Stigma Against the Otome Game Genre/Media for Women

 Hi there! This will be a kind of serious, kind of unplanned entry where I just talk about an issue I've been noticing, not just about the otome game genre, but also with any type of media targeted towards girls and women. My points might not be spoken too well, but I'm too passionate about this topic to not talk about it.

 I've noticed since I was younger, that a lot of things that were made to target young girls/young women have always been ridiculed, made fun of, and not taken seriously. I grew up watching girls who were fans of boy bands and male celebrities get shamed for it, such as One Direction and Justin Bieber, and then further as I grew a little older with K-Pop groups, like BTS (also the K-Pop hate train was also stemming from racism and xenophobia, but we'll talk about that further some other day.) Anime that end up with a big women fanbase were always treated as "lesser" than one with male fanbases; like Yuri on Ice, Haikyuu!, Banana Fish, and so forth. This is more prevalent in the shoujo anime/manga scene, with its perception always seen as "just romance" from the outsider perspective, which isn't fair.

 Whenever women talk about wanting something that they like to have a little bit more spotlight, like more shoujo manga localizations, more media that appeal to them and such, they get called greedy and selfish; even though they barely get anything to themselves well there's so much media out there catering towards male fans. And when women do touch media typically for male fans, i.e. popular shounen/seinen anime and manga, sports, movie, and tv shows, we still get ridiculed for creating fan works that cater to us (mostly fanfiction). Whenever fan art of a media happens, the female characters are always painted in a very objectifying lens, but women will be seen as mean and selfish for calling out that issue in fandom spaces. 

 That's uh. A lot of things I talked about that isn't the main point, but it is a worthy set up to let people understand the plight that I have about this part of fandom culture and the things that women face. In the otome game genre, a genre made specifically for women, outsiders have always treated it as something disgusting, perverted, and ridiculous without even knowing anything about the genre. The most recent case I've seen of this is the period tracker function in Love and Deep Space. Yes, it is a little bit unusual for them to put that in a game like that, but the feature is there to comfort women, to make them feel seen, and to show that something that they're going through because of human biology is normal. Menstruation have long been treated as some joke, some excuse, or something gross, when it's just a thing people go through. The fact that men, outside of the fandom space, treat like this feature was some kind of sex thing was utterly disgusting. And that's just the most recent example. 

 The otome genre has given some of the best story experiences, character experiences, and world building I've ever seen in my life. I feel like even if you don't like the romance aspects of the otome game genre, that it's worth to try one of two games of its genre in your life. There is so much attention to detail in some of these games, and so many games in this genre have emotionally moved me and made me improve as a person. To see people, who don't understand a lick of it, treat it like just some stupid thing where we just jump into the pants of some anime guy we like is just so gross... I wish one day people can be more open to trying things outside of their demographic, something outside of their comfort zone, and something outside of their usual expectations... Sometimes you'll surprise yourself with what you find. It'll also give you a wider range of tastes, which is always a good thing.

 I'm going to end this entry of with some otome game recommendations, as I feel like that's the most appropriate thing to do after all of this. If you wish to see a game with an amazing protagonist and a beautiful cast of characters, try out Jack Jeanne. It's written and created by Sui Ishida, the manga writer for Tokyo Ghoul. Its commentary on gender roles, in the world of acting and in the mundane world, is absolutely amazing, and the queer coding on the characters do not go unnoticed. If you want something with a compelling story and aren't too into romance, Collar x Malice and Bustafellows are both very good picks. The action and drama within both of these stories are incredible, and the overarching plots really suck you into their respective worlds. The character interactions are also very fun, and I ended both series with a handful of favorite characters, in the main cast and in the side cast. 

 If you want a small try at the romance aspect of the genre, but don't want to touch bigger games, Sympathy Kiss is a good pick. It's a breath of fresh air compared to the more heavier and larger games I've played, and its realistic office romance stories was really good. If you want to have something difficult (for some reason) in your otome game experience, I recommend the Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side series. It has the most infamous stat management system in its genre, and it's main game series, Tokimeki Memorial, birthed the dating simulation visual novel genre. Do send a D.M to me if you want to try out Girl's Side, as I'll find a way to help you out to play it, along with guides if you need it. 

 Thank you for listening to my passionate ramblings once again! I just wrote this because I was procrastinating from working on an art commission, which you can add to my work load by commissioning me (go -> here <- to look at my prices and D.M me lol.). I really hope the stigma for these media gets lessened, because I really don't want younger girls to experience the same shame and ridicule I went through when I was younger for just loving things that I love. As always, special thanks for Bruh Gaming. Why? Just because I can. They're cool people.