Gift (visual novel)

Gift (ギフト) is an adult Japanese visual novel developed by Moonstone which was released as a limited edition version on May 27, 2005 playable on the PC as a DVD; a regular edition followed on June 10, 2005. The original game was a collaboration project where the company Circus helped to produce it, though Moonstone did the majority of the work involved. Gift is Moonstone's fourth title, and was followed up with a fandisc called Gift Rainbow-colored Stories released on January 27, 2006 for the PC. A PlayStation 2 version named Gift: Prism was released on October 19, 2006 by Sweets with adult content removed. The gameplay in Gift follows a plot line which offers pre-determined scenarios with courses of interaction, and focuses on the appeal of the five female main characters. The story revolves around Haruhiko Amami, a male high school student living in a town where a rainbow is always seen in the sky.

A set of five drama CDs, one for each heroine, was released by Lantis between September 2005 and February 2006. There have been five light novels written, two Internet radio shows produced, along with a manga series serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's seinen magazine Comptiq between January 2006 and February 2007. An anime adaptation, produced by Oriental Light and Magic, aired in Japan between October 2006 and December 2006, containing twelve episodes.

Gameplay
The gameplay requires little interaction from the player as most of the duration of the game is spent on simply reading the text that will appear on the screen; this text represents either dialogue between the various characters, or the inner thoughts of the protagonist. Every so often, the player will come to a "decision point" where he or she is given the chance to choose from options that are displayed on the screen, typically two to three at a time. During these times, gameplay pauses until a choice is made that furthers the plot in a specific direction, depending on which choice the player makes.

There are five main plot lines that the player will have the chance to experience, one for each of the heroines in the story. In order to view the five plot lines to their entirety, the player will have to replay the game multiple times and choose different choices during the decision points in order to further the plot in an alternate direction.

Story
Gift is a story that revolves around high school student Haruhiko Amami and his strong connection to Gift ' s mysterious power. The town of Narasakicho, where Gift's story takes place, has two distinguishing characteristics: a rainbow that seems permanently fixed in the sky no matter the weather, and an ability known as Gift possessed by all its inhabitants. Gift ' s power can only be evoked by each person once in a lifetime, and is able to grant a single miracle. To be successful, a Gift must reflect the shared feelings of both the giver and the receiver. If the feelings are not mutual, the Gift is distorted and has the ability to wreak havoc on the surrounding area. When this happens, a black streak appears in the rainbow above town until Gift is used correctly. The story begins as Haruhiko's younger sister, Riko Fukimine, returns home after several years away. Beginning with her appearance, Haruhiko's life starts to change very quickly and feelings of the past begin to surface once more.

Characters

 * Haruhiko Amami (天海春彦)
 * (PC), Yūki Tai (PS2/anime)
 * Haruhiko is the main protagonist of Gift. He is a childhood friend of Kirino and the older brother of Riko, though they are not related by blood. He tends to be blunt in his mannerisms and likes to tease Kirino constantly. Whenever Gift is concerned, he is adamant that it is a helpful and worthwhile power to possess, for he claims that he owes his own life to it. His mother died many years ago, soon after his birth.


 * Riko Fukamine (深峰莉子)
 * (PC), Ai Shimizu (PS2/anime)
 * Riko is Haruhiko's younger sister in name, although they are the same age and are in the same class together in school after she enrolls. In third grade, she joined Haruhiko's family due to family circumstances and Haruhiko immediately treated her as if she really were his little sister. When they were younger, she left for several years, only to appear again one day out of the blue years later.


 * Kirino Konosaka (木之坂霧乃)
 * (PC), Ui Miyazaki (PS2/anime)
 * Kirino is Haruhiko's childhood friend and next door neighbor. They are such good friends that she often comes over to his house in the mornings before school to not only wake him up, but also to make him breakfast. She tends to be the unfortunate receiver of much of Haruhiko's teasing due to her timid nature, though she does not mind it much, as she is in love with Haruhiko.


 * Chisa Fujimiya (藤宮千紗)
 * (PC), Ryoko Shintani (PS2/anime)
 * Chisa is Kirino's best friend. Unknown to everyone, though, she is in fact a witch that often flies around town on her broomstick. She has a small crow familiar named Jinta.


 * Rinka Hokazono (外薗綸花)
 * (PC), Shiho Kawaragi (PS2/anime)
 * Rinka is a very tough but beautiful girl who is able to defend herself without even breaking a sweat. She is a master at the Ousō style of swordsmanship and was even a teacher of the kendo club in junior high school. She has a series of special training devices near the gym which are dangerous to nearly anyone except for her.


 * Yukari Kamishiro (神代縁)
 * (PC), Ami Koshimizu (PS2/anime)
 * Yukari, or "Yukarin" as she is known by her friends, is another student at the school, and she also works as a maid at Chisa's house. She acts older than her age and is skilled at treating injuries. She tends to speak with a quiet voice.


 * Masaki Edo (江戸真紀)
 * (PC), Kazutoshi Hatano (PS2/anime)
 * Masaki, known as Maki to his friends, is one of Haruhiko's good friends who is obsessed with things having to do with science. He will often invent outrageous devices that eventually go out of control.


 * Nami Satō (里緒奈美)
 * (PC), Yukiko Iwai (PS2/anime)
 * Nami is a girl who has been seen clinging to Rinka ever since Rinka saved her in the past. She is very enthusiastic when it comes to anything concerning Rinka, which often causes her to rave about how amazing Rinka is. She has shown herself to be jealous of others who may seem to be more than just friends with Rinka, which could be because she is in love with her.

Release history
Gift was first introduced to the public in Japan as a limited edition version on May 27, 2005 as a DVD playable on a Microsoft Windows PC. The regular edition was released on June 10, 2005, also as a DVD, and then another version was released on December 16, 2005 as a CD-ROM. A fandisc called called Gift Rainbow-colored Stories (ギフト にじいろストーリーズ) was released on January 27, 2006 as a CD-ROM. A version for the PlayStation 2 (PS2) with adult content removed, called Gift: Prism, was developed by Sweets and released in Japan on October 19, 2006 in limited and regular editions. The PS2 game was re-released on August 9, 2007 at a lower price.

Drama CDs
There are five drama CDs based on the series published by Lantis. Each of the CDs covers one of the five heroines starting with Riko, and going through with Kirino, Chisa, Rinka, and Yukari, in that order. The first CD was released on September 22, 2005, and the final CD was released on February 22, 2006.

Internet radio shows
Lantis Net Radio has hosted two Gift-related shows: Gift Rainbow Station (aired from October 11, 2005 to May 23, 2006), and Gift Rainbow Homeroom (aired from July 14 to December 29, 2006). The two radio shows feature different on-air personalities.

Light novels
There have been five light novels based on the series published by Harvest. Each of the novels covers one of the five heroines starting with Riko, and going through with Kirino, Rinka, Chisa, and Yukari, in that order. The first novel was released on December 25, 2005, and the final novel was released on May 1, 2006. The novels were written by Japanese author Mako Komao, with accompanied illustrations provided by Mugi Komeda, Mitha, Koma Miyama, and Mamoru Naruse.

Manga
Gift's manga adaptation, illustrated by Yukiwo and entitled Gift: Under the Rainbow, was serialized in Kadokawa's seinen Comptiq magazine between January 10, 2006 and February 10, 2007. Two bound volumes were released for the thirteen chapters produced.

Anime
The anime adaptation, entitled Gift: Eternal Rainbow (ギフト〜エターナルレインボー〜) aired in Japan between October 6 and December 22, 2006, containing twelve episodes. An extra episode was released as a DVD-exclusive original video animation on June 22, 2007. The anime's opening theme is "Niji Iro Sentimental" by Miyuki Hashimoto and the ending theme is "Kokoro Niji o Kakete" by Misato Fujiya.