VN - Ren'Py - My Bully Is My Lover [Ch.1 Ep.4] [NiiChan]

Edited review.

Started off well and cute, but very quickly devolved into too many LIs and the plot got really convoluted. I think that's a bit of the "anime type story" that the intro suggests, so maybe it's just not my cup of tea (I think others who rate this 5 stars will certainly argue as much), but even though I'm not an otaku I've seen a few anime and generally liked their stories much more than this (ofc this is just an AVN by a solo dev, not a multimillion dollar project). The villain in the story is too cartoonish and the setup to what will ultimately be the great reveal is too convoluted while also being pretty predictable.

Renders are typical HS1 quality. OK and cute, but a bit underwhelming for today's standards. They don't take away from the experience, but I also can't give a star for them

There's very little porn, so I can't give it an extra star for that either.

Exposition is a bit too basic. There's a lot of editing that could be done here. I suggest watching this: In Praise of Great Exposition

Choices are a combination of being too obvious and not consequential. Someone waves "hi" at you and you have a chance of replying to get +1 RP or do nothing and have no consequences. These days, I tend to prefer a system in which everything is a choice and either alternative will influence a relationship, like Paragon and Renegade points (or Love and Corruption, for example). I think developers shy away from having too many choices because they think this grows the # of scenes they have to create exponentially, but I don't think that's right. That would only happen if every choice created a different scene, but if scenes are dependent on cumulative score rather than specific boolean variables, they can still be pretty manageable. The result is at most you get 3 scene variations (one if you're above a certain Love threshold, another if you're above a certain Corruption threshold, and another if you're below both thresholds). But any of those 3 scene choices could also not exist at all so, say, if you're above a Love threshold you get a scene, otherwise you get zilch. So rather than "scenes per each choice variable", think of the scenes you want first and then create "scenes per threshold check".

SPOILERS below

I think I know where people are coming from on the "great writing" which is the fact that the bully turns lover, MC overcomes his perceived limitations to rise above the challenge, etc. etc. but none of that stuff actually happens _in_ the story. We start by already seeing MC transformed, the bully is a nice person, etc. We're just told these things happened and we're supposed to care, but if we're not shown them, it's hard to really care. See https://blog.reedsy.com/show-dont-tell/

Anyway, the setup is very interesting but the execution left a little bit to be desired. Dialogue and writing improvements could take this from 2/5 to 3.5-4/5. Render and animation improvements could further take it to a solid 4.5/5

I think this setup with cute HS1 girls with cat ears has been done many times before and I don't think this is the best rendition of that fantasy, unfortunately.

Just amazing. Love Emma solo ending. Love the dynamic between MC and the girls. The animations are smooth and sexy. The story is good enough for me to care about the LIs. My favorite moment is properly when everyone confront each other about how they all fell for one guy, and it's hilirious.

My Bully Is My Lover [Ch1 Ep3 Part 2]

What a great game.

• Writing is top notch. It goes from heartbreakingly sad to funny.
• Animations are really good too, way beyond the standard HS.
• Amazing OST. Don't play this with sounds off.
• Characters have great depth and you get to really know them, their struggles and motivations.

One of the best harem games we have.

Great game! I've been playing this since a friend recommended it. I love how the story from the earlier versions connects to the current one. Can't wait to see what the next update brings, especially with the moon's story.

The game hits the nail spot on when it comes to triggering emotions. Each and every character has such a good backstory and arc that it becomes tough to choose your favorite. Not just the main LI's but even other characters are well written.

Prime example of a game that gets better the further it goes on. The early parts of the game are poor but the further it progresses the more the writing, visual quality and sex scenes improve. The most recent updates have had some of the better storytelling that I have seen in the current crop of updating AVNs.

What stops the game getting 5 stars is the poor beginning, character models that are lagging behind the competition at the top, instead sitting more in the average range and some story elements being out of place enough in the world to make a serious story come across as goofy.

This is one of the top games to watch and for now 4 stars is deserved.

This game is a fucking masterpiece. The story, the plot, the characters, are amazing. It's a bit confusing at times especially since there are characters that weren't really introduced so I assume that the entire game is part of an extended universe type of situation, but the story more than makes up for it. The build-up and pacing is awesome, I have never been more blown away by a game like this before. This made me cry more than once and I love it. I love this game. To any of you reading this. DO NOT HESITATE TO PLAY THIS GAME!!!! THIS IS ABSOLUTE CLASS!!!

I honestly didn't know where the plot was going for the first 3 hours of this game. Sometimes, the game's plot simmers in a nice hotpot of cute and fun moments. Then, suddenly, it decides to slingshot you back into the main plot OR it takes a long ass break to tell you the entire backstory of a character that has been only mentioned in name for over 2 chapters.

9 love interests is way too much, in my opinion. The entirety of the "prologue", which is over 7 episodes, focuses primarily on 3 girls. There's Aine - your bully, Gwen - this delinquent girl you hung out with, and Emma - your childhood friend. The 6 other girls aren't really main girls, in my eyes. Hell, your "sister", Sky, doesn't get any scenes for over 7-8 episodes. I was going insane at how little content she even had. Freya is just the token playful loli character. Klara is just your mom - and it's like she's mostly on business ventures half the time, so she's barely characterized other than being the sole active connection to the dev's other game, Sicae. Moon has potential as an interesting character, but it's rarely capitalized upon. Naomi is just your damn repairwoman, so she doesn't even make sense in context of the plot. Finally, Lily is literally just there. They introduce her so damn early, but she is barely ever involved with the plot besides being your coworker.

By the time you catch up to current updates, there will only be a substantial amount of sex scenes for like 2-3 girls. There are like 10 episodes total. 7 for the prologue, and 3 for chapter 1. Total time reading through everything (light skimming here and there for me) will be like probably 9-10 hours.

Everything I love about the game: Renders are good, MC doesn't look awful, girls look really cute, animations are great, sound effects are there, music can be extremely corny sometimes.

The story can be super dull or annoying at some points. I started out really liking it. Now, I only half-like it. The mafia family plot stuff is pretty good, but it takes a back seat so often to what's the equivalent to a shitload of filler. MC sounds and acts like a real moron sometimes. The appeal is there for an anime MC, since the dev is adamant on how anime-like the story wants to be. But I just found some things he does so illogical and scummy.

I really question why the dev didn't just focus on literally the three main girls of the game (at least judging by how much content/screentime is dedicated to them???): Aine, Gwen, Emma. It's super confusing at times, because Aine gets her backstory passed by word of mouth early on, but no real flashback episode, like what the dev does with all the other girls. The game is literally called "My Bully Is My Lover".

That being said, I do think Aine, Gwen, and Emma are the peak of this game's story. Especially Emma's story with the MC - to the point that you can even have an ending with her alone. When any of those three are on screen, this game feels a little bit more bearable. Other than that, you have 6 pretty bland or dull characters that don't have enough characterization to validate feeling much during their more emotional moments.

Overall it's a solid 3. As much as I complained in this review, I love a lot of parts in the game. It's just the game is so spread thin when it comes to characterization and plot significance. You can pull this number of love interests off, other games have proven it. But if you don't involve them into the main plot and give the more significance, they literally become nothing characters who just exist in the background and will make no sense in the long-term. The game wants to be a deep underlying mafia family drama, but the story rarely moves and it just suffers from pointlessly introducing and connecting characters from another game.

10/10
i not really good at English but after playing this game i have to write a review for it. The story emotional that make me cried at ep 5, the characters also interesting and unique that i love every single one of them (i love Sky and Gwen most).

Underrated.

The story along with the girls is written at the highest level. The narrative is smooth and not boring. The main character's problems are made intriguing.

Emma's story is peak

10/10 must play

Imust say I was reluctant to start this VN , boy was I wrong .

I got to world of adult VN approx 1 year ago so in last year I played near 100 of them
this one is certainly on top 5%

maybe not as emotional as My new Family or Lep of Faith but still very good.
And the story itself is very fresh and original, not like many others that just recycle usual stereotypes.
Maybe retrospective parts are too detailed for my taste.
But I understand that it is Author's way to say a story and I respect that and maybe at the end I will acquire a taste for it.
Some reviewers find fault with "cheese and corny" but is real life real without "cheese and corny" ? I don't think so.
So at the end I have to prise NiiChans work
I can't wait for future updates !!!

honestly i dont know how can someone rate this story anything less then 5stars, i actually cried more than i came, if you can believe that. what a masterpiece. hope this get the proper ending it deserves.

As someone who has just started dipping their toes into the AVN genre, I have seen MBiML recommended in a plethora of forum posts and threads, which built up my expectations for it tremendously. Imagine my surprise when the first hour of this game was one of the worst hours I had spent playing an AVN - so much so that I felt compelled to write my first ever review. Full disclaimer: I've only played the first 3 chapters of this game, so maybe it gets better later, but I for one could not be assed to stick around to find out, because it's not the plot or pacing that put me off, it's the atrocious writing.

Unlike other AVNs that are notorious for being poorly written to the point of being intentionally bad, MBiML's writing is touted as its strong suit, which completely befuddles me. MBiML's MC is written to be someone who struggles with a difficult past who ultimately moves on from it to help the girls that he encounters - that is to say, a good guy you should root for and empathise with. I honestly could not do that because of how off-putting he is.

The first issue I have is with this scene: in his first sex scene with Gwen, it happens because she falls asleep in his arms hugging him front to front, which arouses him and causes him to take out his penis. She's obviously shocked when she wakes up, and he says she has to 'take responsibility' for it, which she does (and they bang). What responsibility? This is essentially sexual harassment, but the game frames it as though it is the woman's fault. I'm not opposed to and can enjoy games that include questionable content (like rape), but I don't like it when the narrative reshapes it to justify the perpetrators actions or even absolve them from blame, especially if the MC is someone you are meant to root for.

I also dislike the way the MC speaks and 'helps' the girls he encounters. The way he speaks is reminiscent of older (bad) TV shows where the men in it try to 'help' or 'educate' in a patronising and condescending manner. There is a scene in the diner he works at in which he 'teaches' the two other girls working there (Lily and Freya?) customer service which I just could not stomach due to how cringy it was. He speaks as if he knows better (which I guess is true in this case), but I abhor the air of superiority he presents his opinions (because they are not facts!!!) with. This is not an isolated incident, just the one that has had the greatest impression on me. I do wonder if it's simply the case that English is not the writer's first language, in which I can concede I have been very harsh about in this point, though my lack of enjoyment will remain unchanged.

All in all, I think I can grind through a boring plot or lacklustre pacing, but the cardinal sin is poor writing, because unlike the other two, writing betrays the innermost thoughts of a writer and provides the strongest connection to how they view a specific interaction, and by extension, specific topics. Again, whereas I would be more understanding and lenient if this game is intended to be satirical, I think it's meant to be the exact opposite. If you're not a stickler for writing, maybe this game does have a good story (as I've been told), but I could not last long enough.

Honestly, I have no idea what to make of this one.

I almost ignored this game because of its title, as I assumed that it was about an abusive relationship. Curiosity led me to click on it, and my initial reaction was “an anti-revenge game? About healing? Why the fuck would I want that?” For that very reason, I challenged myself to play it, and I’m glad I did.

As a sex game, it’s good. Not enough first person, but that’s always a complaint of mine. The girls are excellent, well fleshed-out characters, and also hot. Some of the sex scene writing is outstanding.

As an emotional story, it’s a lot of things at once. There are narrative problems, there are some lines that are bad, but overall it’s a well written story...

This is probably the most emotional game I’ve ever played, but not all of it seems good. The characters feel relatable, in a way that cuts me. I don't know if I'm just particularly sensitive right now, but I used a fucking box of tissues, especially in Emma's side ending. And I’m not sure if this has been cathartic or just masochistic, but that’s my problem. I’m honestly not sure if I’m reviewing the game or myself here. (And yes, I am getting professional help, no need to worry.)

It should have started with the week that the protagonist met Aine, at least from his perspective. That is the basis for the whole story, and it should definitely have come first. It took a really long time to even learn that they knew each other a little before he asked her out. And that significantly changes his perspective. Because he had seen the good side of her, as well as the bad, it would substantially color the way he looked back on her between high school and their reconnection.

I want to at least see the full lyrics for “In Your Arms Again.” C’mon.

Also, Sicae lets you name the protagonist in the scene replays, but MBiML doesn’t, which is annoying as fuck.

“Haunted by memories of a girl who made life unbearable, you've journeyed through both literal and metaphorical realms of heaven and hell”

Click to expand...

It wasn’t unbearable, as he kept going back – he literally bore it. And he didn’t journey through literal realms of Heaven and Hell, just the figurative ones.

I’m giving this 5 stars, because I don’t know what the fuck else to do. (How’s that for a review?)

[UPDATED] [CH 1 EP4] - 4.9/10 (up from 4.75)

Too much, too young, too slow.

THE GOOD

The game's art direction is solid and only improves as time goes on. The biggest jump can be seen in the animations that get progressively more complex, while retaining good camera work and overall smoothness. One of the best in the HS2 sphere.

The character models are detailed and distinctive enough to offer a good variety (with some exceptions - Freya and Moon).

The game's mafia plot line is interesting (when explored), cutting through the somewhat samey slice-of-life parts.

The GUI is nicely customized but still retains enough of the "vanilla" flow that using it isn't a chore.

The music fits the scenes well and improves the overall experience.

THE NEUTRAL

The release schedule is pretty consistent, but with the developer trying to juggle two games at the same time, one of them will get discarded in favor of the other.

The start/prologue is a little too slow, but also worth the build-up - hence the neutral rating.

The game has TONS of content, but I as describe it later, it's a rather double-edged sword.

THE BAD

The roster is simply too big.
There are currently 9 8 LIs, and the game struggles to give everyone enough screen time. Sky, your childhood best friend that occupied most of your time in the prologue, hasn't had a sex scene since the island update (CH 1 EP 1), which was in August of 2022 - even if you're on harem or Sky-exclusive path. As of CH EP4, there is a small fan service scene with Sky that directly addresses this point.

Same goes for Lily, a character that NiiChan has no fucking clue what to do. She appeared early in the game, and as of latest CH 1 EP 3 P2 she's being moved off-screen. And hopefully forever.

Or Emma (since her Solo Ending). Or Klara. Or Freya. (Sorry, but being a bland loli copy of her older sister isn't a particularly alluring personality trait.) Not to mention all the secondary characters that are important to the mafia plot, but aren't LIs.

The game's pacing is terrible.
With the sheer amount of love interests and other side plot lines, the game progresses incredibly slow with each update. The amount of content is substantial in each release, but it's spread so thin that sometimes the core plot of "I'm being hunted by a powerful mafia, and I need to find out why." takes a back seat until the next update. In other words - if you're not going full harem route, you're left with substantially less content and that sucks.

The writing is headacheingly bad (at times).
To be clear, the game has a lot of good and organic moments (whether in dialogue or inner monologues), and I gotta give NiiChan credit for that.

The problem is every other moment. All in-game characters are supposed to be in their 20s (except for Freya) or older, but they speak or think like actual children. Importantly, MC is the epitome of the most bland and indecisive "good guy" there is, who despite having a decent sexual experience (and a foot-long dick), acts like a hormone-bursting teenager seeing boobs for the first time. This, unfortunately, gets progressively worse as we get more content, and I'm afraid it won't improve.

The narrator.
The game LOVES to describe everything we already see, or add so much actual walls of text that it ruins the experience (I, for example, learned that vaginas can expand to accommodate the dick better. Or that deflowering your fiancée makes her act like a nympho on crack...). There is so much unnecessary bullshit and exposition that the grand sex scene with Aine has literally dozens of lines of meaningless descriptors between animation or render changes. I have never before lost a boner mid-scene because bro keeps yapping like a wind-up toy.

There is so, so much more wrong with the game's writing, but I don't want to you bore with examples.

To sum it up - I used to be a fan of MBML (an easy 8/10 back in the day), but as I play more great games and as this production expands, I feel like the developer has no clue how to fix the core issues. And unless something radical happens (e.g. half of your LIs disappear forever), the game will slowly devolve into an overexposed and painfully slow, yet good-looking mess.

Chapter 1 Episode 4 Update:
The storytelling gets better, and there is some solid action, but the whole grand reveal still feels incredibly drawn out - the words are correct, there are simply too many of them.
Case in point: I felt the most (if any) emotion when we axe off a character we barely know anything about. Their story was short, but well-told, and with a satisfying ending. So, yeah...

There are 2 is 1.5 sex scene in this update. The 0.5 is for the Sky fan-service. The other reminds me once again why I gave this just two stars - this game has either good, sharp writing, or the most cringe-inducing verbal gymnastics ('your mushroom stamp of approval') I've seen in a production this well-known - there is nothing in-between sadly.

If you like the game, you will like this update.
For anyone else, it's a chore.

It's usually a bad sign when the dev has to spend the time and effort to render an intro warning the user that the game will go a different way than they may expect. I GET the need, the name of the game will surely lead to some being a bit confused or put off but at the same time it's worrying that dev and fan expectation may not be in line and if it's not at the earliest point.... it's only going to get worse.

It's not a BAD game but it's a game which suffers from the occasional attack of something all players dread, "the stupid". Players will give a dev a lot of leeway but usually you have to get some credit in the bank first. The Dev hammers home the point the game is influenced by anime so perhaps I'm being too critical but I've barely got my foot in the door to this game and I'm very conscious about how stupid the MC is. The whole premise of the game is that the MC got bullied by troop of lassies in school and then got his act together, moved on and bettered himself..... except it's painfully obvious he didn't do all of those things. He talks about moving on but whenever he talks about Aine he still comes off as very simp like. Now I'm not saying he should grow up and be vengeful and hateful at Aine (as he alludes to himself in game).... but perhaps some acceptance of the situation and moving on would be healthy? Instead at times it feels like all he's done is accept they bullied him and forgiven them for doing it. Like... wat? I'm not going to let her boss me about....... but my god she's more beautiful as ever. Take a shower my dude, go ride Sky and just chill a little.

There's also a small issue about Emma's plan. She over plays her hand somewhat. Her plan has to work so they can hide Aine but either Aine's family are so powerful they can make her do whatever they want..... or they're not and as such her plan isn't needed. It can't be both so the main plot is a bit sus.

One of the BEST games I've played on this site. Had me laughing, crying, sad, and happy. The characters are well written, the comedic timing is pretty much spot on, and there is just enough mush and cringe that it makes the emotions feel real instead of a typical collect all the girls harem game.

Honestly this game is up there with the Top rated ones, the Rating this game gets is not even close to how high it should be rated, yeah the Start is a bit slow but Trust me sit through it and play the game, its 100% worth it.

Don't make the same mistake as me:
Like a R-word i thought that the "EP 3" on screen meant it was almost finished and i quit out because i hate cliffhangers, thats SO wrong tho, its just the Prologue and once continued there were HOURS of more content that just gets better and better.


Pros:
-VERY hot girls, 90% of the time i keep switching my mind about Fav Girl
-Music even if basic gets the Job done and very fitting
-Sounds are well-placed
-The Dialogue feels good to read, almost never had to Skip which is rare
-Lighting is fitting and does not look like they just threw it in
-Pacing is good, even if a little slow which i like
-Sex scenes are hot
-HUGE amount of content, game is 8 Gigs and it shows
-No Sandbox (thank god)

Cons:
-The start is slow, but it gets better and better
-Some of the girls i don't care about at all (like lily)
-Honestly not that much Sky content
-Some girls are just plain annoying sometimes, but it gets better
-The MC is a bit dense when it comes to girls but once he is cornered by them, he gets the job done

100% Recommend
Give this game a try, good game and good Dev (Or Devs dont know if solo or not XD)

Good luck Dev

Man this game is so good from story to renders everything is just perfect , people who have been this game for a long long time can really get attached to it and what i really like is their always some curveballs in a good way at the end of every update which maintain the flow of story very well. This is one of those games which is very hard to predict what will happen in the future updates. Thank you good sir for such a masterpiece.

MY GOD I LOVE THIS. I am so glad i found this. After elternum i was in need of another masterpiece like that. And this is it. All the characters feel so real and sooooooo full of life. I love it. i am sssssssssooooooo glad i played this. I can't wait for more.