Which LI/route did you initially have a terrible impression of, or did you feel you wouldn't enjoy, but then playing it caught you off guard?

Leviathan_01 · Feb 24, 2026

This happened to me when I played Mystic Messenger and Hakuoki. In Mystic Messenger, I disliked Zen because I really don't like narcissistic characters, and he gave me the impression of being a shallow character who only cared about appearances. In Hakuoki, I didn't connect with Okita; I felt quite irritated by his provocations, and every death threat he made made my eyes roll back in anger. I felt like we were polar opposites, and if I were in Chizuru's place, I would have slapped him when he told her she wasn't part of the Shinsengumi. I left both of them for last because I didn't have a good impression of them, but when I finally played their routes... wow... I haven't been able to forget them to this day, to be honest, lol. Zen didn't dethrone 707 from first place, but it came in third, while Okita managed to take the top spot on my favorite route in Hakuoki. I even found myself shedding tears because of his condition and the bittersweet ending. Whenever I come across LI which gives me a bad impression, I think of these two and decide to give a chance XD

orionsbestie · Feb 24, 2026

Shiraishi in Collar x Malice. I was SO dreading getting to his route because he just didn't seem like a type I could enjoy, I found him irritating to no end and wanted to slap him constantly but then his route... routed. DUDE. DUDE I CAN'T EVEN EXPLAIN IT but I was bawling by the end. Screaming crying throwing up pulling out my hair going insane levels of omgness. He ended up being my favorite.

Leviathan_01 · Feb 24, 2026

OMG I forgot about Shiraishi lol I totally understand you, I felt the same way when he first appeared. But I was more afraid of him than just had a bad impression tbh he gave off a vibe like he was going to stab us in the back or something, but any doubts about him disappeared when the scene with the kittens appeared. Anyone who likes cats can't be bad, at least that's what I thought when I was playing his route.

orionsbestie said:
Shiraishi in Collar x Malice. I was SO dreading getting to his route because he just didn't seem like a type I could enjoy, I found him irritating to no end and wanted to slap him constantly but then his route... routed. DUDE. DUDE I CAN'T EVEN EXPLAIN IT but I was bawling by the end. Screaming crying throwing up pulling out my hair going insane levels of omgness. He ended up being my favorite.

Hisami · Feb 24, 2026

Tengoku strayside LIs all started off seeming so misogynist but ended up liking the game, 9rip Minami design seemed too cute for my liking but he won me over. Cafe enchante Canus cause I did't expect myself to like a character without a face so much lol, also lover pretend Riku he seemed too arrogant in the beginning.

MarietaStay · Mar 2, 2026

For me, it's Impey Barbicane from Code: Realize. He's not my type at all, so I decided to go through his route first to move on to the LI that interested me. But unexpectedly, I really liked Impey. I liked how he cared for Cardia, and I liked the relationship between them. Impey turned out to be not just a talkative fool, but a real man. So among all the LIs in Code: Realize, Impey became my favorite.

fr4pp3cinn · Mar 2, 2026

Ignis from Cafe Enchante! I'm not in tsunderes usually, but he was really cute in his route. Also Akechi from London Detective Mysteria, and Kent from Amnesia. Both because I don't really like megane characters

iorin · Mar 2, 2026

Molly from over requiemz!! It's not like I didn't like him, but I felt like he was a tier below the others. But his route was so... WOW... that he managed to level up in my opinion, even though he's still not my favorite.

fraizumin · Mar 2, 2026

Suzu from Jack Jeanne. I expected something bland and simple since i don't enjoy story without drama, but this story was a concentrated fluff and i love it! I was really surprised with how naturally his and Kisa's relationship progressed during the story, and how cute their reaction to feelings was :>

Marrychan · Mar 2, 2026

Tengoku Struggle, Sharaku... I definitely thought I wouldn't like him; he was the last route I did since Goemon's is closed. Although I much prefer his 'bad' ending, him taking her pinky finger because he promised her his while she disappears won my heart; a few tears were shed there. He was a good surprise for me. It's not just one route, but the entire game. I didn't initially like the premise of Bad Apple Wars, but when I finally got around to playing it, I fell in love with it and finished it in less than a week. Alma and White Mask are my favorites, but all the characters were very well written.

chizee · Mar 2, 2026

Noritsune from Genpei Yumeiro Emaki.
It feels like the one-on-one duels run through the entire storyline!Every time I met him, "Shana, let's duel!"So I don't think I will like this character.(♯｀∧´)
But actually playing through the story, I realized that what starts as a young lord itching to prove himself in a duel evolves into Takato, the bodyguard setting aside his station to seek an honorable contest. Then it becomes a defeated commander, resigned to his fate and walking toward death, and finally Noritsune, the Heike general willing to die if it means his people get to live. Our similarities pit us against each other, yet they're also what draw us together. The more I want to defeat you, the more I want you to live！
The emotional arc is just as gripping. He was just too young—everyone else could tell Shana was a woman from the very first glance, but there he was, all the way into chapter nine, still saying things like, "Yoshitsune, you're an incredible boy!" Neither of them understood their own hearts, and because they didn't, every moment that should've been a confession came out sounding like a quarrel. And then, at the very end, it finally dawns on them—that burning fire in their chests had been attraction from the very start. Every challenge was just a clumsy way of courting. Look only at me, fight only me! My rival, my love, my guiding star!
The way this rivalry and romance intertwined is just brilliant！^ω^

Eril $akurai · Mar 2, 2026

Red from Nameless~ the one thing you must recall.
He seemed too childish for me. But he was really sweet and reliable in his route and I ended up liking him a lot.

Sayuuki · Mar 2, 2026

Ikki from Amnesia, I was expecting him to be so shallow, but he ended up being a charming character and tbh he might be my second favourite after Ukyo.

Certainly Nicola from Piofiore. Same, thought I knew what to expect, but he surprised me in every way possible. I played his route first and the context that comes from playing the rest of the game, especially Dante route, made him even better. He ended up my favourite.

あ～ん · Mar 2, 2026

I think Kanato from Diabloik Lovers, I cleared everyone beside him because he was kind of scary and for me kid myself he was a kid too. But when I cleared his route I fell in love with his Seiyuu, he was pretty mature at times and I became (very surprisingly for myself) big fan of Kanato ( ・∇・)

arukaou · Mar 7, 2026

Basically all of the variable barricade boys. Absolutely love my boy Ichiya (they did him so dirty!).
Ended up hating Sion for a completely different reason in the end tho, lol

Iiiiii · Mar 13, 2026

There's no example that comes to mind right now, but I do have an opposite one, Victor's route in Ikemen Villains, he's my favorite character from the game I love him so so much, but man I really didn't like the way his route was executed at all... and when I first saw the trailer I was really excited so I didn't think it was going to go in THAT direction ;_;

Junonon · Mar 15, 2026

i think tsuyukusa from illusion of itehari surprised me the most at first i thought i probably wouldnt enjoy his route that much bc i'm usually not a big fan of very sweet green flag type characters but his story and the way his relationship with hinagiku (mc) developed flowed so naturally that it completely caught me off guard and by the end there was no way he wouldnt become my favorite route

uzzzzu12 · Mar 15, 2026

Just lately this -kind of- happened while playing Illusion of Itehari xd Rather than terrible impression, I really didn't expect to like Tobari. Like I was so uninterested and I didn't care much about him but after playing his route he became my favorite <3 Also I remember thinking Kent was lame while playing Amnesia Memories but overall I didn't like the characters and he was somehow okay compared to others

a4015 · Mar 15, 2026

It was Impey Barbican from *Code Realize*. At first, he seemed like such a comical character that I thought his route would go in that direction too. But I was really surprised when he showed his cool side at the end. I think it was even more surprising because I played *Code Realize* before I really got into otome games.

miomiokie · Mar 15, 2026

i didn't HATE noritsune, he was just meh to me during the birushana common route because i usually don't like his archetypes but god he became my favorite, and i couldn't help but cry a lot when i finished the route :'}

blackflag · Mar 15, 2026

My list is massive. I usually dislike any sort of 'shota' like characters at a glance but several characters became quite liked by me due to their stories, the most notable is:
- Yukimaro (( RIP) - Everyone seems to dislike this guy and find him annoying but I couldnt help but adore his endearing optimism and childishness, it was such a breath of fresh air compared to a lot of the melancholy in the game.

Pumpkin Thief · Mar 16, 2026

A couple big ones for me are Taiga (VariBari) and Noritsune (Birushana)! They're characters I normally wouldn't go for in the common route but their routes ended up being my favorites for those games.

bravelyflee · Mar 16, 2026

Enishi from Ken ga Kimi. He... did not make the best first impression. But actually I liked him a lot by the end of the game. Hard to talk about without spoilers!

sariaflower · Mar 17, 2026

Ikki from Amnesia Memories! I DESPISE reformed playboy tropes with all my heart. But he wasn't as bad as he turned out to be and his voice acting is really good!

Leviathan_01 · Mar 17, 2026

I simply adore Noritsune, it's my favorite route in Birushana. I liked him right away precisely because he kept challenging Shanoa XD Everything about his route was perfect and I can't wait for the Fandisk so I can see him again!

chizee said:
Noritsune from Genpei Yumeiro Emaki.
It feels like the one-on-one duels run through the entire storyline!Every time I met him, "Shana, let's duel!"So I don't think I will like this character.(♯｀∧´)
But actually playing through the story, I realized that what starts as a young lord itching to prove himself in a duel evolves into Takato, the bodyguard setting aside his station to seek an honorable contest. Then it becomes a defeated commander, resigned to his fate and walking toward death, and finally Noritsune, the Heike general willing to die if it means his people get to live. Our similarities pit us against each other, yet they're also what draw us together. The more I want to defeat you, the more I want you to live！
The emotional arc is just as gripping. He was just too young—everyone else could tell Shana was a woman from the very first glance, but there he was, all the way into chapter nine, still saying things like, "Yoshitsune, you're an incredible boy!" Neither of them understood their own hearts, and because they didn't, every moment that should've been a confession came out sounding like a quarrel. And then, at the very end, it finally dawns on them—that burning fire in their chests had been attraction from the very start. Every challenge was just a clumsy way of courting. Look only at me, fight only me! My rival, my love, my guiding star!
The way this rivalry and romance intertwined is just brilliant！^ω^

I simply adore Noritsune, it's my favorite route in Birushana. I liked him right away precisely because he kept challenging Shanoa XD Everything about his route was perfect and I can't wait for the Fandisk so I can see him again!

Leviathan_01 · Mar 17, 2026

Iiiiii said:
There's no example that comes to mind right now, but I do have an opposite one, Victor's route in Ikemen Villains, he's my favorite character from the game I love him so so much, but man I really didn't like the way his route was executed at all... and when I first saw the trailer I was really excited so I didn't think it was going to go in THAT direction ;_;

Yay games from the Ikemen series mentioned! Unfortunately, I haven't been able to play that one yet (Ikemen Vampire and Sengoku take up too much space on my phone ಥ‿ಥ). I remember only playing William's route when the global version of the game was released, and I didn't really like the story. It wasn't bad, on the contrary, but I was disappointed because I was expecting something heavier since he was a villain, but he seemed more like a tragic hero. Vitor seems like a lovely character, what bothered you about his route?

Which LI/route did you initially have a terrible impression of, or did you feel you wouldn't enjoy, but then playing it caught you off guard?

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