And the second route of BiR’s Season Two is out!
In a nutshell, Lionel is a good guy. He’s positive and fun to be around, so his route just makes you happy to play through it.
He doesn’t really have problems, which I suppose is okay for his personality, but as Strawbarely There put it when we talked about him, everyone has legit problems except for him.
Mina: My village has people being brutally murdered and my sister is on her deathbed
Raymond: The demon attacking is a threat to this hotel’s existence
Lionel: My father doesn’t want me to do art š
But as a whole, I enjoyed him a ton more than Edgar. Edgar appears for a bit in this one… and he’s a huge asshole. Like, dayum. Why didn’t they just go out and make his route one of them thereĀ tsun tsun type, eh?
Mina is a lot better in this one too. She’s assertive and stubborn, but she’s not mean. Which is great. I think part of this is due to her being with Lionel and him being just so happy that you can’t really be rude or mean to him.
A lot of my complaints about Edgar’s story were fixed in this story.
Her sister gets a name! And she is still mostly forgotten until the very end.
The villagers are being murdered, not kidnapped, in this route. Mina ends up in great danger several times in the story. But despite this, there’s a real problem creating a sense of urgency in the plot. And part of it is that Lionel’s conflicts, well, they’re not as strong as those around him.
Mina’s sister is dying and she has to solve the mystery of who is killing villagers in order to afford medicine for her.
Harold is faced with the prospect he may be harboring a murderer in his hotel.
Lionel’s father won’t let him paint and be the artist he should be.
Not that Lionel’s conflict is any less important to him, but well, on the grand scale of things in the story, “My dad won’t let me paint š ” is rather light compared to “My sister is dying”.
The plot revolves around Lionel trying to fix an old painting while Mina tries to balance working for the hotel and searching for the killer plus being drawn like those french girls
Bridgette plays a larger role in this story as a mentor/confident to Mina’s lovelorn heart. I still enjoy younger Bridgette (her conversation with old Mina in Cedric’s route is A++) but at the very least Bridgette in this world is able to encourage Mina to make the first move. We see Cedric, Rupert, and Alfred a lot in this story too. Cedric plays the part of playboy who wants Mina. He exists to spurn a bit of jealousy from Lionel, but I didn’t really like any of the scenes featuring Cedric. He came on way too strong, to the point of it being Ā harassment.
YOU TELL THAT JERKFACE, LIONEL!!! Man, he was so awesome at this part!Ā 
Harold is same old Harold that he always is. Rupert is Lionel’s benefactor and person who gives him the financial ability to paint. Alfred is still slumming it with Rosapast. Gordon and Jack get a lot of funny scenes together and I enjoyed when they came into the story.
We meet a new mysterious masked character that of course is 1000% more interesting due to having a mask. We never really find out anything about this masked character though. He hangs out with the vamps and Bridgette, but that’s it.
Nothing truly plot-pertinent happens until the final chapter, when Lionel finishes his painting and the hotel patrons gather to see it. Things get really interesting there and I hatedĀ running out of story tickets at that point!
The main villain did not get a sprite. Or a name. “Client” is all we got.
Ā Our heroes are defined by their obstacles and while all hell breaking loose (literally) was awesome, having your Ā mastermind be a simple “Client” who wants vampires to be on top is a boring cop out.
The Tocatta ending has them running to save her village. I found a scene funny here for all the wrong reasons. So obviously Mina goes to save her mother and sister. Her sister is on her deathbed and since we happen to have a magical cure-all in the form of Lionel around… well, you can figure out what happens next.
Her sister stands up and is like “OMG I FEEL AMAZING”. Mina asks if she can walk and she replies that she can. Mina’s like “Well good now RUN”
Like, she’s been bedridden for most of her life? Even just walking is an accomplishment considering the muscle deterioration she would go through. But Mina’s just like RUNNNNNNĀ 
The entire battle is so much better than Edgar’s story. The ending is very sweet and a satisfying end for the couple. It’s also pretty hilarious. Spoilers obs follow this: After the battle is over Mina is legit like “Okay, my village is saved and my sister is okay now, so I want to stay with you forever, Lionel!” and he’s like “WUT REALLY????” and she’s like “YEAH REALLYYYYYY They don’t need me around anymore, they’ll be fine, let’s leave now!” and he’s all “Now????” and she’s like “YEAH NOWWWWW” It’s funny and cute and okay I just died that she spends most of the story worrying about her sister but now that she’s cured she’s like FINALLY I CAN ENJOY MY VAMPIRE D WITHOUT GUILT. I’M OUT, PEACE! You get it, Mina, you go get that D.
The entire story he is focused on Ā her needs and what she wants. It’s so refreshing to read a guy that stops other characters and says “Hey, I’m not her master, let’s make sure she’s okay with this first.” I like alpha males a lot, but I don’t like how controlling they can come across as. The writer did a good job on this one.
I’m torn on how to score this. On one hand, it’s not really a good story plot-wise until the climax. On the other hand, Lionel is a really fun guy and the cheerful love between him and Mina was a highlight of my day. Even when it’s bad his playful personality is so addictive and fun to read that it overshadows the weaker plot.
I admit when the plot slowed in the middle I would forget to play. If there’s nothing hooking me then I tend to forget.Ā 
Ā Especially since Persona 5 came out and completely murdered my free time
The premium scenes aren’t worth the money, outside of the last CG. (The one they use for all the adverts, basically). The scene is just okay, but the CG is A+! Lionel finally gets to bite her and he goes straight for her tits. I can’t.Ā
Rating
My heart scale is defined as follows ā 5 hearts = a story everyone will fall in love with, regardless of preferences; 4 hearts = a well-done story that people who love the concept will adore, and people who donāt may end up liking it; 3 hearts = if you like this type of story or this type of hero, then you will enjoy this, but those who do not like either of those things will probably not; 2 hearts = it had potential, it squandered it; 1 heart = just a waste of time from the get-go; 0 hearts = why was this made?
Favorite Moments
I agree. What’s the use of immortality if you can’t eat to your heart’s content?
I admit I saved this because I liked seeing them side by side. I still don’t like the clashing sprite styles, though.
But… you’re immortal…. so…. how… why…. I don’t get it….
LIKE EVERYONE KNEW EXCEPT YOU, LIONEL HOW DENSE CAN YOU BE?! Ah, but that’s why he’s so adorable!
My favorite blushing sprites!!
Please tell me we can romance him. Oh. My. Gosh. That dark hair, that mask, that jawline, that beautiful skintone… I’m in lurve~
That’s why imma bite your boobies
Depends on if the werewolf goes crazy during their transformation. If they Hulk out and lose control LOLNOPE I’M A VAMPIRE CHICK!
He’s very passionate about painting, as you’ll see several times during his story.
Seeing Alfred lose his shit when Rosapast was in danger was both endearing and hilarious. His love for Rosapast is like his only defining feature in Season Two.