Himitsuri no Lagoon

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Himitsuri no Lagoon
A screenshot from the English translation purchase page of Lagoon Lounge showing the main cast
Himitsuri no Lagoon original visual novel cover.
Genre visual novel, dating sim
Developer KAIJYU
Publisher DiGiket.com, DLSite.com
Ratings 18+
Country Japan
Language Japanese
Platforms Windows 2000 / XP / Vista / 7
Release Date June 21, 2012
Media Type Digital Download

Himitsuri no Lagoon (秘密裏のラグーン) otherwise known as Lagoon Lounge, is an adult kemono yaoi (gay) themed visual novel/dating sim featuring rural Japanese slice-of-life created by the circle KAIJYU.[1] In this three part series, the game follows the protagonist Kuugo, a grey and white canine, as he reunites with his old friend Sousoke in the fictional Japanese Harasu Village, works at a small town cafe called the Lagoon Lounge, and lays down roots with his new friends. [1][2]

Each game's total play time ranges from 2-10 hours[1]

The game can purchased from distributors on Kaiju-09's official site. Options to buy the game are on the creator's digiket, dlsite, and Steam sites. Locale may need to set to Japanese to play the game. [3] As of 2023, only Lagoon Lounge 1 is available on Steam.

The creator strictly prohibits the uploading of and reverse engineering of the software.[4]

Lagoon Lounge 1: Lagoon's Secret[edit]

Himitsuri no Lagoon | 秘密裏のラグーン (Lagoon's Secret), the first game in the Lagoon Lounge Series, was released in June 2012 with the English version released in May 2014. A remastered edition was released on Steam globally in July 2018 as Lagoon Lounge: The Poisonous Fountain.

In the first game in the series, Himitsuri no Lagoon (秘密裏のラグーン "Lagoon's Secret"), Kuugo reunites with his old friend Sousoke in Harusu village after losing his job. He takes a job at a café called the Lagoon Lounge during a recent tourist boom from a tremor known as the Giant of Harusu. The Lagoon Lounge operated by Gou, who works with his junior, Yuujirou, who hopes to ask out his childhood crush Yuuri. Kuugo is given an overview of the village by Gou but is warned not to approach the Poisonous Fountain at the center of the city.

One night, Sousoke's little brother Seiya visits the fountain and wisges not to go back to school. To Kuugo's surprise, the wish comes true when everyone in the village falls asleep except him and Seiya. Gou reveals that the fountain's poison is a myth to keep people away from the well. The wishes come true but are all with karmic retribution: a person who wishes for a good thing will also suffer a bad thing. Gou had wished for more customers by having the town have a tourist boom with the Giant of Harusu tremors, but his childhood friend Yuujirou is forced to move away with his family due to the tremors and his business is threatened by Yamato, a new resident who opens the Black Cat Cafe in competition to his. Gou undos his wish by burning his hands and closing the restaurant, and the tremors and tourist boom end.

Yuujirou’s crush Yuuri makes a wish to go out with Sousoke, only to have her wish undone after Yuujirou outs Sousoke as gay, causing all kinds of suffering. After Yuujirou, Sousoke, and Kuugo reconcile, Kuugo wishes for the well to be destroyed so no one has to suffer anymore. However, when he breaks the well, he finds Sousoke’s name on a coin. It turns out that Kuugo’s presence is only because Sousoke wished for Kuugo to come to the village.

In the end, life returns to normal. Sousoke confesses his love to Kuugo, but never takes it a step further. Gou struggles with his restaurant again given the disappearance of tourism he wished for. Yuuri rejects Yuujirous (and is never seen in any other game). Yuujirou is still single and looking for a girlfriend. But Kuugo looks at his new life and his new home fondly.

Lagoon Lounge: The Poisonous Fountain[edit]

The 2018 steam remaster follows the same story but features higher resolution images, a new visual novel engine, and the ability to view character pictures. The remake cut the sexual scenes with the child Seiya and added the character of Arashi Hinomoto, a chubby grey cat who is the chef of the Black Cat Cafe, along with a sexual scene with Arashi.

Lagoon Lounge 2: Lagoon's Attic[edit]

Yaneura no Lagoon | 屋根裏のラグーン, (Lagoon's Attic), the second game in the Lagoon Lounge Series, was released in March 2013 with the English version released in March 2015.

Lagoon's Attic introduces the character of Rai Banjou, a large curly maned lion man and a nationally renowned baseball player. While Sousoke is on a business trip, Kuugo finds Rai hiding out in Harusu village and offers him shelter in Sousoke's home. Kuugo quickly learns about Rai's identity when news of Rai's disappearance from the Liyons baseball team spreads across national news. Kuugo keeps Rai's presence a secret while Rai takes shelter in Sousoke's attic.

Gou and Yuujirou continue their struggles from game 1, with Gou struggling to keep his restaurant afloat and Yuujirou is in a slump trying to find a girlfriend. Gou gets Kuugo to pretend to be his girlfriend to cheer Yuujirou up, only for Yuujirou to find that Kuugo has been manipulating him. Gou forms a partnership with Yamato, the manager of a rival restaurant, to increase business. Rai begins to take a liking to Kuugo's gentle nature but begins to be leave clues that he is in Harusu village.

Sousoke returns, and Kuugo does his best to keep Rai hidden from Sousoke. Gou attempts to amend the unrequited love he has for Sousoke by being honest about their relationship. By this time, Rai has fallen in love with Kuugo for his kindness and candor. Rai comes out as gay and they share an intimate moment. However, Sousoke discovers them and kicks them out of the house, where they find refuge in Yamato's house. Kuugo eventually apologizes to Sousoke and tells the truth of the situation. Sousoke accepts the apology and the two become partners once again.

Rai returns to his team soonafter, only to renounce his retirement from baseball some time later. It is heavily implied that he left because is no longer interested in the national attention and because he is a closeted gay man. [5]

Lagoon Lounge 3: Lagoon's Hearth[edit]

Irori no Lagoon | 囲炉裏のラグーン (Lagoon's Hearth), the third game in the Lagoon Lounge Series, was released in December 2013 with the English version released in May 2016. Unlike previous games in the series, choices directly influence the development of the plot, in particuliar the ending of the story.

Lagoon's Hearth takes place after Lagoon's Attic and follows Harusu village for six months up until Christmas. The game continues to build off the character developments in the previous games. Business has not been well since the tourism caused by the Giant of Harusu ended, and the characters must all adapt. Rai has moved in as a celebrity ambassador. Beginning with an all-expense-paid hot spring visit for five Yuujirou has won, Kuugo is pressured to confess his love to one of the male characters. In particular, Sousoke and Rai pressure Kuugo to confess his love to one of them by Christmas, and the game follows Kuugo's daily life as he contemplates this while working in Harusu village.

The ending changes depending on how much the player interacted with a certain character. Players can unlock a special ending with Sousoke, Rai, Yamato, Gou, Yuujirou, Seiya, or an undetermined ending. The undetermined ending is unlocked by default if the player does not commit to any character or cannot decide who to spend their Christmas with, keeping things the way they are.

Characters[edit]

The characters are listed below in traditional Japanese name ordering (Surname first) alongside their Kanji names. [6]Characters can also be viewed with pictures on the creator's website

Kuugo 空午 ♂[edit]

The protagonist, a grey and white Japanese canine man in his mid-20s. His actions are chosen by the player. He came to village with a desire to see his old friend Sousoke after burning out from his job and started working as waitstaff at the Lagoon Lounge cafe. He is openly gay. He is cheeky, playful, but respectful and has a healthy sense of adventure/curiosity.

Inami Sousuke 稲海 爽輔 ♂[edit]

A grey wolf man in his mid-20s who invites Kuugo to live with him. He drives over an hour each day from the village to work in a hotel in the city. He inherited his house from his late parents and must care for his brother Seiya. Sousoke is a serious deadpan man who keeps his emotions to himself, leading to only a few people knowing that he is gay. However, Sousoke often worries about the people around him and is surprisingly possessive.

Sanriku Gou 山陸 豪 ♂[edit]

A 24-year-old ripped tiger man. He is the cook and manager of the only restaurant in the village, the Lagoon Lounge, which he inherited from his parents. He is very serious and astute but also extremely thoughtful and forward thinking. Although he is straight, he has unrequited love from Sousoke and Kuugo and doesn’t mind being pleasured by men despite his sexuality.

Urushi Yuujirou 漆 悠二郎 ♂[edit]

A brown muscular dog man with scars on his face in his early 20s. He loves baseball, and his scars are all from that sport. He stopped his studies to help out at Gou’s restaurant. He is trying to figure out his adult life as a straight man hoping to start a family. He’s an open, honest, and carefree man but is at times rude, vulgar, and thinks with his dick. He embodies many of the village’s values and traits of traditional masculinity.

Hitofumi Yamato 一步 大和 ♂[edit]

A chubby black cat man with a few white spot. He manages the village’s new restaurant, The Black Cat Café in direct competition with Gou’s restaurant, the Lagoon Lounge. His life consists of all sorts of traveling and business ventures. He has a Kansai accent and is a fast talker but has a surprisingly soft side.

Inami Seiya 稻海 晴也 ♂[edit]

A young grey wolf. Sousoke’s younger brother. He lives in a dorm at his school and is undergoing puberty.

Morikawa Yuuri ♀[edit]

A canid woman in her early 20s. She works at Gou’s restaurant and is about to graduate. She is the object of Yuujirou’s affection and does not appear past game 1, although she is mentioned in passing a few times.

Banjou Rai ♂[edit]

A heavily built curled haired lion man and nationally renowned baseball player. He retired from his baseball team the Liyons and moved to Harusu village in Lagoon Lounge 3 with his earnings and becomes the town’s celebrity ambassador. He is a thoughtful soft-spoken man but can be sly about his closeted gay desires.


Translation[edit]

Hidamaru’s Lagoon series was translated by twitter user @and_is_w, transcribed and released in script form about one year after each Japanese release. Although the games were originally in Japanese, it wasn’t until word of an English bootleg (by a third party, now cancelled) surfaced, that Hidamaru acknowledged the translated scripts’ existence. And_is_w took it upon himself to contact Hidamaru and provide him with the translated scripts, and the result is the official English release, Lagoon Lounge.[7]

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 https://vndb.org/v12099 Retrieved on May 13, 2015
  2. Reviews on DLSite http://www.dlsite.com/gay-eng/work/reviewlist/=/product_id/RE133654.html Retrieved on May 13, 2015
  3. DlSite Locale info https://cs.dlsite.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500006356722 Retreived Dec 12,2022
  4. Read Me file in Game Docs | Retrieved on May 13, 2015
  5. https://vndb.org/v12842 Retrieved on May 13, 2015
  6. http://www.kaiju09.com/lagoonloungeEnglish/ Retrieved on Dec 29, 2022
  7. http://sometimesboner.tumblr.com/post/85425737239/lagoon-lounge-by-hidamaru-finally-has-an-official Retrieved on May 13, 2015

External links[edit]

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