In Japan, you will find that almost every visual novel on the market has some form of trial version available, which is really helpful given that there is such a large market for them and it is one of the best ways to hook readers to your product. Internationally this is not so frequent, with only a handful of releases seeing this form of demo release. Fortunately, for those who are awaiting MangaGamer’s Q1 2012 release of DEARDROPS (18+) will be happy to know you can as of this moment pick up a trial of the visual novel to check out the plot, design and music among other things. Download it from this link HERE.
“Music you were destined to encounter, with friends you were destined to meet—”
Five different people―each lost at different points in their life’s journey, each heading down different paths, each with their own goals and ideals―find themselves unexpectedly brought together by rock ‘n roll and the world of music. Whether their time together is fleeting or lasting, the crossing of such varied lives is sure to be an unforgettable one that forever changes them. A tale of youth, fateful encounters, and the prime of life awaits the moment all is set in motion. With the spark of a cast-off cigarette and the opening phrase of a dead rockstar’s legacy, the first chapter of their new lives will ring across the crowded hall.
———————
Suganuma Shoichi was a violinist who showed talent from a young age, and joined an orchestra abroad with great hopes for his future – until one day, when a certain incident caused him to lose everything there…… With his path as a musician sealed off, Shoichi gave up his beloved violin and returned home in despair. But having been driving out of the orchestra, he incited his father’s rage and found himself disowned, leaving him with no place left to go.
By unexpected chance, he came to be a live-in worker at a live house, and Shoichi came in contact with a world he’d never known. In this completely new environment, he meets many clumsy people who have continued to assert their individual ways of life and music. Through living together with them, he begins to string his life back together, forming new bonds and finding leads towards a new future. When Shoichi and the friends he was destined to meet overcome their pasts and the trials before them, how will they grow as individuals, let alone as a band? A new world spreads from the live house as these musicians in their prime journey through a tale of rock ‘n roll and aim for new heights as they discover themselves deep within.
Suganuma Shoichi
Shoichi studied the violin ever since he was young boy, adding hard work to his talent and furthering his ability. Having entered an international violin contest and won, he was brought into the limelight of the violin world in one swift jump. Afterwards, he went on to study music abroad, joining an orchestra in Germany until an incident forced him to retire and return home. He was disowned by his father over the matter and found himself lost, with nowhere to go until one person reached their hand out to him— his childhood friend Kanade. As Shoichi begins his new life as live-in worker at the live house Kanade’s father Sadao manages, fate leads him to discover a music he never knew before, rock, and a new instrument, the guitar.
Although he starts on this new musical path by coincidence, he aims for new heights together with the friends who join him, overcoming new hurdles and troubles. By the way, due to living abroad for so long, his perspective and what he considers common knowledge is slightly off from that of most others.
Kaguya Riho
Riho is an honest woman with sharp perception, able to move hearts with the “soul” born from her talent and her devoted stance towards hard work. Her clear, husky voice has the power to punch its way into the listener’s soul. A vocalist worthy of being called a diva, her voice is the crystallization of natural talent and hard work.
However, her stance of refusing any and all compromise combined with her devastating lack of communication skills often results in conflicts with others who spend their lives waiting for things to come along, and causes them to think of her as self-righteous and egotistical, leaving some people to view her with hostility, but since she’s completely indifferent to everything that doesn’t attract her interest, it hardly ever hinders her daily life.
Her dream is for her songs be heard around the world. Achieving it lies at the end of an extraordinarily long journey, but her conviction never wavers. Until the day she reaches her dream, she will never give up…. But she has zero talent for writing lyrics.
Ohba Yayoi
Though she acts important, high-handed, snappy, and aloof towards people when meeting them for the first time, let alone those she considers a rival (such as Riho), but behind the mask she’s just a plain girl and a pushover who can’t keep up her princess act. However, her passion and spirit towards rock ‘n roll and the guitar are well beyond average, and both Yayoi herself and others will admit this. To her, the guitar is a part of herself, and the effort she puts towards it is almost pious.
Even if the guitar belongs to someone else, she considers neglecting it or compromising one’s performance as blasphemous to her creed, and will punish them on behalf of God. Also, because of her intense love of guitars, Yayoi’s considered a “freak” who will check every inch and corner when she sees a rare custom guitar, feeling up its design in ecstasy. She wants to jump out of the cage of common sense through rock…. but what will tomorrow hold for her?
Tamano Rimu
Ever since she was a little girl, Rimu’s real father, a pro musician, taught her to play the drums, and the talent in her blood grew markedly, so as a result, she wields the techniques of a veteran drummer even at her young age. Though one would never imagine it from her small and compact appearance, her ability to perform is menacing.
However, because she grew up listening to professional drumming, Rimu was sent to a special school for gifted children as a result. Thanks to the high skill she developed, she is unable to find satisfaction in performing with those her own age, lost her passion, and doesn’t know what to do with her skill anymore. She also suffers from abandonment issues after her real father left their family when she was young and her mother began approaching a new marriage.
Amidst all of that, she meets Shoichi and the others, regaining her passion for the drums when she learns that she can produce her ideal music by performing with these friends. However, she’s extremely whimsical, doesn’t listen to others, forgets promises, and her wild nature causing everyone around her to worry combined with her bed head lead many to liken her to a cat.
Gonda Eiji
A regular at Live House 696, Gonda is a fairly well known bassist amongst the bands in the neighborhood.
What they know of is his skill with the bass, his rough temperament that easily leads to trouble, that he fought with several bands in the past and withdrew from them all, and that there’s some reason behind why he’s quit participating in bands.However, he frequently visits the studio at 696, and the spirit he puts into practice and his passion for music are extraordinary. Even so, he always acts as a lone wolf, and his background is shrouded in mystery. Judging from his overweight build and his appearance, he’s in his 30s, but all the rumors about him are bad, saying things like he always gets in fights when he goes on stage, that he’s had several brushes with the law, and that he once killed a man.
He holds a philosophy towards rock and the bass, occasionally talking about it and showing his manly side, but when he speaks a lot, one can see he’s also a fool to some degree.
Sakurai Kanade
Kanade is the elder daughter of Sadao, the owner of Live House 696, and Shoichi’s childhood friend. She called out to Shoichi when he came back to Japan and had no place to go, offering him a live-in job at the club. Although she’s had feelings for Shoichi since they were little, she holds a complex of “I’m not someone who can match up to that” towards Shoichi, who basked in the limelight as a world-class musician at a young age, and hasn’t been able to bring herself to confess.
She secretly believes that she wants to express herself through song, and while the talent she holds for that is amazing, her lack of self-confidence serves as a detriment that keeps her from pursuing her dream. Though she’s particularly affectionate towards Shoichi, Kanade is also the type of person who’s kind enough to try and help anyone in trouble. As a result, she’s never refused any favors or requests to help someone talk through their troubles. However, she holds a strong heart on the inside, and cannot let any prejudices towards music and her friends slip by. Will that strength ever become the force that drives her towards her dream?
Sakurai Chika
Kanade’s little sister. Chika’s at the age where she’s a little precocious and trying to stretch herself, but when she’s helping out at the live house, she’s reliable like her sister. She’s been awfully attached to Shoichi since she was little, and even took off school to welcome him back to Japan.
Sakurai Sadao
Kanade’s father and owner of Studio 696. His nickname is “Master”. Although he was an amazing drummer in the past, he’s semi-retired now, thanks to his chronic hip pain.
Because of his strong, kind support of music, rock, and those who love them, Master is well liked by many.
Ryuji
He’s a young man who, despite graduating from Tokyo U, is working at Live House 696 as a soundboard apprentice because of his great love for music. The headphones always hanging around his neck are his trademark. He’s also good at taking care of others and teaching Shoichi his job. However, because of his intellect, and his kind personality, Chika tends to dump her homework onto him.
Samejima
Samejima is the leader of the band High and Nothing (High ‘n No for short), which uses ANTIKNOCK as its home for concert activities. He apparently has affection for their band’s vocalist, Riho. Because of that, he winds up at odds with Shoichi over Riho’s loyalties, but he’s not a bad person at heart.
LEO
He’s a very famous rock musician who plays the vocalist in a major band. He’s an old friend of Sadao’s and also seems to have known Kanade’s mother. He shows a lot of interest in Shoichi and the guitar that Sadao lends him.
In what way will he cross paths with DEARDROPS?
Goto Ryoko
Ryoko is the capable president of a small, new entertainment agency. Combining work with play, she often shows up at ANTIKNOCK and Live House 696, and enjoys the concerts there. Be it from experience or training, she’s a talented woman and a fast-thinker with a keen sense for grasping the situation.
