#olysoi

Before I start I wanted to say that I followed a guide (Otome Kitten’s) and her route order recommendation, so for this thread I’ll order my thoughts based on the order I played in! Also, again, this will have a lot of spoilers just in case anyone else is playing for the first time!

First up,

Riku 💙

I absolutely loved Riku and his route’s story. In fact it was the only one to fully make me cry, though tbh it was purely because of the scene between Fusou and Byakuya. Regardless, I found that his route had just enough angst for me and the resolution felt realistic and earned, specifically in how they found their answer through compromise and their understanding of each other. I also really liked the themes and struggles that they explored here, Riku’s duty to honor and tradition vs his duty to his heart, past, and desires. While it was probably the most low-stakes route in terms of plot, I didn’t mind it at all! Byakuya and Riku’s dynamic more than made up for it. I also, loved their shared love of dance and was more convinced of Byakuya’s reasoning for pursuing Riku over some of the other LI’s tbh. Also the dance instruction scene was SO GOOD 💖💖💖

Tbh, I was a bit bummed that the route order suggested starting with him BUT HE WON ME OVER!! HE’S SO CUTE WHEN FLUSTERED (I am kicking my feet and smiling whenever he shows up). He’s kinda dense and slow to change/open up, but he means well. Also, Nobunaga Shimazaki killed it

Tokisada 💚

Sad to say Fusou wasn’t in this route as much :( but I love Tokisada and his story too! The drama in this route I felt was done really well, I liked that we could see him spiraling as the route progressed as his insecurities grew, it genuinely made me feel for him and get concerned for his wellbeing. Plus, the reasoning for his insecurities felt really realistic for his character, so his subsequent breakdown felt more impactful and meaningful when it finally came around. I think his religious background influencing how he viewed his new life on this island was extremely interesting and the fact that it contributed to his fears of not being good enough for Byakuya hit hard. Also, the fact that Kanan and Nagusa specifically used his trauma of getting executed to manipulate him was very :(((. But in regard to his actual relationship with Byakuya, I really like how they connected over missing their homelands, I felt that that longing gave them a connection that was special compared to the other LI’s.

Honestly, Tokisada was the reason I bought the game. I saw him and knew I would love him, and I was right! Such a cute and fun character who had really good mature moments here and there. Plus I really liked how natural the exchanges between him and Byakuya were! 💖💖💖

Yosuga 💜

Oh Yosuga… I’m so sorry to say that I didn’t really care for his route. The main reason? The first visit to Tennyo and what he did there pissed me off. Please don’t get me wrong, I understand why he did it and I know it didn’t really matter in the long run, but when the first two routes are building up how much Byakuya misses her homeland and would give anything to go back, the moment she finally does is going to be a big deal. SO WHY DID HE UNDERCUT ONE OF THE BIGGEST AND MOST EMOTIONAL MOMENTS FOR HER BY THREATENING HER??? 😭😭😭 Tbh, that one moment killed any of the investment that I had been building for him. Afterwards, I don’t know… I really couldn’t get myself invested in the story 😔. I don’t think it helped that when they revealed that Yosuga thought that Shura and Sakyo had killed his sister I immediately knew that there was more to it and that they didn’t do it, so I kinda just ended up sitting there waiting for most of the route to hear what actually happened. To me, the highlight of the whole route was Byakuya making a deal with Shura in the second to last chapter (Shura was a highlight too!!), though the scene where Yosuga finally cries was really good.

Yosuga is an attractive character, but I just didn’t feel the connection with him. I much prefer him as the friend/big brother role he plays in other routes, though he had moments here and there that made me smile. Plus the seashell connection they had as kids was cute.

Kuroba 🖤

Kuroba discovered the cure for Hakuuuuuu 🥳🥳🥳!!! What a nice route, though it was the first one to have darker elements in it (in the good ending route I mean). Really cool to dive deeper into the caste system this society lives in and how that affects people like Kuroba and Asuha. Asuha will always be a highlight for me, he’s such a sweet boy that he activates my maternal instincts something fierce. To be honest, when I first saw Kuroba I thought he’d be in the Yellow class until they said he was in the Black class in the common route, so when I got to the “reveal” that he used to be Yellow, I couldn’t help but giggle a bit. The whole handkerchief bit that Kuroba and Byakuya had throughout the route was super cute and the final handkerchief scene had me smiling and giggling a bit ngl. ALSO, Kuroba punching Nagusa at the end was a “HELL YEAH” moment from me. ALTHOUGH HIS BAD ENDINGS HAD ME FLABBERGASTED I WAS NOT EXPECTING THEM TO GO THAT WAY?????

I won’t lie, I wasn’t really looking forward to his route because I personally didn’t find him attractive and I preferred him as a friend in other routes, BUT HE’S CHARMING. The relationship felt like it progressed naturally, plus he’s the funniest LI so bonus points for that 💖

Himuka 🩶

I clocked that boy was Hiruko in like chapter one or two. Himuka’s a funny one for me, because before I even started playing, when I saw him on the box I thought he was a girl (YURI!!!) but then I found out he was a man 😔. BUT THEN I FOUND OUT HE’S VOICED BY SHUN HORIE!! Shun Horie is single-handedly the reason why my excitement for Himuka was reignited, so for me, Himuka was a lot of 📈📉📈 before I even started 😂 Regardless, I was really invested in his route! The story kept me engaged the whole way through and I really liked learning more about the lore, the island, Hiruko himself, and the colors. I debated near the end if it was my favorite route, but honestly I think that my favorite will be determined based on how much I want to replay a route and there are a couple others that rank a little higher for me personally. I LOVE Byakuya’s determination to get Himuka back at the end (that’s love baby!) and Amaterasu is a real one “look brother, the women of the white HAVE to find their soulmate, you’re hers, so you have to go back, self-loathing aside” 😭 Also, Himuka’s little freak out at becoming human was pretty funny (and cute)!

Himuka was such a sweetheart the whole way through and it was fun seeing Byakuya take the lead in the relationship like this. I love how he would ask her innocent questions and she would get flustered, that was really cute. Also, god bless Shun Horie 💖

Akaza ❤️

I was really worried going into Akaza’s route because I had seen SO many people hyping it up. I kept seeing people say that he’s one of the best otome LI’s in general, that it was worth being locked behind every other route, and so on, and I was worried I would be disappointed or that it would be overhyped. And honestly… It was worth the hype. What. A. Man. Coming out swinging in chapter two with TENNYO?! On the first date??? Pulling out his sword during the witch hunt??? Akaza should be in the Green class because he’s the greenest flag to walk the earth. Overall, I think his route was the best written one in the game, but again I’ll probably determine my personal rankings based on how much I want to replay them. Though I felt that the stakes in this route being higher than Himuka’s was a little strange, I get why and it didn’t bother me that much. The scene between Chigaya and Byakuya was really good, Douma and Byakuya’s reconciliation was so sweet I teared up, but the thing that actually got me to shed a tear was Izanami’s final line (I feel so bad for her 😭). I also really like how adamant Akaza was throughout the whole route that he and Byakuya were their own person, not who fate or the gods wanted them to be. 💖💖

I can see why people say Akaza raised their standards. I kinda loved his assertiveness and confidence, great qualities for a man like him. Another great quality? Loving Byakuya no matter what she looked like 🥹 unlike somebody IZANAGI

Bonus!

Byakuya 🤍

What a great protagonist, she had a wonderful personality no matter what route she was in and never acted in a way that made me question her decisions. I think Douma should step aside, because she’s my daughter actually

Now, for my personal rankings, route/story:

1. Riku

2. Tokisada

3. Akaza

4. Himuka

5. Kuroba

6. Yosuga

In terms of routes I’d like to replay, it would go about like this. Lmao anytime Riku or Tokisada showed up in another route, I *really* wanted to go replay their routes

Now, favorite love interest:

1. Tokisada & Riku

2. Akaza

3. Himuka

4. Kuroba

5. Yosuga

Riku and Tokisada tie with Tokisada having a slight edge on Riku (not by much though!)

I loved playing Olympia Soirée!! The characters were great, and every story and route was well written, I think it was a great introduction to otome games for me and I can’t wait to play my next one! Highly recommend it to anyone else looking to start. 🤍🤍🤍