Home Sweet Homecoming

Home Sweet Homecoming (E School Life) is a romance visual novel that leads you through the experience of high school love. It lets you peek into common troubles that everyone experiences such as anxiously confessing your feelings, sharing various kinds of firsts, and planning an ideal future with your partner. The way it frames its characters' interactions is personal and intimate, making it quite an endearing title for those who might wish to try and relive that specific part of their youth. On the other hand, it is almost a blank slate when it comes to creating a moving and entertaining story. Most of the scenarios depicted in the visual novel are mundane in nature, and hence, are relatively tame in both stakes and possible opportunities for conflicts. While there are glimpses of inner character motivations rooted in their personalities and circumstances, the narrative does the bare minimum to acknowledge this, and as such, keeps them relatively inconsequential for their individual character arcs. This also means that Ryoutarou as a protagonist falls largely flat, having been deprived of big opportunities for character growth or change. Ironically, this makes him an ideal protagonist for self-insert stories, as his presence is largely negligible due to a lack of unique, impressionable traits. Hence, if you’re seeking deeper, meaningful connections and conversations between characters in a story, then this title is not for you. Given the amount of time it takes to finish its story, you’d be better off picking another title from your never-ending backlog.  Should you be craving a small reminder of what was or what could have been, feel free to pick up Home Sweet Homecoming as your next title to read! It’s a light and enjoyable way to spend time without becoming overly invested, as it’s mostly a feel-good story with lots of cliches that help depict the excitement of young love. Don’t work that brain too much though, you might find yourself disappointed once you start seeking out the specifics of their loving relationships.