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Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs (Manga) #1
Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs (Manga) Vol. 1
A tongue-in-cheek jaunt through romance, giant robots, and dating sim jokes! (And don't miss the original light novels, also from Seven Seas. Anime soon!)
Thanks to some unfortunate gameplay, a young man named Leon has been reborn into the world of an alternate universe otome game. Facing an absurd scenario where males are no better than livestock who serve at the whim of women, Leon only has one weapon–his knowledge of the dating sim genre–to survive the challenges he faces and inspire a revolt against the system!
Thanks to some unfortunate gameplay, a young man named Leon has been reborn into the world of an alternate universe otome game. Facing an absurd scenario where males are no better than livestock who serve at the whim of women, Leon only has one weapon–his knowledge of the dating sim genre–to survive the challenges he faces and inspire a revolt against the system!
180 pages, Paperback
Published August 3, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 24, 2026
Title of this manga is: Otome Game Sekai wa Mob ni Kibishii Sekai desu, or The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs.
There isn't much to say about this manga adaptation of yet another light novel set in an otome game (dating simulator catered to women). However, this story has a relatively uninteresting main character that speaks to a misanthrope's cold heart. Leon has zero fucks left to give to a world that sees him as meat to be traded for social status. So he got stronger and become a savage troll to the game's main capture targets who he hate with a passion. It's always enjoyable to have a non-wimpy harem protagonist.
There isn't much to say about this manga adaptation of yet another light novel set in an otome game (dating simulator catered to women). However, this story has a relatively uninteresting main character that speaks to a misanthrope's cold heart. Leon has zero fucks left to give to a world that sees him as meat to be traded for social status. So he got stronger and become a savage troll to the game's main capture targets who he hate with a passion. It's always enjoyable to have a non-wimpy harem protagonist.
June 18, 2022
Look, it's the fist book of the manga version (I haven't read the Light Novel). But it doesn't really stand up well. I don't mind it being isekai, I actually love the genre. But if you're going to do it, at least stay consistent.
In this game world we're told that women run the show and that it is matriarchal. Okay. But every thing the MC does goes against that. Also okay.... BUT he suffers no consequences for it. If he convention that much he'd have a lot more to deal with.
Then when he gets to the Academy -- everyone defers to the Prince. But what happened to the matriarchy? Shouldn't he be deferring to his fiance?
So the internal rules just don't jive. Which, if it was all about turning the world on its ear would be one thing, but it is apparent that isn't the focus.
Our library has the next couple of volumes, I'll take a look, but right now I do not have high hopes.
In this game world we're told that women run the show and that it is matriarchal. Okay. But every thing the MC does goes against that. Also okay.... BUT he suffers no consequences for it. If he convention that much he'd have a lot more to deal with.
Then when he gets to the Academy -- everyone defers to the Prince. But what happened to the matriarchy? Shouldn't he be deferring to his fiance?
So the internal rules just don't jive. Which, if it was all about turning the world on its ear would be one thing, but it is apparent that isn't the focus.
Our library has the next couple of volumes, I'll take a look, but right now I do not have high hopes.
October 5, 2021
When he collapses from exhaustion after playing an otome game for his sister non-stop, a poor teenager finds himself reborn as a kid inside the game world. However, this world kind of sucks super hard for guys and, as he makes it back to his 'pre-isekai' age, he finds himself in matrimonial (and mortal) peril. Relegated to the status of a background NPC, will he be able to use his knowledge to survive, let alone smash the matriarchy!?
Oh, I dunno. I think this might be heading somewhere interesting or at least predictable by an alternative route, which gives it a leg up on most isekai. While it's not without its odd moments and it definitely adheres to some of its genre's yawn-inducing staples, it manages to justify some of the things we'd normally take for granted and it makes things more interesting by at least starting our hero off behind the 8-ball.
The world he ends up being reborn in is one where men are basically bottom feeders and as likely to be used for cannon fodder than anything more practical. Marriages of convenience are the norm, which is why Leon's father was forced to marry one of the most miserable pieces of work I've seen for quite some time. This book's not shy about making it's female characters into real villains, though it does manage some nuance with the younger cast.
As he sets off to avoid an arranged marriage that is clearly designed to result in his death, Leon finds that he's not levelling at any appreciable pace, but he DOES have a lead on some massive weaponry because of the ridiculous amount of money he poured into the game when he was alive to finish it faster (it's a small change to cheat items, but I love the commentary implicit in even an isekai hero's abilities being fueled by microtransactions).
Once he meets a tsundere robot (well, once it stops trying to kill him), Leon gets a crash course in the very, very strange backstory of this world, which is another little wrinkle that I though was a nice touch. Most stories of this nature don't dwell on the bones the world is build on, but this one certainly does (quite literally) and it's a cool little twist that shows that the setting might be ridiculous but at least some thought was put into it.
Of course, Leon's discovery of this massive stash of cheat tech makes him super powerful and clearly set for life, until the story cuts him off at the legs again and "rewards" him for being too successful by putting him in the cutthroat elite section of his class at the kingdom's academy rather than the quiet one. Again, if you're going to make the character too powerful to fail, using it against them to tweak the plot is an amusingly welcome twist.
The plot flips to the traditional school shenanigans through the otome lens at this point, but even here there is some nuance. The haughty villainess is clearly not quite as evil as she appears, or, more likely, is being played (not in a game sense) by somebody who isn't the game's ostensible main character (there's no way that sneaky smirk from the latter doesn't imply something we don't know yet - I have my suspicions!). Of course, said main character is currently getting entangled with Leon, though Leon doesn't seem to notice as he's attempting to avoid getting entangled with anything of the sort. I don’t doubt we’re heading to harem town with this one.
So, on the downside, it's still yet another one of these stories, so if you can't handle it, even with a little tweak here and there, I couldn't blame you. I don't love pre-isekai Leon's mom labelling him a pervert just because he's hoarding his sister's BL collection (way to be progressive, mom). It isn't exactly misogynistic, either, but it is definitely heavy-handed with how mean the women are - I still feel a little conflicted about that, but it IS clearly the setting, so that's on me.
3 stars - it's isekai, and Leon's kind of a blank slate of desperation like every other hero of these stories, but there's just enough here to make me want to learn a little more. I can't say I'll stay with it, but it definitely warrants a second volume to see where things are developing because it has potential that I hope won't get totally squandered.
Oh, I dunno. I think this might be heading somewhere interesting or at least predictable by an alternative route, which gives it a leg up on most isekai. While it's not without its odd moments and it definitely adheres to some of its genre's yawn-inducing staples, it manages to justify some of the things we'd normally take for granted and it makes things more interesting by at least starting our hero off behind the 8-ball.
The world he ends up being reborn in is one where men are basically bottom feeders and as likely to be used for cannon fodder than anything more practical. Marriages of convenience are the norm, which is why Leon's father was forced to marry one of the most miserable pieces of work I've seen for quite some time. This book's not shy about making it's female characters into real villains, though it does manage some nuance with the younger cast.
As he sets off to avoid an arranged marriage that is clearly designed to result in his death, Leon finds that he's not levelling at any appreciable pace, but he DOES have a lead on some massive weaponry because of the ridiculous amount of money he poured into the game when he was alive to finish it faster (it's a small change to cheat items, but I love the commentary implicit in even an isekai hero's abilities being fueled by microtransactions).
Once he meets a tsundere robot (well, once it stops trying to kill him), Leon gets a crash course in the very, very strange backstory of this world, which is another little wrinkle that I though was a nice touch. Most stories of this nature don't dwell on the bones the world is build on, but this one certainly does (quite literally) and it's a cool little twist that shows that the setting might be ridiculous but at least some thought was put into it.
Of course, Leon's discovery of this massive stash of cheat tech makes him super powerful and clearly set for life, until the story cuts him off at the legs again and "rewards" him for being too successful by putting him in the cutthroat elite section of his class at the kingdom's academy rather than the quiet one. Again, if you're going to make the character too powerful to fail, using it against them to tweak the plot is an amusingly welcome twist.
The plot flips to the traditional school shenanigans through the otome lens at this point, but even here there is some nuance. The haughty villainess is clearly not quite as evil as she appears, or, more likely, is being played (not in a game sense) by somebody who isn't the game's ostensible main character (there's no way that sneaky smirk from the latter doesn't imply something we don't know yet - I have my suspicions!). Of course, said main character is currently getting entangled with Leon, though Leon doesn't seem to notice as he's attempting to avoid getting entangled with anything of the sort. I don’t doubt we’re heading to harem town with this one.
So, on the downside, it's still yet another one of these stories, so if you can't handle it, even with a little tweak here and there, I couldn't blame you. I don't love pre-isekai Leon's mom labelling him a pervert just because he's hoarding his sister's BL collection (way to be progressive, mom). It isn't exactly misogynistic, either, but it is definitely heavy-handed with how mean the women are - I still feel a little conflicted about that, but it IS clearly the setting, so that's on me.
3 stars - it's isekai, and Leon's kind of a blank slate of desperation like every other hero of these stories, but there's just enough here to make me want to learn a little more. I can't say I'll stay with it, but it definitely warrants a second volume to see where things are developing because it has potential that I hope won't get totally squandered.
February 27, 2024
I'm going to leave my overall impression here, because this is the first book.
The concept of the book seemed interesting enough, but the execution fell flat.
At the very least, I expected the concept of the matriarchal society to actually be matriarchal, however, it was just as misogynistic and patriarchal as the typical shonen story.
This idea that this supposed matriarchal society falls the flatest for me is in regards to Angelica. If the women truly have the power, especially in regards to relationships and marriage then, Angelica should've held more power in her relationship with the prince, even if he's royalty. Not to mention, that after the fallout with the prince it's her father and brother who fix things, rather than any female characters.
This concept of a matriarchal society could've been interesting, but ultimately became just another way for the story to be misogynistic. The lack of thought behind the execution of this concept ultimately led to me dropping the series.
The concept of the book seemed interesting enough, but the execution fell flat.
At the very least, I expected the concept of the matriarchal society to actually be matriarchal, however, it was just as misogynistic and patriarchal as the typical shonen story.
This idea that this supposed matriarchal society falls the flatest for me is in regards to Angelica. If the women truly have the power, especially in regards to relationships and marriage then, Angelica should've held more power in her relationship with the prince, even if he's royalty. Not to mention, that after the fallout with the prince it's her father and brother who fix things, rather than any female characters.
This concept of a matriarchal society could've been interesting, but ultimately became just another way for the story to be misogynistic. The lack of thought behind the execution of this concept ultimately led to me dropping the series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 11, 2022
It was a fun read. If you're expecting something deep here it doesn't exist. It's just about an angry young man who wants to escape the thumb of his sister, step mother and society by being the biggest jerk he can be.
September 8, 2023
Fell in love with the anime
After binge watching the anime I couldn't help but want more! So here I am enjoying the manga with glee. Once I catch up, I'll move onto the light novels. Yay!
After binge watching the anime I couldn't help but want more! So here I am enjoying the manga with glee. Once I catch up, I'll move onto the light novels. Yay!
January 24, 2023
As first volumes go this was okay, I got the crux of the story and can see certain aspects that will happen down the line, but overall a good read. Let's see if it continues to be that wat!
July 16, 2025
The manga adaptation of the light novel closely follows the original story. I rate the light novel higher because Shiosato-san's art style is not as good as Monda-san.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews