Sentimental Journey

“Sentimental Graffiti” was first released for the Sega Saturn on 22 January 1998 by NEC Interchannel as a romance simulation game.

The name “Sentimental Graffiti” later came to refer to the entire media-mix project, including games, anime, novels, radio, and live events.

The official short nickname is “Sentimental”, often shortened further by fans and staff to “Senchi”.

Another very common fan nickname is “Sengra”, which spread through magazines and word of mouth.

After the original Saturn version, the game was ported to Microsoft Windows (Windows 95, 98, NT 4.0) and PlayStation.

In 2010, the PlayStation version was re-released as a downloadable “Game Archives” title on PlayStation Network.

The core premise is simple but emotionally loaded.

A boy who moved constantly because of his father’s job receives a mysterious letter that says, “I want to see you,” and travels all over Japan to reunite with twelve girls from his past and find the sender.

The explosive success of the 1994 romance game Tokimeki Memorial convinced many in the industry that romance simulations could be major hits on home consoles.

NEC Interchannel’s Toshio Tabeta, a key staff member from the graduation-themed game series “Sotsugyo,” teamed up with producer Masayoshi Kubota of the company Marcus to design a new flagship brand inspired by this boom.

Internally, the project was even pitched as a “next Tokimeki Memorial.”

Writer Raita Ookura was brought in to handle all core scenarios and text, and illustrator Tomohisa Kai (credited as the original character designer) created the initial image illustrations for the heroines.

Many of the voice actresses cast for the twelve heroines were newcomers from the agency Aoni Production.

Half of the heroines were cast by general public audition, which was unusual at the time and part of the project’s promotion strategy.

Most of the staff were not famous when production started, which was intentional.

The idea was to build a completely new brand by putting massive marketing support behind fresh staff and a fresh voice cast.

Ookura had a prior indirect connection with NEC Interchannel through a novel titled “Marriage – Someday, With You…,” which followed the lives of five heroines after the game “Sotsugyo.”

Because of this link, the high school Seika Girls’ High School from the Sotsugyo series appears in Sentimental Graffiti as well.

One of the heroines, Asuka Hoshino, is a student at Seika Girls’ High School.

Behind the scenes, there is even an official setting that Asuka is in the same class as the five heroines from “Sotsugyo III: Wedding Bell,” and promotional art depicts them together.

This effectively places Sentimental Graffiti in the same shared universe as the Sotsugyo games.

For that reason, fans sometimes treat it as a related or spin-off entry in the Sotsugyo family.

From the beginning, NEC Interchannel promoted the project aggressively.

Game magazines ran continuous features and ads, and the magazine Dengeki G’s carried a linked serial novel.

In 1997, TBS Radio launched the show “Sentimental Night”, hosted by the heroine voice actresses, to support the project.

The twelve main actresses formed a unit called SG Girls, who appeared at events, live concerts, and promotional stages.

Merchandise, drama CDs, and novels were produced well before the main game was released.

A “pre-disc” called Sentimental Graffiti First Window was pressed in a limited run of 30,000 copies and became notoriously hard to find.

Demand was so intense that First Window traded for up to around 15,000 yen on the secondary market.

Before the game even hit shelves, it was rumored that royalties from character goods, CDs, and books had already reached several hundred million yen in total.

There was even a joking comment inside the industry: “If it’s already made this much money, maybe we don’t need to finish the actual game anymore.”

Despite the joke, the game did eventually release, though after delays.

Originally scheduled for November 1997, the Saturn version finally launched on 22 January 1998.

Sales of the first run were healthy, thanks to the massive promotion and pent-up fan interest.

Anime: Sentimental Journey

As part of the media-mix push, a television anime series titled “Sentimental Journey” was produced.

Instead of re-telling the game’s story, the anime presents individual episodes focusing on each heroine’s emotional journey and memories.

Most game stories are told from the boy’s point of view, but the anime generally uses the heroines’ perspectives.

A notable exception is Episode 3, “Yuu Nanase – Angel in the Starry Night,” which uses a third-person viewpoint to narrate Yuu’s story.

In Episode 10, “Emiru Nagakura – Endless Story,” an animated glass soda bottle voiced by Takeshi Aono serves as narrative narrator.

However, the emotional core is still told through Emiru’s perspective, maintaining the personal focus.

The anime helped maintain fan interest in the franchise and tied into later game releases.

It also generated its own character image songs and merchandise, especially tied to the SG Girls.

PlayStation Spin‑Off: Sentimental Journey Game

Following the TV anime, a PlayStation game titled Sentimental Journey was developed as a companion title.

Unlike the original simulation game, this was published by Banpresto, not NEC Interchannel.

Production delays again plagued the release schedule.

The postponement hurt momentum, and sales for the Sentimental Journey game were underwhelming.

Once this title failed to meet expectations, the overall popularity of the Sentimental Graffiti brand started to decline sharply.

Banpresto eventually withdrew from the series, and NEC Interchannel resumed control.

Visual Novel: Sentimental Graffiti ~ Promise

“Sentimental Graffiti ~ Promise” is a visual novel adaptation based on the serial novels in Dengeki G’s Magazine and their first compiled volume.

It focuses on the protagonist’s childhood memories and separations with each of the twelve girls.

The PlayStation version was released on 29 March 2001 by NEC Interchannel.

A Dreamcast version followed on 25 December 2003.

Later, on 22 January 2019, the PlayStation version was made available as a Game Archives digital title.

A planned companion game, based on the lower-volume novel “Reunion,” was announced but eventually cancelled.

The original novels were published under Kadokawa’s Sneaker Bunko label in two volumes: “Sentimental Graffiti ~ Promise” (upper) and “Sentimental Graffiti ~ Reunion” (lower).

“Promise” depicts the boy’s life with each heroine in childhood and the moment of separation, while “Reunion” essentially mirrors the game’s opening by covering his later visits and reunions.

Interestingly, the “Reunion” novel sets the reunion during summer vacation.

In the original Saturn game, however, the story begins in spring break, so there are small seasonal differences.

New Editions: Plus and Confession Stories

In October 2004, to coincide with the release of the later game “Sentimental Prelude,” publisher Ohzora released new novel editions.

These were titled “Sentimental Graffiti ~ Promise+”, “Sentimental Graffiti ~ Reunion+”, and “Sentimental Prelude ~ The Story of You and Us.”

“Promise+” includes an additional side story originally serialized in the magazine The Sneaker.

“Reunion+” corrects some errors found in the original Sneaker Bunko edition, such as mistaken ages in Yuu Nanase’s chapter.

“Reunion+” also adds a short story titled “Confession”, showing the culmination of feelings between the protagonist and a heroine.

Only Taeko Adachi’s “Confession” chapter was ever completed and published.

Writer Raita Ookura later explained that the entire “Confession” project was canceled immediately after he finished Taeko’s chapter, so no other heroine scenarios were ever written.

As a result, Taeko alone received this special epilogue in print.

The game’s story begins in the spring break before the protagonist’s final year of high school.

He is living in the fictional district of Midorigaoka 3-chome in Tokyo, a location that corresponds closely to a real district in Meguro Ward.

Because of his father’s repeated job transfers, the boy has moved from city to city throughout his entire childhood.

From first grade through middle school graduation, he attended schools in twelve different cities across Japan.

One day, he receives an unsigned letter that simply says, “I want to see you.”

Believing the sender to be one of the girls from his past, he decides to travel around the country to reunite with them and solve the mystery.

Over the course of one in-game year, the player spends weekdays at school and working part-time.

On weekends and holidays, the player can travel from Tokyo to twelve real-world cities, meet the heroines, trigger events, and advance each girl’s story.

The gameplay combines scheduling, travel planning, and light resource management.

You manage money and stamina (called “action power”), which are consumed by travel, part-time work, rest, and phone calls.

Each heroine has two hidden parameters: Affection and Bittersweetness.

Affection increases when you meet a girl, while Bittersweetness rises when you do not contact her for a while.

If you leave a girl alone long enough, her Bittersweetness climbs, and meeting again can produce a big spike in Affection and trigger key events.

However, too much neglect leads to a state called “Bittersweet Explosion,” where you can no longer meet her in the usual way.

In that “Explosion” state, you must meet her outside her home city to repair the relationship.

If that happens, you can no longer get a happy ending with that heroine, even if you manage to reconcile.

You can also receive voicemail messages while you are away from Tokyo.

Listening to these messages consumes valuable free time, and silent “hang-up” calls reduce your maximum stamina as emotional stress.

Romantic dates are arranged by phone from home in Tokyo.

However, the girl always sets the date and time, the boy cannot choose, and being late or not showing up hurts her Affection.

At the same time, you do not actually need dates to see the girls.

Simply walking around their city on free days can lead to random encounters, making phone dates more about certainty than necessity.

You can even deliberately stand a girl up on a date and then call her later to break up.

There is one restriction: you cannot break up with the last remaining heroine who has appeared.

Endings are not determined directly by Affection values.

Instead, they depend mainly on how many key events you have triggered with each heroine, with Affection acting more like a probability boost for event triggers.

The playable period runs from Saturday, 21 March 1998 at 6 a.m. to Sunday, 7 March 1999.

Weekdays are automatically spent at school and part-time work; the player only controls actions on weekends, national holidays, and long school vacations (spring, summer, winter).

On those free days, you can choose to call a girl, work a part-time job, rest (at home, in a tent, at a youth hostel, or at a city hotel), or travel to another city by trains, buses, plane, ferry, or even hitchhiking.

Each action consumes time and resources, and careful planning is required to see all twelve stories in one playthrough.

Later Windows and PlayStation ports made significant system changes.

Event trigger conditions were adjusted, and dialogue choices were given greater weight in affecting each heroine’s parameters and relationships.

The twelve heroines each live in a different Japanese city and embody a distinct personality type and emotional theme.

Their zodiac signs follow a “13-sign astrology” model, so some of their birthdays do not align with standard 12-sign charts.

The boy protagonist appears only as a viewpoint character in the game, and his default name is Ichiro Tanaka.

In almost all other media (anime, novels, drama CDs), the story is told from the girls’ side, making him more of an invisible presence.

Ichiro Tanaka

Ichiro Tanaka is the unnamed boy protagonist, a high school student living in Midorigaoka 3-chome in Tokyo.

Due to his father’s frequent job transfers and political connections, he lived in twelve different cities between first grade and his third year of middle school.

The order of cities he lived in is roughly as follows: Aomori, Sendai, Sapporo, Osaka, Kyoto, Nagoya, one unknown city, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Kanazawa, Yokohama, Takamatsu, and finally Fukuoka.

Before moving to Aomori, he had already been living somewhere in Tokyo, so his life begins and ends in the capital.

For about three and a half years from early elementary school, his family even lodged with Taeko Adachi’s family in Aomori.

This made Taeko’s household feel like his second home and created deep, long-lasting bonds.

His father’s job was initially kept secret by the creators, prompting fan speculation.

Later, producer Toshio Tabeta revealed that Ichiro’s grandfather is a powerful politician and his father is the grandfather’s secretary, constantly traveling to expand the political family’s electoral base.

Honoka Sawatari

Honoka Sawatari lives in Sapporo, Hokkaido, and attends the private Shoo High School.

She is a bright, gentle “orthodox heroine” with a sunny disposition and a reputation as a classic beauty.

Her father is a university professor in veterinary medicine in the original game, and in archaeology in the anime adaptation.

She rides horses as a hobby, has a soft spot for her father, and is a little prone to fatherly crushes.

Honoka met Ichiro in the first half of their fifth year of elementary school.

During a field lesson involving horses, a boy’s prank nearly caused her to fall off a horse, and Ichiro rushed in and broke his arm to save her.

Guilt-ridden, she devoted herself to nursing him back to health.

During that time, she realized he was different from other boys her age and developed a special affection for him.

In the game, one of her standout scenes is a date in a lavender field.

A sudden breeze flips her miniskirt just as she happily says, “What a nice wind,” giving her one of the series’ rare fanservice moments.

Trading cards echo this running gag, showing her skirt being lifted by the wind while she laments that every time she eats ice cream outside, the wind plays tricks on her.

Honoka is consistently one of the most popular heroines among fans.

Taeko Adachi

Taeko Adachi lives in Aomori City and attends the prefectural Aogaki High School.

She has freckles, a quiet, homey charm, and is very good at cooking and housework.

She is the only left-handed heroine, a trait that emerged organically when artist Tomohisa Kai realized he had been drawing her that way and made it official.

Her family runs a liquor store, and she has a younger brother named Jun.

Ichiro lived with the Adachi family from his first year through the first half of his fourth year of elementary school, making Taeko effectively his longest childhood companion.

Classmates teased them as “Mr. and Mrs. Adachi” because they lived under the same roof, which embarrassed her deeply.

When someone teased her about being his wife, she blurted out, “It’s not like I like him or anything!”

Ichiro, already scheduled to transfer, overheard this and looked hurt, a face Taeko could never forget.

Ever since that day, she has been haunted by regret and unresolved feelings.

Even though she is clumsy with fashion and makeup, her warmth and sincerity make her one of the emotionally strongest routes in the story.

Her father is a math teacher at her high school, but Taeko herself is terrible at math.

This creates both comedy and tension, as she struggles with the very subject her father teaches.

Emiru Nagakura

Emiru Nagakura lives in Sendai City and attends the private Moegi Girls’ High School.

She is short, baby-faced, cute, and refers to herself in the third person with a quirky nickname, giving her a unique personal flavor.

She excels at school, especially in science, but is a passionate occult fan who loves spooky stories but is terrified of actual supernatural experiences.

Her father works at Sendai City Hall and her mother is a cheerful homemaker who shares some of Emiru’s carefree traits.

Emiru met Ichiro in the latter half of elementary fourth grade.

Her odd behavior made her a target for bullying, and she felt isolated until Ichiro befriended her.

One day, they explored an old school building together.

Class bullies locked them inside as a prank, and as night fell, nobody came to save them.

Emiru was terrified, but Ichiro calmed her and noticed a reflection of the moonlight in an empty soda bottle.

Using the reflection, he found the one window they could escape from, turning the bottle into a symbol of hope for them.

They buried the bottle as a time capsule outside the old building and promised to dig it up someday.

For Emiru, reuniting with Ichiro and digging up that bottle together becomes a deeply cherished wish.

Asuka Hoshino

Asuka Hoshino lives in Yokohama and attends the prestigious Seika Girls’ High School.

She is an idol-obsessed, trend-chasing, extremely outgoing girl who actually looks like the idols she admires.

Asuka met Ichiro in the second half of second-year middle school.

She is terrible at studying and chose her elite school simply because she liked the uniform.

Her family runs a boutique in Yokohama’s Motomachi shopping district, managed by her mother.

She also has an older sister who works at the same shop.

Asuka and Ichiro once planned to go to a movie together, essentially a date.

However, Ichiro had to move suddenly on the day they were supposed to go, and Asuka came down with a high fever and could not leave the house.

After recovering, she returned to school to discover Ichiro had already transferred away.

Not knowing he had also been unable to come, she assumed he had been angry that she did not show up and had run away without saying goodbye.

She carried this guilt for years, believing she had been the one to hurt him.

Her dearest wish is to someday watch that film together with him when it is re-released, finally fulfilling their broken promise.

Miyuki Hosaka

Miyuki Hosaka lives in Kanazawa and attends the prefectural Chayama High School.

She is a gentle, slightly timid honor student who wears glasses and has trouble refusing people’s requests.

She comes from a long-established kimono shop family and has one older sister; in the anime she also has an older brother.

Being surrounded by traditional fashion makes her insecure and she sees herself as plain compared to modern styles.

Miyuki met Ichiro in the first half of middle-school second grade.

The class was excited to show off a large ammonite fossil they had dug up together, and she insisted on carrying it to the science room herself to prove she could do it.

The fossil was heavy, and she dropped and broke it in the hallway.

The teacher mistakenly assumed Ichiro had been carrying it, and he allowed the misunderstanding to stand, taking the blame to protect her.

Believing it was her fault he was reprimanded, Miyuki was so shocked she skipped school for several days.

When she finally returned, Ichiro had transferred away, and rumors had spread that he had run off out of shame for breaking the fossil.

Unable to bear the lie, she confessed to the teacher in tears that she was the one who dropped it.

Since then, she has been hypersensitive to lies and deeply wants to apologize properly to Ichiro and show him a yukata they choose together to wear at a fireworks festival.

Rurika Yamamoto

Rurika Yamamoto lives in Nagoya and attends the prefectural Mizutsuka High School.

She is tall, cheerful, social, and very straightforward, with one older brother and a salaryman father.

In the original game, she meets Ichiro in the second half of sixth grade; the anime switches this to the first half of fifth grade.

In the anime, she and her brother are presented as opposite-sex twins, a setup that is rare in real life.

During one class project, the students collectively unearthed an ammonite fossil, similar to Miyuki’s story, and Rurika took charge of transporting it because she hated being underestimated as “just a girl.”

However, mid-way through, she dropped it, breaking the specimen.

The teacher believed Ichiro was responsible and scolded him instead.

Rurika was too shocked and guilty to correct the misunderstanding, and by the time she gathered herself, Ichiro had already moved away.

Classmates concluded that Ichiro had broken the fossil and fled the school, something that cut deeply into her conscience.

From then on she became extremely wary of lies and deception, even from herself.

She desperately wants to tell Ichiro the truth and apologize.

Her route revolves around honesty, guilt, and the courage to face past mistakes.

Wakana Ayasaki

Wakana Ayasaki lives in Kyoto and attends the private Shiun Girls’ High School.

She is a pure “Japanese-style” rich girl, raised with strict manners, with a soft-spoken and graceful personality.

However, Wakana can be surprisingly firm when she is angry or pushed.

Since childhood she has been afraid of dark, enclosed spaces after being locked in a warehouse by her grandfather as discipline.

Wakana met Ichiro in the first half of sixth grade.

All her classmates treated her as a delicate princess because of her family status, which left her sheltered and isolated.

Ichiro, unconcerned with her household rules and restrictions, tugged her into small rebellions, giving her a taste of ordinary childhood adventures.

This made him incredibly special to her.

As a child, she had found a music box in the family storehouse but lost it again among the clutter.

Ichiro helped her sneak into the storehouse to search, and even after her grandfather discovered them and threw him out, Ichiro later returned via the skylight to rescue her from the darkness.

He also brought her clumsily made rice balls.

Despite their awkward shape, they were the most delicious she had ever eaten, embedding the memory deep in her heart.

Wakana wants to find that music box again and listen to it with him.

She hides it back in the storehouse for safety, only to lose track of it again, symbolizing her complex feelings and her fear of losing precious things.

Kaho Morii

Kaho Morii lives in Osaka and attends the private Sasamine Girls’ Academy High School.

She is an energetic track-and-field athlete who loves sports and banter but also reveals a surprisingly fragile side in serious moments.

Her family runs an okonomiyaki restaurant called “Otafuku” in the game, renamed “Moriya” in the anime.

Her parents manage different branches, leaving Kaho surrounded by the warmth and noise of a family business.

Kaho met Ichiro in the second half of fifth grade.

She was practicing hard for a relay race at an Osaka prefectural track meet and hoped last year’s star runner, Takuya, would run again, but he chose cram school over athletics.

During selection for the boys’ representative, Takuya jokingly nominated Ichiro, who had no track experience.

At first Kaho was furious—why hadn’t Ichiro refused if he couldn’t run?

But when he explained that watching her run made him want to try running seriously, she realized this wasn’t a joke for him.

She accepted him as the representative and began training with him.

The two grew closer as they practiced side by side.

By race day, Kaho had a genuine respect for Ichiro’s hard work and a blossoming crush.

But Ichiro had to move away on the day of the meet.

Takuya stepped in as a substitute runner, having witnessed Ichiro’s effort and taken over his position in good faith.

Kaho still carries the memory of their “promise to run together to the end,” and she sees every race as running with him in her heart.

She hopes that someday they can share a track again and finally complete the relay they never started.

Yuu Nanase

Yuu Nanase lives in Hiroshima and attends the prefectural Shunomiya High School.

She loves stargazing, frequently travels around Japan on her own, and has a calm, mysterious aura.

Yuu is strikingly androgynous in appearance and behavior.

Her speech and gestures are elegant, and she often feels like a wandering philosopher under the night sky.

Her parents are world-famous classical musicians, and her family is wealthy, comparable to Wakana Ayasaki, Akira Endou, and Manami Sugihara’s families.

Because she often jumps into pools fully clothed, she is the only heroine who never actually appears in a swimsuit in the game, though such images do exist in external artwork.

Yuu met Ichiro on a headland overlooking the sea during the Perseid meteor shower one summer, when he was in his first year of middle school.

Of all the girls, she spent the shortest physical time with him, yet their conversations reached unusual emotional depth.

He was the first person who truly seemed to understand her way of seeing the world.

That alone made him unforgettable.

There is some inconsistency across media about the exact year of their meeting—some stories place it when she was in second grade of middle school, and anime references to a specific comet make the timeline even more ambiguous.

In early auditions, Yuu was planned as a “boyish” heroine using the first-person pronoun “boku,” and voice samples of that concept survive on the First Window disc.

Manami Sugihara

Manami Sugihara lives in Takamatsu, Kagawa, and attends the prefectural Shiroisaka High School.

She is frail and often ill, with a quiet, shy, almost glass-like delicacy, but a deep love for birds and nature.

Her father is a member of the Kagawa Prefectural Assembly and a well-known politician.

She has an older sister, and the family home is a spacious mansion that underlines their high social status.

Manami met Ichiro in the first half of his third year of middle school.

Because she frequently missed school due to illness, Ichiro often visited her home to deliver class handouts.

Those visits and their brief conversations slowly drew her out of her shell.

As they talked, Manami began to believe that despite her weak body, she was still capable of connecting with others.

One day they discovered an injured baby bird.

They nursed it together until it recovered and flew away, giving her the courage to imagine herself also leaving the nest someday.

Ichiro’s encouragement taught her that even someone delicate could find strength and meaning.

Her route is about healing, hope, and the courage to step into the world.

The background music for Manami’s hometown segments is based on the song “Bride of Seto,” a famous tune associated with the Seto Inland Sea.

In real life, Takamatsu Station uses “Bride of Seto” as its train departure melody, binding her story tightly to local culture.

Chie Matsuoka

Chie Matsuoka lives in Fukuoka and attends the private Kokuokan High School.

She is the hot-blooded vocalist of the local amateur band “Thousand Black,” and despite her tough talk, she is actually shy and softhearted.

Chie stands out with model-like proportions, though she herself does not always realize how striking her figure is.

She is poor at academics but has excellent physical abilities, as shown later when she single-handedly beats up three thugs during a school trip in “Sentimental Prelude.”

Thousand Black’s name cleverly combines “Thousand” from her given name Chie (“thousand blessings”) and “Black” from her assigned image color.

In the anime, she also serves as the band’s leader.

Chie met Ichiro in the latter half of his third year of middle school.

She was considered a problem student and was nearly forced to repeat a year because of poor attendance, so teachers pushed her to show up at least enough to graduate.

Ichiro started talking to her at school when everyone else kept their distance, intimidated by her delinquent image.

He later visited the live house where her band performed, becoming close with the entire group.

Their homeroom teacher then asked Ichiro and Chie to co-lead the graduation party committee.

Ichiro proposed that her band perform at the farewell party, and they began practicing together.

Watching Ichiro work hard on his singing and hearing his honest praise gave Chie more confidence.

Her feelings for him deepened, and she wrote a special song to thank him for changing her life.

On the day of the graduation party, the live was a success.

Chie intended to play the new song for him afterward, but Ichiro’s unexpected move forced him to leave before she could perform it.

To this day, she still wants to sing that song for him personally.

Her parents both work in broadcasting and production at a local television station, giving her a backstage look at media from childhood.

Akira Endou

Akira Endou lives in Nagasaki, originally conceived as being from Setagaya in Tokyo before moving to Nagasaki.

She attends the prefectural Seirin Girls’ High School and is a classic rich-girl archetype: refined, blunt, and confident.

Akira is a promising young violinist, frequently placing high in competitions but often finishing just short of first place.

Her father is a corporate executive who owns a private cruiser, and her uncle, considered an eccentric in the family, runs a coffee shop.

She met Ichiro in the latter half of first-year middle school.

He happened upon her practicing alone in the music room and was struck by her performance.

When she noticed him listening, she demanded to know what he thought.

Unlike the shallow compliments she usually heard from boys, his feedback was honest and different, which piqued her interest.

Ichiro asked her to teach him violin.

She began giving him lessons, and over time, his seriousness and persistence helped loosen a creative block she had been struggling with.

Feeling revitalized, Akira sent him an invitation to her next competition and begged him to come hear her play.

She won first place for the first time, but Ichiro, preparing to move, could not attend.

Wanting him to hear her at her best, she skipped part of the award ceremony and ran to the harbor to play again, performing an even better piece toward the sea.

But her notes could not reach him in time.

Akira’s greatest wish is to someday play for him in person.

Her route explores ambition, pride, and the vulnerability behind a seemingly perfect prodigy.

The game uses real Japanese cities and landmarks as its setting, allowing pseudo-tourism as you travel to meet each girl.

However, names are sometimes slightly altered, and some sites are treated as “outside the city” for gameplay reasons even though they are within modern city limits.

Below is a simplified overview of the main cities and example destinations:

Sapporo

Within Sapporo, you can visit places modeled on Paseo underground mall, Hokkaido University, the Prefectural Museum of Modern Art, Tanuki-koji shopping arcade, and Odori Park.

Outside the city, you can travel to Otaru, Jozankei hot springs, a marine park inspired by Noboribetsu Marine Park Nixe, Fukidashi Park, and Niseko.

Aomori

In Aomori City, you can visit a large shopping mall based on Sun Road Aomori, a station building mall modeled on Lovina, the Aomori Bay Bridge, the Shinmachi shopping street, and a theme park inspired by the Nebuta village.

Outside the city lie Asamushi hot springs, Mount Hakkoda, the Oirase Gorge, Lake Towada, and an apple orchard area based on the city of Hirosaki.

Sendai

Within Sendai, locations include the Ichibancho shopping street, the city’s Wild Plant Garden, the ruins of Aoba Castle, the Miyagi Prefectural Art Museum, and Osaki Hachimangu Shrine.

For trips, you can go to Naruko hot spring, Akiu hot spring, Mount Zao, the Sugo motorsport circuit, and Matsushima Bay.

Tokyo

While Tokyo is mainly your base, it also hosts key date spots.

These include Tokyo Tower, a luxury hotel modeled on Hotel New Otani, Ueno Zoo, the Tokyo University of the Arts, Ochanomizu Women’s University, the Asakusa area, and a waterside park area.

Yokohama

In Yokohama, you can stroll through Isezakicho shopping street, Chinatown, an island amusement district modeled on Hakkeijima, Yamashita Park, and the Minato Mirai 21 waterfront complex.

Nearby travel destinations include Yokosuka, Kamakura, Odawara, hot springs in Hakone, and Enoshima Island.

Kanazawa

Kanazawa offers the Korinbo commercial district, Omicho Market, the Higashi Chaya district, the grounds of Kanazawa Castle, and the riverbank of the Sai River.

Outside Kanazawa, you can reach Wajima, Notojima Island, Nanao, Takaoka, and the city of Kaga.

Nagoya

Within Nagoya, you can explore the underground shopping arcade at Nagoya Station, the port area, Shirakawa Park, the Osu entertainment and theater zone, and the zoo and amusement complex at Higashiyama.

Excursions include Inuyama Castle, the Nagashima Spa Land resort, Minami-Chita peninsula, the anthropological theme park inspired by Little World, and an outdoor museum resembling Meiji Village.

Kyoto

Kyoto’s city locations range from Kyoto Tower and Shinkyogoku shopping arcade to the Kawaramachi commercial area, Gion, and the East Mountain region with its famous temples.

Nearby trips include Nagaokakyo, Iwashimizu Hachimangu Shrine, the Shokado area, and Uji Park.

Osaka

In Osaka, you can wander Dotonbori, Namba, the Nipponbashi electronics district, American Village, and Shinsaibashi shopping area.

Excursions include Osaka Castle Park, the Tennoji area, the retro amusement district Shinsekai, the harbor area around Bentencho, and the waterfront at Tempozan.

Hiroshima

Hiroshima City offers the Kamiyacho commercial district, the city’s Museum of Contemporary Art, the park on Mount Hijiyama, Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, and a large shopping mall modeled on Alpark.

Outside the city, you can visit Onomichi, Sandan Gorge, a waterfall modeled on Imose Falls, the city of Iwakuni, and Miyajima Island.

Takamatsu

Takamatsu’s city spots include the Lion Street shopping arcade, Ritsurin Garden, the ruins of Takamatsu Castle (now Tamamo Park), Mount Yashima, and Megijima Island.

Nearby, you can visit Shodoshima, a theme park based on New Reoma World, the Seto Bridge Commemorative Park, a harbor complex similar to Seto Ohashi Fisherman’s Wharf, and Kotohira Shrine.

Fukuoka

In Fukuoka City, locations include the Tenjin downtown district, Nakasu nightlife area, a canal-side complex based on Canal City Hakata, Ohori Park, and a seaside zone modeled on Seaside Momochi.

Trips include Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine, an amusement park inspired by Space World, Shikanoshima Island, the coastal recreation area Uminonakamichi, and the canals of Yanagawa.

Nagasaki

Nagasaki City offers Central Bridge and its surroundings, the Dutch Slope, Oura Church, the Shinchi Chinatown, and the promenade along Nakashima River.

Outside the city, you can go to Shimabara, a marine resort modeled on Seikai Pearl Sea Resort, the Saikai Bridge, the theme park inspired by Huis Ten Bosch, and the Goto Islands.

The franchise is rich in theme songs and character songs, many of which were released on CD and reissued on different labels.

The main opening and ending themes are as follows.

The original game opening is “Beyond the Clouds” by S.G.T (Sentimental Graffiti Tears), with lyrics by Tetsu Tamegai and music by Koji Tajima.

The ending theme is “Sentimental Love”, with lyrics by Masayoshi Kubota and music again by Koji Tajima, performed by S.G.T.

The Windows version has a different opening, “Truly One”, with lyrics by M.S., music by Tajima, and vocals by S.G.T with Kaoru Watanabe.

Its Windows ending theme is “My Only Love”, with lyrics by M.S., music by Tajima, and vocals by the same group.

Each heroine also has a personal image song used as BGM when she appears in the game, with the full versions available on CDs.

These include:

“Long Distance Call” – Honoka Sawatari’s song, lyrics by Mio Shinohara, music by Tomoyuki Hamada, sung by Mariko Suzuki.

“Sunday Hill” – Taeko Adachi’s song, lyrics by Yumi Asada, music by Shoichi Tokunaga, sung by Junko Okada.

“Come to Me Where I Am” – Emiru Nagakura’s song, lyrics by Yumi Asada, music by Mio Shinohara, sung by Ai Maeda.

“Sweet Tears” – Asuka Hoshino’s song, lyrics by Tomoyuki Hamada, music by Shitaka Sakamoto, sung by Mami Okamoto.

“A Piece of Scenery” – Miyuki Hosaka’s song, lyrics by Aya Kagami, music by Hiroyuki Takei, sung by Yuki Makishima.

“Aquamarine Jewel” – Rurika Yamamoto’s song, lyrics by Mio Shinohara, music by Hiroyuki Takei, sung by Hiromi Konno.

“Where Bittersweetness Goes” – Wakana Ayasaki’s song, lyrics by Mio Shinohara, music by Tomoyuki Hamada, sung by Michiko Oda.

“If You Are There…” – Kaho Morii’s song, lyrics and music by Yumi Asada, sung by Yukiko Mitsunaka.

“Keeping the Memories Still” – Manami Sugihara’s song, lyrics and music by Tomoyuki Hamada, sung by Machiko Toyoshima.

“Only Lonely Star” – Yuu Nanase’s song, lyrics by Yumi Asada, music by Shitaka Sakamoto, sung by Yuka Nishiguchi.

“Two Dreams” – Chie Matsuoka’s song, lyrics by Tomoyuki Hamada, music by Hiroyuki Takei, sung by Chizu Yonemoto.

“If I Look Back, I Love You” – Akira Endou’s song, lyrics and music by Tomoyuki Hamada, sung by Reiko Suzuki.

Initially these CDs were released under the NEC Avenue label, then reissued by NEC Interchannel.

In 1998, new versions of the character songs were released by Columbia, serving as image songs for the anime “Sentimental Journey.”

The early character-CD releases had a playful structure with more than 70 tracks each.

Most tracks were only a few seconds long and silent, hiding short messages and dramas from the heroines as “secret” bonus tracks.

Track 5 typically begins with a self-introduction by the heroine’s voice actress and then goes silent for a long stretch.

If you keep listening, a hidden voice message appears near the end of the track, and starting around track 40 you can hear mini drama scenes where the girl leaves messages on the protagonist’s answering machine.

Because of the long silent gaps, many listeners thought the discs had blank tracks and never discovered the hidden content.

This design turned the CDs themselves into a kind of treasure hunt for dedicated fans.

Sentimental Graffiti 2

Hoping to continue the brand, NEC Interchannel released Sentimental Graffiti 2, set about two years after the first game.

All twelve heroines return, now older, with changed circumstances and relationships.

However, the sequel made a controversial decision: the original protagonist from the first game is said to have died in a traffic accident before the story begins.

Raita Ookura, who had written the original game and novels, refused to participate in the sequel under these conditions.

Because the producers would not change the “dead protagonist” premise, Ookura simply could not write a follow-up story that felt right to him.

Instead, the scenario was handled by a small company called Creator’s Produce Unit Go (C.P.U. GO).

The lead writer for SG2, credited as scenario director, was Tomohiro Matsu, who later became famous as a light novel author.

During development, the company Marcus, led by original producer Masayoshi Kubota, went bankrupt, and all rights they held to the franchise were transferred to NEC Interchannel.

Sales, critical reception, and fan response to SG2 were all poor compared to the hype of the original.

Many fans were upset by the premise that the boy they had played in the first game was retroactively killed off, which made emotional investment difficult.

Sentimental Prelude

In 2004, the PlayStation 2 game Sentimental Prelude was released, pitched as a way to “reset” the series after SG2’s failure.

The story was designed to sever narrative ties with SG2, while bringing Raita Ookura back as scenario writer.

Producers hoped that restoring Ookura’s vision would recapture the spirit of the original.

Unfortunately, sales, reviews, and popularity for Prelude were even worse than for SG2.

With Prelude’s commercial failure, active development on the franchise essentially ended.

From then on, Sentimental Graffiti lived on mainly as a nostalgic property in fan memories and occasional re-releases.

After his work on Sentimental Graffiti, Raita Ookura wrote a novel project titled “Sakamonogatari” (“Hill Stories”), which was loosely related in tone and themes.

It developed a modest following and spawned some merchandise but was never adapted into a game or anime.

Ookura later wrote another work titled “Lyrical Restaurant – Borrowing Angels’ Wings for Tomorrow…,” after which he disappeared from the public eye and his current activities remain unknown.

Despite his absence, his Sentimental Graffiti writing continues to be fondly remembered.

Most of the heroine voice actresses continued careers in voice acting or entertainment.

For example, Yuka Nishiguchi, who voiced Yuu Nanase, debuted with this series and has maintained a strong emotional attachment to it.

Nishiguchi has spoken about the series in interviews, participated multiple times in live-streamed playthroughs of the games, and helped spearhead anniversary projects.

Other actresses such as Machiko Toyoshima have likewise revisited their roles in retrospectives and reunion events.

The franchise spawned several radio shows on TBS Radio, all featuring combinations of the twelve main heroines’ voice actresses.

They provided character skits, talk corners, song premieres, and fan interaction.

The main shows were:

Sentimental Night (1997), hosted by Yoshiko Fujita, which served as the initial radio promotion platform.

Return of Sentimental Night (April–September 1998), which continued the discussions and promoted the game’s release and related media.

Only Sentimental Night 2 (April 1999–March 2000), covering the follow-up media and maintaining fan community engagement.

These programs reinforced the sense that SG Girls were an idol unit as much as a cast.

Radio listeners formed a loyal fanbase that would later become crucial for crowdfunding anniversary events.

To accompany the Windows release, NEC Interchannel planned localized Windows versions for Taiwan and South Korea.

Initial concepts included fully adapting settings and stage locations to the local countries, but these plans were partially abandoned.

The final Taiwanese version kept the Japanese setting and assets, only translating text and changing the main theme song.

The Korean version included Korean-dubbed voice lines and some costume changes for cultural sensitivity.

In the Korean release, Taeko Adachi and Kaho Morii’s yukata outfits were replaced with traditional Korean hanbok-like costumes.

These changes reflected local norms regarding traditional clothing and modesty.

Despite these efforts, the overseas versions did not spark large new markets, but they did introduce the series to niche international fans.

Today, imported copies and digital re-releases help preserve these local variations.

By 2018, it had been twenty years since the original game’s release.

Several original cast members, led by Yuka Nishiguchi (Yuu Nanase’s voice), began privately discussing a 20th anniversary project.

Nishiguchi had been thinking about a reunion for some time and consulted with Mariko Suzuki (Honoka’s voice) and others about making it happen.

Exact planning began around October 2016, although the busy schedules of the actresses, and the fact that some had retired, made progress slow.

In November 2017 a new official Twitter account was launched for the project.

Cast members who used Twitter started mutually following the account, and a community slowly formed around the idea of a reunion.

By March 2018, anniversary initiatives began in earnest.

The project considered the start of the new streaming programs in August 2018 as its official launch, even though some content had begun earlier.

Key elements of the 20th anniversary project included:

1. Anime Streaming – On 22 March 2018, the “Sentimental Journey” anime series began streaming on Bandai Channel, giving old and new fans legal access to the episodes.

2. Theatrical Screening – On 20 July 2018, selected episodes were screened at Shinjuku Piccadilly in Tokyo, with several cast members, including Yuka Nishiguchi, attending in person.

3. Return of Sentimental Night 20 – Starting 2 August 2018, a live internet version of the old radio show, titled “Return of Sentimental Night 20,” began streaming on TwitCasting Live, featuring talk, behind-the-scenes stories, and new art reveals, including fresh illustrations by original designer Tomohisa Kai.

4. 20th Anniversary Live Event – Reunion – The biggest event was held on 19 January 2019 at Hitotsubashi Hall in Tokyo’s Jinbocho area, with two performances at 14:00 and 19:00, bringing together many of the voice actresses to perform songs and talk live.

To finance the reunion, the team used the Japanese crowdfunding platform CAMPFIRE.

The initial list of backer rewards raised some questions and concerns among potential supporters, forcing the organizers to revise and clarify the benefits.

Despite the rocky start, the campaign reached its 10 million yen goal in just nine minutes.

By the end, it had gathered 2,316 backers and a total of 34,701,700 yen in support.

Some heroines’ voice actresses, such as Chizu Yonemoto, Mariko Suzuki, and Machiko Toyoshima, publicly interacted with the official account and joined in anniversary projects.

Others did not participate or had retired, but the overall reunion still drew a large crowd and showed the depth of long-term fan affection.

In one playful nod to real life, the background music for Manami Sugihara’s hometown area is strongly inspired by the classic song “Bride of Seto.”

In the real world, JR Takamatsu Station uses this song as its train departure melody, tying Manami’s gentle atmosphere to the Seto Inland Sea region.

The series’ early marketing centered heavily on SG Girls as a unit.

Their first character song CDs, with dozens of mostly silent tracks and hidden messages, are still considered quirky collector’s items.

In the game mechanics, there are no mobile phones at the protagonist’s disposal, reflecting the late 1990s time period when high-school cell phone ownership in Japan was not yet universal.

All calls must be made from the home in Tokyo, and calling from public phones in other cities is not supported in gameplay.

Within the expanded lore, the boy’s grandfather is an influential politician whose nationwide campaigning explains the family’s constant moves.

This detail was only fully revealed years later during 20th anniversary discussions by producer Toshio Tabeta.

While the core games are no longer actively developed, the Sentimental Graffiti and Sentimental Journey projects remain cult favorites.

They are remembered for their ambitious media-mix strategy, strong focus on region-based heroines, and the enduring emotional impact of twelve very different girls who all wanted to see the same boy one more time.