White Album 2

White Album 2 (ホワイトアルバム2, Howaito Arubamu 2) is a trilogy of Japanese adult visual novels developed by the visual novel company Leaf for the Microsoft Windows PC, and is the sequel to Leaf's earlier visual novel, White Album.[2] The first part of the series, named White Album 2: Introductory Chapter, was released on March 26, 2010.

White Album 2
White Album 2 (all-in-one set version) visual novel cover art featuring all five female main characters.
ホワイトアルバム2
(Howaito Arubamu 2)
GenreRomance[1]
Game
White Album 2: Introductory Chapter
DeveloperLeaf
PublisherLeaf
Directed byTakeshi Nakamura
Produced byNaoya Shimokawa
GenreEroge, Visual novel
PlatformMicrosoft Windows
Released
  • JP: March 26, 2010
Game
White Album 2: Closing Chapter
DeveloperLeaf
PublisherLeaf
Directed byTakeshi Nakamura
Produced byNaoya Shimokawa
GenreEroge, Visual novel
PlatformMicrosoft Windows
Released
  • JP: December 22, 2011
Game
White Album 2: Shiawase no Mukōgawa
DeveloperAquaplus
PublisherAquaplus
GenreVisual novel
PlatformPlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita
ReleasedPS3
  • JP: December 20, 2012
PS Vita
  • JP: November 28, 2013
Light novel
White Album 2: Yuki ga Tsumugu Senritsu
Written byMasaya Tsukishima
Illustrated byTakeshi Nakamura, Keiichirō Katsura
Published bySoftBank Creative
ImprintGA Bunko
DemographicMale
Original runMarch 15, 2013 – September 12, 2014
Volumes6
Anime television series
Directed bySeiya Numata (Chief)
Masaomi Andō
Produced byYūsuke Morii
Written byFumiaki Maruto
Music byShuntarō Kobayashi
StudioSatelight
Original networkTokyo MX, MBS, TVA, BS11, AT-X
Original run October 6, 2013 – December 29, 2013
Episodes13
Game
White Album 2 - Mini-After Story
DeveloperLeaf
PublisherLeaf
GenreVisual novel
PlatformMicrosoft Windows
Released
  • JP: December 25, 2014
Game
White Album 2: Extended Edition
DeveloperLeaf
PublisherLeaf
GenreEroge, Visual novel
PlatformMicrosoft Windows
Released
  • JP: February 14, 2018

The second part in the series is named White Album 2: Closing Chapter[3] and was released on December 22, 2011.[4] An all-ages PlayStation 3 version combining both chapters published by Aquaplus was released in 2012 and ported for PlayStation Vita in 2013.

A White Album 2 - Mini-After Story epilogue was released for Windows in 2014. White Album 2: Extended Edition, combining both chapters and the epilogue was released in 2018, also for Windows. The gameplay of White Album 2 follows a linear plot line which offers pre-determined scenarios with courses of interaction. An anime television series adaptation aired in Japan between October and December 2013.

Gameplay
A scene in White Album 2 depicting the protagonist talking to both Setsuna Ogiso and Chikashi Hayasaka. The text can be visible at the bottom and some controls and menus are right-aligned at the bottom of this screen.

The gameplay in White Album 2 requires minimal interaction from the player as the player spends the majority of their time on reading the text that is displayed at the bottom of the screen. Unlike other visual novels, there is only one ending in Introductory Chapter and there are no choices for the player to select.

The player's only interaction with the game during the "introductory chapter" and "mini after story" is to click a button to advance the game by rolling the next line of text onto the screen, while both "closing chapter" and "coda" requires comprehensive multiple choice questions to handle the trend of the plot development.

Plot

Settings

White Album 2 takes place in the same setting as its predecessor with approximately ten years having been elapsed since the events of the first White Album.[5] Introductory Chapter begins during the second half of October.[6] Closing Chapter begins three years after the events of Introductory Chapter.[3]

Characters
Haruki Kitahara (北原 春希, Kitahara Haruki)
Voiced by: Takahiro Mizushima
The protagonist of White Album 2. He is a third year student at Hōjō High School and a member of the light music club and has excellent grades. He dates and loves Setsuna, but eventually Kazusa Touma shows her true feelings for him, and Haruki reveals that he loves her too.[7] Haruki plays second guitar. A student with excellent grades, who's meddlesome and preachy. Lately he's been concentrating on practicing the guitar for the school festival, but he's not talented enough to go on stage.
Setsuna Ogiso (小木曽 雪菜, Ogiso Setsuna)
Voiced by: Madoka Yonezawa
Setsuna Ogiso is the first main heroine. She is the triggering of the plot and the only character with an important role in all the routes, even more than Haruki himself. Setsuna is a third year student at Hōjō High School and has been Miss Hōjō two years in a row and enjoys singing karaoke. She is beautiful and friendly when approached, yet places a wall between herself and others so she has no close friends. She refrains from making friends due to her troubled past during her years in middle school. However, she is this way precisely because she was consecutively voted as the prettiest girl in the school, and her classmates all expect her to be a fashionable, wealthy young lady.
Kazusa Touma (冬馬 かずさ, Tōma Kazusa)
Voiced by: Hitomi Nabatame
Kazusa Touma is the second main heroine. She is a third year student at Hōjō and is in the same class as Haruki. She often dozes off in, is late for, and skips class. She is a very talented pianist, and comes from a wealthy family. Kazusa is the daughter of a famous pianist, and a musical genius who dropped out of Hōjō's music division. She is particularly annoyed with Haruki, who has been persistently pestering her for the past half year. However, once Haruki befriends her, she is a valuable ally for the cultural festival. When it comes to music, her passion and confidence is unrivaled.[8]
Io Mizusawa (水沢 依緒, Mizusawa Io)
Voiced by: Ikumi Nakagami
Io is a classmate of Setsuna's and used to be the captain of the basketball team.[9] Io was in the same class as Haruki during first year[9][10] although the two of have known each other since junior high.[10]
Takeya Iizuka (飯塚 武也, Iizuka Takeya)
Voiced by: Takuma Terashima
Takeya is a close friend of Haruki and is the president of the light music club.[6][9] Takeya plays the guitar[11] and is surprisingly popular with girls.[6]

Story

The story of Introductory Chapter begins around the second half of October[6] with Haruki Kitahara and Takeya Iizuka troubled over the fact that all the band members they gathered for the school festival have left.[12] After a bit of hard work, Setsuna Ogiso and Kazusa Touma are recruited into the club. With Haruki, the three of them play together at the school festival.[6] They perform Yuki Morikawa's "White Album",[13] Rina Ogata's "Sound of Destiny", and an original song named "Todokanai Koi".[14][15] When the day draws to an end, Setsuna finds Haruki and then confesses to him and the two of them start going out together.[16]

Development

The director, artist, and character designer for White Album 2 is Takeshi Nakamura[3] who had previously worked on Leaf's other games such as December When There Is No Angel[17] and the PlayStation 3 port of Tears to Tiara. The scenario for White Album 2 is written by Fumiaki Maruto and Kikakuya.[18] The pair has worked together before on other visual novels such as Kono Aozora ni Yakusoku o.[19] The producer for White Album 2 is Naoya Shimokawa.[5]

According to Shimokawa, Maruto was the one who came up with the original design and concept for White Album 2.[5] After hearing the details from Maruto, Shimokawa felt that Maruto may be able to create a game that surpassed the original and decided to run with the idea.[5] When Nakamura was told that he would be the artist for the game, he went to speak with Hisashi Kawata, the artist for the original White Album, Kawata stated that he wanted to see the painful winter images that Nakamura would create.[20]

Nakamura admits that because White Album 2 is a sequel that he does feel some pressure about the work.[20] Despite being busy with Kimi ga Yobu, Megido no Oka de and the PlayStation 3's Tears to Tiara, Nakamura went ahead and created the character designs for the game even though no one had asked him for them.[20]

When asked about the release date of the second part of the game, Shimokawa stated that it would be nice to release it some time during the winter season to align with the feelings that the title "White Album" evokes.[17] Shimokawa believes that the scenario should be all complete by then and that it would come down to whether the art is completed in time or not.[17] Unlike December When There is No Angel where there were two artists, Nakamura is alone this time and has to work on both the heroines and the supporting characters, making it a rather big effort.[17]

Release history

A preorder campaign for Introductory Chapter began on September 25, 2009.[21] Preorders that were received within an unspecified time period received a chibi model figure of Setsuna Ogiso.[17][21] Both the limited and regular editions of Introductory Chapter was originally planned to be released on February 26, 2010 but it was delayed,[22] Introductory Chapter officially went gold on March 12, 2010[18] and was then released two weeks later on March 26, 2010.[22] The limited edition of the game includes a hardcover novel with it.[17][21] The novel is named Yuki ga Toke, Soshite Yuki ga Furu Made (雪が解け、そして雪が降るまで), and was written by Maruto and illustrated by Nakamura.[21] The novel that comes with Introductory Chapter is told from a different perspective.[2] The novel that comes with Closing Chapter is a story set between the events of Introductory Chapter and the second game. Closing Chapter was released on December 22, 2011.[4]

Adaptations

Drama CD

A drama CD entitled Matsuri no Mae: Futari no 24 Jikan (祭りの前～ふたりの24時間～) was released on August 13, 2010 during Comiket 78.[23] The script was written by Fumiaki Maruto and the illustrations were done by Takeshi Nakamura.[23] A short novel was also included in the drama CD.[23] The premise of the drama CD was about the day before the school festival.[23] Haruki Kitahara, Setsuna Ogiso, and Kazusa Touma are voiced by Takahiro Mizushima, Madoka Yonezawa, and Hitomi Nabatame respectively.

Anime

A 13-episode television series anime adaptation of White Album 2 was announced in the May 2013 issue of Kadokawa Shoten's Monthly Newtype magazine.[1] Masaomi Ando directed the series at studio Satelight.[24] Fumiaki Maruto, the scenario writer for the original games, supervised and wrote the series' scripts and composer Naoya Shimokawa served as the music producer for the anime.[1][24] It adapted White Album 2: Introductory Chapter. The series aired in Japan between October 5 and December 28, 2013, on Tokyo MX and on MBS, TVA, BS11 and AT-X later. Crunchyroll streamed the series with English subtitles.[25]

#TitleOriginal air date
1"White Album"October 5, 2013 (2013-10-05)
2"Piano and Guitar, Side by Side"
"Tonariawase no Piano to Gitā" (隣り合わせのピアノとギター)		October 12, 2013 (2013-10-12)
3"The Light Music Club, Together Again"
"Keiongaku Dōkō Kai、Sai Kessei" (軽音楽同好会、再結成)		October 19, 2013 (2013-10-19)
4"Sound of Destiny"October 26, 2013 (2013-10-26)
5"Touching Hearts"
"Fureau Kokoro" (触れあう心)		November 2, 2013 (2013-11-02)
6"Before the Fair"
"Matsuri no Mae" (祭りの前)		November 9, 2013 (2013-11-09)
7"The Last and Greatest Day"
"Saikō no, Saigo no Hi" (最高の、最後の日)		November 16, 2013 (2013-11-16)
8"And Winter Finally Begins"
"Yagate Fuyu ga Hajimatte" (やがて冬が始まって)		November 23, 2013 (2013-11-23)
9"Two Hearts Passing"
"Surechigau Kokoro" (すれ違う心)		November 30, 2013 (2013-11-30)
10"From When the Snow Melts, To When It Falls Again (Part I)"
"Yuki ga Toke, Soshite Yuki ga Furu Made (Zenpen)" (雪が解け、そして雪が降るまで（前編）)		December 7, 2013 (2013-12-07)
11"From When the Snow Melts, To When It Falls Again (Part II)"
"Yuki ga Toke, Soshite Yuki ga Furu Made (Kōhen)" (雪が解け、そして雪が降るまで（後編）)		December 14, 2013 (2013-12-14)
12"Graduation"
"Sotsugyō" (卒業)		December 21, 2013 (2013-12-21)
13"A Love That Cannot Reach"
"Todokanai Koi" (届かない恋)		December 28, 2013 (2013-12-28)

Music

Introductory Chapter has three theme songs, the opening theme "Todokanai Koi" (届かない恋), the ending theme "Twinkle Snow", and the insert song "After All ~Tsuzuru Omoi~" (After All ~綴る想い~). Both the opening theme and insert song is sung by Rena Uehara.[23] The ending theme is performed by Akari Tsuda.[23] Shinya Ishikawa composed both "Todokanai Koi" and "After All: Tsuduru Omoi" while Junya Matsuoka composed "Twinkle Snow".[26]

Matsuoka handled the arrangement of "Todokanai Koi" and Michio Kinugasa arranged "Twinkle Snow" and "After All: Tsuduru Omoi".[26] A CD single containing all three songs was released on May 26, 2010.[23] The single peaked at 65th place in Oricon's rankings for one week.[27]

A really strong point on White Album 2 is music, since the plot is strongly connected to music. The soundtrack of White Album 2 is composed by many pieces and songs, composed by different composers, as Naoya Shimokawa, and sung by Madoka Yonezawa (Setsuna Ogiso), Rena Uehara and Tsuda Akari. In addition, some CD's have been released since White Album 2: Introductory Chapter and Closing Chapter were released.

In 2017, a CD called "White Album 2: Soundtrack ~Kazusa~" was released, being composed by some songs of the visual novel sung by Kazusa Touma (Hitomi Nabatame), one of the heroines of the game.

The opening theme to Closing Chapter, "Shiawase na Kioku" (幸せな記憶), was also sung by Rena Uehara.[28]

The anime series uses "Todokanai Koi '13" (届かない恋 '13) as the opening theme and "Closing '13" and "Sayonara no Koto" (さよならのこと) as ending themes, all three performed by Rena Uehara.

Reception

Introductory Chapter tied for second place in bishōjo game preorders in Japan between the months of December 2009 and January 2010.[29] It was the second most widely sold PC game in March 2010 on Getchu.com.[30]

References
  1. "White Album 2 Romance Visual Novels Get TV Anime". Anime News Network. 2013-04-06. Retrieved 2013-12-29.
  2. "注目の2タイトルとLeafのこれからをプロデューサーに直撃! 下川直哉氏スペシャルインタビュー" [Special interview with Naoya Shimokawa on Leaf's two featured titles], Dengeki Hime (in Japanese), ASCII Media Works (December 2009), p. 105, 2009-10-30, JAN 4910164071296
  3. Leaf (2010-03-26). White Album 2: Introductory Chapter. Leaf.
  4. "Official White Album 2: Closing Chapterwebsite" (in Japanese). Leaf. 2011-09-09. Retrieved 2011-09-18.
  5. Push!! (in Japanese), Max (December 2009), p. 34, 2009-10-21, JAN 4910078831290 Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. Tech Gian (in Japanese), Enterbrain (January 2010), p. 96, 2009-11-21, JAN 4910063050101 Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. "Official White Album 2: Introductory Chapter website "Characters" section: Kitahara Haruki" (in Japanese). Leaf. Retrieved 2010-03-29.
  8. "Official White Album 2: Introductory Chapter website "Characters" section: Touma Kazusa" (in Japanese). Leaf. Retrieved 2010-03-29.
  9. Push!! (in Japanese), Max (January 2010), p. 90, 2009-11-21, JAN 4910078830101 Missing or empty |title= (help)
  10. "Official White Album 2: Introductory Chapter website "Characters" section: Mizusawa Io" (in Japanese). Leaf. 2010-01-22. Retrieved 2010-03-29.
  11. "Official White Album 2: Introductory Chapter website "Characters" section: Iizuka Takeya" (in Japanese). Leaf. 2010-01-22. Retrieved 2010-03-29.
  12. Translated quote: "Ah, what should we do, Haruki? It's down to just you and me now..." Leaf (2010-03-26). White Album 2: Introductory Chapter (in Japanese). Leaf. なぁ春希どうしよう？とうとう俺とお前の二人だけになっちまった．．．
  13. Translated quote: "Ah, for the song we performed just now...let me introduce it to those that are not familiar with it just in case. / It's called "White Album", from about ten years ago or so I guess...it's Yuki Morikawa's debut song." Leaf (2010-03-26). White Album 2: Introductory Chapter (in Japanese). Leaf. あ、それで、今の曲ですが．．．一応、知らない方のために紹介しておきますね / 『WHITE ALBUM』といって、今から10年前くらいかな．．．森川由綺さんのデビュー曲です
  14. Translated quote: "It's an original song we just completed yesterday." Leaf (2010-03-26). White Album 2: Introductory Chapter (in Japanese). Leaf. 昨日完成したばかりの、わたしたちのオリジナルです
  15. Translated quote: "The title is..."Todokanai Koi"." Leaf (2010-03-26). White Album 2: Introductory Chapter (in Japanese). Leaf. タイトルは．．．『届かない恋』です
  16. Translated quote: "So I...well, um, I...I'm going out with Setsuna." Leaf (2010-03-26). White Album 2: Introductory Chapter (in Japanese). Leaf. だから俺．．．だから、その、俺．．．雪菜と、つきあうことにした
  17. Push!! (in Japanese), Max (December 2009), p. 35, 2009-10-21, JAN 4910078831290 Missing or empty |title= (help)
  18. "Official White Album 2: Introductory Chapter website" (in Japanese). Leaf. 2010-04-02. Retrieved 2010-04-02.
  19. ""Kono Aozora ni Yakusoku o" official website's staff section" (in Japanese). Giga. Retrieved 2010-03-29.
  20. Tech Gian (in Japanese), Enterbrain (January 2010), p. 94, 2009-11-21, JAN 4910063050101 Missing or empty |title= (help)
  21. "Official White Album 2: Introductory Chapter website "Product" section" (in Japanese). Leaf. 2010-02-19. Retrieved 2010-03-29.
  22. "「WHITE ALBUM ２」発売日変更のお知らせ" [White Album 2 release date change notification] (in Japanese). Aquaplus. 2010-02-17. Retrieved 2010-03-29.
  23. "Official White Album 2: Introductory Chapter website "Special" section" (in Japanese). Leaf. 2010-09-17. Retrieved 2010-09-17.
  24. "White Album 2 TV Anime Promo Streamed". Anime News Network. 2013-08-11. Retrieved 2013-08-11.
  25. "Crunchyroll to Stream White Album 2, 3rd Season of Teekyū Anime". Anime News Network. 2013-10-03. Retrieved 2013-12-29.
  26. "TVアニメ『AB！』『WA2』など近日発売のCD4タイトルを紹介" [Introduction of four upcoming CD singles from works such as the TV anime "AB!" and "WA2"] (in Japanese). Dengeki Online. 2010-05-22. Retrieved 2010-05-24.
  27. "届かない恋／Ｔｗｉｎｋｌｅ　Ｓｎｏｗ 上原れな，津田朱里のプロフィールならオリコン芸能人事典-ORICON STYLE" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 2010-07-11.
  28. "『WHITE ALBUM2～closing chapter～』オープニングテーマ歌唱決定!!" (in Japanese). F.I.X. Records. 2011-09-30. Retrieved 2011-10-29.
  29. "PCpress' Preorder Ranking" (in Japanese). PCpress. Retrieved 2010-03-13.
  30. "PCゲームセールスランキング 2010年3月" [PC Game Sales Ranking March 2010] (in Japanese). Getchu.com. Retrieved 2010-04-04.
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