Amagami

     Amagami, is a Japanese dating simulation game for the PlayStation 2 and the spiritual successor to KimiKiss, both which were developed and published by Enterbrain. Amagami was released on March 19, 2009. As of November 2010 six manga adaptations have been produced: two serialized in Enterbrain's Famitsu Comic Clear, two in Hakusensha's Young Animal and Young Animal Island, one in ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Maoh and one in Kadokawa Shoten's Comp Ace. An anime adaptation titled Amagami SS aired in Japan from July 2, 2010 to December 23, 2010.

Plot

     Two years ago, Junichi Tachibana got his heart broken by a girl who stood him up on a date on Christmas Eve. Now a second-year student in high school, Junichi is wary of love because of his past and dislikes celebrating Christmas. However this Christmas, his encounter with one of six girls from his school, Haruka Morishima, Kaoru Tanamachi, Sae Nakata, Ai Nanasaki, Rihoko Sakurai, or Tsukasa Ayatsuji will finally open up his heart to love again.

Characters

Main characters

 Junichi Tachibana

     The lead male protagonist of the story. He has a hard time opening up to others due to a trauma two years ago when his date stood him up on Christmas Eve which left him heart broken. He also fears heights, as he feels uncomfortable when riding elevators.

 

 Haruka Morishima 

 

     A very popular girl in her final year, who has many fans at school. She can be described as a fickle and insecure girl with a liking for cute things, especially puppies. Her best friend is Hibiki Tsukahara and she has a younger brother named Satoshi. She is a quarter British from her mother, whose family's surname is Lovely (thus Haruka's middle name).

 

 

 Kaoru Tanamachi

 

     One of Junichi's childhood friends, she is often seen with his other friend Masayoshi. She is unpredictable as she would punch Junichi anytime. She works part-time at a family restaurant to support her single mother, who later dates another man.

 

 

Sae Nakata

     A friend and classmate of Miya's. Having studied at an all-girl's school for most of her life, Sae is incredibly shy around men. Because of that, she has a soft, quiet voice.

Ai Nanasaki

 

     A friend and classmate of Miya's. She is part of their school's girl swimming team. She has a younger brother named Ikuo and possesses a cool, calm disposition.

 

 

Rihoko Sakurai

 

     She is Junichi's childhood friend who, despite having a big appetite, avidly reads the dieting books in their school library. She is a member of the Tea Club.

 

 

 

Tsukasa Ayatsuji

 

     Junichi's class representative, who is both a hard worker and a person who is willing to take on any task that no one else will. While she acts kind and friendly, it is actually a facade that secretly hides the real her, who is manipulative and cunning.

 

Supporting characters

 Miya Tachibana

     Junichi's younger sister, who playfully calls her brother, "Nii-nii". She tends to be jealous when her brother is with another girl, with the exceptions of Sae, Ai and Rihoko, who are her close friends.

 

 

Maya Takahashi

 

     Junichi's homeroom teacher. Usually a serious teacher, she can easily get drunk when she drinks sake.

Masayoshi Umehara

 

     Junichi's best friend since childhood, who has an interest in Japanese idols. He often purchases photo books of them and shares them with Junichi. His family owns a sushi shop, which he plans to inherit.

 

 

 Kanae Itō

 

     A close friend of Rihoko's. She later wins the Miss Santa Contest during the Kibitou High School's Founder's Festival should Haruka not participate.

 

Keiko Tanaka

 

     A friend of Kaoru. A quiet girl, Kaoru and Junichi once gave her some advice about her crush with another boy.

Hibiki Tsukahara

 

     Haruka's friend who is captain of the girls' swimming team and Ai's senior. She tends to berate Haruka's playful nature.

Ruriko Yuzuki

 

     Rihoko's senior and a member of the Tea Club. Ruriko tends to worry about Rihoko's clumsiness as the future of the Tea Club will be in the latter's hands once she and Manaka graduate.

Manaka Hiba

 

     Rihoko's senior and another member of the Tea Club. Manaka has a rather quiet voice but talks with cryptic words.

Yukari Ayatsuji

 

     Tsukasa's older sister who is very nice and aloof. Yet it is these traits that Tsukasa dislikes her sister.

Risa Kamizaki

 

     A secret character in the game and anime. A shy girl, Risa has been in love with Junichi since grade school and has been secretly stalking him since. Risa is also the one responsible for what happened two years ago under the belief she was protecting Junichi.

Anime

     An anime TV series adaptation by AIC titled Amagami SS aired from July 2, 2010 to December 23, 2010 in Japan. The anime adaptation is divided into six four-episode story arcs where each arc focuses on one of the main heroines who will become Junichi's love interest along with two extra episodes that focuses on Risa Kamizaki and Miya Tachibana. Also included are two bonus OVA Short Story DVDs that were delivered to customers who ordered the first six Blu-Ray/DVDs for the first OVA and the next six Blu-Ray/DVDs for the second OVA. On May 21, 2011, Sentai Filmworks announced at Anime Central 2011 they have licensed the anime series for North America. On August 13, 2011, it was announced that Amagami SS will get a second season.

The anime has ten pieces of theme music: two opening themes and eight ending themes; each ending theme is sung by the voice actresses of the heroines of the series in their respective story arc. The first opening theme is "i Love" by azusa which ran from episode 1 to 13 and was released on July 19, 2010. The second opening theme is "Kimi no Mama de" by azusa which was used from episode 14 to 26 and was released on October 20, 2010. The first ending theme, used for episodes one through four, is "Kimi no Hitomi ni Koishiteru") by Shizuka Itō and was released on July 21, 2010. The second ending theme, used for episodes five through eight, is "Kitto Ashita wa..." by Rina Satō and was released on August 18, 2010. The third ending theme, used for episodes nine through twelve, is "Anata Shika Mienai" by Hiromi Konno and was released on September 15, 2010. The fourth ending theme, used for episodes 13 through 16, is "Koi wa Mizuiro" by Yukana and was released on October 20, 2010. The fifth ending theme, used for episodes 17 through 20, is "Koi wa Aserazu" by Ryōko Shintani and was released on November 17, 2010. The sixth ending theme, used for episodes 21 through 24, is "Nageki no Tenshi" by Kaori Nazuka and was released on December 15, 2010. The seventh ending theme, used for episode 25 is "Koi no Yukue" by Mai Kadowaki. The eighth and final ending theme, used for episode 26 is "Suteki na Aru Hi" by Kana Asumi. Both the seventh and eighth ending themes were released on January 19, 2011.