Toraware no Paruma (囚われのパルマ, or “imprisoned palm”) is the first mobile otome game from Capcom, and an ambitious one at that. The game centers around your interactions with and observation of the male character Haruto, who is imprisoned after a “certain incident” that he has no memories of. In fact, he has no memories of anything, and you’ve been transported to the island where he’s being held captive to act as his counsellor and try to find some answers.
If you’re a long-time Chic Pixel reader, you know I’m a big fan of subscription boxes. When the folks at the nerdy subscriptions service Loot Crate mentioned that they were looking to see what dream subscription box themes people could come up with, I knew I had to answer the call. Besides, there’s even a chance they’ll be selecting one lucky blogger’s crate theme to make into a future month’s crate! I have no shortage of fun ideas I’d like to see in a subscription box, but I managed to narrow it down to one core theme: otome (乙女).
The term otome is most often used among English speakers in relation to “otome games,” but it literally means “maiden,” so it can refer to anything that might appeal to someone with maiden-like sensibilities! But since this is me, all of my otome items have a decidedly nerdy twist. Basically, this dream loot crate consists of everything I love, be it cute lifestyle items, otome game merchandise, or shojo anime figurines!
Kyoukai no Shirayuki was my most anticipated game of the year, so I’m really excited to finally share it with you! As a dark otome game loosely based on aspects of Snow White with art by Kinako (Gatchaman Crowds), it ticks all the boxes for me. But since I can be incredibly slow to actually finish things, I thought it would be fun to share my first impressions of the game after finishing Saji Kakeya’s route!
Level-5 announced that it is venturing into the realm of otome games with Otome Yūsha, or Otome Hero, slated to release on iOS and Android this winter! The game is being builded as an otome RPG, with players will take on the role of a female hero accompanied by 24 male warriors of various fantasy races known as “slayers.” It is planned to be the beginning of a cross-media franchise, which will include books and an anime! 
According to the official website, players can choose three slayers to go into battle, and while battles will be automated, you will be able to support the slayers with items and skills. By choosing a favorite character, you will also be able to read through their story, which of course involves some romance!
Perhaps the biggest draw of Otome Hero for otome game fans is that the character designs are all done by Kurahana Chinatsu, who is most famous for her work Uta no Prince-sama. You can see her designs in action in the official trailer, featuring animation by A-1 Pictures (which also worked on the Uta no Prince-sama anime):
While the game has only been announced for Japan so far, Level-5 has submitted trademarks for both Otomé HERO and Otmé HERO in Europe, suggesting an English release may be in the future. Here’s hoping!
I don’t normally advocate for people to sign video game-related petitions, because frankly they’re often rather silly requests, but Tei Kamiya’s Change.org petition to have Kenka Bancho Otome localized is not only a worthy cause, it’s also not entirely impossible. Developer Spike Chunsoft has mentioned on multiple occasions that they will consider localizing the game if there’s enough interest, so it’s time to make our voices heard!
I had no idea going into this year’s Anime Expo that Aksys Games would announce not one, but four otome games localizations, but here we are! With Idea Factory International’s silence after releasing Amnesia: Memories, it wasn’t clear if and when we would see more Otomate games in English, but luckily Aksys Games has shown they value this market by showering fans with game announcements. And I couldn’t be happier!
[Update] Period Cube and Collar x Malice are available on Amazon!
Scheduled to release in 2017 for PS Vita in North America are Period Cube, Bad Apple Wars, Collar x Malice. In addition, the Code: Realize fan disc will also be getting an English release. Since Aksys Games already brought over Code: Realize last year, it makes sense that they would release the fan disc (not quite a sequel, but rather extra content for fans of the original game), but all of these other titles came as a complete surprise!
[Update] Apparently Aksys Games also stated during their Anime Expo 2016 panel that they are trying to release Hakuouki: Sweet School Life, the Hakuoki AU spinoff game set in a Japanese high school, as well.
Code: Realize ~Guardian of Rebirth~ is one of my favorite recent otome games, and while the cast is full of great characters, I have a soft spot for the goofy inventor Impey Barbicane. My affection for him is largely due to his voice actor, Showtaro Morikubo, recently becoming a favorite of mine when I fell in love with his portrayal of Makishima in Yowamushi Pedal, but I will admit that personality-wise, I’m slightly more partial to suave yet sassy characters like Lupin (sorry Impey!). Regardless, I was beyond thrilled when I found out that flowermiko had purchased me a copy of Impey’s new character CD to review for the site!