While I don’t believe you have to love everything you translate to be competent at it, I do think certain types of translations require the ability empathize with the audience, and otome games in particular fall squarely in that category.

Otome games, no matter how edgy or whatever they are, are first and foremost about the intimacy between the characters, the reader themselves being one of those characters as well (whether purely vicariously or via self-insert). The goal isn’t to be “more” than this.

The goal also isn’t to be inclusive to a “male” (in demographic terms) audience. Pushing aside the main target audience to make things more appealing to a “broader” demographic ignores the bigger problem that women are already expected to enjoy media made for men as a default.

And that’s what drives me insane. I’ve worked with very understanding male coworkers who cannot seem to understand this double standard. They say they want something that’s “more” than just romance without realizing that that’s besides the point. Romance is the point!

The goal should be in how to diversify the appeal of that romance, not minimize it. It’s like wanting a cake to have less cake in it but more frosting. In the end, all you get is something that isn’t tasty to anyone.