Language Played: Japanese
Platform: PSVita, Nintendo Switch
Character Page Link: https://www.otomate.jp/charade_maniacs/chara/?page=ch2
Ah, I feel bad for this haha. Right after all the gushing in my first post I'm about to be negative...I have my reasons though! Sorry to any Banjo likers but this post is going to be rough so if you don't want to get hurt it's best if you leave.
SPOILER-FREE SECTION
Banjo is the very serious, calculative childhood friend of Sena. He always follows her around, almost like a dog. He hates that she can't see him as a potential lover and only as a childhood friend and due to their closeness they call each other by their first names. But, what if he's hiding some kind of truth from her? Could he have hidden his true nature all this time under the premise of childhood friends?
Banjo is the one who knows Sena the most. He cares about her well-being the most and just wishes that she will love him the same way he does for her. Like in the Akase review, I can't say too much as the game prides itself in being a mystery. Play the game to find out more about him!
SPOILER-FREE SECTION ENDS
Banjo is a route that drags down the Charade Maniacs experience for me to be honest. I feel completely sorry for Sena here, she clearly didn't love him the same way he does for her but he couldn't take no for an answer. The amount of pressure he puts on her for her to love him back is so frustrating and annoying to read. I wanted to throttle him Bart Simpson style!
The peak of my frustration is when Sena lost her emotions just to get Banjo to know that he changed for the worst ever since they got into the game. And guess what? Even after she gains her emotions back he makes zero progress and goes back to pressuring her to love him because he deserves her love...
However, the sprite change for emotionless Sena was downright creepy and I almost felt bad for Banjo seeing him care for the robotic Sena. I didn't want to see her meet a dead end, especially when she lost points for a poor performance in the drama due to her emotionless state. Also, the charades game at the end was kind of cute.
I didn't enjoy the idea of him trying to be a hero for Sena, primarily because I felt like the writers made terrible writing decisions for that. Not once did he prove himself as a hero and even when given a chance to sacrifice himself at the end for the others to go free, Gyobu sacrifices himself instead! (NOOO!) Despite him saying he'll be Sena's hero only, I felt like he was more of a villain with the non-con kiss, the forceful confession, and the overdramatic kabedon he just felt so forceful I was convinced Sena only got with him so he wouldn't snap. I felt Akase's route had the better example of a hero, but maybe it's just me...
Conclusion
Banjo is one of the worst childhood friends route I've ever seen, maybe even the worse. The whole route being melodrama, arguments, and forceful love is just not for me. Props to anyone who likes him though!
Character Ranking: F-Tier (I rather not have to think of this route again...)
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