Yo-Jin-Bo (The Bodyguards) (用心棒) is a Japanese visual novel produced by Two-Five. In October 2006, Hirameki International released an English edition of the Windows version in the United States. It is part of their AnimePlay PC line, and as such is a Windows game (as opposed to the DVD games in that line, which have limited features). There is also a version for the PlayStation 2 titled Yo-Jin-Bo: Unmei no Freude and a manga adaptation of the game. The explanation for this name is a bit of a pun, as "yojinbo" itself means "bodyguards" in English, and three of the main characters have nicknames that make up this phrase (Yo, Jin, and Bo). Incidentally, these three characters are the ones that seem to be naturally grouped by themselves, and the reader sees them all at a festival together at the introduction of the story.

Plot

The story focuses on the main character Sayori, who is a modern high school girl. She finds a mysterious pendant while out helping with an archeological dig (she's in the high school history club, so she is forced to attend), and later has a strange dream—it seems that the scene is from about a hundred and fifty years ago, during the last days of the samurai, and she sees Hatsuhime, princess of the Mochizuke clan, assassinated! It gets even more strange when the scene changes, and Sayori realizes that she's in Hatsuhime's body; that she has somehow seen how things were, and the situation has somehow "reset", giving her the chance to avert the princess's terrible fate.

Gameplay

This is considered a visual novel, and not a dating sim; however, effectively there are six "bodyguard" characters throughout the course of the game. The choices made by the player usually determine which one of these characters Sayori falls in love with. The game is also mainly targeted at teenage girls, and falls in the category of otome games. The atmosphere is similar to the anime series Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo, due to all the anachronisms and references to aspects of popular culture.

Characters

Names are given surname-first, given name-last, if applicable.

Voice actors