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alias_sqbrI finished the Shinichi route of After School Affairs and quite liked it. Here's the previous post I wrote about After School Affairs. This route is free for the rest of January.
I tried the prologue of My Sweet Bodyguard, and the American remake To Love and Protect, and didn't click with either of them, though it was fun to compare.
I played the free Nagito route from Scandal in the Spotlight, about being a ghostwriter to a boyband, and it was compelling, but I'm not sure it was good. It's also free for the rest of January.
One thing I'm liking in all the stories I've played so far is the MC having a supportive female best friend. It's a bit of a cliche, but I like how it affects the dynamic.
After School Affairs
The last time I tried the Shinichi route I was SUPER depressed, so I decided to give it another go now I'm feeling more cheery, and enjoyed it quite a lot. While he's mostly pretty uptight and strict he's compassionate and open to negotiation or admitting he's wrong just enough to be likeable. He and the MC have a cute dynamic where they tease each other for being too emotional/strict but respect each other and learn from each other. Also her friendly dynamic with the other teachers was really nice, everyone supports each other and cares about the students. It's nothing ground-breaking, just workman-like tropey Japanese het romance, including some mild consent issues and sexist dynamics. But I still had fun and am pondering maybe even paying money for one of the other routes. "Working together to be better teachers" appeals to my id.
My Sweet Bodyguard
My Sweet Bodyguard is about a young woman who finds out she's the SECRET LOVE CHILD OF THE PRIME MINISTER OF JAPAN and has to choose a bodyguard to keep her safe. It was recced to me.
In the prologue you meet:
-uptight boring one
-flirty crossdresser
-childhood friend
-The Boss
-FAMOUS POP STAR WHO DECIDED TO CHANGE CAREERS
And then there's like seven others.
None of them jumped out at me or were free, but it seems enjoyably iddy if you're into that sort of thing.
To Love and Protect
I decided to check out Voltage USA's remake, To Love and Protect. It wasn't as much fun, there's a variety of ethnicities and and a woman, which is nice, but the personalities of the love interests were super boring (there's no crossdresser OR pop idol!) and the art is really unappealing. Everyone has a massive jaw, and it's just...not well drawn.
Other than that the differences I noticed:
Japanese version:
-this specific prime minister is good because he's fixing corruption.
-The Prime minister doesn't hug his daughter, don't be silly
-When attacked, MC freezes
-leans into "Cute boy dedicated to your service" tropes
American version:
-The president is "the leader of the free world" and thus automatically cool.
-awkward hugs with President Dad
-When attacked, MC has the option to fight back, but is ultimately useless
-leans into "badass but professional snarky soldier" tropes
Scandal In The Spotlight
An aspiring screenwriter ends up the secret ghostwriter for a boyband full of utter assholes. The assholeishness is mildly interesting in contrast to their charming idol personas, but still...asshole-y. She's genuinely invested in being a good writer, which I liked.
The free route is for Nagito, who is the friendliest but also super skeevy, making a lot of "jokes" that are basically sexual harassment. I was worried the skeeziness would progress to uncomfortable levels of dubcon, but he actually got increasingly polite and respectful, and it ended up being more consensual than most otome. The narrative retconned him to having always been a harmless jokester which...he was not, but fine.
Instead the squick it hit was, of all things, incest. It doesn't fully go there, and I was fine, but YMMV. Here's my spoilery thoughts. Anyway, it was compelling and iddy, and mostly kinda worked for me? For what it is? But I didn't love it.
I tried the prologue of My Sweet Bodyguard, and the American remake To Love and Protect, and didn't click with either of them, though it was fun to compare.
I played the free Nagito route from Scandal in the Spotlight, about being a ghostwriter to a boyband, and it was compelling, but I'm not sure it was good. It's also free for the rest of January.
One thing I'm liking in all the stories I've played so far is the MC having a supportive female best friend. It's a bit of a cliche, but I like how it affects the dynamic.
After School Affairs
The last time I tried the Shinichi route I was SUPER depressed, so I decided to give it another go now I'm feeling more cheery, and enjoyed it quite a lot. While he's mostly pretty uptight and strict he's compassionate and open to negotiation or admitting he's wrong just enough to be likeable. He and the MC have a cute dynamic where they tease each other for being too emotional/strict but respect each other and learn from each other. Also her friendly dynamic with the other teachers was really nice, everyone supports each other and cares about the students. It's nothing ground-breaking, just workman-like tropey Japanese het romance, including some mild consent issues and sexist dynamics. But I still had fun and am pondering maybe even paying money for one of the other routes. "Working together to be better teachers" appeals to my id.
My Sweet Bodyguard
My Sweet Bodyguard is about a young woman who finds out she's the SECRET LOVE CHILD OF THE PRIME MINISTER OF JAPAN and has to choose a bodyguard to keep her safe. It was recced to me.
In the prologue you meet:
-uptight boring one
-flirty crossdresser
-childhood friend
-The Boss
-FAMOUS POP STAR WHO DECIDED TO CHANGE CAREERS
And then there's like seven others.
None of them jumped out at me or were free, but it seems enjoyably iddy if you're into that sort of thing.
To Love and Protect
I decided to check out Voltage USA's remake, To Love and Protect. It wasn't as much fun, there's a variety of ethnicities and and a woman, which is nice, but the personalities of the love interests were super boring (there's no crossdresser OR pop idol!) and the art is really unappealing. Everyone has a massive jaw, and it's just...not well drawn.
Other than that the differences I noticed:
Japanese version:
-this specific prime minister is good because he's fixing corruption.
-The Prime minister doesn't hug his daughter, don't be silly
-When attacked, MC freezes
-leans into "Cute boy dedicated to your service" tropes
American version:
-The president is "the leader of the free world" and thus automatically cool.
-awkward hugs with President Dad
-When attacked, MC has the option to fight back, but is ultimately useless
-leans into "badass but professional snarky soldier" tropes
Scandal In The Spotlight
An aspiring screenwriter ends up the secret ghostwriter for a boyband full of utter assholes. The assholeishness is mildly interesting in contrast to their charming idol personas, but still...asshole-y. She's genuinely invested in being a good writer, which I liked.
The free route is for Nagito, who is the friendliest but also super skeevy, making a lot of "jokes" that are basically sexual harassment. I was worried the skeeziness would progress to uncomfortable levels of dubcon, but he actually got increasingly polite and respectful, and it ended up being more consensual than most otome. The narrative retconned him to having always been a harmless jokester which...he was not, but fine.
Instead the squick it hit was, of all things, incest. It doesn't fully go there, and I was fine, but YMMV. Here's my spoilery thoughts. Anyway, it was compelling and iddy, and mostly kinda worked for me? For what it is? But I didn't love it.
