Well, I’ve been officially blogging for a year! To commemorate my one-year anniversary, I thought it would be fun to make a Top 10 favorite Love Interest ranking with my “Final Thoughts” paragraphs for each guy! Mostly, this allowed me to go back and revisit my favorite heroes from this past year!
Every one of these Love Interests was in my “Great” ranking, of which I had exactly ten for the year! I omitted all the guys from Hakuouki; SSL. The game was so short and my love for them all was established in the games Kyoto Winds and Edo Blossoms, which I did not play this year.
This is all meant in good fun, and obviously just my personal favorites!
Okay! Here we go!
Character and plot spoilers after the cut!
10) Kuroyuki ~ Nightshade
In my article, I said:
“I loved Kuroyuki. He is a great hero for me, not as a “Love Interest,” but as a character I genuinely enjoyed reading about! In some ways, he reminds me of the Phantom from The Phantom of the Opera. An emotionally damaged man who, in the end lets the woman he loves go. Now, Kuroyuki has a happier ending then the Phantom, but both men were extremely selfish, thinking only about what they wanted, until they both experienced compassion from the women they loved. This boy is a work in progress, and in reality, it would take years of therapy with a licensed therapist to help him get to a healthy state of mind. But once again, this is an otome game. I loved how in the end, Kuroyuki let her go when all he wanted was to keep her for himself. He put her needs before his own, and that was good. Also, I must praise VA, Hiro Shimono! He breathed such life into this character! It was so, so, so good!”
9) Mitsuki Saotome ~ Sympathy Kiss
In my article, I said:
“Overall, I really loved Mitsuki! He’s a great hero for me! I thought Chapter 3 was a waste of his character, but I can understand the writers were trying to give him character development. I just wished they had chosen a different way to accomplish that. Mitsuki made me smile and laugh! And while I know he came on too strong or was just flat out rude at times, his underlying concern for people and doing his best work won me over! It helped that he never felt malicious to me. This sweet man just needed some help with his people skills and empathy. And, thankfully, by the end of the route he had learned his lesson!”
8) Takao ~ Otoko Yuukaku
In my article, I said:
“I love Takao! He’s a great hero for me! Everything about his character hits the points that I like in a hero! So, I found him to be a joy the entire time! I love how kind and optimistic he is, in spite of his circumstances. Even as a courtesan, he has his own code of honor and he strives to make a name for himself in Kikuya. He’s just a really sweet man, and he deserves every happiness in the world!”
7) Frenz ~ Let’s not stay friends
In my article, I said:
“I love Frenz! He’s a great hero for me, who hits a lot of my favorite character traits! He’s grumpy at times, but completely capable and trustworthy. It’s so cute when Inske compliments or encourages our grumpy, cynical hero and he has no retort. He only blushes! That’s the best!”
6) Garaiya ~ Shinobi Koi Utsutsu
In my article, I said:
“I love Garaiya! To me, he’s a great hero! He’s so sweet and quirky, and I felt all sorts of emotions reading his story. Garaiya will make you laugh, cry, and blush all in one scene! It was a joy to experience him finding friendship and love, something he’s always craved for himself but was always too scared to pursue. This boy deserves the world!”
5) Toma Mimasaka ~ Klap! Kind Love and Punish
In my article, I said:
“I loved Toma! He is a great hero for me! I can’t say much that I haven’t already said. He’s such a good guy! I was cheering for him the whole time, and I was sad for him at the end of Chapter 6 when Koyomi didn’t have an answer to his feelings. I mean, the poor boy ran out of the room because he was so disappointed! I love how he never gives up, and even with all he’s been through, he’s still optimistic and cares for those around him.”
4) Kunitaka Tojo ~ Winter’s Wish: Spirits of Edo
In my article, I said:
“Kunitaka was a great hero for me! I love the “All-American Boy Next Door” characterization and I was cheering him on throughout the story. He was a great guy in the beginning and a great guy at the end. His journey was from not realizing he had emotions to accepting his emotions and that his emotions are a good thing. Other than that, he didn’t really change or grow much. I feel the drama in this route, was not centered around the character’s emotional journey, but rather from the outside forces around them. And I enjoy both kinds of journeys, so the lack of “growth” in Kunitaka didn’t bother me very much. I love stable, reliable heroes that you can simply enjoy the journey with. And Kunitaka fit that bill for me!”
3) Ishikawa Goemon ~ Nightshade
In my article, I said:
“Goemon. Is. Perfect. He hits many of my favorite character traits for a hero, and, to me, he is great! He is the man I would want to have by my side if I ever found myself a wanted person on the run in the wilderness (and, hopefully that never happens). Goemon is a steady, calm influence in Enju’s life that allows her decide who she wants to be. Goemon gives Enju the freedom to be who she is, and not force herself to change to meet the reality of being a shinobi. He affirms that she is wonderful just the way she is. Given that, his character arc revolves around the whole “I’ve found a girl I want to dedicate my life for” troupe, which I enjoy!”
2) Shu Lynn O’Keefe ~ Bustafellows*
In my article, I said:
“Shu was such a likeable hero for me…and, yes, I know he’s a hitman. I loved his calm and steady personality that, kind of, hid his mischievous sense of humor! Shu’s so straightforward and addresses anything, he sees as a problem, head-on! I loved Shu and Teuta. They were great as individual characters and as a couple. I appreciated their open way of communicating and that, from the very beginning, they were never afraid to talk about hard topics with each other. There was an earnest honesty between them that was endearing! So, for me, Shu is a great hero of a great route!”
1) Rokuro Yoshioka ~ Sympathy Kiss
In my article, I said:
“I LOVED ROKURO! He is such a great hero that, to me, he is right there with Sanosuke Harada from Hakuouki as my #2 favorite otome hero of all time! He is a gentleman with a slightly mischievous sense of humor. He is so earnest, sincere and genuine and he wants the best for everyone around him. He knows when to insert himself in certain situations and helps diffuse conflict. He’s honest, trustworthy, dependable, loyal, smart…okay, I’ll stop. He made me smile. He made me cackle with happiness. I just really enjoyed the journey with this character!”
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Frankly, 2023 was an otome drought year for me. The two 2023 English localization games I bought, I dropped well before finishing. So, I spent 2023 slowly making my way through the English games I had and searching for older games (both English and Japanese) that would capture my imagination.
Nightshade was definitely a pleasant surprise and, honestly, I need to go back and finish it! It’s just after the 2023 Drought, I’m still a little apprehensive of reading through my English localized games too quickly! Bustafellows was another pleasant surprise! I bought it real cheap on a Nintendo Switch sale and, overall, I’ve enjoyed the game!
Another thing I have to do is get back to my Japanese games! They were such a blessing during the 2023 Drought! And, with more English games, I can’t waste all the progress I’ve made in learning Japanese.
Looking ahead to the rest of 2024, I’m looking forward to the new Hakuouki: Chronicles of Wind and Blossom (yes, I am one of those people who will be buying this game for the switch even though I already have it on Steam), Hanaemu Kare to & Bloom (are they still planning to release this game with English support? We need more info!), Meiji Tokyo Renka, and Gensou Manege!
This blog has been a fun way to keep my thoughts in order and catalogue the routes and heroes! I can’t believe I did 32 routes this year! I enjoy writing these articles and I look forward to year 2 of Otomes as Novels!
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* So, I realized I didn’t really write much about Shu in my “Final Thoughts” section (TRAGIC!), so I cobbled together different comments I made about him in the article!
Otomes as Novels 