Congrats to @MultipleChoice on the release!
So as I was buying this, I couldn’t help but re-read the app descriptions for the previous games.
Samurai of Hyuga 1: “Samurai of Hyuga is a brutal, heart-pounding interactive tale…”
Samurai of Hyuga 2: “Samurai of Hyuga Book 2 is the blood pumping sequel…”
Samurai of Hyuga 3: ““Samurai of Hyuga Book 3” is the mind-shattering 225,000 sequel…”
I look forward to finding out what other exciting things your sequels will do to the rest of our anatomy 
So is there no ending with Kohaku in any way? I played through twice and it seemed like you really didn’t get a choice when it came to her.
Samurai of Hyuga can excite any part of my anatomy it wants 
Ahahahaha, omg this made me laugh. But that’s why I posted the question.
And no worries, I am old enough 
Ah, and there was never a “happy” ending in my version … only a painful one…
As for losing memories that’s why it bothered me so much. Sure, the Spirit could be a replacement for the demonic influence, but at the same time, it actually wasn’t so much about killing with the spirit, right? Think about Hatch. Never using the Katana and being in absolute attunement. Especially if you have a spirit that doesn’t have a tendency towards violence. I suppose it was a means to make a point, but it still bugged me.
I don’t mind a certain tragedy and neither do I mind a certain bittersweet touch to stories, but I personally am just so over every movie/book/show having to have either a sad, frustrating or depressing ending.
Maybe that’s one of the reasons why I enjoy any kind of interactive fiction - because often enough there are choices which will vary at least a little, depending on your input.
As for Jun/ko … my hope would be that restoring their connection to their spirit, showing them that there is another way would be an option. And while they surely were not the … kindest person in the books so far, and there was horrible tragedies in their life even before MC met them … MC did play a part. There are plenty of references that MC is partially to blame. Betrayal, attempted murder, the scar above the eye, abandoning them.
Revenge? Maybe, to some extend. But I’d love to see an option where MC makes up for their mistakes and tries to help Jun/ko find who they are again. To no longer “forget” themselves and deal with the aftermath. And here I’d love to have the choice. I know that some people could never forgive, but I like the idea of redemption and helping a lost loved one regain control over their own life.
There’s been a scene in my head. When they find out what Jun (in my case) did to Momoko and the rest of the group finds out. I’d love for the MC to step between Jun and for example Hatch in an encounter. Not to protect Hatch but Jun. Questioning loyalties. Having Jun meet Masashi, the awkward moment.
I also have to say that I wanted to punch some of the other characters at times. Hatch who wouldn’t even listen or ask the MC about what happened with Momoko. Masashi who keeps holding back while complaining he doesn’t even know MC. Barely a straight comment out of that boy and for book 3 he berated the MC to 90%. Toshio (as much as I love him with another character) is no different. Neither one really speaks openly and both have their own agendas, to which MC is the tool. I wouldn’t blame my ronin if he would get frustrated. At least with Jun he kinda knows where he’s at.
You must also take into account the population size of reported abuse cases, especially considering the social attitudes towards men and masculinity. Victims of patriarchy amend themselves, boys cannot speak about it because ‘men protect and women are protected’. Society says to men; ignore how you feel, even when it hurts.
I would not be surprised if the sexual abuse of boys is equal to that of girls, maybe even higher. But whatever the statistics say, I think we can agree that all children regardless of gender are vulnerable to corruption.
Silence obviously does not solely affect males, as our Ronin has only learnt of Jun/ko’s childhood trauma now, and not even by the victim themselves.
Which begs the question; why didn’t Jun/ko ever reach out to the MC directly?
Jun/ko may have kept quiet in the theory that to show their emotions would demonstrate to the rest of the world that they were weak somehow. This type of mentality ties into their need to establish dominance over the MC. Jun/ko uses power over others to escape their inner emptiness, it is a defence mechanism that protects themselves against their own vulnerabilities. Thus, their strong need to attain feelings of power and superiority in their relationship with our Ronin
Jun/ko dissociating themselves from their own mental chaos is a common reaction for victims of childhood trauma. The act of detachment aids in ‘separating’ their mind from painful events in order to protect themselves. Consequently leaving Jun/ko in a state of numbness to the world around them, which could explain their lack of empathy and compassion towards people.
This further backs up my theory of why Jun/ko is ill-suited as Gensai’s successor. The Jigoku Ittō-ryū achieves a mental state of ‘forgetting oneself’ therefore it is highly likely that Jun/ko willingly indulges the demonic power. Basically, they have a predisposition to lose themselves to the Hell’s Release style, for the purpose of escaping their own mind.
They are trying to forget their own trauma.
Jun/ko is driven by the need to dominate and control in the belief that if they’re not in control, they risk exposing themselves once more to childhood trauma. Their father likely manipulated them to maintain control, so that Jun/ko did not have an equal voice in the relationship. Jun/ko psychologically projects this in their interactions with the MC, as their need to feel superior runs subconsciously through their mind.
To put it simply, Jun/ko’s psyche was already fucked before their introduction to the Jigoku Ittō-ryū. So, is a ‘happy’ ending really possible for Jun?
Book 4 will likely be a journey of self-healing for not only the MC but Jun/ko as well. My ronin was so ready to jump back into old habits of debauchery and chaos if it meant to be with Jun/ko again, but the knowledge of Jun/ko’s childhood trauma has changed everything.
Silence is a killer, and if the MC wants to save Jun/ko from themselves, they’re going to have to fight a different kind of battle. Personally, I’m going to bring peace to Jun/ko’s mind even if it means killing them to do so, I would never wish their war within on anyone.
I neither disagree with what was stated about abuse, nor the psychological analysis, as I am not qualified.
I do however believe, that some people (not all) who have experienced very traumatic things in their life can regain a certain happiness. As stated above, this is certainly not true for every person or every victim but for some.
I like the idea of helping Jun/ko regain control, which - despite what they may believe - have certainly not.
And as shallow as this may sound, I do hope that the freedom of writing can provide a bit of hope. I’ll be honest, I enjoy a happy ending in fiction because life is and can be dark enough. Various people have enough issues to deal with and reading stories like this brings me personally a relief from the things that are on my plate. So, even if it may not be a 100% correct psychologically, I will not deny myself the hope that there can be a happy ending.
Knowing my luck I will be disappointed but I will cross that bridge when I reach it.
Jun/ko having a spirit animal and using attunement would certainly be interesting to see.
I would like to learn more the context behind her and the MC breaking up and how the MC might be indirectly responsible for the harm inflicted against Masami and Momoko. Personally I regard Jun/ko as a repulsive mad dog that needs to be put down, the notion of them claiming to own the MC while leaving behind a trail of blood in his wake makes me furious.
The idea of coming to terms with them and trying to help them and guiding them towards a heroic path whilst leaving their past offences unpunished doesn’t sit well with me. They’ve already crossed the line on two instances, that can’t just be left behind.
I really want to know what Jun/ko’s plan is? Do they even have one? I mean, it seems like they want the MC, but after they fail to kill Masami in the second game they just run off. And now when they run into Momoko they make a big deal out of finding them MC again? Dude, you HAD them and then you ran off. Did Masami scare you off?
Then again Jun/ko does not seem like the planning type so they might just be doing whatever idea pops into their head at the time. Still, I want to know what what exactly their end goal here is. If they have one.
Also @Harian I think it was mentioned or hinted at in the second book that Jun/kos spirit animal is a wolf?
Yes, it seems to me that Jun/ko doesn’t have one and is kind of a chaotic character, so they might continue to make erratic and nonsensical choices. I’m not sure they even know what their end goal is. I just hope there is an option to fight them in the later books. They’ve just done too much harm to be redeemable in my eyes, no matter what trauma they’ve been through.
Well Junko’s spirit is definitely a starving wolf because the MC said it at one point that Junko would follow the MC like a starving wolf in the first book. Then there’s the whole spirit vision thing with the kid too. And as for helping Hatch at the tournament, there’s one option that says wolf when he asks you if you knew what his spirit animal was.
If the end of book 3 is any indication, Soul-crushing seems to be an appropriate description for future books.
Err yeah but being about a 30 year old Ronin and still seeing a potential romance in a 14 year old is creepy…
For me I’d like to see both a path where you fight him and have to take him out as well as a path where you can try and save him (whether you can or not is a different matter, of course). I can see different MCs approaching the Jun problem differently. My canon MC would try to help him first, maybe out of love or out of guilt for “abandoning him.” But in another playthrough my MC would probably think differently. I would really like to have different options with Jun, especially if there’s not a “right” option.
I honestly don’t think there will be a redemption or semi-happy ending with jun/ko. As much as i want it, it doesn’t make sense to me, at least. I feel like the whole relationship really is going to end with the MC or Jun/ko dead. Or I think the MC is going to be presented with the choice to kill jun/ko or watch them kill someone else. And Jun/ko also said something about becoming the thing the MC is supposed to be hunting.
So Me countlessly replaying to save Ige is all in vain… Noooooooooo.
Btw Just you and me Kid achievement. Anyone able to get it? How? Cause the chapter seem.short to me.
Honestly I doubt there would even be a happy end for our Ronin. It would actually fit the story as well.
I have a question regarding the first fight with the demon and those two questions we can ask.
How does the kitsune know about Jun/ko past? Isn’t the illusion of the master meant to know only what the MC knows? Like, when you are fighting him, the only good option is too use a movement you haven’t use before. so, how?
My interpretation was that Ronin actually knew but averted his/her eyes from true(partially, due to being child themself at that time). Kinda like supressed bad memories.
Same here. It was rather disappointing. At first I played through it not really caring about what choices I picked, just to see what happened… but I grew attached to these characters and after the maddeningly heartbreaking ending I replayed and replayed until I was able to max out my affinity and train everyone to perfectly pass their combat tests… and I still lost?! 
This better not be the last we see of the Ise Squad!
I wonder if playing through from the beginning whle relying on the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception Jigoku Itto-Ryo changes things?