I've had my eye on AI ever since it came out, but was wary based on some of the early user reviews. 428's visual style is a little out of my comfort zone. I've never heard of Root Double, but it looks cool. Analogue I've seen Steam recommend to me, but I always just ignored it for some reason.
You sound exactly like those boring old schmucks at the various movie award things like the Golden Globe Awards that seemingly refuse to acknowledge 2D animated movies as anything to do with the medium or be remotely worthy of praise... despite them being highly well rated, regarded, and beloved to a large audience of people
No, his definition would actually have to make some logical sense for him to even be on that level with it.
Then they are using the terms incorrectly.
How is this controversial? Multiple people in this very thread have voiced the very same opinion. An opinion that related to the threads topic. Or were people hoping for an echo chamber? The appeal of visual novels is that they inveigle players by appealing to base instincts, such as sex, or by acting as a sort of escapist fantasy, wherein the player can be told how special, unique, attractive, ect they are. But this is all false. It reduces the player to a mere consumer, and art to a mere product.
Yeah, dude, you sound like one of those news casters from the 90s who called almost any (adult) anime porn because of a few gory scenes/nudity here or there. Or how Australian politicians that blame anime for the ills of their problems. Anime and the anime industry has its own problem, don't get me wrong, but it ain't causing all the of the world to regress. If that's the case, the same applies to the Video Game Industry, Music, TV, & Hollywood (who are an industry of constant fuck ups and covering shady shit up. Pretending their on certain peoples side when its convenient). If anything that is making things regress is those in power who care nothing, but their greed, and screw over other for not being the same race, sex, or religion. And those that defend or try portray them in the right. That is what regresses society. You also sound like the old man Roger Ebert, who claimed all video games weren't art. Only to back-paddle hard when he caused a major shit storm with either rebuttals or death threats. As much I hate(d) Ebert (Sieskel too. They are not good film critics) I would never stoop to death threats. You do sound pretentious and up your butt about it. I may not care much for the VN genre, but I do not look down on others for enjoying the genre. Pornographic or not. That would be very hypocritical and intellectually dishonest. There are VN with great stories out there. You just have to bother to find or play them.
Both exist, and both are beatiful.
I agree with your criticism of hollywood, which also produces, almost entirely, nothing but anti-art. The marvel films, for instance, are just as bad as anime. As is star wars. I view both as socially regressive. Anime actively encourages the worst in us, and is, on an individual level, destructive. Hence tye existance of hikikomori's, and otaku, who are bad at social interaction because they avoid it. On a larger scale, this is one of many factors that has led to a massive population decline. The japanese themselves are even aware of this. MEMEME! literally depicted the dangers of addiction to consumerist products, while Paranoia Agent suggested that such products were used as a way to avoid societal and personal trauma, and would lead to mass decline of japanese society.
No, not really, certainly not as much as our entertainment was. You were much more likely to see a gay stereotype in a positive roll in anime then western media. Actual trans characters are somewhat rare but they tend to have better representation in anime then western media till pretty recently. Look at Steins Gate.
Luka isn't trans in the Gates I played. He's just feminine. Or are you not referring to Luka?
Positive representation of trans characters is not common in anime. Most of them are either stereotypes, or worse, "traps," "futas," or some other concept that is either deeply bigoted or deeply fetishized. The fact that you seem to be implying that these representations are *positive* is very saddening.
I haven't played the game, just watched the anime. The character appears to be trans in it, just maybe not in name since he is super feminine but seems to want to be a woman and is uncomfortable with being a male. But, its possible that I am miss-remembering, it has been awhile since I watched it.
That might all be true, but that's also a projection of what westerners think 'trans' is. It's like you're diagnosing him as having gender dysphoria, and therefore, he must be trans. Another culture might not see it that way. I'm not saying you're wrong or that your conclusion is wrong, mind.
You're just wrong. There is Tiger from my hero academia who is a trans man, Lily from Zombie Land Saga is transgirl, and Bon Clay from One Piece who is one of a kind. None of these portrayals are sexualized, Tiger is pretty much just straight up heroic, Lily is from a comedy series so hers is played for a bit of comedy but only in her death, and Bon Clay might be very stereotypical but hes also leaves the badguys and helps our heroes who treat him as a friend. Compare this to Southpark or Family guy who had whole episodes about 'eww gross trans,' with an episode of South Park dedicated to Mr Garrison transitioning, including showing bloody vaginoplasty video and in family guy making fun of Glenn's dad the whole time they first thought he was gay then when they found out he was transitioning to become a woman then every other time he was ever mentioned.
Japan has a complicated relationship with gender in ways that are different from our complicated relationship with it. Like I think that "traps" are kind of their own separate thing there, like that kind of thing has its own place, while here in the west its just a guy dressed as a woman. (or sometimes vice versa but for a woman to be in drag at this point, I think it more of requires a fake mustache or something) Keep in mind, this is just speculation from what i have observed and heard through the grape vine, I haven't really looked into it enough to give a better take than that.
He actually gave the bible and the communism manifesto as examples. He uses a weird definition for art that no one else uses.
