Reviews

• 

  Deasease

  Nov 21, 2021

  This promise you to be NOT like other typical otome games, but fast in becoming even worse. MC is classicaly helpless and stupid, love intersets are stereotypic, boring. It is definitley nothing new in MC aspect, in plot develpment, in love interest, just like absolute mass of other otome games. It is even worse in how this tropes were brought together. Cliche plot, lookism and sexism basically oozing out from this VN. Overall all game make you wanna puke with disgust.
• 

  Izarallia

  Oct 6, 2016

  I've only done Akira's storyline so far, but it was amazing. By far one of the best virtual novels I've played in a long time. I was a little hesitant to buy it, because the description sounded weird, but I'm so glad I chanced it. The story had a lot of twists and turns. I couldn't predict what was going to happen next and I really had to think out every choice I made. I got the "Best" ending for Akira, so I'll probably go back and play it again to see what the "Good" ending is as well. I'm going to try to play all the storylines. Art: 10/10 Characters: 10/10 Storylines: 11/10
• 

  mochibae

  Oct 10, 2016

  Like the previous reviewer, I was initially turned off by the weird game description. But I wasn't going to kick it until I tried it. Pros Character design Reminiscent of a Korean romantic comedy Cons Inconsistent music loop Blurry backgrounds Lack of depth Cliche plot elements Some of the pros and cons I listed could be taken either way. But here, I'll discuss my personal opinion of the game. (I know it says I've only docked about 11 hours, but I really did get all the acheivements already.) The story starts out with you, the protagonist, newly transformed after undergoing plastic surgery to impress your fiance (slightly weird thing to do, considering he's already agreed to marry you, but it's good. lol). Later on, using your stalking skills and the help of a handsome stranger, you find out that he's actually a con man who tricks women into marriage. After returning home, you get a call from your fiance asking to borrow money, but you had spent it all on the surgery, so he breaks up with you. And thus, your otome dating sim begins. Right off the bat, I assumed this game would be your typical, cringy, dating sim. And I'm actually really into that (I've played so many Dogenzaka lab games lol), so I went into it with a very open mind. I really liked the art style in this game, specifically the CGs and character sprites. One thing that bothered me a bit was the way the protagonist was drawn (no eyes), but that is a minor detail. The backgrounds were disappointing and looked like blurry pictures, which has worked for other games, but these specific photos looked bad (maybe I'm just being picky?). The music also seemed familiar, maybe recycled from another game, though it was pleasant enough. I got the impression that the creators didn't invest as much time into this game compared to some of their other titles. Above, I mentioned that the story reminded me of a Korean romantic comedy (which I'm not that into, so I listed it as a pro for others rather than myself). I found the protagonist a bit silly, with her clumsiness and stalkish behavior, made me chuckle a few times. She wasn't too passive overall, so the choices weren't ridiculously frustrating, which was a plus. A surprisingly common element in this game was that the characters were engaged to someone else from the beginning. Personally, I'm not interested in pursuing this type of character, so I didn't like that aspect either. And though the characters had great designs and personalities, I didn't feel an emotional attachment to any them or their stories. The suitors seemed cliche (e.g. rich doctor, model, CEO who sweeps you off your feet). Halfway into most of the routes, I lost interest. I can honestly say the story got pretty freakin' weird at times, but it still wasn't enough to keep me captivated. What I liked the most about this game was the obvious message and overall theme that beauty isn't only skin deep. Sadly, the protagonist had already gone under the knife before realizing any of that. And in a way, her beauty makes me question the integrity of some of these characters. It's likely that most of them wouldn't have even interacted with her, had she not undergone plastic surgery to be such a stand out beauty. Even though I liked it, this has been my least favorite of the Dogenzaka lab games I've played. Now, if you are a fan of kdramas, romantic comedies, strange storylines, or you just need something to pass the time, then you might enjoy this more than I did. Overall, I give it a 5/10. Not that great of a game, but I've certainly played worse. I'm not really recommending it, but I'm not saying you shouldn't give it a chance.
• 

  Ambnesia

  Oct 17, 2016

  When this title was released on Steam, I'm glad I recalled a friend some time ago praising it as one of their favorites (they played the smart phone version). Otherwise, I may have put off or fully passed on this title since the impression this game gives off is a murky one. I'm gonna tell you Secrets of Me is weird. More of a "weird GOOD" than a weird bad. Otome games can be predictable but this kept me on my toes. Much of the credit goes to the MC, who had a strange mix of traits that somehow end up being kind of interesting & charming. This girl can be shameless but the light-hearted manner of everything will make you like what's happening. I never had so many dialogue options make me truly laugh & excited to see the following result. The guys were far from perfect but certainly loveable, there are many amusing scenarios/crazy antics but just enough restraint that you can enjoy a few serious moments. Don't hesitate to play this game if you're looking for something different & quirky, be a little open minded and let the stalker games begin!
• 

  I wear only towel

  Dec 28, 2016

  Heroine is so weird and she also has weird personality.i think i love here more than any guys out there. anyway it's good just Akira route right now.god dankit Heroine is so funny.stalk for reverge!? XD this is getting more interesting though 9/10 would be stalker again. well *update* on meguru's route now.He is the worst rich man ever.... on doctor's route now omg i feel so bad to steal her fiance ...i really bad guy here.i am sorry.but i need best and good end...
• 

  Lush4Life

  Jan 4, 2017

  This VN actually had me laughing out loud several times. The set up is sort of odd and the heroine definitely insn't the usual type but I really liked her because of it. She's a lot bolder than the normal heroine you get from VN's. I do wish they wouldn't played up the stalking aspect a bit more but it's overall a very fun game. The only other thing is they made these guys' chins so damn pointy, but the overall design isn't too bad.
• 

  Sakoori-kun

  Jan 7, 2017

  This is one of the better VNs by Dogenzaka. After running through 2 terrible ones, this one was a breath of fresh air. Basic plot: The player character is self conscious and decides to get plastic surgery after her boyfriend proposes to her. [spoiler]Soon after, the player learns that her boyfriend was actually a con artist trying to launder money from her. He breaks up with her once he finds out that she spent all of the money he was going to launder on plastic surgery. The player then gets involved with one of the five romanceable guys, who all turn out to have a fiancee/girlfriend. The player starts to stalk them out of interest. The relationships are either one sided or had a fatal flaw within them. Eventually, the guy breaks off the relationship/engagement because he fell in love with the player[/spoiler]. The VN still has the problems that all other Dogenzaka VNs have. The 5 storylines are much better written than some of their other VNs published by Dogenzaka. They're 13 chapters + 2 endings rather than 8 chapters + 2 endings. There was actually character development compared to some of the other ones. I would actually recommend this one, even though there are some obvious flaws in it. The awkward translations are less noticeable in this one. The premise is weird, but it wasn't weird to the point where it's cringey. If you plan on buying this game, get it in the bundle or wait until a sale.
• 

  Prelude in C# Minor

  Sep 22, 2017

  This game is cute, in a strange kind of way. Personally, the thought of stalking for love creeps me out, which makes some of the MC inner dialogue awkward and unapealing. I also think the biggest con in this game is the MC is just a dunce and a bit of an airhead. She sweet and has some really great points about her, but i do find myself being annoyed a lot at having to immerse myself into really crappy personal moments. Overall, she is so weak, practically maddeningly so. That being said, I found that the redeeming feature that makes up for it are the boys personal struggles and trials. For most of the story lines, the men's personal trouble eased the crazy that my character was and made the playthroughs relatively interesting and sometimes meaningful. Other parts: Artwork- average, nothing to really write home about music- average, I suppose, there's this one note that really irks me (but that's the musician in me) so i just turn the sound of and play my own stuff in the background if i really need the white noise Length of game play- pretty good- 8 hours thus far and still haven't finished 2 stories and the extra sequels Overall, i recommend it. Even moreso if you can get it on sale :)
• 

  Toralynd Stellar

  Jan 14, 2018

  [b]Art:[/b] 9/10 [b]Music:[/b] 4/10 [b]Storylines:[/b] 6/10 [b]Characters:[/b] 6/10 [b]Overall:[/b] 6'25/10 An easy cliche otome VN with a slight twist. Buy it on sale to complete your Dogenzaka Lab collection or directly in the bundle itself. The MC is a girl full of insecurities regarding her appearance, so obsessed with it that she goes through plastic surgery right at the start of the VN just to be pretty for her boyfriend. After discovering that he's a scammer, though, the MC sets her sights on another man out of the 5 that she meets right after her surgery, deciding to take the dubious advice from one of them and stalk them in order to gain information and seduce them. Also, all of those men already have a girlfriend or fiance, so it's the MC's job to ensure they break up to fill the gap. That's basically the premise of it, however the "stalking" itself takes a backseat in 3 out of the 5 routes and, though it [i]is[/i] still part of the story it's easy to forget about it. Heck, in one of the routes she's actually hired to do the stalking by the guy himself, I personally don't consider it stalking when the other party knows about it and encourages it. Also, despite the game apparently wanting to play that card as if it makes the game twisted or something... In the end it's actually just a way to make it far more credible how the MC keeps meeting with the romantic interest of each route and being at the right place at the right time, something that always happens in those games except in all those it's blamed on it just being a "coincidence". The other element the game tries to pride itself on doing differently and thus "being a twist" is the fact that the MC is "the other" and causes break ups to happen in order to stay with the guy in question. Unfortunately, this isn't such an original twist as the game thinks, the only "original" thing is that it's a cliche that's shared in [b]all[/b] of the routes. Many other otome VNs usually have at least one guy with a girlfriend or a fiancé, often forced on them due business deals or something like that. And this game actually plays on that card as well, none of the guys really seem happy with their respective current girlfriends/fiancés and it ends being as if the MC is saving them from a life without love by tempting them. The translation job could use serious improvement, but it's not as worse as many others on similar simple otomes. There [b]are[/b] several glaring typos that seem to suggest there wasn't even a simple proof-reading before putting them in the game rather than just hit the spell-checker tool, but their presence varies. They seem to run rampant on two of the routes while the other three show a welcomed lack of them (there still are some of them but they are so rare that it's easy to forgive). The VN is full of cliches and troupes common in the genre, though the use of those elements depends on the route, which is what makes the quality of the storylines fluctuate. In my opinion one of the routes was simply terrible, with barely any direction and sense of flow in the story, events just kept happening and being thrown around and the progression of the relationship felt plastic and mechanic. Two of them, however, were much better, presenting actually interesting characters and conflicts and a depth I didn't expect in this kind of game. The MC herself varies slightly in personality and intelligence between routes, being quite sharp and quick in one and a complete idiot in another. The worst part, by far, is the music. Just mute it and put some playlist or something else if you want to listen to something while going through the game. There are about 3 tracks, maybe more but the game abuses the heck out of 3 in particular and they aren't even very good, just a few notes set in a constant loop. That coupled with the annoying chiming sound whenever advancing the text is basically a guaranteed headache. This kind of soundtrack is acceptable for a mobile game (in fact this game [b]is[/b] a port from a mobile game), but not on PC. The art is good, but only regarding the characters' designs and the CGs. The backgrounds are blurry and highly limited in number, and the game doesn't even try to make it seem as if it's a different place just looking similarly. Your whole life in this VN is going to center on the MC's room, a street and a cafe, with a few more places added depending on the route you choose but that's about it. It's not great, but it's sufficient as the focus of the game is in the storytelling, unfortunately, as I mentioned before, that by itself isn't that great. Not a purchase I regret in the slightest (though two routes, one more than the other, made me experience physical pain to get through) but definitively one I'm not going to return to any time soon.
• 

  January Wren

  Mar 18, 2018

  Secrets of Me explores the crazy side of love. The main character has plastic surgery on the quest to become beautiful and finds herself invited to the world of love. Crazy, insane love – with five beautiful, entrancing men to choose from, who will she go with? No matter who she chooses, she knows…she’ll stalk them until they fall in love! Even though…they all have someone else already. I. “If you’re tired of typical otome games, then this one’s for you!” Dogenzaka Lab (the developer and publisher) is correct. This isn’t a ‘typical’ otome game, not by far. Essentially Dogenzaka took every stereotype of their games, everything that people hate, and people love, chewed them up and spit them out to make Secrets of Me. The ugly and the beautiful make this game. One of the beautiful aspects of the game is the charm. While it isn’t a traditional girl meets prince and falls in love story, it does have a strong element of romance. And otome games that are labelled ‘otome’ should have romance – lots and lots of it. While the relationship pace varies depending on the character route you play, there’s romance in all of them, along with the promise of a happy ever ending, no matter what happens. Beyond the romance, there are many funny moments & ‘secrets’ to discover. For example, a minor spoiler, is one character turns out to be a chubby chaser – a fetish dealt with tastefully and amusingly. The dialogue is translated well enough for jokes to be understood, and every scene has a sense of the ridiculous. This isn’t a game you’ll cry over, rather you’ll be laughing the whole time you play. II. The romances, no matter how deep, make an impression. It doesn’t feel as though your character is /making/ the boys love her – it’s a mutual, strange relationship that forms and works for them. I liked how all the characters have their own personalities and back story, along with varying dialogue. In other games, such as Men of Ohgiya, one gets the sense that Dogenzaka gives characters different names, while keeping the same cookie cutter aspects of them – not with this game. One character can’t be confused for another. I also liked that the romances themselves varied. As previously noted, some routes have faster romances (such as Meguru or Ryu) while others take longer to develop (like Mizuki). Some make light of the main character’s ‘stalking’, others evolve depending on how well and persistent she stalks her target/future lover. Unfortunately they do feature another woman, something I wasn’t crazy about. Cheating is never something I like in games, though in Secrets of Me the main character isn’t necessarily ‘breaking up’ any of the relationships. There are intimate developments featured in each route, some steamier than others. Nearly all of them recycle backgrounds (something all Dogenzaka games do) yet each provide different CG and ‘details’. The endings of each route also vary, based upon whether you get best ending or good ending, though all are happy and romantic. How romantic… that depends on the guy your character ends up with! Sometimes you just want to play a game that is heavy on romance, light on other things – this game gives you plenty of romance, and laughter too. It’d fall into the category of slice of life, though the main character has a crazier love life than I’d like to have! - : ) III. Besides making light of otome stereotypes, this shows the best of Dogenzaka. The art is on point, showing more of the female character than in other games (though not as much as Men of Ohgiya) and keeps the male hand proportions under control, a relevant problem in other otome games, including theirs. The story line, as wacky as it is, is strong, the music doesn’t stutter as much as in others, and it’s a pleasing, relaxing game. Overall, I feel the price is worth it. I didn’t buy this on sale and I don’t regret it. I’ve had plenty of play time, around two hours for each of the (5) routes that each have 13 chapters, and have had immense fun with all! There’s replay ability to with the dates and sequels, though they’re shorter than the main ones. Secrets of Me shows that love isn’t always like Romeo & Juliet. Sometimes it’s between friends who become lovers, former enemies, the guy next door, or in the game’s case, shows love can spring between a stalker and a guy who just might be their prince. ❤ PS: this game also includes trading cards and has pretty (!!!) badges. Each badge features a different male from the game, along with each having their own background and emoticon. You can display your favorite character as much as you’d like. Also posted on: http://www.pingaling.co/my-reviews.html
• 

  GodTierGarbageLord

  Jul 5, 2018

  I really wanted to like this game. The prologue was funny and zany, but after that? It went downhill fast. The character I chose to romance, Akira, was pushy, cruel, and cheating on his ACTUAL GIRLFRIEND. From what I understand, all of the options are currently dating someone else while the MC tries to seduce them away. [spoiler]Akira's girlfriend, Yuka, is a cute plus-size girl in lolita fashion. In her case, she is extremely selfish, and when Akira has to go to the hospital because of a 102 degree fever, Yuka bursts in and yells at him for missing their date the night before. So the only chubby girl we see in-game is a screechy shrew who Akira only likes because he's a chubby chaser. Akira is trying to date MC at the same time as a "beard", or cover, so no one finds out his actual girlfriend is fat. Akira is also very aggressive and repeatedly ignores MC's attempts to say no to him, and at one point I was actually concerned he was going to [i]rape[/i] MC in an elevator. He had his hand up her skirt and was continually ignoring her refusal. [/spoiler] After [i]six chapters[/i] of this, I was done. Despite my best attempts, I could not like Akira at all. The goofiness of the concept was quickly overshadowed by the complete lack of consideration for MC from all of the potential romance options. I couldn't finish even my first playthrough.
• 

  wrb41977

  Jul 6, 2018

  This is one of the weirder Dognezaka Otomes. The premise is odd. The protagonist is interested in this guy, so she gets plastic surgery to be more his type... and then finds out he is a cad who cheats women out of their money. Too bad she just spent all of hers! Being slightly depressed, she bumps into five handsome men, and she decides to use her newfound looks, and a few skills taught to her by a detective (who is one of the options) to steal them from their girlfriends. That is a bit cringeworthy, but I think it is also the plot of several movies, both Asian and American... The characters get a lot of growth, even if the guys do eventually dump their girlfriends (or wife in one case). In most of those cases the girlfriends have some issue or another that makes the breakup the right move. I'm not so sure about the wife one... I would probably suggest getting this title on sale, but otherwise it is a decent read.
• 

  Bakeneko

  Sep 15, 2018

  [h1]TL;DR:[/h1] If you have your expectations set pretty low and are cool with dumpster-fire characters (seriously - all of the characters are either creepy, scummy, and/or total weirdos), it's actually... kinda worth the time? I'd recommend getting it on sale, though - it's still not likely to be a game you come back to. --- [h1]Overall Impression:[/h1] I had my expectations pretty rock bottom after several games from this company being incredibly bad and/or forgettable - but since I already purchased the game, I figured it was worth a go when I wasn't in the mood for something very plot-heavy. Plus like... the plot premise set off all sorts of warning bells. This one surprised me by making me laugh several times and actually... cry??? I'm reluctantly going to go ahead and give this a recommend, but I certainly don't recommend it to everyone. [h1]Content:[/h1] First off - if you're sensitive to the topic of stalking, I'm not sure why you're considering this one. It's certainly handled in a light-hearted manner, even when it should have been taken more seriously in certain routes. There were some really weird, dissonant moments because of this that were incredibly creepy or upsetting in ways I don't think it intended to be. As with most of this company's games, consent is handled pretty poorly. On the plus side, the heroine does seem to be going through the Japanese-maiden "protest because it's happening too fast or to not seem over-eager for it" way, rather than it being actual assault. If you are sensitive to body issues, particularly considering weight, you'd want to go into playing this game aware that it comes up briefly in several routes and one of the routes is pretty much all about weight. On the other hand, it is clearly trying to be more body positive, it's just not in the way the average westerner might think of as such. Sex and foreplay scenes exist, but they seem to be afterthought additions and aren't the highlight of any routes. Most of them are very forgettable and handled in a way I'd barely call "open door" since they're breezed over so quickly in most cases. If you're just here for the steamy sex, you may as well give this one a miss. [h1]Translation/Editing:[/h1] For the most part, there are few typos, confused homophones, or questionable translation. There are, however, many instances of "garbled" sentences, where two sentences got accidentally merged into one, leaving off the end of one sentence and the beginning of the other - so there will be times where you'll have to stop and try to figure out what's missing. Some routes have these errors (and extra mistakes) very heavily while others are nearly pristine. [h1]Art/Character Design:[/h1] This is probably the worst art I've seen in this company's games. If you're happy with what you see in the screenshots, you'll probably be fine. For me, it's inconsistent in quality and of a lower overall grade than their usual. CGs rarely take the trouble of trying to really impress the viewer, though there were certainly a few that were quite effective. I was impressed that the love interests had at least two different outfits, though I feel like more poses and at least one extra wardrobe choice would have helped a lot. [h1]The Heroine:[/h1] Well... She's not very bright. To the point where in one of the routes she says she thinks she has a fever because she used her brain to think. She is absolutely a stalker type and only manages to avoid going full yandere by the fact that she seems to be pretty sweet-natured. There were times I was infuriated by her succumbing so easily to her weaker nature to stalk the love interest or fall in love. But... I actually kind of liked her? She was very sympathetic. To the point where I wish she were in a better game because I feel like she could have had some really interesting stories if the writers weren't writing throwaway mobage junk. [h1]The Love Interests:[/h1] I liked all of them, even though, as I said before, they're all kind of a little scummy (a few of them are [i]very[/i] scummy, in fact). And even where you can make allowances for their scumminess, they're also either a bit creepy or a bit weird. But... all of them had their moments where they were quite charming and often very sympathetic. Definitely don't go into playing this game thinking you're going to find noble, upstanding, and/or misunderstood guys. These guys are all flawed in pretty big ways that should normally not end up in a happy ending like this. But, you know? maybe that's the kind of story you're in the mood for, and apparently I was. [h1]Story:[/h1] A quite simple plain girl decides she's going to blow her life savings on becoming beautiful for the guy she's dating. He's handsome and she wants to match him so she doesn't have to feel so insecure. Too bad he was just mooching off her and dumps her once he discovers she's now poor. She goes out to get revenge on him... but ends up changing her target (of your choice). You probably already knew the premise, but what you probably won't get is how differently each route turns out. With many of this company's games, they follow very similar story beats, so no matter which guy you choose, you'll get pretty much the same twists and turns. This one doesn't do that and you can see hints of really great writing and tongue-in-cheek pokes at the tropes and the ludicrous nature of the story. Nothing really that breaks the fourth wall, but some of them toe the line. Don't get your expectations up. It's still a throwaway mobage, churned out by someone who probably had a very specific word count they had to hit and very little leeway on either side. Very few of the stories really explored anything of any depth and though I think the writers hid the formula pretty well, there was still a formula they were following. This wasn't someone's passion project. But I think they did have fun with the ridiculous premise they were given. [h1]In closing...[/h1] If your expectations are low and the premise itself doesn't turn you off, then just turn off your brain and give it a chance when you're in the mood for something light and ridiculous. I had fully intended on giving this a "not recommended", but in the end, I had enough fun that it would be petty for me to give it a bad rating just because it's "junk food" otome. If you're still on the fence, just put it on your wishlist and wait for a deep discount or a bundle deal and save it away for a day you're in the mood for "junk food".
• 

  Kaidii

  Jul 7, 2020

  It would be easiest to describe this game as cheap trash. There aren't a lot of positives here. But somehow it's still strangely enjoyable, and the characters are oddly endearing. The basic premise of the entire game is problematic: You have a heroine who went so far as to get major surgery to impress her boyfriend. One story line even mentions this cost upwards of $10k and she was now completely broke. And of the 5 guys you get to pursue, only one doesn't have a real relationship. Each route explores these various "moral grey area" scenarios in a different way. Dubcon and assault is rampant throughout, with the heroine only narrowly avoiding much worse (sometimes at the hands of her own love interest). And yet, the same heroine that squandered her life savings on a man it turned out she scarcely knew, is remarkably strong and bold. She's cast as "innocent" and "naive" in the story, but she really isn't. Inexperienced sure, but she frequently takes matters into her own hands when she encounters a problem. And she always has something to teach the guys she gets involved with. [h1]The Guys[/h1] [b]Shun[/b] - the reason this game is called "Stalking Love". Within seconds of starting his route, you feel like you've been thrown into a doctor roleplay, complete with multiple exclamations of "Oh Doctor..!". [spoiler]That massage was entirely unprofessional, but oh so hot.[/spoiler] He's a bit sadistic and a bit of a pervert too, but he is a really sweet, affectionate man. For the most part he behaves respectfully towards the MC, but at one point he does come on to her rather forcefully which may make you uncomfortable. [spoiler]His behavior can definitely be considered assault given the situation. He later apologizes for scaring her.[/spoiler] [b]Mizuki[/b] - after playing Shun's route, you should have a pretty good idea of Mizuki's character. [spoiler]And can someone tell me why MCs always close their eyes when they trip? Do none of these women ever know how to actually brace themselves for a fall? Someone please kill this trope.[/spoiler] His route felt very cringey to me, and there was more than one situation where I just had to roll my eyes. Yeah the whole game is full of ridiculous scenarios, but his just weren't that enjoyable for me. [spoiler]Especially the scene where he drags MC to a hotel and she thinks he's about to assault her, so she volunteers her body to him. GAG[/spoiler] Like the other guys, he also had a moment where he was overly aggressive towards the MC. [spoiler]It was honestly the most cringy of all the situations. I couldn't even describe it as assault because it was just so WEIRD, but it was dubcon at best.[/spoiler] [b]Meguru[/b] - probably the most morally questionable guy of the bunch. While Akira is described as the "arrogant" one in the game, I think Meguru is much worse in the beginning and his first impression left me really creeped out. Ironically, he was the least forceful of all the guys too. [spoiler]He's also the only guy that never learns about MC being a stalker or that she had plastic surgery.[/spoiler] His plot though left a lot to be desired. It was rather convoluted and all over the place, and frankly didn't make a whole lot of sense (which is saying something when you look at the plots for some of the other guys). I think out of all of them his story was my least favorite, and I didn't feel like it did his character justice. [b]Ryunosuke[/b] - this man is just an oddball. I'm not sure how else to describe it. His route very much felt like the plot to some bad porn movie. And his backstory itself was rather cliche too. But I really enjoyed his route and his personality, for reasons even I'm not sure of. He's very affectionate, so there are plenty of steamy scenes throughout. There are a couple of rather close calls with sexual assault in his route though, so be aware if that's something you want to avoid. [spoiler]He is even the attacker in one of these situations, near the end. But he does apologize for his behavior later.[/spoiler] [b]Akira[/b] - my biggest complaint in his route is how plus sized women are portrayed. To his credit though, he is rather body positive, which came as a shock to me. [spoiler]Technically, he's a chubby chaser, and with a "feeder" fetish. That may or may not be your thing, but considering how rare it is to have plus sized women portrayed as sexually attractive in any context in otome, I'll see it as a positive.[/spoiler] His backstory was really sweet, I thought [spoiler]and I loved seeing the flashbacks to his little tsundere self in highschool.[/spoiler] He is rather aggressive (sexually) towards the MC, which is a huge turn off. Fortunately, this only seems to be an issue once near the beginning of the story and isn't a recurring problem. (aside from the suggestive remarks, hugging, and a few stolen kisses etc). [spoiler]After he establishes a relationship with the MC, things get very hot and sexy very quickly.[/spoiler]
• 

  ᚾᛁᚲᛁ

  Jul 17, 2020

  Well, secrets of me was... interesting xD let's start with the pros and cons and move on to the plot. pros: 1. I liked the artwork it wasn't bad. 2. the story was quite interesting and a bit unusual, it was refreshing. 3. The writing was alright 4. The translation was good, a few typo's here and there but I cannot complain about such a silly thing. 5. I liked that all the stories had a different plot, the mc would overtake different jobs, her background would change according to the story, overall not repetitive. 6. I have to say the MC's personality wasn't half bad, although she did suffer from the occasional damsel in distress syndrome she wasn't as annoying. 7. There was a decent amount of content, not as lengthy as other games but it worked fine. 8. The mc wasn't as much of a ''stalker'' as the description made her out to be. 9. The guys may seem like ''cheaters'' on first glance but there are some underlying situations that you will get once you play through the game, so don't get too turned off by that. 10. If you like ALL the fluff without the complications of angst well you are in luck, only good endings all around! cons: 1. one of the stories was a bit disconnected for me, didn't make much sense. 2. I was ok with the art for the most part but... seriously draw some damn eyes on the girl already xD she was creeping me out, I personally would like to volunteer to draw eyes if it is too much trouble, that's how much she was creeping me out. 3. Some dialogues felt quite silly, but no biggie, they brought out a bit of laughter. The umm *cough* s*x scenes xD well they felt like that the writers thought that the world would implode if they wrote a dirty word xD so it goes at a very roundabout way. 4. If you are looking for a literary masterpiece well, this aint it, but it is enough to pass the time pleasantly. 5. There is some light sexual assault, be warned. But it is nothing new to the genre. 6. I know it is a cultural thing that you should not appear eager for intimacy. But I wish women would stop saying no when they mean yes in these things, makes consent a blurry line. This is a general thing though not just in this game. 7. I was begging for an auto button... And these would be the first impressions, the con's are not very severe. In fact the whole game was quite passable and enjoyable. The unusual story added to the excitement, ofcourse it is not the best otome out there, but it definitely is not the worst and it will make for an overall pleasant experience. If you feel like the price is too much then get it when it is on offer, I didn't regret purchasing it. I recommend. Now on to some plot spoilers, If you hate those then turn back now ^^ *SPOILER ALERT* Below there will be a short analysis of the LI's their relationships and the MC. [spoiler] First the MC and why I said she was not as much of a stalker as they make her out to be: She is the typical ugly duckling girl that got cheated and duped by a bad boy, she is a complete virgin in all aspects (she even mentioned she has never even been hugged before), and she is desperate to be loved and accepted, she gets plastic surgery just to be accepted. Would I call her a real stalker? She has been burned by her first love and acts out. She is definitely missing the crazy psycho aspect of ''I will make a collage of your face allover my ceiling and then I wanna kidnap you and tie you to my radiator and wear your skin'' type of thing. She does go a bit far with following people and being curious some times but nothing severe. Now on to the love interests and their stories: Lets say here that 3/5 were in loveless relationships of co-dependance that were toxic and damaging and they were all better off without their girlfriends regardless of the MC. The other two women were decent characters but... yea you will see. Shun Hosaka: The guy with the pygmalion syndrome,AKA I made you what you are. He is her plastic surgeon. He was in a loveless toxic relationship with a woman that was faking a serious illness to keep him close even though she was in love with another man. He was with her out of pity and no real feelings were involved, in fact he had never been truly in love before.He is being followed by our MC and he knows it, eventually they fall in love and his damaging toxic relationship is resolved. Meguru Yakushi: The playboy that didn't know love. He also was in a loveless relationship based on monetary gain, his fiancee was using him to steal his company and then dump him and ruin him. Toxic all around. He did get lightly followed by the MC. He did get on my nerves with his ''innocent act'' of maaaan... I dunno why all these women fall in ''love'' with me and become my mistresses, it ain't my fault, all I ever did was give them extreme amounts of money, take them on romantic dates, touch them, kiss them and xxxx them, I mean it's normal right? Anyone with a charitable soul would do that! (gimmie a break). Eventually his fiancee gets caught and the toxicity dissolves as he falls for the MC. Akira Ninomiya: The highschool nemesis He is the bad boy with the golden heart that you thought he bullied you in highschool but he really did have a crush on you. Him being emotionally constipated and ashamed of his preferences didn't help. He is also in a toxic relationship with a woman that only uses him for his looks and fame to brag to her friends. He is not really stalked by the MC, although she was curious. They end up in the same working environment and that's how they develop feelings. Even though he is attracted to women on the heavier side that do not have the classic beauty, and he does state that he is not really attracted by the MC's appearance in the end they fall in love. Not because of what she looks like but because of who she is. I will note here that this was my favorite story out of the bunch. Even though he is rough with expressing him self (the emotional constipation thing) he is really kind and caring deep down. His toxic relationship is resolved and everything is peachy. Mizuki Kudo: The man with the nice guy syndrome. This was my least favorite story, it didn't make much sense from a romantic development standpoint, his fiancee was a decent woman but their sexual preferences were worlds apart, that put a strain and secrets between them, and not to mention no action in the bedroom, and she was actually planning on breaking things off with him regardless of the MC. She did attempt to stalk him but lo and behold the tables turned and she got stalked instead. Well, cannot help it he taught her the art of following people. He acts all I am here to save you mah lady but he has the hots for her and we know it. His girl eventually reveals her secrets to him and dumps him cause she wants to fly free and whip people, he gets it on with the MC and life is good. and last but not least Ryunosuke Tachibana / code name: Ryu: The hedonist with the tortured past. I guess it is true what they say that those with tortured pasts make the best artists. He is a romance novelist that only writes bad endings. His fiancee although she was awesome she was not really his fiancee, they were in a fake relationship because of serious reasons, no romance between them. So that makes him officially the only one without a relationship to begin with. The MC simply gets hired to stalk him (by him - it was a novel research thing) so it is a part time job for her. He was my second favorite story, might be cause I got a thing for men with dark hair and tortured souls. He is all about pleasure and fleeting moments because of his dark past. Not to mention a life threatening medical condition, but don't worry he lives on in the end. He discovers love with our MC and he finally writes his happy end. [/spoiler] And here end my overall in depth impressions of this story. Hope you will enjoy this game, it was fun for me.
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  kiddybop

  Jul 29, 2020

  If you like basic cliches and character tropes (except the heroine being a stalker, nice), then this game is for you? But otherwise there is no originality, and it definitely isn't worth full price. It was like a piece of meat that's under cooked with no seasoning, perhaps. Maybe it's enough for some people, but it's way too bland for me.
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  misobuttercornramen

  Nov 19, 2020

  I really do not think I am the target audience for these games. I am about five games into the D3 bundle and have only recommended one as playable so far. The Good: - Shun. He has his "off' moments (let me teach you a LESSON about letting your guard down around us disgusting lecherous men) but GENERALLY speaking, he's a decent guy. He's got charm, he teases MC but not in a rude or mean way, and he does seem to care about the people around him--my low bar for these characters is "Are you a sociopath?" - Mizuki? I like Mizuki in theory, but in execution he does not play well off of MC. He comes off a bit too paternalistic because MC is ridiculously lacking in common sense. I had high hopes for him since I like the affable and friendly types, but alas. The Meh: - Akira. His route was surprisingly FUN once I got past my feminist rage in the first couple of chapters because you can raise affection with the mean and sarcastic dialogue options. Even though he's a spoiled, arrogant jerk, he does have a strong work ethic. *thumbs up* The Oogly: - Ryunosuke. He is, without a doubt, one of my least favorite LIs that I've EVER played in any otome game or romance-themed visual novel. He is basically a sexual assault lawsuit waiting to happen. He wasn't so bad as a side character in Mizuki's route, but I absolutely hated him in his own. He is always forcing himself on MC and the options that raise his affection have to do with being demure and apologizing for everything, including things outside of the MC's control or things that are his fault. AVOID. - Meguru. He is just boring. He's also really weird, as his life philosophy is to help beautiful destitute women. He has some psychological reasons and childhood trauma that are supposed to explain away his inability to interact with women appropriately, but sadly I didn't care enough to pay attention. - Art. Not a fan of the art style in this game. (MC is also faceless, which is never comforting.) - Editing. Lot of sloppy mistakes and weird typos. I think I saw "dead" for "read" at one point. There were also quite a few scenes where the background music, which admittedly isn't great, just came to a screeching halt. - Premise. MC gets plastic surgery to appeal better to her jerk fiancee who ends up dumping her anyways. She picks up some stalking skills from one of the LIs, private eye Mizuki, and proceeds to use them on one of the five men she ran into immediately after she became "beautiful." >> Maybe I would respect this premise more if there was some message here, like a body positive message or even a "plastic surgery is not so bad" message. Or something showing how plastic surgery by itself will not cure you of low self-esteem or self confidence issues. There was a weak sauce attempt in Shun's route to highlight the fact that people who get plastic surgery shouldn't be made villains or shamed, but it was so slight that I had to squint to pick it up. - Story. Like other D3 games, these are very short stories that utilize over-the-top plot points that mostly leave me wanting. I do not need an overdramatic or melodramatic story if the interactions, character development, and dialogue are good. - Cheating. Without giving too much away, cheating is prevalent in all of the routes. The writers attempt to justify it by creating a scapegoat in most of the routes, but it did not sit well with me. - Heavy signs of rape culture. MC is yet another pure-as-snow protagonist who's lacking in all sexual experience (she freaks out when her hand is held for the first time) and says "No" and "Don't" quite a lot, mostly at odds with what she actually wants, which is another problem in itself, and it's 100% treated as "Oh, I just need to manipulate you more into saying 'Yes'" by all of the LIs.
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  Suika

  Jan 2, 2021

  Why does every single route have cheating elements to it. 0/10
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  Drismeros

  Mar 11, 2021

  The characters are funny and lovely. The main stories are interesting and entertaining. [spoiler] I really like how the girl tends to turn into a crazy stalker, because let's admit, deep inside all girls have a little stalker in them [/spoiler] One of my favourite stories was Mizuki's story (´ิ ❥ ´ิ♡). I was laughing through the entire story But every story is great in it's own right. Some of them are funny, some of them are dramatic and some of them are romantic. I can only recommend it!
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  Ekşili Pilav

  Mar 25, 2021

  'Tis the 2nd Dogenzaka VN/Otome I've played (1st one was Office Lovers) and while harassment is not as extreme as the 1st one, again its story revolves around another questionable action: stalking. (Which again I didn't realize since I bought a bundle, but it is written on the game logo: Stalking Love) Our main character is a woman, who had been feeling so insecure about her physical appearance that "to be a woman that his fiancee(!) can be proud to show around" she undergoes surgery but her relationship *spoilers/I don't mark them as spoilers because it's literally the prologue.* doesn't go well for some reason. She encounters 5 different men in the prologue and with the new freedom she has, she decides to find love by STALKING these men. Again, I'll admit that I had fun here and there, I laughed and stuff. Although there's no excuse for stalking, I must also admit that MC is not a very aggressive stalker of sorts. She just follows people -mostly unsuccessfully- but that doesn't mean stalking someone and trying to make them fall in love with you is okay! I also didn't like something about the characters we try to woo. They have this thing -an obstacle for us =spoiler here: [spoiler] They all have a fiancee or a love interest of sorts [/spoiler] and this obstacle conveniently disappears all the time! I mean, obviously, it is going to be like that but why all of them have the same obstacle? And none of these men seem to care about the same thing! Like the Office Lovers example, these men are also thirsty AF but they are not extremely pushy about it. Although, they also seem not to care about MC's protests about not wanting any physical business. What's with these men not being able to stop themselves when there's nothing to make them start doing something? And for the love of God, can we see one MC who'll kick/punch them in appropriate places instead of freezing and making lewd sounds? All except maybe 2 of them are quite shallow characters, even those two I'm thinking about right now are shallow in a sense but they have some serious tones in their backstory. All stories have a best & happy ending and two extra small chapters. Unfortunately, I will not recommend this because I didn't quite enjoy it, and the story was ridiculous -not in a good way- in most places. But, all you're reading here are my personal opinions based on my personal tastes/beliefs/principles. So if you're into this type of romances, of course, go ahead, you may have more fun than me. In both cases, I can only recommend you to buy the game while it is on sale!