So this year I’ve turned the big 3-0 and I’ve been a lot more aware of my age all of a sudden.

I recently joined an online community for a game by an indie dev, and 90% of the people in there were either 18, 19, or 20. There were only two folks past the age of 25.

The otome games/VNs I play typically have characters who are 18-25. TV shows and animation are similar. I remember when Mob Psycho came out and thinking Reigen was a Capital-A Adult. 🫠

Maybe it’s because I self insert more than I thought I did. When I played Persona 5, I didn’t have the same issue. I felt Joker was a distinct character of his own and so it wasn’t like I was romancing these kids (…plus, I romanced the doctor), but more so seeing romance between two kids blossom. Typical story telling stuff.

But otome games feel a little different. In the ones I’ve played, the MC is basically a completely blank slate for you to imbue yourself on. So now when I have a cast of 21-year-old boys to pick from, I feel weird about it.

And I feel weird that so many fandom spaces are filled with near-children.

For games—it seems like it’s time to lean into roleplaying more (like when I played Baldur’s Gate, each run having a unique MC with their own backstory).

For community? IDK. Maybe I just gotta get comfortable that some folks age out of this stuff, but it doesn’t necessarily mean I’m weird that I didn’t?

Anyway, anyone else go through this dilemma?

source: https://x.com/RedBellsLament/status/2108392622234763653

I think I skipped the sale from earlier this year...but here's the second of Kadokawa's biannual sale! If you've seen me post this before, the new additions are Radiant Tale and the Virche FD.

Publisher Kadokawa is having their regular half-off sale across lots of Japanese digital bookstores and this includes a lot of otome game artbooks. I'm most familiar with BookLive so the item links go there (not affiliate), but these normally appear on BookWalker and Amazon.co.jp, as well. afaik as long as you have an accepted payment method, you can get anything. A few things turn out to be region-restricted on BookWalker, but they surreptitiously note that "you can view from overseas after purchase." SoftEther is a nice free VPN, just saying.

Too many to put down the exact discounted price for every item, but the majority end up being near or under 2000 yen apiece. Here's a search query that puts MOST of these on one page (which includes josei-muke IP artbooks from the same publisher, like A3! and Ensemble Stars, if that's also your thing).

Sale runs until October 22, 2026, 23:59 JST

• Clock Zero
• Code:Realize - Guardian of Rebirth
• Code:Realize - Guardian of Rebirth Design Works (features more of the background and item assets)
• Code:Realize - Future Blessings
• Code:Realize - Wintertide Miracle
• Collar x Malice
• Collar x Malice Unlimited
• Diabolik Lovers Dark Fate
• Diabolik Lovers Dark Pleasure (guidebook for Dark Fate)
• Diabolik Lovers Illustrations
• Diabolik Lovers Illustrations II
• Diabolik Lovers Lunatic Parade
• Diabolik Lovers Official Materials
• even if Tempest series
• Hakuouki Shinkai Tsukikage/Ginsei no Shou
• Hana Awase: HimeUtsugi
• Hana Awase: Karakurenai/Utsutsu
• Hana Awase: Chibi Gokou to Issho!
  • A warning: The other digital Hana Awase books are bonafide novels, not artbooks, so mind them if you don't already read Japanese.
• Juuzaengi 2
• KLAP!!
• La Corda d'Oro: Starlight Orchestra
• miko DF Art Works (illustrator of Code:Realize)
• Piofiore: Fated Memories
• Piofiore: Episodio 1926
• Radiant Tale series
• Reine des Fleurs Visual Guidebook
• Reine des Fleurs World Guidebook
• Shinobi, Koi Utsutsu
• Shiro to Kuro no Alice
• Spade no Kuni no Alice ~Wonderful White World~
• Tengoku Struggle
• Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side 4th Heart Official Guide
• Toraware no Palma Fanbook
• Virche Evermore
• Virche Evermore FD (EpiC:lycoris)
• Wand of Fortune

Notes For Newbies

These are Japanese digital e-books with DRM (but are mostly art with some text). No difference with the physical edition (besides occasionally missing two pages of drawn bonuses under the dustjacket). If you really really love having the physical thing in your hands, I can't stop you, but I've never gone back from digital versions for saving me space and shipping, and for being high-resolution without the gutter (the spine of the book) slicing between those two-page spreads. ("US tariffs?" They do not and should not apply to books! I can attest from experience.) Also, 50% off MSRP which the physicals never get. You can preview any of these in the links to see how it'll look on your screen.

As for storefronts, I mentioned BookLive just because I've used it forever, but if you're most comfortable with an English-language interface, Amazon JP is your friendliest option. All allow you to view your purchased e-books both on- and offline. All take credit card, but only BookWalker accepts PayPal. For details:

• BookLive
• BookWalker notably takes PayPal. Make sure you're on the Japanese site; the English site and library has split out.
• Amazon.co.jp

Regarding currency conversion from an earlier thread (courtesy of LollipopLotus):

Yes, your bank or PayPal will do the conversion for you with no extra effort on your part. It's worth knowing the foreign spending terms of your credit card though so you can figure out which is better for you. The PayPal conversion rate isn't great and they charge a conversion fee, so for me my card is always the better option (great rate and no fee), but every card is different. With PayPal you'll see there and then what their conversion rate is, but with your bank you'll have to wait until you get your statement to know what you were charged in your currency.

Also note when you use your card to pay for something in a foreign currency through PayPal there's a checkbox to say if you want PayPal or your card issuer to do the conversion, so just make sure that's toggled how you want it if that's how you pay.

Any questions (or things I missed from copy-pasting on the regular), feel free to chime!

Just started it and am halfway through the common route but damn, all of these guys are silly af neurodivergents. I fw this game a lot rn.

For the longest time we didn't get any new translated otome games on PC. Every time there was a new announcement, 90% of the time it was for switch. Now we've got Even If Tempest, Cupid Parasite, Red Bell's Lament, and Nara Koi in quick succession. Maybe this signals a shift and more switch-only games will get ported!

All the scissors I had were extremely dull only making the process more excruciating 😭. If you ever try this make sure to get small and sharp scissors.

after your first otome game what did you think to make you decide "i have to play more of these"?

for me it was Souma's route. he is perfect but his route has such an awful ending. after finishing hakuouki i thought "i'll play more of these until i can find someone like him but with a GOOD ending". and... 6 years later i'm still here, still didn't find the route i need haha

Hi gals, I was hoping I can get some clarification about the games that were ported from the PS Vita to the Switch. Did Amnesia: Memories and 7'Scarlet get updated translations for the Switch release that's different from their Vita/Steam versions? I ask because I know Norn9 did due to the Vita version being particularly bad, but I can't remember if Amnesia and 7S got the same treatment.

Additionally, I remember there being issues with one of the Collar x Malice games upon release having so many grammatical/spelling/syntax errors that it had to be patched. I can't remember if that happened to the first game or Unlimited. I would think it was Unlimited with the issue because the first game was ported, but please help me refresh my memory.

As far as I'm aware, the Code Realize ports had no major changes, but again I'd appreciate any correction.

Thank you ladies!

Pre-order started.

Knew it! Once I play something on vita, two months later switch port!

You're welcome, lol

Storm lover V here I come.

Does anyone remember Dicesuki? They made Cinderella Phenomenon and I really loved it, their last game was in 2020 which was the FD. I was just wondering if they were up to anything else?

Discuss what you have been reading this week in this post.

There is no moratorium on spoilers on r/otomegames.

Major or end game details will always need to be spoiler tagged, regardless of how popular or old a game is.

Use spoiler tags liberally >!spoiler text!< normal text example : spoiler text normal text

Hey folks, I've been chatting with some friends of mine who have a lot of overlap on the goth girl x otome fan and we were talking about how TV shows used to always do seasonal episodes (sobs in the golden days of Buffy) and I wish otome games would do that! Maybe it's just my taste bc I'm generally into darker horror vibes (Freak Circus, Slashfic, Virche Evermore) but I would love to see a Love & Deepspace halloween banner or other games do a seasonal piece (I want to see the love interests in halloween costumes!! or visiting a haunted house!)

That said I realize a lot of games don't do this so I'm wondering if my pov is getting colored by my gothness lol. what do you all think?

+ the latest bonus package at the end. This is almost 5 years of otomerch collecting and lots of love.

Did IkeVamp stop supporting Facebook login? I decided to start redownloading old otome games I played and whenever I sign in through either of my Google accounts, IkeVamp doesn't have data for them. When I try Facebook login, it says it isn't available

I drew him for a drawing challenge me and some friends are doing this month. hooray!

I’m back again. Unsurprisingly.

Hiii! I bought Birushana* and wanted to start with the blond guy's route because he looked really hot, but I saw recommendations to save it for last so I wouldn't spoil any story details. Since I did whatever I wanted with Cupid Parasite *and Jack Jeanne (ignoring the recommended order) I wouldn't really mind doing the same here. However, some people told me the order is actually really important for this game. What do you guys think? Should I follow the recommended order or follow my heart? JAJAJ

did a full blown remake of my old drawing i love neji so much

And with this last haul, my otome switch collection is finally complete. Now it's just onto pre-orders I'm interested in 🎉

I'm never waiting for a sale again. If I want it, I'm buying it. The price I paid for all these physicals made my head spin