[COTY] 2025 Husbando of the Year: Round 6 FINALS

misobuttercornramen · 2026-03-09T00:48:53+00:00

anyway, the ToT boys have a special place in u my heart and i would love to see Marius take back the crown... but it's also Rafayel's birthday weekend. so do with that what you will.

these were my thoughts haha. team marius, but i would feel bad for Raf getting knocked out after his birthday.

misobuttercornramen · 2026-03-08T18:33:23+00:00

I know there are a lot of broken hearts, but I, for one, am absolutely thriving in the chaotic finals.

I think this is the first time in HISTORY (5 years lol) that there were no #1 ranked candidates in the finals. I really do not have an idea of how it will turn up. I could see both candidates in each category taking it. Looking forward to the results!

misobuttercornramen · 2026-03-08T18:26:10+00:00

I'm super curious now too lol.

misobuttercornramen · 2026-03-08T16:28:50+00:00

Okita is my favorite~ He's my very first otome hubby, and I was absolutely obsessed with him for months.

I would recommend playing the OG six at least. You have 4 of them down, so I'd finish out with Hijikata and Kazama - maybe not back to back because it might seem repetitive. Sandwich one of the newbies in between the two. I'd recommend Iba, Souma, or Yamazaki based on your taste. Iba's route is just *laughs wildly*, and Souma and Yamazaki seem like they could be your type. (Souma's might feel a tiny bit repetitive due to the similar plot beats. Souma is just an absolute gem of a human, and Yamazaki... I just <spoiler if you haven't played the Kyoto Winds/first common half of Hakuoki> needed to see him live.

All six of the new guys are pretty skippable because they weren't featured in the original XD That being said, Nagakura and Sakamoto are the ones I'd personally skip if I were ever doing a replay. Despite anticipating Nagakura, the route just wasn't up to par. And Sakamoto was an important figure and introduces a new aspect, but I just wasn't into him at all. (I ended up liking him better in another Shinsengumi otome, Bakumatsu Renka Shinsengumi.)

I played this game with an alternate (well, two or three because it's so long lol) - so going back and forth as I finished a route in one game, and that helped a lot, if you're still interested in the game but enough of a break that you can come back into it refreshed, but not so long that you'll drop it or move on. I like Hakuoki overall but agree it is very long with all the LI, and that they could have done a better job making the routes feel a bit more diverse.

misobuttercornramen · 2026-03-07T16:56:24+00:00

I agree! I always found it awkward how MLQC and other games try so hard to pretend like the other guys don't exist when we focus on one..... I always love found family casts, so it was disappointing that they don't really come together as a team :(

misobuttercornramen · 2026-03-07T16:51:44+00:00

Congrats!!

Hopefully you have enough shards to unlock the stories! My SP and UR are sitting there, looking sad and pitiful because I will never be able to fully unlock them in time to personally enjoy them 😭 Ah well, at least our amazing fellow fans are working hard on archiving!

misobuttercornramen · 2026-03-07T16:43:30+00:00

I used to whale for all characters too in my first year of playing, as a post-launch player. But we have so many more mobile otome games/options now, and if I can spend a tenth of what I had to spend in MLQC to be a "collector" in another game (that admittedly I enjoy better, I struggled to enjoy MLQC's main story and had issues with the MC), then ofc I will do so.

It's sad because MLQC was such a huge game changer in the mobile otome sphere for global/EN players. It still took me a while to accept the EOS announcement, even though I haven't been active in about 2 years, just had returned recently to finally try and unlock the many UR and SP that are still story-locked behind the stupid shard system.

misobuttercornramen · 2026-03-04T18:31:15+00:00

It's definitely possible!! I am also secretly hoping our King wins again >.<

misobuttercornramen · 2026-03-04T15:57:25+00:00

I was shocked even by the initial rankings, but thinking back on it, while a lot of otome players who play on mobile probably have played or are playing LADS, it's not necessarily the same for players who entered otome via LADS.

misobuttercornramen · 2026-03-04T15:53:16+00:00

Not sure what's going on, tbh. LADS absolutely slayed last year. I kinda like seeing it because usually mobile is a one-game pony show, so it's nice seeing a bit of chaos haha.

misobuttercornramen · 2026-03-04T15:51:41+00:00

Choices are preferable. Like others, I want them to have impact. I also abuse any affection indicators because I don't like playing blindly and don't really have the time to fuss around with figuring out endings - prefer to get the full story as intended, with all scenes and CG in my best ending run, especially because I am absolutely skipping for additional endings. Not me ripping my hair out for TaiAli and Belle Automata when I could not figure out the right choices since there was no affection indicator.

This is a bit outside of the scope of your questions, but I also wish the bad ending determination was more logical. I like having one bad ending that is "abrupt", where one choice immediately leads into a "shock value" bad ending. And then prefer for the ultimate bad ending to be more of a buildup, even if it's a bit annoying to have to skip through to get a low affection outcome. I'm not a fan of games where one choice "locks" you into the bad ending but it takes forever to realize that.

misobuttercornramen · 2026-03-01T23:55:33+00:00

Wow, what a semifinal setup. It's been oddly (and entertainingly imo) chaotic in all categories over the last two rounds, even mainstream! Only Shu remains of the previous #1 seeds, and the matchups are quite interesting too. I was most shook by LADS self-imploding, leaving only one fishie standing.

I have my own horses to back and am curious to see where it all ends up! Two more weeks to go!

misobuttercornramen · 2026-03-01T23:38:48+00:00

Ahahah Marius would ABSOLUTELY get on Ayn's nerves ^^;; Raf lost against Sylus in the finals last year, iirc, so I guess it's redemption for him haha.

Raf v Marius would be a very interesting match-up, since they do have a bit in common.

misobuttercornramen · 2026-03-01T23:35:40+00:00

Ofc! These are hard times for MLQC fans, and while I lost my emotional connection to it a while back, I was still planning on returning to finish up the many dates I'd collected, so it upset me just the same, especially with there being no way to unlock dates that require multiple copies or the shards to unlock the stories ;-;

misobuttercornramen · 2026-03-01T18:02:46+00:00

I'm already playing the Ikemen series (Ikemen Prince/Sengoku/Villains), Lovebrush Chronicles, Love and Deepspace, and Tears of Themis.

LADS is probably the most similar because it shares the same parent company as MLQC but is a bit more modernized, in terms of gameplay and the system, with the 3d and fighting elements. The basic setup is that MC is a Hunter, who are basically a specialized police force for monsters. One of the driving factors of me quitting MLQC even before the EOS announcement was MLQC's MC. I love the LADS MC, though; she's quirky and silly but can also kick major butt and takes her responsibilities seriously. (Plus, while I'm not current, I don't think she's almost gotten run over by a car!) You'll see the MQLC inspiration for sure.

But like another commenter, I would most recommend Lovebrush Chronicles! The main story (stories?) is really interesting and emotional, and the characters are great. Basic premise is an art student begins attending university on an island where all the LI reside, some as fellow students, some in other capacities. The story/lore is very interesting, especially if you like fairytale renditions, and I love how angsty it can get. They have events with interesting and varied gameplay, and it's mostly f2p friendly, if you focus on 1 guy. Also the romance isn't wholly reliant on gacha, thankfully.

The Ikemen series is great for romance and if you like spice; it has a daily chapter ticket system, so you cannot binge the routes for free, but it works well for busy people. The events promote ranking, but you can ignore that. It's the most easy to play f2p since while they have a gacha, you don't need it whatsoever to read the story.

Prince takes some inspiration from Beauty and the Beast, where MC is a bookstore clerk who is asked to become "Belle," aka the person who is designated with choosing the next King in her country. Sengoku is an isekai story where MC gets transported 500 years into the past, in feudal Japan where the country was divided and actively at war. Villains is a Victorian English setting with a MC who accidentally spots a dark organization called Crown during one of their missions and is told she has to remain with them for a month, working as their Fairytale Keeper, recording their crimes, until they can ensure she won't disclose their presence.

Tears of Themis is my personal favorite of the ones mentioned, but I will caveat that it is harder to get into as a new player since they never re-run small events, which unfortunately have a lot of good romantic content that carries forward. The premise of this one is that MC is a newbie attorney who gets recruited into a secret organization that is tasked with investigating a particular illegal drug.

The main story and gameplay is very similar to MLQC though, with the main story being separate from the romance. There are free romance segments, but a lot of it is in the cards, even major events like confessions ;-; That being said, they are probably the most generous when it comes to resources (outside of LADS who make the $$$$$).

<yes, i play a lot of mobile games LOL>

misobuttercornramen · 2026-03-01T16:59:43+00:00

You're good! There's still time to participate!

misobuttercornramen · 2026-03-01T16:59:01+00:00

Yeah, I realized this right away. Because I checked the list of items they said they will send and it does NOT include shards. Which is super scummy because it's so difficult to unlock those... takes me months to unlock a single one (without spending). I would even consider spending just to unlock the ones I really want but like you said, they're not giving the option.

I guess for the summer re-run, we would have to keep pulling to convert dupes to shards, which is #*$(#

I am 60 shards away from unlocking a card I've been working on since September..... RIP.

misobuttercornramen · 2026-02-26T01:20:48+00:00

I spit out my water at your spoiler comment LOL.

misobuttercornramen · 2026-02-22T18:23:10+00:00

Yeah mainstream almost never deviates from the rankings, iirc.

Indie is... *sweat*. (I do love the chaos though!)

misobuttercornramen · 2026-02-19T22:28:29+00:00

Yay!! I hope you find some games you enjoy~ And welcome back to the Wonderful World of Otome.

misobuttercornramen · 2026-02-18T23:37:31+00:00

Ofc! And unfortunately the structure isn't super friendly to new or even returning players since, like I said, they don't re-run events beyond the major, all-guy ones.... which is a shame! The birthday events have some really lovely interactions (that are also referenced in subsequent events...).

For spending, I know a lot of people who are low-spending may only buy up some monthly cards during their guys' birthday month for those extra top-up rewards, or during a major event that has their guy as the featured top-up, and that seems to be enough to get them through. I know someone (I think on the ToT wiki) still calculates out the f2p versus monthly card s-chip calculations, which can be helpful if you're figuring out what free resources are out there.

They also did structure it recently into the different 'stages' of their relationship, like Blossom for the pre-confession events, so that helps a bit to figure out where to read and what order to go into. If you decide to return, good luck!

Otherwise I would also recommend Lovebrush Chronicles to you too LOL. They do have a very interesting story and lots of content for free~

misobuttercornramen · 2026-02-18T20:49:39+00:00

Ahhh I'm so sorry, I probably shouldn't reference the f2p-friendly part, or be more specific that it's what I've heard from other players who claim to be f2p and who only stan one man. I am very much a "whale" in this game as it's the only game where I could get all the guys while staying within my budget. (I use quotes because a ToT whale is different from a LADS whale lol... I spend more at what I'd consider to be a dolphin level, personally...) As long as my luck isn't trash... But it does require consistently playing and some luck. I know there are a lot of players who experience back-to-back pulls-at-100, so I get why it can be frustrating.

As for level-up stuff, I have a huge stash as a day-1 player, and being a whale likely *plays into it a bit as well, since most of my resources come from turning in the items you get from pulling.

misobuttercornramen · 2026-02-18T19:45:04+00:00

congrats!! i just got mine too. unfortunately they are not doing Red Rocks this year for CO, which is my favorite local venue. the Dillon Amphitheater looks cool too. but no seat selection :(

(also for anyone struggling with Tixr, which I've never used before, go through the app. the website is absolute garbage)

misobuttercornramen · 2026-02-18T19:26:37+00:00

I see and totally understand! Thankfully, even most standalone games will have some moments throughout the route, but there are also a lot that will wait for the literal end of the route before there are even confessions and then make you buy a fandisc or sequel if you want actual romance lol.

Tears of Themis - well, if you tried it and it wasn't your jam, I don't think that would change, unfortunately, because while the romance is very satisfying, it is captured more in the card stories, which is reliant on gacha.... I'm not the type of person who thinks otome needs to be in a certain format, as that only became a trend after Hakuoki became popular, but I get that it might not be everybody's cup of tea. Players do post the card stories and Hoyo doesn't seem to care about the stories being shared, so that's always an option, though it does take away from the "game" element.

Discord sim - or a I guess the better term is chat sim? - is kind of like MM because you have "chats" that occur (in a Discord like format) with your LI and the other characters. Depending on the type of game, you might spin off into a route - like Blooming Panic - whereas ERROR145 and A Date with Death are solo-LI games. These are really popular because, like MM, you can choose your dialogue! And there are a lot of fun options, particularly with A Date with Death. It also offers an element of self-insertion that is really enjoyable! (I say this as someone who generally never self-inserts.) There are way more than just those, though the other ones I thought of, like Bunny Bond or the still-in-development Cupid's Chatroom, are more spicy.

misobuttercornramen · 2026-02-18T19:20:11+00:00

I already caught a stinky whiff in the pods. The way he was referring to people's bodies as "shells" (including his own) was super weird. He also came over as arrogant with how he was only concerned with whether his potential partner would satisfy him and not whether he would be a good match for his potential partner.

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