Flowers have long been associated with love in a veritable language all their own. Otome visual novel Him, the Smile & bloom wholeheartedly leans into this tradition, telling four interconnected romances in a peaceful slice-of-life setting with flowers as the central theme. With four different heroines’ stories to tell, does this VN truly blossom, or does it wither at the roots? Mostly, I found it to be a cozy otome experience provided one tempers some expectations if going the import route.
I should preface this review by noting that I played a Japanese import copy of Him, the Smile & bloom, which has an English language option. Publisher PQube is releasing the game for the Western markets later this month, which will use a different localization. It isn’t as if the import copy’s English script is indecipherable, but it’s apparent that its translation was AI-assisted. So, while technically correct, sometimes the script doesn’t read like how one might naturally write in English. The script often uses “sigh” or “snrk” as written-out sound effects, which always reads weirdly to me. It also suffers from several typographical and grammatical errors that you have to mentally correct as you read, particularly concerning confusing characters’ genders (often a nuance when translating from Japanese to English) and misspelling names (such as “Yukihara” being changed to “Yukihira” at certain points in the dialogue). I do not doubt that PQube’s localization will be stronger, even if it uses the import’s script translation as a base. Some character names and their spellings may also differ from PQube’s version.
The overarching narrative of Him, the Smile & bloom focuses on a flower store called Fill Flower. It tells the tale of four women who each become romantically intertwined with one of the store’s employees: Serena, Ami, Fuuka, and Miku. Serena Aoki is a full-time Fill Flower employee, who manages to convince a university student named Wataru Tori suffering from heartbreak to become a part-timer at the store after a fateful rainy day encounter. Ami Akashi works at an interior design firm that’s supposed to handle the upcoming redesign of the flower store, initially finding herself at odds with Fill Flower’s “prince” Ginnosuke Sugawa over design schematics. Fuuka Haruyoshi is childhood friends with Fill Flower’s manager Hokuto Ichige, who she’s been carrying a torch for the oblivious man for years. Finally, Miku Yukihara is a botanist returning from work abroad only to reunite with her high school crush Tenya Minami when she discovers he works at Fill Flower. The four stories vary by subject matter and content, but they don’t have any troubling or disturbing tropes, which allows you to sink into their relaxed and less high-stakes plots. That isn’t to say they’re entirely drama-free, but the conflicts generally get quickly resolved to pave the way for more sweet, lighthearted moments.
Due to this title featuring adult characters, I’ll note that there’s also quite a bit of implied heat and spice throughout the various routes. I think each route has just enough going for them to entertain most otome slice-of-life fans. Overall, I enjoyed all four routes, even if I had my personal favorites. Wataru and Serina’s route was probably the game’s wholesome highlight for me, which is surprising since I initially thought I’d find the energetic Wataru annoying. I also had misgivings about the early stages of Hokuto and Fuuka’s story but ultimately grew quite fond of it, given how it plays out.
The four main characters of Serina, Ami, Fuuka, and Miku all have very well-defined personalities instead of being blank slate protagonists, which helps make all the routes feel different. I primarily related to introverted Miku, but appreciated all four characters’ storylines and circumstances as the game puts you into each of their shoes. The four love interests contrast nicely with one another, and it was great getting to see them interact with other characters throughout the different tales while discovering their realistic development in each route. You get to see different sides of all of them depending on the route you’re playing and how they interact with the characters orbiting Fill Flower. Likewise, the three supporting characters of Kozue, Rei, and Chikashi also have differing roles in the story depending upon their connections to various characters, such as Chikashi presenting as Serina’s younger cousin in her route to simply being a helpful Fill Flower employee in others. I even thought the generally supportive Kozue and blunt Rei were the two cast standouts!
I do have to wonder if Him, the Smile & bloom had a smaller development budget, given the minor focus of its cast and that player choice is limited to occasional binary decisions every couple of chapters to help determine a route’s general outcome and which ending variation you unlock. Frequently reused backgrounds and a lack of character art for most of the supporting cast don’t help that impression. The artwork is expressively eye-catching and non-stagnant when characters speak. There are also plenty of high-end CG illustrations throughout a route’s chapters. Still, sometimes it seems as if the developer cut budgetary corners with techniques like blurring images to showcase when a character was crying or lost deep in thought, or the basic animation of moving a character’s artwork up and down to indicate movement. You only see the protagonists in CG illustrations or introductory screens, which is odd since they each have unique designs.
Aside from the catchy opening theme, the soundtrack is pleasant to listen to without standing out too much. You’ll unlock the sixteen BGM tracks to listen to in a special menu as you play. I enjoyed the dynamic voice acting throughout, especially on the part of the four love interests who often have to carry entire conversations on their own. Weirdly, the protagonists do not have voice actors, despite each having very set personalities and extensive dialogue.
Each character route has up to fourteen or fifteen chapters of varying lengths and three possible endings. The best ending, known as the “Glow” ending, must be reached through decision-making to unlock a route’s unique epilogue story. Beyond that, there’s a chapter map that contains a CG gallery for already unlocked chapters and art, as well as the unlockable OST mentioned above. You also have a Flower Book updated with interesting floral trivia whenever a new type of flower appears in the narrative. That’s the entirety of the bells and whistles that Him, the Smile & bloom provides, along with a read-previous text feature for missed dialogue. It also offers multiple save file options and a skip feature for text you’ve already seen.
Him, the Smile & bloom is a slice-of-life otome visual novel that focuses on the smaller scale. It doesn’t do anything inherently wrong and is downright enjoyable if you’re the intended audience looking for a softer and more relaxed VN. Still, others might find the lower stakes challenging to invest in. I enjoyed my time with the title, and I hope that PQube’s upcoming localization allows more otome fans to try the game for themselves. Him, the Smile & bloom might just cultivate an entertaining experience for them!
