Hanafuda Otome Game ‘Hana Awase New Moon’ Reveals Karakurenai/Utsutsu Volume Opening; New Gameplay Screenshots

Dramatic Create and HuneX EN shared a new trailer for Hana Awase New Moon showcasing the opening video for the Karakurenai/Utsutsu Volume. It features the music Ruten~Wheel of Fortune~, performed by Rekka Katagiri and Mao Uzuki. Hana Awase New Moon will release on Nintendo Switch on October 26, 2023.

Hana Awase tells the story of Mikoto, a young woman who’s fascinated by card games as well as cooking and sewing. Once she gets to know the Kasen game, a special Hanafuda variation, she is allured by its depths but isn’t skilled in it. However, as part of a special academy focused on the game, she’ll have the chance to become a Minamo, a maiden who brings inspiration to the top male students known as the “Five Brights” (Gokou).

Part of the appeal of Hana Awase is its inspiration in classic Japanese poetry, with characters inspired by historical poets and poems. There are four games (Mizuchi, Himeutsugi, Karakurenai/Utsutsu, and Iroha), each of which has one or two main characters but they also include other short routes.

The Karakurenai/Utsutsu volume focuses on the stories of two of the protagonist’s love interests, though there are also additional short routes with the other characters. Karakurenai is a blood-thirsty Kaei who’s full of himself and likes to play with people to see their reactions. Voiced by Satoshi Hino, he’s also extremely possessive.

Meanwhile, Utsutsu is a mysterious guy who only shows up in this volume and Iroha’s as he “went missing” after being selected as a Bright. Voiced by Noriaki Sugiyama, he nurtures an obsession with Mikoto and is an eccentric figure.

Each volume offers a different universe with slight alterations to characters’ personalities, traits and functions. Despite that, it’s still better to play them by release order to get the most out of the experience. The games also include a hanafuda minigame which has been updated for this new release.

You can watch the Karakurenai/Utsutsu Volume video below:

The companies have also shared a few screenshots of the game in its official site, showing the interface for the visual novel and card game portions: