The Change My Mind Challenge sounds like a good excuse for me to gush about Tsugumi, so here I am.

When I first started the game, Tsugu was, design-wise, one of my lowest ranking girls. I prefer characters with flashier designs, like Hina, for example. But after just a few days, Tsugu became my best girl. Part of the reason is her voice. For me, a character’s voice plays a huge factor in whether I like them or not. They could have everything I’ve ever wanted in design and personality, but if I don’t like their voice, I kinda just back away slowly. With Tsugu, her voice is just so sweet and adorable, and it always lifts my mood to listen to her speak.

Of course, I fell in love with her personality too. She’s an ordinary girl who cares a lot about her friends and just wants to do her very best. She’s aware that she doesn’t stand out as much, and that she isn’t as musically-inclined as the rest of Afterglow. She isn’t ashamed of this fact though, and instead she uses it as a motivation to work hard to support her friends. I find that to be really inspirational. A lot of the times, I feel like I’m not up to par with the people around me (college is stressful guys otz) and it’s easy for me to just go “whatever” and mope until I feel better. But Tsugumi shows that it’s okay not to be as good as other people sometimes and to just be yourself. And it’s this trait of hers that allows her to accept other people for who they are, flaws and all, and to see the best in them. Acceptance of both yourself and other people is easier said than done, but Tsugumi is able to do it, and it makes me love and admire her so much for it.