As a seasoned fan of ebi-hime, I thought I knew what to expect from Beneath the Bleeding Moon, but she still managed to surprise me!

Beneath the Bleeding Moon is an adventure-driven BL kinetic novel set in pre-Bakumatsu Japan, though the story is generic enough to be set anywhere. Ebi-hime challenged herself to write a more action-oriented game and I think she pulled it off wonderfully! Bleeding Moon has animation, more sound effects, chibi art, and multiple bonus scenes. It felt fancy and I felt fancy playing it.

I had one meaningful quibble and that's the narrative got a bit bloated. Ebi-hime is a rather verbose writer, but some points in Bleeding Moon dragged. For example, in the SFW version, Kishou and Haru argue over Kishou accompanying Haru three times in a row. The repetition made slightly more sense with the NSFW patch because something else happened between the arguments, but I really wanted the characters to Get On With It. Overall, however, the narrative was quite fun. I liked hanging out with Haru and Kishou, and watching them grow closer. The notion that cross-dressing is a SPOILER legit tactic to deter demons END SPOILER is rib-tickling delightful. 

I also wanted to give a shout out to Background TK for their extremely lovely art. Those backgrounds are astounding! So detailed! 10 out of 10 would frame them on my wall.

If you're searching for a more plot-forward BL romance, or an entry point to ebi-hime's BL games, Beneath the Bleeding Moon has all the bells, whistles, and foundational yaoi you could ask for. Make sure to download the r18 patch!