Seduce Me: The Otome Review

Seduce Me: The Otome

Created by Michaela Laws

Published by Seraphim Entertainment

The first thing you need to know about Seduce Me: The Otome, is that it's not as silly as it wants you to think it is.

Seduce Me: The Otome is a graphic novel about Mika Anderson (AKA any name you give her) a high school girl who was living a normal life until her Grandpa, Harold Anderson the toy maker, suddenly dies and is sent to mourn at a rushed burial her father set up. Mika then is forced by her father, David Anderson, to move into her Grandfather's mansion. Turns out Harold gave Mika the deed to his estate and toy company to her in his will. Will Mika accept the new responsibilities that her family has placed on her or will she choose a different path?

You play through the character Mika Anderson, but you can change the name of this character to whatever name you'd like. Mika doesn't exactly have a defining character as she is whoever you play her as. She can be as strong willed or timid, hot headed or calm as the choices given to you allow. There are many people you interact with in this game so I'll explain the first three group of characters you meet.

• Suzu is one of your two best friends and is one of the first people you meet. She's a rough-housing, tomboy, sporty girl who enjoys the finer things of life like action movies, spicy food and playing video games.
• Naomi is another one of your two best friends and is one of the first people you meet. She's a polite, upbeat, scholarly girl who enjoys the finer things of life like good grades, daydreaming, and learning how to cook.
• The parents are David and Laura Anderson. Laura is a caring and loving mother who isn't always in the loop of how Mika is raised. David loves Mika in that angry, rich dad troupe way who tries to groom her into the next heir of the Anderson Toy Company. The relationship with both of the parents isn't the best and the Grandfather made up for that before he died.
• Finally there are the five incubi found in the mansion; James, Erik, Sam, Matthew, and Damien. James is the oldest, the leader, and also level headed until you make him angry. Erik is the shameless flirt of the bunch but it's actually all an act. Sam is the easily annoyed, hot head who relies heavily on his instincts. Matthew is the childish type who has mature moments and enjoys having fun. Damien is the quiet type and the youngest of his brothers who is the only introvert.

The artwork of Seduce Me: The Otome is bland. Being a graphic novel is no excuse and being generically anime isn't a good enough art style. The artwork could have been stylized like the work of Satoshi Kon or Masamune Shirow or Isao Takahata; to name a few anime artist. The colors are mute and seem to blend in a way a blender, blends newspaper and water together. This graphic novel could have so much more color in it than what it does have and it's so disappointing. Then there's the general movement in this Seduce Me: The Otome, which is nonexistent. You focus on one still frame after another of stock characters. Facial expressions are stiff and suggested body movement is choppy when present. Maybe if the background was a bit more detailed with bright, cool colors to better contrast the solid, warm colors of the characters in the foreground. Then maybe added more complementary shades to the outfits to fill in the solid colors we see. 

I wouldn't call the soundtrack of Seduce Me: The Otome very inspiring. I wouldn't even call the soundtrack fun to listen to. It's only filler music, but I give it some slack as this seems to be Michaela Laws first graphic novel that she has made and that the soundtrack was made with love and forethought.

The voice acting in the Seduce Me: The Otome is very good in the cheese-y, bad kind of way. The people who voiced these characters try so hard to sound emotionally convincing that it's funny and cringey. Especially when they try to yell and it sometimes sounds like a harsh whisper instead. I can tell that the voice actors were either really into their rolls or they were having a fun time with their work.

The game play of Seduce Me: The Otome is simple enough. You just choose what you want to do and the story of your choice unfolds. I gotta hand it to Michaela Laws, she worked hard on providing as much choice as you can get in this game. You can back talk your father, you can learn about magic, you can get it on with not just the five incubi, but with your best friends, a boy who's father is the rival of David, and so on. All compelling story lines that are fun to listen to.

Seduce Me: The Otome can only be found on Steam and it is a free game.

Overall I give this 3/5 stars. It's a corny game but great for killing time if you got nothing else to do.