Fulfill your acting dreams by enrolling in the ultra-famous drama school Univers Drama School! Where could the problem be? Not only is it the most demanding and unforgiving boarding school in the universe, but you also have to be a boy to attend this popular testosterone-fueled drama school. This is the setting for the highly anticipated otome game by none other than Ishida Sui, the author of the bestselling Tokyo Ghoul, published by Broccoli and localized in the west by Aksys Games. Jack Jeanne is a dream come true for otome game fans.

Jack Jeanne begins with the female protagonist, Tachibana Kisa, acting out her act in the temple playground with her brother and childhood friend. The three parted ways, promising to one day perform on the stage of the Univers Drama School. Kisa had to give up her dream because the school was an all-boys school, but her brother was able to attend and graduate from Univers. Kisa was left to support her poor family alone, but her brother disappeared after graduation to his relief. Despite the beautiful protagonist’s dark start, she is visited by a mysterious white ferret who leads her to the temple of her childhood. There, she meets the president of Univers and is made an offer she cannot refuse.

As you might imagine, Kisa can only get a chance to attend Univers if she can play a boy at school for a year. Not only must she keep her gender and identity a secret, but she must also land the top role in the final performance of the year. Kisa quickly accepts, auditions, and is accepted into Univers. As a freshman, she meets her childhood friend Yonaga Soushirou and Orimaki Suzu, a lively, tall, red-haired boy. On her first day at the school, she learns that students are divided into four different groups based on their talents and characteristics: Quartz, known for being an all-rounder; Rhodonite, known for singing and femininity; Onyx, known for her talent for dancing and her masculinity; and Amber, known for her genius talent and Cirque du Soleil-like eccentricity.

Kisa and her friends are assigned to Quartz, and at the end of the year, one of their classmates might become Kisa’s boyfriend. Remember, this is an otome game!

Romance aside, Jack Jeanne is a highly interactive plot and character-based game that includes stat boosts, rhythm games, multiple choice, and a very long shared route. The game is divided into five parts and follows Kisa and her class as they prepare and perform a play while competing against other classes. Each part focuses on a specific play, starting with the rookie performance, then summer, fall, winter, and finally Univers’ final performance at the end of the year. There is also a summer school trip scenario, during which players can quickly improve the protagonist’s stats. Players must spend each day increasing stats and reading through the day’s events. Whether you continue the overarching story of Kisa’s first year at school or meet a random character who basically says “keep being awesome!”, there is always some kind of character interaction that the player can choose to spend time with over the weekend. Using certain characters will increase the progress meter or expand the world of Universe.

Jack Jeanne only has a route for the boys in Quartz class, with the exception of one specific character. I’m not sure if this counts as a route or not. This is a bit disappointing, because towards the end of the game, Kisa meets several other characters that she can interact with and receive “confesses”. I hope that one day Ishida Sui and Broccoli will consider making a fan CD that explores what ifs for other classes!

To get the correct route for each character, you need to raise the corresponding value up to a maximum of level 30. Players can easily achieve this by focusing on one stat at a time and making sure to choose who to spend time with whenever the opportunity arises in the game. Typically, these are done through specific decisions during the game, or simply by spending a weekend at a place where your boy of choice hangs out (yes, like stalking him).

Meet the Boys

Suzu Orimaki: Suzu is a tall redheaded henbo who appears in the game that the protagonist first meets in Universe. Suzu is referred to as “Jack”, meaning that he has the traits and attitude that are suited to playing mostly male/masculine roles. He is very energetic. Although he can be short-tempered, he has a kind-hearted personality that puts his friends first. When he met Kisa at the audition for Universe, he immediately recognized her as “Jeanne”, the actress who plays the female/female roles in Universe. Kisa nearly has a heart attack thinking he immediately realized she was a girl, but fortunately for her, Suzu is the most clueless guy out there. Expect a very cute scene where Suzu is very confused by her budding affection for Kisa, despite thinking of him as a boy. To get Suzu’s route, you need to max out your Run/Spirit parameters.

Soshiro Yonaga: Soushirou is Kisa’s childhood friend, a friend who performed in plays together and made a promise to go to Univers together. Even when they grew apart, he was always thinking about the protagonist! At the beginning of the game, Soushirou started Univers as “Jeanne”, but over the course of a year, he slowly evolved into “Jack”. He is prone to inferiority complexes and feels that he is not good enough to be on stage, but he eventually overcomes it with the motivation of keeping his promise to Kisa to perform together. To get Soushirou’s route, you need to set the Learning/Knowledge parameter to the maximum.

Mitsuki Shirota: Quartz’s main vocalist, Mitsuki is a “Jeanne” type, a second-year student who used to teach music to the students in Kisa’s class. Mitsuki has a reserved and aloof personality, and only has the interests of his class at heart, and will do anything to protect his class. Although he sometimes gets annoyed by the class’s silly attitude, he always offers guidance and support when he can. To get Mitsuki’s route, you need to set the “Voice” parameter to the maximum.

Kai Mutsumi:Kai is a third-year student and the lead “Jack” actor in his class. He has an affinity for animals and mostly plays in the forest near his school. Apparently Kai started out as a mediocre actor and it took a lot of perseverance to get to the lead role. He gives advice when he can and tends to look out for other students who struggle with issues like Soushirou and his inferiority complex. Kai is a paternal high school student who is willing to sacrifice himself for others if it means he can develop his talent. To get Kai’s route, you need to max out the Charm/Development parameters.

Sarafumi Takashina:A third-year student of Quartz’s Jeanne, the protagonist “Arjanne”. Sarafumi comes from a famous family of traditional dancers and is also the main choreographer and dancer of Quartz. He is a frivolous playboy in the gaming world. To get Sarafumi’s route, you need to max out the Agility/Dance parameters.

Neji Kokuto: Quartz’s writer, director, and weirdo. A third-year at Universe, Neji is the group’s eccentric genius. He originally transferred from the Amber faculty because he felt he could further develop his talents and traits alongside the more diversely talented students at Quartz. Neji is capable of playing both the roles of “Jack” and “Jeanne,” but much like his personality, he also chooses the strangest roles. He is always pushing the other students to their limits to see how far they can go, and is extremely fascinated and inspired by Kisa’s chameleon-like acting talents. To get Neji’s route you need to max out the Act/Drama parameters.

Chuui Tanakamigi:Chuui is technically the “bad” final route and features some unsettling moments with the main character. If you think Neji is weird, well, Chuui is a beast. He’s a college sophomore and a genius, as recognized by Amber, whose acting talent is astronomical, so much so that theater companies around the world are trying to scout him. He has a very unhealthy obsession with Kisa, believing she is the only one who can be his partner on stage. He often behaves in an evil manner, and his “obsessive” behavior is so intense that Kisa feels his literal gaze on her at all times. Fans of Ishida’s previous work, Tokyo Ghoul, will no doubt recognize some of his earlier work as inspiration for his computer graphics.

Gameplay

Broccoli fans will know that the publisher is known for rhythm otome games such as the “Uta no Prince-sama” series. Jack Jeanne has a similar stat increase and rhythm game mechanic. The stat increase parameters are easy to understand; you simply maximize certain parameters to unlock certain character interactions, routes, and endings. Between parameters, players follow the usual visual novel format, progressing through the plot interspersed with character interactions and decisions that will affect the later stages of the game.

The performance portion of the game features two rhythm games: singing and dancing. In order to beat other classes and progress through the story properly, players must achieve SS status in these games to gain Gold status and take first place. Although just having S status can achieve similar results, SS guarantees a good ending for the route taken. All performances follow the same storyline for all routes, with some tweaks to the final Universe performance. For those who are not good at rhythm games, the game has three difficulty levels, with Normal being the easiest to beat, especially for those who want to progress through the story. However, the faster the song, the more difficult it becomes. Additionally, additional songs and dances are added as each performance section is played.

Overall Thoughts

There’s a lot to see in this game! Although it’s an otome game, romance isn’t the main focus. Ishida focuses on plot and character development above all else. The game is quite long, as players play through almost 365 days of Kisa in her first year at Univeil. The weekend scenarios vary from playthrough to playthrough depending on who they want to interact with the most, but the performances all have the same storyline and players must play a rhythm game in these sections. The practice part can be skipped if you have played the game once, but you cannot skip it in the actual game, so you will have to repeat it over and over again. However, this game allows you to skip parts of the visual novel that you have already read.

Over 100 CGs unlocked as rewards for clearing all scenarios! Yes, Ishida did not hold back when it came to his work. Whether you are a fan of otome games or Ishida himself, his art will impress you. The plot is also nothing to sneeze at. Essentially, it’s a story within a story, with each performance having their own unique script – you can even play the entire game ignoring all other character routes – and Ishida has really outdone herself in terms of appealing to both fans and those unfamiliar with the otome genre.

Overall, Jack Jeanne is a solid game full of hilarious and touching moments, with gorgeous graphics, compelling character design and depth, a score worthy of its own album, and a touching, feel-good story about a girl chasing her dreams.