Different Cultures: How Do Players View the MC's Submissive Attitude in Otome Games?

[sophiamolin]

fortunately, i never view an mc as a person inside of me, so I'd just expect how they react based on the personality that I've already figured it out for the past chapter i read

but sometimes some of them respond not how exactly a certain person would react based on my expectations.

it's based on my expectations actually, if the personality given was a sweet, kind, a pushover mc, i think it was to be expected that mc will be submissive, but honestly sometimes the sign is too obvious but they just decided to play dumb, that's what i hated sm

Haha, I get it. The MC's behavior depends on the narrative logic of the script, and the main reason it fails to meet expectations is usually that the script can't convince us. Reading this, I realize that regardless of culture, there are no specific requirements for the MC's personality—most players have their own standards and expectations in mind.

for the most part, i stick with westernized otomes because the MCs can be humorous and have a a bit more of a backbone, which I appreciate.

This is my blind spot—I rarely engage with westernized otomes. If anyone has excellent game recommendations, please share them with me~~

"g-gomenasai! waaaah someone save me >O<"

Hahahaha, this sentence is just too adorable (╹▽╹)

im totally cool with them!!!!! they kinda make me feel like a doting mother ww;;, and even though i dont selfinsert, i know for a fact that i would act even meeker/more submissive than them if i was in their shoes because im deathly afraid of people, especially if theyre men LOL. so i guess i totally understand them? even relate to them a little bit? i mean, sometimes mcs make decisions so egregious i cant help but feel annoyed, but im mostly forgiving towards them

i guess the fact that i mostly dislike the "girlbossy" types plays a big role in my opinion on the matter, but i know that its only because i havent encountered the one who would suit my preferences haha. i do realize that theres a difference in mindsets as well! guess i just happen to be on a more flexible side. im still a firm believer that all heroines matter, submissive or not!

Although we have different ways of playing games, I completely understand your perspective. I imagine that when you play otome games, you tend to feel protective and tender towards the MC, able to empathize with her thoughts and experiences. In real life, you must be a gentle and gracefully feminine girl~

As I've grown older, I've found that my attitude towards most MCs has become more nurturing as well. Most MCs in games are teenage girls, and when it comes to them, I feel more like an older sister or a mother watching their growth stories unfold.

 

[sophiamolin]

can you please share the name in its original language? i cant seem to find it;A;

I found a resource in AS. This game has three installments.

監禁婚～選択の日々 凍時編～ 監禁婚～選択の日々
山那学園編～Kare to Kanojo to Koi no Sankaku
監禁婚～選択の日々 誠編～Kankinkon ~Sentaku no Hibi: Touji Hen~

山那学園編 is the story of the son of Touji and the MC from the first game. Like his father, his son is also a fan of forced love.

誠編 is the story of a PE teacher from Yamanaka Gakuen. This teacher knows Touji and is the same type of person ╮(╯▽╰)╭

 

[ninnikuryona]

I found a resource in AS. This game has three installments.

thank you very much for the answer!! ill try to check them out~^^!

 

[lambdadelta]

i'll still like them. idk if i can word my thoughts on this properly because i do understand where the frustration comes from but personally i tend to love all heroines... my reaction when something truly bad happens isn't like, 'this girl is stupid' but more like 'i wish i could help you!'

(and they're fictional people with no agency of their own. rather than just hating them, i'd prefer to understand why these choices were made...)

i want them to have a rich inner world, to experience things through their eyes and i want the writers to put as much care on it as they would for the male characters. naturally that would mean they're flawed in some way. for me, being interesting/multifaceted is more important than her making all the right choices. however, that doesn't mean i'm not aware of gender norms being reinforced through certain traits being more prominent than others... but that's not exclusive of otome games, it's everywhere.

overall i just pay attention to how the work presents itself and temper my expectations accordingly so i can meet it halfway. i want to be able to recognize what may warrant criticism without letting myself drown in negativity, if possible... i think if you can't have even a little bit of fun it becomes a chore. i don't want that to happen.

sorry that's such a wall of text for what's mostly a neutral standpoint! tldr i'm also a firm believer that all heroines matter ^^

 

[Nekosen]

I don't mind when the main character likes cleaning and cooking (i wish it were me) or is a little bit shy. But when the author takes it too far and makes *a submissive cooking doormat* her entire personality, that's a nope from me.

 

[ninnikuryona]

監禁婚～選択の日々 凍時編～

im sorry i didnt notice the reply waaah;; thank you very much!!!!<3

 

[Yuki3548]

We need more powerful and ambitious heroines!

 

[Yuki3548]

on the other hand you have rin from tengoku struggle, SO much of the prologue is about how she's this man-hating woman who's super strong and badass, only for her to basically never fight and cry whenever one of boys says something mean to her. i still like her, but i honestly was expecting MUCH more out of her than i got

I totally agree! *Tengoku Struggle* is by far the most agonizing otome game I've ever played. At the beginning, the male leads literally say they're going to gang‑rape the heroine. Even though she's fully capable of fighting back, she just gets scared and runs away. Later, she's too afraid to even come out to eat when she's hungry — I was so angry when I saw that part.
And her best friend? She set the house on fire just to be with the man she liked, and accidentally killed both him and herself. Even after ending up in hell, she's still searching for him, hoping to pick up their relationship again. She's the kind of person who can't live without love

 

[Yuki3548]

I found a resource in AS. This game has three installments.

監禁婚～選択の日々 凍時編～ 監禁婚～選択の日々
山那学園編～Kare to Kanojo to Koi no Sankaku
監禁婚～選択の日々 誠編～Kankinkon ~Sentaku no Hibi: Touji Hen~

山那学園編 is the story of the son of Touji and the MC from the first game. Like his father, his son is also a fan of forced love.

誠編 is the story of a PE teacher from Yamanaka Gakuen. This teacher knows Touji and is the same type of person ╮(╯▽╰)╭

thank you very much for the answer!! ill try to check them out~^^!

这个系列都是Otome Drama改编成的乙女游戏，也可以去找Drama听听(*^ω^*)。
然后体育老师那部本来老师没想强迫女主的，是冻时来他家做客的时候，体育老师向他请教怎么才能跟喜欢的女孩子在一起，冻时告诉他只要让那个女孩子怀孕了她就会心甘情愿跟你在一起了，所以体育老师后面才强迫了女主角
This entire series started as otome drama CDs before being adapted into games. You can also go listen to the original dramas if you want (*^ω^*)
In the PE teacher's route, he didn't intend to force himself on the heroine at first. When Touji came over to his place, the PE teacher asked him how to get into a relationship with the girl he liked. Touji told him that if he got the girl pregnant, she would stay with him willingly. That's why the PE teacher ended up forcing himself on the heroine later on

 

[ninnikuryona]

In the PE teacher's route, he didn't intend to force himself on the heroine at first. When Touji came over to his place, the PE teacher asked him how to get into a relationship with the girl he liked. Touji told him that if he got the girl pregnant, she would stay with him willingly. That's why the PE teacher ended up forcing himself on the heroine later on

woahhhh theyre such gentlemen!!!! www thank you for the little summary!<3 very insightful!
i looked up the game on vndb, and there was a review that said that the plot somehow made them sympathize with the rapist character. im very intrigued!!!!!!!!!

 

[sophiamolin]

being interesting/multifaceted is more important than her making all the right choices.

I really like the perspective that "being interesting/multifaceted is more important than her making all the right choices." I greatly enjoy seeing comments with such independent thinking, and some of these viewpoints are truly enlightening to me.

 

[Yuki3548]

woahhhh theyre such gentlemen!!!! www thank you for the little summary!<3 very insightful!
i looked up the game on vndb, and there was a review that said that the plot somehow made them sympathize with the rapist character. im very intrigued!!!!!!!!!

Yeah, hahaha. Because of Touji's actions at the beginning, the heroine never forgave him for the rest of her life. It wasn't until they were both elderly and Touji was on his deathbed that she finally said I love you. She also said that if Touji had approached her normally from the start, she would have fallen in love with him. But Touji was so insecure he thought the age gap between them was too big, that she would never accept him so he chose an extreme way.
Besides, all the men in their family are just like him. His father did the same thing to his mother forcing himself on her(There's also a drama about his father's story.)╮( •́ω•̀ )╭
As for Touji's son, he would definitely have grown up to be a normal person if the heroine had raised him. Unfortunately, though, Touji was the one who brought him up, so in the end he became just like his father.╮( •́ω•̀ )╭
There's another drama about the Hikaru's daughter(Hikaru, Touji's son) being assaulted by PE teacher's son and the sons of the other two main characters, So that school isn't a normal place at all.

 

[sophiamolin]

I totally agree! *Tengoku Struggle* is by far the most agonizing otome game I've ever played. At the beginning, the male leads literally say they're going to gang‑rape the heroine. Even though she's fully capable of fighting back, she just gets scared and runs away. Later, she's too afraid to even come out to eat when she's hungry — I was so angry when I saw that part.
And her best friend? She set the house on fire just to be with the man she liked, and accidentally killed both him and herself. Even after ending up in hell, she's still searching for him, hoping to pick up their relationship again. She's the kind of person who can't live without love

In Tengoku Struggle, the MC is the daughter of the King of Hell, and at that time the male leads were under her management. If it were me being threatened with "we're going to rape you," I would whip them fiercely with a leather whip and send them back to hell. I completely cannot understand why the MC later develops feelings for the male leads. Her best friend reminds me of the pink-haired stalker in 9 R.I.P. — someone who believes love is greater than life.

这个系列都是Otome Drama改编成的乙女游戏，也可以去找Drama听听(*^ω^*)。
然后体育老师那部本来老师没想强迫女主的，是冻时来他家做客的时候，体育老师向他请教怎么才能跟喜欢的女孩子在一起，冻时告诉他只要让那个女孩子怀孕了她就会心甘情愿跟你在一起了，所以体育老师后面才强迫了女主角
This entire series started as otome drama CDs before being adapted into games. You can also go listen to the original dramas if you want (*^ω^*)
In the PE teacher's route, he didn't intend to force himself on the heroine at first. When Touji came over to his place, the PE teacher asked him how to get into a relationship with the girl he liked. Touji told him that if he got the girl pregnant, she would stay with him willingly. That's why the PE teacher ended up forcing himself on the heroine later on

我记得其中一个结局是体育老师去找女主的时候下大雨，被车撞死了，他死了之后女主还得到了他的求婚戒指，打完这个结局我笑的好开心！真是老天为女主报仇，还得了一个钻戒可以卖掉赚钱，嘎嘎嘎嘎嘎

I remember one of the endings where the PE teacher went to find the MC during a heavy downpour and got hit by a car and died. After his death, the MC even received his proposal ring. After completing this ending, I laughed so happily! Truly, heaven avenged the MC, and she even got a diamond ring she could sell for money.

woahhhh theyre such gentlemen!!!! www thank you for the little summary!<3 very insightful!
i looked up the game on vndb, and there was a review that said that the plot somehow made them sympathize with the rapist character. im very intrigued!!!!!!!!!

Yes, this game still has a large audience. The scenario for 監禁婚～選択の日々 凍時編～ is well-written, and the ending even moved quite a few people to tears—though that doesn't include me, hahaha.

 

[Yuki3548]

woahhhh theyre such gentlemen!!!! www thank you for the little summary!<3 very insightful!
i looked up the game on vndb, and there was a review that said that the plot somehow made them sympathize with the rapist character. im very intrigued!!!!!!!!!

Yeah, hahaha. Because of Touji's actions at the beginning, the heroine never forgave him for the rest of her life. It wasn't until they were both elderly and Touji was on his deathbed that she finally said I love you. She also said that if Touji had approached her normally from the start, she would have fallen in love with him. But Touji was so insecure he thought the age gap between them was too big, that she would never accept him so he chose an extreme way.
Besides, all the men in their family are just like him. His father did the same thing to his mother forcing himself on her(There's also a drama about his father's story.)╮( •́ω•̀ )╭
As for Touji's son, he would definitely have grown up to be a normal person if the heroine had raised him. Unfortunately, though, Touji was the one who brought him up, so in the end he became just like his father.╮( •́ω•̀ )╭
There's another drama about the PE teacher's daughter being assaulted by Hikaru's son(Hikaru, Touji's son) and the sons of the other two main characters, So that school isn't a normal place at all.

At first, the heroine even tried sending other women to Touji's bed. Touji got extremely angry, almost killed that woman, and punished the heroine. After that, she never sent him any women again.╮( •́ω•̀ )╭
The heroine also said to Touji If you jump off the cliff, I'll say I love you, And Touji actually jumped He ended up spraining his arm, He'd really do anything to win her love .
And after the heroine gave birth, he even threw a celebration party, saying that today was the day the doctor said they could have sex again, so they had to celebrate it. hahahaha.
all these plot points are from the drama CD, I haven't played this game, so I'm unsure if these scenes are included there.੭ ᐕ)੭

 

[ninnikuryona]

I remember one of the endings where the PE teacher went to find the MC during a heavy downpour and got hit by a car and died. After his death, the MC even received his proposal ring.

The heroine also said to Touji If you jump off the cliff, I'll say I love you, And Touji actually jumped He ended up spraining his arm, He'd really do anything to win her love .

oh my god to that extent???? this is hilarious in so many ways!!!!! these guys might be assholes, but at least they are willing to prove their love i guess...... www
thank you both for sharing your experience!! this sounds so wacky i just have to check it out.......!

 

[sophiamolin]

oh my god to that extent???? this is hilarious in so many ways!!!!! these guys might be assholes, but at least they are willing to prove their love i guess...... www
thank you both for sharing your experience!! this sounds so wacky i just have to check it out.......!

I totally get it now (o´ω`o)ﾉ You'll have so much fun and really enjoy this game wwww
That's a good thing! If it were someone like me, the only goal in the game would be figuring out how to take the male lead down.

 

[lambdadelta]

I really like the perspective that "being interesting/multifaceted is more important than her making all the right choices." I greatly enjoy seeing comments with such independent thinking, and some of these viewpoints are truly enlightening to me.

i have also greatly enjoyed reading through this thread and while i'm not familiar with some titles mentioned here, i felt like i could connect to your experiences..!! thank you for sharing your thoughts, it's been enlightening to me as well!

 

[laidy]

Really interesting thread... Good question Sophiamolin!!!

Usually I see the Otome Main Character as her own person! I'm simply stepping into her shoes for a bit. I never think it's *me* pursuing an otome guy- always the character, kinda like acting. So I kind of dislike complete self insert characters, I also play with a guide 99% of the time so I never really make my own choices anyways lol... My favourite heroines in JP Otome would have to be Alice (MC) from Taishou x Alice and Lady Whiteley from London Detective Mysteria!!! They're not super bold and girlboss- but they're funny, interesting and genuinely driven to do their own things! They're my ideal JP Otome MC tbh!!! Someone who could be their own love interest in another game, yknow?

I think some MC's are so meek that it makes the story feel inconsequential, to the point there's no point in me even pretending to be them. Like- I know you're not gonna stand up for yourself like how (to me) a girl should... To me women and men are equal so when the men have a strong personality and the MC doesn't, I feel kinda like I'm being forced to be meek, which in my mind means the "MC" is seen as having less value than the men and it makes me kinda mad ><;; I would totally hit some of these guys for what they do. I would also never beg or act pathetic for a stupid 2D guy no matter how sexy the pixels are.... Alas...

I like to think if the MC was instead a love interest- and I wouldn't date or befriend her, then I probably don't like her.

But I think I guess it's kinda necessary to make the MC sorta meh so it can appeal to the most people.

 

[Leviathan_01]

In my opinion, regardless of whether you're doing self-insertion or not, the first thing to consider is the narrative to see if the protagonist's behavior is justified. In the case of Mistonia's Hope, I didn't think for a second that Aprose acts timidly or constantly needs saving. She gives the impression of a mere fragile maid, but throughout the game she shows shrewdness, grit, and an unwavering determination for revenge until she falls in love and allows herself to see beyond the vengeance. Those scenes your friend mentioned only happen in bad endings and are totally justified (at least for me). Now, regarding other MCs, as I said, you have to analyze the context of the story, because it wouldn't make sense, for example, for Lilly from Piofiore to go around exchanging gunfire as if she were part of the mafia, so her acting fragile is justified. In those types of contexts, I don't care at all. Now, when a female MC has the ability to do something but always relies on the LIs I don't like it very much, like the MC from Nightshade or the one from Tengoku Struggle, for example.

 

[Violetta19]

I like the lively and strong-willed heroines the most.

 

[Aerith]

I don't self-insert, but I still can't fully enjoy when the MC is too submissive (without a good reason) because I get really frustrated while reading lol. Nothing against that type of character, but it's just not the kind of MC I like. I prefer someone strong-willed who can get angry and say what she thinks when she doesn't like something (yes, even to the romantic interests. I love communication)

 

[YummyYum]

I don't self-insert, so however the MC acts doesn't bother me too much. I do enjoy it when they have the less stereotypical personalities which are generally the ones you mentioned, though, because I find it allows for a more novelty. Yes, there are times where I roll my eyes or think they're being stupid for not doing XYZ, but to me they're their own character so I accept it anyway.

 

[LapisWhale]

It depends on the game's setting and its historical background :"D but the MC still needs some personality despite all that. She can be soft, submissive, gentle, or badass and all, but she needs to have some sort of fighting spirit though.