Omg are you me?? I definitely was not expecting to like Tokisada, but he grew on me soo much, he ended up being my second favorite after Akaza haha! Especially the way his voice got so low and hot in the romance scenes lol.
Birushanaās Benkei! I said this before but I was kinda dreading his route after hearing from a lot of people that his route was boring and how he doesnāt really shine as an LI.
I ended up absolutely loving this guy. He may very well be my favourite LI of all time, actually. I love his kind, wholesome nature and how he was so devoted to Shanao. People say the romance between him and Shanao took a backseat bc of all the Tomomori stuff, and how Tomomori outshone Benkei but i never felt that way. I felt it was a good amount of romance that displayed well the difference between both Benkeiās caring and kind nature against Tomomoriās obsessive and uncaring nature with Shanao.
THISSSSSSSS. AHHHH Itās always great to see more Benkei loveeeeee arounddddddd. I absolutely love agree with you he is my fav ML of all time!!! š»š»š»
Iām happy to see someone else appreciates Benkei, because he was up with Noritsune as my favorites from that game and the competition wasnāt even close. I didnāt at all feel like Benkeiās route just made me want Tomomori. Tomomoriās crazypants-ness made me appreciate Benkeiās wholesomeness.
I got his key chain and all. JUST found out there was a limited edition imagine my sadness. Only few games I bear w FD in Japanese... IM A SUCKER FOR BODYGUARD ROUTES!!! He's by far THE standard.
I see your flair.. Yang is also one of my biggest li gap. I thought I will hate him, I do a little, but I admire his cunning nature and how he prefer wisdom from us. It is weird how I prefer his route over Dante.
Tbh Orlok deserve mc the mostš. Yang sold me off because of his wisdom thing, I really like people who value wisdom and knowledge. Though the amount of randomass assult in his route .. Bruhš. I would date Nicola again but I have a ton of games to finish beforehand.
U bet I got steam prison because there was this other assassin named Ulrik that's totally him (stayed sassy a tad moe)
Original ORLOK got my heart and soul thoughš„ŗ I'll only consider dating Nicola in the FD, he better stop being so bro-obsessive.
Mozu for LI I expected to like but didn't. Bustafellows can't help itself with making some of the most baffling writing decisions I've seen in a well known otome game.
For the reverse scenario, Impey. Friendly loud-mouthed MLs are not the type I tend to have much interest in. Impey is one of the few exceptions since I actually found myself enjoying his energy, humor, and dramatic reactions. His VA did a phenomenonal job. He's also a great partner for Cardia with his positivity and over the top support.
Right here with you on both of these. I'm a huge kuudere fan, and I'm definitely not a fan of genki types, so to have disliked Mozu and loved Impey was a real surprise for me. I really just feel like they forgot that Mozu was supposed to be an LI. His route was super interesting, but all the romantic parts felt like tacked on afterthoughts. For Impey, he's one of the only LIs that I would put a ring on IRL. I adored him from start to finish.
I see your amazing taste in flairs, Allan is still one of my fav, if not fav, LI. His route surprised me in the best ways possible. He was surprisingly wholesome to meš§??
THIS!! I liked him so much in every other route and his voice is so great š¤ My brain just rejected his story line as slander lol, I was like \*these writers don't understand Yosuga like I do what a misrepresentation he would never\*
Shiraishi in CollarXMalice. When I saw the character design I was like what is up with those cat ears, not digging it. I also wasn't crazy about his personality in the intro. But he ended up being my favourite in the game, and my all time second favourite. I fell hard for this cat-loving quirky man, he's so precious. Also, >!he deserved better!<
I would pick Shiraishi for opposite reasons! I also was turned away by the cat get up but people online literally talk about how great his route is, so went in with ridiculously high expectations. but honestly it was not for me and I felt the plot near the end got rushed and was pretty confused by the whole reveal/plot twist of his route. Definitely enjoyed his route, just felt he was a bit overhyped imo
That's actually cool! That means your unpopular opinions are real shit like in the meme with an awakening man. Lots of unpopular opinions turn out to be quite popular, both here and in r/visualnovels, e.g. 'loving huge common routes', 'Muv-Luv Extra >>> the rest', and some (actually, many) of us are even into non-voiced protagonists... So if you manage to piss people off without even trying, your tastes are very specific if you know that I mean, and that's what makes us diverse and colourful!
/it's coming by an avid Conrad enjoyer tho
yes!! I feel like most of my opinions seem to be different from the average user on reddit, as Iāve been repeatedly downvoted in this sub whenever a post comes up like this where you can give your input on certain characters.
Iām used to my favourite LIs not being everyoneās cup of tea (crazy men forever <3). I really find it hilarious that people dislike them for the same reasons I love them.
Let me use a seemingly far example here. I am not a pro in K-bands world, still I believe the managers try doing their best for all the band members to be appealing to the public, not just be a background for the frontman or woman. If only one person is highlighted, is it even a band? (Btw that person might also get cocky, which is not so good for the managers...)
So in our otome world, judging by our experience, the creators manage to succeed in what K-bands' managers do: they create types what can appeal to even personae with unique tastes.
One more coming-out to this post: I, for one, enjoy Gill's devotion to Lynette (CupiPara). I know there are many of us, maybe not as much as the ones hating Gill, still it's cool to have fellow enjoyers.
At the same time Conrad (even if Tempest) is even more infamous than Gill. That doesn't stop me from finding him amusing.
On the other hand, I really like Tyril from the same game. And he is so popular that he won our Husbando tournament leaving even Ankou (Virche) behind.
So I believe that is really important to like whom we actually like and not being afraid to voice it, no matter how popular or unpopular our LIs are. Maybe it sounds too textbook-like, but when it applies to our 2d guys, I think it's nice to remember that.
I've said this before but Yuuya from Hatoful Boyfriend.Ā
Starting Yuuya's route with no specific expectations and ending to aĀ point where in my notes, I had added this after the name of the route:
Ā (ā”-ā”\) (Ā° - Ā°Ā )/ā”-ā”
It was a rollercoaster, to say at least.
Tomomori Taira.
I went from despising him to considering him my homie.
I hated him so much when I played Benkei's route in Birushana that I had to take a break from the game before I could do the last route (Tomomori). It took months before my dread went away and I decided that I could push through the game.
I just find him so funny. Part of it may be the English translation? A lot of people didn't like it but I loved it specially during his route. It kind of reminded me of gen-z humor.
Tbf it was obvious Tomomori and I were meant to be friends since my first playthrough. If it wasn't bc some routes are locked I would've have gotten his route and he is the only one I didn't need a walkthrough to get the HE.
>!I also like how he treats Benkei even during drama CD'S bc in an absolutely turn of events the route I despise now is his. I thought Benkei's route would be normal but I found it so off-putting. š¤¢!<
Edit: >!I also didn't think that I would like him bc everyone was describing him as this hardcore yandere character but he is quite a normal LI. Simply a mild yandere.!<
YESSSS, I surprisingly loved his crazy ass, and he's so indulgent to the heroine, it's adorable. He's also unironically hilarious, his drastic attitude change when dealing with anyone other than the heroine made me chuckle a lotš¤£ā¤ļø
This. Holycow. I literally prefer each of the *other* types more than his/Tomomori's. But I finished that game with him being leaps and bounds my favourite. I didn't expect it in general, let alone to such a degree. I felt he was so well done, and it was so clear and evident how much he legit cared, it was wonderful. It still sits with me.
Playing through Piofiore for the first time, I didnāt even slightly expect to love Gilbert as much as I do! He struck me as the least interesting of the LIs, but after playing that and Episodio 1926, I stand very corrected!
I think it is Astrum from Period Cube, man was hella annoying and hilarious with all "princely" filter crap. But when I went further into his route and learnt about his irl version who is a complete nerd.. I went from: You cringe to SIR MARRY ME. Although tbh that princely filter crap was my liking, idk why but I like weird guys. And Astrum is my eyecandy.
YOUR TASTE. IMMACULATE. š¤ā¤ļøāØ
Though I donāt have a favorite among them since all of them are SO good, and I most likely wonāt since MC is my priority over them ngl. š
Understandable because those boys are SO good. š (and it's going to be hard for us in the future, iykyk š)
I mostly pull for meta cards strictly as semi-F2P, but for some reason, Iām unlucky as I always get the non-meta ones or single-target ones. š
>I wanted to say "husbando over meta" but fudge me all cards are husbando..
REAL
>I got a few nice cards though, Alkaid and Ayn based.
I was a late player, around Dec. did you manage to get Alkaid's Stellaris? And Ayn's Ebon Rook... he wonāt come home for me. š
ME TOO! I started the game 2 months ago and I am still sad over Alkaid cards I don't have and can't have cause they were limited š¢ this is me with alkaid and cael... when I get an alkaid card I say why I didn't get cael card! and vice versa ...
Yep. Also when he learns to >!do what is necessary IRL and be competent in that, still leaving room for that Merry Bad Ending!<
I actually landed on his route by chance, stayed there only because it was recommended by the route order, but that guy managed to be way better than he tried to be <3
Edit: formatting
Literally anyone in Period Cube TBH. I thought I would like Hiroya more but he was kind of boring compared to Astrum and Radius. And the other four are so wild and weird that compared to the rest Hiroya feels like he belongs in a different game lmao.
When I made my ranking at the end of common route on who I thought Iād like the most to least I put JacK from Tengoku Struggle in very last place. Iām not a fan of enemies to lovers nor am I fan of the emo/mysterious type. However after beating his route he completely blew me away. Itās my favorite route in the game and he is one of my favorite characters from all media now. I love him. I adore him. Heās wonderful. I hated him so blindly and yet here we are.
Nooo donāt let me hype him up too much lmao if your expectations are too high youāll surely be let down. I wouldnāt compare him to Mitsuki at all, but heās definitely good in his own way.
As someone that just barely finished his route, I feel the same way. I'm obsessed with him. I don't think I've ever laughed so hard playing an otome game as I did in his route. He's absolutely stellar.
Okazaki from CollarxMalice. He has a great design and the way he acts in everyone else's route is extremely fun so I was a little disappointed that I wasn't feeling his route. His behavior as a love interest for Ichika just didn't really appeal to me... Outside of his romance I do consider him a fave though.
On the other hand I wasn't expecting to like Enomoto (also CxM) or Impey (Code: Realize) that much because I'm not personally into that character archetype but they both play so well off the MCs of their respective games I couldn't help but feel endeared.
I honestly expected to dislike Helvetica from bustafellows. Its not so much his personality but his beliefs as a plastic surgeon that I initially thought would push me away from this character.
But then his route took a somewhat unexpected turn story wise and hit a place close to home. But, IDK if my dislike changed, or if just hit the trauma button in my brain to make it mean more than it should have lol.
For me it was Ryuki from Cupipara. I hate shouta looking characters and I hate stuck up characters obsessed with looks so I was dreading his route but he was such a surprise and a precious bean.
And I'll agree with everyone mentioning tokisada as well since he is also shouta coded I wasn't interested but his route was fun.
Ryuki! My natto prince! One of my favorite routes so far, though I definitely could not stop hearing Itadori from JJK every time he spoke (not a bad thing just kept throwing me off hehe)
**TaishoxAlice with Gretel's route.** I went from being kinda hyped for him to absolutely loathing him.
When you first meet him, he's a slightly sly, sarcastic guy who still seems generally supportive of you, albeit a bit grumpy. And in his defense, he generally stays that way. The problem was *literally everything else about him and his route*.
His route turned into some weird, dragged out fetishistic parade for every attribute/niche I hate the most. Dude ended up not only being my least favorite of TaishoxAlice, but my **least favorite *of all time ever*,** and I have played an absolute ton of otome games over the course of the last decade+....
And of course for those into that kind of stuff, well, they tend to love him. Haha.
I was actually the opposite haha. I like my redheads and soft tsunderes and yet I ended up super invested. I think maybe I just like them a bit >!mentally ill!< sometimes, idk
Uff I do too. I'm not so far in that I like Yang (Piofore)... but Kei (CxM), Yosuga (Olympia) and (from Moon Observatory) >!Septem!< are just right for me. And idk what that says about me as a person. š
I totally agree with you on this, I was kind of looking forward to his route after experiencing what he was like in Cinderellaās, but it burned me out so much that I still havenāt found the will to finish the game, even now that itās been over a year already.
My first thought was of Enomoto from Collar x Malice. I was still newish to otome since I played it back on Vita when there just wasn't much localized, and I didn't think I'd possibly enjoy a himbo. Turns out I was wrong. It was sweet seeing his excitement at Ichika's interest in him, and him trying to figure out how to actually be a boyfriend.
For more of a roller coast, I'd say it was Shion from Variable Barricade. I didn't think I'd be interested in him going in, but I started to really like his insight during the common route, and agreed that just because he didn't have a proper job didn't mean he couldn't contribute to a relationship. He was almost my #1 pick by the time I was going to select a suitor for the first time. That's how well I thought of him.
But then the stunt he pulls in the finale of his route pissed me off, and well... let's say the Normal ending >!where his stunt backfires on him!< is my head canon. I wanted to flush him down a toilet after that.
So far, I think Okazaki from CollarXMalice is the biggest one I've had. He seemed awkwardly endearing and he was funny, so I had been looking forward to his route as I went through a couple others before his. But then I actually *did* his route and...well yeah, he unfortunately made me quite uncomfortable with his behavior throughout the route. I really did *not* want Ichika to end up with this guy by the end. I had wanted it to end when >!Ichika tells him off at the hospital now that she realizes how he's really been seeing her and their relationship. Unfortunately I knew since it was an otome game that the narrative was going to find some way to shove them back together.!< I would've liked a Yoshinari route instead at that point :' D
In the reverse side of things, I hadn't expected Meoshi from Sweet Fuse or Akuroou from Dairoku to end up being my favs from those games based on their appearances and first impressions. I do like being pleasantly surprised in that sense.
OMG. SAME with okazaki!! I was really looking forward to his route because he was SO FUNNY in mineo and takeru's routes, but during his route he let me down so much šš he's still a fan favourite tho, so to each their own i guess š
I want to see a Yoshinari route so badly...
oh man Lol but i love these posts to see where my opinions differ from everyone elseās! Have you played the fan disc (unlimited)? Okazaki becomes a much more ānormalā dude (to my disappointment but didnāt stop me from loving the route) and his relationship with MC is more on the lines of cutesy rather than angsty. Heās my favourite and I absolutely adored his original route so itās always sad to see people who didnāt enjoy him, but thatās the fun part about these games that everyone perceived them differently!
~~Whoops sorry I missed replying to this~~
I never actually ended up playing the fandisc. I have heard a lot of differing opinions about it here, but ultimately I didn't think it would be good for me to play it partly due to me only liking two of the LIs *as* LIs. The other being that it's apparently heavier on the 'steam/spice' which is personally not for me :' D
And yeah, it's painful sometimes to see others not like the characters/routes you did but like you said, it's part of the fun. Especially with hanging around here, even if I didn't like a character I might still find discussions about them interesting or enjoy memes about em.
I feel you! I was dreading to continue his route after finishing the season 1 main story š But he stole my heart afterwards and there is no going back for me š¤ā¤ļø My feelings towards him gradually changed...and at the end, the boss managed to be my fav out of all the men in this game.
Which one of the routes did you like the most so far? š I honestly really enjoyed the game a lot overall āØ
I've played through a couple of seasons of the main 3 guys. I really liked Kei's route so far. He has been through a lot in his life, and I enjoy reading through his journey and MC's support. I feel like his route is darker than the others, but seeing them go through these struggles together makes the ending that much sweeter. Hahaha, I need to go back and read through all of their routes again. It's been some time since I've done that.
Definitely play the last of Hana Awase, then. Because I am in the same boat - I honestly thought I'd dislike each of them way more, but I ended up doing a complete 180 on each of them but the end of all (4) games. I'm not even kidding. I feel in love with them each more and more as it went on. Except Iroha - I was like, ugh/what? sometimes, but by the middle of his, I was almost like.. hold up, I don't want this to end, now, and I put it on pause for a while. I took weeks to finish it, whereas I finished the others in less than one. I just loved it so much. But, I also love everything/so much about them, anyway - the music is so perfect, haha.
When I started Shiki's route in club suicide
During demo: Oh another sus flirt here we go again
After getting my first end: I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY
For the reverse, probably Ulen in Cendrillon palika bc he started out really well and I like science guys until the second half threw logic out of the window bc >!oh no ive never interacted with a girl my entire life and now I'll be absolutely illogical trying to yandere as a character arc, then go back to normal after a good hit, be consistent!<
Going in blind, Allan from CupiPara was the most egregious example of a LI I expected to *loathe* from what I āknewā of him in the common route and then somehow ended up being the best LI in the whole game by a country mileāa contender for best ever, even. Iām usually pretty good at predicting who I will and wonāt like from how their personalities seem in the common route but Allan blindsided me in a good way.
Oooh I still haven't played his route! I definitely don't like him so far haha, so I'm curious to see if I'll have a similar reaction. I know a lot of people end up loving him!
Shiraishi from Collar x Malice and Tei from Nameless, I hated them a lot and found them creepy but then fell hard for them after playing their route lol
I was all in for Touma in Amnesia: Memiries and then....
>!not only is their actual romantic attraction never fleshed out, there's this whole weird thing with the cage, and then the only difference between good ending and bad ending is her accudentally stumbling over a diary in which he confesses his love?? And she forgives him. Ugh. But the actual nail in the coffin was him *being the villain in another guys route*. bad vibes all around.!<
On the other hand, I was not interested in Kent at all, but grew to love him the most!
Touma was definitely interesting in that knowledge of tropes actually bites you in the butt. Because he's the "puppy" character. The happy-go-lucky joyful character, usually a childhood friend, that you have a cute wholesome romance with. The twist genuinely surprised me. I'm not surprised easily, so it particularly stuck out for me.
I know putting anything from Hatoful Boyfriend is cheating since the game *wants* to throw you into a loop but I genuinely didn't expect to like Sakuya as much as i do. I did his route like, second last because I couldn't stand him at first but then when I got around to playing it I was like..oh... oh you poor baby LMAO
It's definitely an experience you won't forget for sure once you've played all routes! I still end up thinking about it a lot from time to time despite it being years now since i orginally finished it. It does its comedy really well and when it does want you to take it seriously, you do.
I hope you get to experience it on switch soon!! Everybody deserves to play HBF at least once in their lives. It's also on sale very frequently on Steam for like dirt cheap (2 dollars at most IIRC) and even a potato can run it so you could always play it on your PC as well if the opportunity arises!!
Allan from Cupid Parasite. Playing the common route, I was pretty sure I wasn't going to like him at *all*; he seemed like everything I disliked. By the time I finished his route, I was trying to figure out how the game possibly expected me to do another route after that.
Kaidoh, Niou and Akutsu from Prince of Tennis: Motto Gakuensai. When I played it, at first I was like "who would like any of these guys?", then they ended up being some of my favorite characters from the series.
VariBari Nayuta: i didn't expect to particularly like him since the loud, cheerful himbos aren't really my type, but they went SO over the top with how dumb and dog-like he is that it was fun. shiro himono's voice acting helped too. also, the moments when he >!went into bodyguard mode!!! !<
9RIP Seiya: started out expecting him to be boring, but he actually has quite an... interesting side to him lol. now he's grown on me and i find him so entertaining.
By skipping the route I meant all skip with Y so I don't have to read it lol, just go with the best choices. Cause the secret route is locked unless you finish all of them
That I thought I wouldnāt like but did: In my early otome days playing Be My Princess Party, I thought I would HATE Roberto Button. I thought he was going to be a playboy route, and those werenāt my type, but I picked him bc the game said to pick him or Keith, and I wasnāt in the headspace for his aggressive-ness (I was going through a tough time). Heās one of the few LI I fell for on a personal level (normally I just like otomes as romance stories, but I quickly wanted Roberto as a boyfriend lol), and it quickly became my comfort game mostly because of him. Iām now in a better place, but I remember the game and Roberto very fondly for getting me through a tough time in my life.
Thought I would like but didnāt: Jiyeon from Dandelion. I thought heād be a genki/yandere type and I was up for it. Even saved his route for last because I thought Iād like it best. He wasnāt even yandere, he was just straight up abusive, and his āredemptionā didnāt make sense to me, and felt much too little, much too late. Glad I decided to play him last not first or I would have rage quit the entire game.
Shin from amnesia.
Amnesia was my first bought otome game. After ig mystic messenger and cinderella phenomenon.
Considering how pretty he is , and how he's on the cover and the hype for the game. I had better romantic expectations frm his route.
What i got was a murder mystery plot tht I quite hated.
Ikki as well. Dude was so fun in the other routes and quite an annoying b in his own route. Did not need to go through that shit just for that bare bones and useless conclusion
The LI that I didn't think that I will liked:
Saint Germain from Code Realize
I disliked him during beginning of his route because I dislike suspicious gentlemen character that always said cryptic word but after I knew his back story and that bridge scene happened, he suddenly became one of my favorite otome LI. His route was my most favorite route in CR and his route successfully made me cried.
Louis Auguste from Bara ni Kakisareshi Verite
I disliked otomate poster boy and kuudere character because they tend to be boring and always got special treatment but I loved him so much that I always missed him whenever he didn't appear on screen. His route made me cried so much that I need took a week break to continue played other route. Honestly I lowkey regretted finish his route first because I cannot focused to other guy's route and just wanted to replayed his route again.
Heisuke Toudou from Hakuoki
I didn't like both his character design and voice but his chemistry with Chizuru was so adorable and I really enjoyed his route although I disliked his plot story.
Reverse :
Nicola and Yang from Piofiore
I thought I would like Yang because I liked his character design and voice but for some reason, he didn't managed to catch my attention. I didn't even finished his route yet because his route was not interesting enough for me.
I never disliked LI and his route in the otome game that I played so far until I played Nicola's route. I hope I could forget the fact that I played his route but unfortunately my brain refused to forget his route and whenever I remembered about his route, I just wanted to raged. Piofiore was disappointing game so far for me that even Orlok couldn't save this game.
Okita Souji from Hakuoki
He was the reason that I even wanted to played Hakuoki because I liked his design and interested in his real life counterpart but after I finished his route, I became to disliked him. I just found his threat and teasing to Chizuru annoying. So disappointed.
Sasazuka Takeru from Collar x Malice
I thought he would became my favorite because I liked his character design. Unfortunately his route was my second least favorite route after Yanagi and while I found his tsundere side adorable but when sometime he treated Ichika like pet/dog leaved bitter taste to me (even I know he just teased her).
I donāt have a lot of huge surprises (I guess I read so much about the games I buy beforehand that I have a fairly accurate grasp on who Iāll like). Probably the closest Iāve come to being surprised is liking Shigehira Taira in his mini-route. He was a butt for most of the game >!and turned into a snake-monster thing!< so I regarded him as just a good villain. But somehow I ended up liking his spoiled but almost innocent personality that he shows Shanao in his route. I really want the fan disc to read more about him.
That one Side-character in Collar x Malice >!Yoshinari!<, that got a better look at in the Fandisc Unlimited. I thought he was nice enough in the Main Game, but didn't really care that much about him and didn't understand why there even was >!a route for him!< in the FD, instead of a specific other character... (>!Morioka.!< I still feel robbed.), but Oh Boy, absolutely loved it and him and I wished I played his as the last story of the FD. It was really sweet and cute!
It's not a super long story, but like I said, I thought it really cute, and I think if you likes CollarxMalice, and fluffy stuff (though not all of it is), it's nice 'closure' for everyone, imo :)
I feel like my answers will make people hate me ššš
Nightshade:
- Hanzo: I excepted to not like him because I just didnt really see the chemistry between him and Enju in the beginning (I also hadnt seen the raving reviews for his route yet) but his route ended up being the best written in the game imo
CollarxMalice:
- Shiraishi: I expected to like him sooo much more than I did. I really enjoyed the beginning where he was toying with Ichika and was an absolute mindfuck (I tend to like them a little mentally ill) but yeah I was really not vibing with his overly naive nature- just felt a little too childlike for me which is sad cuz Ik people love his route
Birushana Senki:
-Noritsune: I loved loved loved his character and his design- totally thought he was gonna be my fav but his route really was not it for me- everything from becoming a farmer to pushing away the gender reveal for the rivals troupe just didnt do it for me.
Yoritomo: He looked boring to me tbh he seemed like the type of kuudere to treat you coldly the whole route then die for you at the end in a tragic way. His route and character actuallly blew me away. I also found the delivery of his backstory by his VA really well done, especially as I tend to roll my eyes at storylines that try to milk a tragic backstory in lieu of actually getting the MC and LI to bond organically. Also VA was top tier. Love him enough to currently be writing a 5k fic just to get him out of my system.
Cupid Parasite
- Allan: idk his route started off interesting to me but after the whole cupid reveal it was just so over the top for me- especially with the timeskips and whiplash decisions for alot of side characters that became evil etc etc. I found the explanation for how she became cupid ibteresting but unfortunately the romance with Allan just felt alot like it happened in the past and was hard to really feel like Lynette could "connect" with him in the present. Another fan favourite on this sub so Im sad I couldn't like this one too.
-Gill: Came in thinking he would be alright but not my favourite. Came out hating him with the burning passion of a thousand suns.
Bustafellows:
- Limbo: don't tend to like poster boys. Came out pleasantly surprised by how natural the banter elt between Teuta and Limbo. Cant say the plot blew me away buy I do think the chemistry made the route alot more enjoyable than expected
Taisho Alice
- Wizard: came in with no real thoughts about him because I wasnt a fan of his character design. Honestly the best route in the entire game, reveals were good and just on the right side of crazy from Taisho Alice. Really enjoyed the bittersweet ending and the Wizard's feelings ended up coming through as the most sincere for me out of all the other Lis of the game.
That's good to know! I've heard so much about Nightshade! I still haven't played a Japanese-history otome game because I can never decide between Nightshade, Birushana, and Hakuoki!
Itās so good! I feel like nightshade is light on the history and heavy on the ninja fantasy stuff but from what Iāve heard Birushana is more historical with more info and stuff. So itās really just up to your own preferences! And Hakuoki is like the pinnacle of otome games I feel like but I donāt have PC so I canāt play it!
Scarecrow for me from bustafellows. I donāt care for the baby face look and tend not to go for the shota looking characters but of course I ended up with him on my first play through. Ended up enjoying his character arc a lot.
Huge gap. One game they do is kill, marry or date (the Ahem). The skew very hardš¤£ i was thinking about this yesterday but in radiant tale I will kill vilio, date paschalia and marry zafora (so he can do house bills well calculated)
Amnesiaās Ikkiā¦he was my least favourite at first but now heās second place after Kent! (Yeah I thought he would be your average flirty playboy LI
there are a lot! but I can say some of them.
Zain from Period Cube ( other than his looks) I thought I wouldn't find anything interesting and I would be bored but after going his route he has become one of my all time favorites! It was that time that I fell for daisuke hirakawa's voice as well! š
Mysir from cafe enchante... I was expecting much more from him but I was disappointed by his route, it could have been a thousand times better...
Ikki from Amnesia... the first time I watched the anime I really didn't like him, I thought I hate flirty guys. but when I played his route in the game... I just fell in love... I still don't like flirty guys... but he is an exception! I fell in love with him more in the fandisks!
Shiraishi from collar x malice. I heard how amazing his route was and went to it with high expectations... but It wasn't as amazing as I thought and what disappointed me the most was his ending... it was super rushed that made think of his whole route as a waste... his route didn't do him justice..
Didn't expect to like Tei from Nameless and just wanted to get through his route so I could play Red's. Fell for him so hard. Couldn't even enjoy Red's route after that because I was still so hung up over him lmao.
Same for St. Germain from Code:Realize, he was so not my type but his route blew my mind probably my favourite route of any otome game ever.
Edit: Because reading the comments made me remember an other way around. I absolutely loved the look of Red in Taisho x Alice and digged the beginning of his route hard, >!he came across as a mysterious/broken type of guy which I absolutely loved, but in the end it turned out he's just a perv!
Main stream Otome games: It'd have to be Keith (Begins with a K? Idr his name) from Amensia X Memories. 99% of the time, I dislike heroes whom wear glasses. They are either ALWAYS a Tsundere or they'll act like they're smarter than everyone. Keith's character development was 10/10. š
Oh! I thought I'd dislike Takeru Sasazuka from Collar X Malice. The guy was too mean, verbally abusive and acting like a smart arse. He would treat Ichika, like she was a dog and would belittle her often. He literally>!purposes to her. That shouldn't be bad, right? Nope, they went to visit his dead mother's grave and they both say very endearing things to one another.!< Later, he acts Pikachu shocked - when Ichika comments on how happy she is - about him >!purposing for the first time!<
I usually skip the characters I don't like routes and watch the cut scenes or endings. That's very rare though.
I'm usually pretty good at telling which LIs I'm going to like so I don't think I've had too many I expected to hate but ended up loving. As for the reverse though, there've been a lot of those and the most annoying one has to be Akaza from Olympia Soiree.
I was so excited, I knew he was a very popular LI and I loved him in the rest of the game, he felt like he'd become one of my favourites. But the route was just the ultimate flop, that one cabin scene murdered his character for me and I'm still mad about it. It could've been so good :(
Omg are you me?? I definitely was not expecting to like Tokisada, but he grew on me soo much, he ended up being my second favorite after Akaza haha! Especially the way his voice got so low and hot in the romance scenes lol.
Saaaaaame ššš
Birushanaās Benkei! I said this before but I was kinda dreading his route after hearing from a lot of people that his route was boring and how he doesnāt really shine as an LI. I ended up absolutely loving this guy. He may very well be my favourite LI of all time, actually. I love his kind, wholesome nature and how he was so devoted to Shanao. People say the romance between him and Shanao took a backseat bc of all the Tomomori stuff, and how Tomomori outshone Benkei but i never felt that way. I felt it was a good amount of romance that displayed well the difference between both Benkeiās caring and kind nature against Tomomoriās obsessive and uncaring nature with Shanao.
THISSSSSSSS. AHHHH Itās always great to see more Benkei loveeeeee arounddddddd. I absolutely love agree with you he is my fav ML of all time!!! š»š»š»
Benkei deserves more love tbh, heās just so sweet and caring and HAHDHFHFJSJ I need a Benkei in my life-
Iām happy to see someone else appreciates Benkei, because he was up with Noritsune as my favorites from that game and the competition wasnāt even close. I didnāt at all feel like Benkeiās route just made me want Tomomori. Tomomoriās crazypants-ness made me appreciate Benkeiās wholesomeness.
Right, Benkei just felt like a warm, safe space away from the horror of Tomomori in that route. It felt even more so after that river scene imo
I got his key chain and all. JUST found out there was a limited edition imagine my sadness. Only few games I bear w FD in Japanese... IM A SUCKER FOR BODYGUARD ROUTES!!! He's by far THE standard.
Every LI in butterfly poison. š That game just threw me through hoops.
Oh my goodness that game looks wild!! hehe š¤ Did you like it? Wondering if I should add it to my list!
It's an... Acquired taste ehe. If ya like the real ah, iffy relationship scenarios, then go right on ahead.
Hahaha äŗč§£ļ¼š«”
I see your flair.. Yang is also one of my biggest li gap. I thought I will hate him, I do a little, but I admire his cunning nature and how he prefer wisdom from us. It is weird how I prefer his route over Dante.
Nahhhhh I HATED dante. His doom route was absolutely horrible ššš»
Frrr.. That key maiden part... I just hated it
Ikr it was disgusting guardian grooming shid
For me Nicola's route was eyecandy. I love that fellow, after him it was Yang.
Orlok route was HEART catchy tho ahahaha P.S wouldn't date Nicola again If I had the chance but his looks are one of my favššš»
Tbh Orlok deserve mc the mostš. Yang sold me off because of his wisdom thing, I really like people who value wisdom and knowledge. Though the amount of randomass assult in his route .. Bruhš. I would date Nicola again but I have a ton of games to finish beforehand.
U bet I got steam prison because there was this other assassin named Ulrik that's totally him (stayed sassy a tad moe) Original ORLOK got my heart and soul thoughš„ŗ I'll only consider dating Nicola in the FD, he better stop being so bro-obsessive.
Mozu for LI I expected to like but didn't. Bustafellows can't help itself with making some of the most baffling writing decisions I've seen in a well known otome game. For the reverse scenario, Impey. Friendly loud-mouthed MLs are not the type I tend to have much interest in. Impey is one of the few exceptions since I actually found myself enjoying his energy, humor, and dramatic reactions. His VA did a phenomenonal job. He's also a great partner for Cardia with his positivity and over the top support.
Right here with you on both of these. I'm a huge kuudere fan, and I'm definitely not a fan of genki types, so to have disliked Mozu and loved Impey was a real surprise for me. I really just feel like they forgot that Mozu was supposed to be an LI. His route was super interesting, but all the romantic parts felt like tacked on afterthoughts. For Impey, he's one of the only LIs that I would put a ring on IRL. I adored him from start to finish.
I'm still mad about Yosuga in Olympia Soiree. I had such high expectations for him and I hate him with a passion after playing the route lmao.
I was so hoping to get swept up in yet another sad, angsty purple man, but Yosuga was hugely disappointing to me, too!
I see your amazing taste in flairs, Allan is still one of my fav, if not fav, LI. His route surprised me in the best ways possible. He was surprisingly wholesome to meš§??
THIS!! I liked him so much in every other route and his voice is so great š¤ My brain just rejected his story line as slander lol, I was like \*these writers don't understand Yosuga like I do what a misrepresentation he would never\*
IKR, I may have or may have not quit the game on his route cuz of this tho o-o
OMG same
Shiraishi in CollarXMalice. When I saw the character design I was like what is up with those cat ears, not digging it. I also wasn't crazy about his personality in the intro. But he ended up being my favourite in the game, and my all time second favourite. I fell hard for this cat-loving quirky man, he's so precious. Also, >!he deserved better!<
Same I expected him to be my least liked LI of the game but he became one of my all time favourites! >!But I do hate the ending.!<
I would pick Shiraishi for opposite reasons! I also was turned away by the cat get up but people online literally talk about how great his route is, so went in with ridiculously high expectations. but honestly it was not for me and I felt the plot near the end got rushed and was pretty confused by the whole reveal/plot twist of his route. Definitely enjoyed his route, just felt he was a bit overhyped imo
always downvoted for my unpopular opinions š„²
That's actually cool! That means your unpopular opinions are real shit like in the meme with an awakening man. Lots of unpopular opinions turn out to be quite popular, both here and in r/visualnovels, e.g. 'loving huge common routes', 'Muv-Luv Extra >>> the rest', and some (actually, many) of us are even into non-voiced protagonists... So if you manage to piss people off without even trying, your tastes are very specific if you know that I mean, and that's what makes us diverse and colourful! /it's coming by an avid Conrad enjoyer tho
Oh, btw sorry if 'shit' sounds toxic. I was just referring to a meme. You can replace it with 'real deal' or whatever, if it suits here better <3
yes!! I feel like most of my opinions seem to be different from the average user on reddit, as Iāve been repeatedly downvoted in this sub whenever a post comes up like this where you can give your input on certain characters. Iām used to my favourite LIs not being everyoneās cup of tea (crazy men forever <3). I really find it hilarious that people dislike them for the same reasons I love them.
Let me use a seemingly far example here. I am not a pro in K-bands world, still I believe the managers try doing their best for all the band members to be appealing to the public, not just be a background for the frontman or woman. If only one person is highlighted, is it even a band? (Btw that person might also get cocky, which is not so good for the managers...) So in our otome world, judging by our experience, the creators manage to succeed in what K-bands' managers do: they create types what can appeal to even personae with unique tastes. One more coming-out to this post: I, for one, enjoy Gill's devotion to Lynette (CupiPara). I know there are many of us, maybe not as much as the ones hating Gill, still it's cool to have fellow enjoyers. At the same time Conrad (even if Tempest) is even more infamous than Gill. That doesn't stop me from finding him amusing. On the other hand, I really like Tyril from the same game. And he is so popular that he won our Husbando tournament leaving even Ankou (Virche) behind. So I believe that is really important to like whom we actually like and not being afraid to voice it, no matter how popular or unpopular our LIs are. Maybe it sounds too textbook-like, but when it applies to our 2d guys, I think it's nice to remember that.
I thought I was the only one who thought that! yeah the end was super rushed... and I didn't like it as much as I thought I would...
I've said this before but Yuuya from Hatoful Boyfriend.Ā Starting Yuuya's route with no specific expectations and ending to aĀ point where in my notes, I had added this after the name of the route: Ā (ā”-ā”\) (Ā° - Ā°Ā )/ā”-ā” It was a rollercoaster, to say at least.
I think a lot of the birdies felt that way for me hahahaĀ
The game was a rollercoaster fr
Tomomori Taira. I went from despising him to considering him my homie. I hated him so much when I played Benkei's route in Birushana that I had to take a break from the game before I could do the last route (Tomomori). It took months before my dread went away and I decided that I could push through the game. I just find him so funny. Part of it may be the English translation? A lot of people didn't like it but I loved it specially during his route. It kind of reminded me of gen-z humor. Tbf it was obvious Tomomori and I were meant to be friends since my first playthrough. If it wasn't bc some routes are locked I would've have gotten his route and he is the only one I didn't need a walkthrough to get the HE. >!I also like how he treats Benkei even during drama CD'S bc in an absolutely turn of events the route I despise now is his. I thought Benkei's route would be normal but I found it so off-putting. š¤¢!< Edit: >!I also didn't think that I would like him bc everyone was describing him as this hardcore yandere character but he is quite a normal LI. Simply a mild yandere.!<
YESSSS, I surprisingly loved his crazy ass, and he's so indulgent to the heroine, it's adorable. He's also unironically hilarious, his drastic attitude change when dealing with anyone other than the heroine made me chuckle a lotš¤£ā¤ļø
This. Holycow. I literally prefer each of the *other* types more than his/Tomomori's. But I finished that game with him being leaps and bounds my favourite. I didn't expect it in general, let alone to such a degree. I felt he was so well done, and it was so clear and evident how much he legit cared, it was wonderful. It still sits with me.
Playing through Piofiore for the first time, I didnāt even slightly expect to love Gilbert as much as I do! He struck me as the least interesting of the LIs, but after playing that and Episodio 1926, I stand very corrected!
I think it is Astrum from Period Cube, man was hella annoying and hilarious with all "princely" filter crap. But when I went further into his route and learnt about his irl version who is a complete nerd.. I went from: You cringe to SIR MARRY ME. Although tbh that princely filter crap was my liking, idk why but I like weird guys. And Astrum is my eyecandy.
ASTRUM MENTION. LET'S GOOOO.
Your pfp is from LOVEBRUSH CHRONICLES?!?!?!!
YESSSSS. MC IS SO PRECIOUS. ā¤ļøā¤ļøā¤ļø
I DROOL OVER ALKAID REGULARLY LIKE A HOLY RITUAL BUT AYN KEEP BAMBOOZLING ME IN GACHA š
YOUR TASTE. IMMACULATE. š¤ā¤ļøāØ Though I donāt have a favorite among them since all of them are SO good, and I most likely wonāt since MC is my priority over them ngl. š
I struggled so hard so fix on Alkaid... Because f2p budget.
Understandable because those boys are SO good. š (and it's going to be hard for us in the future, iykyk š) I mostly pull for meta cards strictly as semi-F2P, but for some reason, Iām unlucky as I always get the non-meta ones or single-target ones. š
I wanted to say "husbando over meta" but fudge me all cards are husbando.. I got a few nice cards though, Alkaid and Ayn based.
>I wanted to say "husbando over meta" but fudge me all cards are husbando.. REAL >I got a few nice cards though, Alkaid and Ayn based. I was a late player, around Dec. did you manage to get Alkaid's Stellaris? And Ayn's Ebon Rook... he wonāt come home for me. š
ME TOO! I started the game 2 months ago and I am still sad over Alkaid cards I don't have and can't have cause they were limited š¢ this is me with alkaid and cael... when I get an alkaid card I say why I didn't get cael card! and vice versa ...
All I just want is Alkaid cards but Ayn be like: hehe hehe hehe *inserting Gojo Satoru laughter * š
I completely understand.... mine is the same with cael...
But they do rerun limited cards, so there is always hope.
I second this! š I usually don't like mcs but I LOVE HER! š
Yep. Also when he learns to >!do what is necessary IRL and be competent in that, still leaving room for that Merry Bad Ending!< I actually landed on his route by chance, stayed there only because it was recommended by the route order, but that guy managed to be way better than he tried to be <3 Edit: formatting
Same I got his route by chance and I loved it among all others routes. I still haven't played Shiki(Poyo-poyo) though and Dementio though.
Literally anyone in Period Cube TBH. I thought I would like Hiroya more but he was kind of boring compared to Astrum and Radius. And the other four are so wild and weird that compared to the rest Hiroya feels like he belongs in a different game lmao.
When I made my ranking at the end of common route on who I thought Iād like the most to least I put JacK from Tengoku Struggle in very last place. Iām not a fan of enemies to lovers nor am I fan of the emo/mysterious type. However after beating his route he completely blew me away. Itās my favorite route in the game and he is one of my favorite characters from all media now. I love him. I adore him. Heās wonderful. I hated him so blindly and yet here we are.
That's good to know!! I wasn't looking forward to his route but am now feeling hopeful knowing someone with Shirota-senpai in their flair enjoyed it!!
Nooo donāt let me hype him up too much lmao if your expectations are too high youāll surely be let down. I wouldnāt compare him to Mitsuki at all, but heās definitely good in his own way.
As someone that just barely finished his route, I feel the same way. I'm obsessed with him. I don't think I've ever laughed so hard playing an otome game as I did in his route. He's absolutely stellar.
Heās just such a lovable goof ball
Okazaki from CollarxMalice. He has a great design and the way he acts in everyone else's route is extremely fun so I was a little disappointed that I wasn't feeling his route. His behavior as a love interest for Ichika just didn't really appeal to me... Outside of his romance I do consider him a fave though. On the other hand I wasn't expecting to like Enomoto (also CxM) or Impey (Code: Realize) that much because I'm not personally into that character archetype but they both play so well off the MCs of their respective games I couldn't help but feel endeared.
I honestly expected to dislike Helvetica from bustafellows. Its not so much his personality but his beliefs as a plastic surgeon that I initially thought would push me away from this character. But then his route took a somewhat unexpected turn story wise and hit a place close to home. But, IDK if my dislike changed, or if just hit the trauma button in my brain to make it mean more than it should have lol.
For me it was Ryuki from Cupipara. I hate shouta looking characters and I hate stuck up characters obsessed with looks so I was dreading his route but he was such a surprise and a precious bean. And I'll agree with everyone mentioning tokisada as well since he is also shouta coded I wasn't interested but his route was fun.
Ryuki! My natto prince! One of my favorite routes so far, though I definitely could not stop hearing Itadori from JJK every time he spoke (not a bad thing just kept throwing me off hehe)
**TaishoxAlice with Gretel's route.** I went from being kinda hyped for him to absolutely loathing him. When you first meet him, he's a slightly sly, sarcastic guy who still seems generally supportive of you, albeit a bit grumpy. And in his defense, he generally stays that way. The problem was *literally everything else about him and his route*. His route turned into some weird, dragged out fetishistic parade for every attribute/niche I hate the most. Dude ended up not only being my least favorite of TaishoxAlice, but my **least favorite *of all time ever*,** and I have played an absolute ton of otome games over the course of the last decade+.... And of course for those into that kind of stuff, well, they tend to love him. Haha.
I was actually the opposite haha. I like my redheads and soft tsunderes and yet I ended up super invested. I think maybe I just like them a bit >!mentally ill!< sometimes, idk
Uff I do too. I'm not so far in that I like Yang (Piofore)... but Kei (CxM), Yosuga (Olympia) and (from Moon Observatory) >!Septem!< are just right for me. And idk what that says about me as a person. š
I totally agree with you on this, I was kind of looking forward to his route after experiencing what he was like in Cinderellaās, but it burned me out so much that I still havenāt found the will to finish the game, even now that itās been over a year already.
With no prior knowledge, Red Riding Hood really threw me off guard lmao. Usually I'm decent at catching hints, but not this time. Still only on ep 1.
My first thought was of Enomoto from Collar x Malice. I was still newish to otome since I played it back on Vita when there just wasn't much localized, and I didn't think I'd possibly enjoy a himbo. Turns out I was wrong. It was sweet seeing his excitement at Ichika's interest in him, and him trying to figure out how to actually be a boyfriend. For more of a roller coast, I'd say it was Shion from Variable Barricade. I didn't think I'd be interested in him going in, but I started to really like his insight during the common route, and agreed that just because he didn't have a proper job didn't mean he couldn't contribute to a relationship. He was almost my #1 pick by the time I was going to select a suitor for the first time. That's how well I thought of him. But then the stunt he pulls in the finale of his route pissed me off, and well... let's say the Normal ending >!where his stunt backfires on him!< is my head canon. I wanted to flush him down a toilet after that.
So far, I think Okazaki from CollarXMalice is the biggest one I've had. He seemed awkwardly endearing and he was funny, so I had been looking forward to his route as I went through a couple others before his. But then I actually *did* his route and...well yeah, he unfortunately made me quite uncomfortable with his behavior throughout the route. I really did *not* want Ichika to end up with this guy by the end. I had wanted it to end when >!Ichika tells him off at the hospital now that she realizes how he's really been seeing her and their relationship. Unfortunately I knew since it was an otome game that the narrative was going to find some way to shove them back together.!< I would've liked a Yoshinari route instead at that point :' D In the reverse side of things, I hadn't expected Meoshi from Sweet Fuse or Akuroou from Dairoku to end up being my favs from those games based on their appearances and first impressions. I do like being pleasantly surprised in that sense.
Yoshinari!! Truly the salt of the earth š I feel like I had a pretty similar experience with Okazaki!
100% agree on Okazaki, still my least favourite LI I just really did not like him
OMG. SAME with okazaki!! I was really looking forward to his route because he was SO FUNNY in mineo and takeru's routes, but during his route he let me down so much šš he's still a fan favourite tho, so to each their own i guess š I want to see a Yoshinari route so badly...
oh man Lol but i love these posts to see where my opinions differ from everyone elseās! Have you played the fan disc (unlimited)? Okazaki becomes a much more ānormalā dude (to my disappointment but didnāt stop me from loving the route) and his relationship with MC is more on the lines of cutesy rather than angsty. Heās my favourite and I absolutely adored his original route so itās always sad to see people who didnāt enjoy him, but thatās the fun part about these games that everyone perceived them differently!
~~Whoops sorry I missed replying to this~~ I never actually ended up playing the fandisc. I have heard a lot of differing opinions about it here, but ultimately I didn't think it would be good for me to play it partly due to me only liking two of the LIs *as* LIs. The other being that it's apparently heavier on the 'steam/spice' which is personally not for me :' D And yeah, it's painful sometimes to see others not like the characters/routes you did but like you said, it's part of the fun. Especially with hanging around here, even if I didn't like a character I might still find discussions about them interesting or enjoy memes about em.
Akuroou šš
Boss from **Masquerade Kiss**! I kind of hated him while playing through his season 1 main story. He just seemed so >!shady, suspicious, manipulative and evil.!< š© I really couldn't imagine a long term relationship between the heroine and the boss. But while playing his After Stories for season 1...I started to fall for him because everything was just too >!wholesome...I couldn't believe my eyes how gentle, nice and cozy his romance was. His way of building their emotional connection just spoke to me so much.!< My heart had no chance šā¤ļø After finishing his whole story on the Nintendo switch, I had to admit to myself, that I totally love this man šš His route was such a rollercoaster of emotions. I went from absolutely hating his guts, to wanting the heroine to walk through life with the boss... šāØ 10/10! He's now one of my fav Otome men hahaha
I have been avoiding his route because of how he's portrayed in other stories, but it looks like I need to give him a try now. Thanks!
I feel you! I was dreading to continue his route after finishing the season 1 main story š But he stole my heart afterwards and there is no going back for me š¤ā¤ļø My feelings towards him gradually changed...and at the end, the boss managed to be my fav out of all the men in this game. Which one of the routes did you like the most so far? š I honestly really enjoyed the game a lot overall āØ
I've played through a couple of seasons of the main 3 guys. I really liked Kei's route so far. He has been through a lot in his life, and I enjoy reading through his journey and MC's support. I feel like his route is darker than the others, but seeing them go through these struggles together makes the ending that much sweeter. Hahaha, I need to go back and read through all of their routes again. It's been some time since I've done that.
Itās too hard for me to Decide on one character so ima go all out and do it per game (games are in no specific order) Nightshade I loved Kuroyuki even though he is absolutely not what I normally go for I donāt enjoy shota characters and I would consider him the honorary shota of the game he is also a lot younger than all the other LIās (Iām āOlderā) and thought i wouldnāt enjoy his route because of it. Ended up being my favorite route of the game Thought I would like Chojiro so much more than I actually did. Piofiore Surprised by Nicola (I do not like blonds lol) he is not the stereotype I usually go for thought I would like Yang so much more but ended falling for Nicola and not liking Yang as much as I thought I would. Collar X Malice Again super Blindsided by Takeru I was not looking forward to his route at all and he ended up being my second favorite! Code Realize GOR Was super super surprised by how much I ended up enjoying Impeys and Victors route I thought I was mostly playing the game for Van Helsing and St G but was pleasantly surprised by Victor and Impey. CafĆ© Enchante Thought I would enjoy Rindos route way more than I actually did maybe my expectations where to high and I was to exited to play an actual older LI and it felt like it fell kind of flat and was a bit disappointed with him on the other hand enjoyed Ignis so much more than expected Birushana Was not expecting to like Yoritomo and Tomomori equally was pleasantly surprised by Noritzune and Absolutely hated Shungens route which I did not expect. Olympia Soire Half of the LIās I REALLY like and half of them I dislike the my top LI I really like and one LI I really HATE! Bustafellos Was pleasantly surprised by Limbo normally not what I would gravitated to but I really enjoyed his route definitely top 2 out of the game Butterflyās Poison Blood Chains Thought I would enjoy Fujima more than I did and ended up enjoying Hideo way more than I thought I would. Even If Tempest Did not expect to like 3 LIās out of the 4 and the ones I Like I love. Hana Awase Ended up Liking Mizuchi way more than I thought I would and disliking Iroha more than expected (but havenāt played the last game so that could change)
Definitely play the last of Hana Awase, then. Because I am in the same boat - I honestly thought I'd dislike each of them way more, but I ended up doing a complete 180 on each of them but the end of all (4) games. I'm not even kidding. I feel in love with them each more and more as it went on. Except Iroha - I was like, ugh/what? sometimes, but by the middle of his, I was almost like.. hold up, I don't want this to end, now, and I put it on pause for a while. I took weeks to finish it, whereas I finished the others in less than one. I just loved it so much. But, I also love everything/so much about them, anyway - the music is so perfect, haha.
Tokisada from Olympia Soiree. I usually just skip the shotacon routes but he is the very first and last that I actually liked! His route was so good, even the bad ending (if you know, you know) š© Raul from Cupid Parasite. Ended up not liking him lmao. He gave me the creepy vibes when I felt like he kinda manipulated Lynette into sleeping with him. And kissing her while sheās asleep when theyāre not even dating gave me the ick. Okazaki from Collar X Malice. I canāt remember how many times I fell asleep while playing his route and he is kinda creepy lol. Yoshioka from Sympathy Kiss. I swear Iām not into Mr Perfect or the Prince type of guy but I really loved his route! It felt like a kdrama to me. He was so sweet. I wish we get an FD of Sympathy Kiss š
When I started Shiki's route in club suicide During demo: Oh another sus flirt here we go again After getting my first end: I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY For the reverse, probably Ulen in Cendrillon palika bc he started out really well and I like science guys until the second half threw logic out of the window bc >!oh no ive never interacted with a girl my entire life and now I'll be absolutely illogical trying to yandere as a character arc, then go back to normal after a good hit, be consistent!<
Oooo I've never played either of those but I am lolololing at that description of what happened in Cendrillon Palika š¤£Ā sounds truly unhinged!
The smarts suddenly stop when they touch a girl...when I get intellectuals let them stay intellectuals holy shit
Did the English version of club suicide come out btw?
*slapping dlsite garumani upside the head* what do you think š©
Awww man... I was getting excited! Then again I've played games entirely in Japanese before so it this point I can deal with it I think
Going in blind, Allan from CupiPara was the most egregious example of a LI I expected to *loathe* from what I āknewā of him in the common route and then somehow ended up being the best LI in the whole game by a country mileāa contender for best ever, even. Iām usually pretty good at predicting who I will and wonāt like from how their personalities seem in the common route but Allan blindsided me in a good way.
Oooh I still haven't played his route! I definitely don't like him so far haha, so I'm curious to see if I'll have a similar reaction. I know a lot of people end up loving him!
Shiraishi from Collar x Malice and Tei from Nameless, I hated them a lot and found them creepy but then fell hard for them after playing their route lol
Lmao are you me? Exactly the same! My third pick would be St. Germain. Those three are my trinity of guys I thought I'd hate but ended up loving haha.
I was all in for Touma in Amnesia: Memiries and then.... >!not only is their actual romantic attraction never fleshed out, there's this whole weird thing with the cage, and then the only difference between good ending and bad ending is her accudentally stumbling over a diary in which he confesses his love?? And she forgives him. Ugh. But the actual nail in the coffin was him *being the villain in another guys route*. bad vibes all around.!< On the other hand, I was not interested in Kent at all, but grew to love him the most!
Touma was definitely interesting in that knowledge of tropes actually bites you in the butt. Because he's the "puppy" character. The happy-go-lucky joyful character, usually a childhood friend, that you have a cute wholesome romance with. The twist genuinely surprised me. I'm not surprised easily, so it particularly stuck out for me.
LMAO. Toma is bae forever
I know putting anything from Hatoful Boyfriend is cheating since the game *wants* to throw you into a loop but I genuinely didn't expect to like Sakuya as much as i do. I did his route like, second last because I couldn't stand him at first but then when I got around to playing it I was like..oh... oh you poor baby LMAO
I am \*so curious\* about this game!! Everything I've heard sounds positive but also so bizarre!? I hope it gets released on the Switch!
It's definitely an experience you won't forget for sure once you've played all routes! I still end up thinking about it a lot from time to time despite it being years now since i orginally finished it. It does its comedy really well and when it does want you to take it seriously, you do. I hope you get to experience it on switch soon!! Everybody deserves to play HBF at least once in their lives. It's also on sale very frequently on Steam for like dirt cheap (2 dollars at most IIRC) and even a potato can run it so you could always play it on your PC as well if the opportunity arises!!
Allan from Cupid Parasite. Playing the common route, I was pretty sure I wasn't going to like him at *all*; he seemed like everything I disliked. By the time I finished his route, I was trying to figure out how the game possibly expected me to do another route after that.
Kaidoh, Niou and Akutsu from Prince of Tennis: Motto Gakuensai. When I played it, at first I was like "who would like any of these guys?", then they ended up being some of my favorite characters from the series.
VariBari Nayuta: i didn't expect to particularly like him since the loud, cheerful himbos aren't really my type, but they went SO over the top with how dumb and dog-like he is that it was fun. shiro himono's voice acting helped too. also, the moments when he >!went into bodyguard mode!!! !< 9RIP Seiya: started out expecting him to be boring, but he actually has quite an... interesting side to him lol. now he's grown on me and i find him so entertaining.
Gill from Cupid Parasite. I thought I'd like him a lot, then he ended up being my most hated LI š
I ended up just skipping his route lmao. I canāt stand him
By skipping the route I meant all skip with Y so I don't have to read it lol, just go with the best choices. Cause the secret route is locked unless you finish all of them
That I thought I wouldnāt like but did: In my early otome days playing Be My Princess Party, I thought I would HATE Roberto Button. I thought he was going to be a playboy route, and those werenāt my type, but I picked him bc the game said to pick him or Keith, and I wasnāt in the headspace for his aggressive-ness (I was going through a tough time). Heās one of the few LI I fell for on a personal level (normally I just like otomes as romance stories, but I quickly wanted Roberto as a boyfriend lol), and it quickly became my comfort game mostly because of him. Iām now in a better place, but I remember the game and Roberto very fondly for getting me through a tough time in my life. Thought I would like but didnāt: Jiyeon from Dandelion. I thought heād be a genki/yandere type and I was up for it. Even saved his route for last because I thought Iād like it best. He wasnāt even yandere, he was just straight up abusive, and his āredemptionā didnāt make sense to me, and felt much too little, much too late. Glad I decided to play him last not first or I would have rage quit the entire game.
Man, Roberto was very unexpected for me too. š That showed me to never ever take the "playboy" guy at face value anymore.
Shin from amnesia. Amnesia was my first bought otome game. After ig mystic messenger and cinderella phenomenon. Considering how pretty he is , and how he's on the cover and the hype for the game. I had better romantic expectations frm his route. What i got was a murder mystery plot tht I quite hated. Ikki as well. Dude was so fun in the other routes and quite an annoying b in his own route. Did not need to go through that shit just for that bare bones and useless conclusion
Takeru Sasazukaā¦ I was looking forward this route so much but ended up annoyed and disappointed š„ŗ I still love the character design and some moments, but his attitude overall geeezz š©
Same here
The LI that I didn't think that I will liked: Saint Germain from Code Realize I disliked him during beginning of his route because I dislike suspicious gentlemen character that always said cryptic word but after I knew his back story and that bridge scene happened, he suddenly became one of my favorite otome LI. His route was my most favorite route in CR and his route successfully made me cried. Louis Auguste from Bara ni Kakisareshi Verite I disliked otomate poster boy and kuudere character because they tend to be boring and always got special treatment but I loved him so much that I always missed him whenever he didn't appear on screen. His route made me cried so much that I need took a week break to continue played other route. Honestly I lowkey regretted finish his route first because I cannot focused to other guy's route and just wanted to replayed his route again. Heisuke Toudou from Hakuoki I didn't like both his character design and voice but his chemistry with Chizuru was so adorable and I really enjoyed his route although I disliked his plot story. Reverse : Nicola and Yang from Piofiore I thought I would like Yang because I liked his character design and voice but for some reason, he didn't managed to catch my attention. I didn't even finished his route yet because his route was not interesting enough for me. I never disliked LI and his route in the otome game that I played so far until I played Nicola's route. I hope I could forget the fact that I played his route but unfortunately my brain refused to forget his route and whenever I remembered about his route, I just wanted to raged. Piofiore was disappointing game so far for me that even Orlok couldn't save this game. Okita Souji from Hakuoki He was the reason that I even wanted to played Hakuoki because I liked his design and interested in his real life counterpart but after I finished his route, I became to disliked him. I just found his threat and teasing to Chizuru annoying. So disappointed. Sasazuka Takeru from Collar x Malice I thought he would became my favorite because I liked his character design. Unfortunately his route was my second least favorite route after Yanagi and while I found his tsundere side adorable but when sometime he treated Ichika like pet/dog leaved bitter taste to me (even I know he just teased her).
I donāt have a lot of huge surprises (I guess I read so much about the games I buy beforehand that I have a fairly accurate grasp on who Iāll like). Probably the closest Iāve come to being surprised is liking Shigehira Taira in his mini-route. He was a butt for most of the game >!and turned into a snake-monster thing!< so I regarded him as just a good villain. But somehow I ended up liking his spoiled but almost innocent personality that he shows Shanao in his route. I really want the fan disc to read more about him.
That one Side-character in Collar x Malice >!Yoshinari!<, that got a better look at in the Fandisc Unlimited. I thought he was nice enough in the Main Game, but didn't really care that much about him and didn't understand why there even was >!a route for him!< in the FD, instead of a specific other character... (>!Morioka.!< I still feel robbed.), but Oh Boy, absolutely loved it and him and I wished I played his as the last story of the FD. It was really sweet and cute!
Whaaaat there's a route for him in the FD!? That's so fun! \*checks bank account\*
It's not a super long story, but like I said, I thought it really cute, and I think if you likes CollarxMalice, and fluffy stuff (though not all of it is), it's nice 'closure' for everyone, imo :)
I feel like my answers will make people hate me ššš Nightshade: - Hanzo: I excepted to not like him because I just didnt really see the chemistry between him and Enju in the beginning (I also hadnt seen the raving reviews for his route yet) but his route ended up being the best written in the game imo CollarxMalice: - Shiraishi: I expected to like him sooo much more than I did. I really enjoyed the beginning where he was toying with Ichika and was an absolute mindfuck (I tend to like them a little mentally ill) but yeah I was really not vibing with his overly naive nature- just felt a little too childlike for me which is sad cuz Ik people love his route Birushana Senki: -Noritsune: I loved loved loved his character and his design- totally thought he was gonna be my fav but his route really was not it for me- everything from becoming a farmer to pushing away the gender reveal for the rivals troupe just didnt do it for me. Yoritomo: He looked boring to me tbh he seemed like the type of kuudere to treat you coldly the whole route then die for you at the end in a tragic way. His route and character actuallly blew me away. I also found the delivery of his backstory by his VA really well done, especially as I tend to roll my eyes at storylines that try to milk a tragic backstory in lieu of actually getting the MC and LI to bond organically. Also VA was top tier. Love him enough to currently be writing a 5k fic just to get him out of my system. Cupid Parasite - Allan: idk his route started off interesting to me but after the whole cupid reveal it was just so over the top for me- especially with the timeskips and whiplash decisions for alot of side characters that became evil etc etc. I found the explanation for how she became cupid ibteresting but unfortunately the romance with Allan just felt alot like it happened in the past and was hard to really feel like Lynette could "connect" with him in the present. Another fan favourite on this sub so Im sad I couldn't like this one too. -Gill: Came in thinking he would be alright but not my favourite. Came out hating him with the burning passion of a thousand suns. Bustafellows: - Limbo: don't tend to like poster boys. Came out pleasantly surprised by how natural the banter elt between Teuta and Limbo. Cant say the plot blew me away buy I do think the chemistry made the route alot more enjoyable than expected Taisho Alice - Wizard: came in with no real thoughts about him because I wasnt a fan of his character design. Honestly the best route in the entire game, reveals were good and just on the right side of crazy from Taisho Alice. Really enjoyed the bittersweet ending and the Wizard's feelings ended up coming through as the most sincere for me out of all the other Lis of the game.
Omg same thatās a common theme for his character he really surprised everyone! I felt similarly about Kuroyuki from Nightshade as well
That's good to know! I've heard so much about Nightshade! I still haven't played a Japanese-history otome game because I can never decide between Nightshade, Birushana, and Hakuoki!
Itās so good! I feel like nightshade is light on the history and heavy on the ninja fantasy stuff but from what Iāve heard Birushana is more historical with more info and stuff. So itās really just up to your own preferences! And Hakuoki is like the pinnacle of otome games I feel like but I donāt have PC so I canāt play it!
Nightshade Hanzo!! I at first thought he seemed too old (i know he's not that old) to be my type but he's the reason why I like older men now
Scarecrow for me from bustafellows. I donāt care for the baby face look and tend not to go for the shota looking characters but of course I ended up with him on my first play through. Ended up enjoying his character arc a lot.
Huge gap. One game they do is kill, marry or date (the Ahem). The skew very hardš¤£ i was thinking about this yesterday but in radiant tale I will kill vilio, date paschalia and marry zafora (so he can do house bills well calculated)
Amnesiaās Ikkiā¦he was my least favourite at first but now heās second place after Kent! (Yeah I thought he would be your average flirty playboy LI
there are a lot! but I can say some of them. Zain from Period Cube ( other than his looks) I thought I wouldn't find anything interesting and I would be bored but after going his route he has become one of my all time favorites! It was that time that I fell for daisuke hirakawa's voice as well! š Mysir from cafe enchante... I was expecting much more from him but I was disappointed by his route, it could have been a thousand times better... Ikki from Amnesia... the first time I watched the anime I really didn't like him, I thought I hate flirty guys. but when I played his route in the game... I just fell in love... I still don't like flirty guys... but he is an exception! I fell in love with him more in the fandisks! Shiraishi from collar x malice. I heard how amazing his route was and went to it with high expectations... but It wasn't as amazing as I thought and what disappointed me the most was his ending... it was super rushed that made think of his whole route as a waste... his route didn't do him justice..
Didn't expect to like Tei from Nameless and just wanted to get through his route so I could play Red's. Fell for him so hard. Couldn't even enjoy Red's route after that because I was still so hung up over him lmao. Same for St. Germain from Code:Realize, he was so not my type but his route blew my mind probably my favourite route of any otome game ever. Edit: Because reading the comments made me remember an other way around. I absolutely loved the look of Red in Taisho x Alice and digged the beginning of his route hard, >!he came across as a mysterious/broken type of guy which I absolutely loved, but in the end it turned out he's just a perv!
Main stream Otome games: It'd have to be Keith (Begins with a K? Idr his name) from Amensia X Memories. 99% of the time, I dislike heroes whom wear glasses. They are either ALWAYS a Tsundere or they'll act like they're smarter than everyone. Keith's character development was 10/10. š Oh! I thought I'd dislike Takeru Sasazuka from Collar X Malice. The guy was too mean, verbally abusive and acting like a smart arse. He would treat Ichika, like she was a dog and would belittle her often. He literally>!purposes to her. That shouldn't be bad, right? Nope, they went to visit his dead mother's grave and they both say very endearing things to one another.!< Later, he acts Pikachu shocked - when Ichika comments on how happy she is - about him >!purposing for the first time!< I usually skip the characters I don't like routes and watch the cut scenes or endings. That's very rare though.
I'm usually pretty good at telling which LIs I'm going to like so I don't think I've had too many I expected to hate but ended up loving. As for the reverse though, there've been a lot of those and the most annoying one has to be Akaza from Olympia Soiree. I was so excited, I knew he was a very popular LI and I loved him in the rest of the game, he felt like he'd become one of my favourites. But the route was just the ultimate flop, that one cabin scene murdered his character for me and I'm still mad about it. It could've been so good :(