Setting and themes
The story is set in a fictional universe where humans coexist with god and devil races. Both races are capable of mystical powers, which astounded humans since they had never seen anything like it. Despite their positive and negative stereotypes, both parties are essentially good-natured. Ten years before the story, the gateway between the worlds of the gods and devils was opened. Since then, people from all races have been immigrating between the worlds. The characters attend the multi-racial high school, National Verbena Academy (バーベナ学園) in Kōyō-chō (光陽町).[1] All of this is done so that humans, gods, and devils can meet one another and learn to coexist peacefully. Nonetheless, some members of each race had been transported to one of the other worlds, where they married and had children due to mysterious dimensional tears. This is how some students with mixed lineage can be older than the gateway to the human world, such as Mayumi Thyme, whose human parent fell into the world of the Devils through one of those tears years before the gateway to the Human world was opened, and Ama Shigure, Asa's mother. She was somehow transported from the world of the Devil to the Human world.
Shuffle! contains a leitmotif of allusions to flowers. All of the characters' names are references to flowers in some way, mostly genera of flowering plants.
Main characters
Rin Tsuchimi, the protagonist of the story, is an average seventeen-year-old second-year high school student. Since a young age, he has placed the well-being of others before his own and dislikes seeing people in sorrow. Since he lost his parents in childhood, he has been living with Kaede Fuyou, a life many of his classmates envied. One of the heroines of Shuffle!, Kaede believes her duty in life is to take care of Rin, which she takes upon herself to atone for her treatment of him in the past and bears a one-sided love towards Rin. Kaede appears again as the heroine in Really? Really!, a sequel to Shuffle!, that continues from Kaede's ending in Shuffle!.[4] In middle school, the two meet and later befriend Asa Shigure, another heroine of Shuffle! who is in her third year of high school. While she has a weak constitution, she makes up for it with her energetic tomboy personality and is an excellent cook. She has a habit of slapping Rin on his back.[1]
At the story's onset, two girls Rin had met once during his childhood came to his school as transfer students and began living as his next-door neighbors. Lisianthus, a heroine of Shuffle!, is an energetic and enthusiastic person who can start a conversation with anyone. She comes to the human world as a possible marriage candidate for Rin and as the daughter of the Lord of Gods, thankful for his kindness to her in the past.[5] Similarly, Nerine, who is also a heroine, is a reserved girl with a beautiful voice and a capable magic user. She also comes to the human world to be a marriage candidate for Rin as the daughter of the Devil King.[6] Nerine appears again as a heroine in Navel's game, Tick! Tack!, a sequel to Shuffle!, which continues from Nerine's ending.[7] Soon after the two daughters come to his school, Rin meets Primula, a strange, soft-spoken girl who often carries a stuffed cat around.[8]
Two new storylines are available in the PlayStation 2 version of the game. Mayumi Thyme is a heterochromia-eyed girl who is half-devil and half-human. She is Rin's classmate and is always searching for news.[9] She takes pride in her smallest bust size, a fact often made fun of by Rin and Itsuki, claiming them to be a rarity sought after by a select group of men.[9] Kareha is of the god race and is Asa's friend and classmate who enjoys making sweets and taking on related part-time jobs.[10] Whenever she sees something romantic or cute, she has a habit of saying "Ma Ma Maa!" and starts to daydream, losing awareness of her surroundings.[10]
In ''Shuffle! Essence+'', there are four new storylines available in the game. Tsubomi is Kareha's younger sister, and like Kareha, she tends to space out when she sees something romantic or cute. Her catchphrase is "Kya! Kya! Kya!". She's the same age as Primula, so they quickly become friends. Sakura is Rin's and Kaede's childhood friend; they have known each other since elementary school. That's why she knows about Rin's and Kaede's tragic past. Nadeshiko is Rin's homeroom teacher. She's confident, firmly stepping on the ground, single, attractive, and frequently the victim of pickup lines, including from the Devils King and Itsuki. It appears she has some martial arts training (being able to slice a bottle with her bare hand). She has a habit of punishing students harshly, such as writing 100-page reports and dragging a tire around the track for minor offenses. However, when speaking about romantic relationships or cuteness, she can become shy, especially when someone talks about her. Daisy is Sia's cousin. When they were kids, they used to play a lot together. However, because of some circumstances between their fathers, they stopped playing together. Daisy remembers the precious for her time she spends with Lisianthus. However, Sia seems to have forgotten the old days they were together.
