Dialogue choices in the game are relatively minimal; there are four choices within the first third of the game which determine the route and ending a player gets, with the rest of the story having no choices past that point.
A direct sequel, After Stories, was written in 2014. Detailing Yukiha's life in the days following the first game, it has no built-in choices, as the player picks a route before starting each playthrough. It was translated to English in 2016.
Another sequel, Fragment's Note 2, was also released in 2014. Though set in the same continuity, only two characters from the previous entries return in this story. Its plot focuses on a different protagonist: Kyoichi Akikawa, an underclassman at Yukiha's school who mentioned briefly in the first game as a background character. Haunted by flashbacks of the plane crash which robbed him of his parents and sister, Kyoichi's life drastically changes after a chance encounter with Yukitsuki.
In 2022, ULLUCUS HEAVEN announced that all three games would receive fully voiced Nintendo Switch remakes to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the series. The remakes came with new graphics for both characters and backgrounds, a "board" system to navigate through scenes more easily, and a character biography menu. Fragment's Note+ and Fragment's Note+ After Stories were released in 2022, while Fragment's Note 2+ was released in 2023.
Character page in progress.
Fragment's Note contains examples of:
- A-Cup Angst: Tsukasa in the second game acts like this, especially around Kazuha, specifically to annoy her and Kyoichi. Ayame (and possibly Eri as well) play this straight; the former claims that she suffers this due to her long hospital stint.
- Aerith and Bob: As the setting is Japan, we do have a bunch of Japanese names... and Mischa and Alexander. Justified since they're foreigners though.
- Action Girl: Miu, Kazuha, and Ayame all have their moments.
- All Love Is Unrequited: If Yukiha is too wishy-washy about who to choose, he ends up like this and you get the "bad end".
- Always Second Best: Thanks to Yukiha's picky food tastes, Mischa and Eri become very envious of Haya's cooking talent and make it their mission to beat her.
- Ascended Extra: Rina shows up as a minor character in After Stories; she has a much larger role in Fragment's Note 2. Shizuku is mentioned by Rina in After Stories as well, but doesn't physically appear until the second game.
- Awful Truth: Yukiha gets killed by Yukitsuki in Miu's future, Kyoichi gets a terminal illness.
- Babies Ever After: Kyoichi and Yukitsuki in both of Yukitsuki's endings.
- Bash Brothers: Mikiya, Yukiha, and Kazuhide. To a lesser extent, Kyoichi, Kazuha, and Tsukasa.
- Big Damn Heroes: Miu uses her teleportation to rescue Yukiha from Yukitsuki.
- Big Eater: Mischa.
- Break Them by Talking: Yukitsuki pulls one on Eri during her arc, but Eri eventually breaks Yukitsuki out of her yandere ways with one.
- In the second game, Yukitsuki tries this on Shizuku. It doesn't work.
- Book Dumb: Kazuhide is presumed to be this. Either that, or he never studies because he's too busy goofing off.
- Boy Meets Girl: For Kyoichi, in Yukitsuki's arc. Boy meets girl, boy bonds with girl, boy pushes girl away, boy makes amends with girl.
- Chekhov's Boomerang: A verbal version: Miu telling Yukiha to "find his true happiness".
- Childhood Friend Romance: Averted with first Yukiha and Yukitsuki, then Kyoichi and Eri
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass:
- Kazuhide is surprisingly intelligent and perceptive.
- Kazuha, while usually easygoing and silly, is actually a focused and determined individual.
- Cutting Off the Branches: This is left somewhat unclear. Though Yukiha's canon ship was Mischa, as she has direct access to the devices, Yukitsuki says that it was Eri instead who confronted her in the park and ultimately helped her realize that she was not truly a puppet.
- The Shizuku route of Fragment's Note 2 is, according to the official website, the canon route, while Yukitsuki's route is the alternate one.
- Date Peepers: Tends to happen often, whether on purpose or accidental.
- Surprisingly enough, Mikiya ends up doing this a lot.
- Distracted by the Sexy: Yukiha to Mischa early on… and then again in After Stories. It also happens for Kyoichi, who suffers this from Shizuku, Yukitsuki, or even Rina.
- Double Standard Rape: Female on Male: Yukitsuki to Yukiha, until Miu (and possibly Eri) intervene.
- Dramatic Wind: When Yukiha asks Yukitsuki out, it looks as if Yukitsuki's hair is being blown around by the wind.
- Dull Eyes of Unhappiness: When Yukitsuki and Shizuku go yandere. For the former, it gets better; her eyes only go dark when she's extremely pissed off, or when she's sleep-talking.
- Empty Eyes: Shizuku has moments.
- Establishing Character Moment: Mischa's introduction has her running up to Yukiha and kissing him in front of the entire class.
- Tsukasa calls Kyoichi and they have a "date". He acts overly flirtatious towards Kyoichi the entire time. Keep in mind that the game doesn't tell us that Tsukasa is a guy until the day afterwards.
- Everyone Can See It: Concerning Yukiha and Eri during Eri's route. Mikiya and Mischa even set them up on a date.
- Evil Former Friend: Yukitsuki during her yandere state; in Eri's route, she pushes her away, despite the two being best friends.
- The Faceless: The teachers, Yukitsuki's boyfriend, and the unnamed students. Surprisingly averted by the principal.
- Fanservice: There's at least one scene in each game. Usually, it involves Mischa.
- First-Name Basis: Yukitsuki insists to Kyoichi that he call her by her first name.
- Flashback: Happens a lot when Yukiha is pondering. However, this is an important plot point for Kyoichi and Shizuku, for their flashbacks actually cause psychological and physical pain.
- Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: Eri is not afraid to do this; she does it to Yukiha several times.
- When Yukiha, Mikiya, and Kazuhide run into Mischa - dressed as a shrine maiden - on New Year's Eve, the trio can't do anything but stare. At least, until Eri comes and slaps them all.
- Golden Ending: Yukitsuki's final CG could qualify as this, in which she has a tearful reunion with Miu and comes to fully accept her own past and the Incident.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Ayame donates an organ to Kyoichi to save his life, at the cost of hers in the first ending of Shizuku's route.
- Hidden Depths: Eri in the first game, Yukitsuki in the sequel. That said, the latter's depths aren't really hidden; anyone who played the first game already knows what happened.
- Interface Spoiler: Why would Eri, who's presumably a side character, have two entire pages of CGs dedicated to her? Simple answer: she's romanceable.
- Internal Reveal: We learn that Yukitsuki gets dumped before Yukiha does.
- Invisible Parents: Yukitsuki's parents. Haya's real parents. Mischa's mother. Yukiha's parents though that's justified due to their busy work trips. Frankly, there aren't many adults in this series...
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Both Mischa and Haya, if rejected. Both will be clearly upset, but they both will push that aside to congratulate Yukiha for getting a girlfriend.
- Karma Houdini: Inverted by Kazuhide; everyone who hurt him gets away scot-free.
- Most of the Yandere characters end up being forgiven; specifically, Yukitsuki with the Incident and her initial boyfriend's coma, and Shizuku stabbing Yukitsuki in the latter's route.
- Love Dodecahedron: In the first game. Mischa, Haya, and Yukitsuki love Yukiha, who might love them all back, or he might love Eri, who might love either Yukiha or Mikiya. Keep in mind that Mikiya "holds Haya in high regard" and might love Mischa, while Kazuhide blatantly loves Mischa and Haya.
- Love Square: In the second game: both Shizuku and Yukitsuki can love Kyoichi, depending on his choices. And Ayame/Inori might love Kyoichi as well.
- Misery Builds Character: As shown in Yukitsuki and Eri.
- My God, What Have I Done?: In Eri's route, Yukitsuki does this after she snaps out of her yandere mode.
- Never Got to Say Goodbye: Tsukasa and Yukitsuki give Kyoichi a harsh lecture concerning how Shizuku will be affected by this after they find out that he is going to die.
- This is actually what happens to Yukitsuki in Kazuha's future, which is why Kazuha went back in time. Not to mention Miu getting erased from the timeline after she drastically changed the future; the fact that she did not inform her adoptive parents of this left Yukitsuki scarred.
- Nothing Is the Same Anymore: Try as they might, nobody can truly get over the "Yukitsuki Incident".
- Official Couple: There are clues in the second game that suggest that Yukiha's canon ship was Mischa; notably, the fact that Mischa can use the devices.
- However, Yukitsuki states that it was Eri who helped her get over Yukiha, not Mischa. It's possible that the official canon is that Yukiha marries Mischa, but Eri helps Yukitsuki.
- Oh, Crap!: Yukiha when he's thrown onto the ground before Yukitsuki tries to rape him.
- Yukiha, when Haya, Mischa, and Miu storm into his room and demand an explanation as to why Eri is cuddled up beside him.
- Kyoichi during Shizuku's route, when he realizes that Shizuku overheard his conversation.
- Kyoichi has another moment when Tsukasa and Shizuku are fussing over him in front of Yukitsuki.
- Parting-Words Regret: Had Kazuha not intervened, Kyoichi's emotional outburst would've been his last interaction with Yukitsuki before his death. Both affected parties feel greatly regretful that they did not reconnect and reconcile, and both take it to their graves.
- Passion Is Evil: Both Yukitsuki and Shizuku are victims of this.
- Please, Don't Leave Me: Both Shizuku and Yukitsuki do this to Kyoichi when they hear that he's going to die from a terminal illness.
- Put on a Bus: Yukitsuki's ex-boyfriend is knocked into a coma and never mentioned again.
- Rescue Romance: This is how Kyoichi first meets Yukitsuki.
- Running Gag: Several.
- Kazuhide getting beat up. Especially by Mikiya or Eri.
- Eri trying to be nice to people, but then they refuse because they're terrified of Eri. Then Eri goes ballistic and forces them to do whatever she was offering.
- Mikiya losing his cool, and Kazuhide giving him crap about it.
- Characters walking in on other characters when they're having a romantic moment. This happens a LOT in the second game.
- Tsukasa's overly flirtatious attitude, which makes Kyoichi wonder if the other students know that he's actually a guy.
- Satellite Character: Matsuri in After Stories, to Eri and Mischa; she's only relevant when she kidnaps Eri and Yukitsuki and makes them watch anime, and when she provides Mischa with some Arc Words.
- Takatsugu applies to some extent as well; his only prominent character trait is his obsession with his "rivalry" with Kyoichi, along with a bit of tsundere as well.
- Say My Name: Any dramatic or romantic scene in this series includes a fair amount of this.
- Second Love: For Yukiha. The second love can be Mischa, Haya, or Eri. Yukitsuki is the unfortunate first love.
- Secret Character: Downplayed in the first game since they're not hard to unloick, but still present. Thought you could only romance Mischa and Haya? Nope.
- Set Right What Once Went Wrong: Miu's and Kazuha's purpose in returning to the past.
- Shared Family Quirks: Mischa and her dad, Alexander, have some familiar traits…
- Shipper on Deck: Rina has an uncanny knack for saying things to embarrass Kyoichi, hinting towards this.
- Mikiya and Mischa do this to Yukiha in Eri's route.
- Smitten Teenage Girl: Tsukasa loves to act like this towards the guys just to fool unsuspecting classmates. It's implied that most of his class isn't even aware that he's a guy.Kyoichi: (Tsukasa's) like an arsonist who enjoys watching people run around trying to put out the fires [he] start[s].
- Story Branch Favoritism: In the first game, Mischa's and Haya's routes are practically identical, with only a few names and a few select scenes swapped. On the contrary, Eri's route is longer and comes with more character development and impactful scenes, and sheds more light on both the main heroine and Yukitsuki's backgrounds.
- Somewhat, albeit minorly, in Fragment's Note 2. Yukitsuki's route is presented as a bit of a twist on Shizuku's route, in which Yukitsuki gets more directly involved in the storyline and changes the events.
- Team Mom: Haya in the first game; Rina in the second.
- Temporal Paradox: This issue is handled in an interesting way. Miu's intervention creates an entirely new future in the time stream, which demotes her future to an Alternate Timeline. Said timeline is promptly erased from existence, including Miu herself.
- According to Miu, intervening in the past and changing the future will always do this, unless an irregularity is at work.
- There Are No Coincidences: It turns out Kazuha, Ayame, and adult Miu were behind the scenes during the entirety of the second game.
- This Is Something He's Got to Do Himself: Yukiha gets into several of these: one with Yukitsuki, and, depending on the player's choices, possibly one with Mischa, Haya, or Eri.
- Those Two Guys:
- Mikiya and Kazuhide first appear to be this, but soon become more important. They get a fairly large role in After Stories, however.
- In the second game, Tsukasa and Takatsugu go through identical treatment as Mikiya and Kazuhide do. However, Tsukasa gets a more major role while Takatsugu fades into the background.
- Time Skip: The second game occurs around a year after the first.
- Troll: Kazuhide can be this at times.
- And Tsukasa, who looks like a cute girl, dresses in the female uniform, and acts unnaturally flirtatious towards the guys. Just to screw with their heads.
- Tranquil Fury: Yukitsuki in the second game. The effect is amplified by her Dull Eyes of Unhappiness.
- Tsundere: Eri in her route, big time. She dislikes the male gender, which stabs her in the back if Yukiha goes for her.
- Lampshaded by Matsuri in After Stories.
Matsuri: Mean then nice. Eri is such a tsundere.- Takatsugu and Mikiya show a bit of this as well, towards Kyoichi and Mischa respectively.
- Yandere: This series is basically "How To Deal With Yanderes 101".
