I am not quite done. Just reached the part after Mary makes her choice. But I am really enjoying it so far. Very good game.
Only parts I didn't like where the arato parts, they kindof dragged on too long imo.
I have been thinking a bit why those parts bothered me so much, since arato isn't anything unique as a character in adult media.
So I am just going to write my thoughts on it, but don't take it as an angry complaint, just some feedback on my opinion.
First arato himself. He's obviously not a pleasant character, but a huge selfish, entitled brat. What's worst though, imo, is that he isn't interesting. Antagonists are rarely pleasent, but they can often be interesting. It's fun to read about someone cooking up elaborate schemes or carefully manipulating events to their benefit even if the player is rooting against them. But Arato isn't interesting. His methods of drugs, money and blackmail are pretty straightforward and crude. As a player I don't really wonder what he's going to do next.
The worst thing about him though isn't he himself, but that he drags other characters down with him. He's not all that interesting or fun to read about and several characters get less interesting and less fun if they are in a scene with arato.
Sizuka is interesting in her interactions with Satoshi. Her psychological manipulation is different from what you usually see in games like this and it's neat. But when she's with arato, she becomes an accessory to his more crude methods of manipulation and looses her own.
Mary is fun and bubbly and such a character is fun to read about. But when she's in a scene with arato, she becomes scared and apprehensive and that's just not as fun to read about.
I think the fundamental issue is that Arato and his methods are something that you would see in a ntr hentai. And there it works. Characters like him are there to get the sex and corruption going fast, because hentai like that usually only has between 15 and 30 minutes of time to get through its content. They don't need complex characters so it doesn't matter that the antagonist doesn't work as well with them.
But avns are way longer and take time to establish characters. And I don't feel he works well in this format. Because even the quality that characters like him usually have (getting to the corruption fast), don't work anymore. It takes like 2 hours of arato storyline to finally get to the route selection, with characters who you like not acting in the fun way you're used to anymore because of him.
