Genso Manège is a fantasy otome developed by Mages Inc and published in English by PQube for the Nintendo Switch. Follow Emma as she fights to reawaken her magical powers in order to aid a unique cast of characters, all of whom are trapped inside a travelling amusement park. Having lost memories from youth, Emma must rediscover her past through love and friendship in this stunning dream-like fantasy otome.
Game Details
- Genre: Fantasy | Slice-of-Life | Romance
- Get the Game: Nintendo Switch | Steam
- Rating: T (Teen)
- Developer & Publisher: Mages & PQube
- Similar Games: Radiant Tale | Cafe Enchante | Cinderella Phenomenon
About Genso Manège
I will awaken the magic within you, and you will free us from the Rêve…
Set in a wondrously evocative re-imagining of France, a beautifully crafted otome visual novel following Emma, orphaned at a young age, as she fights to uncover her forgotten memories. A witch who lost her powers when young and now living a quiet life, Emma is led by the memento her father left her and finds herself swept away with the arrival of a travelling amusement park in town.
Filled with magic and dreams but holding a dark secret, Emma feels an immediate connection to the wondrous La Foire du Rêve. She discovers that hidden underneath the lustrous fairy-like charm of the park, its employees are trapped, bound to the amusement park and only the magic within Emma can free them. But it has been years since Emma has been able to access her magic, and she must dig deep within herself, navigating painful repressed memories, in order to recover it.
Working at the Rêve as she unravels the tangled threads of her forgotten past, Emma forges bonds with the employees of the amusement park. A cast of wonderful characters; the dazzling director Hugo, the stoic accountant Serge, the Tsundere Performer Crier, the kind-hearted rabbit Lyon, the Reclusive Mechanic Luciole, and Emma’s special childhood friend, Arnaud. Each character with their own crosses to bear, stories of tragedy and longing woven together with desperation, Emma builds deepening bonds of friendship, and maybe more, as she works to unlock her magic and their freedom.
With its gorgeously subdued artwork, radiating warmth and romance, Genso Manège is a dream-like otome fantasy with an outstanding visual power that conjures an unforgettably bittersweet tale.
Characters of Genso Manège
Genso Manège has six love interests. Each route has two endings: the Amour endings are the best outcomes and the Rêve endings, which are the bad outcomes. At the start of the game Hugo, Serge, Crier, Luciole, and Lyon’s routes are playable. To unlock Arnaud’s route you have to finish Hugo’s Amour end—so the earliest you could play Arnaud is second.
- Mage Inc.’s official play order: Hugo > Serge > Crier > Luciole > Lyon > Arnaud
- My personal play order: Luciole > Crier > Lyon > Serge > Hugo > Arnaud
Hugo’s route reveals a lot of the plot revolving around the Rêve and why everyone is trapped there, while Arnaud’s route is the “Truth” ending. While Mages recommends playing Hugo first, you can play the other routes without any of the context from his route with no issues. So, I kind of recommend saving Hugo and Arnaud for after your finish the other routes. That said, once you complete the Amour ends for all of the love interests the Dénouement end unlocks. This serves as the “finale” of the game—it’s cute, but not really mind-blowing.
Luciole (VA. Yusuke Shirai)
The amusement park’s mechanic. Luciole is a man of few words, and even fewer appearances. It’s rare that anyone finds him outside of his tent, and when they do it’s usually not of his own volition. Something in the past has crushed his motivation. Now, all he wants is to escape reality at all costs. Emma and her magic however, threatens his way of life.
Luciole is antisocial AF, so you really have to put in the legwork to romance him (even the voice actor commented on the lack of screen time). Unlike the other Rêve captives, Luciole doesn’t want to be freed, he’s perfectly fine with the way things are, which stems from his not so great experiences in his past. He is especially distrustful of magic and by extension Emma, so he spends most of the route avoiding her like the plague. Like everyone at Rêve, Luciole is dealing with his fair share of past demons, so he’s a bit of a tough nut to crack, but when he does, he is a super sweet and awkward. Luciole is kind of my favorite love interest and I really liked the romantic progression between him and Emma. They take things pretty slow, gradually fostering a sweet comfortable rhythm with one another. Luciole 100% falls first, and it’s really cute seeing the usually stoic Luciole getting all blushy and flustered over Emma.
I love Luciole, but the man was barely in his own route. He has some serious trauma from his past that really affects him even into the present—which makes it difficult for him to open up to others. While I love the slow burn romance between the two of them, I will admit that the plot of the route itself kind of overshadows the romance a bit.
Crier (VA. Hiro Shimono)
La Foire du Rêve’s main performer. Crier can’t help but complain, but deep down he’s actually very caring and attentive to his newest coworker, Emma. His height is a bit of a sore subject, and he tends to take this frustration out on Serge. When he’s not performing, he’s busy running errands as the only free man in the park.
Okay, Crier is such a feisty one! He is a child! 😂 I cannot tell you how much fun I had playing this route, this is tsundere done right! There is just the right amount of spice and sweetness in this route. He is definitely the bratty kid brother of the group—Crier is quick to snipe at folks and complains about even the slightest inconveniences, but he’s 17 so that’s kind of to be expected. I know I was a bit of a brat at that age, so I don’t begrudge him being kind of rough around the edges. He really doesn’t mean any harm, he just doesn’t know how to talk with girls—so he comes off a bit harsh when talking with Emma, which leads to some really fun bickering. Deep down he’s really caring and he goes out of his way to clear up any misunderstandings that arise from his actions.
Crier’s route has more of a rom-com vibe to it than some of the other routes. Because he and Emma are so close in age it has them on a more equal playing field in terms of maturity and experiences. They have a fun casual vibe to their relationship that makes it easier to see them as a couple. Crier’s conflict is less intense compared to the other routes.
Lyon (VA. Yuto Suzuki)
La Foire du Rêve’s costume-clad mascot. A calm, quiet, and thoroughly pure hearted performer. Lyon is beloved by the children who visit the Rêve, and, much to his dismay, dispised by the local cats. He never takes off his costume—not even to eat—and almost no one knows what he really looks like.
I’m not gonna lie, I was a little curious how dating a giant furry was going to play out in an otome game. Lyon is a giant yellow bunny who loves picture books and has all personality of a 12 year old—and while that’s cute and all, it doesn’t really scream “romance”. That said, of all the love interests, I think Lyon might be the best match for Emma. They’re both soft, pure hearted beans who love picture books and just see the best in everyone and everything. Of course, as it often is with the most pure otome love interests, Lyon’s route is the most heartbreaking. They really hit you hard with this route… prepare yourself.
I’m not crying, this is just the rain! 😭 This route hits harder than the others and I wasn’t ready for the feels. Lyon’s route is really heartbreaking. Baby boy deserves all the sunshine and rainbows, and the writers chose violence instead.
Serge (VA. Yuuichirou Umehara)
La Foire du Rêve’s head of finances. Ever since Hugo came to his aid in his previous occupation, he’s been at the director’s beck and call. His cold and dry demeanor intimidates many, but he’s as harsh on himself as he is on others.
I am a megane connoisseur, so you know I was laser focused on Serge from the moment I laid eyes on him—dark hair, stoic, no nonsense personality, and beautiful dark frames—the man is my ideal megane. But, there’s just one hitch, his unwavering devotion towards Hugo. I know this is an otome, but my inner fujoshi couldn’t help but ship Hugo and Serge. Come on, right hand man, Serge is willing to do anything and everything for his handsome and flirty boss… late nights discussing paperwork, alone in the administration tent, sharing drinks… one thing leads to another and they share a night of passion… you see it right?! But, seriously, as much as I love Serge, I felt like the man had more chemistry with Hugo than with Emma. Also the 10 year age gap isn’t doing anyone any favors here.
Serge is very much a man of strong morals and dedicated to his work, so that leaves little room for much else. He is the type to do things himself rather than waste time explaining a task to someone else, and while that makes him an efficient worker, it leaves much to be desired in the romance department. So, Emma has to put in a lot of extra effort to win Serge over. In fact the man is so dense about romance that Emma is the one that has to take charge, which I LOVE! Emma is at her best in this route! She wears this stubborn man DOWN! This is random, but Serge likes spicy food, which given how by the book he is, that just made me laugh.
There was a lot going on in this route and from a worldbuilding stand point it’s interesting. This route had a bit more action than the others, which I honestly didn’t expect given how nerdy Serge comes off. But, I will admit the 10 year age gap and Serge’s obsession with Hugo kind of made the romance feel a bit weird for me.
Hugo (VA. Wataru Hatano)
The director of La Foire du Rêve. A kind and well-mannered gentleman with a slight mischievous streak, Hugo treats everyone around him with the same respectful demeanor, making his true feelings rather hard to read. He can also be terribly stubborn, when circumstances call for it. Hugo perceives Emma’s latent power, and asks her to free him and his fellows from the Rêve.
I’ll be honest, it is very hard to see Hugo as a love interest in the same way as the other guys—one, because of the age gap and two, he gives dad vibes. As the director of the Rêve, he takes on a fatherly role to everyone (except Serge, they’re lovers) at the park. He supports their efforts and is always ready to lend a listening ear when someone has a problem—especially Emma. Early on it’s clear they have a past connection and while Emma can’t remember anything about it, the way Hugo coddles her makes it clear that his feelings run much deeper than those of a boss for their employee. A lot of the mystery in this route revolves around their past and how that connects to the current situation at the the Rêve.
The age gap in Hugo’s route bothers me a bit more than it normally would for reasons that become very clear when the story delves into their past, but if you can overlook it no shade. It’s just very side eye inducing, especially when this grown ass man is rizzing up a 17 year old girl… But, romance aside, the relationship between Hugo and Emma is surprisingly wholesome (I know what I just said, but bear with me). He cares deeply for her and goes out of his way to protect her from undue stress, stepping in when she pushes herself beyond her limits. Now, he can come off a bit cringey with all his “gentlemanly” vibe and eccentricities, but he’s showman, so it feels like it’s a part of the façade.
Hugo’s route is very plot heavy, giving insight into everything going on with the Rêve and Emma’s past. This route has the vibe of Howl’s Moving Castle, in that it’s this epic fairytale-like story with all these interesting emotional twists and turns. The romance is okay, but but the real draw of Hugo’s route is getting answers to the overarching mystery of Genso Manège.
The publishers recommend playing Hugo first, but I kind of recommend saving him for just before Arnaud.
Arnaud (VA. Atsushi Abe)
A journalist. Arnaud lives with his mother, Alice, and his childhood friend, Emma, in the town of Blancbourg. His cheerful, friendly demeanor lets him get along with just about anyone. Arnaud tends to fuss over Emma on account of her amnesia, and the suspicions he holds towards Hugo lead him to use his work as a pretext to visit her at La Foire du Reve.
Arnaud is Emma’s childhood friend and something of an older brother figure in her life. He’s super protective of Emma, practically hissing at any man that gets within spitting distance of her. While he insists that his intentions are purely platonic, it’s obvious to anyone with eyes that Arnaud has been nursing a 7 year long one-sided crush on Emma. Unfortunately, Emma is oblivious, so the poor guy spends much of the route trying to claw his way out of the friendzone. I’m not going to pretend I like Arnaud, because I find characters like him exhausting, but, I will admit that the romance (at least in the beginning of the route) was cute.
He and Emma are childhood friends, practically family, so there’s an ease and comfort to their interactions that doesn’t exist in the other routes. Granted, Emma starts acting weird when she becomes aware of Arnaud’s feelings, but even then she confides in him in a way she doesn’t with anyone else.
This route answers any of the remaining questions left after playing Hugo’s route. Which is fine, but Arnaud’s romance takes a bit of a hit because of all the plot getting in the way. If this was just a childhood friend romance, I might have been fine with everything, but the writers crammed a lot of unnecessary drama in this route that made it kind of tiresome to get through.
Emma (Heroine)
A witch who lost her magic. A kind-hearted young woman who loves reading and daydreaming. Her mother passed away when she was six and her father died in an accident at ten. Emma was also involved in this accident and has lost her memories and her magic from that time.
She spends as much time as possible at home partly because of her amnesia, and her childhood friend is a source of emotional support.
Emma is an absolute delight! She is sweet and selfless to a fault, but she is just as stubborn and steadfast. She cares deeply for those around her to the point of taking on their burdens as her own—which is a common otome heroine trait. But, Emma is also fiercely independent, preferring to figure things out on her own rather than relying on others for support. She has a good heart and always sees the best in others, never giving up on those she cares about. While she can be a bit on the naïve, side, Emma gives just as good as she gets and isn’t afraid to stand up for herself when she needs to!
Genso Manege Review
Fool me once! Café Enchante with it’s chill, slice-of-life café aesthetic tricked me into thinking it was going to be a wholesome romance—spoiler alert, it is anything but (the damn café is barely in the game). So, when I saw Genso Manège‘s soft art style and pastel color palette, I was already anticipating a little trauma to be lurking behind the cutesy façade. And I was not wrong.
A Magical Storybook Adventure
In Genso Manège, follow Emma as she embarks on a magical adventure of self discovery. Emma is secretly a witch! After losing her memories and her magic in an accident that also took the life of her father. She has been living peacefully in the rustic French countryside with her foster family, which consists of her childhood friend Arnaud and his mother. Her only memento from her childhood is a manège music box that she received from her father.
But, her humdrum life becomes a bit more exciting, when the traveling amusement park, La Foire du Rêve arrives in town. Enchanted with the wonderful attractions and performances, Emma is surprised to see that the manège at the park bears a striking resemblance to her music box. After making the acquaintance of the park’s enigmatic director Hugo, he informs her that he and the rest of the Rêve’s staff are bound to the park by powerful magic and only she can free them.
So, Hugo offers to help Emma regain her magical powers by offering her a job at La Foire du Rêve. As she works at the park Emma gets to know its eccentric staff and delves into the secrets of the magic of the Rêve and its connection to her long forgotten memories.
Meet the Eccentric Employees of La Foire du Rêve
Helping her on her journey are: Hugo, the gentlemanly director of La Foire du Rêve, who seems to have a special attachment to Emma; Serge, the stoic accountant; Crier, the tsundere performer; Lyon, the sweet, rabbit mascot of the park; Luciole, the antisocial park mechanic; and Emma’s childhood friend and local reporter Arnaud. Each of the unique cast members have their own secrets and past trauma that bind them just as strongly as the park’s magic.
At the start of each route, Emma is given the task of shadowing one of the LIs in their day to day duties around the park to help acclimate her to working at the Rêve. While her role varies in each route, they all give her the opportunity to not only spend one-on-one time with the chosen LI, but to also familiarize herself with the intricacies of the park. As you spend more time with the love interest, you delve into their individual backstories and help them work through their past trauma.
Darker Character Driven Storylines Hit Hard
Genso Manège is a character driven story, with each route focusing on a conflict unique to that path’s love interest. And trust me when I say, some of these routes get pretty heavy, touching on topics like prejudice, childhood trauma, illness, and even loss. The writers don’t pull their emotional punches and I will admit to crying during a few routes *cough* Lyon *cough* and while I expected a bit of angst, my heart still wasn’t prepared. Which speaks to how well written these characters are, I was invested in their stories enough to get emotional when things started going sideways.
It’s not quite the angst levels of Virche Evermore, but trust me when I say some of these routes will have you reaching for the Kleenex. Especially the bad endings, those were some of the wildest, most heartbreaking endings I have experienced in an otome.
Sugary Sweet Romance to Balance the Bitter Storylines
In contrast to the darker themes of the game, the romance in Genso Manège absolutely delivers on all the sugary sweetness. This game seriously has some of the cutest romantic moments that had me kicking my feet and giggling the whole way through! While not the most mature romance, I did like the more wholesome and intimate love stories. With each interaction, Emma and the LIs develop genuine friendships built on mutual respect and care, that gradually transition into something more as they get to know each other more intimately.
The romance takes time to build and it makes the resulting relationships feel more believable, because they’re built on more than casual attraction. Emma has to work to wear some of these boys down!
Genso Manège Gameplay and Features
Genso Manège has some cute features and extras that add to the overall gameplay experience! The common route consists of 4 chapters (including the Prologue) and helps set the groundwork for the world and the conflict surrounding the Rêve. The individual routes start at Chapter 4 and run for five chapters and culminate in two distinct endings. The Amour ends are the best ends and the Rêve ends are the “bad” ends (there’s one that felt more like a normal end), so your mileage may vary.
While the gameplay is pretty standard for an otome, there is a cute, short mini-game called, the Éveil System, that revolves around Emma’s magical training. The mini-game is split into two phases. The first requires you to tap stars on the screen to build up Emma’s magic levels. After building your magic you have to help Emma control it by tapping or clicking the screen to line up a star shaped meter. The mini-game is simple enough and really isn’t that labor intensive, but it can get repetitive, so you can skip it after the first time without any consequences.
After completing the Amour end for an individual character, you can unlock additional voiced content and After Stories. The voiced content is really fun, but my favorites are the short notes from the voice actors of each character. They share insight into the characters and their feelings about the role that give some really great context to the story! The After Stories are more or less epilogues that take place after the best ends for some extra romantic time between the characters.
The art is really pretty and plays up the magical whimsy of the story. I was surprised to see that this one of the artists that worked on Collar x Malice, because of how cute and bright the art in this game is—it’s a big shift from the darker, grittier style of CxM. One thing I do want to note though is that the kiss CGs do that weird thing where the character’s lips don’t touch all the way… which is fine I guess, but it kind of makes the characters look like they’re breathing on each others’ faces.
Is Genso Manège Worth Playing?
Beneath Genso Manège‘s soft pastels and magical whimsy lies an emotional and bittersweet fairytale-like adventure. Where Café Enchante had me lowkey traumatized by the end of it’s story, Genso Manage does a much better job of tempering it’s heavier narrative with just the right amount of magic and lighthearted sweetness. There is a distinct style to Genso Manège that gives it the feel of a fairytale, with it’s whimsical and dreamy imagery, but with the nuanced storytelling and emotionally resonant characters of a Ghibli film. Every element comes together to build a story that stays with you.
I absolutely recommend Genso Manège, just be mindful going in that this is not all sunshine and rainbows—but that doesn’t make the journey any less worth it!
Thank you to PQube for providing a copy of Genso Manège for this review!
