Summer Pockets: Reflection Blue releases tomorrow. Here's everything you need to know about the definitive edition of Key's iconic visual novel

Summer Pockets: Reflection Blue will finally receive its long-awaited worldwide release tomorrow on June 27, 2025. Reflection Blue is the definitive edition of the original visual novel that was simply titled Summer Pockets and was released in Japan on June 29, 2018 and globally on February 5, 2020. Reflection Blue originally released in Japan on June 26, 2020 and was not officially localized for the past five years.

Both Summer Pockets and its definitive Reflection Blue edition were developed by Key/Visual Arts, a pioneer in the visual novel genre who became renowned within the anime fandom after their first three titles, Kanon, AIR, and CLANNAD, were adapted into widely acclaimed anime series by Kyoto Animation. In the lead up to Reflection Blue¡¯s global release, Summer Pockets also received its own anime adaptation from Studio Feel, which ran from April 7 to June 23 of 2025. The Summer Pockets anime can be streamed on Crunchyroll.

Summer Pockets saw Key revisiting their roots

Summer Pockets REFLECTION BLUE on Steam!
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Following the release of their acclaimed first three titles, which are colloquially known as the ¡°seasonal trilogy¡±, Key continued to iterate on their established formula of contrasting lighthearted moments with intense melodrama with 2007¡¯s Little Busters!, but the studio also released a number of more experimental titles as well, such as 2004¡¯s Planetarian and 2011¡¯s Rewrite.

While some of these efforts were well-received, other Key releases proved particularly divisive, especially when the studio dabbled in science fiction with the anime-original Charlotte series. Summer Pockets was conceived as a way for Key to lean into their core storytelling strengths and revisit the style and formula that garnered them so much acclaim to begin with.

Reflection Blue adds a host of new content to the visual novel

Manifesting these vibes for summer ?? (via Summer Pockets) pic.twitter.com/AnoNuDm5Qa

¡ª Crunchyroll (@Crunchyroll) June 19, 2025

The original Summer Pockets featured six primary heroines with their own plotlines. Like most of Key¡¯s prior visual novels, the story follows a branching story structure, where player choices influence how main protagonist Hairi Takahara manages his relationships with the friends he makes when he returns to Torishirojima Island after his grandmother's death. Reflection Blue adds on to the available six routes by including four more heroines, increasing the total available routes to ten.

Among these new heroines is Shiki Kamiyama, who wasn¡¯t present in the original story at all, with the remaining three heroines ( being supporting characters in the original release. Furthermore, Reflection Blue also adds a number of miscellaneous, non-route specific scenes to expand on the daily lives of the characters and deepen their characterization. The international release of Reflection Blue also includes touchscreen and controller support.