Metro PD: Kirisawa Hiroshi

I’m in Love with My Boss

Dating a coworker is mostly a bad idea. If it goes well, all is good, but if it doesn’t, odds are, you won’t be able to work together. Now, dating your boss is obviously a wholly different beast. There’s a power imbalance, there will be rumours of favouritism, and the woman in the relationship will be disparaged the moment it comes out – regardless of whether she’s the boss or the underling. But this is the world of romance games, so obviously, everything will be just fine.

This route was offered for free on Love 365 in the first week of March 2018, which is the entire reason I played it, as I had some reservations about this game.

Synopsis

The MC starts working in 2nd Unit of Metro PD, and is partnered with her charismatic superior, Lieutenant Kirisawa. The atmosphere in the unit is one of great familiarity, with Kirisawa in the role of a big brother or father, looking after everybody. He gives his team a lot of freedom to handle cases how they see fit, and has their back when the higher-ups come to complain about it. His position as a caretaker of sorts of his people also leads to him occasionally cooking for the team, because apparently none of the other guys has acquired that skill.

We meet up with the MC about three months into her new job. The group has just started investigating a curious situation around recent drug busts, where it seems that only small fish were taken off the streets, while entire rings are left to do as they please. The overall rate of drug-related arrests has increased, but no players of significance have been apprehended. Soon, it becomes clear that a high-ranking member of the police is in the pocket of the cartels.

As the suspect becomes aware of the investigation, he takes measures to discourage further prying into his business. To no avail, of course; under Kirisawa’s capable leadership – he manages to convince even the guys from adversarial 1st Unit to cooperate – and with Nomura sorting out the brass, they bring down the corruption in their own ranks.

The Chemistry

It is known in the department that Kirisawa* is completely clueless about romance, always being the last to realise that a person might be into him. Which makes it sound all the funnier when, early on in the route, he calls the MC innocent and naïve, and warns her to beware of the guys, lest they try something funny. Obviously, she’s got the guys handled, and also, is he projecting maybe the tiniest bit?

What makes their story so convincing is that the development between the MC and Kirisawa is very gradual. Both are trying to keep their emotions to themselves, so they don’t get in the way of the rather perilous job at hand. But it is also obvious that something’s going on. Their affection grows from mutual respect, and from friendship.

Kirisawa is exactly what it says on the box: charismatic, yet dependable, a genuinely good person. He says what he means, and means what he says. He can obviously not talk about his feelings towards his subordinate (until he does), but his feelings are, while restrained, still palpable. He treats the MC with care, but does not give her special treatment because of her gender.

* “Kirisawa” is the family name, of course, but it is customary to address people that way, rather than the much too familiar first name.

Bottom Line

I am very, very happy about having played this route. So much so, that I decided to look into a few of the other guys. The main attraction here is the MC: she is dedicated, not at all risk-avoidant, and perfectly capable of taking care of herself. She knows judo. She might be the only woman in that unit, but she talks right back when the guys tease her. Most of all, she handles her growing attraction like an adult – well, until faced with, umm that situation. You’ll know it when you see it.

So yeah, I might still not like his hair, but this is a great route.