Other To Heart media

Multi has appeared in other media adaptations of To Heart. In the first manga series by Ukyō Takao, Multi first appears in the second chapter, which mainly focuses on her story in the visual novel.^[3] The manga chapter centers on Multi's test run, and provides an alternative outcome in which Multi remains enrolled in school with the help of Serika Kurusugawa;^[4] Multi appears as a recurring character in the manga's subsequent chapters. She also appears in the Masanori Date's light novel adaptation as the story's main character.^[5]

In 1999, the animation studio OLM created the first To Heart anime adaptation with character design by Yuriko Chiba.^[6] The anime devotes two episodes to Multi's story arc.^[7] In the series, Multi remains in school after her evaluation due to unsatisfactory results. In the second anime series To Heart: Remember My Memories, which featured character design by Madoka Hirayama, and its manga adaptation by Takao,^[5][6] Multi is the story's main focus along with Akari Kamigishi.

Other appearances

Multi has also appeared in other titles not directly related to To Heart. In the first anime adaptation of Comic Party, another of Leaf's and Aquaplus' titles, she makes a cameo appearance as one of the To Heart characters who appear in Kazuki Sendō's dream in the first episode.^[8] Her likeness is also used in later episodes as fan art in dōjinshi and cosplay costumes. Multi appears as the main heroine in Aquaplus' freeware title Multi's Going Out (おでかけマルチ, Odekake Maruchi) for their P/ECE handheld console.^[9] Multi is a playable character in Aquaplus' arcade fighting game, Aquapazza: Aquaplus Dream Match.^[10] She also makes a cameo appearance in Reimu's ending in the third Touhou Project game, Phantasmagoria of Dim. Dream.

Multi has garnered generally positive reception. Holly Ellingwood of ActiveAnime praised the character as "one of the cutest characters in the anime and she certainly livens things up at the school,"^[12] and both Carlo Santos of Anime News Network and Kevin Gifford of Newtype USA considered the character the most popular character in the series.^[7][13] Santos further described the character "one of the founding principles of moe,"^[7] and Gifford credited the character's appearance in To Heart "for introducing that ultimate stereotype...the maid-robot character."^[13] In the book Otaku: Japan's Database Animals, literary critic Hiroki Azuma also considered Multi to be the "most influential character among the male otaku" after Neon Genesis Evangelion.^[14]

The inclusion of Multi in the anime received mixed responses. In her review for the third volume, Ellingwood described Multi's first episode in the anime as "really [stepping] out of the norm so far by giving the anime the sci-fi addition of a girl robot."^[12] Santos praised Multi's second episode as "the most poignant one in the series".^[15] He added that "there's a lot of sentimental cheese on display...but the fact is, Multi's abrupt dismissal gives reason enough for a thoughtful pause."^[15]

In contrast, reviewer John Sinnott of the DVD Talk website criticized Multi as unfitting for the series.^[16] He complained that the "whole section seemed like filler," and commented that the subplot "could have been interesting and fun, but it just sort of went no where."^[16] Mania.com's Chris Beveridge said in his review for the anime that "Multi's presence takes you out of the series in a way that other characters...don't."^[17] He felt that the character "obviously [has] a heartwarming element", but thought the character "feels very out of place in the framework the show has built itself on.