u/No_Sign_5547

Now that Catharsis localization has officially been announced for Spring 2027 my brain has entered full conspiracy mode.

For context: I've lurked on a few Japanese fan sites and discussions, but thankfully I stopped before the big spoilers started flying. So I have a general idea of the setup, but I don't actually know where the routes go.

Which means… it's time to wildly speculate.

I'm also still mourning the fact that this is a sequel instead of a fluffy fandisk. I genuinely thought we'd solved enough of the island's problems for one generation, but apparently not. So I'm expecting each route to tackle a different lingering issue while (hopefully) giving us plenty of romance.

Also… can we PLEASE talk about the new character who looks like a man of the white?

Because introducing this man of the White is both genuinely exciting and genuinely evil. Is he a full LI? A side route? A secret route? Or is he simply here to emotionally terrorize Himuka and other LIs?

These are the thoughts keeping me awake at night.

Anyway. Onto my completely unqualified predictions.

Tokisada: I think his route is going to focus on him truly growing into his new life and role. He literally put down roots on the island with the peach tree, so I feel like it'll be another wholesome route with a healthy serving of Tokisada Spice™. I also wouldn't be surprised if we see him stepping into more of a leadership role while finally feeling like Tenguu is truly his home.

Riku: Meh. He was never my favorite. All the "DUTY," "FAMILY," and honorable speeches in the first game had me zoning out. I think his route will focus on finally letting go of those old beliefs and helping Akaza reform the caste system. It'll probably be very earnest and straightforward. Just like his first route.

Kuroba: Oh boy. Considering I sentenced this man to Otome Impel Down in the main game… what is there even left for him to struggle with? He cured Haku. Mission accomplished. I SWEAR, if this man gets cold feet AGAIN and starts the whole "I'm not worthy of you because I'm from this color and that color" speech, it's straight back to prison. No parole.

Yosuga: Ah yes. Be sexy. Be morally dubious. Continue feeling like a Hana Awase character who accidentally wandered into Olympia Soirée. Less card games, more mind games over tea. And the vaguely threatening bubble baths — I want more of those. He's currently serving time in my prison system, but… lately I've developed a soft spot for problematic men. Thanks, Karakurenai. Thanks, YOFY. Against all logic, I'm willing to hear him out.

Akaza: I feel like his route is basically going to be divided into two shifts. Day shift: fixing the absolute clusterfuck that is island politics. Night shift: homemade cake. That's it. That's the route. I'm also fully expecting more Akaza whispers, because that VA clearly understood the assignment.

Himuka: And finally… my mysterious husband who looks like a wife and continues to make my passionfruit dreams come true. The second I saw the pale guy passed out on the sand, my immediate thought was "oh. Oh no. This is going to become Himuka's problem."

I just know they're going to make him question his place, his identity, or his relationship with Byakuya — because that's exactly the kind of emotional damage writers love to inflict. And I'm already preparing myself accordingly.

So those are my completely unhinged predictions. What do you think each route is going to focus on? More importantly… what theory are you already convinced of before any of us have even touched the game?

Hello. Back at it again with more rantings and ravings.

First and foremost… to the writers of Tyril's main game route. Step into my office. Welcome. Have a seat. FUCK Y'ALL. Are y'all mad? Are y'all out of your fucking minds?! That ending had me in shambles…Yes, I read the explanation. No, I do not care. There is no way that he would exit stage left like that… it doesn’t make sense to ME! And while we're here, who approved that last CG? Who looked at Tyril smiling like THAT and said "yes, this is emotionally acceptable for consumers"? It wasn't. I am still upset. I will continue being upset. 😠

With that being said, I loved this game. Like, genuinely loved it. This was my first dark fantasy otome and what a way to get introduced to the genre. The mystery was fantastic. Were some of the lore reveals and story crumbs glaringly obvious? Absolutely. Did I still eat them up anyway? Also absolutely. Props to Conrad for finally being an evil, unhinged man that I was NOT attracted to. Honestly that was reassuring, because for a moment I thought I was completely red-flag weak. Apparently there is a line. Who knew?

The whole investigation-and-trial setup was incredibly entertaining at first. I was basically glued to my Switch for an entire weekend. That being said: investigation, trial, investigation, trial, investigation, trial. BY GOD, WE GOT IT. After the second loop I was begging them to switch it up. Personally, I think expanding some of the Zenn lore earlier would've helped the pacing. Half the reason Dawning Connections exists feels like the writers looked at their giant pile of unresolved lore and went "oh right, we should probably explain some of that." Maybe that's just me though. Tell me if I'm wrong.

Now for the men.

Tyril — Tsundere freak with a whip. *Swoon.* If Tyril were the inquisitor handling witch trials in my town, I'd be standing in the town square yelling "IT WAS ME. I DANCED NAKED IN THE WOODS. I SIGNED THE DEVIL'S BOOK. PLEASE INVESTIGATE ME." 🤪💀 Snarky. Dry humor. An IQ capable of eclipsing the sun. Never change.

Lucien — MY BABY. MY PRECIOUS SUNSHINE. MY LOVELY PRINCE. Justice was finally served when this man got some love in the fandisk, because let me tell you: I hated his main game route. The route frustrated me. The character did not. The fandisk, however? Excellent. A man serious and cold to everyone but has a special softness reserved for his girl is one of my greatest weaknesses. Also, Lucien should've chopped his father's head off. Would it have solved everything? No. Would it have been hot? Yes. 💀 should have chopped the Kings and Conrad’s heads off in MY humble opinion..

Zenn — I am so sorry to this man. I really am. But I just didn't connect with him the way everyone else seems to, and honestly, the writers didn't do him any favors. Because from my perspective, if Zenn isn't canon, he's basically the guy standing there remembering everything while Anastasia rides off into the sunset with someone else. Everyone else gets closure. Everyone else gets happiness. Meanwhile Zenn is just 🧍‍♂️. That mental image makes me laugh every single time.

Crius — Ah yes. Vanilla Knight #1. Thank you for your service. Thank you for the romantic scenes. Unfortunately you remain at the bottom of my rankings. If Ish showed up and demanded a sacrifice… let's just say I'd hear the offer out. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Honorary mentions:

Ish — litigation is imminent. The writers had no business making him that interesting and then refusing to give us a route in the fandisk.

Maya — everything I just said above applies to her too. Yes, I'm a greedy menace. Yes, I wanted routes for everyone. No, I will not be taking further questions. 💀

Final thoughts: the amount of lore spaghetti this game served me was staggering, and honestly? I loved it. The mystery came first, the lore came second, and the romance was somewhere around third — until the fandisk finally let everyone breathe and be happy. As my first dark fantasy otome, this game completely sucked me in. That being said, I will never recover from Tyril's final CG in the main game. That smile. That damn smile. I am filing emotional damages.

Also, I’ll be very interested to see how Sins of Kaleido fits into this WITCH UNIVERSE. 😂 I seriously can’t wait.

Y’all are gonna have to bear with me afterwards because I WILL be back with another wall of text for that game too. 🤪

Again, thank you to everyone who made it through this post. See you all in the next ramble… hopefully. 😂

Wellllllll…. I finally finished Olympia Soirée and it is time for me to unleash my completely unbiased, perfectly rational opinions. (They are neither unbiased nor rational.) Feel free to disagree with me. In fact, I encourage it. Let’s discuss. Just be aware that I work in a field where arguing is part of my daily life so enter the arena at your own risk. 😂

Anyway, let’s start with the premise which, if I were to water it down to its absolute basics, is: girl wakes up on her 18th birthday, decides to grab life by the horns, and instead life proceeds to drag her face first through every disaster imaginable and directly into the arms of a potential husband. Honestly that’s basically the plot. Shit keeps hitting the fan until Olympia eventually gets busy with the LI of your choice. 10/10 premise.

Before I get into the men, I need to talk about what actually made me love this game. The romance is great, don’t get me wrong, but the thing that completely consumed me was the worldbuilding. This island felt alive. It had history, religion, politics, prejudice, traditions, social expectations and consequences. Every route felt like another piece of the puzzle clicking into place. The common route doesn’t get enough credit because it’s quietly setting up everything you’ll spend the rest of the game uncovering. By the time I got to Akaza’s route I realized the writers had basically spent five routes handing me pages from a lore bible before finally dropping the entire encyclopedia on my head.

I genuinely think this game changed what I look for in otome games. Before Olympia Soirée I thought romance was the main attraction. After Olympia Soirée I realized I need worldbuilding, mysteries, plot, and a setting that feels alive. This game ruined me. Now every time I play something with a shallow premise my brain immediately goes “Okay but where is the lore?” Yes, Tengoku Struggle, I’m looking directly at you.

Now for the men.

NUMBER ONE IN MY HEART: TOKISADA
Man… I really didn’t like him when I first met him in the common route but he ended up becoming one of my favorite LIs I’ve ever played. He is still the BEST execution of his trope that I’ve personally encountered in an otome game. The sweetest baby to ever baby and when the situation calls for it? The man LOCKS. TF. IN. The hideout by the beach scene remains my emotional support scene and I will not be taking questions at this time.

Favorite bad ending: Dreaming Until the End.

NO ONE JUDGE ME.

I SAID DON’T JUDGE ME.

🥲

AKAZA
Look. I am extremely attracted to this man’s entire existence. Unfortunately his route felt like the writers suddenly remembered they still had seventeen mysteries left to explain and decided to explain all of them at once. As a character? Amazing. As a route? Slightly held back by carrying the entire lore of Olympia Soirée on its back. Favorite bad ending: Half Moon.

MUAHAHAHAHA.
THIS IS MY CANON ENDING.

I know it’s not.
But it is in my heart.

HIMUKA
When I first bought the game I genuinely thought, “Oh cool, mysterious girl route.” This was my second otome game. I was young. I was naive. I soon discovered that Himuka is actually a peak ethereal pretty man. My main thought throughout the route was honestly just “COWARDS.” Why not let me romance the beautiful deity-looking person regardless? Then I remembered procreation is basically the foundation of this entire society and moved on with my life. I hated every bad ending in this route. Every single one. No notes.

RIKU
Sigh. Emotional constipation but make it attractive. The abs. The hair. The inability to communicate his feelings without suffering a system error. Bless him. Thank you for the roller coaster of “will they won’t they.” His bad endings were about as vanilla as he is.

EVERYONE ELSE
Straight to jail.

My personal rule is simple. If you threaten the MC or develop catastrophic cold feet halfway through the romance, I immediately become your biggest hater. I deeply disliked the way Kuroba and Yosuga were written. Which is tragic because their designs are fantastic and the voice acting is phenomenal. But I simply cannot forgive the nonsense that occurs in those routes. Olympia Soirée somehow gave me one of my favorite LIs in the genre and two of my least favorite LIs in the genre. That’s honestly impressive.

Special shout out to all the DILFs. Tsukuyomi the unhinged daddy, Douma the toxic daddy and Jigen the green flag daddy. Thank you for your service. 🫡 I could write a whole separate post on them…

Also Tsukuyomi not having a route should be considered a crime. I said what I said. (Nothing new)

And Kanan and Kaina…

LET ME IN.

LET ME INNNNNN.

If I could quantify how many times I wished these two were LIs the resulting number would concern mathematicians. The crumbs I got in Dreaming Until the End were NOT ENOUGH. I don’t care if Kanan spends half the game being an absolute menace. I don’t care. I wanted a route. Honestly I wish Nagusa had been sacrificed to the otome gods and Kanan had become the recurring problem every LI had to deal with. And Kaina? Don’t even get me started. I was starving and they gave me crumbs.

Final thoughts: this game gave me worldbuilding, emotional damage, questionable opinions and some of my favorite characters in the genre. Most importantly it gave me a world that felt real enough that I wanted to keep living in it after the credits rolled. I haven’t found another otome game that makes me feel quite this unhinged about its setting, lore and characters. It genuinely changed my expectations for the genre.

And finally:

Catharsis Localization.
I am on my hands and knees.
PLEASE.
Hurry the fuck up.
I cannot wait.

Anyway these are my completely normal, rational and unbiased thoughts about Olympia Soirée. Who was your favorite LI and which of my opinions are going to get me publicly executed?

This is my retrospective rant on both Cupid Parasite and the fandisk. Welcome.

First, let me say that this was baby’s first otome. I came from cozy games, farming sims, and the occasional RPG. Going from harvesting turnips to whatever the hell Cupid Parasite was doing felt like an escalation I never could have predicted in a million years.

I was recommended this game by a lovely friend who I both bless and curse to this day for introducing me to the genre. My wallet has never recovered. My sanity is questionable. My backlog is now out of control.

But back to the game.

I fear Cupid Parasite both hyped me up on otome as a genre AND spoiled me. It’s been a year since I played it and a year since I started devouring other otome titles, and I have yet to find another game that gave me the exact same feeling as Cupid Parasite.

Now onto the meat and potatoes of this post: the men.

My rankings have changed dramatically since I first played the game. Back then I knew absolutely nothing about tropes, character archetypes, or voice actors. Now that I’ve fallen down that slippery slope, I feel ready to cement my final rankings.

First off:
I AM A GILL APOLOGIST.
Especially after his yandere allegations were proven true in the fandisk ahahahah 🤪
There. I said it.

Now brace yourselves for the second hot take.
I HATED ALAN.

In fact, Alan inspired me to create my preferred method of ranking LIs: The Otome Impel Down. (If you’re curious, I have a separate post dedicated to that particular correctional facility.)

The funniest thing is that what truly changed my rankings wasn’t even the main game.
It was the fandisk.

Before the fandisk, I honestly disliked more than half the routes.

For example, I played Ryuki first while knowing absolutely nothing about tsunderes. Looking back, that was a choice. At the time I wanted to launch him directly into the sun.

Now that I’ve encountered far worse tsunderes, I’ve softened considerably. My little Ryuki is alright.

Then there’s Raul.
Never has a smile, enthusiasm, and mythology-induced chaos blinded me so thoroughly.
After surviving Ryuki and Shelby (who isn’t my favorite archetype, but major props to VA KENN because that man was putting in WORK), I arrived at Raul’s route expecting fun.

Instead I got:
The horrors of a Fuckboy Route.. I pray I never come across this again. Mind you I’m no nun let’s get down on the first date but that level of flazeda had me feeling like I was gonna vomit like ….
I nearly launched my Switch into orbit.
Only his fandisk performance saved him, and now he’s somehow one of my favorite chaotic men. the attic childhood bedroom scene *chefs kiss*

Allan… was I essentially salivating at all points when he was shown in the main route? YES. Do I still hate him? Also yes.

Listen.

I do not have the time, energy, emotional stability, or character limit necessary to write the manifesto required to explain all my grievances with that route.
Let’s just say that no amount of tragic backstory will ever convince me that “I love you” and “I repeatedly made your life worse” are the same thing.
And leave it at that.

Now for my favorites.
Peter was my favorite LI in the main game.
Merenice was my favorite character in the fandisk.

And yes, I am separating them because I refuse to pretend they occupy the same place in my heart.
Peter won me over.

Merenice absolutely annihilated me. The fact that he is voiced by the same VA as Tokisada was also soooooo good ahahaa it’s like grown up Tokisada minus the religious trauma add the dizzy dreamer.

My dreamy space prince who somehow showed up in a fandisk and immediately became one of my favorite characters in the entire franchise.
To this day, I still can’t believe a character with such limited screen time managed to leave that much of an impression on me.

Meanwhile, there are entire routes in other games that haven’t achieved half of what this man accomplished in a fraction of the time.
Overall, I adore this game. It’s messy, chaotic, ridiculous, heartfelt, and completely unlike anything I expected when I picked it up as my first otome.
To this day, it’s still my favorite modern otome.
The fact that this ranking would have been completely different before the fandisk is proof that Cupid Parasite may have permanently altered my brain chemistry.

Final Rankings:
🥇 Peter
🥈 Raul
🥉 Gill
4️⃣ Ryuki
5️⃣ Shelby
🚔 Allan Melville (Permanent Resident of Level 6, Otome Impel Down)

⭐ Honorable Mention: Merenice, who exists outside the rankings because I am incapable of being objective about him.

I’d love to know if anyone else’s rankings changed dramatically after the fandisk because mine barely resemble what I thought they would be when I first started the game. Thanks for sticking through this wordy post. 💐💐

I've realized I don't actually rank otome LIs.

I operate an Otome Impel Down.

The rules are simple. 💀😂

Level 1 & 2: Temporary Detention
These are the men who annoyed me, frustrated me, or made me roll my eyes so hard I saw another dimension. They're not evil. They're not beyond redemption. They simply need some time to sit quietly and reflect on their nonsense.

Current inmate:
🍬Ryuki (Cupid Parasite)

Please take a seat and think about what you've done. YOU BRAT. I’ll release him as soon as he has an attitude adjustment.

Levels 3–5: Currently Empty

Level 6: Maximum Security
This is for men who genuinely pissed me off. The route annoyed me. The character annoyed me. The decisions annoyed me. I wish them well, but from a safe distance, ideally with several locked doors between us.

Current inmates:
🍵Yosuga (Olympia Soirée)
🩺 Kuroba (Olympia Soirée)
🪽Alan Melville (Cupid Parasite)

Special containment: Mental Torture Unit.
🥕Kanan of the Orange (Olympia Soirée)

You may all rot. Kisses. 💋

Level 7: For My Peace and Their Safety
This is the highest level. These are the men who ruined me. The men who make me question my judgment. The men who would absolutely get me involved in nonsense, and I would carry their bags while doing it.

Current inmates:

||🩸Soh Yoshioka aka YOFY (Sympathy Kiss)||

🌙 Tsukuyomi (Olympia Soirée)
|| Akaza’s bad ending Half Moon is MY MENTAL CANON ENDING 🤪🫡||

🌸 Karakurenai (Hana Awase)

I want to be very clear: they are not in prison for their crimes. They are in prison for mine. 🤪🥴🤷🏻‍♀️

Thank you for your time. Please share your own Otome Impel Down inmates below. 🤭

I need to talk to somebody about this because I feel like I’m going insane.
I’m currently 3 routes into Tengoku Struggle (Kikunosuke, Yona, and Sharaku) and somehow this game has achieved the impossible.

I don’t hate it.
I don’t love it.
I don’t even know if I like it.
I am simply… experiencing it.
😭

And that’s driving me crazy because on paper this should be MY GAME.
The art? Gorgeous.
The voice acting? Fantastic.
The CGs? Amazing.
The cast? Every single man looks like he escaped a supernatural CrossFit gym and was sculpted specifically for the female gaze.

And yet….

Three routes in and I still feel like I understand approximately 12% of what is actually happening.
Every route ends and instead of answers I get more questions.
The game keeps looking me dead in the eyes and going: “Trust the process.”

Meanwhile I am sitting there with a conspiracy board and a migraine.

Kikunosuke was sweet. I liked him. Soma Saito was out there doing the Lord’s work. But if SOMA SAITO AS A CUTE WOLF BOY wasn’t enough to send me into orbit, I should have realized I was in trouble.

Yona was fine, but unfortunately “angry man yells at heroine for half the route” has never been my favorite flavor of fictional man.

Then came Sharaku.
The purple-haired menace.
The charming flirt.
Voiced by Kaito Ishikawa.
A character that should have been handcrafted in a laboratory to appeal directly to me.
And somehow my reaction at the end was:
“Okay… now what?”

😭

ALSO.

I would like to formally announce that I will be suing the developers for locking Goemon behind the Jack route. I have suffered enough.
Why is the man I am most interested in trapped behind Mr. Mysterious Makoto Furukawa Route?
Speaking of which, if I encounter ONE MORE suspicious, morally questionable, emotionally complicated Makoto Furukawa voiced LI, I’m going to start believing this man is personally selecting these roles.

At this point his characters are either:
A) A menace.
B) A future menace.
C) A menace pretending not to be a menace.
The ONLY exception I have found is Crius from Even If Tempest, who somehow wandered into the wrong casting call and became Vanilla Knight #1.
😭

And THAT is the problem.
Not that the routes are bad.
Not that the characters are bad.
But that I keep finishing routes and feeling like something is missing.
Usually by route 3 one of two things has happened:
I have found my husband.
Someone has been sentenced to Level 6 of Otome Impel Down.
Instead everyone is just kind of… existing in a weird middle ground.
At this point I think the biggest mystery in Tengoku Struggle isn’t the plot.
It’s why I’m not enjoying it more.
Please tell me someone else has experienced this because I feel like I’m having a uniquely personal crisis with a game that is objectively doing a lot of things right.

UPDATE: I QUIT.
I’m sorry to the Makoto Furukawa fans, but I have officially waved the white flag.
The Jack route is giving 2012 Tumblr sad boy in the most derogatory way possible and I simply do not have the strength.

This man has black hair, a dramatic white streak, wears a fedora and mask and carries enough melancholy to power a small city.

At some point I stopped seeing a character and started seeing a Pinterest board.

The worst part is that I don’t even hate him. I’m just exhausted by him.

Maybe one day I’ll come back and finish Goemon’s route for the lore I’ve been promised for the last 40 hours. That’s right 40 hours into this MESS and I still don’t know what the fuck is going on FFFML.

My Final Thoughts:

Save your coins.

Look, the men are FINEEEEE. Like offensively hot. The art is gorgeous, the CGs are gorgeous, the voice acting is gorgeous. Breathy Soma Saito in the Kiko route ufffff definitely will have you hype. Character writing was great too after second thought… My personal favorite was Yona hahaha you freckled asshole you have my heart ❤️

But if you’re buying this for the story? Ehhhhhhhh.
I spent 40+ hours waiting for the game to explain itself and somehow ended up with more questions than answers. The character writing was solid, the overarching plot was fighting for its life, and by the time I got to the fedora-wearing tea competition sad boy, Jack I simply could not do it anymore.

If you want pretty men and vibes, you’ll probably have a good time.

If you want a tightly written story, maybe keep your coins.