Review: NTR Homestay; Or How to Raise Japan’s Birthrates

Introduction

Tsuma no Niku Ana ni Homestay Suru Macho Ryuugakusei ~Shucchouchuu no Sono Ura de, Tsuma wa Kurobikari Bou kara Afureru Hodo no Hakudaku o Sosogare, Yorokobi ni Michita Acme-gao o Sarashiteita~, also known as NTR Homestay, or affectionately referred to in some circles as Danny’s Game, is an Netorare/NTR eroge visual novel. Originally released in Japanese in April of 2017 by ANIM.teamMM and published by ANIM, a fan-made patch translating the game’s story text into English was released in February 2021 anonymously through 4channel on the /vg/ board’s containment thread known as /vn/.

Characters

The story focuses on the main cast at all times with only 4 named characters appearing throughout. Tohru Oosaki, the husband and head of the household, works hard at his office job to provide for his family, but can be a bit naive. Akie Oosaki, the housewife, adores children so much her family frequently brings in short term Homestay students as a result. Riko Oosaki, their daughter, is as shy as she is cute, rarely leaving her shell to talk to anyone outside of her family. And finally, there is Daniel “Danny” Garcia, the buff foreigner Homestay student taken in by the Oosaki family, who seems to be in love with Japan and everything about it. There are also a few side characters, none of who are named, including fellow students for Riko and fellow employees for Tohru.

Plot

The Oosaki family routinely takes in short-term Homestay students, because of Akie’s adoration of children, but also because of the Oosaki family inability to afford to have a second child. When Tohru hears from a friend overseas that there is a perfect long-term Homestay student available for their family, they welcome the boy with open arms. However, this “boy” towers over Tohru, and looks nothing like the small child they were expecting. In fact, he looks closer to an adult bodybuilder than a student. Danny seems nice and much more polite than his intimidating appearance suggests, so they take him in, and, for a while, everything seems to be going well. When Tohru gets the chance to move up the corporate ladder, however, Danny’s starts getting much closer to Akie, and even Riko might be within his strike zone. Could the seemingly kind Danny be hiding a sinister side under his goofy image, or is he simply unaware of the stricter cultural norms of Japan and how taboo his actions seem? As his apparent lust grows, a variety of different routes and endings become available. While being more focused on the H-scenes compared to plot-centric visual novels such as Totono, past all the porn, this game indeed contains a story and even some minor mysteries for the player to consider.

Format/Routes

An additional point of appeal for NTR Homestay is the format of the game. The route structure allows you to play through 3 different POV without a strict order. Once you reach a point in the routes with Tohru, the starting character, you can at any time view the corresponding route and scenes from the perspective of Akie or Riko – sorry Danny fans, he maybe the star of the show, but there’s no peek behind the curtain for you. NTR Homestay takes full advantage of this route system, revealing new facts about the situation in all 3 different POV. Additionally, the FLOW chart allows you to quickly jump to the start of any scene you have seen without the need to make saves to do so. There are only a few choices in NTR Homestay, but the choices will drastically alter your route and allow for a variety of satisfying NTR situations and plot resolutions. NTR Homestay features around 25-30 hours of story content. The main star of the show, of course, are the dozens of unique H-scenes, many of which can be viewed through multiple POVs, as participants and sometimes evens as voyeurs. These H-scenes often go on for a while, even exceedingly long times, with the game really wanting to drill in just how “skilled” Danny is as he goes for round after round.

Technical

On the “Extra” tab within the game, you will find standard bonus features starting with a CG gallery giving quick access to hundreds of images across the dozens of scenes, often having 20 or more variations of CG per scene. The Animation gallery is similarly loaded with dozens of scenes, and the “Memories” tab allows you to quickly replay an H-scene with a total of 90 options (though many of these are repeated H-scenes from a different POV). There is also a simple Music player for the 11 tracks in the game. As a bonus, as a benefit of running on the E-mote engine, the game includes a wonderful Sprite Viewer mode, where you can rig the sprites in different outfits and backgrounds and take screenshots from within the game.

Visuals

As mentioned, NTR Homestay utilizes the E-mote engine, which comes with a multitude of aesthetics benefits. Both some of the H-scenes and character sprites are animated, bringing some life into the visuals, especially for when “appreciating” the H-scenes, even through the mosaics. Akie’s sprite in particular benefits from the E-mote physics, proving to be a little more “dynamic” than the others. The art style for the Oosaki women are soft and shiny, allowing a nice juxtoposition compared to the more squared and toned art of Danny’s sprite. Over the course of the story, the characters visit several locations, including favorites like the beach, which come with suitable backgrounds and costume changes for the cast, all of which are visually pleasing. With a 1280×720 aspect ratio and gorgeous H-scenes, NTR Homestay delivers well in terms of visuals.

Sound

As if Tohru’s struggles were not enough, only the female cast of NTR Homestay are voiced, though they are fully voiced and well cast. That’s right, you will only be able to hear Danny’s voice in your dreams and imagination, for it is not found within the game. That said, Akie and Riko both have fitting voices that work very well both in H-scenes and outside of them. The 11 background music tracks of NTR Homestay are pleasant to listen to and set the mood very well for all types of scenes found within the game. The OST leans lightly into jazz in several tracks, with dulcet saxophone tones in cheery tracks for slice of life scenes and more alluring tracks for the H-scenes. The sound effects and sound mixing are fitting, with sounds for common noises like phones ringing and filters put over the audio to replicate the audio of talking over the phone, and even certain “bodily functions” have sound effects, adding some extra spice to the H-scenes.

Verdict

Having completed all three POV route trees of NTR Homestay, I can gladly recommend it to anyone looking for an “NTR” title, or to anyone who is able to enjoy self-inserting as Akie or Riko (Self-inserting as Danny is not recommended due to potential for testosterone poisoning). No matter how much or how little NTR content you prefer, there are H-scenes for you here.

The characters of NTR Homestay are by no means perfect, and throughout your time with the game you will learn more about all of them, changing your opinions as you go, and this process helps elevate the game beyond simple pornography. Where does the responsibility lie, which characters are at fault? Is Danny in the wrong, or just unaware of Japanese cultural norms and not given the guidance he needs due to preconceived notions that he is must be a grown adult and know these things already based on his size? Should Akie really be giving Danny lessons in Japanese language instead of teaching him about the cultural divide he is experiencing? Is it really Danny’s fault if nobody tells him that hugs are not given as freely in Japan as they are in his country? I think the ride NTR Homestay offers while answering these questions is worth it, and hope you will too. You can purchase NTR Homestay on DLSite or Fanza.