Title: Otome Game Mune Kyuun Guide
ISBN: 4893086448
Publisher: Bookman Sha
Pages: 160 (128 color)
Size: A5 (approx: 5.8" x 8.3")
MSRP: 1714 yen
I got a new book about otome games yesterday. It's called the Otome Game Mune Kyuun Guide and it was published on 10.30.2006. It's been a little while, but I only found out about it 3 or 4 months ago. The information is a bit dated.
I didn't really read the description much before I bought it so I was pleasantly surprised. It came with a CD-ROM full of otome game wallpapers! I hadn't seen some of these before, so it was pretty neat! There were a lot for the Tokimeki series...some games only had one or two.
The interview with Amazon was interesting. According to this book the first otome game, Angelique, came out in 1994, but otome games didn't really start selling really well until sometime between the latter half of 2004 ~ 2006. I don't think I've read/seen/heard of an interview with Amazon before. Erm, but most of the people reading this don't read Japanese so...
Well, the book is a convenient size to read in say, an airport or something. Most of the pages are in color and they cover some games that don't get much coverage anywhere else. I was really surprised to see Rengoku no Idea because though Yuhki Azusa is famous and all, but that project has been on the back burner for a couple of years now (Maybe they had just announced it back then?). The pages are laid out neatly and are pretty much eye-candy. Another neat thing about this is since it was published a few years ago, it covers games that aren't covered at all in current otome gaming magazines *heart* Some of the old games are really good so it's nice to be able to find out more about them before you buy!
Oh, there aren't too many spoiler CGs, so you don't have to worry about that (Oh, but the CG they picked for LE's Akira gets two thumbs up for me! Nice! I like!). They also include related merchandise...which is cool for people like me. It's hard to get information on merchandising on this side of the pond. You have to know something exists before you can start looking for it *heart*
If you don't have a catalog of all otome games like the B's Log ones, then this is a good buy. The catalog is complete as of 2006, so it's only 2 years behind and the book is small enough to keep near your desk as reference material. Unlike the B's Log and other game catalogs, this one isn't in order of release date (which is a little disappointing). It's nice though because there don't seem to be many books about otome games. There are more for BL games. In short, I wouldn't say this is a must buy, but it's a handy resource all the same.
Here is a translation of the table of contents (it's wierd because it's on page 12):
New Title Pick Up!
002 Mizu no Senritsu 2 ~Hi no Kioku~
004 Mermaid Prism
006 Angel Profile
007 Heart no Kuni no Alice
008 Under the Moon
010 Rengoku no Idea
011 Butlers ~Meshimase Ojyousama~
Totally Recommended! 25 Heart Wrenching Otome Games
Rankings Unveiled!!
016 Messe Sanoh
018 Amazon.co.jp
020 Cool-B SweetPrincess
021 User Vote
022 Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side 2nd Kiss
028 Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side
032 Producer Akari Uchida x Director Rieko Komatsubara Interview
038 Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 3 Series
042 Harukanaru Toki no Naka de ~Hachiyoushou~
045 Harukanaru Toki no Naka de ~Mai Hitoyo~
046 Ruby Party Interview
050 Angelique Series
054 Neo Angelique
056 Full House Kiss Series
060 Bakumatsu Renaka Shinsengumi
064 Kiniro no Corda
068 Otometeki Koi Kakumei LoveRevo!!
072 Last Escort Series
076 Mizu no Senritsu
078 Arabians Lost ~ The Engagement on the Desert~
080 Hiiro no Kakera
082 Meine Liebe Series
084 Ururun Quest Koi Yuugi
085 Kaitou Apricot
086 Oukyuu Yasoukyoku
088 Tsuki no Hikari Taiyou no Kage
090 Love Drops ~Miracle Doukyo Monogatari~
091 Hoshi no Oujyo
092 Dessert Love ~Kare to no Hajimari~
093 Yume o Mou Ichido
094 Hanayoi Romanesque
096 Kenichi Suzumura x Kenji Yusa Interview
102 Hikaru Midorikawa Interview
106 Exclusive Illustration and Messages from Popular Creators
Arabians Lost: Rouhaku*/Oukyuu Yasoukyoku: Haruo Tonozaki*/Otometeki Koi Kakumei RoveRevo!1: Yura/Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side Series: Rieko Komatsubara/Hiiro no Kakerua: Yone Kazuki/Full House Kiss Series: Shiori Yuwa/Mizu no Senritsu 2: Nami Hidaka/Last Escort Series: Kazuno Yuikawa*
110 Characters by Type: 38 Wonderful Guys
Big Brother, Little Brother/Prince/Playboy/Younger/Adult/Tsundere/Kichiku/I Want Game Chara Like This!!
122 Otome Games Then and Now
Standards, Popularity, Novel Playback/Huge Analysis of the NeoRomance Event!!/Otome Cell Game Revolution/TV Anime Otome Chanel
129 This Part Got Me Moe, Otome Gamer Symposium
132 I Love Wonderful Voices After All! Voice Actor Fan Symposium
126 Otome Game Catalog All 83 Games
158 If It's Hard for You to Buy Otome Games...Game Shop Guide
159 How to Use the Included CD
* I'm not sure if this is the reading of their name that they use as there are multiple correct readings for these kanji.
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Nyuu, nyuu...*sigh* I didn't have time to play TMGS 2nd Season last night either ToT. Now I kind of want to go after Amachi because I want to work at the cake store *hungry* but...I should really go after Hari or Maka-chan after Kuu-chan, huh? I wish I had more time to play games :P