Have you ever been asked by some of your friends: “why do you like otoge?” or “why do you like those games so much?”. I had, many times.

But answering it’s not easy as it may seem: how can I explain to someone who has never played any kind of visual novel that I can be deeply and emotionally involved with a 2D character?

If your friends are into anime, it may be easier: probably they already have a waifu or an husbando, so they’ll understand to some extent how much you care about your best boy too.

But how can you explain the fact that you keep playing for hours those “dating sims”? Even if you already have a real life boyfriend?

Well, there are various reasons that keep me motivated.

1- Otome games combine perfectly all my favorite hobbies

If you put together my love for reading (since they are basically books), my weakness for 2D boys and my interest in learning languages (if it wasn’t for otoge, I’m sure I wouldn’t be able to read kanji now), there’s no way I can get bored.

Of course, there must be some good content: I’d never read a boring book.

2- I can make decisions.

I don’t like sitting in front of a screen for hours, just watching, without being able to take action when one of the characters is doing something stupid.

If the main character is dumb, it’s even worse.

I’ve dropped many shoujo manga for this reason, I couldn’t take the heroine passive personality.

When it comes to anime, all I can do is watch and follow the story that’s already been decided by the author: it’s fixed, I can’t change it in any way.

In otoge, I can make decisions. My choices determine my fate and they may lead to a good or bad ending… but it’s up to me.

3- There are different endings.

Have you ever watched an anime you really loved, but the ending ended up being a huge disappointment? I had, many times.

In otoge, since there are different endings, I’ll probably find at least one I like.

And it’s not always the good one, I swear there were amazing bad endings that left a great impression on me! Maybe it’s because I appreciate bittersweet and tragedy too, so I get bored if I watch an anime knowing it will probably end up with an happy ending.

4- I decide who’s the best boy for the heroine.

Have you ever watched a shoujo anime with the typical love triangle, but the heroine ended up choosing the boy you liked the least? Leaving your best boy crying alone in despair?

It happened to me so many times it’s not even funny, it just made me angry.

In otoge, I can give a chance to anyone and choose my favorite, without the fear of seeing him rejected or friendzoned.

5- The art quality is great most of the time.

Lately, many anime’s quality has dropped drastically.

I’m just a casual fan, I watch just 3,4 anime every season, but there are often scenes animated so badly, it was obvious they ran out of budget.

There are various artists that work on otoge and sometimes they have “copycats” too: but it’s not animated by a studio, just “illustrated”, so most of the times the art it’s great.

Ot at least, it doesn’t make me cringe.

6- I can explore the story from different points of view.

Even if the heroine is the same, every time I start a new route I can discover new details of the main plot and see how the heroine reacts to a different scenario, supported by a boyfriend with a different personality. This allows me to immerse deeper in that world and it answers all my “what if….?” questions.

And you? Why do you love otoge so much?