I enjoy medium pace more which is why I loved Cinderella Phenomenon, The Winter Tower, Royal Alchemist and Locked Heart (especially Sol) & Hansel and Gretel food fantasy. What about you all? Which pacing do you like?
Slow burn vs Insta love or just medium pace
- Thread starter otomegirly388
- Start date
- Mar 2, 2016
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I also enjoy medium pace! For me, slow burn usually gets boring eventually because stuff takes too long to progress and insta love is way too sudden. Insta love leaves me questioning why the LI loves the MC in the first place since there was no development or hints leading to that. I'm ok with the LI falling in love with MC at first sight as long as there's development afterwards between the two before they become a couple.
- Apr 12, 2026
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medium pace. slow burn can get boring if it's not properly executed or doesn't have an interesting plot and fast paced stories feels like reading a oneshot
- Apr 1, 2026
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Medium pace for sure. I don't mind slow burn, but if they only get together basically at the end I find there's not enough romance for my taste. I really don't like instant-love because it always feels like it just pops out of nowhere and it breaks the immersion for me!
- Apr 6, 2026
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Another vote for medium pace! Speaking of otome games, while I do enjoy it if there's a lot of focus on story or the characters, I mainly play them because of the romance. So, if there's a distinctively lack of romance or the slow burn is handled poorly... The ending leaves me feeling empty xd, like I wished the protagonist and the Li had more scenes together that actually developed the romance. I agree with the others, instant-love most of the time doesn't feel earned or rewarding to read to me.
- Aug 30, 2024
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honestly ill take anything but a slow burn LOL. dont know if its my fried brain or something, but im wayyyy too impatient with this stuff. i want the love interest to fall in love with the heroine as soon as possible!!!!!!!! not like two days into talking (because thats just toxic and uncomfortably realistic if we are talking about the internet and teenage mistakes) but also not three years into their friendship!!!!!! i love tamons b-side, but enduring TEN VOLUMES of slowburn is not for the weak... and unfortunately i am weak....................
on the other hand though, fastpaced romance can lead to some extremely dumb drama like misunderstandings/miscommunications aka the bane of my existence, breaking up then getting back again then breaking up again etc etc. i feel like ive seen it wayyyy too much in tl manga, which is even worse since theyre supposedly about adults.. after a while you start getting a little sick of it.......^^;;
ultimately, middle ground is preferable, but if i had to choose strictly between slowburn and fastpace, i would go with fastpace, because at least i can get loveydovey moments early into the game/manga!! and i live for loveydovey stuff........<3
on the other hand though, fastpaced romance can lead to some extremely dumb drama like misunderstandings/miscommunications aka the bane of my existence, breaking up then getting back again then breaking up again etc etc. i feel like ive seen it wayyyy too much in tl manga, which is even worse since theyre supposedly about adults.. after a while you start getting a little sick of it.......^^;;
ultimately, middle ground is preferable, but if i had to choose strictly between slowburn and fastpace, i would go with fastpace, because at least i can get loveydovey moments early into the game/manga!! and i live for loveydovey stuff........<3
- Apr 6, 2026
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I love slow burns but there are time where I just want to see the two get on with their romance already, to see how they grow and develop together and as individuals. A medium pace is preferable as it's a nice pace to get the romance along with not feeling it feel instant.
- Apr 8, 2026
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Medium pace for sure. Slow burn can be done well and have a big impact but also it can take too long and be a bit boring sometimes. Fast pace feels a bit forced with some interactions. All are good if well executed but typically I prefer medium.
- Oct 27, 2019
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Unpopular opinion, but slow burn. 20 hours of reading and characters finally kissing? This is too fast. No handholding untill we in a 40-50 hours territory
- Mar 21, 2024
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(my past as a skip beat fan still haunts me) so i must pick slow burn romance. But in all fairness, I feel like i grew to like slow burn a lot more these days, they just hit so well and have you cheering for the characters from behind your screen after 10+ hours of playing one route.
- Dec 2, 2025
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Both medium pace and slow burn for me! I love watching romances slowly develop, and watching the charas go from being total strangers, to being completely inseparable. Then there's that wonderful yearning stage!! A well paced story always has that yearning stage where they're both idiots in love but haven't made the move to take the next step so they're hopelessly pinning for each other- I love that bit so much; yes I get frustrated with it sometimes will go "Just kiss already!!" but it's like a good kind of frustration? lol
Oh and it usually takes me a bit to get attached to charas. So the more time I spend with them, the more attached I get, and that makes the pain of the angst scenes hit so good!!
Oh and it usually takes me a bit to get attached to charas. So the more time I spend with them, the more attached I get, and that makes the pain of the angst scenes hit so good!!
- Apr 8, 2026
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I think it's medium for me. I used to think I liked slow burns but Virche has taught me that I do not have the patience for a truly slow burn romance.
- Apr 8, 2026
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I think im more into slow burn / medium pace for otome games & vns. i just rlly like taking my time w the story, getting to know the chars and seeing the relationship grow naturally. it just hits better when theres buildup yk
but for anime i actually prefer smth a bit faster (not rushed tho). i usually watch it to relax at the end of the day so i like when the romance flows easier and doesnt take forever
so yeah for vns i want depth + development, but for anime i go for smth lighter and smoother :)
but for anime i actually prefer smth a bit faster (not rushed tho). i usually watch it to relax at the end of the day so i like when the romance flows easier and doesnt take forever
so yeah for vns i want depth + development, but for anime i go for smth lighter and smoother :)
- Jun 19, 2025
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Something in between is good. Slow burn feels like it'd take forever and unless the game is really centered around romance, I don't think they have time to develop the relationship. Insta love...it's good for some fun entertainment but if romance is written like that, I don't take it seriously.
- Sep 30, 2025
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Usually I prefer slow burn (as long as it doesn't drag).
Insta love can work but that also depends on how the genuine feelings develop. Nothing too obsessive right away.
Insta love can work but that also depends on how the genuine feelings develop. Nothing too obsessive right away.
- Jun 27, 2021
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I prefer a medium burn; I could only accept a slow burn if it's well-constructed and not slowed down by silly misunderstandings.
- Jan 30, 2026
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As many others said, I also prefer medium pace. Slow burn usually takes way too long to get interesting, and if it's instant, it usually feels off.
Towaトワ
New member
- Nov 4, 2025
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For me it depends if the story is engaging, I don't mind slow
tbh for me the pace can be a second thing if the plot catches my attention. That being said, I'm always reluctant to play long games because I'm afraid the plot might get a bit too slow, but for example Hakuoki is the perfect slow burn for me, it feeds interaction in the right time but also doesn't force intimacy right away. I usually play two games at the same time in case one is too slow to balance things out.
- Dec 10, 2024
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i prefer medium pace but i can also enjoy slow burn if it's executed in a intriguing and entertaining way. i actually dislike insta-love because it feels like infatuation rather than love most of the time, so it doesn't seem real to me.
- Mar 2, 2021
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I can enjoy both, but I particularly like the medium pace. I only accept insta-love if there's some past behind it, which happens a lot with childhood friends? At least in my memory, it's more common with them. I've read so many manga and books where the characters sometimes only kiss much later. I'm even surprised that in Tamon's b-side there haven't been any accidental kisses, which could happen with Ori before Tamon the way things are going. But the work involves idols, which is a pretty grey area in general.
- Oct 13, 2023
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For otome, I think medium paced is the sweet spot! I also don't mind fast pacing when the characters knew each other beforehand (childhood friend and stuff like that). Slow burn really depends, some longer games work well (specially if they have a chapter or flowchart structure), while others can feel like a slog to get through. The plot has to complement the pacing too! I feel like light-hearted games with slow pacing get a bit boring after a while
- Jul 26, 2024
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I prefer medium to slow burn myself, though sometimes I am kind of frustrated with agonizingly slow burn mostly because it makes me sit here like "RAGHHHH DO SOMETHING! GIVE ME THE GOODS!"
Insta-love is something that tends to weird me out when it's uncalled for, though. I can only let it slide if I get yandere vibes from the LI because duh, of course the yandere's gonna fall head over heels over the MC at first sight.
The length of the game is super important too. I can excuse a faster pace with short games, but if I'm playing a game where the average route is like 15 hours of reading and the couple falls in love within 0.5 secs, it's just boring. There aren't any stakes!
Insta-love is something that tends to weird me out when it's uncalled for, though. I can only let it slide if I get yandere vibes from the LI because duh, of course the yandere's gonna fall head over heels over the MC at first sight.
The length of the game is super important too. I can excuse a faster pace with short games, but if I'm playing a game where the average route is like 15 hours of reading and the couple falls in love within 0.5 secs, it's just boring. There aren't any stakes!
- Oct 1, 2020
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Slow burn but with saucy scenes sprinkled across not just dead ass slow w nothing happening for x chapters