Day of Love and Amusment Park are in stock on the PeaPri website. Also J-List:
Just ordered Amusement Park… one down three to go. All I need now is Gibo and Little My Maid to come out and I’ll have 3 of the 4 titles I plan to buy for this year. 
I’m also betting G-Collections is going to make a release this year that’s going to be a surprise to lots of people… not sure what it will be or when, but I just have this feeling G-Collections is going to be releasing something special sorta along the lines of Kana or Crescendo… (I could be wrong too ya know!)
Ah how nice it is to see these games shipping and hear the rumor mill start up on various possible surprise games along with games that might have the unique and special nature of a Kana or Crescendo.
[This message has been edited by SCDawg (edited 02-25-2004).]
Gee, as if we ever needed encouragement to start up all sorts of speculation…
And let the list of games we think will be released begin I don’t frequent cd-bros site much so I don’t know much about what games they have.
Damn, I still haven’t got around to buying Phantom of Inferno yet.
Guess I’ll wait for some first impressions before buying Day of Love and Amusement Park. I can’t help feeling that they’ll both be a tough sell, though. No adult content and lacking the thriller movie-like plot of Phantom…I dunno. At least the prices are right though and the DVD format is helpful.
Speaking of prices, how can Hirameki release these games at $30 when adult bishojo games go for $50? Evidence that they will sell more copies or acknowledgement from Hirameki that they won’t sell at a higher price?
I think the lack of adult content will be a selling point, not a drawback. The “adult” market is much smaller than the all-ages market. A number of my friends have said they’d be very interested in ren’ai games if only they didn’t have “hentai scenes” in. I’m hugely looking forward to when Amazon get the Hirameki DVDs in stock (like Hirameki’s website says they will) so I can direct these non-ecchi friends to a place to buy a non-H ren’ai game…
You’re probably right, but likewise there will be those who consider the adult content a significant factor in their purchases of bishojo games and will therefore be largely uninterested. Works both ways.
I think only Himeya ever dabbled in non-adult games and it was a short-lived endeavour (just EVE which couldn’t have sold especially well). Sex sells; we shouldn’t forget that.
Personally I have always found the best way to draw attention to something is to try and hide it, call it ‘adult’ call it something that must be hidden and often you will gain a lot of interest in what you are trying to hide. Yes parents might react one way to the word adult but I bet there are many other adults out there that will actually be drawn to that concept, enough, maybe not, but more then currently perhaps.
Yet it is true if you sell these types of ‘mature non h-scene’ games to more ‘children’ those maybe 16 rather then 18, today, there might be more of them buying the bishoujo games when they get older.
Sex does sell true but if you follow the age old idea of getting them hooked when they are young, like soda companies do in the U.S., you might be able to sell different things to them so long as they are similar, maybe no h-scenes but nudity as an example in the games or massive hints and slang like in Eve which is actually a wonderful game. Get them hooked when they are young and as long as it is similar I think you can sell it to ‘them’, younger in this case being 16 instead of 18.
[This message has been edited by SCDawg (edited 03-01-2004).]
quote:I always wonder when I hear people say they are offended by "adult" graphics. What it is they find objectionable, exactly? I can understand if they're old conservative types who've been thumped over the head with a bible once too often, but a lot of these indignant viewers are young adults who grew up in a more liberal era than the repressed 50's. What is there about the depiction of human sexuality they find so offensive? Why do many anime reviews start out "It would have been a good series, except for all the fanservice..."? Are people really shocked by an artistic portrayal of the body or articles of clothing? You see more revealing sights at the beach, for crying out loud. How many generations must pass before this country's Puritanical moralizing is laid to rest?
Originally posted by chronoluminaire:
A number of my friends have said they'd be very interested in ren'ai games if only they didn't have "hentai scenes" in. I'm hugely looking forward to when Amazon get the Hirameki DVDs in stock (like Hirameki's website says they will) so I can direct these non-ecchi friends to a place to buy a non-H ren'ai game...
quote:
Originally posted by perigee:
I always wonder when I hear people say they are offended by "adult" graphics. What it is they find objectionable, exactly? (...) What is there about the depiction of human sexuality they find so offensive? (...) How many generations must pass before this country's Puritanical moralizing is laid to rest?
My thinking is they were raised by those that think if you are not working but thinking lustful about the girl in the clothing screaming 'look at me' two desks away, you are a communist (battle cry for anything 'evil' that conservatives still use today just replace communist with whatever the catchall 'evil' buzzword of the day might be), or as you hinted at, modern day conservatives, that they are shameful of their own bodies. When someone is shameful of their own body they really don't embrace the concept of seeing other bodies protrayed even in the form of art expression.
Then there is the whole idea that the U.S. has a massive anti-sex fetish, where talking about it in public is not a taboo but is almost one, and to even think about being known for buying certain magazines or certain movies can adversely affect a persons career, in a way that is obviously linked to those purchases but not so clearly someone can claim wrongful firing, and a nation that cries 'think of the children' from everything from making paper that does not give papercuts to removing Jack and Jill from libraries because of what they might have been doing to cause their 'tumble' down the hill.
If you are brought up in this environment and not taught to think for yourself, as I imagine many of us have been taught and might teach our own children someday, I can see why you might view anything to do with sex, even h-scene images, as being distasteful and wrong. However to then try and influence others and force them to agree is also wrong and yet seems to be par for the course for those I know that think along the lines I just somewhat outlined. Truly I think you have to be a much more liberal and free thinker that thinks for yourself to draw your own conclusions about what is and is not distasteful and I fear those numbers are not as large as those that find it easier to simply listen to what another says from childhood and never question that teaching.
So perhaps until we can paradoxically or perhaps ironically convince or force people to think for themselves I fear this 'Puritanical moralizing' will remain a part of our culture.
[This message has been edited by SCDawg (edited 03-01-2004).]
quote:
Originally posted by perigee:
Why do many anime reviews start out "It would have been a good series, except for all the fanservice..."? Are people really shocked by an artistic portrayal of the body or articles of clothing?
Put that straw man away, it doesn't look good on you. I don't dispute your main point - but there ARE good reasons to rip on shows for having too much fanservice.
* Fanservice on underage characters is icky. Imagine, say, Card Captor Sakura or Akazukin Cha Cha with panty shots left and right.
* Fanservice can undermine serious plots by cheapening the characters. This is certainly not inevitable - consider Evangelion for a good counterexample (of how to develop characters by using fan service) - but is in general true. If you have a relationship being slowly built and evolved over time, where Bob and Jill are gradually growing to like each other - but in all the sweet, romantic scenes the camera is being perverse (or if the show is chock full of any of the other fanservice staples) - the very presence of fan service changes the dynamic of the show, and sometimes this is diametrically opposed to what they actually want to do.
* Excessive fanservice can drown a show and render it absolutely boring. This is the ultimate fate of Hanaukyo Maids. There is only so much screentime; creators only have so much energy. If all of these resources are poured into boingy boingy, this leaves fewer resources for things like plot. And characters. And setting. And writing. This gets us shows like Hanaukyo Maids, which would actually be improved by being mindless sex fests - they have no redeeming features anyway. This is exactly the same criticism that is levied against some giant robot and magical girl shows - the giant robot fight that has to be in every episode eats into the time the show has available to actually concern itself with the real point.
quote:I didn't bring it up just for a cheap shot. Fanservice seems to be a major concern of many reviewers. Take Anime Academy's review of one of my favorite romantic comedy series, Ai Yori Aoshi. Three people wrote the review. Two of them gave it a favorable rating, but all three had something to say about its fanservice.
Originally posted by Nandemonai:
Put that straw man away, it doesn't look good on you. I don't dispute your main point - but there ARE good reasons to rip on shows for having too much fanservice.
quote:They also include comments like "needless fan service" and "fan service abounds" in their lists of lowlights.
...the sad truth is that fan service sells...The side characters are also there to provide one feature of shounen anime that Ai Yori Aoshi doesn't lack: fan service, and tons of it...with the exception of Miyabi, everyone else is there simply for fan service and the occasional snicker
After reading that I had to ask myself, what's with this obsession about fanservice and why is it so disreputable? To me it's just another element of the genre, something to attract an adolescent male audience. I find it no more distracting than stylistic elements like sweatdrops, chibi or rough sketches. It doesn't bother me as much as the overuse of slapstick humor, the total lack of self confidence and social skills displayed by young males or many other plot cliches. It's just one of those things you learn to accept or ignore in order to enjoy the rest of the work.
Some of AYA's bits may seem a little over the top. Take Tina's breast-squeezing, for example. Is it gratuitous or does it serve a purpose? According to Peter's newsletter, such behavior is actually common among teenage girls in Japan. I think it says something about the ironic nature of this supposedly American girl who speaks flawless Japanese and is familiar with every native custom. It's part of an act she puts on to cover up a certain vulnerability. Does it get old after a while? Maybe. Does it detract from the overall series or lower my estimation of it? Not a bit.
You are right when you say that too much fanservice can ruin characterization or plot. That's true of any overused device. But when I read reviews that are more concerned with the amount of fanservice than with the story or animation, I have to wonder why these folks are acting so self-righteous. Perhaps they are uncomfortable with open sexuality. Perhaps they have been taught to believe sex is dirty and shouldn't be seen in public. It's another sign of the attitude held by people who might try bishoujo games, if they didn't include all that icky, dirty hentai stuff.
Just to kinda bring this topic back from the tangent. Of the people who bought the game anyone want to put out a review for it. Eventhough I don’t plan on getting these games it’ll still be nice for people to see a review of it.
Oh yeah, fanservice is good
Amusment Park:
ive only gotten one ending so far, so this might not always apply, but based on what ive seen of another character’s path, i suspect it is true in general
its too short, less that 4 hours
i was expecting this to be an amusing lightheaded story, but they didnt do that and tried to put a heavy story in there, which i dont think worked very well especially considering the length, it felt really rushed and overdone
the music here did not help
graphics are cute, i like this character design style, need more games drawn like that
i think i do not like the dvd format for this type of game, since everything is basically a long video, my dvd drive needs to be constantly spinning while playing, which is bad since im using a laptop
the inability to save at will is also annoying (you have to wait till they give you a new passcode at descision points, of which i counted 3)
[This message has been edited by exoarchaeologist (edited 03-03-2004).]
Well, that’s more or less been the problem with these DVD style games. Then again, I also remember how old games did the passcode “saves”. Ah well…
But thanks for the quicky review exoarchaeologist-san. I’m surprised by the less than 4 hours thing. I thought it would be much longer.
Thanks for the quick rundown. Maybe when you finally finish the game you can give us some final thoughts yeah I never liked the password system of saves but what can you do with a DVD player game?
I have actually got the chance to try both and am finding Day of Love to be far more developed of a story so far at least and a lot better game, I am not sure how long I have played but I don’t think I am anywhere need the end and have already had three password screens whereas with Amusement Park for the two endings I was able to get there are only three passwords total.
After hearing the opening for Amusement Park again there is no question that the opening for Day of Love is an excellent song, one of those catchy songs, at least I think, is one of those rare ones you don’t mind having stuck in your head and being the catchy type it is gets stuck there quickly.
How complex is Day of Love? One thing that’s holding me back is the fear of Trabulance-like simplicity in the decision making/plot branching, and where every character’s path follows the exact same pattern. Tsuku 4 just bored me to tears after the first character because everything was so predictable and easy.
Crescendo is a good example of a game that got it more or less right for me.