Otome gamers, the past two weeks has been filled with lots of exciting announcements! I have summarised all the news for you, let’s get into it.
Hanaemu Kare to (Hanakare) gets an otome release!
The popular situation drama CD series by MintLip, Hanaemu Kare to (or mostly known to fans as Hanakare), is getting an otome game release! The official title is ‘Hanaemu Kare to & bloom.’ The game will be released in Summer 2024 for Nintendo Switch. The official website is now open, see here.
The character designer is Yuuya, the same person who designed the characters in Cupid Parasite, Jakou no Lyla, 9 R.I.P. and many other popular otome titles.
Here is a brief synopsis about the drama CD, translated by Sinful Liesel.
Your boyfriend works at a flower shop. As if smiling at a flower, he showers you with love that’s both sweet and sour. These are 4 love stories connected by flowers.
They have not revealed much about what the game will look like, but let’s take a look at the four main characters. The character description are taken and translated from the drama CD’s official website.
Tori Wataru
CV. Kimura Ryohei
A carefree and lively mood-maker, everyone’s “younger brother”
Blue Star x younger kouhai.
The youngest university student among the staff. He is a carefree and sociable mood-maker. He doesn’t miss even the slightest changes with his insight and consideration, making him popular among older female customers. However, in front of his significant other, he can also have a slightly air-headed and klutzy side.
Profile: 21 years old / DOB Jun 14 / 182 cm / blood type O
Sugawa Ginnosuke
CV. Suzuki Ryota
A shallow womaniser, the devious prince
Mimosa x partner at work.
A highly popular and skilled individual who is the face of the store. Thanks to his good looks, he has never lacked for romantic partners, but he has never fallen in love himself, as he doesn’t have dreams of romance. He has a complex about his name not matching his look. His facial mole is his charm point.
Profile: 26 years old / DOB Apr 9 / 179 cm / blood type AB
Ichige Hokuto
CV. Furukawa Makoto
Insensitive but straightforward and kind, an older brother figure
Anemone x childhood friend.
The manager of the flower shop “Fill Flower.” He has an honest and caring personality, a strong sense of responsibility, and a straightforward nature. He has a habit of overthinking things on his own, and sometimes, his inner thoughts slip out. While he is sensitive to changes in his surroundings, he is oblivious to affection directed towards him.
Profile: 27 years old / DOB Mar 12 / 185 cm / blood type O
Minami Tenya
CV. Tamaru Atsushi
Cool and silent, but his words are straightforward
Nandina x classmate.
Though he is not very talkative, many female customers are drawn to his occasional smiles, and he has been confessed to several times. He spends more time with plants than with people. He doesn’t express himself much through words or actions, making it hard to read him, but once he falls for someone, he is devoted, and his love is deep.
Profile: 24 years old / DOB Dec 5 / 175 cm / blood type B
It will be interesting to see how they turn this into a game. Many in the community are discussing whether we will have one heroine, multiple heroines, or even no heroine! Stay tuned for more information.
You can follow the official Twitter/X account here.
Otomate reveals ‘Otomate Graffiti’ and plans for more Switch ports!
Otomate announces they will be porting several of their popular titles to the Nintendo Switch.
From the official website:
The Otomate titles that have been released up to now will continue to be released as Nintendo Switch games from 2024 and beyond.
The term “Graffiti” refers to collecting various love story titles, and as a general term for the masterpieces of the Otomate brand, it is named “Otomate Graffiti.” We will continue to connect everyone with love stories that never fade no matter how many years pass.
Your beloved titles will come to you――
So far they have officially announced three titles (and there are three yet to be announced). Here’s what we’ve got so far.
✤ Kurenai no Homura Sanada Ninpou Chou
Time to romance sexy ninjas! Kurenai no Homura Sanada Ninpou Chou is getting a Switch port.
Kurenai no Homura is an action x historical otome game set in the Sengoku period. It was originally released for PS Vita in 2018.
The character designer is Shiki Sakigumi, who also worked on Hakuouki and Dance Trips.
Here is the game synopsis translated from Wikipedia JP.
Fourteen years after the Battle of Sekigahara, the Toyotomi clan, based at Osaka Castle, decided to rise up against the Tokugawa Shogunate and invited feudal lords from all over Japan to join their cause. While many turned down the Toyotomi clan’s invitation, there were those who accepted. One of them was Sanada Nobushige, who had fought against the Tokugawa clan in the Battle of Sekigahara and was currently in exile in Kii Province of Kudoyama.
The ten ninjas who served Nobushige, known as the Sanada Ten Braves, were among those who chose to assist him. Nobushige, along with these ten loyal ninjas, embarked on a journey to escape Kudoyama and make their way to Osaka Castle.
✤ Moujuu-tachi to Ohime sama
Moujuu-tachi to Ohime-sama is a fantasy-themed otome game. It follows the story of Julia and four men under her care who got cursed and turned into animals.
This game is a spin off from Moujuutsukai to Ouji-sama.
While it follows a standard visual novel format, the game also has a ‘mofumofu’ system, which includes mini-games where you can pat the love interests in their animal form and try to earn their affection.
The director is Yamaguchi Mikiharu, the same person who was responsible for directing the AMNESIA series. The character designer is Murasaki Aya, with their other work including SNOW BOUND LAND.
Here is the game synopsis, taken from vndb.
Surrounded by a verdant forest is the Veke Kingdom where many people and animals live peacefully.
In the beautiful Rozum Castle that everyone sings praises of rules the kind king and queen that protect all their subjects.
However, there is a princess there that was born from a concubine of the kings that died in childbirth.
That princess was locked up in a tower of the castle and rarely allowed to go outside.
Why was she treated like that? The castle soldiers all talked of various rumors, but nobody knew the real truth.
Aa, what an pitiful princess.
But even when she couldn’t leave the tower the princess wasn’t lonely at all.
She loved spinning thread and sewing clothing, and spending time with her pet animals.
But one day the king’s younger brother showed up in front of the princess and handed her a short sword.
“The king and queen are dead, now you too shall thrust this sword into your chest and meet death.” he said.
Trembling, the princess took the short sword and made to comply with the orders.
But then the animals that loved their princess very much attacked all at once to save her.
They escaped deep into the forest. The only thing the princess managed to take with her was a small bag that was a memento of her mother that had an interesting book inside.
“If you ever get into a seriously bad situation, hold this close to you.”
The princess remembered those words that her father had told her when handing over the memento and timidly looked inside the book.
Suddenly it seemed to sparkle like a beautiful jewel and she received a mysterious seven colored powder!
✤ Hakuouki Yuugiroku Taishitachi no Daienkai
Hakuouki Yuugiroku Taishitachi no Daienkai is one of Hakuouki’s fandiscs.The original announcement for this port was made during Otomate Party 2023. The game will be released in 2024.
Here is a snippet about the game (with minor edits), taken from vndb with sources linked including Breadmasterlee‘s and Sandeian & Domshiki‘s blogs.
Chizuru notices that the members of Shinsengumi are secretly having a meeting and so Hijikata tells her to report to him if she finds out anything. She overhears Itou talking about how he lost something precious and that he has to find it before it falls in the other members’ hands.
When Chizuru finds and opens the box that Itou lost, suddenly everyone goes into chibi mode and now Chizuru and your chosen love interest have to figure out a way to return back to normal. The challenge is, you must successfully pass a bunch of mini games to get to the bottom of things!
Other release date announcements
✤ Matsurika no Kei -kEi- Tenmeiin Iden
Otomate revealed Matsurika no Kei -kEi- Tenmeiin Iden will be released on February 29, 2024!
Matsurika no Kei was one of the games revealed during Otomate Party 2023 along with five other new titles, one Hakuouki port (discussed above) and potentially a new Hakuouki game.
Pre-order Matsurika no Kei
Int’l – CDJapan
*Check their official website for shop-specific bonus details (int’l buyers will need to use proxy).
I also noticed that February 29, 2024 is a leap day…so technically their one year anniversary won’t be until the next leap year in 2028. 😂
✤ Utakata no Uchronia
Utakata no Uchronia will be released on April 11, 2024! See my updated spotlight post on this game if you haven’t.
The game is already available for pre-order. If you are after the Limited Edition version, do check their official website to see the bonuses from different stores.
Pre-order Utakata no Uchronia
*Check their official website for shop-specific bonus details (int’l buyers will need to use proxy).
✤ Lovebrush Chronicles
Lovebrush Chronicles was officially released on October 20! You can download it on iOS App Store and Google Play Store.
Lovebrush Chronicles is a narrative romance game set in a multiverse. In it, you play a freshman of fine arts with special abilities. You are traveling through many other worlds to find your love, which is where your tales begin.
If you are region-locked, just like yours truly here, try downloading the game through QooApp or TapTap.
✤ Mutsugoku Koi Iroha
If you are a fan of Ensemble Stars or Helios Rising Heroes, then this information might be of interest. Cacalia Studios, a subsidiary of Happy Elements, announced that their mobile otome game, Mutsugoku Koi Iroha (Mutsukoi) will be released on October 30, 2023!
This game is described as “a casual novel app that allows you to enjoy romance with ayakashi in the academy.” The ayakashi characters include a fox youkai, nekomata (cat spirit), tengu, kumo no youma (spider demon), and an oni.
Of the five routes available, three are routes with romantic elements.
Visit their official website for all the information and follow them on Twitter / X here. There is also a dedicated English fan account that shares translated information about the game.
My Next Life as a Villainess Limited Edition set and anime movie news
Idea Factory International revealed the Limited Edition box of our soon-to-come localised otome game, My Next Life as a Villainess – All Routes Lead to Doom!-.
The content include:
- Hardcover art book
- Collector’s box
- Trading card
- Audio drama & official soundtrack
- Reversible cover sleeve
- Steel game case
- Trading card
The game will be released on November 28, 2023. Preorders for the Limited Edition will be available at the IFI Online Store on October 25 at 10AM PDT – all links below!
That’s not all. The franchise is also getting an anime movie!
“My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! The Movie” is set to be released on December 8 in Japan. Crunchyroll will also release the movie.
The anime film is directed by Inoue Keisuke, who also directed the TV series.
Watch the trailer below.
Miscellaneous
✤ Amnesia Nendoroid
Shin’s Nendoroid is now available for pre-order!
Shin’s face parts include serious face, blushing face and smiling face. His optional parts include sparklers, flower ring, ace of hearts card and other optional parts for different poses.
Note that pre-order on Good Smile Company closes on December 7, 2023 (Thu) at 12:00 JST. For hobby stores like AmiAmi or CDJapan, it may vary (check their website for details).
✤ eXtend hints Bustafellows 2 English release
Great news for Bustafellows fans. Bustafellows 2 English release is looking like a possibility!
Hi, BUSTAFELLOWS-fellows in the west. Thank you guys for your expectation to the sequel. What I can say to you for now is, I won't let you down. If you have friends who HAVEN'T BEEN TO NEWSIEG yet, please show them around, and wait for the day. THX.(#BUSTAFELLOWS Prod.minetaka) https://t.co/NyNNyiO2zZ
— 【公式】BUSTAFELLOWS season2 (@BUSTAFELLOWS) October 12, 2023
I had a fantastic time playing the sequel. It had a satisfying amount of (mature) romance, and the plot discusses modern social issues which I found interesting. I hope they bring the pizza packaging for the English release as well!
✤ Yukar From The Abyss global release
I only found out about this game recently! Yukar From the Abyss is a Japanese otome game by LocaGames, a Japanese indie game developer and publisher. The game is scheduled for a global Nintendo Switch release in December.
Yukar From the Abyss is currently available on Steam and the iOS App Store, with an Android version currently in the works.
Make sure to visit the game’s official website for more information. See the announcement tweet and trailer below!
🎉BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!🎉
— LocaGames (@locagames_en) October 6, 2023
We're beyond excited to announce that #YukarFromTheAbyss will be coming to #NintendoSwitch worldwide this December!✨
We're so thankful for everyone's support. Without you all it wouldn't have been possible! 💜#otometwt #datingsim #visualnovel pic.twitter.com/dRM7FEKUU7
Starting with Utakata no Uchronia’s release date and then a barrage of exciting news from B’s-LOG – the past two weeks has been truly relentless! Otomate will be announcing at least three more ports, so we know this is far from over. What are your predictions or wishlist?
I was getting called out (directly and indirectly) for sharing early info from B’s-LOG. I think most of the advice I got were fair and true, that it’s probably not a good idea to share major news before the official accounts do. Therefore, I will only be posting “reaction” tweets and then sharing major details only after the official accounts drop the news themselves.
My hope is that everyone is held to the same standard ’cause I know for a fact I am not the only person who loves to scream about early info, no shade to anybody. We all get excited about the smallest crumb of otome news. 🤣 But I’m happy to fangirl in a more appropriate and respectful way, and we can all stay kind and remind each other of these things.
That’s all for now, hope to see you soon!
Thanks for the updates! Love seeing all the news in one place instead of scattered through various X/Twitter accounts or in multiple individual articles as some other news sites choose to upload them as.
TL suggestion: Atsushi Tamaru’s character has “Nanten (southern sky) x classmate” but rather than translating it literally it should be referring to the plant nandina domestica? It would match the other characters better as they would all then follow the [flower] x [chara trait] format. (source: https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%8A%E3%83%B3%E3%83%86%E3%83%B3 )
Omg thanks for the link!! I did notice the rest were flower names but wasn’t aware 南天 refers to Nandina Domestica, and didn’t want to just assume… updated now 🙂 and thanks for reading!