, abbreviated as , is a Japanese adult visual novel developed by Sprite, which was released in Japan on October 29, 2010 for Windows PCs and later ported to the PlayStation Portable on September 27, 2012. The gameplay in Love, Election and Chocolate follows a branching plot line, which offers pre-determined scenarios with courses of interaction, and focuses on the appeal of the five female main characters by the player character. There have been two manga adaptations serialized in ASCII Media Works' Dengeki G's Magazine and Dengeki Daioh. A 12-episode anime television series adaptation produced by AIC Build and directed by Tōru Kitahata aired between July and September 2012, with an additional episode released on the series' final Blu-ray Disc and DVD volume in March 2013.
Gameplay
Love, Election and Chocolate is a romance visual novel in which the player assumes the role of Yuki Ojima. Its gameplay requires little player interaction as much of the game's duration is spent on reading the text that appears on the screen, which represents the story's narrative and dialogue. Love, Election and Chocolate follows a branching plot line with multiple endings, and depending on the decisions that the player makes during the game, the plot will progress in a specific direction.
There are five main plot lines that the player will have the chance to experience, one for each of the heroines in the story. Every so often, the player will come to a point where they are given the chance to choose from multiple options. Text progression pauses at these points until a choice is made. To view all plot lines in their entirety, the player will have to replay the game multiple times and choose different choices to further the plot to an alternate direction. In the adult versions of the game, there are scenes with sexual CGs depicting Yuki and a given heroine having sex.
Plot
Love, Election and Chocolate follows the protagonist Yūki Ōjima, who attends , a large school with over 6,000 students. Yūki is a member of the , abbreviated as FRC or , along with seven others, including his childhood friend Chisato Sumiyoshi. The members leisurely spend their time in the club not doing much activities. When the election of the next student council president comes up, the front runner Satsuki Shinonome proposes that clubs that have no merit should be sorted out and abolished. The Food Research Club seeks advice from the current student council president Yakumo Mōri, who suggests Yūki run in the election as an opposing candidate. Yūki learns about the issues facing the school and decides to run in the election.
Characters
Main characters
(anime), Yuka Keicho (child) Yūki is the protagonist of Love, Election and Chocolate and is a second-year student at Takafuji Academy, who lives in an apartment with his mother. His father died when he was a child. He is a member of FRC. He is mostly annoyed when someone reads his last name wrong—Ōshima, and not Ōjima. In the anime, he learns his feelings for Chisato and later becomes her boyfriend.
(PC game), Eriko Nakamura (PSP game/anime), Hiro Nakajima (child) Chisato is a second-year student at Takafuji Academy and is Yūki's childhood best friend. She is the president of FRC. She does not like chocolate due to the death of her younger brother, who was fond of chocolate. She later becomes Yuki's girlfriend in the anime, after she realizes her feelings for him and is able to come in terms with her younger brother's death and no longer dislikes chocolate and begins eating them with Yuki.
(PC game), Mai Kadowaki (PSP game/anime) Isara is a first-year student. She lives with her mother and two younger brothers. She works at a fast food restaurant because her family is poor, and is bullied by the wealthier students constantly, both physically and verbally.
Michiru is a first-year student and Isara's classmate. She is a newcomer who joined FRC just before the student council election. She lives in the student dormitory because her home is far from Takafuji Academy. She is generally very quiet, only speaking a few words to express her thoughts, and almost never smiles. She knows how to play one song on a harmonica her best friend Kana taught her, and came to Takafuji Academy to look for her. She has the ability to see what mood a person is in, ranging from blue (sad), yellow (happy), to purple/black (evil).