Kyoya Akase (CV. Soma Saito) – An energetic, positive presence who always tries to see the best in others and refuses to distrust the rest of the cast. He joins the Information Team. Honestly, I’m on the fence. There are some really great elements that make Charade Maniacs a standout among the recent otome localizations—it’s overarching mystery and sci-fi premise are definite positives. But, the mixed bag with the writing of the individual routes and tone issues caused by the rushed pacing can be frustrating for gamers looking to fully immerse themselves in this game. Everyone must act out "dramas" for a chance to escape, all whilst avoiding the trappings of a traitor. Unfortunately, Charade Maniacsis a prime example of “quantity over quality.” There are many bachelor routes to uncover, and not all characters are likable. By the very nature of the game’s premise, you can’t trust anything you initially come across at face value, as many plot twists make you see the characters in different lights. Sometimes, as with the blunt Ebana, you get a deeper understanding and appreciation for the characters by going through their respective routes. Other times, you get left with a mixed sense of character. Such is the case with Iochi, as they do not-nice things in their route but for understandable reasons.

Visual novels and dating sims go together like peanut butter and chocolate, but sometimes dating doesn’t exactly suit the darker tone of a story. I’m all for love, romance and cuddles, but it’s hard to deny the appeal of the constant tension provided by a game like Danganronpa for example. As a general rule I’d say that when in mortal peril that love probably shouldn’t be the main thing on your mind, but nobody told Otomate that when they created their latest Otome game Charade Maniacs. I tried to give her grace, since getting isekai’d and forced to act in weird dramas isn’t something that anyone would be able to take lightly, especially when death is a very real consequence. But come on, sis makes some frustrating choices that had me wanting to pull out my hair! Hiyori is the embodiment of kind to a fault! She works so hard to be fair and trust everyone no matter what, despite the fact that EVERYONE is so damn suspicious. What happened to her survival instinct?! I just wanted to shake her! Souta Gyobu (CV. Yoshitsugu Matsuoka) – An impish boy who shows callous disregard to the whole situation and just wants to figure out the mystery behind the Other World Stream. He joins the Cleaning Team.I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I have a major weakness for death game-style, social deduction adventure games. I'll choose to replay the Danganronpa or Nonary Games series in a heartbeat over the latest Souls-like or shooter. So, when the words “death game” came out of a character's mouth in the first hour of the otome game Charade Maniacs, I was excited. Giddy, even. The boys were cute, the premise intriguing, and the genre one of my favorites; I knew I was in for a good time. And indeed, a good time was had. It’s giving dystopian YA novel vibes, but there are some fun twists and turns that make Charade Maniacs a unique experience in it’s own right. I can honestly say I was really interested in learning more about the world. Look out for the traitor! Who can it be? – Work together with your costars to uncover clues and deepen your relationship with your love interests. You might even bring out some repressed feelings from your costars! But keep an eye out for anything suspicious.

I’m not surprised at Dazai’s popularity in the poll but I’m sad Chigasaki and Akase were that low – their team was my favourite as were their routes. I think Sena had the one of the best chemistry with them.

Database Statistics

Charade Maniacs has an expansive cast of NINE love interests The nine LIs of Charade Maniacs (L to R): Kyoya Akase, Tomose Banjo, Mamoru Chigasaki, Mei Dazai, Keito Ebana, Ryoichi Futami, Souta Gyobu, Takumi Haiji, and Mizuki Iochi Soma Saito as “Kyoya Akase”–Mineo (CollarxMalice), Tsurumaru/Namazuo (Touken Ranbu), Shungen (Birushana), Levi (Psychedelica AH),Yves (Virche Evermore),Yumeno Gentaro (Hypnosis Mic), Kikunosuke (Tengoku Struggle), Ohtaro (Winter’s Wish),Takuma (Kitty Love) I would have perhaps appreciated a light nudge in the direction of a more beginner-friendly path. In saying that, there is a post-game flowchart option that allows you to choose certain points in the story to start from, however, as someone with a particularly poor memory it’s not clear which starting points it’s showing you and it doesn’t feel very user-friendly. So, despite the intriguing story and very handsome people, the ambiguous ending you may receive and a few unanswered questions from multiple playthroughs are pretty off-putting. I’ll be honest, I don’t like Hiyori as a heroine. She’s a normal high school girl and that’s pretty much all there is to her. Which isn’t an issue in and of itself, but as a leading lady it’s kind of boring to follow someone who is just so… bland. She is kind to everyone and always wants to see the best in others even if that means she gets hurt in the end (much to Tomose’s frustration).