Starry Sky (series)

Starry☆Sky, known as Sta☆Ska (スタ☆スカ) for short in Japan, is an otome game developed by Honeybee in 2009. It was separated into four games with three love interests in each, making a total of twelve possible love interests in total. It was well-received in Japan and an anime adaptation is even in the making.

Plot
Tsukiko Yahisa is the first female student to enroll at Seigatsu Academy, a former all-boys school specializing in astronomy. She is closely watched over by her childhood friends, Kanata Nanami and Suzuya Tohzuki, who often protect her from the male student body. Throughout the games, she befriends other young men whose personalities are based on the Western zodiac constellations.

In the first game, Starry☆Sky~in Spring~, not long after Tsukiko transfers to Seigatsu Academy, a half-French boy named Yoh Tomoe follows suit to pursue her. This action stirs up emotions from Kanata and Suzuya, both of whom had long loved Tsukiko.

In the second game, Starry☆Sky~in Summer~, Tsukiko has joined the academy's archery club. As she practices for the summer competition, she simultaneously solves the problems between her teammates (Homare Kanakubo, Ryunosuke Miyaji, and Azusa Kinose).

In the third game, Starry☆Sky~in Autumn~, Tsukiko becomes involved with three teachers at her school (Iku Mizushima, Naoshi Haruki, and Kotarou Hoshizuki).

The last game, Starry☆Sky~in Winter~, details Tsukiko's involvement with the student council, which includes Tsubasa Amaha, Kazuki Shiranui, and Hayato Aozora.

Characters
The main character of the game is Tsukiko Yahisa, although her name can be changed by the player. The other 12 supporting characters are male personifications of the Western zodiac and serve as her love interests. All characters were designed by Kazuaki.

Tsukiko Yahisa

 * Tsukiko Yahisa (夜久　月子 (ヤヒサ ツキコ))
 * Tsukiko is the heroine of all of the Starry☆Sky games, although her name can be changed by the player. She is the first female student to attend Seigatsu Academy. She is a second year.

Spring

 * Yoh Tomoe (土萌　羊)
 * Yoh represents the Capricorn. His French name is Henri Samuel Jean Aimée. Likewise, he is half-French and was often teased for that as a kid. He met Tsukiko when he was young, and because she was the only person who didn't make fun of him for being half-French, he fell in love with her and asked his father to let him transfer to Seigatsu Academy in order to pursue her. Initially disdainful to everyone except Tsukiko, eventually, he learns the importance of having friends. His father hopes to work in America to develop a special astronomy project. He is a second year and is voiced by Hikaru Midorikawa.


 * Kanata Nanami (七海　哉太)
 * Kanata represents the Pisces. Brash and impulsive, he has been friends with Tsukiko since childhood and has developed feelings for her. He does not get along very well with Yoh. Kanata suffers from a terminal illness that leaves him in a lethargic state, which is why he often skips classes and faints without reason. However, he refuses to seek medical help and often gets into school fights that worsen his health to protect Tsukiko. He is a second year and is voiced by Tomokazu Sugita.


 * Suzuya Tohzuki (東月　錫也)
 * Suzuya represents the Cancer. Calm and friendly, he was friends with Tsukiko and Kanata since childhood and often watches out for them like an older brother. He is very good at cooking and often uses the school's kitchen to prepare food for his friends. Suzuya is also in love with Tsukiko, but because he knows that Kanata also loves her, he held back. Beneath his warm exterior, Suzuya has a dark side and worries about Tsukiko constantly. He is a second year and is voiced by Daisuke Ono.

Summer

 * Homare Kanakubo (金久保　誉)
 * Homare represents the Taurus. He is the captain of the archery club. He is openly friendly and often settles arguments between Ryunosuke and Azusa, but is prone to feel pressured for the success of the archery club. He is a third year and is voiced by Soichiro Hoshi.


 * Ryunosuke Miyaji (宮地　龍之介)
 * Ryunosuke represents the Scorpio. He is the sub-captain of the archery club. He appears to be serious and calm, but hides a penchant for sweets. Ryunosuke has kept an eye out for Tsukiko ever since he first saw her. He is a second year and is voiced by Hiroshi Kamiya.


 * Azusa Kinose (木ノ瀬　梓)
 * Azusa represents the Sagittarius. Although he is a newcomer to the archery club, he has met Tsukiko before and inspired her to become better at it. He is cocky and confident of himself; while he declares himself as a natural genius, he is in fact insecure of his abilities as he can't put his heart into anything. Azusa often flirts with Tsukiko and his actions annoy Ryunosuke a lot. He is a first year and is voiced by Jun Fukuyama.

Autumn

 * Iku Mizushima (水嶋　郁)
 * Iku represents the Gemini. He is currently a student teacher and is friends with the school nurse, Kotarou, since they were children. Iku and his twin sister Yui were both born with poor health, and Yui died while they were in high school. He was formerly the lead singer of a band the heroine liked, but destroyed his voice while overworking himself due to the pain of his sister's death. His band members turned out to be using him for money and promptly dismissed him when he could no longer sing. Iku lost trust in everyone until Tsukiko helped him gain it back. He is voiced by Kouji Yusa.


 * Naoshi Haruki (陽日　直獅)
 * Naoshi represents the Leo. He is Tsukiko's homeroom teacher and the advisor for the archery club. He is energetic and enjoys the "youth" part of high school since he spent high school mostly studying, and because of that, a lot of students can't take him seriously and often play pranks on him. Naoshi's best friend, Hiroki, got him to enjoy high school, but Hiroki was hit by a car saving the girl he liked. He is voiced by Daisuke Kishio.


 * Kotarou Hoshizuki (星月　琥太郎)
 * Kotarou represents the Libra. He is the school nurse who had ambitions to become a doctor. Iku's sister, Yui, had feelings for him, but after her death Kotarou blamed himself for not being able to save her. His father is the chairman of the academy, but after his father's retirement, the position was given to Kotarou's sister, Koharu. However, he ended up obtaining the position due to Koharu's wish to work overseas. He is voiced by Akira Ishida.

Winter

 * Tsubasa Amaha (天羽　翼)
 * Tsubasa represents the Aquarius. He is an officer of the student council. He often lights up the mood in the student council. However, he is emotionally unstable. At a very young age he was abandoned by his parents who got divorced. He was taken in by his grandparents on his mother's side. When Tsubasa was young, he spent a lot of time with his grandfather and they often made inventions together. Even now, Tsubasa still likes to invent things. His grandfather's dying wish made Tsubasa promise to take care of his grandmother. His grandmother sent Tsubasa away to school, and ever since Tsubasa likes to be alone. He thinks that being alone is better than being with people because he is afraid of losing things that are important to him. He is a first year and is voiced by Kenichi Suzumura.


 * Kazuki Shiranui (不知火　一樹)
 * Kazuki represents the Aries. He is the president of the student council. He is a third year and is voiced by Yuichi Nakamura.


 * Hayato Aozora (青空　颯斗)
 * Hayato represents the Virgo. He is the vice president of the student council. He is a second year and is voiced by Daisuke Hirakawa.

Minor Characters

 * Idiot Trio (バカトリオ)
 * Shinya Koguma (小熊　伸也), Yahiko Shiratori (白鳥　弥彦), and Takafumi Inukai (犬飼　隆文) are members of the archery club and are dubbed as the "idiot trio." Koguma is voiced by Kazuma Horie, Shiratori is voiced by Takashi Kondo, and Inukai is voiced by Hiroyuki Yoshino.


 * Ooshirou Shirogane (白銀　桜土郎)
 * Ooshirou is an acquaintance of Kazuki's and carries a camera everywhere, being a journalist for the school paper. He is in third year and is voiced by Junichi Suwabe.

Game
Starry☆Sky was separated into four games, each one taking place in a different season with three possible love interests, for the PC. The first game, Starry☆Sky~in Spring~, was released on March 27, 2009. The opening theme song was titled Starry Sky and was performed by Hikaru Midorikawa, the voice of Yoh Tomoe. Following its release, the second installment, Starry☆Sky~in Summer~ was released on June 26, 2009. The opening theme song was titled Shoot High and was performed by Hiroshi Kamiya, the voice of Ryunosuke Miyaji. The third game, Starry☆Sky~in Autumn~, was released on September 25, 2009, and its theme song was Lies, Truth, and Our Destiny performed by Daisuke Kishio, the voice of Naoshi Haruki. The last game, Starry☆Sky~in Winter~, was released on December 25, 2009, and the opening theme song was Grayed Out performed by Yuichi Nakamura, the voice of Kazuki Shiranui.

CDs
The limited edition of all the games were bundled with a CD with the full version of the opening theme and a separate drama CD featuring the male characters in the game. A full-length drama CD for the spring characters was released on August 28, 2009. In addition, a soundtrack for the game's music was released on September 25, 2009.

Throughout 2009, twelve date CDs were released monthly, starting with Yoh Tomoe (the Capricorn) on January 30, 2009, to Azusa Kinose (the Sagittarius) on December 25, 2009. The date CDs feature the voice actors for each of the twelve possible love interests in the game and simulate a date and a romance between the listener and the character. Each CD came with a special coupon. If the coupons from all twelve CDs were submitted to Honeybee at the end of the year, one would receive a secret date CD featuring a 13th character, Shiki Kagurazuka (voiced by Mamoru Miyano), who represents the Ophiuchus, the 13th constellation.

Manga
Short manga stories about the characters of each game have been collected into anthologies by DNA Media Comics. Starry☆Sky~in Spring~ Comic Anthology was released on October 24, 2009, and features all the characters from the spring game. Similarly, Starry☆Sky~in Summer~ Comic Anthology was released on December 25, 2009.

Anime
An anime adaptation is planned and will be distributed through Animate.tv's website. It will be directed by Kiyoko Sayama.

Reception
The game was well-received upon its release in Japan. The Spring game was featured in magazines such as Dengeki Girls'Style.