Hey Blerdy Tribe! It’s the end of yet another month, so it’s time for the Blerdy Otome Monthly Recap! Is it just me or did August just kind of breeze by?! This month is kind of a blur… We’re getting closer to our annual meeting at my job, so work has been kind of hectic, but, streaming has become a great way to destress after hours. Though Twitch’s lax attitude towards bot raids and hate raids has me pissed off #TwitchDBetter. But, I’ve been lucky to have met so many amazing streamers who are super chill and super supportive, like Lauren aka BlackBelleFlower. And this weekend we’ll be doing a special collab stream over on Twitch; we’ll be playing Monster Prom!
Here on the blog home front I did something I said I’d never do and created a walkthrough for a game! It was a lot of extra work, but there’s something kinda fun about doing them. I did a much deeper dive into the game than I normally would have and I think I might make this a regular thing… maybe…
This month was also a great month for otome fans, with Aksys hitting us with not one, but four new otome game localization announcements during their All Aksys Event! We are getting fed in 2021 and I am here for it! There’s a lot more on the horizon in September, but before we dive into the new month, let’s take a look back at the month of August here at Blerdy Otome!
Favorite August Post
Whether you think they’re cliché or overused, tropes make the world go round! Otome games are ripe with tropes, from accidental cohabitation to ridiculous meet cutes to the standard character archetypes, we all have tropes that we love (and hate) from the genre. So, today I wanted to share some of my favorite otome tropes that really set my heart aflutter~
Blerdy’s Favorite Otome Tropes
Blog Posts from August
Thrifty Gaming
- Thrifty Gaming: Games That Won’t Blow Your Budget #92
- Thrifty Gaming: Games That Won’t Blow Your Budget #93
Game Reviews
- Indie Spotlight: Salty Hounds
- Fashioning Little Miss Lonesome (18+) Otome Review
- Melanin Friendly Games – Imperial Grace
- Melanin Friendly Games – Boyfriend Dungeon
Lists/Recommendations
Features
- Is This Otome? – Inclusivity in the Otome Games Fandom
- Aksys Games Reveals Four New Otome Games Coming to the West
Walkthroughs
- Olympia Soiree – Riku Walkthrough
- Olympia Soiree – Tokisada Walkthrough
- Olympia Soiree – Yosuga Walkthrough
- Olympia Soiree – Kuroba Walkthrough
- Olympia Soiree – Himuka Walkthrough
- Olympia Soiree – Akaza Walkthrough
Instagram Fave Post
Of all my social media accounts, Instagram is where I’m most active. So, here is my favorite Instagram post from August!
Reviews To Expect in September
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…
- Olympia Soiree – I finished the game and now I have to collect my thoughts–and trust me when I say, Olympia Soiree deals with a LOT.
- Taisho x Alice Epilogue – I’m going to finally carve out some time and give this bad boy a play!
- Piofiore Fated Memories – I need to know if Yang makes it through his epic battle with that pack of wolves.
- Hadaka Shitsuji – I swear, I’m gonna finish this game if it’s the last thing I do… I just… I’ve come this far, might as well finish what I started.
From Around the Reader
EPHEMERAL: LOGO DESIGN ANALYSIS – The Picky Champy (Milda-Chan)
Anyone can write a review about a game, but over at The Picky Champy, Milda looks at the logo designs of our fave otome games. It’s really fascinating looking at their breakdowns of the different elements that go into game logos, some of which offer insight into some of the themes that appear in the games themselves.
Bad Boys, Happy Home Vol 1 Review – Al’s Manga Blog (alsmangablog)
Bad Boys, Happy Home is one of my new favorite BL manga series and I love seeing folks talk about it! It’s such a different kind of BL series, that feels more like a shounen series than some of the softer BL manga in the market, and Al touches on all the reasons you should be reading this manga in their phenomenal review!
Growing Interest with Historical-Fiction Games And What I learned from them – The Kitten Who Eats Ramen (Ryder Krystal Rose)
Ryder is taking us to school! In this fun post, they look at a couple of Historical-Fiction themed games and shares some of the things they learned from them about our real world histories. From the Roaring 20’s to Japan’s Bakumatsu period, Ryder takes us on a journey through time in this fun post!
TOP 3 OMEGAVERSE BL THAT MADE ME HAVE A CHANGE OF HEART – All the Fujoshi Unite (Nora)
It is no secret that I love Omegaverse media (I stay trolling AO3 for omegaverse fics), but I know that it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. It’s very much an acquired taste, so I’m always curious to see what other people think of it and in this latest post, Nora shares some of the omegaverse manga series they fell in love with, despite their reservations about the genre. Definitely check this post out and maybe you’ll have a change of heart too!
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!
Wow, August was certainly a month!! I agree on it breezing by super fast. Between the localization annoncements and Amare emerging as a new term it’s certainly been busy for fictional romance aficionados as well (loved your post -and quickness- on the topic, btw. My first exposure to the word was reading this blog <3 and your own reflexion around what 'otome' covered served as a nice bit of context).
Glad to see you finding your zen in streaming! I keep wanting to catch you live but timezones are dumb and I haven't managed till now. What vids I saw after the fact were fun, though 🙂 hope you both enjoy yourselves playing Monster Prom. Each time I've played with friends has been great.
It'll be some time before I can read your thoughts on Olympia Soirée, as my copy has yet to be shipped / I have a backlog the size of a small moon… But apparently there's been discourse? I'm a bit out of the loop, and I dunno whether it's justified – and I'd rather not get spoiled, play the game myself and have a long think before digging too deep or passing judgement one way or the other. So the only thing I'll say is I hope you had a pleasant time playing regardless.
And hahaha, Hadaka Shitsuji. Please take care of yourself. ^^;
On a more hopeful note, may I ask what game(s) (that you haven't played so far) you're looking forward to the most out of the future localizations? I'm definitely curious about that :).
I just saw this post. Thank you for the mention!!!!!! <333
Thanks a lot for the mention! I have to hand it to BL that it has the power & diversity to help you enjoy things you’d hesitate to dip your toes into otherwise! xD