Keiko Everlasting

Keiko Everlasting is a linear kinetic novel about Keitaro Soseki, a teenage boy from Kagoshima, Japan. Its slice-of-life romance combines comedy and an Iyashikei tone with a tragic element. The story has one ending and almost no player choices; you read at your own pace, save and load, and revisit recently read text in a backlog.

Story and characters

The first part follows Keitaro on a series of adventures with his friends and siblings. In the second part, the story moves into a more developed and committed relationship, with greater depth. Twenty characters have voice acting and expressions. The cast changes for the second part, except for Keitaro, who remains throughout.

Keitaro is smart, innocent and a little shy. His younger sister Yuri is bubbly and bright, while his older brother Haruko is sporty and mostly mature. Their parents, Mai and Tomomi, are a warm, simple couple. Keiko, Keitaro’s love interest, is wholesome and sweet; she shares some of his qualities but complements them in ways that carry their relationship from friendship toward romance. She is as confident as Keitaro is shy.

Friends and family

Noriyuki, one of Keitaro’s best friends, is obsessed with girls and plays competitive video games for the high school esports team. Yuri’s best friend Ayuna is interested in Noriyuki, while Shino is a mature, reserved student who is fond of Yuri.

Haruko’s friends Kadan, Joji and Orino play on the school’s American football team. Kadan is a giant goofball, and his loyal sidekick Joji often fails to stop him from making a fool of himself. Orino is the wisest of the three, scolding Kadan for his clumsy behavior and trying not to look foolish around them.

The second part introduces Rinji, an animated goofball who often tries to impress Kasumi, and Takeo, who is as interested in girls as Noriyuki but smoother about it. Kasumi is bubbly, kind and smarter than she looks. Keitaro’s cousins Hana and Aiko have opposing interests and beliefs: Hana is passionate about spirituality and can be absent-minded, while Aiko develops video games and is a passionate futurist. Aiko sometimes reminds Keitaro of Noriyuki, and the siblings bicker easily. Keitaro’s aunt and uncle, Tamiko and Michio, are responsible and protective, and fun-loving and hearty, respectively.