Summer Pockets

Summer Pockets is a Japanese visual novel developed by Key, a brand of Visual Arts. It was released on June 29, 2018 for Windows and is rated for all ages. "Summer Pockets" is Key's 13th game, along with other titles such as "Kanon", "Air", and "Clannad". It has been ported to iOS and Android devices, and the Nintendo Switch. An English version for Windows was released by Visual Arts in 2020. An expanded version of the game titled "Summer Pockets Reflection Blue" was also released on June 26, 2020 in Japan. The story is set on a fictional island on the Seto Inland Sea and follows the life of Hairi Takahara, a young man who uses the recent death of his grandmother as an excuse to escape to the island after an unpleasant incident. Once there, he gets to know the townsfolk of Torishirojima and multiple girls who are the focus of the story.
The game's concept is by Jun Maeda, who felt that the game needed to make readers cry. Kai was brought in to direct the project, as well as co-write the scenario with Hasama and Yū Niijima. Maeda decided not to write the scenario due to similarities in themes with Key's visual novel "Air", which he primarily wrote. Although "Air" also features a rural, seaside setting during the summer, the development team aimed for "Summer Pockets" to have a different feeling to it. Nostalgia and the maternal bond are prominent themes in the game. Na-Ga is the chief artist and character designer, and additional character designs are provided by Tsubasu Izumi, Yūnon Nagayama and Fumuyun. The game's soundtrack was composed by Maeda, Shinji Orito, Donmaru, Tomohiro Takeshita and Ryō Mizutsuki.
Synopsis.
"Summer Pockets" is set on an isolated, rural and peaceful island on the Seto Inland Sea called Torishirojima, which has a population of about 2,000 people. The protagonist is Hairi Takahara, a young man not native to the island. Hairi grew up in an urban setting, but after an unpleasant incident, he uses the recent death of his grandmother as an excuse to come to the island to take care of her estate sale. Once there, he gets to know four girls who are the focus of the story. They include Shiroha Naruse, who forgot her summer vacation; Ao Sorakado, who is pursuing the legends of the island; Kamome Kushima, a high-class girl looking for a pirate ship; and Tsumugi Wenders, a younger girl trying to find herself.
Development.
Before the production of "Summer Pockets" began, Key was in the process of developing "Angel Beats! 1st Beat" (2015) and "Harmonia" (2016). At that time in early 2015, scenario writer Yūto Tonokawa was leading a new project for another visual novel, but this project was postponed to focus on "Angel Beats!" and "Harmonia". Tonokawa later resigned from Key prior to the release of "Angel Beats! 1st Beat" in June 2015, and the project he was leading was subsequently abandoned. Following this, Kai was brought in to direct a new project, which would later become "Summer Pockets". An in-house competition among Visual Arts employees was conducted to submit ideas for the new project as long as it was based around a concept involving an enjoyable, everyday life and a tearful story, but otherwise not being constrained by previous works by Key.
When discussion began regarding Key's new work, Jun Maeda talked it over with Takahiro Baba, the president of Visual Arts, and Maeda was adamant that the new project needed to make readers cry. Maeda went on to say that if their next work could not achieve that, it would mean the end for Key. Among the ideas was one submitted by scenario writer Yū Niijima described as similar to "Ghost in the Shell" by Kai. Although there were many ideas submitted, it was felt that they were all somewhat lacking as something produced by Key. Maeda admitted that although there were interesting ideas submitted, none of them would make readers cry. Despite Maeda not originally planning to submit an idea himself, he offered one as an example, but he was surprised when his idea was instantly accepted as the basis for what would become "Summer Pockets". Maeda decided not to write the scenario for the game due to similarities in themes with Key's visual novel "Air" (2000), which he primarily wrote.
Kai began expanding on the concept with Maeda sitting in on production meetings, but Maeda was later hospitalized, leading Kai to request that more writers be brought on for the project. Niijima had previously worked on visual novels for Saga Planets, another brand under Visual Arts, but he resigned from Saga Planets in 2012. Baba had suggested on multiple occasions that they bring in Niijima for a new project, leading to him being brought in as a scenario writer. Another scenario writer, Hasama, was added following his contributions to the scenario of the ports of Key's visual novel "Kud Wafter" (2010).
Although the game is set on a fictional island, it features locations based on real places; the development staff went to Naoshima, Megijima and Ogijima to aid in this process. The use of nostalgia as a theme was important for Kai who likened Maeda's concept to the "Boku no Natsuyasumi" video game series. In addressing concerns about its similarity to "Air", which also features a rural, seaside setting during the summer, Kai noted that "Summer Pockets" will have a completely different feeling to it due in part to the relationships the heroines have among each other and also from several charming male characters being featured in the game, similar to that of "Little Busters!" (2007) and "Angel Beats!" (2010). However, Maeda pointed out that the theme of the maternal bond featured in "Air" is also included in "Summer Pockets".
Na-Ga is the chief artist and character designer for "Summer Pockets", and three other artists were later brought in to produce additional character designs: Yūnon Nagayama, Tsubasu Izumi and Fumuyun. Nagayama had previously worked on the character design for "Angel Beats! 1st Beat", and she was asked to join the staff for "Summer Pockets" due to her art being highly compatible with Na-Ga's illustrations. Kai was introduced to Izumi by Harumi Sakurai, the voice of Yuri Nakamura from "Angel Beats!", and Kai had wanted to work with Izumi on a project for some time. Fumuyun joined the staff to provide character designs for two supporting characters. Super deformed characters are designed by Engiyoshi. The game's soundtrack is composed by Key's signature composers, Maeda and Shinji Orito, in addition to Donmaru, Tomohiro Takeshita and Ryō Mizutsuki.
Marketing and release.
A nine-episode Internet radio show called featuring Visual Arts president Takahiro Baba was streamed on YouTube from February 27 to March 26, 2018. Leading up to the release of "Summer Pockets", 53 artists drew illustrations of the game's characters and offered comments from March 1 to June 29, 2018 to promote the game. A full-color introductory booklet called "Summer Pockets Walker" was distributed for free at anime and gaming stores across Japan starting on March 30, 2018. To advertise "Summer Pockets", J.I.O Create took a 2007 Honda Stream RSZ and made it into an itasha (a car featuring illustrations of anime-styled characters) with images of the game's heroines. The car was driven around and showcased throughout Japan between May 3 and June 8, 2018. The car was put onto the Japanese Yahoo! Auction website on July 26, 2018 and sold for . Illustrator Engiyoshi drew 17 snippets featuring characters from "Summer Pockets" called from May 14 to July 5, 2018. A series of short stories began to be released on the game's website starting on October 31, 2018 written by the game's scenario writers: Kai, Hasama, and Yū Niijima. The stories, subtitled , each focus on a separate character and feature illustrations by Fumuyun, one of the game's artists.
Key released a free game demo of "Summer Pockets" on April 24, 2018 on the game's official website. "Summer Pockets" was released on June 29, 2018 as a limited edition version for Windows. The limited edition came bundled with an official guide book titled , a remix album titled "Swallow Tale", a rubber coaster, a microfiber cloth, a glow-in-the-dark sticker, and promotional cards from the Weiß Schwarz and Lycèe trading card games. Over two dozen stores in Akihabara and online offered special promotional items if the limited edition version of the game was bought at their store. These items included telephone cards, tapestries, mousepads, posters, a smartphone stand, and four separate drama CDs.
"Summer Pockets" was ported to iOS on December 17, 2018, and to Android on December 21, 2018. Prototype released a version on the Nintendo Switch on June 20, 2019. An English version for Windows was released by Visual Arts on February 5, 2020.
"Reflection Blue".
An upgraded version of the game titled "Summer Pockets Reflection Blue" was released on June 26, 2020 for Windows. Two separate editions were released: a limited edition, and a more expensive special edition that comes bundled with more content. Both editions came bundled with an official guide book titled , remix albums, and other promotional items totaling seven in all. The special edition was also bundled with an art book, an acrylic stand, a mini plush toy of Inari, a T-shirt, a necklace, a book jacket, and a "Summer Pockets" holographic card set. Originally conceived as a fan disc, Key later decided to release it as a new version of the game with various additions, and it is made by the same staff as the original game. "Reflection Blue" has four additional heroine routes, three of which are for Miki Nomura, Shizuku Mizuori, and Umi Kato from "Summer Pockets", in addition to the new heroine Shiki Kamiyama. There are also new everyday life scenarios featuring the characters interacting and having fun together, and this includes an upgrade to the ping pong minigame.
"Reflection Blue" was ported to Android on August 20, 2020, with an iOS release scheduled for April 2021.
Music.
"Summer Pockets" has six pieces of theme music: one opening theme, two ending themes, and three insert songs played during gameplay. The opening theme is sung by Konomi Suzuki. The main ending theme is "Lasting Moment" sung by Suzuki, and the grand finale ending theme is sung by Rionos. The three insert songs include sung by Emiri Iwai, sung by Runa Mizutani of the dōjin music group NanosizeMir, and sung by Yurika.
The single for "Alkatale" was released on March 28, 2018. The single contained "Alkatale" in original, short and instrumental versions, and two pieces of background music from the visual novel. As with several of Key's previous works, a music album came bundled with the limited edition release of the game; the album, released on June 29, 2018, is titled "Swallow Tale" and contains remixes of eight tracks of the game's music. The original soundtrack for "Summer Pockets" was released on September 26, 2018. Each of the singles and albums released were on Key's record label Key Sounds Label.
Reception.
"Summer Pockets" premiered as the No. 1 game sold on Getchu.com, a major redistributor of visual novel and domestic anime products, during the month of its release, and at No. 4 in July.