Tag: otome

Let’s not stay friends – Frenz ~ Plot & Character Analysis

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I’ll be honest. I have not played many indie otome games on Steam. And I have a couple of reasons for this:

  1. I prefer to play otome games on the Switch.
  2. I prefer games that have voice acting.
  3. Call me picky, but I’ve found (after a few failed attempts), I don’t enjoy otome games that I don’t find visually appealing. And for me, I have found few indie otome games that are drawn in an artistic style I like.

Now, I did get my start on Steam with Amnesia and Hakuouki. And considering Hakuouki is one of my favorite otome games of all time, I do spend a certain amount of time on Steam with my favorite Shinsengumi captains.

During a general perusal of the otome games available on Steam, I stumbled upon the game: Let’s not stay friends. And the moment I saw it, I thought it looked cute. So, I bought it on DEEP discount and waited until I was looking for a quick, fluffy read.

Well, I finished Frenz route, and I have to say that I was charmed. No, seriously.

I love this grumpy, arrogant battle mage…and his route! 

As always, character and plot analysis and spoilers after the cut!

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Nil Admirari no Tenbin: Teito Genwaku Kitan – Shizuru Migiwa ~ Plot & Character Analysis

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One of my favorite historical romance novels is Devil in Winter, written by Lisa Kleypas. It tells the story of Sebastian the debauched Lord St. Vincent, and Evie the shy, stuttering, sheltered young heiress. Sebastian desperately needs to marry into money, and Evie needs to escape the control of her selfish relatives who want Evie to marry her cousin so the money stays in the family. So, Evie goes to Sebastian with the proposition of an eloped marriage of convenience. Sebastian has no other options, and he does find Evie physically attractive, so he agrees and they immediate set out for Gretna Green. 

Evie has standards for the man who will win her heart and Sebastian rises to the occasion and becomes a better man in the process. This growth isn’t easy for Sebastian who has to earn the trust of his wife that he will be a faithful husband and not continue his lifestyle of womanizing. And, over the course of the novel, Sebastian comes to love and respect Evie for everything she is: emotionally, mentally, and physically. And Sebastian becomes the faithful husband Evie deserves.

And for Evie’s part, she has to learn to trust her husband’s love as genuine and real. She watches him grow as a person, and she has to have the strength to take the leap and believe that he is becoming a better man. She cautiously gives him the opportunity to grow and encourages him on his journey. And by the end of the book, she knows their shared physical intimacy is a demonstration of his all-consuming love for her.

There is a give and take to this relationship. They both grow individually and that makes them stronger together as a couple.  

I say all this, because this is the set-up, I saw for Shizuru and Tsugumi. The sheltered, young miss who catches the attention of the educated, worldly, sexual, older man. And no matter how much I tried to separate the stories, I just couldn’t stop judging and comparing Shizuru and Tsugumi to Sebastian and Evie.

And I just couldn’t get into the relationship dynamic between Tsugumi and Shizuru. There wasn’t a give and take between our two leads and the trust Tsugumi held for Shizuru wasn’t earned. 

And, to me, something about their relationship simply felt…icky.  

As always, character and plot analysis and spoilers after the cut!

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Nil Admirari no Tenbin: Teito Genwaku Kitan – Hisui Hoshikawa ~ Plot & Character Analysis

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I watched the Nil Admirari no Tenbin anime before I really understood what otome games were. So, imagine my surprise when I learned there was a text-based game that expanded upon the world of this show. Now, I’ve come to realize that anime adaptations of otome games can be hit or miss. But I genuinely believe that Nil Admirari has one of the better anime adaptations, granted I have not seen them all. So, after really enjoying the anime, I was really excited to play the game!

And then I learned, the game was only available in Japanese.

Well, fast forward a few years, and I finally had the courage to try Nil Admirari no Tenbin: Teito Genwaku Kitan.

This game is BEAUTIFUL! I love the story, art, music, and voice acting! I read the prologue and, yes, it was exactly like the show but that was to be expected. It was the prologue, after all. So, I dove into the common route, excited for the adventure that awaited me.

And…well…the anime kind of spoiled the route.  

As always, character and plot analysis and spoilers after the cut!

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Nightshade – Kuroyuki ~ Plot & Character Analysis

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It’s been a long time since an otome route hero triggered my “mom” instincts (I’m looking at you, Orlok), and it wasn’t too far into the common route for my heart to hurt for Kuroyuki. This route made me feel things. I cried, and I haven’t done that with an otome game since I finished Hakuouki. And maybe this is some of my own childhood peeking through, but all I could see was a young, hurting boy who needed someone to help him.

I didn’t come to adore Kuroyuki as a romantic “Love Interest.” I came to care for the young boy who had been put through so much crap that he never asked for. This is a hero I love as a son, and I want to help him figure out his life.

This boy needs a loving hug.

And a licensed therapist.

As always, character and plot analysis and spoilers after the cut! There will also be plot a few spoilers for Goemon and Chojiro’s routes as well.

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Dairoku: Agents of Sakuratani – Tokitsugu Semi ~ Plot & Character Analysis

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Dairoku: Agents of Sakuratani has been a surprise hit for me. Yes, this game is “smaller” in scale to say games like Code Realize or Piofiore, but the more laid-back, slice of life style isn’t a bad thing. This game is much more character focused, with very likeable characters that are brought to life with top-notch voice acting.

One of my favorite surprises in this game has been Tokitsugu Semi’s voice actor: Toshiyuki Toyonaga. I know his work from the Piofiore franchise, where he voices Orlok in a very soft, distinct way. And I’m not going to lie. At first it was weird hearing Orlok’s voice being confident and self-assured, but I couldn’t deny the charming and fun way Toyonaga decided to voice Semi. His voice acting is so unique, and I really enjoy it!  

I went into Semi’s route very excited! I had liked him in the other three routes, and I just couldn’t wait to read his story. Unfortunately, I found that Semi had to share the spotlight of his route with another character, who made some really dumb decisions.

Why, writers? Why?  

As always, character and plot analysis and spoilers after the cut!

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Klap! Kind Love and Punish – Toma Mimasaka ~ Plot & Character Analysis

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I’ve been slowly making my way through Klap! Kind Love and Punish. I LOVED Camil (and his route), so I took a lengthy break from the game. Sometimes you just really enjoy a hero and you can’t imagine how another hero and/or route could possibly be better.

Well, I started Toma’s route and was pleasantly surprised with how much I liked him. Like I really liked him! And for a moment, I was wondering if this route would be better than Camil’s route. But then Chapter 6 happened, and my excitement began to wane.

I’m sorry, Toma. Please forgive me.

You’re still great, though!

As always, character and plot analysis and spoilers after the cut!

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Radiant Tale – Paschalia ~ Plot & Character Analysis

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So, Radiant Tale was my most anticipated otome release for 2023. I was very excited about this game, even with my bumpy history with Radiant Tale’s creative team and writers. This is the same team that created the Code Realize franchise and Café Enchante. And if you asked me to tell you what I thought of these games, it would take a while. There are things I love about Code Realize and Café Enchante and there are things I absolutely hated. There is no simple answer.

But, even with my measured expectations of Radiant Tale, I was still sorely disappointed with the common route. Not even sweet Paschalia (VA: Yuuichirou Umehara) could save the route for me.

My expectations for this game and the reality of what it is, just didn’t match up. It doesn’t make this a bad game. This just might not be the game for me.

And that’s okay.

As always, character and plot analysis and spoilers after the cut!

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Winter’s Wish: Spirits of Edo – Kunitaka Tojo ~ Plot & Character Analysis

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After the marvelously average reading of my first route in Winter’s Wish: Spirits of Edo, I put the game down for a bit. Honestly, I don’t have a lot of extra time, and I was kind of scared of wasting my time with another average (or worse) route.

Well, I’m glad I gave the game another chance! I really loved Kunitaka Tojo.

His route? Well. Hmmm.

As always, character and plot analysis and spoilers after the cut! Also be prepared for theories that highly affect a main character in the game. This is your warning!

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Winter’s Wish: Spirits of Edo – Genjuro Kuga ~ Plot & Character Analysis

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So, I was a little hesitant to buy a game that’s known for having emotionless love interests. I mean, I suppose emotionless characters could work for a sci-fi robot movie or a psychological thriller, but a romance story? I couldn’t quite see how a romance story with emotionless characters would do anything but annoy me.

But I was curious, and I am in an English game drought until Radiant Tale comes out, so my husband bought me Winter’s Wish: Spirits of Edo for my birthday.

Now the question is whether the writers could write a compelling romance story when one half of the couple doesn’t have emotions.

And I found that…

As always, character and plot analysis and spoilers after the cut!

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Nightshade – Chojiro ~ Plot & Character Analysis

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Well, for my second playthrough of Nightshade, I decided to just get through a character I didn’t really think I would like. Knock him out and continue on with characters I was more interested in. I have to say, Nightshade’s Saito Hajime Chojiro surprised me.

I didn’t dislike him.

As always, character and plot analysis and spoilers after the cut!

Continue reading “Nightshade – Chojiro ~ Plot & Character Analysis” →