Game Summary – Jinguji Ren Route from Uta no Prince-sama All Star After Secret

This is part of a series of summaries of the routes in Uta no Prince-sama All Star After Secret. Heavy spoilers for the game and all previous Utapri games ahoy!

Today’s covers Jinguji Ren’s route. Starish each has one route with two endings. Note that the routes seem to take place after Debut and not after Rainbow Route in All Star. Both Rainbow Route endings are considered True Love endings, but A is the one you get when your love or music meter is below 80%.

My Japanese is limited, so apologies if I misunderstood anything. If I got something wrong, please feel free to tell me.

Warning: long post ahead! Line breaks correspond with the end of a chapter.

Haruka finishes work for the day at the agency. She’s 18 and has been working on various BGM. But today she’s going to also going to give a new composition to her boyfriend and partner. She has to hurry home but hears voices. She opens the door, and Syo is yelling at Natsuki. He says it was unfair to face Natsuki in a bread eating contest. Natsuki doesn’t understand why. Otoya is trying to calm Syo down. Masato points out that it didn’t matter about the bread if Syo can’t answer the quiz questions. Otoya says he had to go back to start five times because it was so difficult. Tokiya says it’s because Otoya took off before hearing the whole question. Ren remarks Tokiya skipped the bread race because it seemed too difficult. Cecil claims it’s because Tokiya hates high calorie bread, but Tokiya denies it.

Haruka thinks back on how she debuted because of Starish’s support. (The group isn’t called Starish here, but I’m going to.) Otoya and Syo notice Haruka and invite her inside. Natsuki says they all were at the same location today. The others mention they have been working together a lot. In fact, Ren explains, they were on a sports variety show, divided into three teams. Team 1 was Masato and Natsuki. Team 2 was Tokiya, Syo, and Cecil. Team 3 was Ren and Otoya. Ren asks Haruka which team she thinks won.

Haruka says Ren and Otoya. Otoya excitedly commends Ren for fixing Otoya’s mistakes. Ren was really good in both the bread-eating and quiz portions. Ren points out that Otoya race fast during the race and never gave up despite having to eat a lot of bread. Haruka thinks they might actually be a good pair. Otoya thanks Ren for the compliment.

Haruka is happy they’re getting so popular. She thinks about how different it is from when she was alone and couldn’t debut. Starish points out that it’s thanks to her and her songs. They decide to head home, and Syo assures Haruka he’ll defeat any bad guys that people. Cecil asks Haruka to keep making wonderful music.

Haruka is at the cafe, and Tomo rushes in, apologizing. They haven’t seen each other in a while because of their work. They split some cake and chat. Tomo asks how Haruka and her boyfriend are doing. Haruka starts panicking. Tomo asks if she’s bashful, and Haruka says it’s a little embarrassing. Tomo laughs and wishes for her excitement. She passes it off as a joke, saying it’s impossible for an idol. Haruka thinks about how her love life is a secret, but Tomo tells her she knows Haruka and her boyfriend are serious. Tomo then pulls out a magazine from Starish’s event yesterday and gives it to Haruka. She knows Haruka will want to read the interviews. They part, promising to keep in contact and go out again. She then goes to read her boyfriend’s interview.

Haruka finds her seat at an auditorium. It’s five minutes before the show. Ren is the lead in a play, so she received a ticket. She was worried she wouldn’t make it because of her work and because it’s so popular. Fans comment on how the theater is sold out of pamphlets, and even obtaining a ticket is a miracle. Haruka realizes how lucky she is to receive an invitation to the show. He heart pounds. All she knows about the show is that it is a fantasy. The lights dim. Ren appears onstage in a warrior’s costume and calls out for the princess. He’s a knight named Alan who has come to save the princess. Haruka is entranced. The people say the princess is dead, but Alan proclaims he cannot die until he tells her he loves her. He goes out into the audience to ask for information on his princess. Haruka wonders if Ren is notices her as he passes by her. But he shouldn’t know where her seat is. As he heads back onstage, Ren brushes his hand over Haruka’s shoulder, but to the audience, it just looks like he was flapping his mantle. Her shoulder feels warmer now.

The play was a painful love story and yet comical. Time just flew by.

Haruka is waiting for Ren so they can walk home together. He spots her from a distance. “Yep. A Lady under the moonlight is captivating.” He apologizes for being selfish and wanting to walk home together. He says he was happy to notice her at the theater because he wasn’t sure if she could make it. Haruka asks how did he notice her if he didn’t know she was coming. “The power of love…maybe? If it’s you, I’m confident I could find you anywhere in the galaxy.” The then repeats a line from the play about how “his” princess’ beauty won’t lose to the stars. (What’s with all the space talk? Is this Natsuki’s route?) Haruka admits her voice almost came out when he touched her shoulder. He blushes. Ren thought she wouldn’t notice. He asks if Haruka enjoyed the play. He wants to know her favorite scene. She first thinks of the last scene (the happy ending) but also liked the battle scene and his entrance. She admits it was the last scene because it was so romantic. Ren kneels before her and dramatically proclaims he’ll be her knight and protect her with his life. Haruka begs him to stand back up. Feeling like a princess made her heart race though.

Haruka raves about the play. Ren is becoming embarrassed. Haruka says the whole audience enjoyed it and how fortunate she was to get a ticket. It’s all thanks to her, he says. He wouldn’t be here if they hadn’t met. Haruka disagrees. He could captivate people even when they were students. She couldn’t believe someone like him would be her partner. He then tells her it’s because she encouraged and believed in him. He’s really grateful. Ren kisses Haruka’s hand. She worries they’ll be spotted, but he insists they’re fine, just like at the play. He says she’s his first love and just holding her hand makes his heart pound. Her heart pounds and she can’t think of anything to say. She’s so cute Ren wants to embrace her right there. He knows they can’t there, so he winks at her and invites her to his room to “give plenty of love”. They hold hands, but Haruka can’t remember the walk home.

He mischievously smiles at how he properly escorted her back. Ren apologizes for not having a lot of time to spend with her lately. He tells her not to hold back and come closer. She’s shy but jumps into his arms. He’s happy just being like that. Haruka draws closer, so he kisses her earlobe. He comments on how red she is and how he wants to dye all of her in his color. He kisses her cheek. Red face. He wants to know where she wants to be kissed next…or does she want something more than a kiss? She requests the lips next. He was thinking the same thing. Ren kisses her twice. They make out for a while before Ren stops. They’ll continue later. He wants to know if she started the new song. Uh, yes. The song, right. Ren asks her not to make a lonely face or their love won’t be properly expressed in the song. Haruka then switches to work mode. But she’s still out of it and drops all her papers. He helps her picks them up and waits for her to compose herself. Ren has a suggestion for the song. He wants to produce it. The song will express the freedom he feels now as an idol. A song to reflect his growth, one different than his usual image.

She works on a song for him and finishes. She plays it. He loves both her passion and the passion in the song. He kisses her temple. The song fits the image he wanted perfectly. But they’ll work together to make it the ultimate song as partners. Hearing the word “partners” makes Haruka happy. Ren now starts thinking about a performance to go with it. He starts planning the stage and stuff. Haruka thinks how skillful he is at a variety of stuff, and then she remembers the action scene from the play. Ren notices her stare; she didn’t realize. He addresses her as Honey (finally) and asks if she started to miss him. Haruka replies yes, but she’s looking forward to the new song. Ren responds that the song is important, however, they need to enjoy their time together, too. They’ll continue from earlier. He wants to know what kind of loving she wants. Haruka leaves it to Ren. “Does that mean…I’m free to do what I want?” “Yes…” He mutters to himself that he must hold back. He kisses her finger because he’s her knight. They embrace. Haruka wants to be stronger for Ren, the side of him only she knows. She’ll do her best for the song so they can have more times like this.

The work on the song continues. Haruka, Ren, Ranmaru, and Masato are at the agency in a rehearsal room working on the song. Ren has recruited Ranmaru and Masato as backup singers. They’re discussing which parts the two should join in on. Ranmaru and Masato are also playing instruments. The group finally takes a break, exhausted. Ren is bored. He wants to chat. Ranmaru brought up earlier how their breathing wasn’t in sync. It’s because it’s been awhile since they’ve all sang together. Ranmaru just thinks it’s a pain right now. Masato serves Ranmaru tea. Ranmaru admits the two kouhai are a bit better than they were before. Ren thinks it’s because of Ranmaru’s Spartan training methods. Masato is also grateful. Ren still can’t believe they’re all here now. Ranmaru is unapproachable, Masato is revolting, and he’s strict. Masato objects to his description and also adds that Ren is not serious enough. Ranmaru chimes in that Masato is so damn serious that Ranmaru’s never bored. Masato is shocked. Ren turns to Haruka and asks which one has grown the most. If she answers Ranmaru, the other two get very depressed. If she says Masato, he’s like, “Burn, Jinguji” while Ren counters with, “It’s ONLY for who grew the most, you know?”, and Ranmaru yells at the two to stop fighting and that they both have a ways to go. Of course, she says Ren. Masato replies Ren was like a guardian back at school, and Ranmaru is worried if Ren is like a protector. Haruka defends him, and Ren gets embarrassed. Masato laughs and states Ren is no match for Haruka while Ranmaru says that she unexpectedly might be the dominate one. They practice some more. Then Ren tells Haruka to take a break since the fine-tuning of the song is done. She still has to deliver the song tuning, though. He’ll deliver it. Masato also urges her to rest and leave it to Ren. She agrees. Masato notes that Ren really treasures her and watches over her carefully. Ranmaru interrupts, and the other two apologize. He didn’t mean for them to do so. It’s dead silent. Nobody can think of anything to talk about. Masato speaks up and says it’s quiet with Ren around. Ranmaru agrees. Masato chuckles about how Ren used to be a lone wolf-type. Ranmaru doesn’t believe it. Ren used to say he didn’t belong to anyone, Masato continues. The two go on for a bit about Ren and how he’s changed until he comes back. Ren wants to know what they all were talking about. The other two go back to their tsuntsun mode. Now Ren is really interested. Masato won’t tell, so Ren’s like, “Fine. I’ll ask Lady.” Masato and Ranmaru hurry and restart practice while Haruka giggles an “I’m sorry”.

Later that day, Haruka and Ren are at her apartment. She thinks the three have beautiful harmony. Haruka notices Ren seems cheerful. He liked seeing Masato and Ranmaru hanging around together talking. Being with other people expands a person’s world and moves their heart. Haruka did that for Ren; she’s the one who gives him courage and love. Haruka disagrees and believes it was through Ren’s own power. Ren feels music filling his body when they talk. Haruka suggests she play the song. He’s excited but wonders if she’s too tired. She’ll do it because it’s a request. He admits he’s really no match for her and her passion for music. She plays, and he applauds after she finishes. She’s so adorable, and yet where does all this powerful music come from? They talk a little more.

Ren calls it quits for the night. Haruka asks if they can chat a little longer. Ren confirms the theme will be “freedom”. He wants to express how he freely lives his life now and how he grew up. When he first entered Saotome Gakuen, he thought he would freely do whatever he wanted since he didn’t care about being an idol. But he didn’t think anything was fun. Haruka and his friends reached out their hands and helped him. He’s really glad to be an idol now. Singing, dancing, meeting fans — that’s true freedom. Haruka is delighted he feels that way. She gets fired up again, but Ren hugs Honey and says enough for tonight. She insists she’s fine. He doesn’t yield…unless she really doesn’t want to rest in his arms? Haruka relents. Ren suggests they go out the day after tomorrow since they’ve already worked so much on the song today. Haruka gets excited as she falls asleep.

The weather is beautiful two days later. The couple goes to the beach. No one else is around, so they are looking forward to enjoying themselves. Haruka notices that white clovers are blooming. Haruka used to make crowns out of them when she was younger. Ren requests Haruka teach him so he can give one to her as a present. They start making a flower crown. Ren blushes because she’s watching him so intensely. They finish and he puts his crown on her. She’s so cute, his princess. Then he asks if she ever gave anyone a crown when she was a child. No, this is the first time giving one to a guy, my prince. He’s relieved. This time, he’s going to teach her how to climb a tree. She protests, but Ren assures her by saying he learned from George’s survival techniques. So she gives it a try. Ren encourages Honey as she climbs up. She slips but he catches her. She finally makes it up the tree and looks at the scenery. They look at boats and he talks about how amazing it would be just to get on a ship and go somewhere. He asks Haruka where she’d like to go. She replies Italy since it’s Ren’s favorite country. He loves that she remembers. He goes on and declares that’s where they’ll go for their honeymoon. They continue to chat. Ren is happy just to be like this. He wants Haruka to continue with him into the future, starting with the song. Haruka agrees.

After the trip, Ren went back to work. He was out on location at the beach. It’s hard work, but he enjoyed it. Haruka is waiting at a busy cafe for him, the first time she has seen him in a while. Ren calls out to her, disappointed he can’t embrace Honey. She was lonely, too. Ren reports everything went well. He found an island but doesn’t know exactly where it was since he doesn’t use a map when he travels. It’s more freeing that way, he explains. He even got lost. Meeting people is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, though. She wants to hear more. Ren has pictures ready, so what does she want to hear about first? The beautiful location. It was nice, but Ren wanted to see it together. He’ll bring her there one day. He also brought her a present: a vintage necklace with a sparkling glass stone. He’s glad to see her more cheerful now. Ren can tell something happened when he was away. She finally admits she screwed up on a job. The client had requested her, but she didn’t have the power to deliver. She feels pathetic since Ren always does a perfect job. He regrets not being by her side when she needed him most. He strokes her hair to console her. Then he gets up for a moment. When he comes back, Ren tells her he’s taking her to the place where’s she’s the most cheerful.

Ren takes Haruka to the recording room. He knows she’s happiest when she’s working. He’ll erase her bad memory with a song she loves. She’ll also get the power to surpass her current talents. He urges her to play the song since she’s surely been working on it. Ren squeezes her shoulder. He wants to see her music, the music she feels when she thinks of him. She plays. Ren describes her music as like stars. He’s so happy having her as a partner. They’ll work on it more together. He tells her to have more confidence in herself. She may have failed before, but Haruka will overcome it. Ren has been saved by her many times before like at the audition and debut. Even Ren is surprised at how much he’s changed. He wonders what has changed the most about himself. Haruka replies that he no matter when, his smiles are full of joy. He admits he tries to look cool but now he’s embarrassed. He really can’t win against Haruka; she’s the one who lead him down this path. He kisses her fingers. She opened Ren’s heart and taught him both love and freedom. He’s still bewildered because it’s his first love. It’s the same for her. He loves her so much he worries if his feelings are truly being conveyed. She wonders why such a wonderful guy is her boyfriend sometimes, too. But she properly feels his love. Ren says they’ll overcome their worries and troubles together. And when Ren takes the lead, she becomes stronger. It’s the power of love. He’s glad she’s back to her normal self. The new song will carve a new future for them. Both she and his fans will enjoy it.

Haruka has a map and she’s finally arrived at the location.

The new song is being premiered at a secret party. She worries that she’s in the wrong location. She opens the door…

And there’s a huge stage set up with lots of colorful lights and a disco ball. There’s no chairs, just standing room. Everything is elegant and gorgeous, just like Ren, and the set fits the image concept perfectly. The crowd is looking forward to the event.

The lights flare and the BGM starts. It goes dark for a moment, then Ren appears on stage saying, “Now, it’s show time!” in English. He looks a little wild tonight. The girls love his look. Ren welcomes everyone to the party. He tosses his sunglasses off as he fires up the crowd. *He wants the crowd to just feel the music. He then sings “Freedom“.

True Love Ending A:

Afterwards, he thanks the crowd and strikes a pose. He’s thoroughly exhausted. The crowd is amazed; they haven’t seen such a performance before. They were quiet but now cheer wildly. He talks about the song being a new challenge for him and how he’s glad they like his true/free self. Haruka realizes she also has to do her best. Ren announces he’s finished, but the audience calls for an encore. He tells the crowd to continue to enjoy the party’s music with other artists.

Haruka and Ren take a car home and talk for a while. They arrive at his apartment. They sit on the sofa as she raves about the performance. He’s glad she had fun. He talks about the song and how it helped show a new side of him. He thanks her and is counting on her in the future. Haruka replies she’ll create songs that fit his performance and image perfectly to please the crowd. He’s amazed she’s thought that far ahead, but she got fired up at the performance earlier. She’s in a composing mood and grabs a pen. Ren smiles as the atmosphere, but he gets a serious look on his face. She’s going to let their time together get away? He wants Haruka to pay attention to him. He pulls her back to the sofa. He apologizes for interrupting; he’s a little jealous. He knows he’s being childish, but this is what his heart is shouting out. Haruka doesn’t know where to look. He goes into seduction mode. Ren comes out and flatly says he wants her and asks what does she want to do. She wants him as well but can’t say come out and say it. Finally she says she needs Ren. He’s been lonely holding back. He calls her little lamb and tells her if she keeps making that face he’ll devour her. They kiss passionately. Then Ren pulls her into his lap and starts undressing himself. Ren asks if it’s that unusual, and Haruka stammers that she was staring at him because he’s beautiful. He wants her to help. She does couple of buttons before stopping out of embarrassment. He laughs. She says she wants to know all of him. If she keeps talking like that, Ren says, he’ll just want to be spoiled more. And she’ll do it, no matter what kind of unreasonable request? So first he asks for a kiss which she shyly does. Then he returns the favor. Then he starts touching her all over until Honey can’t take it anymore. He has her feel his heartbeat so that she knows that he’s only pretending to be cool. And then the two melt into the night.

True Love Ending B:

The audience loves the song. They cry out for an encore. Ren shouts commands in English from onstage to keep the crowd pumped up. Haruka is also amazed. Ren performs again. Ren admits he was nervous about the song but is glad they liked it. Haruka feels the songs throughout her body. Then she hears a guy ask if she’s alone. She manages to get out “Jingu–” before Ren covers her mouth. Haruka questions whether it’s okay to leave. Ren’s like, “Probably not” but doesn’t really care. The party is nonstop, so he feels free to go. He’s inviting her to an even better party. Ren hands over the ticket: a rose. Because the dresscode is just a rose, right? (It’s the opening lines from the song.) He grabs her hand to enjoy the “hot, sweet night just for the two of them”.

Haruka wants to know where they’re going. Ren just tells her to come along. Girls notice Ren and wonder if he’s a model. He’s not concerned about being outed. It feels good to be free. One girl mentions he looks like Jinguji Ren, but another doesn’t believe he’d be here. The girl thinks about calling out to him. Ren realizes that the girls are going to interrupt his and Haruka’s private time. So he and Haruka dash off.

They stop for a breather. Ren offers to carry Haruka in a princess lift since she’s probably tired from running. She’s fine. Then Haruka spots a ferris wheel. Ren wanted to take her to the place of dreams someday, but tonight they’ll just have a blast, just the two of them. Haruka already feels like she’s in a dream.

They go inside the amusement park. Everything’s lit up. It’s beautiful, but Ren says her smile is even more dazzling. It’s been a good day. The song reached everyone’s hearts, and Ren fully enjoyed himself on stage. The songs they make are a beautiful, miraculous dream. They walk hand-in-hand for a while.

Ren tells Haruka there’s something he wants to show her and pulls her to a place where they won’t be spotted. The thanks her for teaching him true love. He says her he can’t be without her and that she’s his goddess of fate. Then he asks if she will stay with him. Of course she will. After all, she fell in love with his voice when they first met. He’s overjoyed and pulls her in for an embrace. He tells he loves her. Ren never knew he could be so happy. Haruka still feels like everything’s a dream. He replies that they should see the same dream from now on then. He kisses her. They kiss so passionately Haruka forgets where they’re at; they’re in a world of their own. She’s his, he says. They’ll start another new dream here.