One big reason I play visual novels is that I want to see all kinds of stories. Light novels and anime rarely give you a strict narrative—mostly they hand you a premise and an opening, then it’s expand, expand, expand. You’re just getting into it and suddenly you’ve caught up with the latest release, so you’re stuck waiting week by week while the author drags it out until the heat death of the universe. By the time you finally get an ending, it’s either an open-ended nothingburger or a total trainwreck that leaves a bad taste. I went through that with two manga and decided never again. Most visual novels at least have a clear main storyline. Even if the first half is all tea parties and slice-of-life, there’s a necessary main arc and climax that drives the ending. That’s why a lot of moe-focused games I’ve played eventually throw in some plot development—no matter how well it’s written, at least they make a token effort, tell you the story is over, and give you a Happy Ending. Well… Yukikoi Melt (ゆきこいめると) is a complete outlier. The whole game has basically no obvious main plot—it’s a pure slice-of-life work, so slice-of-life that there’s nothing but slice-of-life. How pure are we talking? Have you seen GJ-bu? Have you seen Non Non Biyori? Have you seen Yuru Yuri? Beyond a premise and a setting, do any of them have a main storyline? No, right!? That’s exactly the style of Yukikoi Melt. If I had to describe it, I’d call it “four-panel manga” style.

A gentle sea breeze blows on this remote little island. Mr. Iori arrives alone and meets a girl. “Sir, this isn’t a place ordinary people visit. So may I ask… what brings you here?” Iori flashes the long sword in his hand. It’s still in its sheath, but it radiates a chill. “Are you… a swordsman, sir?”