The Bird Dating Sim That Hid its True Story
Elijah
30,431 views
Hatoful Boyfriend is an otome visual novel created by Hato Moa, where every romanceable character is a bird. It began as an April Fools' joke back in 2011, before receiving a full release in 2014.
Over the years, YouTubers and streamers helped popularise the game, giving it a reputation as the weird bird dating simulator. Which, at first glance, fits right alongside games like I Love You, Colonel Sanders! and Date Everything!
Yet Hatoful Boyfriend is also hiding a much larger story from the moment you start the game. One involving dark conspiracies, unexpected twists, and hellish fiends bent on bringing about the apocalypse.
But even after all these years, though, that story is still often overshadowed by the game's premise—especially on YouTube.
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A few notes about this video:
1. This isn't really a video essay
I’d describe this more as a condensed retelling of Hatoful Boyfriend’s story, with a handful of visuals added purely for my own enjoyment. Honestly, the video was partly an excuse for me to draw some of my favourite scenes.
2. Name order disclaimer
Throughout my narration, I pronounced Japanese names in first-name–last-name order for consistency and ease of delivery. When directly quoting the game's dialogue or text, however, I preserve the original name order as presented in the game.
3. Some story details have been omitted or rearranged
Since this is a condensed retelling, certain scenes, lines, and details have been cut or moved around to keep the pacing tighter and the overall story easier to follow.
4. About the visuals
Some scenes don't have accompanying visuals and instead use sound effects or other audio to carry the moment. This was mainly a time-saving decision while balancing the video with my academic responsibilities. Whenever I did draw a scene, it was usually because I already had a specific composition or visual idea in mind that I really wanted to make.
5. There are a couple of laggy moments in the game footage
Sorry about those!
6. This video isn't perfect, but it's mine
I can only hope I managed to make more people interested in this game. Hatoful Boyfriend has been my favourite game for years, and I’ve always wanted it to get the recognition it deserves as a(n otome) visual novel.
-
Music:
Haru no Fuku Basho De - Hatoful Boyfriend
Ohayou Sayori! - Doki Doki Literature Club!
Dreams Of Love and Literature - Doki Doki Literature Club!
A Home For Flowers (Daisy) - OMORI
Sunflowers and Illusions - MOTHER 3
Shijima No Umi - Hatoful Boyfriend
Sinking - OMORI
Dispersion Relation - Hatoful Boyfriend
Ageha Memo - Hatoful Boyfriend
JILT - Hatoful Boyfriend
Beautiful Dead - Danganronpa
Closing Argument - Danganronpa
Island ester (slowed) - Eastward
Countdown - OneShot
12-G+ì Haijin 12go Haito - Hatoful Boyfriend
Classic Horror 3 - Hatoful Boyfriend
Despair Searching - Danganronpa V3
Here We Are - UNDERTALE
Climax Reasoning V3 - Danganronpa V3
Numbers - OMORI
Nightmare in Locker - Danganronpa V3
Almost Hell Heaven - Danganronpa V3
Living in Lazy Parallel World - Danganronpa V3
H+ìkai No Zench+ì - Hatoful Boyfriend
Cat Cemetery - Yume 2kki
33 Crossing - Anodyne
03 _ Solitude - Dreaming Sarah
Dear Little Brother - OMORI
Sugisarishi Hibi - Hatoful Boyfriend
Tsuioku - Hatoful Boyfriend
Hope Searching - Danganronpa V3
Tozetsu - Hatoful Boyfriend
Sovereign Quarter - Hatoful Boyfriend
Meguru Hakoniwa - Hatoful Boyfriend
Hana Yume - Hatoful Boyfriend
All sketch artwork supplementing the video is mine.
In case I don’t see ya, good afternoon, good evening, and good night.
20 Comments
Nothing would prepare my naive self for the life-long despair i was about to experience.
Shuu: So you see, I was gay for your dad....
All I ever remembered was the world's becoming pudding.
Im so glad there's so much more
I aspire to Hato Moa’s level of shitpostery and sincerity in their writing.
your art is so beautiful and the video is amazing!! I'd love to see a holiday star video, but i understand that its a Lot to get through :3c wonderful video, im so excited that ppl still care about this game
I love the dark story in the background. I love these characters. I LOVE BIRDS! (Not...not like that)
There was a youtuber that played the game in full back when it was new. I don't know if the videos are still around, though. :(
Anywho, I hope you cover the sequel. I don't know if it has a remade version, though, so I'm worried it may be harder to get the footage.
But darn it, I love the sequel, too.
The Bird Dating Sim That Hid its True Story
Elijah
30,431 views
Hatoful Boyfriend is an otome visual novel created by Hato Moa, where every romanceable character is a bird. It began as an April Fools' joke back in 2011, before receiving a full release in 2014.
Over the years, YouTubers and streamers helped popularise the game, giving it a reputation as the weird bird dating simulator. Which, at first glance, fits right alongside games like I Love You, Colonel Sanders! and Date Everything!
Yet Hatoful Boyfriend is also hiding a much larger story from the moment you start the game. One involving dark conspiracies, unexpected twists, and hellish fiends bent on bringing about the apocalypse.
But even after all these years, though, that story is still often overshadowed by the game's premise—especially on YouTube.
-
A few notes about this video:
1. This isn't really a video essay
I’d describe this more as a condensed retelling of Hatoful Boyfriend’s story, with a handful of visuals added purely for my own enjoyment. Honestly, the video was partly an excuse for me to draw some of my favourite scenes.
2. Name order disclaimer
Throughout my narration, I pronounced Japanese names in first-name–last-name order for consistency and ease of delivery. When directly quoting the game's dialogue or text, however, I preserve the original name order as presented in the game.
3. Some story details have been omitted or rearranged
Since this is a condensed retelling, certain scenes, lines, and details have been cut or moved around to keep the pacing tighter and the overall story easier to follow.
4. About the visuals
Some scenes don't have accompanying visuals and instead use sound effects or other audio to carry the moment. This was mainly a time-saving decision while balancing the video with my academic responsibilities. Whenever I did draw a scene, it was usually because I already had a specific composition or visual idea in mind that I really wanted to make.
5. There are a couple of laggy moments in the game footage
Sorry about those!
6. This video isn't perfect, but it's mine
I can only hope I managed to make more people interested in this game. Hatoful Boyfriend has been my favourite game for years, and I’ve always wanted it to get the recognition it deserves as a(n otome) visual novel.
-
Music:
Haru no Fuku Basho De - Hatoful Boyfriend
Ohayou Sayori! - Doki Doki Literature Club!
Dreams Of Love and Literature - Doki Doki Literature Club!
A Home For Flowers (Daisy) - OMORI
Sunflowers and Illusions - MOTHER 3
Shijima No Umi - Hatoful Boyfriend
Sinking - OMORI
Dispersion Relation - Hatoful Boyfriend
Ageha Memo - Hatoful Boyfriend
JILT - Hatoful Boyfriend
Beautiful Dead - Danganronpa
Closing Argument - Danganronpa
Island ester (slowed) - Eastward
Countdown - OneShot
12-G+ì Haijin 12go Haito - Hatoful Boyfriend
Classic Horror 3 - Hatoful Boyfriend
Despair Searching - Danganronpa V3
Here We Are - UNDERTALE
Climax Reasoning V3 - Danganronpa V3
Numbers - OMORI
Nightmare in Locker - Danganronpa V3
Almost Hell Heaven - Danganronpa V3
Living in Lazy Parallel World - Danganronpa V3
H+ìkai No Zench+ì - Hatoful Boyfriend
Cat Cemetery - Yume 2kki
33 Crossing - Anodyne
03 _ Solitude - Dreaming Sarah
Dear Little Brother - OMORI
Sugisarishi Hibi - Hatoful Boyfriend
Tsuioku - Hatoful Boyfriend
Hope Searching - Danganronpa V3
Tozetsu - Hatoful Boyfriend
Sovereign Quarter - Hatoful Boyfriend
Meguru Hakoniwa - Hatoful Boyfriend
Hana Yume - Hatoful Boyfriend
All sketch artwork supplementing the video is mine.
In case I don’t see ya, good afternoon, good evening, and good night.
This is a spoiler warning for the comment section as a whole. Please watch the video in full before reading further. You have been warned!
It’s not shown in the video, but the aftermath of the BBL route has confirmed that (1) Yuuya’s alive after the events, and (2) Shuu is severely crippled and Kazuaki has chosen to stay by his side to look after him and aid him through his physical limitations.
(Jeeze I wonder how long until he may or may not snap again.)
Also!
There is a game called Holiday Star that follows Hatoful Boyfriend (though not quite as a direct narrative sequel), and it answers some of the questions you may still have after this video.
I originally planned to include Holiday Star in this video, but doing so would have made an already-long video even longer than it needed to be.
As for whether I'll make a follow-up covering Holiday Star... I'm not entirely sure! It diverges from the original game quite a bit, and I'm more inclined to encourage anyone interested to experience it for themselves. There's plenty of additional content beyond its overarching narrative, and with December coming up, Holiday Star would undoubtedly be a wonderful game to play for the occasion.
And finally, thank you all so much for 11,000 subscribers! You never know what I'll upload next.