Hey Blerdy Tribe! It’s the end of yet another month, so it’s time for the Blerdy Otome Monthly Recap! It’s hard to believe that this year is more than halfway over—where is the time going?!
July has been an exciting month, from the IFI otome announcements to the release of both Tears of Themis and BUSTAFELLOWS—otome fans are getting fed in 2021! And there’s even more otome goodness coming our way in the coming months! On a personal level, I went to BlerdCon earlier this month and got to take one of my online friendships to IRL and we had a blast exploring the con (hopefully we can meetup again for more cons).
I did a bit of sprucing up here on the ol’ site. I changed the theme and cleaned up the menus and tags, (because they were a mess), and added banners to my pages. Some of the more noticeable changes are that I streamlined the menu: linking items to pages instead of categories or tags, removing stuff that wasn’t relevant to the current focus of the site, finally fixing the Otome Game Reviews and Indie Game Reviews pages so they just show game reviews. I also created a page for Otome Basics, a one stop shop for otome newbies—my Beginner’s Guide to Otome, a curated list of great posts for newbies, and more, so definitely check that out! I also updated all the Manga Reviews so they all have feature images and it was kinda fun making them.
There’s a lot more on the horizon in August, but before we dive into the new month, let’s take a look back at the month of July here at Blerdy Otome!
Favorite July Post
I know, potentially polarizing opinion incoming–don’t @ me.
But, if you’ve been following me for awhile it shouldn’t be such a big shock that I prefer indie otome games over the more “traditional” Japanese otome games. I mean on a very basal level, indie otome games are much more accessible and available than Japanese otome games. Sure, we’ve been getting tons more otome games than we have in the past, but given the volume of otome games being released in Japan annually, what we get through localization is merely a drop in the bucket.
Confessions of an Otome Gamer: Indie Otome are BETTER than Otome Games
Blog Posts from July
Thrifty Gaming
- Thrifty Gaming: Games That Won’t Blow Your Budget #89
- Thrifty Gaming: Games That Won’t Blow Your Budget #90
- Thrifty Gaming: Games That Won’t Blow Your Budget #91
Game Reviews
- Celestia Indie Otome Review
- Melanin Friendly Games – Alkahest
- Nekopara – Catboys Paradise Review
- Bustafellows Otome Review – Romance with a Bit of Danger
Lists/Recommendations
Features
Instagram Fave Post
Of all my social media accounts, Instagram is where I’m most active. So, here is my favorite Instagram post from July!
Reviews To Expect in August
I usually just go with the flow when it comes to content here on Blerdy Otome, so it’s kind of hard to pin down what to expect each month. I want to get better at sticking to a “schedule” so I thought it would be good practice to include a section with some of the reviews I plan to write during the upcoming month. Not only will this hold me accountable, but it will also give you all an idea of what to expect to see in the month ahead. Full disclosure, this is not a complete list and there’s a good chance things will change—this is more of a rough draft… (this hasn’t changed… BUSTAFELLOWS and BlerdCon kinda threw a wrench in my blogging plans)
- Otome Jam 2021 – There’s a whole new crop of indie otome games on the horizon and I’m gonna do my damndest to work my way through them… some I may stream, but I’m going to my best to get through them all!
- Monstrous Lovers – I’m about halfway through the game (?) so I should be able to bang out a review soon. Note, I backed this game on indiegogo back in 2016 and trust, I have some things to say about the long dev time on this game.
- Taisho x Alice Epilogue – It’s the final chapter in the TaiAli saga (yeah I know about the FD) and I need to know how this wild ride ends…
- Piofiore Fated Memories – I’ve finished Nicola’s route and I’m still fairly early in Yang’s route. Let me tell you, Yang is WILD…
From Around the Reader
Voltage Otome Games I Want on Switch – Red Rose Mandy (RedRoseMandy)
Voltage Inc was my gateway into the world of otome games and even now I still revisit some of my favorite titles on the Love 365 app. But, like many other publishers Voltage is porting some of their most popular titles to the Nintendo Switch! In this post, Mandy shares some of the Voltage Otome Games she’d like to see make the jump from mobile to console.
Using my credit card again to buy Japanese snacks – Blerdy Otaku (Nielly)
Throwing my money at manga and games happens far more often than I care to admit, but Nielly has given me a run for my money with all these delicious Japanese snack crate purchases! In Nielly’s latest video, she gives us a sneak peek at all the tasty Japanese snacks inside this month’s TokyoTreat Box!
Pure-Hearted & Determined | Cancer Love Interests in Otome Games | Character Review – Oona Tempest (Sweet & Spicy Otome Game Reviews)
Character archetypes posts are all over the place, but over at Sweet & Spicy Otome Game Reviews, Oona Tempest is putting their own spin on the topic. Instead of focusing on the usual “dere” character archetypes, Oona looks at otome love interests with the same star signs! Since July is at the heart of Cancer season Oona spotlights five otome LIs sharing the star sign!
[Let’s Play] 7s’Carlet – Sousuke Tatehira – 乙女ゲームの恋人(minbento)
Minbento continues their journey through 7’scarlet with Sousuke Tatehira’s route. It’s cool reading through Minbento’s thoughts and feelings about Sousuke and his route, whether they align with mine or not. This is a fun read!
Thank You for Your Support!!
A lot of what I do here on Blerdy Otome is because of the support of all of you amazing readers–whether it’s your encouraging words on Twitter, liking a post or just sharing my posts with others, you guys are the real MVPS ! It’s no secret that buying games and manga for reviews puts a strain on my wallet and while I love what I do, a little extra help goes a long way!
I just recently got back into otome games and over the past few months your blog has become the highlight of my week to read, always talking about fun/interesting stuff and introducing me to a bunch more fun games. I really love that you link to interesting posts from around the web too in these recaps. Thanks for sharing and making life more fun!