Every adult visual novel has that one love interest who looks perfect on paper but makes no sense next to the main character. So which LI is the least suited for their MC? For anyone new to the genre, LI means love interest and MC means main character, the guy you play as.
Opinions on this differ a lot, so treat the list below as a matter of taste, not fact. We picked the 20 love interests whose stories give the strongest reasons to doubt the match. The reasons range from age gaps and teacher-student dynamics to spy plots, family ties and plain bad timing.
A quick note before we start: this is not a ranking of the best or the hottest characters. Many of the girls below are fan favorites. They are here because the story, not the artwork, gives players a reason to hesitate.
Samara Richards (Law School)
Samara tops the list because of the path you have to take to reach her. Law School tags her route as Selfish, yet the MC is described again and again by Rose and others as someone who hates bullies and has a strong moral compass. The Selfish choices needed to get there do the MC a disservice, and the whole thing sits badly with his bond with Taylor, Samara’s best friend.
There is a counterargument. Samara cares deeply about Taylor and may not be selfish at all, and something clearly happened to her in Europe, as Vicky says she came back a different person. She is one of the best love interests in the game, so she makes the list as a story mismatch, not as a bad character.
Natalya Jakobs (Race of Life)
Natalya is the mystery girl of Race of Life, and mysteries are exactly what the MC does not need. Her life is full of strange details, and the question hanging over her is obvious: is she a spy? Her first meeting already sounds too odd to trust, and many fans expect some kind of corporate espionage plot to surface in a future episode.
The MC already juggles his PhD, the hospital care for his daughter Lily and the street races. Adding a woman whose story may collapse into a conspiracy is a risk few players want to take. If one Race of Life romance is doomed to lead nowhere, it is this one.
Jasmine Gilroy (Race of Life)
Jasmine is one of the most fun characters in Race of Life, which is exactly why she is a debate. She is the MC’s student and also his partner on the research project, so there is no easy way to separate romance from work. Her sometimes childish behavior makes it worse, and a breakup could ruin both the project and Lily’s chances of recovery.
The MC has already seen his life fall apart once after getting involved with a younger co-worker, so repeating the pattern with a student makes little sense. The counterargument is that Jasmine is the only LI who regularly attends the races and helps with two of his three storylines, so the two simply work well together. Great chemistry, terrible timing.
Isabella Roberts (Being a DIK)
Bella, one of the leading ladies of Being a DIK, is the pick that starts the most arguments, because she is a great character with a lot of baggage: a big age gap, a teacher-student background, a possible throuple with Jill, a chance of the MC cheating with Bianca, and a husband who may not be dead. Because the story has already moved into full relationship territory, with love confessions included, all those loose ends feel heavier.
Not everyone agrees she belongs here. Quinn, Jade, Nicole and Zoey all have their own cases, and Bella may well be the best partner of the bunch in terms of character. Her sweet, caring side shows up whenever she interacts with the rest of the cast. Still, anyone who picks her has to dread how the story will resolve all that uncertainty.
Hailey (The Missing Part)
Hailey is a career-focused blonde who looks tough but is a sweetheart underneath, and fans clearly adore her. That is the problem. The MC’s role as her protector makes their bond feel closer to a father and daughter than to a couple, perhaps the most father-daughter dynamic in any AVN with an age gap.
The age difference plus the fact that they work together make the match awkward, even though her platonic path is easy to enjoy. Sarah, who is older, does not work for the MC and teases him with real warmth, is the more natural fit.
Artemis (Artemis)
Artemis is the most clear-cut case on the list. She is an android built from the MC’s own code, and he spends the game teaching her about the world and helping her form her own worldview. For a large part of the community that makes her a daughter figure, not a romantic option. She is also still very young in terms of development, so the whole premise rubs many players the wrong way.
Cassandra is technically the better pick for this spot, if she counts as an LI at all. Kindra is the route many players prefer, with Artemis raised together as a family. Whatever happens in later books, the current consensus is clear: Artemis is a character to protect and guide.
Emmeline Jamison (Leaving DNA)
The shortest case on the list, and the hardest to argue with. Spoilers ahead: Leaving DNA reveals to both Emmeline and the MC that she is his sister. Those who noticed the similar eyes may have suspected it, others were completely surprised after already choosing her path.
Some players keep going anyway, because the MC deserves some happiness. Still, it is not exactly the best compatibility on paper.
Kira MaKenzie and Robin (Leap of Faith)
This pair is a different kind of mismatch. Kira and Robin are already in a relationship with each other, so the MC stepping in means either breaking them up or squeezing into a throuple. The setup is messy, and in the story the two never feel like anything more than friends to the MC.
It is the least dramatic entry on our list, but it follows a familiar rule of the genre: when your potential partner is already attached, and the chemistry is thin, the route rarely feels earned.
Amber (Summers Gone)
Amber may be the strongest case among the love interests of Summers Gone. She is the mother of another love interest, and she is also Nika’s therapist. There is an ethical and moral quagmire in that setup before you even count the fact that she knows better than anyone that Nika is still stuck on Summer.
Nika himself is not in a good place for any kind of relationship, which makes almost every romance in Summers Gone a questionable fit. Amber just has the most reasons stacked up against her.
Zoey (Being a DIK)
Zoey is a counter-pick to Bella in Being a DIK, and she may fit the question even better. The argument: she leaves when her grandmother dies, ghosts the MC on a friend’s advice, returns, finds out he is in a relationship, and makes her move anyway. When he turns her down, she is suddenly fine with just being friends. Her biggest flaw is listening to Bret, whose advice keeps costing her.
She is not a villain. She is a young, rebellious girl who does not know what she wants and follows the first cool friends she meets outside her family, something that happens to many people her age. Still, many players decide she is not the right partner for the MC.
Emma (Hillside)
In Hillside the MC’s bond with Emma reads as a protective, parental one, and many players say it should have stayed that way. She would have been perfect as someone to look after and treat like a daughter, so seeing her as a love interest feels uncomfortable to a lot of fans.
The story nudges toward a romance partly because she shares a name with the MC’s previous lover, as if fate had already decided, which only makes the idea feel more forced. Players who come to Hillside for Charlotte simply skip it.
Pixie (No Such Luck)
Pixie is the girlfriend of Henry, the MC’s closest friend, the one person who has repeatedly pulled him back from the edge. The game points out several times that the MC is as okay as he is mostly thanks to Henry, so going after his girlfriend means paying that loyalty back with betrayal.
It is not fully in the game yet, but the latest update already lets you get close to her. It is also the only route that even the walkthrough seems to judge, and the developer’s earlier game had a similar friend-steals-girl setup.
Clara (No Such Luck)
Clara is the classic wife-material girl who has had a crush on the MC since kindergarten. The catch is that she was the best friend of his late fiancee Marie, and that memory is likely to haunt any relationship between them.
Some players feel a hint of resentment toward Marie in her route, and the extended intro in the latest update did not help her case. Even so, many fans still enjoy her as a potential partner.
Imogen Merrick (Not Going Back)
Imogen is a favorite of many players and one of the most interesting girls in the genre, but she struggles with cocaine addiction while the MC has his own history with drugs. On paper that is a risky mix for two people trying to stay on track.
The counterargument is that his past gives him a reason to want to help her, and the party scene where she buys the drug and starts to question her choices is a strong turning point. Whether that makes them good for each other depends on how the story handles it.
Nora (Being a DIK)
Nora is in a current student-teacher relationship with the MC, and it is built almost entirely on attraction. It is hard to see where chemistry beyond that would come from. By comparison, Cathy has changed jobs, Jade no longer teaches the MC, and Nicole turns out to be a surprisingly insecure sweetheart.
A revelation after episode 12 adds another twist to her story. Still, her wish to become a mother is one of the sweeter touches in Being a DIK.
Maggie (Race of Life)
Maggie is an angel who needs a hero and falls for her neighbor Jake. But Jake is no angel himself, and he cannot take the risk because of his daughter’s situation. She is also deep into criminal trouble, so helping her is not only illogical but dangerous.
That is why many players choose the less perfect but safer Veronica instead.
Celeste (u4ia)
Celeste is one of the most beautiful love interests in any AVN, and a badass cop who is dedicated to her work. That same seriousness makes her a poor match for the game’s roguish, goofy MC.
As of episode 4, some players have already moved on to Roxy, who seems a far better fit for his personality.
Lisa (No More Money)
Lisa is beautiful, kind and elegant, and many players call her the best girl of the game. The problem is how you get her: the MC has to act like a jerk to his girlfriend, which is a steep price for a route that is supposed to be wholesome.
For players who care about the MC’s moral compass, that is enough reason to skip her on a main run.
Jenna (Where The Heart Is)
Jenna is very sexy and fun, and she shares many interests with the player. The MC, however, never looks genuinely interested in her geeky hobbies, so Debbie, who is on a much closer wavelength with him, feels like the more natural choice.
Not everyone agrees. You do not need to share every hobby with a partner, and the MC is willing to give hers a try because it makes Jenna happy.
Jane (Become a Rockstar)
Just look at her. Then look at her MC. Then look at her again. Few players believe the MC is anywhere close to her league.
Anna, who is similar to Jane but more approachable and less high-class, is the more believable partner for him.
Final thoughts
Compatibility is in the eye of the player. Some judge a love interest by the age gap or family tie, others by the MC’s past, his job, his friendships or the plot twists still to come. A few fans even prefer the platonic or daughter-style paths of the characters above.
Two more names came close to the list: Jade from Being a DIK, whose life comes with a lot of family drama, and Danielle from Law School, who may only want some fun with the MC.
That is the strength of the genre: the same girl can be someone’s favorite route and someone else’s least suited match.
