Kuretsuki Yureru Koi Akari (紅月ゆれる恋あかり) Review

After the follow-up that seriously underwhelmed me, Shiraha Kirameku Koi Shirabe, CRYSTALiA came out with another entry in the series, Kurenai Tsuki Yureru Koi Akari.

Honestly, looking at the production team, this one feels more “serious” — at least more serious than the last cash grab. They brought back the original scenario writer and the art quality got a big upgrade. The original planning team, of course, is never coming back.

The setup is more of a “prequel”: the seniors from the various families come to this school to train in martial arts. The protagonist’s role changed too — he’s now a discharged instructor taking over a class full of “problem children.”

There’s honestly not much to say about the content. Every heroine is a “problem child,” but the moment they start fighting, cheats fly everywhere. And not just any cheats — each one is basically game-breaking. In this prequel we get the eldest Suzakuin sister, Momiji; the previously mentioned Fumine sister, Setsugekka; and the fox-spirit-blooded instructor who never ages, Sasaki Mikoto. Plus newcomers Kuki Asahi and some Juube Ririmu whose family background I already forgot.

Anyway, the plot is dead simple: the protagonist is an instructor guiding a bunch of female students in martial arts, and in the second half he represents his class in the school’s tournament to compete for the top championship. That’s it.

So the story is locked into the “martial arts” theme, but I have to say it’s written really… boringly.

Boring doesn’t mean there’s too little fighting. If anything, it’s “too much fighting,” and “none of it interesting.” It’s like the game constantly pairs two people up to duel, each fight dragging on for nearly half an hour. The combat pattern has zero strategy — it’s just “trash talk” → “activate cheat” → “trash talk” → “activate cheat,” on infinite repeat. Each heroine’s cheat is pretty strong, especially Suzakuin Momiji’s: she can predict the opponent’s moves 100 steps ahead and finish them in one hit based on that prediction. Pop that cheat and it feels COOOOOOOL as hell.

Except… Suzakuin Momiji only ever has that one cheat from start to finish.

She uses it in practice, uses it in the tournament, uses it in the finals, uses it even in the final personal grudge match…

I was sick of it ages ago, bruh.

One thing the game does write with some flair is Kuki Asahi. She inherited her injured brother’s iaijutsu, but the girl only ever uses iaijutsu. The protagonist, as her instructor, even calls her out on it and suggests she add some other moves.

Then the twist hits fast: in the semifinals, Asahi vs. Suzakuin Momiji, Asahi pulls out something way more vicious than iaijutsu — an oni form — and catches Momiji completely off guard.

And while activating it, Asahi even throws out a taunt: “While all of you were partying, I was quietly practicing this new move. You all thought I only knew iaijutsu — but I’d already surpassed myself in secret!”

That duel actually got me hyped!

Then Suzakuin Momiji panics, uses that “predict 100 steps” move for the umpteenth time, and one-shots her.

I was completely stunned. What kind of dumbass writing is this? Is Suzakuin Momiji the anointed champion or something?

Yes. Yes she is. Not because she’s strong, but because she’s a Suzakuin. Two other Suzakuin family members show up in the game — the familiar Suzakuin Miyako and Suzakuin Tsubaki — and neither has any reason to be there. They just awkwardly say a few lines, purely to draw in fans.

The dev team knows the most popular character in this series is Suzakuin Tsubaki. Anything connected to her sells. So Suzakuin Momiji becomes the anointed champion…

The champion was decided in advance. Do you really think the fights are worth watching?

Basically, no matter how hard the opponent tries, Suzakuin Momiji ends it with a one-shot kill she’s used a million times. And the dumbest part: the game builds up Fumine Setsugekka as someone who absolutely must beat Suzakuin Momiji or she’ll be kicked out of her family. Then, to balance their win-loss record, the game has Momiji win the school tournament, and afterward the two have a private duel where Setsugekka wins. One win each. Truly a harmonious society.

After the tournament everyone gets what they wanted, all is well, and the game ends.

Yes, the common route is the whole game. If you want HCGs, you can jump to a character route — but the routes are just HCG padding with almost no worthwhile story.

I don’t really get why they did it this way, but I sort of do. On one hand, separating HCGs from the story makes it easier to port to all-ages platforms. On the other, maybe they’re angling for an anime adaptation?

Overall this game is way better than that dumbass Shiraha Kirameku Koi Shirabe, but it’s still far worse than the first entry. It beefs up the fighting without caring about what’s behind the fighting. It mindlessly anoints Suzakuin Momiji as champion, the combat has no strategy, and the duels have nothing to offer. Watching them gets old fast.

And don’t forget: the first game was interesting because of the story underneath. Tsubaki’s route was fun because she started out thinking she was a big-shot young lady, underestimated everyone, and only got good after getting wrecked. The clashes and contrasts between characters are what drive the story. Kurenai Tsuki Yureru Koi Akari’s strategy of mindlessly stacking fight scenes might look a bit better than the last game, but it lacks the core substance. It’s a tournament — you either win or lose. Forcing a one-win-each ending just to balance the characters’ standing… I have to say, you’d need to have been kicked in the head by a donkey to pull that off.

The whole thing feels like Ma Baoguo fighting Lei Lei: they trade a few blows, chuckle, flatter each other, everyone’s happy — and what’s the point?

I get why CRYSTALiA made Kurenai Tsuki Yureru Koi Akari: bring out the loli version of Tsubaki and milk another round of cash. But if you really want to milk cash, just put out more body pillows and lewd tapestries. Making a dumbass game like this as a pointless sequel — sure, but why bother.