Otome Obsession: Dreamy Days in West Tokyo Overview

Dreamy Days in West Tokyo

*Publisher: Voltage Inc.

*System: iOs Game for iPad

*Free Prologue and First chapter per character

          The game follows a female protagonist, our main character (MC for short or in my case Tamara), as she returns to the shopping district in west Tokyo after a ten year absence. She is now sixteen years old and excited for the move back to her childhood neighbor. To liven up her new home she explores the district’s shops, getting flowers for her room and getting “thank you” cakes from the local bakery. The MC thusly is reunited with her childhood friends, Haruki Tanemura, Ryuzo Hatta, Ichigo Sato, Takeshi Yuno, Rihito Hatsune, and her landlord Johji Chakura. The five boys have drastically changed over the ten years in appearance and some in attitude. As the Five o clock bell tolls for the shops to open each boy asks for the MC to join them.

Haruki Tanemura is the son of the district’s florist, and works at the shop after school and his karate club activities. The MC remembers him as the peacekeeper of the group and not much has changed since. In present day he is a hard worker, handsome and dangerously popular with the girls of the district. So much so that the girls in the MC’s class are not friendly on her first day of school. Yet Haruki seems oblivious to the other girls’ attention and focuses on the MC.

Ryuzo Hatta is the son the districts produce store. He has adopted a “thuggish” look, more akin to the Japanese’s Bosozuku (Japanese motorcycle gangs like AKIRA), which unnerves the MC along with his loud demeanor. Yet when the MC works with him at his store and is later invited to dinner with his family, she sees the kind fatherly side of him from when they were children. A year older than most of his friends (2 years older than Rihito) Ryuzo feels responsible for them and their actions and is usually the moral compass of the group. However he does come off as a little dense

Ichigo Sato is the son of the district’s cake shop owner which is devilishly ironic because he does not like sweet things. The MC remembers him as the pushy, mean little boy who always teased her mercilessly. Nothing has changed in Ichigo’s regard of the MC, he still teases her about her weight and her tomboyish nature. Yet at times when the MC gets caught in the rain, Ichigo has no problem walking her home under an umbrella.

Takeshi Yuno is the grandson of the district’s bath house owner. Happy Waters is a place of pride and unlike his friend Ichigo Takeshi works diligently to keep the bath house in good condition. However Takeshi comes off a bit rude to the MC, as he spends a lot of time reading the latest Shonen Hop (Shonen Jump! Of course), and is quiet and blunt. This isn’t different from what the MC remembers, as he used to be quiet and often in his own little world. She also remembers him to be a fast runner and wonders if he is on the school’s team.

Rihito Hatsune is the son of the Piano Teacher and wildly popular with the women in the district. His angelic face is deceiving as it masks a devilish flirt. Of all the characters Rihito seems to be the one each of his older peers are worried about and rightly so. He kisses the MC on their first reunion and swears to have her previous memories change the more they encounter each other. Why? Because the MC remembers him as a girl. Rihito or Richy as she affectionately called him was like her little sister because of how fair and delicate he was. Now Rihito “You can still call me Richy” has a thing for older girls.

Johji Chakura is the MC’s landlord and owner of the Black Ship Café below her apartment. 10 years older than the MC she is drawn to his maturity and easy going mannerisms. However when Johji makes a tuna sandwich for the MC she feels strangely nostalgic.

The Appeal This was my very first introduction into Otome games and rightly so, high school romance with promises of a shojo manga story, it almost had me at “Hello”. The boys and man (Johji) on surface have sparkling personalities.

The Drawback The main cast is in high school and there will be some limitation to how deep the story can delve into the romance, especially with a rating of 12+.

But I am hopeful, the other bad trait is that I am a hopeless completion-ist, in meaning that whenever I get a task I have to finish it all the way through, so here is a promise to all my readers. I will finish the games ever single one I bought and I hope you stick around for the cheers and tears.

Next Week: Ryuzo Hatta Review (Part 1)