, commonly known as , is a Japanese adult visual novel developed by Caramel Box and released on January 28, 2005 playable on Windows PCs. The game was later ported to the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable (PSP) with the adult content removed. The Windows version was released in English by MangaGamer in 2012. The story follows the life of Mizuho Miyanokouji, an androgynous male high school student, who transfers into an all-girls school due to his grandfather's will.
The gameplay in Otoboku follows a branching plot line which offers pre-determined scenarios with courses of interaction, and focuses on the appeal of the six female main characters by the player character. The game ranked as the second best-selling PC game sold in Japan for the time of its release, and charted in the national top 50 several more times afterwards. Caramel Box went on to produce two fan discs released in 2005 and 2007 in Caramel Box Yarukibako and Caramel Box Yarukibako 2, respectively. Caramel Box later produced a sequel to Otoboku titled Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru: Futari no Elder, released on June 30, 2010 playable on Windows PCs. Futari no Elder was ported to the PSP with the adult content removed. The story follows Chihaya Kisakinomiya, an androgynous male, who transfers into the all-girls school that was the setting of Otoboku. A third Otoboku game titled Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru: Trinkle Stars was released on February 23, 2018 playable on Windows PCs.
A manga adaptation of Otoboku was serialized in ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Daioh, and a manga adaptation of Futari no Elder was serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's Comp Ace. Comic anthologies, light novels and art books were also published, as were audio dramas and several music albums. A 12-episode Otoboku anime produced by Feel aired in Japanese between October and December 2006, and an extra original video animation (OVA) episode was released in April 2007. Media Blasters licensed the anime and released the series in three DVD volumes. The Otoboku anime was generally panned in reviews at Anime News Network where the series was described as "cruelly unimaginative" with "obnoxious quirks and technical shortcomings". In a review of the anime by Mania Entertainment, the series is thought to be "very predictable and bland". A three-episode OVA adaptation of Futari no Elder produced by Silver Link was released between August and October 2012. An OVA adaptation of Trinkle Stars produced by EXNOA with animation by Blue Bread was released in January 2022.
Gameplay
Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru is a romance visual novel in which the player assumes the role of Mizuho Miyanokouji. Its gameplay requires little player interaction as much of the game's duration is spent on reading the text that appears on the screen, which represents the story's narrative and dialogue. Otoboku follows a branching plot line with multiple endings, and depending on the decisions that the player makes during the game, the plot will progress in a specific direction.
There are six main plot lines that the player will have the chance to experience, one for each of the heroines in the story. Every so often, the player will come to a point where he or she is given the chance to choose from multiple options. Text progression pauses at these points until a choice is made. To view all plot lines in their entirety, the player will have to replay the game multiple times and choose different choices to further the plot to an alternate direction. Each scenario 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. Each episode takes place within the span of one month between June and March from episode one through the epilogue. The interlude episode is placed between the second and third episodes.
In the adult versions of the game, there are scenes with sexual CGs depicting Mizuho and a given heroine having sex. When the game was ported to the PlayStation 2 (PS2) console, the gameplay was somewhat altered. The PS2 version, and later the PlayStation Portable (PSP) version, 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 Windows editions contain four sub episodes, the fan disc Caramel Box Yarukibako contains four sub episodes and a special episode, Caramel Box Yarukibako 2 contains two sub episodes, and the PS2 version contains six sub episodes, though the order in which they appeared was altered.