Yoh Kobayakawa (22) is another character from Finally, In Love Again who turns out to be the son of a wealthy family that owns a famous Ikebana (Flower Arrangement) School.
Yoh Kobayakawa is certainly deceptively sweet. Childish, sympathetic and lovely, Yoh is an absolute human pleaser. It is not quite possible for someone who meets him to not feel a puppy love for him.
From the very first seconds of Yoh’s walkthroughs, he is a mystery. He pops up from various spots he is not supposed to be in, prepares lovely surprises for MC even though he doesn’t even recognize her very well, comes up with direct suggestions (even about intimate contact), sometimes acts as a flirty man who wants to have experiences with MC and sometimes acts as a kid who needs affection of a mother. Right at this point, the reader can feel the vulnerable side of Yoh and this loneliness that brings out questions about his background, family, and what kind of life he lives and who he actually is. Starting with the scene as a runaway who apparently is fine with staying each night in any house of people he has just met, the game gradually shows us who Yoh actually is. This shift had been carried out pretty smoothly.
Yoh starts spending some time MC’s house, however, MC tries to send him away but due to some circumstances, they always end up being in the same situation. At this point, it should be underlined that, Yoh’s stories are unfortunately full of logical gaps and mistakes. To be honest, even the beginning of the route had been based on a huge “gap”. Actually, FILA is a game that is pretty close to real life, however, Yoh’s route is based on some circumstances that could only occur in an artificial storyline. By these means, the route is not quite satisfying.
As if being a habitant in MC’s house hadn’t been enough, Yoh also finds a part-time job in the flower shop, Mon Cheri, next door to Patisserie Larme. Just like Larme, the art of Mon Cheri is very attractive and the flowers displayed in the store are drawn very lively as if they were real. Another attraction of Mon Cheri is its owner, Mr. Kishikawa. He is clearly into men and has a diva-like personality; he is a source of laughter. Furthermore, Yoh is very talented when it comes to arranging flowers in the shop and as the story develops, it is understood his gift is inherited from his family. Arranging flowers and teaching flower arrangement for generations and ultimately it is seen that for Yoh to be a runaway has a linkage with his family. The reason behind his escape from home and how he overcomes his family’s issues and how he makes peace again are found out during his stories.
According to the general theme of the game, MC is supposed to come up with a “special item” for Larme during the routes of each character. In Yoh’s case, she comes up with a wedding cake. During the walkthrough, she communicates with the wedding owners, however, she cannot come up with a design that satisfies her and the owner. Yoh comes into the scene at this point and influences her about the floral design of the cake. In the end, she can come up with a successful cake but instead it shows the image of cooperation and coexistence of MC and Yoh. By the time she finally delivers the cake, she finds out Yoh had just used her so that he could have a place to stay in and she decides it is better to shove him away (but seriously, this is another gap; hadn’t MC realized it before? What kind of 34 year-old woman cannot understand this?).
FILA is a game with ultimately beautiful drawings. Same rule applies for Yoh as well. He is drawn to be so sweet, naughty and spoiled but also lovely as a puppy that, one simply wants to give him a hug and pinch his cheeks only due to his appearances.
To sum it up, Yoh Kobayakawa is appropriate for those who want to play with a cute and squishy character.
