adorable rockets

Back when I was in elementary school there was a series of books called “Choose Your Own Adventure“. Poorly written light action and adventure written in the first person, the books featured a few pages of story then what was usually a fairly random choice for the reader. Go down the scary tunnel and turn to page 83, or climb up the ladder and turn to page 45.

In a sense they were a primitive form of hypermedia used to implement a primitive form of adventure games, and that’s probably why I liked them so much. Sure I knew the story was dreck, and I was constantly frustrated by the game aspect. The choices you made often had fairly arbitrary consequences – which led Princess just read the ones she encountered cover to cover! But they were interactive. I was in control.

So, that’s basically what I expected when I sat down to play my first Visual Novel. A Choose Your Own Adventure with pretty girls and the promise of nekkidness if I “choose wisely.” What I discovered was something completely different, and something that did give me a far greater insight into the development of moé and anime culture.

(more…)

It’s just an anime drawing! vs. It’s just an anime drawing!

In the process of researching Moé literature I’ve come to realize I’m going to have to devote at least one essay to the topic of Loli and one to the topic of Eroge and Visual Novels. This is not either of those essays.

However when I saw the above character summary for a ero-game (one that is being translated and brought to the US mind you) I just had to stop and comment. In many ways this single image allows us to dive right into the issue of “2-D complex” and why many writers on and consumers of anime culture, moers, otaku and casual fans are so invested in the concept.

In case you missed it, the notable detail in the picture above is the claim that Aya is 18 years old.

(more…)