Originally Posted by
stellvia
Zatheyll: I think that is plot convenience and understanding their consumer-base. It would be otherwise expected for the guy to either mess around with all of them, or to pick one rather quickly. And to think "If I were the MC I would totally not mess this up! I'm so much better than him!" Etc. Choosing one angers the shippers for the other girls. (Which gets them boycotting, burning merch, etc. in the worst cases haha...)
While the otome crowd places themselves in the shoes of the protagonist, empathizes with them, etc. A smart girl who is dependable, takes time to come up with the right decision or let it happen at a normal speed, etc. (Thats the way I see it though, any humans of the female variety feel free to correct me. And even then, whats to say the Western perspective is any closer to what women in Japan see it as)