No Thank You!!! is the first visual I had the pleasure of testing for MangaGamer, and when I first received the offer, I could honestly say I was a bit daunted. Not only was the game lengthy, it was obviously so far out of my genre it wasn’t even funny, considering the subject matter. Despite that, I was happy to dive in and get the full experience that it could offer.
No Thank You!!! stars Haru, a whimsically carefree man suffering from amnesia after saving someone from being hit by a car. With no memories or hints to his past, Haru finds himself employed in a bar through the very man that he saved. Haru spends his summer working at this bar to pass the time, all the while meeting new coworkers, experiencing the sights and sounds of a fresh life, sexually harassing those around him, and possibly being roped into something a little shadier than he originally expected…
The game quickly impressed me with its likeable cast and quirky main character. Haru’s endless enthusiasm for the people around him really set a good tone for the entire story, and his exchanges with those characters ranged from idiotic, to emotional, to even downright hilarious.
Each member of the cast stood out in their own way, and the dialogue combined with Haru’s antics really made it a memorable experience. Each route had a very distinct tone and flow that matched the focused love interest. You always felt like you had a good sense of who they were by the time you finished each segment. My favorite character of the bunch ended up being Maki, but maybe I’m biased towards his silence in comparison to our eccentric main character.
The plot itself surprised me with how fleshed out it was. Although it felt a bit thin towards the end of each route, I did enjoy the story as a whole. There are all kinds of interesting bits that are added after completing each route as well, so there are plenty of reasons to keep reading afterwards. No Thank You!!! is definitely a visual novel created in the form of a big puzzle; each route you finish hands you another piece that will help you visualize the bigger picture waiting for you at the end. The stories all interweave to form a big spider web of events that span the breadth of the entire game. I was pleasantly surprised at the way everything seemed to fit together as I finished each story.
I definitely enjoyed my time with No Thank You!!!. The music fit the bar atmosphere of the game perfectly, the art and other character graphics were well-done, the voice acting was fantastic, the plot hooked me even though I’m not the target audience (especially the bad ends), and the characters were enjoyable.
Oh, right. And the sex scenes.
I’ll be honest, there’s a LOT of sex scenes here. I was really amazed at the variety of features that were included around them as well. Ejaculation location automation, body hair sliders… this game really has it all. The subject matter is extremely varied as well; there are some fetishes here that I never even thought of encountering in a visual novel. Consider me enlightened.
Overall, if you’re a fan of Boy’s Love, No Thank You!!! is definitely right up your alley. I might not have personally enjoyed the sex scenes, but I can definitely see others clamoring for the subject matter here. Sex aside, I found plenty in this game that even I could enjoy, and I think that really speaks volumes for a visual novel genre that I would have never thought of touching before this. If I liked this game, I can only imagine what someone into this fandom would possibly think.
Thanks for reading!
–OsirisOmega