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Would you still like your favorite LI if they weren't attractive?

Hanslcrckrs

Hanslcrckrs

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Jul 8, 2026
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I've noticed that in most otome games, almost every LI is conventionally attractive to begin with ofc. It's pretty rare to come across an LI who's genuinely average-looking or unattractive, so I feel like appearance eventually stops being the deciding factor. At least for me, the thing that really makes an LI stand out is their personality (how they treat the protag), their trope, and how well their route is written.

A provocative thought comes in my mind: if every LI had the same level of attractiveness, what actually makes one become your favorite??


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It's funny sometimes, when a game describes characters as "not good-looking enough/plain" and at the same time there is no difference in visual style with "the most beautiful" characters. At least draw them as you are describing!

LIs personality is a defining factor in chosing favourites, but beautiful graphics is a perk of otome games, if it's not here and everyone is the same (and not attractive), I'd probably rather read a regular book. To choose a favourite in a game, a person needs to start and read it, but to do so there needs to be something, and for the most time it's voice actors of beautiful guys on a poster :LOL:
 
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This is kinda like the "would you still love me if I was a worm?" situation lol. For me, personality is first and foremost the most important factor in a LI. They could be the most handsome man in the game but an ugly or boring personality repels me IMMEDIATELY! Tho appearance can still be a big part of me liking them. If they weren't atleast a bit attractive, then I'm not really that #interested lol. Shallow af asf but it's my truth!!
 
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To be honest, no lol. If we're being honest no one would be fangirling over the LIs if they were ugly. LIs who are green flags would just become nice people id wanna be friends with. LIs who are misogynistic or murderers or stalkers benefit atrociously from pretty privilege, if they were ugly no one would gaf about them and think they were creeps! And thats okay because at the end of the day this is fiction where we can safely explore these kinds of fantasies.

This isnt to say personality means nothing, its the #1 determining factor of what makes me interested! I dont have any preferences in terms of looks but they still have to be somewhat attractive for me to want to romance them. That said, all LIs are obviously made to be attractive, so its really their personality that i focus on to help determine who im gonna like the most :)
 
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nope! i see enough ugly dudes in other genres already, so id prefer it if otome kept feeding me delicious ikemen:3c call me shallow, but its not like theres anything wrong with wanting a handsome guy to fall in love with you! thats the beauty of otome as a whole, after all^^
even something like inkya lovecome, which has a not-so-handsome li, still looks pretty or at least passable enough. so i guess its the matter of the artstyle for me? i wonder. i wouldnt touch most western otome even before i learn about their potential landmines precisely because the artstyle and lis are often very unappealing to me, after all..;

and regarding your provocative thought: personality/story is just as important!! although i do feel sad if a beautiful design is wasted on some boring-on-the-inside boy, but at least there are tons of other eyecandies to choose from. (although usually im not the one who makes a choice, my ~heart~ is)
 
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It can happen to me. Though of course I prefer them handsome lol. If they're written THAT well, I can make an exception haha
 
The strategy character looks at the appearance and pays more attention to personality.

If the conditions are the same, each has its own attraction (except for the Legion of Replicators)

I will look at the first impression, the common route gives people a feeling, the details of getting along, etc., and decide whether to guide the personal route.

For example: twins (multiple twins) have the same appearance, but are not different inside, and have a contrasting personality, so there are extra points.:wink:
 
I wouldn't say it's a deal-breaker, but an appealing design is certainly one of the main draws for me in a game, as someone who mainly plays for the dynamic between MC and LI. A boring or underdeveloped route is more irritating for sure, but I can be a bit biased towards some LI design choices ;b if I think he's hot, I'm willing to forgive some stuff lmao

I consider HatoKare one of my favorite games, as I think the writing is pretty cool (even if they're pigeons, lol). I also play many indie games with "unpolished" artstyles, with characters that aren't visually appealing to me, and like plenty of them! Things like wonky anatomy can be distracting, but I won't drop a game just because of that

As for the provocative question: the dynamic, haha! For example, I'm not too into tsunderes myself; however, if I feel like the MC matches better with a tsundere character than the other LIs, he'll quickly become my favorite in the game, even if he's not at all my type. Cute scenes are also a plus, like a bridal carry or tightly hugging! I love a little fanservice :oops:
 
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I grow attach to a LI's personality first so it probably wouldn't matter to me if he suddenly became unattractive overnight. Some of my favorite otome LIs are rather plain looking (ex. Majima from Choudoku). Though naturally, I still have my own standards and preferences. Even though I play plenty of indie games, I have a hard time finding the LI design in most non-Eastern otome that attractive.
 
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I look at personality but ''face'' also plays important role
For example we have 2 similar LIs - I will choose a guy whose appearance I find more attractive
 
To be honest, physical attractiveness is one of the first things I notice, so it definitely plays a role at the beginning. However, if a character has a personality I really like, treats the heroine well, and has great character development, I think I'd still end up loving them even if they weren't the most attractive. 😤
 
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Though the design is appealing to me, I would still choose personality + story.

My favorite LI, at first glance, had a design that I didn't find attractive, yet I ended up loving him.

Other favorites are good-looking, and I started admiring them after getting to know them better. So yeah, even if they weren't attractive at first, those factors became my new standard.
 
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My red flag favs? absolutely not lmfaoo the other ones? Yeah I'd still like them probably but honestly it depends. I'm extremely picky with artstyles so if they were ugly I might not have even had played the game they're in LOL.
 
Loonatic said:
This is kinda like the "would you still love me if I was a worm?" situation lol. For me, personality is first and foremost the most important factor in a LI. They could be the most handsome man in the game but an ugly or boring personality repels me IMMEDIATELY! Tho appearance can still be a big part of me liking them. If they weren't atleast a bit attractive, then I'm not really that #interested lol. Shallow af asf but it's my truth!!
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off topic but your pfp is taking me out 😭
 
first impressions… then I go thru the story and favs change lol… but usually my first impressions (based on design and appearance) usually aren't that far off so either I get more favs or just one
 
I think for me it always depends on the character and personality and if they are well written. I've played some games where on first impression i didn't like the character design/didn't find them attractive then during the game actually their personality changed that for me and they ended up being my favourites.
So, while yes character design may color my first impression and judgement i've learned to give all characters a chance.
 
No. Visuals are an important criteria for me and I skip games that don't have an appealing art style for me. I play otome games to look at beautiful fictional characters, so while personality is important when I'm choosing a favorite LI, the visuals actually make me choose to play the game and a character's route.
 
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Not otome but for BL, i absolutely adore Yoshino from lesson because his qualities as a person are very mature/realistic and not different if you compare him from someone in real life, he's actually ideal as a partner if preference goes.
my objective and subjective impressions of him are very positive bc the setting of the story is completely the same with any mundane everyday-life and he's generally a really good guy maybe influential too to think things deeper or ethically
 
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