Kami-sama no You na Kimi e - Rana and Sophia's route was amazing fun.
Kami-sama no You na Kimi e (神様のような君へ) is a visual novel developed by CUBE and ENTERGRAM and released in 2020. It focuses on topics that seem even more relevant today, considering the quick and deep advancements in AI technologies in recent years.
There are two versions of this visual novel, as there was a re-release titled "Extended Edition" with some route changes in 2022. However, I played the original version, so this post will be about that one. As far as I have heard, the re-release adds a new heroine named "Sonomura Hazuki", who was introduced in the console version, and adds extra scenes for all the other heroines.
The story follows an exceptional hacker named Shiromae Kaito who, for his last challenge, decides to hack into the central government's most prized AI system called C-AI (Central AI). It is a system deemed infallible that controls the entire city and, at the same time, the life of almost every citizen.
He manages to break through all the barriers and issues his command to it: "I want to meet a girl who loves me! She has to have large, cute eyes, be kind... oh, and have big boobs". Much to his disappointment, the response of the AI was, "No qualified person found. Displaying results: 0 out of 0". Yeah, that must have been quite depressing for poor Kaito after putting in all that effort to hack the most protected system in the world.
The issue is, C-AI doesn't accept a mere "I can't do it", so it secretly activates a robot factory and builds a robot following Kaito's exact commands. It installs an independent AI and sends her to his house a few days later. She is Tsukuyomi, the main heroine of this story and Kaito's partner in crime.
To add more trouble, this activation won't go unnoticed for long, so eventually, the authorities will come knocking at Kaito's door, and he will have to justify Tsukuyomi's existence to them. Here begins the story of the cohabitation between an admittedly hot robot and a hacker, as well as all the trouble they get involved in.
The main heroines are:
Tsukuyomi, the main heroine of the story. She is an adorable robot who is completely in love with Kaito, just like the instructions required. She quickly becomes a support character in the various plot threads that Kaito gets involved in, thanks to the nearly limitless power that her authority as C-AI grants her. Hence the title, "To you, who are like a Goddess".
Asakura Kirika, a high school girl going to the same school as Kaito. She is secretly an idol, and when Kaito discovers her true identity, she forces him to collaborate (at gunpoint) with her to hide her secret. Her route was one of the most disturbing because of the things she was subjected to by the villain. She is probably the most "good girl" out of all the heroines.
Kokuhou Rein, the student council president and a model honor student. Everyone loves her for her stunning looks and gentle personality. Of course, it is all LIES! She has a dark personality and won't stop at anything to achieve her goals. She has a plan to hack an important target and wants Kaito and Tsukuyomi's support, so she tries to blackmail him into collaborating.
Rana Liddell-Hart, a blonde British student who is actually older than Kaito, even though she is extremely small and cute. She wears the typical "Sherlock Holmes" outfit (cape and beret) and is actually extremely good at finding the truth behind mysterious events. Her personal story is quite disturbing, even though probably less so than Kirika's.
Sophia Liddell-Hart, the older sister of Rana. She is a minor heroine who actually has two endings. One is dedicated to her specifically, and one is a 3P ending with Rana (quite rare nowadays, but I love them). Honestly, if I had to choose one character purely based on looks, Sophia would be my choice 100 times out of 100.
Kannazuki Airi, the rival idol of Kirika who is used for a very short period as a villain before being "befriended." Like Sophia, she got a route but is otherwise considered a minor heroine in the story. I actually liked her quite a bit after getting to know her real personality under the shroud of her rivalry.
Unsurprisingly, if you read the descriptions above, my favorite heroines were Rana and Sophia. Their personal stories were quite interesting, delving more into the angle of the corrupt and uncontrolled scientific community in this universe. Plus, we got hilarious scenes like the one where Sophia and Kaito tried hard to get addicted to something in order to receive treatment from the hospital so they could sneak in and steal information.
There is really nothing to say about the art quality that you can't already see from the screenshots attached to this review. CUBE as a company has been known for more than a decade, and they have always delivered top-quality character design and art consistency.
Kami-sama no You na Kimi e, like most CUBE titles, is an amazing visual novel that will keep you occupied for a relatively long period (25 hours for me), and I really suggest you give it a shot.
