Any thoughts on a yandere otome MC

[otomegirly388]

Yandere LIs are very common but what about a yandere MC? I've never come across one. What you all think about an otome with a manipulative and unhinged MC? Also let me know your experience if you came across one.
My opinion: I don't know if I can enjoy or even play something like that but I would think that if such a game is ever made then my opinon on the developers would be that they are very bold and think out of the box.

 

[blueclovers]

Kazuha from Period Cube certainly has her moments in some bad endings and I enjoyed them quite a lot, lmao. I've been playing otome games most of my life and honestly a yandere heroine would be an interesting shake-up.

 

[tf_charge]

Given most otome game MCs are meant to be self-insert I see this being weird for a lot of people. I mean yeah the MC might become yandere in bad endings but a person who is mentally unhinged right off the bat is something else. It's not that common for MCs in galges either is it?

Still, I think if done well it would make the MC a highlight of the game. Would like to see more games doing something like this.

 

[ninnikuryona]

It's not that common for MCs in galges either is it?

i would argue that otome and galge are very different in that regard. in most galge mc is indeed a blank state made for self-insert, but in otome its wayyy more common to see mcs with their own character designs and personalities. lots of them are voiced too, which is completely alien for galge. also, a lot of otome mcs have their own dedicated fanbases like lis do!

 

[lambdadelta]

personally i'd like to see that, it could be interesting... but like tf_charge said, that always depends on how well they'd pull it off. although maybe i'd support her even if it was done badly LOL

 

[plumtree]

Would 100% play lol, I think MC should have her turn to be unhinged I also think a codependent and unhealthy yandere x yandere dynamic is super fun

 

[ishibashi]

I'd find it interesting, but I think this is hard to expect from commercial otoge. More possible in doujin/indie outings, imo. Most of the audience for any kind of fiction wants to follow a sympathetic protagonist who's a nice person, and that's pretty hard to do for a yandere who starts that way.

Simply unhinged or manipulative MC, though, that's more possible to do!

For example (spoilers for a certain dark otome indie game from 2024 that has a release on Steam and will be releasing on the Switch soon) :

Spoiler

The MC in Homicipher is actually an unhinged serial killer who's just amnesiac in the beginning, and slowly returns to her true personality by the end of the game. Around the ending arc she's super nonchalant about killing people and violence, it's great. The real horror figure in that game is the MC lol.

While it hasn't released yet, I'm pretty sure that Imperial Grace will let you be manipulative, but idk how much or whether it'll extend into the romances.

 

[Shanice]

I would definitely play a visual novel like that, but as mentioned above, it's unlikely a commercial game would feature a true yandere heroine. Now, just imagine if not only the protagonist but also all the love interests were yandere, what a nuclear mix that would be!

 

[AkinaSR27]

it would be super interesting to play a game like this! I haven't found a visual novel with a yandere mc right off the bat too

 

[bravelyflee]

On vndb you can search for the tags "Yandere Protagonist" + "Otome Game" and there are 17 results here.
I can't vouch for how good they are but apparently they do exist.

 

[ninnikuryona]

there are 17 results here.

you can also press spoiler and there are 29 results! but vndb is not very reliable because they use the otome tag for games that are not otome (because mods refuse to accept the "amare" tag), and also because some games dont have the required tags. so personal recommendations are way better in this case!

 

[orphan_account]

There's only one MC that sort of meets the criteria of a yandere, and you can kind of transition into being a toxic yandere for Ren in "14 Days with You" by enabling the heck out of his yandere behaviour and even pushing him to greatly harm/unalive other characters by making him jealous while genuinely liking him.

 

[nyao]

It's unfortunate that quite a few games—mostly indie—with MCs labelled as yandere use it as more of a punchline. I've played one where the MC was even sent to jail as an ending…

I need equality with MCs that get away with crazy behaviour on par with typical yandere LIs T_T

 

[orphan_account]

It's unfortunate that quite a few games—mostly indie—with MCs labelled as yandere use it as more of a punchline. I've played one where the MC was even sent to jail as an ending…

I need equality with MCs that get away with crazy behaviour on par with typical yandere LIs T_T

They really do. I think that's the worst part about most otomes, is that they only have two endings "good" and "bad", and the good ending tends to punish any yandere route (regardless if it's the MC or not) by sanitizing them, or "freeing" the the non-yandere.

 

[ninnikuryona]

the good ending tends to punish any yandere route (regardless if it's the MC or not) by sanitizing them, or "freeing" the the non-yandere.

this is why sweetest valentine is so good. not only the yandere is completely fine in the best ending, but the mc also turns out to be just as insane as him!

 

[nyao]

this is why sweetest valentine is so good. not only the yandere is completely fine in the best ending, but the mc also turns out to be just as insane as him!

I actually played this one, and it disappointed me because

Spoiler

of the surprise BL aspects. The author themselves even confirmed that the game isn't otome at it's core… They only removed the otome tag on itch.io after someone pointed this out, but I did play it before that was amended.

 

[ninnikuryona]

Spoiler

of the surprise BL aspects. The author themselves even confirmed that the game isn't otome at it's core… They only removed the otome tag on itch.io after someone pointed this out, but I did play it before that was amended.

oh yeah super true, that was a little baffling for an otome game. but if i remember correctly the bl guy got killed off so that negates the bad feeling a bit for me lol. and the author now only makes bl and amare anyway so i guess she found her niche?

actually this point about mistagging things on itchio (and not just there) is so irritating. like i pointed out to some game devs on my twitter feed that their sexless mc game is not otome but amare, but they just hid my reply and kept incorrectly promoting their vn further HAHAHA. oh well!

 

[nyao]

oh yeah super true, that was a little baffling for an otome game. but if i remember correctly the bl guy got killed off so that negates the bad feeling a bit for me lol. and the author now only makes bl and amare anyway so i guess she found her niche?

actually this point about mistagging things on itchio (and not just there) is so irritating. like i pointed out to some game devs on my twitter feed that their sexless mc game is not otome but amare, but they just hid my reply and kept incorrectly promoting their vn further HAHAHA. oh well!

The funny thing is that I do enjoy amare and BL but stuff being tagged incorrectly and made a surprise is so infuriating OTL

I have a lot of reservations about this especially with current news like Otomate planning to use omegaverse and the quotes of those announcements being filled with non-otome people.

 

[ninnikuryona]

I have a lot of reservations about this especially with current news like Otomate planning to use omegaverse and the quotes of those announcements being filled with non-otome people.

i feel like non-otome audience (especially fujoshi) have been VERY rampant these days, arguing about the validity of bl ships in otome and male/sexless mcs and whatnot. and dont get me wrong, i myself am a fujoshi (one of the most important games in my life is literally bl, and one of my most favourite manga in the world is also bl), but fandom etiquette seems to be lacking these days:c

honestly i was super interested in the new otomate title, because straight omegaverse sounds very funny and im genuinely curious about how they could execute it.. but then there were signs of the mc being an omega and like.. whats the point then? its not even a deconstruction of the genre! w but i guess we just have to wait and see....?

 

[orphan_account]

honestly i was super interested in the new otomate title, because straight omegaverse sounds very funny and im genuinely curious about how they could execute it.. but then there were signs of the mc being an omega and like.. whats the point then? its not even a deconstruction of the genre! w but i guess we just have to wait and see....?

is that the one where you can choose being a male or female MC, and the RO's are the yandere valet or the playboy betrothed?? Because that looked super interesting to me

 

[plumtree]

is that the one where you can choose being a male or female MC, and the RO's are the yandere valet or the playboy betrothed?? Because that looked super interesting to me

I think @ninnikuryona is talking about Otomate Verse, the upcoming Nintendo Switch title. You're probably thinking about The Winter Wedding. Great taste though, I played the demo for The Winter Wedding and super excited for the next update.

 

[Pastels]

It's unfortunate that quite a few games—mostly indie—with MCs labelled as yandere use it as more of a punchline. I've played one where the MC was even sent to jail as an ending…

I need equality with MCs that get away with crazy behaviour on par with typical yandere LIs T_T

YES! I love it when the MC is just as crazy as the LIs. If the MC is the only normal one in the relationship and has to put up with the LIs crazy behavior then the relationship is too imbalance. Plus, instead of enjoying the story I just start feeling bad for the MC .

 

[plumtree]

YES! I love it when the MC is just as crazy as the LIs. If the MC is the only normal one in the relationship and has to put up with the LIs crazy behavior then the relationship is too imbalance. Plus, instead of enjoying the story I just start feeling bad for the MC .

We demand freak4freak action!! The only true love is yandere x yandere love /j Seriously want to read it tho

 

[Pastels]

We demand freak4freak action!! The only true love is yandere x yandere love /j Seriously want to read it tho

Yesssss! I want MCs and LIs that match each others freaksssss. A negative x negative equals positive!

 

[甘味鎮痛剤]

I think there's a hint of madness hidden in my heart, so a protagonist like that would definitely feel fun to me, and I'd be more than willing to give it a try!