Main/Childhood Friends/In Tokimeki Memorial/Sandbox

This is a temporary page made for the Childhood Friends Trope Repair Shop, in order to explain in detail Childhood Friend Romance in the Tokimeki Memorial series without making a too long post.

Let's analyse every Childhood Friend Romance situation in the series (well, at least the ones in the Standard Branch, since that's the one I'm knowledgeable at; I'm indifferent at the Girl's Side Branch and haven't played its games):

Tokimeki Memorial 1
Tokimeki Memorial 1 (Classic Kirameki Saga): There are two Childhood Friend Romances in that saga: Shiori and the Main Protagonist (named Naoto in the Drama CDs), and in Drama CDs only, Katsuma and Natsue.


 * So let's start first with Shiori and Naoto.

To pick up Sakurazaki Setsuna 's definitions of Osananajimi's YKTTW, since they fit the Tokimeki Memorial franchise like a glove, they are of the constant type. They know each other since they're very little, and have always been living on the house next door. Due to some events when they were 8 (said events are explored in the 3rd Drama Series games, Tabidachi no Uta), they started to drift apart. In High School time, Naoto realized he really loves Shiori, and succeeded the difficult exam of the high-ranked Kirameki High School to be able to follow her and win her heart. As for Shiori, she never was able to make clearly her mind on her feelings: is Naoto just a good childhood friend to her, or more? In any case, she never engaged in a love relationship with anyone else.

So in the original game, Shiori is the main love goal of Naoto, but she has such high standards, the player is likely not to score her unless he knows how to play the game well. She's as such considered the Final Boss, and True Ending of the game.

In the Drama Series games, (which are Gaiden Games of the saga, expanding on the storyline of a specific character per game), Shiori is in an Unlucky Childhood Friend situation for the first 2 Drama Series games (since Naoto has given up on her, and is in love with the respective main heroines of the games, Saki and Ayako), but she's one of the two main heroines of the 3rd Drama game, and as such can become victorious if you follow her storyline (not such luck if you follow Miharu's storyline though, since Naoto gives up on her here too in that case). In fact, Shiori's storyine in the 3rd Drama game starts as an Unlucky Childhood Friend situation, since it begins on Valentine's Day, and Shiori only gives Naoto an obligation chocolate, indicating she only sees Naoto as a childhood friend at that moment. It's during the storyline she finally realizes Naoto is more than a childhood friend for her, and finally fully reciprocates his feelings.

In the Drama CDs, after a lot of hesitations, troubles, and shyness towards love, they become an Official Couple.

And in Tokimeki Memorial 4, which takes places 15 years after Tokimeki Memorial 1 and is part of the main canon storyline, one of the characters, Yuu Satsuki, who's a relative of Shiori, reveals that Shiori and Naoto became an Official Couple, are married to each other and live in happiness.


 * Now, the case of Katsuma and Natsue.

Those two are Drama CDs only characters, but things are straight with them: they are in love with each other, plain and simple. Katsuma may suffer from the death of his parents for most of the storyline, and Natsue is more pro-active at showing her feelings, and she's the one who activated the Relationship Upgrade, but there's no doubt they always shared the feelings.

They too are of the constant type: Natsue regulary comes at Katsuma's home to force him to wake up, part because of his Heroic BSOD, part because he's Not a Morning Person (fully the latter by the end of the storyline).

Tokimeki Memorial 2
Tokimeki Memorial 2 (Hibikino Saga): Things are more complicated here, since there are more childhood friends in this one, and of different categories as well. The Main Protagonist (named Kouichi in the Drama CDs, and Takeru in the novel; I'll refer him as Kouichi) is childhood friends with Hikari and Kasumi, and can become childhood friends with Akane, Homura, Miyuki, Miho and Mei during the interactive Childhood Mode prologue. Also, Shunta Torigoe, the hero of novel Anata o Shinjiteru (who's NOT an incarnation of the Main Protagonist) has Sayo Tsukimura.


 * First, Hikari and Kouichi:

They are of the returning, standard type. Hikari and Kouichi were very close friends since they were little, and Hikari already held feeling towards Kouichi back then, but when they were 8, Kouichi suddenly moved away, leaving a crying Hikari behind. She never was able to forget him, and her passion for trackrunning is an expression of her feelings for him, since she subconsciously thinks that if she can run fast enough to chase after him and catch up with him, she'll be able to be with him.

On the day before her High School enterance at Hibikino High, she decided to cut her long hair short to symbolically give up on her feelings towards Kouichi, thinking she'll never meet him again after all, and turn up a new page. But fate is a strange thing, as Kouichi, who too never forgot about his hometown, had decided to come back and enter Hibikino High, and thus, on High School enterance day, they meet again.

Hikari thus becomes Kouichi's main love goal, and Hikari tries her very best to become closer to Kouichi and become a couple with him.

In the main game, Hikari has very high Relationship Values towards Kouichi, and as such is very likely to become a couple with him, unlike Shiori and Naoto. You really have to be a bastard on purpose towards her not to score her. She's so clingy the Japanese fandom turned her into a memetic Yandere (She is NOT a Yandere in canon though, just a Clingy Jealous Girl).

In the Drama CDs, they ultimately become an Official Couple, after much drama and hesitations (most of them due to Kouichi's obliviousness, and Hikari's fear of being rejected if she confesses her feelings, thus preferring not to break their relationship and being fine at staying as childhood friends).

In the novel Kimi no Ushiro Sugata, the one of the two dedicated to Hikari, they become an Official Couple here too (again after much drama, this time because Kouichi is looking a bit too much at Kasumi for a good part of the storyline, triggering Hikari's jealousy; the fact they sorta drifted away during part of the High School time didn't help, but they always had feelings for each other since the beginning).


 * Second, Kasumi and Kouichi.

Those two are of the returning, standard type too. Kasumi, who's 6 years older than Kouichi, is actually the Cool Big Sis figure of Kouichi and Hikari: in their childhood, she was the one who was watching over them. Kouichi always had admiration for her. They reunite later than Kouichi did with Hikari, only in the middle of 2nd year of the game, when Kasumi does a professionnal training as a teacher in Hibikino High. Kasumi thinks of Kouichi first and foremost as a younger brother: but her feelings can change if Kouichi actively chases her, much to her dismay since she's aware of how unappropriate a Teacher-Student Romance is.

In the main game, Kasumi is, like Shiori, the Final Boss: you need very high stats and lots of dates to hope winning her. She's however not considered as the True Ending, unlike Hikari.

The other related media do not consider her as a Victorious Childhood Friend either, obviously: she staunchly thinks of Kouichi as a younger brother in all cases. Really, it's just in the game she's an option.


 * Third, Akane, Homura, Miyuki, Miho and Mei 's case:

They all are of the returning, Forgotten Childhood Friend type. Kouichi can get to know them for a grand total of four days, before he suddenly moves away. In some cases, like Mei, he even meets the girls only once.

Most of those meetings have tremendous influences on some of the girl's personnalities and storylines:, and.

Those childhood friendships are, as mentioned earlier, optional in the main game (although, as mentioned, the girls' storyline make much more sense when they're taken in account), but the related media (the Substories games, the Drama CDs and the ''Blooming Stories CDs) consider all of them canon.

None of those relationship are considered as the True Ending in either media (obviously, since Hikari is the one considered as such).


 * Fourth, Shunta and Sayo.

Those two characters only appear in the Tokimeki Memorial 2 novel Anata o Shinjiteru. They are of the constant type, knowing each other since they're little. Shunta being an Ill Boy ever since in his youth, Sayo was always there to pamper him. However, he's growing annoyed of this, and this leads to much bickering between them (which other people thinking they are in Belligerent Sexual Tension).

This novel having Kaori as the heroine, she and Shunta gradually fall in love with each other. Despite their unsecurities (Shunta because he wants to look good in front of her, and as such when, at a point of the story, he isn't chosen as a regular for the next volley-ball match, he is ashamed and decides to avoid her, going as far as telling her harsh words to shoo her away, leading to the infamous Power of Trust moment described in the Character Sheet, when he realizes his stupidity; Kaori because, like the main game, she's in Heroic BSOD state after her Et Tu, Brute? moment a year before the story's proper and thus fear to trust someone again), and Sayo's really dirty move, Kaori and Shunta become an Official Couple, making Sayo the only case of a clear-cut Unlucky Childhood Friend in the franchise.

Tokimeki Memorial 3
Tokimeki Memorial 3 (Moegino Saga): This one is a very interesting take on the trope.


 * Indeed, a possible pairing in this game is Main protagonist / Izumi: but they actually aren't childhood friends. So, why am I talking about this?

Because in this case, you actually have to FIGHT against the Power Of Childhood Friend!! Indeed, when exploring Izumi's Backstory, you discover that, a few years ago, she had a boyfriend she deeply loved, who also was her childhood friend. Unfortunately, after a date at a Ski Resort, the bus they were riding for returning back home had a crash: Izumi's boyfriend died, and herself was severly injured (to the point that in the game's proper, she'll have to undergo several operations).

As such, she lives ever since with the memory of her beloved childhood friend, and can't turn the page and find a new love. Because of this and being a Well, Excuse Me, Princess! who loves high stats, she's the hardest character of the whole franchise to win the heart of.

Tokimeki Memorial 3 being a game that bombed majorly, Konami gave up on releasing related media around it, so there's not much to say if she's considered a True Ending. Unlike Shiori and Hikari, TM3 's main heroine Yukiko isn't as pushed as the True Ending towards the main protagonist, but so is Izumi, who actually was a Secret Character (who later benefitted popularity from the few fans of the game).

Tokimeki Memorial 4
Tokimeki Memorial 4 (Modern Kirameki Saga): The most recent game in the franchise (it was released in December 2009) has a very quirky childhood friend in there.


 * Main Protagonist and Miyako: those two are of the constant type. They know each other since they're little, and live in houses next to each other. Like Natsue, Miyako regulary comes to the MC's house to wake him up (this is also how you start the game).

She loves deeply the MC, but thinks she'll never be able to end up with him. As such, she decides to repress her feelings, and to stay forever close to him as a childhood friend instead.

But if the MC decides to chase after her, she'll become very possessive of him, to Yandere point (although the "yan" is directed at him rather than the other girls, like for example giving him lunchboxes with dubious food in it, and beating him to a pulp with her animated Rabbit Doll if he dates another girl).

Miyako's storyline being overall the most developped storyline in the game, she can be considered as more or less the True Ending: and since she's become the fave char in the Japanese fandom, that could be expanded, especially considering a Tokimeki Memorial 4 manga is currently produced, with Miyako as its heroine.