Incest in Otome games- Love, Hate or Neutral?

[O cha]

I'm okay with an older or younger brother. I really loved Chou no Doku Hana no Kusari, too. But a father, uncle, or grandfather? Absolutely not. It's not just a matter of disliking it—it's simply a trope I really can't handle.

And I don't mean this as a judgment toward anyone who enjoys those types of LIs. Everyone has their own preferences; it's just a personal squick of mine… like, nope, absolutely not.

 

[konjikinoyami2]

I only have older sisters in real life, so I've never actually had a brother. I used to romanticize the idea of having an older brother a little, though. I imagined that if I had one, he would protect me, dote on me, and take care of me, that kind of thing.

As for brother/family-related routes in otome games, I'm pretty neutral about them. I don't particularly seek them out, but I don't automatically hate them either. I actually find the family aspect kind of warm and comforting in a way, because at the core of it, they're still family who grew up caring about each other.

For me, it really depends on how the story handles the relationship. If the writing is good and the characters are well-developed, I can still become deeply invested in them, even if the premise itself isn't something I'm particularly drawn to.

So I wouldn't say I'm a fan of incest routes specifically, but I'm also not bothered enough by the trope to reject a character because of it. If the writing is good enough, I can still be sitting there completely emotionally destroyed and crying over them.

Basically, good writing can make me care about a route I would otherwise feel pretty neutral about.

 

[Arisa-chan]

I am okay with it and interested to see how its done. At the end of the day, it is fiction and fiction is a safe way to explore ideas and more taboo topics. Also, I do have siblings and from my experience the sibling incest route in games is very romanticized and not realistic. So it does not really bother me.

I have encountered a lot of otome games with the so-called "elder brother" route. Its a mixed bag. Not a lot delve deeply into the incest relationship and the circumstances/consequences that come with it. I would love to see it explored more.

 

[catgirlcockandballtorture]

It's actually fun to play those routes when it's well written, from this point its nostalgia bias, but most otome nowadays are can't handle the type of otome routes released in the early 2000s where the game devs and writers don't hit the brakes it's fun when the punches aren't pulled but when its being pulled it becomes boring to play with

 

[Lianhun]

This is a... really interesting topic. If it's pseudo-incest—like... ah, maybe you know Love and Deepspace? (even though I don't play it) I heard one of the male leads is an older brother figure you grew up with? I'm totally fine with that kind of thing. I've never engaged with actual incest (blood relatives) content, though. Forgive me for being so blunt—and maybe someone will get offended—but while I know we can't mix reality with fiction, the idea of incest just feels too deviant (?) to me. You know? Errr, maybe some of you enjoy "shipping" characters? Well, in that context, I'm actually a bit confused by people who ship characters involved in actual incest (blood relatives). To be clear: I mean shipping them in an intimate, romantic sense, like a couple. I just don't get it. It feels wrong to me, but since it's their fantasy, I suppose I should just let them enjoy whatever makes them happy, hehe ><

 

[24ku]

I really like the incest route. Because of the nature of the route, love is hard to come by, and the mix of happiness and heartbreak makes it really memorable.

 

[CQUUbCQ]

I don't have any particular fondness for it, but I don't go out of my way to avoid it, nor do I feel any aversion. I'm not the type to project myself onto the protagonist, so I simply enjoy the story unfolding before me.After all, it's fiction.

 

[Venter]

When it's well written - why the hell not? The taboo side of such relationship is what makes it extreme kino in my opinion. But again, if it's written poorly - I'd probably skip it, but not because it's incest, but because it's bad

 

[orionsbestie]

I like them. And GASPS guess what... I have siblings... And guess what... That has nothing to do with me liking a fictional brother. Crazy to know some of us can differentiate fiction from reality lol.

But to be honest, most routes with this theme that I've played really do feel like they're just the childhood friends trope on steroids. Which, on one hand, I think is kinda the narrative point: someone who knows you too well, who has seen every side of you and loves you so much he can't help but also love you romantically. But also... sometimes it feels like the whole taboo and wrongness of it is just superficially sprinkled in?

Like, I've only played Tsubaki in brothers conflict years ago, but I recall being disappointed and a bit weirded out when there was a scene of our step-mom just telling us something like just choose one of my sons! :3 and I was all?? WHERE IS THE DRAMA WHERE IS IT!!!

Also how dance with devils' route with this theme low key just ended like skipping straight to the wedding with no further commentary of THE WOMAN WHO RAISED US AS SIBLINGS AND WHOM WE BOTH CALL MOM <- talking about the human good end because the devil route had other stuff going on that made the incest thing kinda irrelevant at that point. The devil bad end did feel like it kinda tried to do something with this like. He'd rather kill himself than harm us because he loves us as a woman and as a little sister. IT'S BEEN A WHILE OK I don't remember clearly everything.

I'm a gege truther in lads but it's also Been A While since I poked the lore so I won't go into details there.

But I really liked Touri's route in Folie fatale. I loved how the game did portray the trope as the horrifying thing it is in real life and how his good ending was basically him dealing with his addiction, anxiety and agoraphobia on his own without pushing the burden onto us, his little sister, and caring for us like a responsible brother despite his romantic feelings. People have different opinions on this game but ngl y'all I thought this good ending was GOLD and so were the bad endings. Like him recognizing himself as a monster and how he brought us to hell after SAing us while on drugs on that one ending, or how our friend came to the rescue on the other one and fucking killed him to save us. Traumatizing but so real, like I think it's a pretty natural reaction in a dangerous situation like that. And how she acts as the voice of reason all yeah you're having a bad time and have issues BUT THAT'S NO EXCUSE TO HURT HER!

Tldr: While I like the trope, I find that it often feels lackluster. It could very well be a good source of drama and character development for the story but I haven't seen many examples that tick the box in the way I'd like them to.