Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru
Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru (処女はお姉さまに恋してる, Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru? lit. The Maidens are Falling in Love with Elder Sister), commonly known as Otoboku (おとボク, Otoboku?), is a Japanese visual novel developed by Caramel Box and released on January 28 2005 as a limited edition. The original version, first available on the PC, contains adult-only content of a sexual nature. Subsequent releases included a consumer port on the PlayStation 2 with the adult content removed and a version of the game which was a DVD playable on a PC and included full voice acting. The story centers around a feminine male high school student named Mizuho Miyanokouji, who transfers into an all-girls school due to his grandfather's will. A common theme throughout the series is the pseudo-lesbian relationships that Mizuho gets put into for being a very popular student at his new school.
Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru has made several transitions to other media. Two separate novel series were created in 2005 followed by a manga illustrated by Kanao Araki. An anime was quickly adapted as well which first aired on October 8 2006 in Japan and contained twelve episodes, with an extra episode included in the last DVD that went on sale on April 4 2007. There have been four drama CDs released.
The original title uses the kanji 処女 (shojo, 処女?), which can mean both "virgin" and "young lady". The creators added furigana subscript to indicate they wanted it read "otome" meaning young maiden. Additionally, furigana was added above お姉さま (Oneesama, お姉さま?) to indicate that they wanted it read "boku", in order to highlight the fact the main character was actually male. Despite the different kanji, the official reading is "Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru", meaning "Maidens are Falling in Love with Me". When the game was ported to the PlayStation 2, it was renamed as 乙女はお姉さまに恋してる, which uses the actual "otome" (乙女, "otome"?) kanji. The latter name was kept for the manga and anime releases.
[edit] Visual novel
 Example of what average conversation looks like in Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru. Here, Mizuho is talking with Kei (left) and Sion (right). [edit] Gameplay
The gameplay in Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru follows a linear plotline where the player interacts at pre-determined times to choose from several options that appear on the monitor, as is typically found in the visual novel style of video games. Each path is divided into eight episodes, one interlude episode and an epilogue. At the end of an episode, an announcement of the next episode appears showing a preview of what is to consist in the next episode. When the game was released on DVD, this same structure was followed. Each episode took place within the span of one month between June and March from episode one to the epilogue. The interlude episode was placed between the second and third episodes.
The goal of the original version's gameplay was for the player to enable to viewing of several H scenes depicting Mizuho and one of the six heroines having sexual intercourse. When the game was ported to the PlayStation 2 console, the gameplay was altered a little. The PlayStation 2 version, and later the anime adaptation, both had the sexual content removed, and in these versions there is no evidence that physical relationships actually take place between any of the students.
There are ten additional sub episodes and a special sub episode. The CD and DVD editions contain four sub episodes, the fandisc Caramel Box Yarukibako contains four sub episodes and a special episode, Caramel Box Yarukibako 2 contains two sub episodes, and the PlayStation 2 version contains six sub-episodes, though the order in which they appeared was altered.
| Sub-episodes
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| Episode
| CDs
| DVD
| Yarukibako*1
| Yarukibako2*2
| PS2*3
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| Episode I
| X
| X
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| X(V)
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| Episode II
| X
| X
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| Episode III
| X
| X
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| X(VI)
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| Episode IV
| X
| X
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| Episode V
| *4
| *5
| X
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| X(IV)
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| Episode VI
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| X
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| X(I)
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| Episode VII
| *6
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| X
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| X(III)
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| Episode VIII
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| *5
| X
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| X(II)
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| Episode X
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| X
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| Episode XI
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| X
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| Special
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| X
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*1:Caramel Box Yarukibako and its Fukkoku-ban
*2:Caramel Box Yarukibako 2
*3:Episode numbers are different.
*4:Contained in the special favor disc for advance order
*5:Merged to a certain path
*6:Contained in the magazine Tech Gian (Feb. and Mar., '05)
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 Original video game cover. [edit] Release history
Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru was first introduced to the public in Japan in a limited edition version on January 28 2005 for the PC as a CD-ROM. This release came with a special story book entitled "Tsunderera" with the whole package retailing at 8,800 yen (~US$72.84) prior to tax.[1] Less than a month later on February 18 2005, the normal edition was released retailing for the same price as the first release. One select lot of this version contained a limited edition sticker. On June 24 2005, a fan disc called Caramel Box Yarukibako was released and contained an additional scenario that furthered the story from the original visual novel. The fan disc came with a gift called "Vine" (おボクさまヴィネ, "Vine"?). At the end of that year, the first consumer console port of the game was released for the PlayStation 2 on December 29 2005 retailing for 7,140 yen (~US$59.10) including tax.[2] The fully voiced DVD version of Otoboku was released on April 28 2006 retailing for 7,500 yen (~US$62.08) before tax.[1] The manual for this version contained "Tsunderera". The final release went on sale on January 26 2007 with the rerelease of the fan disk Caramel Box Yarukibako Fukkoku-ban.
[edit] Setting
- Seio Girls School (Keisen Girls School)
- The primary setting for the story is on the campus of a private all-girl school with Christian undertones, such as a large cross visible on the front of the school's main building. Seio was founded in 1886 by Mizuho's ancestor; the school's motto is "mercy and forgiveness".
- Incidentally, the name of the school the characters attend was Keisen Girls School (恵泉女学院, Keisen Jogakuin?) at first. This was used in original PC version, the drama CD of the visual novel and for the Caramel Box Yarukibako fan disc. This name was later ascertained to be similar to a name of an actual school, which led to the school's name officially changing to Seio Girls School (聖應女学院, Seiō Jogakuin?, 聖応女学院 as written in PlayStation 2 version).[3] Since then, Seio is used in PS2 version, DVD edition, Caramel Box Yarukibako Fukkoku-ban and anime series.
- Elder Sister
- There is an old tradition at Seio Girls School every June where one of the students is elected by her peers to be the "Elder", who is seen as the number-one "Elder Sister" in the entire school. Until her graduation, she is referred to by her peers as Oneesama (お姉さま, Oneesama?).
- To become an Elder, a candidate in the election must gain at least 75% of the votes. If none of the candidates get at least 75% in the first round of voting, one of the candidates hand over her votes to the other candidate, and the candidate who finally obtained the votes of 75% or more becomes the Elder. If there is no one else in the election, the current year's student council president becomes the Elder. In the series, Mizuho gained 82% of the votes at the beginning. Previous Elders include: Mizuho's mother Sachiho Miyanokouji twenty-two years before the story begins, and the seventy-first Elder Sion Jujo from one year before the story begins. Mizuho becomes the seventy-second Elder, and in Kana's path in the game, she becomes the seventy-fourth Elder.
[edit] Main characters
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 The main characters of Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru: Takako (top-left), Ichiko (top-right), Kana (middle-left), Mariya (center), Yukari (middle-right), Mizuho (bottom-left), and Sion (bottom-right). - Mizuho Miyanokouji (宮小路瑞穂, Miyanokōji Mizuho?)
- Mizuho is a boy who transfers to an all-girl's school per his grandfather's will and must crossdress in order to attend. He is the male protagonist of the series and in the game, Mizuho is the role the player assumes. Voiced by: Hina Kamimura (PC), Yui Horie (anime)
- Mariya Mikado (御門まりや, Mikado Mariya?)
- Mariya is Mizuho's childhood friend who knows him very well. She has a spirited personality with a bit of a temper. During most of the time that Mariya has known Mizuho, she has always been there as his support whenever he needed her. Voiced by: Hitomi Aoi (PC), Masumi Asano (anime)
- Sion Jujo (十条紫苑, Jūjō Shion?)
- Sion[a] is one of Mizuho's classmates who figures out that he is a boy almost immediately after their second meeting, but tells no one. She has a silent demeanor and voice which helps to give her an appealing appearance to the rest of the students. The previous year, she actually had to leave school for a time soon after she was elected as the Elder due to an illness and had to spend her time in the hospital. Voiced by: Izumi Kihara (PC), Miyu Matsuki (anime)
- Yukari Kamioka (上岡由佳里, Kamioka Yukari?)
- Yukari is a very energetic young girl in her first year at Seio living in the same dormitory as Mizuho and Mariya. Yukari is on the track and field team along with Mariya, who is her Oneesama (お姉さま, meaning "Older sister"?). She suffers a sense of low confidence in her ability to run. Initially, she is afraid of everything scary, such as ghosts, so Mariya often used it to her advantage to scare Yukari. Voiced by: Yuki Matsunaga (PC), Ayano Matsumoto (anime)
- Kana Suoin (周防院奏, Suōin Kana?)
- Kana is another one of the girls who lives in the same dormitory building as Mizuho, who becomes her Oneesama. Kana is more than happy to serve Mizuho any way she can, since she admires him immensely. One of the defining features about her is that she often ends sentences with the phrase ~na no desu yo. Voiced by: Ayaka Kimura (PC), Akemi Kanda (anime)
- Takako Itsukushima (厳島貴子, Itsukushima Takako?)
- Takako is the student council president of the all-girls school where the story takes place. She tends to have a serious personality which compliments that of a student council president. However in contrast to her usual attitude, she has shown herself to have a more gentle side to her character. She is known to be afraid of ghosts. Voiced by: Fūri Samoto (PC), Chiaki Takahashi (anime)
- Ichiko Takashima (高島一子, Takashima Ichiko?)
- Ichiko is a ghost residing in the dorm room where Mizuho stays while attending school. She is very energetic and hyperactive, often talking very fast. She says that Mizuho looks very much like her previous Elder love interest, who turns out to be Mizuho's deceased mother. Voiced by: Junko Kusayanagi (PC), Yuko Goto (anime)
Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru revolves around the lives of a group of friends at Seio Girls School and their interactions with each other after the main protagonist, Mizuho Miyanokouji, transfers to the school. Mizuho is a nice person with morals who was born in a good and loving family, but after his grandfather passes away and his last will in testament is reviewed, it is discovered that it was his desire to have his grandson transfer to an all-girl's school - the same one his own mother attended and his ancestors founded. Abiding by the will, Mizuho crossdresses in order to attend the school as a female.
Upon attending the school, only the headmistress (incidentally a nun who knew Mizuho's mother as a former student of the school), the deputy head teacher (video game only), Hisako Kajiura (Mizuho's homeroom teacher) and Mariya Mikado, his childhood friend who aided in his transformation, initially knows his secret. However, both Sion Jujo, one of his classmates, and Ichiko Takashima, a ghost residing in Mizuho's dorm building, also find this out relatively early in the series. From the start, Mizuho was very popular among the other students who would often talk about how pretty, nice and athletic Mizuho was. This rampant popularity soon escalated to the point where he was even nominated against his will to join in on the Elder election. By these terms, the current student council president, Takako Itsukushima, attempts to run against Mizuho in the election to see who comes out on top. Her motivation to do so is more complex than a simple desire for prestige, however.
After the dust settles from this struggle, and Mizuho comes out on top as the Elder, he progressively gets more popular among the entire student body since Mizuho is now a symbol of the school's excellence. In the proceeding months, Mizuho starts to get to know some of the girls closer which often brings about themes dealing with lesbianism, though this can only be taken at face value since Mizuho is still very much male, even though most of the student body thinks otherwise.
[edit] Adaptations
 Takako's novel, the second in the series by Saki Murakami. [edit] Novels
There have been two separate novel series based on the original game. The first two novels written by Saki Murakami and published by Paradigm were released in Japan on June 17 2005 and August 242005. The first released was Imprisoned Princess ~Sion Chapter~ (囚われの姫君～紫苑編～, Toraware no Himegimi ~Shion hen~?) centering around Sion, with the second entitled Perplexed Juliet ~Takako Chapter~ (とまどうジュリエット～貴子編～, Tomadou Jurietto ~Takako hen~?) centering around Takako. These novels contained erotic content only suitable for adults. The other novel series contained a single volume written by Chihiro Minagawa and published by Jive which was released in Japan on August 24 2005. It had the same title as the game and the basis of the story centered around Takako's scenario. A semi official dōjin novel was written by the original scenario writer for the game called Étoile in the Cherry Orchard (櫻の園のエトワール, Sakura no Sono no Etowāru?). The novel is a continuation of Kana's and Yukari's scenarios, and both have little sisters. The revised and completed edition of the dōjin novel was published by Enterbrain on December 25 2007.[4]
The manga version, illustrated by Kanao Araki and based on the game that preceded it, began serialization in the seinen manga magazine Dengeki Daioh on September 21 2006 in Japan, published by MediaWorks under their Dengeki Comics label. The first bound volume went on sale on August 27 2007; different cover art was given to the volume sold only in Animate stores. A four panel comic strip was serialized in the magazine Magi-Cu published by Enterbrain. Seven comics anthologies of the comic strip were released between March 26 2007 and April 25 2008.
[edit] Internet radio show
A radio show based on the Internet using the anime version as the basis began on October 5 2006 called the Seio Girls School Broadcasting Station (聖應女学院放送局, Seiō Jogakuin Hōsōkyoku?). It aires every Thursday hosted by Miyu Matsuki as Sion Jujo and Yuko Goto as Ichiko Takashima; it is produced by Animate TV. There are thirteen separate corners attributed to the program which correspond to the general life of the characters in the story. As of February 2007, there are twenty individual episodes. There have been four guests to the show: Chiaki Takahashi in episodes six and seven as Takako Itsukushima, Akemi Kanda in episodes eleven and twelve as Kana Suoin, Ayano Matsumoto in episodes fifteen and sixteen as Yukari Kamioka, and Madoka Kimura in episodes nineteen and twenty as Kimie Sugawara. The radio show episodes will be released between two CDs released on May 9 2007 and June 6 2007.
 DVD limited edition volume one. - See also: List of Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru episodes
The anime version is what is called "UHF anime" in Japan. This series first aired between October 8 2006 and December 24 2006. The TV broadcast consists of twelve episodes, with an extra episode known as an Original Video Animation that was featured on the final DVD. Media Blasters announced on July 2 2007 that they had licensed the right to release the English version of the Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru anime series, which includes the OVA.
The first DVD of the anime version was released in Japan on January 11 2007 as a limited edition version. Despite DVDs being for the anime, the cover art for the limited edition DVDs is from the original game.
- Limited edition
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- Normal edition
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[edit] Audio CDs
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Five drama CDs have been released based on the series: one based on the original video game and four which were based from the anime adaptation. The last one was released on April 11 2007. The original soundtrack for the video game entitled maiden's rest was released in Japan on February 25 2005 by Digiturbo. The soundtrack for the anime was released on November 22 2006 by King Records. Three character image song albums have been released sung by seiyū from the anime adaptation.
Two singles albums were released for the opening and ending themes for the anime adaptation. The first called Love Power by Aice5 contained the opening theme of the same name. The other album entitled Again by Yui Sakakibara contained the ending theme entitled "Beautiful Day". The A-side track from that album entitled "Again" was used as an insert song in episode 11. It should be noted that all of the singers from both albums were cast in the anime version of Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru: Yui Horie (Mizuho Miyanokouji), Masumi Asano (Mariya Mikado), Akemi Kanda (Kana Suoin), Chiaki Takahashi (Takako Itsukushima), Madoka Kimura (Kimie Sugawara) and Yui Sakakibara (Hisako Kajiura).
[edit] Reception
According to a national ranking of how well bishōjo games sold nationally in Japan, the Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru limited edition PC release premiered at number two in the rankings.[6] The limited edition achieved a ranking of four out of fifty in the ranking for the next two weeks.[6] The regular edition PC release premiered at number six in the rankings.[7] The regular edition stayed in the top fifty for a month and a half, not making the ranking in the last two weeks of April 2005. However, the regular edition was in the rankings for the month of May 2005, managing to rank in at thirty-eight and forty-nine.[8] The Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru PC edition playable as a DVD premiered at number thirteen in the rankings and stayed at the rank for the next listing.[9] The DVD edition ranked two more times over the next month: the first at forty-three and the last at thirty-three.[10]
[edit] Notes and references
[edit] External links
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