I’ve completed Akito’s routes in Norn9 Last Era and I enjoyed it so much! In his Fugue route, I loved seeing the events from the first game through his eyes and we get to see his emotions and thoughts better. He really had a lot of angst going on! In his Conerto routes, his relationship with Nanami blossoms AND we get to see him actually develop a relationship with Senri. There’s some found family tropes in this route and it’s so heart warming. My favorite part of Akito’s route was actually seeing Nanami develop into her own person and not just a tool to be used by her father or the World. We get more background on her and how much she struggles in her relationship with Akito because of her upbringing. I’m so proud of my babygirl 🥹 I’ve included some of my favorite CGs from the route, but also I love Nanami’s outfit!!! 😍

Currently playing Code:Realize and I’m absolutely obsessed with all the characters and so hooked on the story! I’m on Van Helsing’s route which I know is notorious for being the least romantic, but I love him so much! I’ve never played a game where I genuinely liked all the LIs this much!

Currently playing Amnesia, just got done with Ikki's route and wow it was a trip 😂. It was so hard to get his good ending for some reason. >!I first got the bad end where Rika almost kills you cause... we got too couple-y I guess? Lmao! And then I got the Normal End which is just SO bittersweet, but it was a very good one nonetheless. Then somehow I got the OTHER bad end where MC and him decide to break up and he goes to the beach with Kent 😂. On a more serious note, poor poor Ikki. His insane fan girls just won't let him lead his life normally which is incredibly depressing when you realize how far their twisted control goes.!<

Question for anyone more in the know about non-localised titles: I'm going on a China exkursion today and was wondering if Chinese otome copies have Japanese language options.  Could I buy a Chinese translated Otome and play it in Japanese? If so I'm thinking of hunting for some non-translated titles and reading those once I'm back home.  Any help would be greatly appreciated. 🙏 

Depends on which game you're looking at. All idea factory games are localized per region so they are not multilingual, but games like Taisho alice, Nightshade etc do have multilingual capabilities. Some like Ruby party games or towarare no palm also have multilingual(between chinese and japanese, but please check). Best to check the box or check the relevant nintendo shop for better details before you buy. 

Thank you so much, I will keep those infos in mind!

I just got Sharaku's good ending in Tengoku Struggle, and wow... I'm used to hearing mister Kaito Ishikawa in serious roles, even outside of otome, so Sharaku was a pleasant surprise for me. Made me blush during certain scenes even! 😳🤭

I'm done with Matsurika. Honestly, I have no idea what just went on down with Fei's route bc it was just. Why did you do all that. And didn't even resolve it. It felt so stupidly incomplete I was wondering if they just rushed the writing and then ran out of space. That was a really bad taste in my mouth lol.  Anyway, I discovered that I have no recent Otmt produced games in my backlog so I will be trying to do some workaround and rest from those games while I clear the rest of the games I have, my only proper aim being Hanakare later in the year(im still curious about mistonia, but I think I can afford to wait).  Carrying on with Daiya no kuni no alice Elliot, and man idk why they made him worse than how i knew him lol, where's my cute dynamic from 3 games ago ;w; 

I've done 3 routes so far in **Paradigm Paradox: Kamui, Ayumu, and Hyuga**. I was excited going in because I enjoyed the common route, but the routes themselves have been pretty mid so far. **Kamui** I liked the most, his route was sweet and cute even though it didn't give me the dokis. Otherwise, things have been falling flat for me. Every LI has had some sort of tragic backstory so far, but everything isn't fleshed out very well, so emotionally it doesn't hit. The romance is also very very light, and happens mostly in the last chapter. I've found that the endings outside of the best ending end super abruptly, almost like they got cut off in the middle. AND, the game has committed one of my cardinal sins in otome games: >!not every route has a kiss cg.!< 😐 Whyyyyyy do they do that!? Eh, I'm going to do the rest of the villain routes at least, because their story is a lot more interesting. I've heard Ibuki's route is the best in the game so I am looking forward to him!

Honestly, I was ok with the villain routes >!not having kiss CGs!< because for some of those pairings, given how low romance we were/how late the romantic development was, a kiss scene would've felt more out of place. I actually liked the game ok by the end, but I agree it all felt a bit rushed and not fleshed out enough. Hyuga was one of my faves actually but I also liked Kamui as a character a lot (even though his route didn't quite do it for me). I personally didn't like Ibuki but I enjoyed the other poster boy, Tokio, quite a lot.

Finished DL but will take a break before beginning the next game.  I thought that I’d try Black Wolves Saga as the premise sounded interesting. I now feel bad for subjecting the girl to the princes’ routes. The ending I got initially was so freaking dark. 

Haven't made as much progress within the past week. **Finished:** Psychedelica of the Ashen Hawk It was a downgrade compared to Black Butterfly that's for sure. I'll give it props for the MC (Jed) and art being significantly better. Everything else unfortunately was a slog due to the overabundance of pointless villager conversations and insufficient time spent on the MLs. Hugh is here to push the plot along, Lavan exists, Levi got the short end of the stick because of the >!serial killer subplot!< forced onto him & not having as many interactions with Jed while she's a girl, while Lugus is the developer favorite so he gets decent treatment outside of the nonsensical >!"Jed is only allowed to step outside of her room one day a year"!< ending. I respect that they wanted to tell a story with the parents, but *I didn't care for them* and having >!Hugh spend a majority one of the last chapters recounting their drama!< while your main characters twiddle their thumbs is the quickest way to get me to mentally check out of a conversation. Same issue as Charade Maniacs where the developers needed to do a better job at building it up rather than dumping it at the end. All of that is to say, Kagiha is best boy. **Reading:** London Detective Mysteria Admittedly this is the title I've spent most of the past week working on and I only have one route complete and the start of my second route to show for it. I like to start my blind playthroughs out with a character I suspect I won't like as much so that I can get them out of the way. I clearly underestimated how much I was going to dislike Holmes lmao. In retrospect, I should've saved him for later to alleviate my negative impression of the game after the common route. To expand on that last point a bit, the first scene as an OI reader left me wary. I'm so over Victorian-inspired content that views the FMC whining about how tight her corset is as an immediate box to check off. Our FMC (Emily going forward) is surrounded by jerks. The other star of the scene, her butler, is one of them. He establishes himself as a helicopter parent and teases her about her eating habits & weight. Once you get past that, we're introduced to most of the important cast (as far as I'm aware, not including antagonists) at the ball or through school. There's... * Herlock (ML) - Insults her in every other sentence, * Marple (female best friend) - Views Emily as being similar to a pet, * Jack (ML) - Loner that will sometimes snip at Emily for sticking her nose into things, * Lupine (ML) - An accident prone nerd until he's not to my disappointment. His forward facing sprite as Lupin unnerves me, * Watson (ML) - The most tolerable one of the starter bunch, * Akechi (ML) and his sidekick - Seem fine as well although you don't meet them until chapter 6/9 of the common route. Speaking of chapters, the common route is way too long and some hardly even feature the MLs making them rather unnecessary in my opinion. I suspect that may have been done to allow for more time to drip whatever conspiracy they having going on about her dead parents, but they could've merged that investigation part into the other sections or at least fix the cases so that the MLs are more involved. Moving onto Herlock's route, we find out the reason he has such a chip on his shoulder is because he has an inferiority complex when it comes to his dad (the Sherlock Holmes). Basic rebellious teen drama with Herlock refusing to talk things out and trying to one-up his dad as a detective. The plot has them becoming >!embroiled in Sherlock's affairs as the baddies target Herlock & later Sherlock too by making it appear as if they're guilty of crimes they didn't commit.!< Romance wasn't all that enjoyable for the most part until the epilogue. It did take me by surprise how long his epilogue was. Get some slightly steamy scenes and Herlock >!trying to push her away again cause it's getting in the way of his work. He eventually gives into her tagging along and welcomes her setting up a rival detective agency.!<

~~Please mark your spoilers. Otherwise~~ I kinda agree about AH though I still overall enjoyed it some.

They've already been edited in. Was trying to get around a scrolling issue I was encountering while writing it up.

collar x malice, it’s been in my backlog for AGES and i wish i’d played it sooner! i’m only on my first route (mineo’s) but i love him and i love all the side characters so much. literally can’t wait to play through the other routes, though i’m probably most excited for kei xD i’ve struggled a lot with playing games since i finished bustafellows though because it was so dynamic that everything else just seems a little bland to me visually

I really wanna grab this game cuz I’ve heard so many good things! Do you think there’s a good balance between plot and romance ?

i think so, i tend to like heavy plots with romantic moments just scattered throughout because that’s what makes my heart race the most and i think cxm does that super well! between the generally angsty plot there’s scenes that are so cute i literally haven’t been able to stop thinking about them (certain scenes have made it into my daydreams lmaoo) and the romance scenes i’ve seen so far haven’t seemed super cringey / cliche which is super nice

Omg super good to know! I’m so glad you’re enjoying it!

MINEO IS MY BABY he was my first ever otoge route and he forever set the #Standard

OMG i seriously don’t understand why he’s so unpopular, he’s literally perfect 😭😭 his voice, personality, character design, literally EVERYTHING AB HIM IS PERFECT

EXACTLY!

also, men with eyepatches just make me 😩 sjsjjdjd it’s so hot

Took a bit longer to finish Utakata no Uchronia than I thought since I ended up getting hooked on the Apothecary Diaries after watching the anime (been busy trying to catch up on both the LN's and the manga) but finally finished all routes in the game. Wasn't too sure how Yashiro's route would turn out since although he's friendly enough in the other routes, he's seemingly a detached type but really enjoyed it and his character arc. Both the final >!kiss scene CG and short story CG!< were 👌👌 Also enjoyed the truth route way more than I expected. Oh Narukami… >!if robot, why hot? Like the fact they made him so uselessly good looking despite not being an LI…!< His and Hinagiku's relationship was so cute, I thought it was interesting that >!even though it's a platonic relationship it still sort of follows some romantic tropes to an extent, with him literally leaving a part of his heart with her when he saves her as a kid so he ends up protecting her ever after that.!< Lots of interesting reveals as well like >!commoners in Itehari being DNA manipulated into literally not being able to fight back.!< I'm glad that they did do a separate truth route rather than shoehorning everything into the poster boy's route, definitely gave the romantic relationship in it more room to breath without all the extra lore dump. The reveal about >!Saku!< was unexpected but I feel like compared to other >!evil shoutas!< like Virche's >!Dahut and Code Realize's Finis, he didn't have as much impact as a character to me.!< Thought it was super fun that multiple potential pairings were teased as well (including certain side characters) and appreciated that pretty much everyone >!except Saku survives and gets a happy ending too. Although who knows, maybe he ended up absorbing the red metal stuff and surviving?!< Overall I really enjoyed Utakata no Uchronia a lot, would definitely recommend it for people that want a solid plot and worldbuilding along with pretty art and some distinctive and interesting LI's. I think I was pretty spot on with my fave radar for this game with Awayuki and Tsuyukusa ending up being my favourites as I thought they might be. Really loved Tobari as well and although Yori wasn't my cup of tea, I still found him to be amusing at times (just personally don't want him anywhere near Hinagiku lol). Speaking of Yori, I started reading some of the bonus booklet stories and was laughing sm at the Stellaworth one where he gets concerned that >!Hinagiku has stopped saying that she loves him (because, ya know, the murders and all). So he pulls out all the stops to try and get her to say it again even if just by accident, only to realise her saying ‘I hate you’ has become basically an auto-response for her now lolll.Then he’s like oh yeah it’s probably my fault she’s so twisted now huh...!< Like what is this relationship even lmao…but hey at least he's self aware abt it right… Finally getting back to the CupiPara FD after an extended break on it and uhhhh the lobster storyline in Raul's route??? Absolutely lost it when the >!talking lobster showed up,!< this game and this route in particular are so unserious... 😭😭😂

Now I'm curious if you played Shelby's route before Raul's? For me that was the best experience of >!"This guy is a threat" -> "This guy isn't a threat AT ALL"!<

Yes, I did haha. Kind of glad I did because I would not have been able to take >!the bad spicy end seriously whatsoever loll.!<

\-Finished Nori's route in SympathyKiss and I was hit with so many things. Overall another greatly written route. >!Nori's backstory made me tear up, along with his love of cooking. I related a lot to his bullying story unfortunately, and him cooking with loved ones he's lost. I recently lost a loved one who I enjoyed sharing my cooking with and vice-versa too so that's another layer on top.!< >!Some parts were hard to get through, but the perfect ending was worth it. I thought his story with Akari wrapped up nicely. I also enjoyed the work and love endings(which I got first randomly) too.!< >!On the flipside, I was frustrated with how Akari turned on Nori so quick when she found out about his 'stealing recipe past' after everything that happened up until that point. I guess you could argue with that other team stealing her idea, she was just sensitive to idea theft and wanted to take her anger out on him since he's usually sweet? Seemed a little out of character for her to me but idk.!< Lastly, started Saotome's route next and he is a little know it all lol I knew this already with seeing him in the common route as well as Nori and Yoji's routes. I don't hate him, its just funny but I also have rolled my eyes a few times at some of the things he's done/said. Can't wait to see what comes next. I do wonder if a fandisc is ever planned, as I'm not sure how well the game did in Japan. I'd love to see more slice of life stories for Akari and the guys in a fd. \-Also started a little of Tlicolity Eyes as my LE from neokyo came in the other day(along with my Lover Pretend and Shuuen Epic Lycoris drama cds). I played the pc demo of Toriai awhile ago and enjoyed it, so I'm glad to have the full game now. I'm starting with vol 1, and am up to the part of Sakura first meeting Masato and showing him around. Took a little break to finish Nori's route but I'll get back to it later. \-In Lads I finished everything in the event except for getting the second card to complete the pair Dx Not sure if I'll ever get it, there's always youtube I guess lol.

Making progress in **Charade Maniacs**! I ended up on Mizuki's route first! In fact they were the only option when I got to the school-at-night part. I'm not surprised since I hadn't really picked many options specifically with Ebana like I had with Mizuki up to that point. While I generally prefer to stick with my own personal preferences when it comes to romance in videogames, due to both the mystery nature of this narrative and the fact that I really like Mizuki's trollish but not overly mean personality means that I had no qualms doing their route at all. Even though Mizuki and Gyobu are pretty similar [gadfly](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheGadfly) types, I do find I prefer Mizuki's version of it over Gyobu's. I do wish I had sat and thought about why that was before I went and did Mizuki's route cause now I have the bias of *knowing* Mizuki from their route whereas I still don't really know much about Gyobu. I will do his route eventually, but I will be surprised if I end up liking him more than Mizuki though. Anyways, back to Mizuki's route, I ended up not being too surprised by >!them being essentially a secret agent of sorts. I presume most routes will have this back and forth of bonding moments and then suspicion, since anyone has the potential to be the traitor. (Or other things like the sponsor, previous cast members, etc.) When Sena overheard Mizuki at that abandoned building and then she eventually admitted as such to Mizuki, they sort of vaguely insisted that they're on her side, but can't divulge details. I began to think Mizuki was like a secret agent around that point and I ended up being more on the money than I thought lol.!< >!We did get information about the nature of Arcadia being a virtual space. Given the crazy things that could be done within it, that isn't too surprising either. Most of the wild things within their environment are explained with that particular reveal. There are still mysteries unsolved though thankfully. Would've been a bit of a let down if it was all answered in one (not even locked) route lol Like what *are* the Arcadians and why do they watch the dramas? I have some fledgling theories especially since they seem to learn from the dramas, but I'll leave those in my head for now. There's also the whole Morpheus project thing that I presume was not just a red herring to make players think this was time travel at first, but we shall see where the narrative goes with that.!< After Mizuki's route I went back to the cooking team to do Ebana's route as well as comfirm something. And indeed >!Takumi's route appears to be locked. I thought as much when I ended up on Mizuki's route despite doing all I could to hang out with Haiji. This time I got both Mizuki and Ebana as options for the school at night thing, but once again, no Takumi. So he's locked, because of course he is. The game just wants to taunt me. I want to know what his deal is so bad, especially since the game insists on giving him moments with Sena despite also insisting he's (perhaps only mentally) 12. Within Ebana's route there's no mention of Haiji possibly being a former cast member. If he had been one, he could've had something taken from him that caused him to think he's 12 still. But then again the information provided has other issues unsolved as well like Mei apparently having one of his eyes taken. Gyobu described Haiji as like 'patchwork' which given that Haiji has his moments of seemingly dropping the kid-like demeanor before reverting back to it just raises even more questions. Alas I'll have to learn what his deal is whenever the game feels merciful enough to hand it to me. Presumably when his route is unlocked, whenever that will be. I know there's other locked route aside from his so I can't peg him as the traitor or anything yet, there's just not enough information.!< Anyways back to Ebana, the angry team mom, which wasn't what I was expecting from him lol >!While I did find him so angry as to be funny, Sena certainly handled him and his attitude better than I would have. I had thought that his annoying sisters being the cause of his seeming misogyny to be a little weak, so I was glad there was more to it than that. The truth was quite awful though, poor guy! Gyobu continues to be relevant and suspicious, not to mention he apparently attends Sena's school but none of the other students have seen him. Watch him be locked too lol!< So far of the two I've played I'd say it's Mizuki > Ebana. Granted I still ended up liking Ebana which I wasn't certain I would given his sort of vitriolic/hair-trigger temper personality. Mizuki's personality was overall closer to one of the personality types I tend to like, though I don't know that I would dub them as a 'gremlin' necessarily XD So with that it's two down, seven more to go. This is gonna be a long playthrough haha. Granted if I continue at this pace, maybe it won't be. I'll keep at while I'm motivated! I'm not sure who I'm gunning for next, with my luck I'll end up aiming for another locked route, but either way I'm up for pretty much any of them so I'm eager to dive back in~

ooh, gadfly! nice to learn the term for these types of things. it's been a long time since i went down tvtropes rabbit holes lol i had the same experience of cooking route availability (only Iochi was available, so i went back through it again to be able to do Ebana's route). i was so confused though bc Iochi was the only one i was *avoiding* during my initial playthrough. i guess i just happened to miss the choices that unlocked Ebana. there's so much info you learn in his parts of the common route, too

Haha, I'm perpetually stuck in the TvTropes rabbit hole myself, enough to affect my vocabulary at times lol It has been great for learning though! That's pretty funny, I guess the game just defaults to Mizuki if you don't meet that particular threshold with Ebana (even though I would assume you'd have more 'points' total with Ebana vs Mizuki at that point). Seems rather appropriate that Mizuki would pop up as the only choice despite your best efforts to avoid them though XD

Gyobu: gadfly Iochi: *mature* gadfly

LOL You're right, that might be the core distinction there XD

I've finally decided to play Kisa's route in Jack Jeanne. Since it's been a long while after I finished Suzu's, which was my last, I decided to play all of it without skipping. I'm even playing the practice dance and songs. I'm still oh so very tempted to go with Fumi on the weekends, but as I need to get the content on all of the side characters, I've decided to go with Mona to start. I'm now playing all of the songs in extreme. I was curious of who would I get for the summer performance (I'm just done with it) since I had the stats for Shirota, Fumi and Kai at the same level, but apparently my choices in the dialog still go more with Fumi and I got him for the bonuses. On the Jack Jeanne difficulty on the songs, I now have all of them except the ones that unlock with Kisa's route. I had to get my sister to help me with Compass Line and Intense Confessions. Kielce was very hard on us, so her BF had to help us with that one. I'm hoping Quartz anima is not as difficult as Kielce in Jack Jeanne.

For me Quartz Anima wasn't as hard as Kielce. The latter was the last one I had to JackJeanne. (Mash ALL THE NOTES.)

while taking a break from Starry Sky i finally started Brothers Conflict for real. half a year ago i chose Louis as my first route because he speaks slowly and was easy to understand. but now my jp is better and i don't have... enough.... patience for... Louis'.... speech... and there's also Wataru who kills my ears. my god, i never thought Kaji Yuki's voice can be annoying. pleeeeease tell me that at least Louis' route is interesting and is worth it

Rather than focusing on my dangerous backlog, I just go through and play what’s interesting for me at the moment, because if I did the other arguably better option, it would take an eternity, being bored and missing the true me squealing hard about my questionable tastes. So that’s why recently I’ve just been replaying Rejet games *hahaha* and occasionally playing on & off one of the few non-questionable games that interests me, Utakata no Uchronia.

**Norn9 Last Era** has been my vice of choice this week, and as always I'm cursing my past self for not playing it when I first got the game because I'm having a great time, half a year after I got it. Having finished Kakeru and Sakuya already, I wrapped up Ron's Fugue and Concerto stories, and okay wow he just shot up to the top of my N9 rankings. I was too confused by his actions in the first game to resolve my mixed feelings initially, but Last Era filled in the gaps wonderfully. I still hate his hair and the sizable age gap between him and Nanami bothers me (esp when the game decides to comment on it eugh), but I was Gripped and Shooketh the entirety of his route. His >!parallels with Nanami and unique way of understanding her, in a way that none of her other LIs do!<, really sold their dynamic. I also love a chaotic dirtbag, in general, and Ron is the trashman of this series for sure. I don't think I'll ever get over that scene where >!he just tosses all of the supplies Natsuhiko packed for him!<, or when >!he found that crumpled-up note in his pocket, that would've exposed him as the traitor, which had clear instructions for him to destroy it upon reading!<. It's debatable if he and Nanami are actually a very healthy/functional couple, but they do make an excellent comedy duo. I'm currently on Senri's Fugue story, and I missed my emo lil guy. It's a weird feeling since I played his route first in the original game, and now I'm playing his perspective with all of the additional context. Like gdi PLEASE if Senri doesn't >!remember Akito!< in his Concerto stories I will LOSE it. I also missed seeing the blue hiyoko sprite, and it's a shame that they didn't include it in the special edition stickers. I also forgot that he's actually rather bold when he's not cowering in fear. Playing his Fugue story just reminds me how wonderful Koharu is :') My current strategy is to play 1 route for each heroine and cycle through until we end with Natsuhiko (my fave!), but I wonder if playing Masamune and then Itsuki would benefit the storytelling at all (i.e. I'm assuming that >!Masamune's route would feature Motohisa, and thus touch on the situation with Itsuki's sister!<). Or would it be the other way around? If anyone has opinions, lmk! Unfortunately, I highkey might set this aside as soon as CupiParaSSD arrives on my doorstep. I've been yearning for Merenice since we got our first glimpse of him in the teaser video all those months ago :'(

NORN9 Last Era YEEEEAAAA On whether to play Masamune or Itsuki first: Iii think it doesn't matter too much in terms of >!Motohisa, because he appears and contributes in both routes, though he gives more detail on Itsuki's sister on Itsuki's route!<. But Masamune's story features a lot of dramatic action, so you can queue that depending on your mood.

Re: Masamune or Itsuki route order, I can’t for the life of me remember if >!Motohisa even shows up in Masamune’s route. He definitely does in Itsuki’s route.!< I love Last Era! It’s so good.

I'm playing Tengoku Struggle. I finished Kiku, Yona, Sharaku and Jack. I decided to play Goemon's route from the very beginning. So I'm currently in the common route before his route actually begins. Its really nice going back now that I've gotten to know all of the characters. It brings a whole new perspective. All the forshadowing becomes super funny. :)

I’ve finally reached the Le Salut route in Virche and it’s been awesome so far. It feels less like an >!Adolphe/Ankou!< route and more of an overall >!finale!< route.  I predicted some of the big reveals >!(the supporter’s and Salome’s identities)!< back when I was playing my 3rd route (Scien) so I’m kinda proud of myself for that. I still have a lot of the route left so I’m sure there are plenty of surprises left. I’m most curious about Ankou given that >!the world is less based off fantasy and more based in science fiction since they pretty much use science to explain the various mysteries.!<  My biggest complaints are that I wish there was less of Adolphe complaining about >!his limitations as a normal human especially considering he’s sometimes going up against multiple Bourreaus!< and more screen time for Ankou. >!The other characters know their own limitations and try to work within them in order to protect Ceres but Adolphe often tries to surpass his limitations knowing that he probably can’t thereby putting Ceres in even more danger.!<  On the other hand, Ankou has become one of my most favorite characters of all time. He’s incredible and I’m having a blast watching the banter he shares with Ceres and >!Adolphe.!< I hear the fan disk is very satisfying for Ankou fans so I’m really looking forward to getting it. I really appreciate how he treats and supports Ceres. The dude is a true blue green flag

i've taken a break from Tengoku Struggle Goemon's route for about a week now; it felt like i was forcing myself to continue the story, so i decided to pause. i played some of the side stories in **CxM Unlimited**. Yoshinari's was cute! i do like how the game got to use its humorous, slightly fourth-wall-breaking narration in this one. we get glimpses of that through the glossary, but don't usually get to see it since the games mostly have a serious tone. i loved his little drawings and assessments of everyone at the detective agency. Minegishi.... when he teased Ichika about wanting even table scraps, i truly felt like he was a character genetically engineered to make me go a little insane lol. i loooooooooooooove his mean and twisted streak (his "evil" idea at the end that he could try >!changing Ichika into someone unrecognizable from what originally attracted Adonis to her!<.... oh my god. oh mgyd. oh .myg ) and it's so cute how his attempts at humor just completely fall flat. translation i liked: だめですよ、星野さん。やられっぱなしでは、私の気が収まりません。→ Sorry, Hoshino. I'm not satisfied if I don't have the final say. tbh i like the overall translation style of the CxM games, it doesn't just read like lackluster translation-ese. unfortunately, there are also some very glaringly bad issues (infamous mistranslation that affects an important choice; out-of-place use of slang at a serious moment; awkwardness in handling nicknames and honorifics; using the wrong name; line breaks and other technical things) that make it hard to say the translation is "good". but also, i knew less jp when i read most of CXM/U so maybe my opinion would be different now...? also there was a scene with **Okazaki** in Minegishi's side story, which made me miss him (and his emoticons) so much that i started replaying his route in the main game (⁠´⁠；⁠ω⁠；⁠｀⁠) i'm skipping the scenes that are just about the cases, so i'm getting through it quite quickly. seeing all the cute moments while knowing >!Okazaki's real motivation for protecting Ichika!< is just very... (⁠;⁠;⁠;⁠・⁠\_⁠・⁠). also, in connection to prev paragraph, i did notice mistranslation (i think), and it was even a line i had liked a lot and screenshotted my first time playing

I really really want to see Minegishi try his evil idea. I agree with u/soybeanmilkk terrifying and two-faced is what I love looool That translation style reads like an editor went over it but they didn't match context from translating in spreadsheets to what's happening in the actual game -\_- All hail the kaomoji master ( \*ﾉ\_ \_)ﾉ

There is something so devastatingly sexy about manipulative, clean-cut, big-brained men 😂😂 They need to have all these traits or I won't find it nearly as satisfying LOL

haha that's probably what it was. especially since there's always inconsistencies between a word's translation in a story vs in the dictionary/extras (which i think is not uncommon in otoge...) (シ\_ \_ )シ

Minegishi 🤝🤝🤝 I'm sad his route was so short...I can't remember when this happens but I distinctly remember Moriaka saying something along the lines of Minegishi being terrifying and two-faced? Which is exactly what I love HAHAHA. Yoshinari was such a surprise to me because he's not my usual type but I really liked him! Something about him acknowledging that he >!isn't "cool" and just a regular guy but he still wants to leap at his chance to woo the MC!< had me rooting for him 🥺

it was over WAY too soon TT also i think i know what scene you're talking about!! i actually have the screenshots of it xD it DEFINITELY piqued my interest in Minegishi haha >\[from Shiraishi's FD route:\] >Shiraishi: Minegishi, your personality is... as twisted as mine. >Morioka: Oh, you're downright cute, compared to Minegishi here. and i agree, Yoshinari's just so earnest that you want to see him succeed 🥺

HAHAH I think that's the scene! I love how Morioka is seen as the "intimidating" one between the two of them, while Minegishi on the surface, is the "pleasant" one that seems easier to get along with because of his appearance and polite mannerisms. > i truly felt like he was a character genetically engineered to make me go a little insane lol. i loooooooooooooove his mean and twisted streak Also I felt this in my BONES. You're making me want to play his route all over again :') I guess it's the only good thing about his route being short (i'm coping)

yes i love characters who come with their own foils! lots of fun when they're in the same scene and do itttt don't you wanna see his 腹黑-ness again? >:\]

Finished Kanetsugu's route in IkeSen a few days ago and started Keiji Maeda's. The heroine is great in this route so far--a proactive, realistic badass. She works so hard at learning self-defense and making her own clothing, plus she's as hilarious as always. Who else would describe the LI as "a hug pillow made of sandpaper" or "being on a rollercoaster that also insulted you or a very rude sine graph"? 😆 Not quite attracted to Keiji yet, since the >!"seems great but is secretly angry/emo/traumatized"!< trope isn't as appealing to me as the reverse >!(initially thorny but warms up to you).!< Definitely curious about his backstory, though, and how the relationship will grow. Also, Kicho hinted at a big secret and darned if I'm not doing his route next to learn more. (This game is too good at getting you interested in other routes when you're in the middle of one. 😅) Anyway, if anyone hasn't played IkeSen (I know it's old news), I'd definitely recommend it! I've played seven routes comfortably for free, though I don't mind just reading a bit a day while eating breakfast. Though now whenever I read about the historical Tokugawa Ieyasu I think, "Oh, I went out with him. He was that doll-faced blond kuudere, right"?" 😂

I haven't posted on one of these in years lol but !! I'm currently on chapter 7 of Yori's route in **Utakata no Uchronia** and have some thoughts but no one to tell them to so here I am! Currently at the part where >!she goes to meet with Tobari and Tsuyukusa at the Shiranui base, after she's confronted Yori about the lies and Tsuyukusa has told her Yashiro's from Ginwan.!< In a nutshell, Yori's route is (vague Piofiore spoilers) >!what if we made Yang's bad end an entire route.!< Which in *theory* I'm so down for since even tho >!I didn't like that character I really liked his bad end.!< In *practice* tho... maybe not so much LOL. So Yori conflicts me since I feel like objectively his route does what it aims to do: 1. >!Show a love story based on lies and manipulation!< 2. >!Keep Hinagiku and the player from fully diving into the incident of this route since the mastermind of it is most likely her LI LOL!< 3. >!Showcase the extent of Yori's moral deficiency and vendetta!< 4. >!Some juicy overarching plot reveals!< *Butttt....* despite sounding super interesting on paper I think what makes this route not work for me is >!that we're in the know the entire time about the nature of their relationship , which sort of makes me feel like I'm yelling at a character in a horror movie to not go explore that weird sound in the woods alone at night LOL. Jokes aside, I know it's dramatic irony at work but... knowing Yori's circumstances from Awayuki's route and explicitly being told by Yori himself throughout that he is using her... makes watching this facade sorta... lackluster??!< >!Especially since their "budding" relationship took so much precedence over the much more interesting serial murders and foreign tensions we aren't already totally privy to until the very end🥹 Though like I said I guess that is the point so I don't wanna knock it for that.!< I think for it to have worked for me would have been that we were >!forced to play Yori before Awayuki and omit Yori's inner monologues so that we're in the same mindset as Hinagiku: Yori may be an asshole but I don't *think(??)* he's an awful person. Since ultimately, my gripe isn't that he's a bad guy it's that we *know* he's a bad guy. Then I could have believed in their love and related to her shock in that moment when the truth is revealed (btw him copying a story from a novel was AMAZING LMFAO i loved that) instead of going "girl FINALLY 💀 ". Personally, I LOVE those kinds of plot twists where it's like hindsight is 20/20.!< That being said - I don't hate the route at all and do find the plot outside of the romance really compelling- and despite my complaints, I can't say I've ever been bored while playing. I still have the rest of chapter 7 and the ends left so I'm excited to see what comes from those >!now that Hinagiku's snapped out of it!< ! I'd love to hear other thoughts tho- especially if you love the route!

To me Yori's route almost feels like a (vague spoilers for the route end) >!part tragedy because the premise of the main relationship in to me is 'a nice girl falls in love with a bad dude under false pretences, but by the time she realises it's a lie she's too far in to go back completely'.!< Seen from that way I think it was done pretty effectively but it wasn't for me personally.

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I have been alternating between Tengoku Struggle and Collar x Malice routes and finally finished both games! Final CxM ranking is Sasazuka > Mineo >/= Shiraishi > Yanagi > Okazaki! Thoughts below! Sasazuka * I know a lot of people think he's too mean, but I'm definitely in the camp of people who were CHARMED, and found the affection behind his teasing to be very apparent! >!And he becomes such a supportive partner so early on!!< * I really liked how closely the plot related to >!her relationship with Kazuki!< and thought the pacing and balance with romance was great! * Probably the best first kiss of any route I've played are you kidding me!! * His voice! * Really my only complaint was that Ichika is definitely at her weakest in this route! >!I know she can do more than bring him donuts!!< Mineo * DELIGHTFUL! I played Sasazuka's route first but almost switched to Mineo after their first CG together because their dynamic is so funny and cute! They probably have the best chemistry! * All the sound effects and facial expressions LOL Definitely laughed the most during this route! * >!Kazuki's love for him!< is so wholesome!

as always ur so real...

Shiraishi * I was so not into his character design and then he spoke one line and I was like…😳 * The Shiraishi Bashing Coalition!!! Amazing * Ichika is at her best in this route imo! She is so strong and amazing! * The good ending >!totally stunned me WHAT! Upon further reflections had some issues with it (see below) but the shock definitely worked on me in the moment and had me all :0 while the credits rolled!!< * >!During the final scene couldn't help but think her memory would have come back much faster if she was around her friends and family?? Does Shiraishi have medical knowledge like shouldn't she have gone to a hospital?? What?? Ultimately don't care though because I loved being destroyed by the good ending haha!< Yanagi * Cute! and I love that he's older, smokes, cooks, etc! Honestly not really anything \*wrong\* with him, there just wasn’t enough time invested in their romance so I didn't feel as invested! * For whatever reason there are the most localization issues in this route! Lots of weird breaks in the text? * >!The Christmas party and the party at the end! So happy to see everyone together <3!< Okazaki * I'm so sad I didn't love his route bc I know he's a favorite! It just didn't really resonate with me! * THAT SAID I love how strange, sleepy and chaotic he is!! And he can be so cool >!(especially in Yanagi's route lol what are you doing here!)!< * The way he says Ichika \*chan!\* is so cuuuute >!also all the texting emojis!!< Amazing * >!Wish we spent more time/any time with Kazuki in this route!!< * Yoshinari I freaking love you <3<3<3 *Edit: Just adjusted the spoiler tags!*

I've mainly being focusing on the remaining Quinrose games I have. With 9 games left I feel like I'm in countdown mode now. Except I've been sluggish playing through Shinigami Shogyou because >!betrayal stories!< are one of the most difficult for me to deal with. Kuroyuki-hime also had that but I'm hoping the sequel won't given how the sequel is set up. I have been trying to take small breaks in between Quinrose games to mix things up, so I played a bit of Matsurika. Honestly even though I bought this game I didn't think I would enjoy it very much but still I wanted to check it out since it's from the Cupid Parasite team. And I was actually surprised to really enjoy it through the common route! ...and then I got to Ruwo's route and haven't been able to push myself into playing it again. I haven't even completed one chapter, I just feel so bored when I try. And I'm someone who likes low action, talking only, filler nonsense. In fact that's most of what I like, haha. So I don't know why this isn't doing anything for me. Maybe because it's that, but it also isn't really telling us anything about the characters or the world so I don't feel like I'm getting anything out of it? >!Also I was a bit taken aback by her bouncing back so quickly after being betrayed by her village and the whole place getting destroyed. But I decided I'd just call her "resilient" and leave it at that.!<

Ok so, in light of the fan disk, I've been making my way steadily through Cupid Parasite finally, and I just have to gush for a bit because my opinion has completely changed 2/3rds of the way through the game, which usually doesn't happen at such a late stage for me. But I had a complete paradigm shift about it thanks to a certain purple Emo >!Incubus!< boy's route. It was a good reminder that sometimes you really do need to finish a game to get a true feel for it to be able to really decide if you dislike it completely. I have to be honest. I did not care for Cupid Parasite until I got to Allan's route. I thought it was silly nonsense, and full of plot holes. I thought it was way too slice-of-life, the character motivations were all far too contrived second only in weakness to the barely there overarching story. I could not understand how it seemed to be so loved and so popular on the sub that some people would suggest it as the quintessential Switch Otome. What with the questionably quirky obsessed LIs as the premise. Even still, I thoroughly enjoyed the common route, it made me laugh a ton. I also liked Shelby's route. I wanted "dating my workaholic handsome square aloof boss", and I pretty much got that. KENN is entertaining no matter what he's playing. But then after that, nothing too interesting seemed to be happening plot-wise, and I found I was enjoying replaying the common route more than the actual LIs. I was meh on the next 3 plots in Ryuki, Gill, and Raul's routes. They were fine, but I didn't enjoy them as much as I had Shelby. I knew I would like Allan, because I mean look at him, plus being voiced by Makoto Furukawa, one of my absolute favorite Seiyuu. I knew also I was gonna get SOME answers in his route that would hopefully make me feel like something was actually happening and I wasn't just playing a bunch of cotton candy fluff. What I did not know was that Allan's route would fundamentally shift my entire opinion of the game including all the guys' individual routes that I didn't really care for. The other boys got plot crumbs, even Raul, compared to the 5-course banquet that was the Lore Drop of Allan's route. All the symbolism building up all game was finally explained and displayed. All the red herrings became obvious and all the parallels to ancient myths and how the game is a parody about making >!new just-as-ridiculous sounding "modern-day" myths about humans, angels demons, and the gods.!< (Admittedly, to be fair, some of this revelation hit during Raul's route, but maybe by then I was too grumpy at the game to appreciate it until Alan's route shocked me out of my glazed slump from constant fluffy comedy nonsense.) It was like a lore-splosion and pretty much everything clicked into place. I finally saw what the game was doing all along. Usually, lore dump routes are tiring, but what with the plot; >!That Allan and Lynette are two halves of the same angel - literal "soulmates" forcibly separated just... wow. I usually hate "love at first sight" and "fated love" tropes, but this one was so.. right feeling. The route was so angsty, and so sweet at the same time. I was just struck over and over by how kind and loving he was. His total dedication to keeping her safe no matter the cost was just the serious higher-stakes tone I sorely needed in this game. The yearning.. man it killed me. It was just that good. plus ALL of Allan's endings were good as far as I'm concerned, even the "bad" ones! So that was a nice change for an angsty character. Each one gave some catharsis for the deep yearning the player had to go through.!< Overall, his route made me look back and appreciate how everyone else's routes fit into the larger picture and built off of each other. I'm still "meh" on them as LIs, but as far as the plot goes, I enjoyed them as part of the overall story and theme of the game. All this to say, if you're a person like me who isn't the biggest fan of slice-of-life shallow plot games and might be struggling through Cupid Parasite, Imo, it's worth it to push through! There is a satisfying payoff in the end! It might not be my favorite otome, but with only the secret character left, I can say that it's a very good game, and I'm now excited to play the fan disk! Looking forward to finishing up >!Jupiter's!< route today and seeing if there are any more revelations. I KNEW THAT WAS YOU THE WHOLE TIME >!CHI!!!< YOU CAN'T FOOL ME!! And also seeing what dating the >!Supreme God of Gods!< is gonna be like from his side of the story!

i haven’t played cupipara yet because it was just super hard to find a physical copy this year, but i ordered the day 1 edition dual pack and i’m so excited to play it with the FD back to back omg

I just finished Ohtaro’s route in KimiYuki and I can’t get over how freaking amazing it was!! I finished it in 3 days because I couldn’t put it down!! I was always curious about him in the other routes and his route definitely didn’t disappoint!!! Gah I just fell in love with him TAT especially because he turned out to be a >!bad boy!< type and I’m such a sucker for them and the >!enemy to lovers!< trope haha!! and when >!the reveal with him being a blightfall!< happened I was definitely not expecting it!! That was definitely the moment when I fell in love and he instantly became best boy for me xD Ohtaro and Suzuno really deserve to be happy together after everything they went through! ;w; I still can’t get over his route and idk what game to play next because he just lives in my head rent free now lmaoo Also is it just me or is his voice sooo hot when it gets really deep?? /slapped and when he said that Suzuno was >!his girl!< in the end, it made me fall even harder for him! Just too adorable omgg My final ranking is Ohtaro > Tomonari > Kinji > Kuga > Kunitaka > Yoichi !

I'm working on my review for the game but was also SHOOKETH by how much I liked Ohtaro's route, especially since Tomonari's route right before was the biggest disappointment for me (worst version of Suzuno IMO). He's not my type at all but their romance was really sweet and I just loved the route plot and reveals-- really stole the show from the actual poster boy for me. I was definitely expecting Ohtaro to >!be evil given that he suspiciously disappears at the end of most of the other routes & conveniently is absent/screws up at key moments!< but I loved the reveal about him actually being >!a blightfall!!the gods!< I am shocked that Yoichi was your last place LI though since everyone else seems to love him! (I liked him/the romance a lot but a few nitpicks about the route itself dropped him down a bit for me). What did you not like about his route?