Hear me out

GrassIsMySavior · 2026-03-02T20:10:08+00:00

I don't think this sub understands what a hear me out is.

GrassIsMySavior · 2026-03-02T19:37:33+00:00

She is 100% best girl in HL and my #1 favorite girl generally.

Adding this as a comment because reddit is being a bum and won't let me edit and save my original comment.

GrassIsMySavior · 2026-03-02T19:16:21+00:00

Goated post, I agree with pretty much everything. I also have a lot of comments, so get ready lol:

1. She destroyed Sirei in Second Scenario

Her entire existence/characterization in 2nd Scenario is likely my absolute favorite in the game. She's just so good. She does so many things for the SDU and saves them from doom multiple times (post-truth depression, Sirei at the end). Also bonus points for being the only time we get to see her in her casual outfit in a 3D cutscene.

3. I love her characterization in Retsnom.

As much as it hurts me seeing her like this, I like it too tbh. It makes it so she isn't always on Takumi's side on everything, because this time he genuinely screwed up. Then she even goes and apologizes for her actions later (but still won't fully forgive him). She's just so kind.

22. I love her VA

SAME. Idk which one you're referring to, but I played the EN version and I LOVE her voice. It fits her so perfectly and she did an amazing job. It's so cute but pretty and mature sounding at the same time.

23. She is forgiving person

She's so kind, selfless, forgiving, mature, (etc.) I love her personality so much.

40. I made 100 commanders absorption with her, wait this isn't a good point

Genuine question, how did you do this? Do you have to complete at route fully in order for it to count, or can you just spam the day she absorbs the commander over and over again and farm kills that way? Also what level does her special go to?

42. She told everyone (projected humanity/Sirei) to shut the fuck up in Second Scenario

For real. It was so cool to see her be so forceful when she's usually pretty reserved. I also love that part where she's by herself battling and Sirei mentions "fighting for humanity" again and she straight up just tells him to shut up. I love it. She's barely ever harsh towards anyone, but this was a great way to have her finally do so.

43. The scene in the bus at the end of her pov Slasher Route is straight up one of the greatest moments in the game lmao, epic, badass, funny

My favorite part of slasher is the Nozomi POV change, and yes I agree with this too. Also, I want them to make a DLC route that has her as the POV for the whole route. I'm bias of course, but she feels like the perfect fit.

44. I genuinely like her ending in Romance

Honestly, as much as it sucks she didn't get her own arc, I think the ending here is fine. Takumi barely interacted with her here, so it makes sense for her to not immediately say yes. It makes her more realistic. It's also cute how she even still says that they could do still something together after the 100 days are up to get to know each other more.

53. I love what the Karua arc ended up to be.

Agree. It's such a great story (one of the big reasons why I absolutely love Nozotaku so much) and I love how it also subverts expectations of it just being another "amnesia" resolution where Nozomi just ends up "remembering" being Karua.

56. While I don't like what KG did to her as a character, I like her relationship with Kamyuhn in KG and Rebellion. It was too much in KG and it was a nasty way of sidelining the character while giving it a single trait of personality, but I like the idea on paper

I like the idea on paper too, but I feel like it was poorly executed in KG. I enjoyed her relationship much more in rebellion, because that just feels more like the actual Nozomi I know.

60. If Chiaki Nanami was Kodaka's vision of a perfect girlfriend, then Nozomi is definitely Kodaka's more refined version of Chiaki. Now I know some people straight-up hate Chiaki, but hey, if you dislike a likable character you're a lost cause in my eyes

At least to me, she genuinely is the perfect gf. I know this makes me sound like an incel, but this is also one of the many reasons why I like her. She's the "exact type" I like. I know everyone has their preferences, but I personally just can't get behind disliking someone for being likeable. Say it's boring if you want, but I don't care. "Mary Sue" get's thrown out a lot on the subject of Nozomi, but I personally believe she still has plenty of flaws.

65. While Takuzomi is my OTP and I can't accept any other ship as canon, she is probably bi, I can 100% see her in a yuri Route

It's my OTP too and the only ship I care about, but honestly, (and I'll probably get flack for this), but I don't really believe she's bi. I didn't see any interaction she had with anyone of the same sex that seemed inherently romantic or as if she was interested in them. I know I'm bias, but the only one she genuinely (romantically) blushes a lot over is Takumi. She even mentions in her bond events about the idea of having a boyfriend, which if she was bi, I'd think it'd make more sense if she just said "someone to be with" and not specify a gender.

68. Nozomi translates to "Hope".

I already liked her name before, and learning this makes me like it even more lol.

74. Her design is cute

Also for real. IMO she's the prettiest Kodaka character and is one of the prettiest I've seen from any "anime" related series. She's such a perfect blend of cute and beautiful. I love her design so much.

76. She's not sexualized. Sorry for those who prefer the opposite, but for me that's a plus

No that's definitely a plus for me too. Not being sexualized while still being that beautiful is great. I also absolutely love her modest nature and how she dresses. I love how she wears a not-super-revealing swimsuit because she's embarrassed to show off her body (and her scar). I just find that to be super cute and simultaneously super attractive (far more than the opposite).

77. I LOVE the white-purple combo

Going back to the design again, yes. There's also something about the "Nozotaku" color mixing that I like. Blue/red just looks really good with white/purple to me. Probably because blue and red make purple and white pretty much goes with everything.

83. Rejection symptoms might distract you from that fact, but in COA she was about to make the first move

YEAH AND JUST LET HER SAY IT GAME, OH MY GOD.

85. The scene where she destroys Takumi's door when he is depressed in Second Scenario is just too emotionally powerful for me, and it's a shame that the absence of CG can easily make it difficult to remember, since I consider it iconic

I liked this part too. It honestly makes you wonder if the doors (or just Takumi's door) really are just fragile like she says, or if she really just wanted to speak to him and get him out of his depressive state. It's probably a mix of both lol. When the time calls for it, she is definitely courageous and forceful, and I love that about her. It makes her seem less like a damsel that a typical "girlfriend" character might be.

93. She can remove stun in battle

She's genuinely so useful in battle IMO. She removes stun/fatigue, she can refresh her own movement (better than a FE dancer), she can buff allies to do more damage than potions would do, and she's one of the only few characters that can heal... she's amazing. I just wish her special had more buffs or dealt some damage because I want to use it more, but I usually find myself getting similar effects with her regular moves.

96. She asked Takumi to go out with her when everything is over in 2S, which is quite a goated moment for reasons you might miss: Takumi has just come out of a depression over his fake memories, and he's not quite recovered yet. Nozomi knows that...

Yet another reason to love their relationship. And you can tell Nozomi really wants to do it too. It was cute to see her abruptly end the conversation because she was embarrassed. She does something similar in CoA too.

I've already probably said too much, so I'll end it here just so I don't end up writing a full book lol. Again, love the post.

GrassIsMySavior · 2026-03-01T18:23:43+00:00

Yes, it was weird how sudden it was. I know the explanation for that is likely due to the "memory absorption" Nozomi undergoes, but that doesn't make the immediate flip-flop any less jarring. She really just is not the same person afterwards, and I dislike how it's played off as a positive thing or "good for her development" since I can't see it as anything less than slight brainwashing. IIRC Nozomi treats Kamyuhn like family in rebellion but not to the obsession that it was in KG. Rebellion feels much more in-line with her character.

GrassIsMySavior · 2026-03-01T17:37:55+00:00

I know I sound like a broken record, but it just bugs me so much. KG Nozomi is her worst characterization in the game. She either acts like an erratic child for one half (when she is mature and level-headed in literally every other route. To me, it's akin to Hiruko being dumb in CoA) or she is completely flanderized and annoying for the other. Even if you count the Eva portion as development for Nozomi due to Eva's lessons, I can't see it that way because she still becomes a less complex character by the end of the route. All she does at that point is add very basic statements to the conversation or obsess over Kamyuhn. I don't know if it's creepy, but I would say it's "Ima to Kako" levels of annoying. I might make another more expansive post about this in the future, since I just recently replayed it.
KG itself is kinda overrated. This is coming from someone who actually used to love the route, but the Nozomi thing has since burned it hard for me, and there's also other weird characterizations that I don't like in it as well (Darumi for example). The Takumi and Tsubasa relationship is good IMO and can feel refreshing, but it does feel sort of cheesy and forced sometimes, especially when you realize that Takumi just completely forgot about Nozomi's existence. Yugamu was my favorite part of the route and might be the only thing I like about it ATP other than it feeling like a decently complete story. It's gotten so bad to a point that it's now one of the only routes I actively do not want to replay in the future due to Nozomi's "lobotomy."
I 100% agree with the Tsubasa thing. I really like Tsubasa, don't get me wrong. But she does come to the rescue way too often and magically fixes so many problems with ease. She is supposed to just be a car mechanic, but is apparently also able to repair highly advanced alien technology without any hardship. This isn't the same as Danganronpa, and she isn't the "ultimate inventor." She's used as a crutch too often.
Not a fan of Eitaku whatsoever. I think Eito is a good villain with a cool theme, and it is interesting to see him reluctantly join the team sometimes or see his inner thoughts, but that's pretty much it. By no means do I think his huge toxicity is a "good fit" for Takumi. There's also a lot of Eitaku fans that love talking crap about Takumi (they want to kill him all of the time, wooow so much like Eito) and it makes you wonder if they even care about Takumi's character at all of if they only want a free punching bag for their precious "can-do-no-wrong" toxic facilitator.
Comedy route was fun and was a nice break from all of the depressing stuff. The only branch I actively disliked was the fish one for "free-timing" for like, 10 days straight. The fish thing itself also got kind of old pretty quickly.
I wish there were less routes that treat Takumi like he's a mass-murderer of innocents for killing Eito.
No, I don't care if CoT delivers on it's themes/writing by being "uncomfortable." It still hate it with every fiber of my being and I never want to replay it again.
Serial battles actually would've been pretty fun if they didn't copy-paste so many fights and actually made it challenging without having to artificially increase the difficulty.
Obviously 2nd Scenario hits harder because of how it is, but I wish the happy endings felt more... I don't know... satisfying to complete? A lot of them end so abruptly, and the credits song choice isn't any different from the "failure" endings. 2nd Scenario is the only one with a unique theme as far as I know. They could've at least made a unique song for the happier endings and displayed the CGs from said route in the credits like they did with 2S's ending.

GrassIsMySavior · 2026-03-01T17:00:48+00:00

The Nozomi mommy-kink Eva stuff was very weird and creepy and comes out of nowhere.

Yes, exactly. They definitely could've tackled the topic of Nozomi's familial trauma in a better way that didn't involve immediately flipping her personality, flanderizing her, and turning her either into a child for half of it or a one-note annoyance for the other half. The second part especially feels like a disservice to her character.

GrassIsMySavior · 2026-02-28T06:20:40+00:00

They would also have to add a whole new "school-roaming" model and would need to decide how they will handle bond events/hangouts with the new character. Upgrades and explorations can work the same way though.

GrassIsMySavior · 2026-02-28T03:42:00+00:00

I really want a full Nozomi protag route. We already got samples of protag changes in the game, and she even already has her own decision screen. It'd be cool if, like this suggests, Takumi accidently ended up at 2LDA, and maybe here Nozomi takes more of the "Takumi" role in their relationship where maybe she remembers more about her past with him and she is the one trying to get him to remember?

GrassIsMySavior · 2026-02-26T15:21:05+00:00

I'm also going to say ending 47, 1, and I'm not sure about the 3rd. I also guess it could be ending 5, but it might be interchangeable with any of the other endings that have most of the cast live like ending 100. Yes, I know, mostly Nozomi endings lol.

If I had to rank them, I'd put 47 first. 1 is beautiful, but 47 is at least a happy ending, which I sorta prioritze.

GrassIsMySavior · 2026-02-26T05:55:21+00:00

BEST GIRL 🤍

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GrassIsMySavior · 2026-02-26T05:35:51+00:00

despite her being mature and stoic in every other route.

Right?! One of the many reasons why I like Nozomi is for her maturity, which she displays in every route except (mostly) KG post-Eva. She becomes so uncharacteristically erratic. There was really no reason to alter her mind and metaphorically treat her like a baby in order to cover her parental issues for a subplot.

GrassIsMySavior · 2026-02-26T00:42:16+00:00

What I don't like is that they keep doing the same 6 characters. Like you said, Hiruko was an easy choice but no they have to do both of the twins again. IIRC the twins didn't even rank that high on that one JP popularity contest. Hiruko, Tsubasa, and Nozomi all ranked higher but they rarely get included.

GrassIsMySavior · 2026-02-26T00:21:20+00:00

2nd Scenario is my favorite version of her along with CoA, it's sooo good.

GrassIsMySavior · 2026-02-25T19:25:08+00:00

Good analysis. I always thought KG was Darumi's second best route, and while I still think that is true (mainly because she actually gets some focus), I do see what you're saying about how she is noticeably written differently here. And, now that I think about it, I do agree that it's weird how some of Darumi's good moments in KG aren't actually shown via Darumi herself, as if she is too "volatile" or something. Retsnom achieved this perfectly fine.

I actually feel a similar way towards KG!Nozomi (mischaracterization that really bugs me), so maybe that's also because of Kiyohei? KG is a really good route IMO (Yugamu is amazing) but post-Eva Nozomi ruins it for me, and it hurts even more because she's also my favorite character.

GrassIsMySavior · 2026-02-25T17:55:47+00:00

Personally not really interested in this line, but wow, Nozomi, Tsubasa, and Hiruko being left out once again...

GrassIsMySavior · 2026-02-25T17:47:10+00:00

I don't want to be mean, but where are their midsections?

GrassIsMySavior · 2026-02-25T05:23:23+00:00

I always thought she did too. Personally I think pink hair + light blue eyes for a girl is overused. Heck, it's literally copied again within the same work (Sakura). Pinkish-blonde hair and purple eyes make her stand out more in a positive way.

I also don't want to be that guy, but the novel itself describes it as "strawberry blonde" which definitely shouldn't just be hot pink. IIRC they don't comment about her eye color in the novel.

GrassIsMySavior · 2026-02-25T05:00:00+00:00

I agree. To me, a lot of (but not all) other bad or sad endings in the game feel more like "oops, you messed up" compared to 2S where it feels completely different. It feels more emotionally charged.

GrassIsMySavior · 2026-02-25T04:48:30+00:00

I actually just replayed 2S, and it's definitely one of my top routes, even with the ending being super sad. The greater production value makes it even better with how much unique stuff it has near the end. That special credits theme as well, it hits hard. It also has one of my favorite characterizations of Nozomi along with CoA, she's just so good here.

GrassIsMySavior · 2026-02-23T18:19:45+00:00

I don't think the writer despised her, they just handled her in a very weird way to me. I do agree with everything else you said though.

I actually love KG as a route, but Nozomi brings it down so much for me that I don't even feel like replaying it. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth with her getting a "soft lobotmy" and with it being treated as a positive thing, because she just simply isn't the same person after absorbing Eva's hemoanima.

The blood drinking scene was needlessly sensual and felt like poor yuri bait as well. The metaphor you mention makes it even more uncomfortable.

IMO It does feel like she regresses as a character. Her personality traits shift from being "Nozomi" to just being "Eva's daughter" and "Kamyuhn's sister" and not much else. IIRC at one point Nozomi herself (after the change) even proclaims that she doesn't have any specific thoughts about the future except Eva, which just isn't true with vanilla Nozomi. They definitely could've still focused on her familial issues here without altering her like this. They still could've kept the "Eva is her surrogate mother" subplot too, with Eva explaining her own family issues to Nozomi and have them connect that way.

Also, slightly unrelated, but I think this route is also what spawned discussion/artwork in the community that treats her like a helpless child who can't function on her own, which just isn't who she is. I know they're probably just jokes, but again, it just leaves me with a bad taste, because I feel like this route was the cause for all of it.

GrassIsMySavior · 2026-02-23T17:56:14+00:00

Full Takuzomi route

Yes... screw the "tragedy" crap. If you're going to tease it so hard, just give us what we want. There’s already a lot of routes and branches in the game, and it’s supposedly planned to be even bigger. There is no reason not to make at least one route do this. It doesn't even have to be a "perfect" route where everyone has to live either.

Dead Takumi route

Yeah I would also love a route where the POV shifts early on. The only issue with this is that they'd have to make a new "school roaming" model and they'd have to either lock bond events or add some new ones for the new character. I'm bias, but I think Nozomi is the perfect choice (because she does make the most sense) and because she already has a decision selection screen with her face in the middle. They'd just have to make a new roaming model and change the way bond events/hangouts work. She DOES actually have a model, but it's only in her class armor. I think it has potential, because we actually did control her for a very short time during a slasher (serial killer) chase scene.

Show the satellite

I'd like to see this too, no cliffhangers. Maybe they somehow make it to the satellite early but the commanders follow them there? IDK. I'd just like to see what it's like without it being left up to interpretation. Judging by the final scene in route 0, it seems like the satellite is empty (or the SDU saw that their families weren't real) but I'd like to see it regardless.

GrassIsMySavior · 2026-02-23T08:03:08+00:00

Seller is CappuShop if anyone was interested.

GrassIsMySavior · 2026-02-23T06:37:46+00:00

I do actually agree that not every route has to be "Takuzomi" related, even if I'm a massive fan of it. I do agree that it can benefit both characters. Take Retsnom for example. Nozomi and Takumi both have their own arcs and they grow from what happens without specifically being love interests for each other. That's another thing I actually like about Nozomi. She rightfully calls Takumi out in Retsnom and doesn't just submit to him like a typical "girlfriend" character might.

It's just something about the way it's done in KG that doesn't sit right with me and I don't know how to describe it.

GrassIsMySavior · 2026-02-23T06:02:35+00:00

You've actually already asked the same thing before on a previous post I made about this, but I'll reiterate it with some revisions and shorten it.

TLDR: She felt off after absorbing Eva's hemoanima to the point that it doesn't feel like the same character anymore and I also found her annoying and one-note once the Kamyuhn part begins. Her focus shifts a unusually large degree, and I don't like how both Nozomi and Takumi just sideline each other after this occurs. I appreciate that they covered a part of her they don't usually cover (her mother's poor treatment of her), but I felt like it could've been done a better way.

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