Saimin Gakuen (Hypno School) is the latest game from the Japanese studio and publisher, Blackrainbow.  It is a adult game, revolving around the adventures of a rather horrible outcast who is given a device (shaped like a 1950s b-movie raygun) that forces people into a hypnotic trance.

The outcast, named Murakoshi, is your typical hentai game protagonist of this genre.  Glasses, skinny, well endowed, and hated by just about everyone at his school.  A real perverted bastard, he would fit right in with the characters on any male dominant MCStories.com story.

Story
Like most stories in this genre, the story in Saimin Gakuen is fairly simple.  The protagonist is hated and reviled at his school, to the point that he does not have any real friends.  The story starts off with him meeting the new exchange student Midori, who is fairly nice to him.  Murakoshi shows his perverted nature by feeling her up on the bus, and getting a teacher at his school blamed for it.  This shows the kind of person he is -- there is a reason that he is disliked by the people at his school, he is a real sleeze.

The story continues on to show a typical day of school for him.  Kurasawa, the most popular girl in school, is disgusted by merely looking at him; Aya, the rather large breasted star of the school swimming team, hates his guts; and his homeroom teacher Mayumi, a real ball breaker, rides him the entire time he is at school. 

After he goes home, he complains to a friend of his, "Mr. K" on the Internet.  (Mr. K is a reference to a previous Blackrainbow Hypnotism game.)  Mr. K tells him not to worry, and to expect a special package in the mail soon.

The next day, our hero gets the package, and instructions from Mr. K.  Inside is a small device shaped like a futuristic ray gun.  This device emites a combination of a special light and a high pitched sound that overrides whoever sees it's mind and forces them into a deep trance state.  Like most hypnotism fiction, this is the "you do whatever I say, no matter what" type of trance.

Starting the next day, our hero starts using it on the girls of his school.  This is where the game divulges to one of 10 endings, depending on what girls you pick and when you pick them.  You usually have the chance to pick them during the school's lunch break and right after school.  Each of the girls has 3 endings revolving mostly about , with a special hidden 10th ending involving, well, everyone.

Each of the girls has a "theme" of sorts to them.  The commands Murakoshi gives Kurasawa mostly revolve around her being corrupted and brainwashed to fall in love with the hero.  Aya's commands mostly revolve around her being completely oblivious to her actions as being out of the ordinary (for instance, she starts practicing for swim meets nude in the school pool, as long as she isn't around the other teammembers.  She doesn't recongize this as being wrong at all)..  Midori's commands and endings are two fold, as she is the "real" romantic interest of the story -- depending on how things go, they either live happily ever after, or Midori ends up severely messed up.  Mayumi's commands are the truely 'pathic of the group, as all but one of her commands involve her recognizing everything she is doing, but being unable to stop herself.

Art
Saimin Gakuen's art is very high quality.  The 4 girls (and the various "extras") are all extremely well drawn, and very consistant.  Aya is huge chested in every shot she is in, Kurasawa has the same hairstyle no matter what, etc etc.  There is censorship and mosaicing like most hentai games have, but that's a staple of the genre.

Backgrounds are reused a lot, but quite nice.  They "don't get in the way", as it were.

Sound
Sound is where Saimin Gakuen shines.  The music is good, and fits the scene excellently.  When the Saimen track comes on, you know someone is about to be hypnotized.  When track 03 comes on, you know the effects of that hypnotism are about to be shown.  When "Motion 'D'" (played only during the 10th, final ending) comes on, you know Murakoshi has absolutely lost his mind.  Motion D is one of the more memorable tracks I've heard in a game in recent history -- every sound and nuance in it just screams insanity.

As good as the background is in Saimin Gakuen is, the character voices are even better.  The voices all fit their roles quite well, with Aya just screaming out perkyness and energy, and Kurasawa just screaming out innocence and purity.  When under a trance, all of the voice actors really push it through, with a faraway droned on sound to their voices.  Murakoshi is not voiced at all, although this is typical of a game of this genre.  The only odd thing is that obscene Japanese words are "bleeped out"  (think Jerry Springer).  Although this is cute, it does get old, especially in some of the more obscene scenes.

Replay
Saimin Gakuen has a lot of replayability, IF you do not follow a guide to unlock 100% of everything immediately.  Some of the endings, particularly the pseudo hidden 10th ending, are extremely difficult to unlock. 

After unlocking everything, Saimin Gakuen becomes similar to a good MC story -- you take it out of your CD Wallet when you feel like it, go after the girl / girls you want, then put it away till you want to play it again.

Extras
Saimin Gakuen has several good extras.  Hidden in it are 5 scenarios that revolve around "other" girls at the school.  I am not sure if these are girls from previous Blackrainbow games, although I am fairly certain that is the case.  These run the gambit -- they are linear, short, and basically stories, with no gameplay.  Some are extremely dark, like the one reolving around the shy girl who has her bowel control removed from her.  Others are extremely docile, like the revenge the hero takes upon a school reporter who threatens to expose Murakoshi's MC adventure to the school (Murakoshi convinces her that an in depth expose on her own masturbatory habits would be much better received).  I personally had a special place in my heart (libedo?) for the snotty teenage actress that forgets to put on any clothes before the big school cultural festival play.

There are 2 "extra" scenarios that are unlocked in the game as well.  These are also linear, with no side quests or anything.  The first takes place after unlocking Ending 3.  It is the same as the events leading up to Ending 3, except this time, it goes through the eyes of one of the victims.  The second is much longer and more fun, it takes place after unlocking all 10 endings.  Entitled "Hypnotism Sports Festival", it revolves around what a PE class might be like if Murakoshi ran it with his MC gun.

Final Thoughts
Saimin Gakuen is an extremely fun romp through a multi-choice, illustraited, version of a MC story.  It has something for everything, a little romance, a little non-consentual body-control, a bit of socialpathic stuff, and even a little scat and water-sports for those who like that sort of thing.  Consider that they had originally intended for there to be at least 5 more victims, and it becomes somewhat clear that they had really intended the game to be at least twice as big as it is now.  As it stands, it does feel a tiny bit short while using a translator and a guide to beat it, especially for the rather hefty price tag ($82).  However, the content is extremely nice, and well varied, which makes it worth the price.  I whole heartedly await when I am able to find Hypnotism by Black Rainbow for sale somewhere, and when Gadget by Black Rainbow comes out later this year.

Review Extras
Saimin Gakuen Ending Spoilers