Sore wa Maichiru Sakura no You ni - Re:Birth is a visual novel developed by BasiL and Navel, released in 2023. This is not actually a new title, but a remake of an old visual novel released in 2002. It follows mostly the same storyline, albeit with a much-improved visual style.

The story follows Sakurai Maito as he settles into his new life after returning to his hometown a year ago. He currently lives alone, though he talks with his mother often over the phone, and enjoys his school life together with his two best friends, Yaegashi Tsubasa and Sagara Yamahiko.

Everything is set in motion when he starts interacting with one of the school’s most beautiful girls, Hoshizaki Nozomi. While the story initially seems like a standard romantic comedy, it actually contains fantasy and mystery elements that do not become clear until the individual character routes begin. There are some hints about these elements as the story progresses, mainly during the scenes at the top of the hill.

The comedy in the series is top-notch, with the protagonist and the supporting cast all playing their parts in the skits. It features the typical style of humor that was common in anime and visual novel series of the early 2000s, which makes sense considering the original was released back then. It may feel quite nostalgic if you watched many series from that era.

The heroines are:

Hoshizaki Nozomi

The main heroine of the story. She is bright, very kind, and quite innocent, which leads everyone to call her the "princess." She works part-time at a cafe called Nagasawa, and she gets a bit jealous whenever the protagonist interacts with other girls, even though she is not really aware of her own reactions.

Mori Aoba

The girl living next door to Maito. She calls him "onii-chan" and is clearly in love with him, but because she is shy, she cannot express it well. She is extremely skilled at housework but is not particularly good at anything else. To be honest, she is a fairly plain heroine.

Satomi Kodama

A third-year high school student. She is an upperclassman who is so genuinely pure and innocent that she becomes the perfect target for Maito to tease relentlessly. She looks younger than she actually is, which is a bit of a complex for her as she wants to be respected by Maito.

Yaegashi Tsubasa

Maito’s close friend. She is good at both academics and sports, and she is generally a great friend to spend time with. She is always ready to jump into whatever Maito is planning. However, she can get a bit violent if someone triggers one of her taboo topics.

Yukimura Komachi

A childhood friend of Maito who moved to the city to pursue him. She is carefree, chatty, and a bit clingy. She is definitely the character with the most comedy scenes, and they are all fantastic. There is a history between her and Maito that is only revealed during her personal route.

My favorite character is, without any doubt, Komachi. She successfully takes the top spot for both comedy (every scene with her is absurdly fun) and her backstory focused on their childhood. She has great chemistry with the protagonist, even if he constantly tries to avoid her.

Regarding the endings, I will be genuinely honest and say that I do not completely understand the fantasy elements. It is clear that Maito is not a normal human, but the scenes that occur near the end of each route intentionally limit the information given to the reader, which can be confusing.

The two characters seen at the top of the hill, Ouka and Asahi, clearly imply that Maito dating a human girl would be something that would hurt him and never work out. However, Ouka then intervenes and it does work out, yet nothing is really explained. It reminds me of other visual novels from that period that withheld information in a similar way, such as Air by Key.

Overall, I can definitely suggest giving this series a go. The comedy scenes are among the best I have ever read and the general developments are great. Even if the final parts of each route are a bit confusing, it is not a huge loss to the overall enjoyment of the story.