Games - ToHeart

	Games - ToHeart

ToHeart (トゥハート) is a visual novel by Leaf/Aquaplus released in 1997 for the PC. It was later ported to the PlayStation and given voice acting. A second PC version, titled "ToHeart PSE" was released containing the PlayStation version as well as omake games. The new computer version and PlayStation version had the adult scenes removed.

It was also made into a 13-episode TV anime by KSS in 1999. A second anime, ToHeart: Remember My Memories aired from October 2004. ToHeart is an influential ren'ai game with a large cult following; it has been the inspiration for a great deal of fan art in the dōjinshi community.

Before ToHeart, the visual novel genre was donimated by leading company ELF. The company ultilized the sci-fi and fantasy concepts, and stressed on the importance of story background. Visual novel players often concern themselves more about the overall story, rather than paying attention on main character's personality and emotion. "ToHeart" was one of the first games which specifically allowed and encouraged the player to fall in love with normalcy, and started the trend of school related visual novels. Players symphatize with situations leading characters are in, and concern themselves more with characters, instead of the overall story.

Main script writer Tatsuya Takahashi's idea of "visual novel" is widely adopted today by many Japanese games, regardless of the genre.

To Heart expended its cult following to non-visual novel players when the KSS anime and Playstation Version were released. Furthermore, the original anime was one of the first cases where a anime adaptation of a video game would prove to be succeseful among viewers who didn't even play the game, although it is debatable if it could be considered one of the most popular animated series adaptation of a game. However, ~remember my memories~ and to a lesser extent, the ToHeart2 anime didn't receive as much praise as the original series. The KSS anime became a stepping stone for many famous voice actresses in regular anime we see today.

History

May 23, 1997 - ToHeart: Leaf Visual Novel Series No. 3 Released (18 up)
March 25, 1999 - Playstation version released (All ages)
April 1, 1999 - Anime version begins airing
June 24, 1999 - Anime ends
October 27, 1999 - Drama CD "Piece of Heart" released
August 23, 2000 - Piece of Heart rereleased, after previous distribution ceased following some legal confusion
June 19, 2003 - Original PC version repackaged and rereleased
June 27, 2003 - ToHeart PSE released (All ages)
October 2, 2004 - ToHeart ~Remember my Memories~ starts airing
December 28, 2004 - ToHeart2 is released on Playstation 2

Game

ToHeart was originally released on the PC in 1997 as a hentai visual novel love adventure: the third in its series. Produced by Aquaplus/Leaf, it is credited to having helped to lift the company out of obscurity.

In 1999, two years after the original PC release, ToHeart was converted to the Playstation and released. All adult scenes and themes were removed from this version, but full voice acting and omake games were added.

Four years after, the game was again rereleased on the PC, which was known as the PSE version. The version here used the Playstation version as the basis for its conversion.

The game was also included in the special ToHeart2/ToHeart bundle, which was one of three packages ToHeart2 was released in. The game was made for the PS2 and is not available individually.

Anime

Two anime series have been produced and released: ToHeart and ToHeart ~remember my memories~. The first was known for its watercolour like art, as well as slow and slice-of-life storytelling.

The second series was released five years later in order to generate interest in ToHeart2, and coincided with the marketing blitz that ToHeart2 was receiving. The anime finished the story line from the first, and showed the future of the two main characters: Akari and Hiroyuki.

All voice actors and actresses for the game were also used for the anime.

Characters

藤田浩之 (ふじたひろゆき) Fujita Hiroyuki
神岸あかり (かみぎしあかり) Kamigishi Akari
長岡志保 (ながおかしほ) Nagaoka Shiho
マルチ Multi (HMX-12)
セリオ Serio (HMX-13)
保科智子 (ほしなともこ) Hoshina Tomoko
来栖川芹香 (くるすがわせりか) Kurusugawa Serika
来栖川綾香 (くるすがわあやか) Ayaka Kurusugawa
宮内レミィ (みやうちれみぃ) Miyauchi Lemmy
松原葵 (まつばらあおい) Matsubara Aoi
姫川琴音 (ひめかわことね) Himekawa Kotone
雛山理緒 (ひなやまりお) Hinayama Rio
佐藤雅史 (さとうまさし) Satō Masashi

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for ToHeart ]

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