History TearJerker / SlowDamage

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--> '''Rei''': I lived my whole life without the approval of the man I call my father. So being overpowered like that was my literal worst nightmare. All my past trauma came flooding back, and it destroyed me. Seriously, I hate that he fucked me up this bad! I don't want to be around him or see his face ever again! ''[breaks down in tears and starts violently punching the floor]'' I hate him, I hate him, I HATE HIM!

* After everything that's revealed in Fujieda's route, Towa and Taku's romance becomes a bit more somber in hindsight. There's no denying that their love is genuine, and the drama CD shows that they don't want to be with anyone but each other and they're truly happy with their life together. However, Towa will never truly know about his past, and Taku will always hide the truth from him. Even though his reasons for keeping Towa's past a secret are understandable, it doesn't change the fact that there will always be a small but definite part of their relationship that is built on a lie.

* The route ends on a bittersweet note no matter how the player looks at it, and for one simple reason: after all is said and done, Towa breaks ties with Taku and Rei and never contacts either of them again. What makes it sadder is that he doesn't do this because he despises them now; if anything, there are hints that -- despite his claims that he no longer has anything left to feel for them -- he actually cares for them still, and only feels that he no longer belongs with them. After getting to know Taku and Rei in their routes, seeing them permanently drift apart from Towa's life is guaranteed be heartbreaking in some way.

* Throughout the game, the screen will ''always'' flicker whenever the word ''"daijobu"'' is brought up. And interestingly, Towa never says the word himself. It's only in this route that it's finally explained why: that word is what his mother would always say to him in her twisted attempt to console him as she allowed him to be tortured by her clients who wish to enact their most depraved desires. Even with his amnesia, the trauma associated with the word is rooted deep into his being that he, in his own words, would always feel a part of him die inside every time he hears it.

* The chapter starts with a scene of Taku coming across his mother's corpse and breaking down at the sight. It gets worse when you replay the route since the lines become voiced by then, allowing you to hear the raw anguish in his voice.

* Rei's situation is depressing: one day, he's suddenly informed that he's made a debtor because his father said that he could pay his large debt for him. Given that Rei and his father are on bad terms, Rei could easily refuse... except if he did, he would essentially be signing his father off his to his death, and Rei is too moral to do that in spite of the many times he wished his father would just drop dead. However, this turns out to not be the ultimatum that Rei was faced with: he was actually told that if he refused, the Takasato Group will let his father resume his old job of trafficking children-- something that Rei would ''never'' allow either. So he ends up agreeing to pay his father's debt, and to pay it fast, he begins to participate in Moneymatches where he puts his life on the line whilst on the fighting ring for a chance of winning the large sums of money needed to pay off his father's dues.

!! Taku's Route (Chapter 3: Nostalgia)

!! Rei's Route (Chapter 3: Contradiction)

!! Madarame's Route (Chapter 2: Immutable)

!! Fujieda's Route (The Last Chapter: Equal)

* The route ends on a bittersweet note no matter how the player looks at it, and for one simple reason. After all is said and done, Towa decides that he can no longer return to the normal life he once had with Rei and Taku. As such, he breaks ties with them and never contacts either of them again. What makes it sadder is that he doesn't do this because he despises them now; if anything, there are hints that he actually cares for them still. He just only feels that he doesn't belong with them any longer. After getting to know Rei and Taku in their routes, seeing them permanently drift apart from Towa's life is guaranteed be heartbreaking in some way.

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* Fujieda's breakdown in the park after he learns that Mei is as good as dead. He admits later that part of him had always seen it coming, but at the time, the confirmation alone is enough to nearly crush his spirit. But at the same time, he's also enraged that Mei's death happened because of someone's wicked whims, causing him to attack Towa and strangle him because of his relation to Maya, the latter of whom was responsible for Mei's demise. And with Fujieda's rationale clouded by both his anger and his grief, he decides to get some form of revenge by violating Towa. Towa may have long been accustomed to being taken against his will, but it doesn't detract from how harrowing the entire scene is. The fact that one victim would go and inflict pain on another victim just goes to show how many lives Maya had ruined in her wake.

* Fujieda's breakdown in the park after he learns that Mei is as good as dead. He admits later that part of him had always seen it coming, but at the time, the confirmation alone is enough to nearly crush his spirit. But at the same time, he's also enraged that Mei's death happened because of someone's wicked whims, causing him to attack Towa and strangle him because of his relation to Maya, the latter of whom was responsible for Mei's demise. And with Fujieda's rationale clouded by both his anger and his grief, he decides to get some form of revenge by violating Towa. Towa may have long been accustomed to being taken against his will, but it doesn't detract from how harrowing the entire scene is. It goes to show just how many lives Maya had ruined in her wake, two of her victims would start to inflict pain upon each other.

* After fighting enough Moneymatches, he breaks down and vents out all his frustrations to Towa.
--> '''Rei''': I lived my whole life without the approval of the man I call my father. So being overpowered like that was my literal worst nightmare. All my past trauma came flooding back, and it destroyed me. Seriously, I hate that he fucked me up this bad! I don't want to be around him or see his face ever again! I hate him, I hate him, I HATE HIM!

* Fujieda's breakdown in the park after he learns that Mei is as good as dead. He admits later that part of him had always seen it coming, but at the time, the confirmation alone is enough to nearly crush his spirit. But at the same time, he's also enraged that Mei's death happened because of someone's wicked whims, causing him to attack Towa and strangle him because of his relation to Maya, the latter of whom was responsible for Mei's demise. And with Fujieda's rationale clouded by both his anger and his grief, he decides to get some form of revenge by violating Towa. Towa may have long been accustomed to being taken against his will, it doesn't detract from how harrowing the entire scene is.

* Taku's Madness ending is definitely unsettling, but what is easy to overlook is how sad it as well. Fearing that he'll never be able to protect those dear to him by hanging on to his scruples, Taku hardens his resolve to protect Towa. However, he does so by becoming the very kind of person he wanted to protect Towa from. He never realizes this though; to him, what is only important is that Towa is somewhere where he's safe from ''everything'' and ''everyone'' else, and somewhere where Taku can ''always'' watch over him. Even when Towa looks into Taku's eyes to try and gauge his insanity, he sees nothing but the man's sorrow and love for him.

* After everything that's revealed in Fujieda's route, Towa and Taku's romance becomes a bit more somber in hindsight. There's no denying that their love is genuine, and the drama CD shows that they don't want to be with anyone but each other and they're truly happy with their life together. However, Towa will never truly know about his past, as Taku will always hide the truth from him. Even though his reasons for keeping Towa's past a secret are understandable, it doesn't change the fact that there will always be a small but definite part of their relationship that is built on a lie.

* Rei is put through the wringer throughout the entire duration of the route no thanks to his father, and eventually, after fighting enough Moneymatches, he breaks down and vents out all his frustrations to Towa.

* Throughout the game, the screen will ''always'' flicker whenever the word ''"daijobu"'' is brought up. And interestingly, Towa never says the word himself. Why so? Because it's what his mother would always say to him in her twisted attempt to console him as she allowed him to be tortured by her clients who wish to enact their most depraved desires. Even with his amnesia, the trauma associated with the word is rooted deep into his being that he, in his own words, would always feel a part of him die inside every time he hears it.

''Slow Damage'' takes great pains in examining both how dark the human psyche can be, and how many scars can lie in a person's heart.