Ikemen Vampire - Leonardo Review

English Route release: 6/30/2019 (Regular) | 4/2/2020 (Voiced)

Artist: Yamada Shiro

CV: Tsuda Kenjiro

Tadah~ I'm here with a route review of Leonardo da Vinci, the first route of Ikemen Vampire to incorporate (partial) route voicing! Leonardo is the first IkeVamp route I've played, but as a TsudaKen simp it's only natural that I downloaded IkeVamp just for him lmao. But then I ended up really liking Leonardo so it worked out!

Since Leonardo's birthday is in April, it only made sense for this voiced update to drop in the same month. I also bought his birthday story "Filled With Your Love (His POV)" since I had some extra funds on my google play, so I'll briefly mention that at the end as well. (P.S. If you're a cheap gamer like me, doing Google Surveys are a great way to get some free money!)

Leonardo da Vinci is a quintessential Renaissance man who is also prone to easily falling asleep anywhere lmao. To quote from the game page, he "usually spends his days sating his curiosity by investigating anything that catches his eye. A bit of a long wolf, he appears to be hiding a deep secret..."

Of course I started his route when it released in April, but life happened and I didn't get to finish it until later this year, and then it took even longer before I wrote this review. ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

So I actually won't be doing a mini-summary of the route this time because there's just... a lot lmao. There's 25 chapters, each split into 5 parts. I also think that his route is something best experienced by the player, especially the various "barriers" and "secrets" on why they shouldn't fall in love with each other. 

・ﾟ✧・ﾟ✧・ﾟ✧・ﾟ✧・ﾟ✧・ﾟ✧・ﾟ✧・ﾟ✧・ﾟ✧・ﾟ✧・ﾟ✧・ﾟ

OVERALL THOUGHTS

Sound/BGM
VOICING. Just- hng tsudaken. When added voicing was first announced I thought it would be a full route voicing, so I was a little disappointed to find out it was only partial... But it's more voicing than the norm for this game. Besides, I realize now that voicing a whole mobage route with 25 chapters + endings (not even yet considering events and appearances in other routes) would cost a lot of money. There were some scenes that I thought could've gone without the voicing and some that should've had it instead, but hearing the voice during impactful scenes just really hit different. 👌

IkeVamp in general has a nice soundtrack and has quite a bit of range. Some of my favorite bgm are "Beautiful Sadness," "Beauty and Sadness" (yes they're 2 completely different tracks lol), "Love -Sprouting Love-," "Moonlit Night" just to name a few. 

Also, check out this link on where to legally both stream and purchase the soundtrack! 

Art

While this game doesn't have a huge amount of sprite animations besides blinking, the art itself is still very gorgeous. Besides his voice actor, another reason I was drawn to the game was Leonardo's sprite. Of course there's his smolder that fans adore, but my favorite is his "softer" expression. One of my favorite cgs where he's smiling under a starry night because his smile especially is literally just "baby ur my angel." It's also overall a very cute scene. All his cgs are great, and if you've bought his birthday story then the cg included is vaguely spicy as well.

Characterization

I love Leonardo. Some may find the whole metaphorical barriers of their relationship a drag, but honestly I think it's tragically beautiful. There are multiple layers to the "barriers," but one of course is the issue of a relationship between two people from completely different eras, as well as heritage. 

He can be rather snarky and a bit teasing as well as someone who seems like they're neutral & nonchalant to the affairs of others, but underneath the facade he's someone with a big heart that struggles with the burden that all the humans he knows will die before him. Surprisingly he's very mindful as well, something that is definitely brought up. As a scholar of many disciplines Leonardo knows he's intelligent, and he's always open to sharing that knowledge and any assistance he can provide to both residents of the manor and the townsfolk.  

MC often compares Leonardo to a storm, and I find that's a fitting analogy for their relationship. Of course, you'll have to play his route for more context on that one. 😉

I also love how the MC is in this route. Yes she's aware of her own mortality compared to the vampires in the manor, but she's not afraid to step up. I also love how she sasses Leonardo, and the accompanying banter between the two of them is always a fun experience. 

Between his two endings, it's actually difficult for me to pick a favorite. They have some moments of predictability but are still satisfactory and enjoyable.

In general I love the feel of the writing in Leonardo's route. I think the best way to describe it would be "mature," but more in an intellectual way. There's plenty of comedic moments between them of course, and it contrasts well with the more serious and deeper conversations. In general it's just nice to read a route where the MC and LI view each other as equals and have a sense of emotional maturity between them. I also love the descriptive imagery, especially when describing Leonardo - like his voice, scent, etc. Since a lot of the route is mutual pining, the romantic in me is swooning as I read haha. 

I also love that Leonardo is the type of person to be conscious about always doing what he can to make others happy. In a way it's sometimes at the expense of his own happiness, but that can lead into plot-territory. The first revelation of when the MC acknowledged this behavior was so sweet, and it's one of many focal points throughout his route. 

Can't believe I need to say this but- minus one minor scene in the beginning of the route where he kisses the MC in an attempt to calm her down, Leonardo is generally very respectful with the MC's boundaries. (*Cough* Unlike the Arthur controversy) One scene may seem a little fuzzy, but he uses it to make a point that she didn't think about the consequences afterwards. 

Source

Leonardo often ranks high on any type of sexiness and/or popularity poll, and for good reason. He has his stunning good looks of course, but his route is also very sensual in its own way. No there won't be lots of physical steamy scenes, but the allure of his route lies in the beautifully descriptive text, and the longing gazes with unspoken words. If those are the types of things you prefer, then Leonardo's route would definitely be a good match. If you're the type that enjoys whirlwind romances however, you may find yourself a little disappointed. You may also be disappointed if you're expecting any steamy scenes, as his route is most definitely a slow burn. 

If spicy scenes with Leonardo is something you crave, then I would recommend his birthday story "Filled with Your Love." Definitely make sure you finish his route first as it addresses spoilers from there, but it has just enough spice while not being explicit (and thus violating app store guidelines lol). It's a shame this wasn't partially voiced as well but perhaps maybe someday Cybird will consider it in the future. 😂 While the avatar items are pretty, I probably would buy just the story for future characters due to the pricing and length of the birthday story.

Anyway, I can't go too much into details about his route general because it's lot of spoiler territory and I'd just ramble forever but... I just have lots of emotions with Leonardo's route and I really enjoyed it from start to finish! There were tropes that I really enjoyed, others that were like "here we go again," but overall an enjoyable experience. If a more emotionally mature story that doesn't forget to have fun is something you're interested in, then I would definitely recommend Leonardo's route.

Until next time~!