Whoops, a bit late in starting this round thanks to moving preparations; sorry, my lovely readers!
But yes, it is now time…for Round 5 of OTOMANIA 2017! ✨ I’ve enjoyed reading people’s thoughts on this event on here, Discord and the world of tweets. Thanks to otome fans all over for taking part in this! 
Missed out on voting previously? No need to worry, since there are still more rounds for you to determine which game is the best of them all in this year’s OTOMANIA! Round 4 is now OVAH, so let’s see which game was victorious.
The winner of round 4 is… Hakuouki! 🎉 This comes to the surprise of NO ONE, but I gotta say that Taisho x Alice put up a tough fight with the support of 42% of the votes, which proves that Taisho x Alice is a pretty popular game despite it not being released in English just yet.
Hakuouki goes on to face…Diabolik Lovers! HOO BOY, that’s going to be the most interesting one to see! I’m insanely curious to see…which game you all pick on that round.
While I’m sure a huge number of you know about Hakuouki, let’s briefly introduce it for those who haven’t tried out the series yet.
Japan’s Edo Period was drawing to a close.
The shogunate, who’d held power in the country for more than 200 years, found itself challenged by the imperial court, and by several domains who had chaffed under shogunal rule.
In this midst of this political unrest, an organization rose to prominence: The Shinsengumi. Originally formed to protect the streets of Kyoto from masterless samurai, they came to represent the last, tragic bastion of the honor-bound samurai culture that had defined much of Japan’s history.
A young woman by the name of Chizuru comes to Kyoto in search of her missing father, and soon encounters danger and the Shinsengumi in quick succession. When it becomes clear the Shinsengumi are also searching for her father, Chizuru is put under their protection.
But odd things are afoot in Kyoto—possibly even supernatural things. Can Chizuru navigate this maze of mortal danger and political intrigue? Amidst so much misery and death, can she find romance?
Hakuouki is a classic otome game that pretty much most otome fans have played and started out their otome game journey with. Hell, it was the game that I started out with before I discovered other wonderful otome games! While, yes, samurai vampires seems like a ridiculous theme, this game is educational with the way it presents Shinsengumi history; it made me curious enough to research it more on my own. The story hooks you and the characters are all compelling enough to help this become an instant classic!
You can get Hakuouki in various ways: you can try hunting down the PSP copy or the PS3 copy, or you can download it on PSN to either your PS3 or Vita. A word of caution though: the PS3 version is the most complete one, since there are extra stories in that version. You can also play the game on your iOS and Android devices. The mobile version also has some exclusive bonus short stories.
Now…it’s time for ROUND 5 of OTOMANIA 2017!
Round 5 will be between Norn9 and Code: Realize! Both of these games were localized quite a while ago…I wonder which one you all favor more. It’ll be up to YOU, my dear readers, to select the best game! Vote, talk about it in the comments or on Twitter, but most importantly: have fun!
Figuratively Speaking 
Don’t forget the upcoming Vita versions of Hakuoki, which takes the PS3 version, doubles and fleshses out the routes but divides the story into two.
I think Code Realize > Norn9. Not just the story, but the localization is also better.
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Wooot! Yeah not surprised Hakuoki won, but it really is something that Taisho Alice took nearly half the votes!
I really like the production quality of Otomate titles like both Norn 9 and Code Realize- they got the great art, music, characters and story. One of these two is in my top 3 though. so I already knew what I’d vote for~
But they are both great games that I think everyone should try. ^^ Actually, I feel like Code Realize is a little like Hakuoki or Sweet Fuse in that while it is a romance, I think guys that like visual novels can appreciate the story and setting too. Not to say hanging out with the girls and boys in Norn 9 isn’t a lot of fun, it just seemed to have less action and set changes that appeal to a general audience.
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Greeat read thanks
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