Doukyuusei: Natsu no Owari ni (1994), a classic hentai about a high school romance story, cumplió hoy su 30 aniversario.
Origin
The hentai is inspired by Doukyuusei (同級生), a pioneering and revolutionary dating sim developed by elf that was released on December 17, 1992.
The renowned Pink Pineapple label, which at that time had emerged as a young producer of animated series for adults, released the first episode of Doukyuusei: Natsu no Owari ni (1994) on July 8, 1994. The animated series concluded on May 12, 1995, with four animated episodes.
Story
Wataru dreams of spending the last summer of his school days in a romantic bliss. He yearns to be in the arms of the rich, beautiful and reserved Mai, the girl of his dreams by summer’s end. As Wataru plots his way into her heart, people just keep on getting in the way. He keeps getting swept up in problems caused by Kazuya, his best friend, trying to get into Kurumi’s panties. There’s the tomboyish Misa who keeps giving him lecture about Wataru hanging out with her best friend Mako. There’s the high and mighty Satomi telling him things to do. Finally, there is Kenji, Mai’s self appointed guardian who looks down on Wataru for being poor unlike himself and Mai and thinks that he is the only good match for Mai. As the summer draws to a close, Wataru must find a way to break through the barrier created by people, circumstance and society to find happiness withiin the arms of his one true love.
Reception
Due to the years that have passed, the exact level of success Doukyuusei: Natsu no Owari ni (1994) had in Japan is not known. However, considering the immense popularity of the game and the subsequent installments of the series, it is believed to have been well-received.
Abroad, it also enjoyed good popularity thanks to the commercialization of the first version of the hentai in America and Europe. Additionally, the fact that it was released with official English and Spanish dubs contributed significantly to its success.
Despite its achievements in its home country and abroad, Doukyuusei: Natsu no Owari ni (1994) has been forgotten over time and is now remembered simply as a classic and cult series.
Trivia
- Doukyuusei: Natsu no Owari ni (1994) was animated by Triple X studio and directed by Yoshimoto Kinji and Takase Setsuo.
- Doukyuusei is one of the best dating sims in history.
- Doukyuusei: Natsu no Owari ni is Pink Pineapple‘s first hentai.
- The hentai has two versions: one is a four-episode animated adaptation, and the other is a 40-minute OVA that was released earlier, on April 28 of the same year. To differentiate between the two versions, the four-episode version is referred to as “(1994).”
- The original OVA of Doukyuusei: Natsu no Owari ni, features scenes from the first two episodes of the other animated adaptation. The main difference between both versions is that the OVA contains fewer scenes, and the video segments are arranged differently.
- After the closure of elf, FANZA GAMES released a remake of the original game, which received an animated version titled Doukyuusei Remake The Animation. This new series released on July 29, 2022.
- The main differences between Doukyuusei: Natsu no Owari ni (1994) and Doukyuusei Remake The Animation are that the classic version concluded with a harem ending, while in the remake, the protagonist chooses a different girl in each arc. Additionally, in the remake, Ako, the sister of the school doctor, appears as a love interest for the protagonist.
- On December 22, 1995, Pink Pineapple released Doukyuusei Climax, a sequel to Doukyuusei: Natsu no Owari ni (1994).
- In Doukyuusei Climax, Yui Narusawa appears, the sister of Makoto Narusawa, the protagonist of Doukyuusei 2, the animated adaptation of the sequel to Doukyuusei game. Since Doukyuusei 2 takes place two years after Doukyuusei, Yui should be 16 years old in this cameo, instead of the 18 years old she is in Doukyuusei 2.
- In episode 3 of Doukyuusei 2, Makoto has an affair with Misa, a main character from Doukyuusei: Natsu no Owari ni (1994), after she had problems in her relationship with Wataru. Later, she returns for a brief cameo at the end of Doukyuusei 2.
- Due to the affair between Makoto and Misa in episode 3 of Doukyuusei 2, it suggests that the animated adaptation takes place in an alternate universe. In this universe, Wataru did not get the harem ending from Doukyuusei: Natsu no Owari ni (1994), but instead chose Misa as his only summer love. Another plausible explanation is that in Doukyuusei 2, they decided to adapt only the game without considering the 1994 animated series.
- A dubbed English version titled End of Summer was released in Europe and America, and a Spanish version titled Escuela de Verano was also released.
