Himawari - The Sunflower -

This is a solid visual novel, but it takes awhile for you to feel that way. I was the closest I've ever been to dropping a visual novel in the first route because it was uninteresting, predictable, and not particularly funny since all of the humor just goes to the same well of anime/manga/vn romance cliches. However, things shift in a big way after that first route, and the story turns into a science fiction epic of sorts, although I think the story's characters are it's strong point, as opposed to the science fiction plot which definitely has a few holes. I recommend reading it if good characters are what you really value in your visual novels, but if you're mostly a science fiction aficionado, it'll probably disappoint you.

some say Himawari has a slow start and it's true. Potentially the first 10 hours in you might not take it seriously and wonder if it's worth the time. But once you progress deep enough, the story starts to get really good and will leave you speechless. A lot of points that didn't make sense will connect making you realize everything in the writing has a purpose. one of the best VNs out there which makes it that much more unfortunate how unknown it is. If you're a VN reader you'd do yourself a great favor in giving this a chance.