Flawed characters? In my mobile game? it's more likely than you'd think
So I've been playing Tokyo Debunkers for...like, nearly a year now, I guess? I'm pretty good at setting up routines for mobage once I'm really into them, so I've been slowly grinding my way through the levels.
Lately I'm finally starting to catch up on the story. I put it off at first because I was scared I'd run into the level cap on a cliffhanger, but I'm now high-leveled enough that that isn't a problem, so I'm getting into it in earnest.
And the story is really fun! Idk, I haven't played a ton of gacha games, but it seems like this one puts a comparatively high amount of effort into its main storyline, and a similarly high amount of effort into developing the cast.
I think the biggest stand-out element of the characterization, at least to me, is that every single one of the boys I've met so far (I'm currently in episode 12, and I know there are some I haven't met yet) kind of sucks for at least one reason. Like, every single one of them is annoying and/or off-putting and/or raises red flags to varying degrees.
And even while I dislike many of the traits themselves, I really love that feature of the cast.
I feel like a lot of otome games default to one or two ways that male leads can suck at firstâgenerally they're either cold or brash, or else they're perfectly nice and the complication lies in their backstory. But their facades wear off quickly, or the backstory gets an arc to address it, and then it's all sweetness and light and they can honestly start to resemble each other a bit, especially if the characterization was thin to begin with.
This cast's traits are a lot more durable, and they keep the large cast easily distinguishable from each other. Plus it makes in-universe sense for these boys to suckâthey've all made contracts with demons, after all. And it offsets nicely the way the MC falls weirdly into the center of their little universe, that they're mean to her as often as they are nice.
It's also particularly easy to see why some people would have different faves in the fandom when the characters each have unique flaws and foibles. Different people will see the same traits in different ways: as unforgivable, as turn-offs, as harmless, or even as endearing. And it makes me reflect on myself, too, to see what behavior I find easy to forgive versus what I don't.
So I'm really impressed with the strength of the characterization, and honestly, I like more of these boys than I thought I wouldâand I like way more of them than I generally do in other otome games I've played. Usually I latch on to one or two leads and don't care about the others, but there are at least 8 boys at this point who I'm more excited to see than not every time they appear onscreen. And that number is rising with the plot twists that are introduced, rather than falling with familiarity. I find that impressive too.
(Of course, my oshis are scattered irregularly across the houses, so some episodes are more fun for me to play through than others. I don't know whether to be grateful or annoyed that they put Sinostra first in the arc rotationâI find Taiga intriguing, but the other two are particularly grating for me, and I don't appreciate the house's overall dynamic very much. On the other hand, I'm predictably obsessed with all the Hotarubi ghouls at this point, so I'm happy whenever they make an appearance.)
Idk, it's just a really fun game, and if you're into otome and otome-adjacent stuff at allâespecially if you also like horrorâI recommend this one.
