voltage – Otome Reviews

Scandal in the Spotlight: Kyohei Rikudoh Review [SPOILERS]

Ah, Kyohei. One thing you should probably know about me before I get started is that I have been stanning kpop boyband EXO hardcore for years and there is album art on both my phone and my computer, haha. So to say I was thrilled to learn Voltage Love 365 app has a boy band otome would be a MASSIVE understatement! But how was the route, you ask? Read on to find out!

The world of Scandal in the Spotlight is uh… pretty cut-throat, to say the least. Aspiring MC starts out getting blacklisted from the industry after rejecting ~~Harvey Weinstein~~ her creepy, powerful boss. 😦 Then her coworker/secret member of popular boy band ~~Arashi~~ Revance, freaking STEALS poetry she wrote for a screenplay and adapts it into Revance’s latest hit (!!!). And then Kyohei, band producer/member and subject of this review, strong-arms/threatens MC into ghostwriting erotic lyrics for their 10th anniversary, in exchange for getting her un-blacklisted afterwards…!!

…Yikes. Poor MC (I hope she got paid for the plagiarism and she’s getting paid for the ghostwriting?! Super important 💰). Anyway, at first glance Kyohei definitely comes across as your typical scary/aggressive and demanding alpha male (“I make the rules here. Anyone who gets in our way will be dropped, no exceptions”). He might not be the official leader of the group, but he sure acts like he is. Kyo is willing to do whatever it takes to ensure Revance’s continued success, including using his professional clout to stifle an up-and-coming rival group (which I found very confusingly attractive, lmao). And with MC, he’s just as bossy, but also SUPER FREAKING FLIRTATIOUS like you have no idea (“If you don’t have enough experience…perhaps we can fix that”). And of course the guy has to claim it’s all in the name of inspiring MC to write sexier lyrics and he couldn’t possibly be attracted to MC, lmao.

But much like his giant adorable mop of a dog (named Little Yamada!! ^_^), when it comes to MC, Kyohei is all bark and no bite. From the start, he’s nice to MC his own bizarre, super extra way. When MC’s feeling down about her skills, he doesn’t hesitate to buy out massive amounts of ad space from Shibuya Crossing just to prove a point, lol. And after the turning point in the story, Kyo becomes downright protective of MC, keeping his manager and the other members off MC’s back while she struggles with writer’s block! Aww.

TBH, domineering types tend to be really hit or miss for me. But in Kyohei’s case, it’s a hit (mostly! more on that below). For starters, once Kyohei starts caring about MC he’s never mean ever again (even if he still loves teasing her) and I am so super weak to otome guys who pull off that transition well. I liked his tragic backstory/motivation, cheesy as it was. And finally, Kyohei plays into your typical diva-ish pop star romance fantasy really nicely. It’s all about expectations: a bad boy-type pop star is WAY more interesting than a super nice pop star imho, and this is one of the rare cases where I think a completely nice character wouldn’t be nearly as compelling as someone like Kyohei, who does turn out to be vaguely nice ish, but also has a bit of an edge to him.

Speaking of pop fantasies, I generally enjoyed the plot progression, which was one giant, unbelievably cheesy wish fulfillment fantasy. Poor, sweet MC’s struggles to come up with sexy lyrics tie in really nicely with her growing relationship with Kyohei, and I always do love it when the external plot and romance get intertwined. But one thing that I didn’t like as much is the plot’s main villain, who at once wants to produce for Revance, poach MC, and get in MC’s pants…?! It’s too much!! I personally think the story’s conflict would’ve been much cleaner if his creepy romance subplot were completely removed.

Also, this isn’t really a critique as it is a commentary, but: parts of this story were kind of sad/infuriating to read from a post-#metoo perspective. MC’s screenwriting career was completely screwed through no fault of her own, after all! And much as Kyo did grow on me, he did initially force MC into the whole ghostwriting gig. So, this might sound kind of weird, but I think an AU of Scandal in the Spotlight featuring Kyohei as a villain type would’ve been EVEN COOLER while satisfying my never-ending thirst for revenge against evil guys? Imagine: MC turns down Revance flat, and goes straight to rival group Grenade, romancing one of those boys instead. Her and Boy work together to start a viral internet campaign to take down both Harvey Weinstein and Revance. It becomes an epic tale of MC+Boy vs the world, and in the end Revance and Grenade resolve their differences IkeSen style (though Grenade wins), while former boss gets sent to jail. Now wouldn’t that be satisfying to read. 🙂 (…okay maybe this is why I was rejected from creative writing class in school lmao)

And while we’re talking about #metoo, there is one specific scene with Kyohei that I didn’t like! Early on, he smacks MC’s butt (flirtatiously??). I secretly kind of enjoyed all the other sexy, aggressively flirty things he pulls, but that one’s just straight up harassment! 😦 Fortunately, later in the route, Kyohei makes it clear that a) he’ll quit the flirting if MC tells him to stop, and b) he asks for consent before actually getting it on with MC. So there’s that… Anyways, this incident is one of the reasons why, mid-way through Episode 2, I was certain I was going to hate Kyohei with a fiery passion and that this review was going to be an extended rant about celebrities. But it really speaks to Kyohei’s character evolution that I ended up forgiving him for his transgressions, mostly.

Overall, if you’re willing to accept a party size helping of cheese in your romance stories (or, if you have ever had a crush on any of 1D/NSYNC/The Beatles/etc), I think you’ll like Kyohei. His route is definitely not perfect, and it certainly isn’t high literature, but it provides some super satisfying wish fulfillment and is generally a fun, sexy read!

Choice quote:

“Kyohei…I think I’m starting to get the wrong idea…” “You don’t have the wrong idea.” 💕

Personality: 8/10. I really wouldn’t call Kyohei a nice guy in general, and I have beef with how he acted in the beginning, but Kyohei post-turning point in plot is pretty awesome. The guy manages to be nice to MC and super mega sexy at the same time. Also I love how extra he is. It’s perfect for a pop star.

Appearance: 8/10. This guy’s hair is simultaneously the most and least necessary thing ever, lol.

MC: 6/10. I like how self-aware and determined MC is. However, she was too passive for my personal tastes, especially when it came to the asshole men in her life. (Also girl really needs to learn how to digitize/password protect her lyrics…)

Plot/Payoff: 6/10. I generally enjoyed how gloriously cheesy the plot was, especially with regards to MC’s lyric writing and her relationship with Kyohei, but I do think the main villain ended up trying to do way too much. Also, I really wanted to see the creepy screenwriter get his comeuppance in the story, and I would LOVE confirmation that MC’s getting paid for her troubles! 💰💰

Personal enjoyment: 7/10. I started out really disliking this route because MC gets screwed over way too hard in the beginning, but Kyohei himself really makes this story more enjoyable than it has any right to be! ^_^

Masterlist

I was sent this story to review honestly as part of @officialvoltageotome‘s review campaign! All thoughts are 100% mine. 🙂

Era of Samurai: Code of Love – Soji Okita Route Review [SPOILERS]

Friends!! I HAVE A NEW STORY TO ADD TO MY FAVES. This is my second Shinsengumi-era otome route to date (the first was DtL’s Takasugi, which was kind of a disaster). And it is AMAZING. 🙂

As far as Voltage romance premises go, this one is pretty good. After ronin arbitrarily attack/burn down MC’s apothecary/house, the Shinsengumi, aka the shogunate’s police force/a group of hot guys, decide to house MC in exchange for her medicinal skills. Among these dudes is Okita, who is decidedly…creepy looking, to say the least (see above).

He’s also convinced that the whole thing’s a setup and that MC’s a spy, lol. Which is a bit of a problem for MC given his threatening “kill first, ask questions later” attitude, but a lame run-in MC has with ronin quickly convinces Okita that MC’s innocent (“Your astounding stupidity convinced me. Congratulations”). 😂That said, MC’s still terrified of Okita, and you really can’t blame the girl. Okita has a reputation for being a killing machine and doling out “divine punishments” in Kyoto. He’s rumored to drink the blood of his “prey” in demonic rituals. She encounters him, soaked in blood and super scary looking, one evening and he offers to teach her how to kill.

But as time passes, MC realizes that there’s another side to Okita. His room, rumored to host tons of dead bodies… is merely messy. He’s good with kids (and likes playing with them!). He has two pet goldfish that he can tell apart (also he’s reluctant to eat goldfish shaped candy, lol). And he is a total tease! His sexual innuendoes totally killed me, haha. Here’s an example: at some point in the story, Okita gets close to MC and demands she pay for sword training with her body. Problematic, right? …Except it turns out he simply wants her to clean the Shinsengumi compound via physical labor, lmfao.

On the surface, Okita shares a ton of personality traits with the scary, sexually aggressive bad-boy types in otome games, such as Kyohei from Scandal in the Spotlight, Leon from Star Crossed Myth or Eisuke from Kissed by the Baddest Bidder. But in reality, Okita is in a class of his own. Because he never even comes close to crossing the consent line with MC, his many sex jokes are pretty hilarious, imho. And although he comes across as demanding, it’s also pretty obvious from the get-go that he has the best interests of the Shinsengumi, and later, MC, in mind, and doesn’t just get off on being an asshole. Because these aspects of his personality were so clear, even early on, I felt like it was really easy to comfortably enjoy Okita’s aggressive personality (in contrast, I have some seriously conflicting feelings about Leon…).

In terms of plot, the bulk of Okita’s story revolves around the peace-loving MC and murder machine Okita struggling with reconciling their conflicting ideals, while the Shinsengumi try to uncover a malicious terrorist plan in the area. These two things intertwine with each other beautifully. There are several other excellent subplots, such as Okita teaching MC how to defend herself with a sword and fight for survival (my favorite!!), and Okita and MC struggling with the Shinsengumi’s bad reputation. Overall, the storytelling is very tight; there wasn’t anything I felt was unnecessary or didn’t thoroughly enjoy.

The same goes for Okita’s personality. I loved pretty much everything about his character presentation and evolution. Even the fact that he’s kind of scary looking/not traditional Voltage “pretty” enhances his character. Also, Okita is the only Love365 character I’ve read to date that actively tells MC it’s okay to go slow, both sexually and relationship wise, in the epilogue (“We don’t have to rush”)! Not something you’d expect from a guy who loves teasing MC, is it? 🙂

Overall, I absolutely loved this route. It was really touching, and I think Okita just might be my favorite Love365 character I’ve read to date! If you haven’t read his route yet, I highly recommend you give it a shot when you get the chance!

Choice quotes

To some ronin: “Ooh, that’s some mighty fine-looking equipment you’re packing there, big boy. Tell me, are you trying to compensate for something?”
“This is the first time you’ve slept with a man, isn’t it? Aren’t you glad your first time is with me?” (spoiler alert: it’s platonic)
“I won’t go closing my eyes. I know you’re only using that sword to protect me.” – MC ❤

Personality: 10/10. Okita is incredibly entertaining as an otome character. He’s also an awesome human being. His scary first impression just makes everything else even better. Also I love his snarky teasing and his innuendoes, haha.

(PS between Okita, Soryu, and Kenshin… I have a thing for murderous protective otome guys I guess…?!?! #noregrets)

Appearance: 4.5/10. First impressions: this guy has a super scary face. His CG’s are definitely a much more traditional otome handsome 9/10 though!

MC: 10/10. MC gets a pass on being a bit naively pacifist because she’s a freaking doctor. But I LOVED her growth throughout this route and her increased understanding of Okita. 💕

Plot/Payoff: 10/10. It might be short, but this is probably one of the best-paced Voltage plots I’ve ever read! Every subplot felt meaningful.

Personal enjoyment: 10/10. One of my new favorite routes of all time. Can’t wait to get my hands on his sequels 🙂

Masterlist

In Your Arms Tonight: Genji Higashiyama Review [SPOILERS]

otome-reviews:

“I made a lot of detours to get to where I am today. But it was those detours that showed me how important Genji was to me. I want to treasure the happiness I have now.”

With February comes a new pair of free stories to enjoy in Voltage’s Love365 app! One of these stories was Genji’s Higashiyama’s route in In Your Arms Tonight, an intriguing romance the likes of which I haven’t really seen much of, before.

The story starts out with an MC who’s a married (!) woman. To be more specific:

Très romantique, no? Sigh. MC was set up by her father, so this is essentially the Japanese equivalent of an arranged marriage. Things go down about as well as one might expect: the husband is cold, they haven’t even slept together after 3 months of marriage, and MC realizes walking home one day that the husband has been cheating on her with another woman. Ouch.

So, unsurprisingly, MC dumps his ass and moves back home with her parents (living with parents unless married is common in Japanese culture, I hear). She starts kicking ass at work (where she’s an interior designer), and, in classic otome fashion, quickly finds herself surrounded by hot and available men: her kind coworker, her stern manager, a young bartender with a thing for MILFS, … and Genji, her high school ex-boyfriend turned Japanese soccer star with World Cup aspirations. Genji’s a little different from how she remembered him in high school:

Age and fame has changed him, and now he’s confident, flirtatious, has a ton of young groupies, and is honestly, kind of a brat. But one thing has remained constant: he’s still in love with the MC, and isn’t shy to show it. In fact, the only reason why they reunited (at a high school reunion) was because he’d called to organizer to confirm the MC’s attendance.

Genji’s capricious nature cannot be understated. At some point, he drags the MC last minute to a soccer-related party (thus unknowingly ruining her housing search), has her undergo an entire makeover, and gets pissy when she doesn’t want him to buy her any accessories (jewelry?). He gets incredibly jealous (almost to the point of blows) over her coworker Shohei Aiba, who, to be fair, has the hots for the MC and frequently invites her out to drinks at the local bar. And he’s constantly being approached by young female fans, which seems like a bit of a pain for any girl to deal with in the long run.

But Genji is super freaking supportive to the MC, when it counts, and it’s crazy attractive. Regarding her ex-husband, after a painful run-in at a restaurant: “Any man whose eyes roam to other women that quickly isn’t a man at all.” Regarding MC’s career: “If you don’t grab every chance you get, you’ll never go any higher. And when a shipment MC’s handling for work ends up in the wrong city, Genji borrows his soccer team’s truck and pulls an all-nighter to drive her to the warehouse to pick up the shipment. Swoon.

Genji and MC have their fights. He even pushes her away after getting injured, but the plot line there is resolved maturely and understandably. At the end of the day, it’s clear that Genji is super fond of MC, and that he’s always been. He makes mistakes, she makes mistakes, but despite the fantastical premise, the two of them seem like real human beings who are really in love. It’s incredibly nice to read.

Personality: 8/10. Genji can be quite the egotistical brat, and reacts poorly to jealousy. But he goes out of his way to help the MC out, and never wavers in his affection for her.

Appearance: 9/10. The drawing here is A+, but he’s surrounded by some pretty stiff competition in this story!

MC: 7/10. MC is a really bad communicator, both with her parents as well as with Genji (she didn’t even tell her parents why she divorced, for starters!). But I really like the setup for MC’s story, and she came across as relatable and likable.

Personal enjoyment: 9/10. There was a fair amount of sexism that I think may be cultural, but I enjoyed reading the story, and I love the value that this particular romance can potentially provide to older women/women with relationship struggles of their own. And the side characters are great!

Masterlist

Genji’s route is free on Love365 until 10/23 JST, so I’m re-surfacing this review! 🙂

Now that I have a better sense of how pretty otome boys can get, I’d re-rate his handsomeness as a 7/10, but otherwise, this is still a super fun story that I highly recommend!

SLBP “The Ascension of the Divine Bride” Event: Nobunaga, Yukimura, Masamune Review

OMG. TIME TO PACK UP, FRIENDS. WE HAVE REACHED PEAK SLBP. Don’t think it can get better than this latest trio of stories from Voltage 😍

Nobunaga’s ES is basically an extremely creative interpretation of the Battles of Kizugawaguchi, with a wedding thrown in! MC and Nobunaga are literally seconds away from getting married when an emergency battle gets in the way! The Oda clan faces off against Kennyo, the Mori Clan, and some other enemies…and faces a crushing defeat. And to make things worse, the Mori clan wants an Oda bride (aka MC) as hostage in exchange for standing down! Nobunaga unsurprisingly tries to call off the wedding to protect MC in classic Nobunaga fashion (lol), but MC is a true badass who finds things out for herself and convinces N that the sacrifice would be worth it. At the last second, an offhand comment allows Nobunaga to invent the world’s first ironclad, defeat his enemies definitively, and marry his love in a super cute scene. ❤️

There were just too many things about this route that were awesome:

“You shall have a kitchen that not even the Gods have seen.” 😂
Nobunaga’s extremely Genghis Khan-like imperialistic ambitions. Didn’t see that one coming, haha.
“Once I am finally done wedding you, my bedding you will make it difficult for you to make it to the kitchen for quite some time.”
“And so the brazen girl has become an exceedingly ambitious woman.”

But most awesome of all: MC, who became certain in her ability to be a brave and badass “Peerless Lady.” I loved her growth, and her willingness to make plans for Nobunaga’s sake! Even at his best, Nobunaga has his flaws, but this ES’ MC seems uniquely suited for the guy and the story was a fantastic read.

Personal enjoyment: 10/10

Nobunaga’s route is just one more in a long series of routes with hostage talk but no actual hostages. …And then there’s Yukimura’s ES. In this route, the Sanada clan has decided to break off its longstanding alliance with Shingen in lieu of an alliance with Kenshin (💔!!), and Yuki’s the designated hostage. He’s pissed, but he does it anyway, after MC insists on joining him. And they actually become hostages!! The Uesugi clan isn’t exactly super welcoming to the guy they view as a betrayer (esp. Kageie – wonder what’s the story there?!), but as time passes, both MC and Yukimura prove their worth. In the end, with a push from MC, Yukimura decides to help Kenshin in a battle, proving the Sanada clan’s loyalty, and Kenshin releases them from their hostage duties, allowing them to finally get properly married. ^_^

So the hostage situation already had my jaw dropping in shock and awe because that literally never happens in these stories! That alone was amazing, but this event also brings us:

Yuki’s glorious if temporary reaction to the alliance change (“I will no longer stand under the name Sanada!”)
Horny Yuki (He takes me again and again, seeking me out as if he could devour all of me and never want for it ever again)
Embarrassed Yuki, after seeing MC in her wedding outfit ^_^

Personal enjoyment: 10/10

Poor Masamune’s ES is super heartbreaking! The story starts out happily, with MC and Masamune in the midst of prepping for their wedding (together ^_^). But Masamune’s mega-bitch of a mom is busy causing trouble. After refusing to attend their wedding (or allow M’s little brother Kojirou to attend), she arranges for young Kojirou to be adopted by the Ashina, a frenemy clan, so that Kojirou can become heir of that clan. And Masamune’s future enemy, basically. Ugh. But all her scheming is for naught, because the two-timing Ashina also adopt another rival clan’s son (he’s an arrogant prick), with the intention of having Kojirou and this other dude to duke it out. Masamune’s stuck between a rock and a hard place: avoiding war on two fronts, or saving his little bro. MC convinces him that Kojirou’s worth it, the Date clan wins the battle, and Masamune finally earns his horrible mom’s gratitude (and gets married)!

I’m a little sad that Masamune’s mom never got her comeuppance, but that didn’t stop me from thoroughly loving this story! The Ashina clan’s plots were fun to read, ridiculous as they were. Kojirou was adorable. But my absolute #1 favorite part of this story was MC and Masamune working together, as a team. First to master their complicated wedding rituals, and then to decide what to do about the whole Ashina situation. MC and shy boy are #relationshipgoals and I can’t freaking wait to go back and finally finish up Masa’s MS for good 💕Favorite quote: “Whatever happens, I want us to face it together.”

Personal enjoyment: 10/10

… Yeah that’s right. I LOVED ALL THESE ES’s. What really made them stand out, imho, was MC, who was consistently amazing. Also, the samurai era military plots. Can’t wait for the second batch of stories!

Kissed by the Baddest Bidder: Soryu Oh Route Review [SPOILERS]

otome-reviews:

“Before I left for Hong Kong, I told you you were free. But I take that back now. Stay with me forever.”

I’ve heard quite a bit about KBTBB over the last few months, so imagine my delight when Voltage made Soryu’s route free on their Love365 app (until 11:59 6/30 JST, no less)! So did this guy live up to his hype? Absolutely yes.

…The truth is, this story and I definitely got off on the wrong foot. The premise of KBTBB is pretty stupid, and super problematic for a love story. TL;DR MC works as a maid at a fancy hotel. One day, a series of unfortunate events leads MC to accidentally break a vase that’s sitting in a storage room. She’s subsequently captured and sold off in a black market auction (!!) to a bunch of rich people at the hotel. And who “buys” her, you ask? The main love interests of this story, for a cool $20M. They literally run this freaking auction. And therefore didn’t actually lose out on any money buying MC…but that doesn’t stop them from making MC pick which guy “owns” her from now on! Yikes.

So MC picks Soryu, a scary-looking, grumpy Cantonese mobster whose first act is to shirtlessly threaten MC into compliance (“If you’re good, I won’t do anything bad to you”). His preferred form of communication is taking out his gun–not a euphemism–and waving it in people’s face, lmao. And like IkeSen Kenshin, he’s none too fond of women, and weirdly sexist all at once (“Wipe that stupid look off your face. I’d never point a gun at a little girl”).

The meat of the plot features MC masquerading as Mei Ling, an ally mob boss’ friendly daughter, as bait to draw out Soryu’s enemies. ML’s in town to find a husband, so guess who has the dubious pleasure of attending endless marriage meetings on her behalf? As MC fumbles her way through chaperoned dates with high profile criminals and various kidnappings/murder attempts, she gets to know Soryu better. Turns out the guy has a obsessive fondness for MC’s omelettes (not innuendo. again), and a fairly strong sense of honor for a mafia dude – tl;dr he doesn’t like harming innocents. He’s also hilariously unused to normal civilian things, like vegetables sitting out in the open at grocery stores (so poisonable! he says).

And perhaps most importantly, it becomes clear that despite his gruffness, Soryu cares about MC a lot. He gives her a piggyback ride when she injures her ankle. He relinquishes his bed when MC has to stay over at this apartment due to shenanigans. And he willing to take a literal bullet and beating – and ultimately, face execution – all for MC.

The climax of Soryu’s plot is exactly what one would expect and want from a cheesy mafia-based route, with all the arranged marriages and shifting alliances and threatened murder and whatnot. And it is glorious. Despite – or perhaps, because of – the extremely bumpy start MC and Soryu had to their relationship, the route’s ending definitely felt earned, and had me grinning like an idiot.

At the end of the day, I still think MC’s an idiot for getting involved with a mobster. And I cannot in good consciousness recommend Soryu’s route to just anyone. Dude sets off more red flags than IkeSen Kenshin (whom I also adore…oops), and it feels a bit weird to romanticize this level of crazy. But tbh, that’s also probably why this route never failed to entertain, from beginning to end. It reminded me of the crappy, unrealistic Cantonese gangster B-movies that I used to love watching as a kid. The side characters (especially Mei Ling and Ryosuke!) were fantastic. In short, Soryu’s evolution from scary mobster to only-slightly-less-intimidating mobster-in-love was truly a delight to witness!

Choice quotes
“Do you know the best way to overcome fear? You have to overcome something even more frightening than the thing you fear.”
“You’re still a mafia princess to me, MC! And I promise to serve you forever!” – Ryosuke
“…No. I don’t hate how you smell, MC.”

Personality: 10/10 in terms of otome entertainment value. Perfect combination of cool/stoic, and secretly kind. But would he be good IRL boyfriend material? Oh hell no. Mafia shenanigans aside, it’s probably not a good idea to date a dude who calls you nothing but “woman” for over a month?? 2/10 irl.

Appearance: 10/10. 11/10?? This guy is sex on legs. Total physical perfection.

MC: 7/10. MC was pretty all right. One could argue she was too passive, but what’s a girl to do when she’s thrown into the criminal underworld?

Plot/Payoff: 9/10. After the initial super questionable beginning, this route was a giant (extremely inaccurate) mobster cliche, and I absolutely loved it.

Personal enjoyment: 9/10. A very memorable route!

Just learned that Soryu’s route is free to read again on Love365 until 10/4 JST! If you haven’t gotten the chance to read his story yet, do it!! I gave his route a 9/10 back in the day but with my nostalgia lenses on, it’s a solid 10. 😍

My Wedding and 7 Rings: Asahi Route Review [SPOILERS]

Once upon a time, I naively thought that Eisuke’s route in Kissed by the Baddest Bidder was the worst I’d ever have the misfortune of reading. Well, my friends. I’m delighted (?) to inform you that we have a new winner, in the the form of Asahi and his blood pressure-raising route.

Let’s start from the top, shall we? MC works for Sanno Corp, a conglomerate run by an affable CEO (aka her unknown/secret grandfather), who passes away. In his final days, he arranges for MC’s future “happiness” on her behalf, by setting up a Marriage Program for MC to pick a husband and future CEO among six up-and-coming male employees (no women allowed??). Instead of, you know, giving MC leadership training while he was alive so she could try being CEO herself like a proper loving grandfather, or something…

Anyways, MC is conned into signing a contract agreeing to the Marriage Program, while being told it’s paperwork for the company’s MVP award, by the shady interim CEO. Long story short, if she fails to find a husband before a year is up, the company will be forced to dissolve without a CEO, and she’ll be forced to pay everyone’s severance pay. So… I don’t know what the rules and regulations surrounding contracts are in Japan, but I can’t imagine that this’d hold up in court? There was a whole auditorium’s worth of people who could testify that MC was pressured into signing, after all. And according to Google, severance pay isn’t required in Japan if a company can’t continue its business due to “unavoidable circumstances” – such as, say, an asshat ex-CEO who set up a terrible program for his granddaughter instead of getting to know her like a normal person?!

Anyways, because there is something seriously wrong with MC, she picks Asahi, aka very obviously the rudest of the bunch, to be her first marriage candidate during a month-long trial period. Asahi is a rich, privileged, and entitled douchebag who doesn’t understand poor/middle class people. He thinks he’s God’s gift to womankind because he’s handsome. And although MC is the one who holds all the cards as, you know, the person who picks the next CEO, he doesn’t hesitate to order MC around constantly (“Don’t do anything without my say-so!”), insults her, and regularly compares her to a pet dog. Ugh.

Oh, and he tries to have nonconsensual sex with her. TWICE. His rationale, after MC manages to ward him off? “This is the first time a girl has rejected my advances!” …That doesn’t excuse shit, you asshole. And to top it all off, unlike other characters under the douchey alpha male trope who stop insulting MC halfway through, Asahi doesn’t really ever quit (“Plain IS your specialty.” – Episode 10 out of 13).

( ^this would’ve been a lovely CG if it were consensual >( )

All that alone is already enough to make me hate Asahi, and his route, quite passionately. But it gets worse. Throughout the entire story, Asahi forces MC to help him with a project to revitalize a Japanese village by bringing European luxury brands into the village and turning it into a tourist destination (weird, but sure, let’s roll with it). MC is Asahi’s assistant, but in reality, she is the only reason why the project even manages to succeed:

When Asahi rudely rejects a petition containing the villagers’ concerns about the project, MC is the one who listens to their complaints. And then Asahi gets PISSED at her for acting independently, and rips up the petition (!!) (“You’ll understand someday. Money and power are all that matter”). Douche doesn’t even begin to cover it. Psychopath?!
After a deal with a French CEO falls through due to Asahi’s evil half-brother’s meddling, MC and Asahi encounter a lost crying kid. MC wants to help the kid, Asahi wants to get the police to deal with it and call it a day. He’s super rude about it. But surprise surprise, said kid turns out to be the French CEO’s son, and that is the only reason why the Frenchman even gives Sanno Corp a chance. Without MC’s kindness, the project would’ve failed. Utterly. Because Asahi is an incompetent little shit.
The townspeople are upset over traditions being thrown out the window, and because MC’s the only person who ever listened to their concerns, she’s the one who comes up with the idea of embracing these old traditions even as they introduce new Western elements to the town’s stores, and mixing old with new. There is no way entitled little rich kid Asahi would’ve been able to come up with this on his own.

So what happens at the end of the route, you ask? Surely MC gets rewarded professionally for her excellent people skills and business acumen? HAH…don’t make me laugh. Here’s what happens:

MC writes an excellent project proposal as a last ditch effort, which Asahi utterly ignores because he went off to do his own thing regarding the deal. He praises MC, but who gives a shit? Words are cheap. I want actual, tangible, career success for MC.
The Frenchman announces, in a news conference, that he’ll be making a deal with Sanno Corp, and demands to work, more specifically, with his good friend Asahi. Um, excuse me, but WTF?!?!? Who was the one who helped his kid, again? Who was the one who came up with the proposal in the first place? Way to devalue a woman’s work and let another man get all the credit, dude! This makes me so mad asdfhqkjdhqfqdjfsh
Most annoyingly, Asahi presumably gets to be the next CEO, since MC obviously chooses him. Despite the fact that he’s so bad with people it’s unfathomable how he even got to where he was before he met MC…

This whole saga, with MC’s efforts and kindness being brushed aside/unrecognized, and the useless Asahi reaping the rewards of all of MC’s hard work, really really boiled my blood. As a working woman with ambitions, the whole work subplot represents many of my greatest fears regarding sexism in the professional workplace. It was, in a way, even more infuriating than Asahi’s romantic shittiness, because despite being ridiculous and unrealistic, everything still felt allll too fucking real.

After my extended rant regarding Eisuke a while back, several people pointed out that Eisuke’s character evolution over the course of many stories is what makes him truly great. I’m a little dubious, to be very honest, but I can respect that. But as for Asahi? IMHO this little dipshit doesn’t deserve future character evolution. He’s already used MC for professional success! He doesn’t get to just waltz in and reap the rewards of “becoming a better man” due to MC’s hard work and effort. What does MC even get out of this whole deal?? A good, rich man who loves her!? Yeah, no thanks. She could’ve gotten that from one of the many other less douchey love interests, probably without all this wasted emotional labor.

At the end of the day, Asahi and his route embodies several tropes/fantasies that I understand are very popular (and maybe even more popular in Japan, I wouldn’t know), and I can’t blame Voltage for catering to their audience (and even, perhaps, to you, the reader). He’s rich, he’s an “alpha male,” yadda yadda…I get it. But it’s definitely not a trope for me, and even less so given that whole crappy work thing. So. To reiterate, this has been the single most infuriating route I’ve had the displeasure of reading, to date. And because I strongly believe Asahi does not deserve to improve at the cost of MC’s suffering and sacrifice, I have no plans to give any of his sequels a chance. >(

(If this review actually made you want to check out Asahi’s route, my apologies – the free promotion has long since ended. But you can still enjoy (?) the story on Voltage’s Love365 app using coins!)

Choice quotes:
“Aren’t you going to say, ‘I’m leaving for work, master’ on your way out?” “I’m leaving for work… you naked fathead!”
“If you’re waiting for the day I take orders from you, 100 years won’t be enough.”

Personality: 1/10 Asahi is a rude asshole who lacks empathy and doesn’t know his damn place. He is such a rich douchebag stereotype.

Appearance: 8/10. Unfortunately.

MC: 6/10. I liked MC’s sass and work ethic, but she has terrible taste in men and is way too happy about the tiny breadcrumbs of kindness Asahi occasionally throws at her.

Plot/Payoff: 0/10. Horrifying for a working woman. >(

Personal enjoyment: 0/10. No

Masterlist

Kissed by the Baddest Bidder: Eisuke Ichinomiya Route Review [SPOILERS]

“I’ll let you stay with me. You’re the only woman who’s ever stuck with me this long.”

Hello! If you like Eisuke, I recommend you stop reading now. Rant incoming. 🙂

Quick recap: Kissed by the Baddest Bidder is basically the edgy adult otome version of Ouran High School Host Club. In this universe, MC, a hotel maid, finds herself sold at a black market auction to a group of shady dudes who happen to run said black market auction, after she accidentally breaks an expensive vase. And in this particular route, Eisuke, the main dude in charge and asshole extraordinaire, decides that he’ll be the one to “own” MC: “I bought you, got it? So I can do whatever I want with you.” Charming.

After forcefully undressing and taking a look at MC’s chest like the classy and respectful man he is (he has some stupid excuse for it later in the route), Eisuke decides that MC will serve as his fake girlfriend. The goal: to ward off a mafia boss’ daughter politely, while simultaneously trying to forge an alliance with her father. Turns out all the women love Eisuke for some bizarre reason, even though he’s a total bastard with no redeeming qualities whatsoever (actually, it’s even scarier when the dude pretends to be nice in this route, not gonna lie…).

(that is the smile of a monster)

Eisuke insults the hell out of MC while giving her the obligatory makeover to become his fake girlfriend (“The worse something looks, the more fun it is to dress it up”). He also gives her a pager, and expects her to run when called within five minutes – one of his favorite hobbies is calling MC over when a text would’ve sufficed. Oh, and he kisses MC twice without her permission, under completely unromantic pretexts, to boot. Real winner, this guy.

One interesting thing we learn in Eisuke’s route is that the boys have a policy not to sell any woman who’s unwilling to be sold at the fancy black market auctions (in the route, a woman sells herself to escape her yakuza boyfriend and get “bought” by another love interest – I wonder what could possibly go wrong with that plan…). In any case, the whole thing really begs the question: why the fuck did Eisuke let MC get put up for auction in the first place?! Is it just because he’s a total douche canoe with too much time on his hands?? As the route goes on, we learn that Eisuke has some stupid tragic backstory about losing his parents and getting taken in by a rich zaibatsu family, and MC develops sympathy for the guy. Oh boo hoo…MC’s an idiot.

And here’s the absolute worst part of this route. Eisuke breaks his non-relationship with MC off abruptly towards the end of the route to protect her from an external threat (not that he tells her the reason, or anything, because communication is for plebes). And MC has this TOTAL FREAKING SWEETHEART of a coworker/manager?? who’s been steadily wooing MC for the entire route, who’s all willing to sweep in and is amazing, but nooo. MC’s ~~developed Stockholm Syndrome~~ in looove with Eisuke. Ughhh.

So when the external threat resolves itself, Eisuke returns to charm MC with his sweet nothings: “I can’t promise anything. I’m going to keep doing what I want to do. And if MC ends up being hurt because of it… Well, she’s the one who wants to be with me.” …Fuck this guy. And not in the sexy way, either. He doesn’t even confess to MC in the end like a proper otome boyfriend (“Let’s get to the point. Tell me how you feel”)! Asdkfjqofjqfidfs >(

Look. I’m not necessarily always against “problematic” otome boys. They can be fun. Case in point, Soryu, who freaking kills people for a living. Or IkeSen Kenshin, who’s so crazy he makes Jumin Han look sane, but is also kinda my favorite guy at the moment… <3. But besides being really really ridiculously good looking, there’s basically nothing positive about Eisuke. Maybe once in a blue moon he’s only mostly an asshole as opposed to totally 100% an asshole…? In short, imho Eisuke is one of the most infuriating characters I’ve ever encountered and I def. do not ship him and MC.

But if you’re still interested in his route and you haven’t read it yet, it’s free on Love365 until 7/9 11:59PM JST. Enjoy…? 😬

Choice quotes:
“All you have to do is be quiet and attend to me.”
“Will you be freed after the deal with Bucci succeeds, or will you disappear from the face of the earth? I can’t wait to find out.”
“If you go out with him, he’ll keep pushing you around. Are you okay with that?“ "Yes. I want to be with him.”

Personality: 0/10. I hate this guy. HATE.

Appearance: 9/10. Can’t fault Eisuke on his looks…

MC: 2/10. MC NO. …Why didn’t you run away when you had the chance 😦

Plot/Payoff: 6/10. A flaw: the side characters felt like cartoons – the mafia boss daughter in particular was super annoying. That said, the route was snappy and interesting in its own way, and I can understand why so many people love Eisuke. Things certainly aren’t boring around him.

Personal enjoyment: 5/10. You’d think I’d give this a 1 due to how horrible I think Eisuke is, wouldn’t you? Truth is, I at least enjoyed the process of hate reading this story. Haha.

Masterlist

Kissed by the Baddest Bidder: Soryu Oh Route Review [SPOILERS]

“Before I left for Hong Kong, I told you you were free. But I take that back now. Stay with me forever.”

I’ve heard quite a bit about KBTBB over the last few months, so imagine my delight when Voltage made Soryu’s route free on their Love365 app (until 11:59 6/30 JST, no less)! So did this guy live up to his hype? Absolutely yes.

…The truth is, this story and I definitely got off on the wrong foot. The premise of KBTBB is pretty stupid, and super problematic for a love story. TL;DR MC works as a maid at a fancy hotel. One day, a series of unfortunate events leads MC to accidentally break a vase that’s sitting in a storage room. She’s subsequently captured and sold off in a black market auction (!!) to a bunch of rich people at the hotel. And who “buys” her, you ask? The main love interests of this story, for a cool $20M. They literally run this freaking auction. And therefore didn’t actually lose out on any money buying MC…but that doesn’t stop them from making MC pick which guy “owns” her from now on! Yikes.

So MC picks Soryu, a scary-looking, grumpy Cantonese mobster whose first act is to shirtlessly threaten MC into compliance (“If you’re good, I won’t do anything bad to you”). His preferred form of communication is taking out his gun–not a euphemism–and waving it in people’s face, lmao. And like IkeSen Kenshin, he’s none too fond of women, and weirdly sexist all at once (“Wipe that stupid look off your face. I’d never point a gun at a little girl”).

The meat of the plot features MC masquerading as Mei Ling, an ally mob boss’ friendly daughter, as bait to draw out Soryu’s enemies. ML’s in town to find a husband, so guess who has the dubious pleasure of attending endless marriage meetings on her behalf? As MC fumbles her way through chaperoned dates with high profile criminals and various kidnappings/murder attempts, she gets to know Soryu better. Turns out the guy has a obsessive fondness for MC’s omelettes (not innuendo. again), and a fairly strong sense of honor for a mafia dude – tl;dr he doesn’t like harming innocents. He’s also hilariously unused to normal civilian things, like vegetables sitting out in the open at grocery stores (so poisonable! he says).

And perhaps most importantly, it becomes clear that despite his gruffness, Soryu cares about MC a lot. He gives her a piggyback ride when she injures her ankle. He relinquishes his bed when MC has to stay over at this apartment due to shenanigans. And he willing to take a literal bullet and beating – and ultimately, face execution – all for MC.

The climax of Soryu’s plot is exactly what one would expect and want from a cheesy mafia-based route, with all the arranged marriages and shifting alliances and threatened murder and whatnot. And it is glorious. Despite – or perhaps, because of – the extremely bumpy start MC and Soryu had to their relationship, the route’s ending definitely felt earned, and had me grinning like an idiot.

At the end of the day, I still think MC’s an idiot for getting involved with a mobster. And I cannot in good consciousness recommend Soryu’s route to just anyone. Dude sets off more red flags than IkeSen Kenshin (whom I also adore…oops), and it feels a bit weird to romanticize this level of crazy. But tbh, that’s also probably why this route never failed to entertain, from beginning to end. It reminded me of the crappy, unrealistic Cantonese gangster B-movies that I used to love watching as a kid. The side characters (especially Mei Ling and Ryosuke!) were fantastic. In short, Soryu’s evolution from scary mobster to only-slightly-less-intimidating mobster-in-love was truly a delight to witness!

Choice quotes
“Do you know the best way to overcome fear? You have to overcome something even more frightening than the thing you fear.”
“You’re still a mafia princess to me, MC! And I promise to serve you forever!” – Ryosuke
“…No. I don’t hate how you smell, MC.”

Personality: 10/10 in terms of otome entertainment value. Perfect combination of cool/stoic, and secretly kind. But would he be good IRL boyfriend material? Oh hell no. Mafia shenanigans aside, it’s probably not a good idea to date a dude who calls you nothing but “woman” for over a month?? 2/10 irl.

Appearance: 10/10. 11/10?? This guy is sex on legs. Total physical perfection.

MC: 7/10. MC was pretty all right. One could argue she was too passive, but what’s a girl to do when she’s thrown into the criminal underworld?

Plot/Payoff: 9/10. After the initial super questionable beginning, this route was a giant (extremely inaccurate) mobster cliche, and I absolutely loved it.

Personal enjoyment: 9/10. A very memorable route!

Masterlist

Rate the Characters: Survey Results Part 1

Hello everyone!! First off: huge thanks to everyone who filled out/shared the survey I posted a little while back. There were nearly 200 responses (190 to be exact) – MUCH more than I initially expected! So, I really appreciate it 🙂

Without further ado, here is the first set of results from the survey! This post is a basic report of average character ratings. More analysis to come!

IkeSen

Cybird’s Ikemen Sengoku was the single most popular game in the survey (85% of you have played the game before!). Let’s take a look at the average warlord ratings. Ratings were given from 1 to 10, with 1 being the worst and 10 being the best.

It’s safe to say that most of IkeSen’s cast has been really well received by the fandom! Although meme-lord Sasuke leads the pack (by less than 0.01…), Team Nobunaga rates higher than Team Shingen+Kenshin by about 0.6 of a point on average (8.0 vs 7.4). …And then, there’s Kennyo. Poor guy. I’m not too surprised, though, tbh, given the monk’s self-imposed angsty villain status.

What’s funny is that neither of the top two warlords have main routes, at the moment. Seems like IkeSen fans have a lot to look forward to in future updates!

SLBP

Next up we have Voltage’s super popular Samurai Love Ballad: PARTY app (played by 74% of you)! Here are the average ratings:

Unlike with IkeSen, where a good half of warlords were all rated more or less equally highly, there is tons more variation in the SLBP ratings! The entire Date clan is almost universally adored, with an average rating of 8.2 out of 10. People don’t seem to be quite as fond of Team Nobunaga – the Oda clan+allies have an average rating of 6.5 (the Takeda clan averages out at 6.9).

The three ninjas (Saizo, Sasuke, and Sakuya), haven’t been overly well received by the fandom either, with an average rating of 6.5. Voltage has been pushing the ninjas on us pretty hard, so it’ll definitely be interesting to see how future ninjas are received by English-speaking fans!

Final SLBP thoughts: it’s the “gentle” warlords that lead the pack in terms of ratings! Takeaway? Nice guys don’t always finish last, after all. 😉

MysMe

Let’s move on to the super famous Mystic Messenger app, brought to us by the lovely Cheritz. A good 73% of you have played this game! It’s pretty time intensive; props to everyone who’a finished all the routes. Based on what little I know about the fandom, the resulting ranking probably won’t be all that shocking to you. 707 is an extremely popular fan favorite; I’m only surprised his average rating wasn’t higher, to be honest.

MidCin

Next up, we have Cybird’s Midnight Cinderella! All you Wysterian princess seem to really like your nobility, seeing as we have a duke, a king, and an archduke leading the pack. Those mysterious Stein boys (excluding the spoiler) are also slightly more well loved by the fandom overall, with an average rating of 7.5, compared to 7.1 for everyone else.

IkeRev

Last but certainly not least in our list of otome games, we have Ikemen Revolution, an exciting app from Cybird that’s less than one month old! Given how new the app is, it is truly hilarious how quickly opinions have already formed. Let’s take a look:

…Well then. The fandom seems to prefer the freedom-loving Muggles over the tyrannical wizards in general: Black Army ratings average 7.9, compared to 7.3 for the Red Army. To be fair, this survey was released two weeks ago, when the app was still pretty new, so I wonder if opinions will shift over time as more information about the armies and their conflict come to light!

Final observation: neither Oliver nor Yoosung from MysMe seem to have been all that well received by their respective fandoms. They are also both the most childish. Coincidence? I think not.

Bonus: MC ratings

Boys are cool and all, but if you’re anything like me, MC’s play can play a huge role in your enjoyment of a route. So which MC’s do folks like the best?

Turns out that while there are exceptions, IkeSen’s sass queen MC reigns supreme in most people’s hearts. Actually, if you think about it, the sass levels really start dropping the further down that MC ranking list you go.

So… the MC’s at the top of the list definitely strike me as much more Westernized, for lack of a better description, than the MC’s at the bottom. Which is fascinating, when you consider the fact that all of these games were developed in Asia. Just some food for thought.

That’s it, for now! I hope you found these results as interesting as I did. But wait! There’s more! Curious to see which characters are the most polarizing? Ever wondered how powerful character trope preferences actually are? Stay tuned for the next post in this series!

Pinging @akari-dangos @alternative27angel @alva-radio @aomarill @aromantic-misguide-to-romance @belxsar @blairextraordinaire @candidquip @chasingforgottendreams @cinderella-cass @cookieframby @dear-mrs-otome @dopeassjaqjack @dreamfar628 @emigotchi @eternallymitsunariishida @forallyourikemensengokuneeds @foxybread @fraeuleinfulltime @ieyasuslbp @ihavenotfallenyet @jaciinclays @jindalraekarkki @kanon-chii @kanookied @kay-otome @kindervenomtoo @kitsune-mana @kitty-kat-ty @laslilis2000 @lilster360 @lyra-ame @memiskypirate @mysticdaddies @mysticmessofcrap @ohsaizo @otohoe @otomeprincessstuff @perfectruffian2389 @pseudofaux @puppieee @randomchick29 @raspberrais @rose-of-yonezawa @rubyleeray @saizoswifey @saralilanimemanga @scrappingandyelling @sharksmirk @slbp-gamer @slbp-owns-ayame @soulfeather-universe @space-romantic @tardisgrl50 @the-divine-equalizer @thegreenfairy25 @twirlingintheabyss @uxoremmikael @valkryie-nyte @wrynnfall @yoolee @yuyuisakura-hime @zay5238 . Message me if you want on/off this list!

Class Trip Crush: Taketo Kanzaki Review [SPOILERS]

One thing I really appreciate about Voltage is that the titles they release cater to a wide range of ages. So even though the high school setting of Class Trip Crush means that I viewed this entire story through an extremely unromantic lens of “aww, how cute,” I’m really glad that this story exists. It’s free on Voltage’s Love365 app until 11:59PM June 13 Japan time!

Class Trip Crush spans five days, so don’t expect a whole lot of drama from this route. The premise: MC’s all-girls high school has partnered with its neighboring all-boys high school to send all the kids on a whirlwind tour across Honshu’s southern coast. Boys and girls alike haven’t had too much exposure to the opposite gender, so everyone’s excited (and hilariously awkward about it). For the trip, MC and her friends are matched with a small squad of boys, aka MC’s romantic options.

Taketo, the main star of this particular route, is a friendly, playful, and flirtatious star soccer player who takes an immediate shine to MC (after accidentally nailing her in the back with a soccer ball…). They don’t exactly get off on the best foot, but Taketo quickly wins MC over with his charm and spontaneity. He (illegally) rings a temple bell with MC before running off together. He gives her pretty gifts (from girls who tried to flirt with him, no less). He covers for MC repeatedly by claiming he’s been talking MC up (and thus getting himself in trouble). Before two days have even passed, MC’s developed a bona fide crush.

Complications arise in the form of Taketo’s twin brother Yasuto, with whom MC also shares a great connection. Yasuto’s definitely the nicer one; if this were a k-drama, second lead syndrome would be strong. Anyways, Taketo misinterprets MC’s friendship with Yasuto for a crush, and backs off – to MC’s chagrin. It’s very polite; brother complexes aside, both Taketo and Yasuto clearly have tons of love for each other. But since this is Taketo’s route, on the last night of their class trip, he and MC clarify their feelings for each other (his confession to MC is the most hilariously long-winded and awkward thing I’ve ever read), and the route ends happily with a tentative relationship formed!

Taketo’s story was a very short read. It took me just over an hour to read through everything. That said, there were so many things about this route that were utterly charming! For example:

The characterizations: this story captures more or less how I imagine (idealized) high schoolers in Japan might behave, flaws and all.
The friendships: MC’s female friends were great! I loved reading their nighttime chats/boy talk, and loved how they called out MC when she was making mistakes with Taketo. Spoiler alert MC faces some tensions with one of her friends, but I enjoyed how friendship won out anyways.
The cross-gender interactions: the awkwardness was hilarious and great! There was a fair amount of rule breaking with the girls sneaking into the boys’ room to play (innocent, g-rated) games, and it was amazing.
The setting! As a total Westerner, I loved the insight into how Japanese people might tour their own country. Petting zoos, temples and kimono photoshoots in Kyoto, okonomiyaki in Osaka, fishing on Shikoku island…these kids are so freaking lucky.

Basically, I loved this story. Despite the fact that I’m not Japanese and definitely didn’t grow up in Japan, it brought up so many happy feelings of childhood nostalgia. As a character, Taketo is definitely a believable candidate for childhood crush recipient, and the innocent missteps and mistakes that he and MC made only made the story better. So TL;DR while this route wasn’t a heart-poundingly sexy/romantic read, it was definitely a really cute one!

Choice quote
“Man, first a lion. Now you’re getting involved with drunks. I can’t believe how stupid you are. I can’t take my eyes off you for a second.”
“Yasuto. I can’t do it, man. I can’t give up MC for you.”

Personality: 8/10. Taketo is fairly blunt with this words. He’s also kind of a flirt, and has his impressively immature moments. I have trouble believing he and MC would last IRL. But as far as high school crushes go, he’s pretty great. I probably would’ve liked him in high school too, haha.

Appearance: …I’m not going to rate a high schooler, even if it’s an otome game. Lmao

MC: 9/10. MC has her flaws, esp. with communication, but is such a believable protagonist! She tries her best, and that’s what matters.

Plot/Payoff: 8/10. The plot spans just five days. This is both a pro and a con; the setting is charmingly low stakes, but also, by nature, not all that complex/impressive!

Personal enjoyment: 10/10. I was charmed. 🙂

Masterlist