Otome – Genre Deep Dive
A Feminine Touch
As
the inversion of the male centric structures typical of many visual
novels, it may be tempting to dismiss the beautiful woman surrounded
by handsome men as being more of the same just with the roles
swapped. However, this change in gender focus results in a
fundamental shift in design philosophy in order to appeal to a
noticeable different demographic. The larger male cast in the form of
the suitors is reflected in the way they clash and interact with each
other and their more aggressive pursuit of the heroine’s
affections. Emotional intelligence defines the Otome heroine, they
mix personal vulnerability with strength in their romance and
complete the suitor in a way which places the pair on equal footing.
Otome’s freedom from the typical trappings of the male centric
romances allow for a broader spread of settings, themes and tones
without losing sight of the attractions of the romance fantasy. Yet
it still adheres to much of the overarching expectations of visual
novels such as choices, routes and even its use of erotic content.
Let’s flee from the parade of adoring men and find out how the
genre’s core features promote such a distinct identity.
Pursued By Suitors
Just
like the heroines of male centric visual novels, the suitors are the
main selling points of Otome and form the backbone of the conflicts
and narrative direction. They differentiate themselves from their
female equivalents through how their masculinity is played up to achieve
a unique suite of personalities. Suitors tend to be more aggressive
and possessive in their romantic pursuit of the heroine and they are
often the ones to initiate the first push even if the heroine ends up
being the person who makes their relationship a reality. Amnesia: Memories
loves its its overly possessive men with almost all of the suitors
demonstrating these tenancies at some point or another. By far the
most extreme example of this is Touma who locks the protagonist up in
a cage in what he claims is an act for her own safety and, while the
game does treat it an overprotective action, it is never painted as
negative. Instead he is just letting the possessive aspect of his
love taking over and the protagonist has to work to bring him back to
reality so they can be together. This allows the
protagonist an agency over the narrative through being the one
who ultimately resolves the conflict with a taming of the beast
style of romantic fantasy.
 |
| Not exactly a great first impression |
Undertones of violence are a common among
Otome suitors were the man is just a powder keg waiting for a spark
to ignite. Mixing in this trait gives a sense of danger to what might
otherwise be fairly vanilla romances and expanding on how conflict
can be handled within the narrative. The suitors of BUSTAFELLOWS are
all have a certain degree of this undertone due to their connections
to the criminal underworld. On a moment to moment level this works as
a way to keep the player on their toes since the treats facing the
heroine could be inside the group and well as external to it. Even
when it becomes clear the suitors are not an immediate danger the
tension still remains for the men with more direct connections to
violence such as Shu Lyn O'Keefe. The narrative value then
transforms into a process of overcoming the barrier this presents
between heroine and suitor and fleshing out their character arcs as
the motives of the suitor are revealed. It is worth noting at this
point the connection between these traits, attractiveness and erotic
appeal within the genre’s audience. While Otome eroge rarely get
localised they do in fact exist and display the same aspects of
masculinity just filtered through the characters’ sexuality. Let’s
look at one of the few translated examples in Fashioning Little Miss
Lonesome. It is different in tone from the previous titles covered as
a comedy romance and so lacks the direct undertones of violence
present it those games. Yet when it comes to possessiveness and
aggressiveness the suitors are more than happy to oblige as they
pursue the heroine and coerce her into going along with their plans.
This plays into the comedy and erotic nature of the game through its
sheer absurdity and the way it leans into these as attractive
elements to create an appealing and safe fantasy for the player to
enjoy.
The Not So Distress Damsel
Otome
heroines make for an interesting contrast when compared to their male
equivalents given how vulnerability has a prominent role in their
characterisation and development. This is not the same as being weak
where they are a damsel in distress to be protected by the suitor,
even if that style of narrative does exist within Otome. Rather it is
a characteristic of their emotional intelligence where they are able to be open with their own feelings in a way male character is simply
not able to be. This is especially important in the way it relates to
the suitors since they need her to help them sort out their own
chaotic emotions and reach the happiness they desire. Through this
the heroine attains a critical non violent role within the story’s
progression to ensure they are always relevant and pushing the plot
forwards. The heroine of Hakuouki, Yukimura Chizuru, is a good
example of this idea as while she does have some martial skill and
supernatural blood in her veins, her identity in relation to the
suitors in not defined by these traits for they instead come to rely on her
to be their emotional crutch. As the suitors place in the world is
taken away from them over the course of the narrative, Yukimura
remains the only constant in their lives and she has to grapple with
their increasingly decaying mental state in an effort to save them
from this downward spiral. Her ability to successfully navigate this
process works well as a core pillar of the game since its heightened
feelings naturally lead to big outburst and powerfully empathetic
moments from both sides of the relationship.
 |
| A promise can mean a lot |
A variation of this can
be seen with Steam Prison’s heroine, Cyrus Tistella, who early on
in the story is placed into a dangerous situation which she spends the
rest of the game dealing with and manages to do so in no small part
due to her emotional intelligence. It is through her ability to see beyond the fronts of the suitors she is able to pull herself up after her
fall from grace since she is able to pull out the good in them even
when it appears there might not be any. What is important here is the
way this sensitivity to emotion serves her better than her notable
physical prowess, in part due to her diminished position, but mainly
due to the way it aligns the game’s themes unity and seeing beyond
discrimination. Another approach to this emotional sensitivity is
contrasting it with the violence which the heroine and those around them
engage in. Ueno Enju from Nightshade presents this conflict between
the two sides of the heroine, the emotions she feels for those around
her and the shinobi heritage which she takes pride in yet is a path steeped in violence and ruin. The outcome of the story is based on which side
she chooses and so is how the suitors react to her which makes for an
engaging friction amongst the group.
Conflict Across The Spectrum
One
of the noticeable features of Otome is a willingness to leave the
confines of the typical school setting and try its hand at stories
in a fantastical or adult environment. Schools do still have a major
presence in the genre but not quite the strangle hold it has over
male orientated titles. The kinds of female appealing narratives offer
a greater degree of freedom in the way they can be presented to the
player as demonstrated in the previous sections. Underpinning this
flexibility is the aforementioned elements of danger from the suitors
masculinity which naturally lends itself to being mixed in with other
sources of more mature threats and mysteries. Many of these settings
have the characters as adults within a working environment like the
police in Collar x Malice. For its protagonist, Hoshino Ichika, her
work provides a reason for her to become involved with the suitors
and place herself in danger while doubling up as an avenue to express
the game’s themes. Given the already contrived nature of the
title’s set up, it would have had to tie itself in even more knots
to get a school setting to make sense on top of it not meshing with
the tone it wants to establish. The work environment and professional
experience of the cast also lend the narrative a baseline level of
maturity within the player’s mind before they even open their mouths
and further reinforce this direction. Otomes entirely detached from
the real world are also freed from the school mandate if they set the
appropriate expectations, such as with Psychedelica of the Ashen
Hawk. Under a blanket of thick snow and medieval trappings the game
keeps any thoughts of school out of the player’s head by rapidly
defining the limits of its narrative space and confining them within
its walls. Despite the relatively young age of the protagonist, the
focus on the concealing their gender and the danger they become
involved in make sure the forwards pressure becomes a core aspect of
the title’s identity. Such a story relies on the completeness and
alien nature of its setting to immerse the player and so the freedom
from setting expectations allows it commit to the absence of familiar
elements from our own world.
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| Colours and place create a powerful sense of place |
Conclusion
No
genre is quite the same as Otome with its particular vision of
romance, drama and characters, even its male equivalents tend towards
stories of very different kinds. Part of this uniqueness stems from
the suitors and the way they lean into their possessive and pursuit
of the heroine to create a cast of proactive and dynamic individuals.
It is also a genre not bound to the school setting to the same level
as its peers so offers a flexible package for a greater variety of
stories to be told within it. The way the heroines of Otome get to
present their strength and vulnerability through their emotional
intelligence results in more charged narratives where the suitor needs the heroine as much as she needs him. Overall the effect which the gender of audience has on how visual novels can present love and
relationships is interesting to witness and shows what can be
achieved within the medium.
Irotoridori no Hikari Review – Colourful Is The Future Of Love
Genre – Romance, Slice of Life, Fantasy Play Time – 25 hours Developer – FAVORITE Patch Download VNDB
Call Of Forgotten Memories
When
following on from a visual novel with one of the most satiating
finales in the medium, but some mixed quality heroine routes, how do
you provide any meaningful additions to story? Irotoridori no
Hikari’s answer is to be a hybrid of sequel and fandisc to try and
expand on the ending while tidying up the lingering issues. The main
way it does this is through the heroine after stories which take the
cast and address any remaining conflicts and give them proper
conclusions. Returning characters maintain their strong personalities
and now feel like a part of a group as they interact more rather than being an island to themselves as they were previously. Visual design continues
to be this series’ strength with it doubling down on the
imaginative art styles of the new worlds the cast find themselves in
and it keeps the player excited to see more. However, not everything
is quite a brilliant when it comes to Irotoridori no Hikari’s role
as a sequel where it is clear they did not know what direction to
take the narrative and instead repeated the original’s ideas in a
new inferior and messy package. Can the after stories do enough to
hold the player’s interest or will the burden of succession be too
much? Let’s return to the library of souls and find out.
Expansion And Completion – Narrative and Themes
The
overall quality of narrative’s implementation is a significant set
up over the original both in terms of its broad strokes and the
individual heroine after stories. Many of the rough edges which made
the original feel so uneven at times have been sanded down with a
renewed focus on the cast’s presentation. Gone are the lengthy and
dry flashback scenes so prevalent before and in their place are
conflicts and emotions grounded in the here and now. This makes the development and explanations of
the cast's struggles feel more organic within the flow of the story for an
overall pleasing play experience. Then there is the greater inclusion
of the different worlds visited through the basement and these are
given new layers of depth and fantastical wonder be they new or
returning places. Each one now has a complete vision of what they are
and how they relate to the cast rather than just pretty backgrounds
as many were in the original. What changes such as these create is a
well rounded sense of place and people which is core to the
appeal of this series and tries to retroactively rehabilitate the
previous weaknesses.
 |
| Looks like her brain has shut down |
Each
heroine after story falls into one of two camps, those consistently dedicated to a single narrative through line or those split down the
middle between a slice of life opening and the conflict centric
second half. Mio and Kana’s after stories fall into the first
category and make for an interesting pair to contrast the strengths
and weaknesses of the after stories within Irotoridori no Hikari.
When looking at Mio’s story it quickly becomes clear this is the
weakest of the bunch due to its unfocused direction. It lacks a core
arc and instead tries to stretch out the thinly vailed metaphor of
Mio’s transparent body over a play time it is not capable of
supporting. Then part way through another character gets reintroduced
after which their characterisation becomes the centre of attention to
the point you could be forgiven for thinking it was their after
story. Despite this wandering about, the after story is still does just enough to justify its existence and is an
enjoyable enough expansion to Mio’s original route. By contrast
Kana has the strongest after story in the game with a clear focus
which wraps up her arc in a nice bow. Part of the reason for this
comes from its extensive use of the other worlds starting out in the
familiar town of yokai and ending up in a snow covered library filled
with robots. It also more explicitly ties the themes of Haku and
Ren’s conflict to Kana’s own regrets so both can reach a
satisfying resolution in tandem. The way they play into each other
creates a constant core identity underlying the experience so no
moment feels like the game is spinning its wheels. Kyou and Tsukasa’s
after stories belong to the second kind and share the same set of
boons and issues. Both their opening halves are unrelated slice
of life sections where nothing of importance happens for either and
they remain static continuations of their original selves. This makes
for a somewhat dry start but the way they lean into the group
dynamic, and sell the post
route relationships the cast have with each other, does provide enough entertainment to not make these sequences
too boring. By contrast their second halves contain major and
important resolution for them to the point at which this material
should have been in the original route since it that impactful to
their arcs. As a result there is a certain whiplash when this shift
between the two happens since little set up is done before hand and
it does not make for a smooth transition. Yet the emotional catharsis
provided through these second halves cannot be over stated and more
than compensates for the weaker opening.
 |
| It is never easy to reach what we desire |
Perhaps
the keen eyed among you might have noticed the absence of a specific
heroine from the prior discussion, the pancake loving Shinku. This is
because her after story is tied into the largest problem with
Irotoridori no Hikari, its attempts to expand the original’s
broader strokes in terms of protagonist Yuuma and those associated
with Shinku’s world. In isolation Shinku’s after story is a sweet
tale about her trying to be cuter for the sake of being Yuuma’s
bride while coming to accept her feminine aspects with a few crumbs
of future plot developments. Its issues stem from the way it
resets Shinku and Yuuma’s characters back to the way they were
before the finale of the original game and so playing it is like a constant stream of deja vu. A minor
problem with the overall structure of the game is the way the greater
narrative set up in Shinku’s story does not progress and the player
is forced to do all the other heroine stories before they get more on
it, at which point they might have forgotten much of it. Once the
player has moved beyond the after stories, the next issues rears its
head in the form of the Ai side story. This begins a recurring lesson
this game shows us, sometimes you should not explain or show in
detail things which were never meant to be a core focus. For Ai’s
story this is the world she and Shinku originally resided within
where everyone gets one wish granted. The extended time the player is
now given in this world reveals how poorly thought through the whole
concept is and why it was so vague in the original game. It is not a
fantasy world so the wish system and its ridiculous implementation
within the world are distracting and hurt the characters associated
with it since they end up have do dance around this lumbering
elephant of a concept. After this side story the player will reach
the game’s finale and they will quickly come to realise it is a
poorly executed repetition of the original’s conclusion. Shinku and
Yuuma undergo the exact same arcs as before up to and including the
separation of the pair being a major dramatic device. Except this
time is feels the need to give Yuuma a backstory which adds nothing
to his character and removes a layer of mystery in exchange for a dry
and hollow explanation. Everyone involved more or less ends up back
to exactly the same place they started the game and it comes across
as the game spinning its wheels since it does not know how to move on
from the original. These combine to sour the experience
of playing Irotoridori no Hikari rather than ruin it since the
majority of the time spent with it will be in the other character
after stories.
New Expressions On Familiar Faces – Characters
When
it comes to the cast they are almost entirely inherited from the
original title, which is to be expected from a sequel, and the game
does a good job of continuing what made them so memorable in the
first place. The arcs they undergo in their after stories give a
fresh perspective on what makes them tick and helps round out their
colourful personalities while being a joy to watch. Shinku and
Protagonist Yuuma are still loveable characters despite the reset
they undergo and this it is a testament to the emotional investment
they are capable of invoking even in this diminished form. A majority
of the play time is spent focused on this cast and their ability to be so human provides the player with something solid to grasp on to as
they reacclimatise to the narrative. The problematic characters are
Ai and Original Yuuma who are also more or less exactly the same as
in the original game which is to say flat and weakly presented. In
that original title this made sense since their role was an extremely
minor one so additional depth would have been a waste of time, but
here their major role in the side story and finale makes this austere
identity distracting. Compounding this problem is the introduction of
a new character in the finale who is completely devoid of the unique
personality traits of even the weaker characters like Ai and Original Yuuma and exists to function as
a deus ex machina for the plot. They are a black hole who’s
position in the story meant they could never be given any meaningful
identity due to their minimal screen time and so end up as a worse
version of Ai’s role in the original.
 |
| Poor Kana remains a terrible maid |
Sakura In The Snow- Visuals, Audio and Technical
Visuals
were always something the original game excelled at and Irotoridori
no Hikari builds upon this foundation to expand on its weaker
elements. In particular the new locations are a stand out for their
distinct use of colour and striking imagery to sell the other worlds the
characters find themselves exploring. The new CGs keep to this vision
of a dream like quality which exaggerates the emotions of the scene
it accompanies creating a heightened awareness in the player of the
subtleties being acted out before them. Similarly the music maintains
the same identity and plays with the inherited soundtrack to
recontextualise the familiar tunes within new situations. This way the
memory and immediacy of the OST is merged together reinforces the
game’s atmosphere while expanding on what sort of emotions in can
invoke. As for issues there is a minor technical issue in the
structure of unlocks where the opening after story unlocks the rest
then they must be played to unlock the side story and finale. This is
a problem due to all the new plot being in that opening and ending
with nothing being contained within the other after stories. Poor
pacing is the result where the player is suddenly jerked back into
the narrative after having left it for many hours which makes it
difficult to reinvest in the plot.
 |
| The other worlds are striking |
Conclusion
Irotoridori
no Hikari was given an impossible task of being both a sequel and a
fan disc at the same time and balancing their disparate needs, so it
should come as no surprise it has its fair share of issues. The after
stories expand on each characters arcs in fun and engaging ways while
wrapping up any lose ends left from their routes. Accompanying these
are a general tidying up the narrative structure, such a not relying
so much on flashbacks, which make the reading experience more
pleasant. Visuals and audio inherited from the original are expanded and give new life to familiar spaces. The returning cast remains as
strong as ever and their emotional exploration and conflict is a core
part of the game’s appeal. It is when Irotoridori no Hikari tries
to be a sequel the issues pop up as it does not have a concrete idea
of what to do next so it just makes a worse copy of the original’s
finale. Couple this with a reliance on some of the weaker characters
for its payoffs and the result is a messy final act. Overall,
Irotoridori no Hikari has more than enough it is favour to recommend
it, but the mixed quality of content may leave a sour taste in the mouths
of some players.
Verdict –
Revisiting the colourful world is an absolute delight as familiar
faces are given proper resolutions and entertaining interactions.
However, its attempts to move on from its predecessor are poorly
executed and it ends up being a weak imitation.
Pros -
+
Strong after stories which wrap up and expands each heroine in
new and exciting direction.
+
Many of the minor issues with the original’s narrative presentation
have been resolved.
+
The returning cast remain as strong and loveable as ever.
+
Excellent visual are put to good use creating the imaginative world
the cast traverse.
Cons -
-
The side episode and finale are weak and end up as a worse version of
the original game’s conclusion.
-
Ai and Original Yuuma are not developmented in the way they needed to
be for their role in the story to work.
-
Resetting Shinku and Protagonist Yuuma’s character arcs makes for a
repetitive experience where the player constantly feels like they
have seen this all before.
Best Visual Novel Releases – February 2026
The
icy clutches of winter have begun the slow process of thawing and as
heat returns to our bodies now is the perfect time to look at what
visual novels have come out while we were shivering in the cold. This
month has been a shot in the arm when it comes to new releases with
some prominent titles come out and developers finally stepping into
the English language space. As a result there is quite a range of
games on offer from an alternative universe reimagining of a classic
otome to a strange mixture of violence and comedy. Let’s dive in
and see what you should be playing from the past month.
Official Releases
Wayblazer Dämmerung
This
title marks the first official English localisation of a Eushully game with their distinct brand of gameplay centric visual novels.
Wayblazer Dämmerung is a high fantasy tale about the struggles of a
young man and the kingdom around him, wrapped up in an isometric
dungeon crawler RPG. It plays to the strengths of each side with
extensive narrative sections which know when to stop and let the
mechanics be front and centre before swapping back for the next big plot beat. Supported by a colourful cast of playable characters are the
various outings the player will making into the dungeons and they
give a life to proceedings and promote an investment in the world. A must
play for fans of a good visual novels and JRPGS.
Wagamama High Spec OC
As
a fandisc for an original title which came out in English nine years ago,
OC has an uphill battle to get the player reinvested in these
heroines. Thankfully it not just a collection of after stories but
also includes some new routes for previously minor girls which helps
inject a feeling of new life into the experience rather than be a
trip down a faded memory lane. These new additions are the homeroom
teacher Yukari, the protagonist’s editor Chitose and the class
representative Karen. Each one brings their own new conflicts and
contributes to a sense of uncovering new sides to characters the
player though they knew. Wagamama High Spec was never a particularity
complex visual novel instead leaning into a comfortable feeling
as its main appeal and OC does nothing to shift this so may end up
feeling familiar to fans. However, this may be exactly what you want
and if so this is fandisc will deliver that in spades.
Hakuoki SSL ~Sweet School Life~
Nintendo Eshop VNDB Genre
– Alternative Universe, Spin Off, Slice of Life, Otome Play Time
– 20 hours
Did
you play Hakuoki and think all the stuff about the Shinsengumi, oni
and the fall of the shogunate was just getting in the way of the
romance? Well SSL ~Sweet School Life~ has you covered as it takes
the suitors and drops them off into an alternative universe school
setting for some traditional slice of life love stories. Yukimura
Chizuru is the only girl at a previously all boys school and as you
can imagine this leads to her being the centre of the men’s
attention. The game does a good job at taking the suitors’ core
personalities and motives and translating them into a modern day and lower stakes environment while keeping enough to make them instantly
recognisable. Considering all the inside jokes SSL scatters
throughout its play time, it assumes the player has completed at
least the original narrative and uses this basis to have a bit of fun
with the player’s expectations. In isolation it is still a solid
school otome, but just playing this one game on its own misses out of
much of what it has to offer the series.
Death Match Love Comedy!
Meshing
colourful hyper violence with an over the top romcom is certainly one
way to leave a lasting impression. The premise of having the
protagonist explode if a girl confesses their love to him should
speak to the kind of tone this visual novel establishes from the
start. He must fight off potential love interest and discover the
reason behind he new found tendency to detonate. This is a game with
a high amount of bad endings to sell the absurdity and danger of the
situation he finds himself in so be careful with your choices. If
that was not enough all sorts of strange supernatural elements from
angels to a weird pink cat creature will prevent him from being able
to smoothly escape his fate. Death March Love Comedy has a very
specific brand of humour, as you might have guessed by now, which it
not for everyone and if you do not find it funny then there is very
little else for you here. So if you did not chuckle at the premise
this may not be worth your time, but if it did then welcome to a wild
ride.
DRACU-RIOT!
After
being stuck in the seven circles of localisation hell, DRACU-RIOT’s
English release is finally seeing the light of day. This is one of
Yuzusoft’s earlier titles and marks an interest phase in their
development into the major studio they are today. It follows
Mutsura Yuuto through a series of unfortunate events where he is involved
in a kidnapping and ends up becoming a vampire. Now unable to leave
the artificial island of Aqua Eden, he must adapt to his new vampiric
lifestyle and in the process get to know the heroines who have found
their way into his life. The strong merging of urban fantasy and
romance form the core of the game’s appeal and sets it apart from
the studios other titles while still having the quality and
flavour they are know for. Overall this is a perfect title for those
who want their romance visual novels to have a little something
extra.
PARANORMASIGHT: The Mermaid's Curse
The
first PARANORMASIGHT game was apparently enough of a success that
SQUARE ENIX decided to green light another one. Set on the remote
island of Kameshima and featuring an entirely new cast, this tale of
horror focuses on secret Mermaids of Ise and how they play into the
fates of the people living on the island. This mystery is the
backbone of the game’s momentum as dangers and truths from the
distant past come up from the depths of the water. Just like its
predecessor this title is not revolutionising the genre and instead
represents a competent and well put together example of what fans are looking for. Since it is not connected to the previous entry
this makes for a good time for anyone seeking a suspenseful bit of horror.
Beaches: Isolation, Summer and Escapism – An Anatomy Of Visual Novels
Sand With A Hint Of Sea
No
choice of setting is coincidence and the recurring selection of the Beach as the core location for a visual novel’s story speaks to the
power its developers feel it holds. Some of the most instantly
recognisable titles in the medium utilise this location so there it
clearly resonates with its audience. It is important to notice the
majority of stories set on the seaside take place during the
summer time and they do this to try and invoke the memory of the
player's own summer holidays as a child. This dreamlike and hazy
recollection can be leveraged to create a sense of freedom from
responsibility backed up by the inherent beauty of the golden sands
and blue sea. Yet not all uses of the Beach are positive given an
island’s beaches cut it off from the outside world and isolate the
people on it for both good and ill. Let’s shield are eyes from the
sun and find out why the edge of the world remains so evocative.
Summers Long Past
One
of the most memorable part of any childhood is the summer holidays
and the freedom it provides from the regimented school life. A time
without responsibilities where you could do anything and play with
your friends to your hearts content. Only the spectre of the holidays
end and homework could bring down a child’s elation. Or at least
this is the fantasy constructed from half remembered pieces of the
distant past. What else is associated with summer? The Beach with its
hot sun and blue sea and it is not a place generally visited out of
season. As such it forms a natural association between summer and is a place were many a child has created sandcastles or paddled in the
sea. It is no coincidence visual novels utilising the Beach setting
tend to also be set at or around summer time since it excuses the
characters not being at school while tapping into the player’s own
experiences. This allows the game to have a foundational set of
emotions and an understanding of the setting common between the cast
and the player so making it easier for the player to empathise with
the struggles the characters undergo. Alongside this connection, the
familiar setting helps the player slip into a self insert role as
they are pulled back into a faded memory of their own lives and the
line is blurred under the blinding sunlight. Since summer must come
to an end at some point the story often has this coincide with the
growth of the characters and their movement to adulthood as those
days without responsibilities cannot last forever, we must all one
day face the world.
 |
| Sun, Sea and Freedom |
One of the most popular visual novels to use this
summer and seaside setting is Summer Pockets which takes places
solely on the small island of Torishirojima. The choice of an island
with a low population is made to double down on the sense of
freedom since with less people around the characters are less likely
annoy them or be otherwise bothered by the busy adults. Visually
Summer Pockets firmly places itself into the sea and summer with the brilliant blue sky and ocean being right next to various cooling
beverages and even a character wielding a water pistol. In term of
narrative representation the setting is more of a background element
to justify the light tone of the opening sections and their almost
dreamlike quality as the protagonist gets involved in fun activities
such as table tennis while getting to know the colourful cast. This
slight disconnect with reality is also key to how the game handles
the introduction of its supernatural elements where the already loose
feeling grasp on the real world smoothens the introduction of these
out of place forces. When it comes to dramatic climaxes Summer
Pockets likes to invoke the strong imagery of the seaside and summer
to reinforce its emotional punch through the connection its
fantastical rendition has to the player’s own life and
childhood. Another example of the power of the Beach is Aokana - Four
Rhythms Across the Blue. The presence of flight as a core aspect of
the story’s identity provides a strong avenue to connect the blue
sky the cast travel into and the blue water they often walk beside and
further push the idea of the freedom they both represent. Putting the
school concerns to the background in favour of the Flying Circus and
the way the group each push themselves towards the focused goal
furthers the idea of the freedom open to them introduced through the
summer connection. It is no coincidence much of the cast’s
activities take place on or around the beach either in the air or on
the ground since not only does it make for a scenic backdrop, it also
ensures the player is always passively immersed in this mood. Despite
not being as summer and beach focused as Summer Pockets, the game
still manages to capture much of the same energy in a way suited to the
more sport drama centric narrative it wants to tell.
Beauty And Freedom
These presentation of the seaside are idyllic ones with little interest in
reality and the many issues surrounding its maintenance or the
threats it faces. It is space of immaculate beauty that effortlessly
draws in the player through half remembered reference to their own
experiences. This leads to a fairly standard set of presentational
techniques being used across titles with a Beach setting in terms of
visuals and the manner in which the narrative engages with this
beauty. Strong use of bright colours throughout is a major feature of
the Beach from the blues of the sea to the gold of the sand and the
white of the few stray clouds, everything reflects the intense
sunlight in a universal brilliance. It can sometimes be pushed to its
extreme where the colours become washed out to sell the idea of the
light being so overwhelming it becomes had to see properly as it
blinds and you are forced to squint into the glare. Regardless of
which is chosen the effect is to push the impression of summer onto the
player through the way it makes the world seem more alive and vibrant
and an idyllic place for the characters to go on their
journey. This is compounded by the way the casts reacts to the
setting. Each character can describes the setting’s physical nature
from complaining about its heat to shielding their eyes from the
sun’s rays and it adds a layer of immediacy to the vision of beauty. These senses are easier to understand given
our own experiences with beaches and help conjure up a complete
picture of the location while not straying from its idyllic fantasy.
The activities which the characters partake in often continue this
grounding of the beauty through actions like paddling in the sea,
sunbathing, wearing swimsuits to play on the sand or other such
things people associate with the Beach. Downtime in this setting can
be filled with these events since they are freely available due to
the location and each is a constant remainder of the fun and unique
freedom offered when on the summer seaside.
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| The beach continues its beauty even at night |
When a beach can make
even a job seem like a wondrous thing then its power over the
player’s perceptions is at its height. Koisuru Natsu no Last Resort
has its poor and overworked protagonist being offered a part-time
position on a southern resort island and this change in location
leads to fundamental changes in his life. The idyllic nature of the
resort comes across not only in the sun and sea but also in the
heroines he meets and romances there. They are all kind individuals
who care about the protagonist and each other as they engage in the
work of running the resort. Amongst the whole cast there is not a
single openly hostile person and even the conflicts of the routes do
not intrude on this vision with them focusing on what the characters
came to the resort to escape. Combining these together creates this
ideal work environment which is a mixture of holiday and
rehabilitation centre and pushes the idea of escapism associate with
going to the Beach. The narrative set up relies heavily on
reinforcing the idyllic seaside aesthetic to make it feel slightly
distanced from reality and so allow the player to overlook its
outlandish set up. In a similar vein, Adventure of a Lifetime uses
the beauty of its beaches to sell the real life equivalent of its
setting. Its protagonist goes there to help his grandmother with her
shop and ends up taking part in adventures, most notably a treasure
hunt. During these outings there is a notable focus on the islands
themselves as the lens through which their beauty and freedom should be
understood. It communicates these islands to be the only place were
this idyllic vision of the world can exist and so isolates the
experiences there in order to sell the player on the story’s
content while encouraging them to go their themselves. While this is
not quite a piece of tourist propaganda, Adventure of a Lifetime does
seem in love with its location and wants to express this enthusiasm
through the fantastically pretty locations and the nice people living
there.
Cut Off From The World
An
island surrounded by beaches can be a beautiful place for the sand,
sea and disconnection from the outside world it offers, but these
things can be turned on their head when this isolation is not
voluntary. Being cut from the world invokes a sense of fear through
the knowledge that no one is going to come if things go wrong and
they may never even know of your demise. In this context the initial
idyllic presentation takes on a sinister tone where it is the honey
to lure the characters into this trap. When being threatened with
death it is difficult to stop and appreciate the beauty which
continues this poisoning of the seaside as a positive place before
slowly reducing it to an impenetrable wall ever pressing down on the
cast. How much the visual novel leans into subverting the idyllic
beach setting depends on the importance they place on its visual and
tonal base and if this matches their overall direction. For example
Umineko presents is island setting with bright colours and light
atmosphere during the opening to its first chapter where the cast and
basics of the premise are introduced. However, this is quickly turned
on its head when a storm rolls in and the sky and sea darken as the
island shaped trap closes around the characters to coincide with the
ramping up of the murder mystery. After this point the subsequent
chapters never really deal with the island in anything more than the
abstract and this inverting of the idyllic imagery exists just for
this dramatic setup. For Umineko it is something brought in to serve
a specific purpose and, once that is done it is, discarded to make way
for the more important elements of its identity.
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| A prison has never looked this pretty |
On the opposite end of
the spectrum sits Danganronpa 2 which leans heavily into the idyllic
beaches of the island being a prison. Rather than inverting it into a
dark place, the game maintains the bright and colourful imagery
throughout the entire experience and instead makes what happens in
those locations horrific so as to change the player’s association
of the Beach from positive to negative. This fits within
Danganronpa’s over the top style and the match between the island’s
aesthetic disconnection from reality and the character’s insane
adventures allows this second game to push its absurdity to even
greater heights than in the original. The overall result is a beach
which is simultaneously beautiful and a death trap in a suitably
comedic fashion. Sitting between these two games is Island where the
beaches as the walls preventing escape is predominately mental in
nature. Unlike the previous two examples the protagonist is not
actually physically trapped on the island since boats off are easily
available, but nonetheless it feels like they are unable to leave.
This is achieved by having the beaches be the edges of the
protagonist’s world due to his amnesia and the constant feeling he
has to be doing something here. What starts out as an idyllic
paradise quickly takes on a darker edge when he is become ensnared in
lives of those he meets and has nowhere to run and nobody to turn to.
Conclusion
Beaches
and their connection with summer make for a powerful tool for visual
novels to control the player’s emotions and perception of the
story. It can invoke half remembered memories of our own childhood
summer holidays and create a feeling of freedom and a slightly
detachment from reality to help the narrative along. This can be
flipped on its head and the bright beaches can be the walls of a
prison where the detachment from the world becomes a negative
quality. Idyllic presentation runs through how the Beach is used in
visual novels with its colours and perfection surrounding the player
in its gentle and warm embrace. There is a lot on offer to a
developer who picks a seashore to be their core setting and if it
matches what you want out of your story then it has proved to be a
powerful source of emotion and ideas.
Senpai And Kouhai – Character And Cliche In Visual Novels
A Comedy Of Ages
The
particulars of the Senpai/Kouhai character are firmly rooted in the
way Japanese culture emphasises social hierarchy. As such they are
only really found in visual novels developed in Japan and absent in
the rest of the world unless they are trying to imitate that style.
Yet despite this factor it is an extremely prolific type of character
in the medium and has developed its own language of traits and
expectations. At the centre of the Senpai/Kouhai character’s world
is the protagonist since it in relationship to them that their
status is decided and with it all sort of power
dynamics. When romance gets added to the mix the differing ages of the
characters involved start to come to the forefront and plays a role
in shaping how they react and develop until a balance between them
can be established. Being so popular has lead to certain character
traits solidifying as being expected from these archetypes which reflect both their age and seniority. These troupes have formed
into a strong part of their core appeal with many visual novels with
a school setting leaning heavily into this desirability. Let’s
greet our Senpai/Kouhai and uncover how a seemly dry element of
social hierarchy became so popular.
Power Dynamics
Since
the Senpai/Kouhai owes their identity to their social position in
relation to the protagonist, there is a strong element of hierarchy
to how they are presented within the story. While it is rare for them
to abuse their position to compel the protagonist, they still engage
in acts appropriate for their status and form an initial relationship
with the protagonist through this lens from which they can build out
into whatever form needed by the narrative. Schools provide the most
common and easy to understand version of this use of status so this
setting will be the primary source of examples for this phenomenon.
For the Senpai their status is born from the seniority of age and this is reflected in the positions they occupy such a club or student council president.
These titles immediately present an air of authority to the player
and set an easy baseline for their interactions with the Senpai. In
addition they offer a simple source of friction between the Senpai,
their responsibilities and their own wishes which is a great basis
for a character arc. Amaha Miu, from Mashiro-iro Symphony, is the
president of the Nuko club and has to grapple with running it
including financing it through her own part-time job. As such it
plays a major role in her story since as a third year student she
will soon have to leave it behind and when the protagonist joins it
helps create a baseline for their banter and mutual respect. Despite
being a gentle character Miu does pull rank on the protagonist on
occasion out of concern for him and this soft power provides a good
sense of her maturity in comparison to the protagonist since she
understand when and how to use her authority. Another Senpai style
character who has notable authority is Charles Maroth, from Da Capo
III, the student council president. Being in the highest student
position gives her an authority over the rest of the cast and the way they
talk with her often reflects this respect. This makes her rivalry
with her vice president Ricca stand out to the player as it
undermines the initial universal respect the player would expect and
creates a curiosity the game can capitalise on later. Playing with
how this authority is thought about by others takes the edge of this
power and provides an avenue for her weaknesses to come through
without completely ruining her Senpai role.
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| She is not the sharpest tool in the box |
As for the Kouhai, their
position is that of the inferior and subordinate and rely on the
protagonist as their Senpai to act as their senior and a responsible
individual. This is not the same as them being weak and incapable but
rather an understanding of social status within the school structure
even if they can be somewhat cheeky at times due to their youth. A common strategy to create drama is to
play up this youthfulness as a kind of ignorance and have the Kouhai
make a big mistake due to overconfidence or not listening to their
Senpai. Toumine Tsukasa, from Irotoridori no Sekai, looks up to the
protagonist as their Senpai and sees them as a source of wisdom. Her
high energy and ignorance about the world highlight their youth and
the role which the protagonist takes in protecting them and acting as
a guiding point or senior. There is a definite over-exaggeration of
the Kouhai identity in Tsukasa for the purposes of comic effect given
she is so gullible to be beyond simple inexperience, but it still
achieves the desired effect of the player wanting to make sure she
does not come to any harm. A Kouhai’s respect can be merely
performative as is the case with Arimura Hinae, from Chaos;Child, who
only ever invokes her status as the protagonist’s Kouhai when it is
convenient for her or as a sign of mockery. She is a character whose
disrespect and confidence are a sign of her immaturity and they end
up coming back to bite her when she pushes her luck due to this trait
then needs to be bailed out. It also works as a means of establishing her weakness through an already present social dynamic and so make
it feel more like an organic exploration of her and the protagonist’s
changing relationship.
Romance Takes The Wheel
Once
the Senpai/Kouhai has entered into a romantic relationship with the
protagonist their dynamic shifting to accommodate this change. At
this point the seniority element of their interactions becomes an
uncomfortable issue to be worked around and most games aim to have it
disappear into the background to avoid any problematic abuses of
power within their romance. What often ends up happening is the
playing up of the relative maturity of the Senpai/Kouhai as a source
of endearment or comedy to take the edge off their previous dynamic.
This can lead to a reduction in the emotional complexity of said
character if not handled well since it is the removal or
simplification of a core aspect of their identity. Even outside of
romance the seniority element often finds itself sidelined in favour
of other kinds of drama when it is not the story’s core focus for
similar reason. It makes the inclusion of such a character outside
of a main heroine role potentially problematic due to lack of time to
smooth over their transition into what the narrative needs of them.
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| You can just hear the 'Ara Ara' |
For a Senpai example of this tendency, Renjouji Mai, from Secret
Agent, can showcase an attempt to reconcile this friction. Her role
as a Senpai and Captain of the Knights is a major focus of her
initial introduction and relationship with the protagonist. Yet once
the player enters her route this aspect almost instantly disappears
when it concerns the protagonist as the game tries to rebalance their
connection into a suitable romantic one to meet the needs of the
romance genre. She morphs into more of a doting older sister kind of
character where the age difference is merely an extra avenue for her to
express her love for the protagonist. However, her seniority and its
burdens still remain unchanged within the context of the dramatic
plot points and her character development. This results in a weird
sense of whiplash between how important her status as Senpai is to
the story and to the protagonist with a stark line drawn to divide these elements. It feels
like the game is trying to have its cake and eat it and highlights
how blending romance and the need for drama using the Senpai role can
be a challenge to keep coherent. Andou Misaki, from Chrono Clock, is
a Kouhai who can demonstrate the opposite extreme manner visual
novels handle this transition into romance. Rather than a sharp cut
off, her loss of Kouhai status is a gradual process used to further
the idea of her bond with the protagonist becoming closer and the
barriers between them dissolving. On the other hand the game does not
use her Kouhai aspects for any narrative purposes so it remaining
prominent could have clashed with the character growth she undergoes.
The issue with this approach is the way the Kouhai role almost feels
redundant since it is neither a strong selling point for her
character nor important for her arc and the player may feel cheated
or confused at this shift in her personality. Neither of these
attempts to deal with the Senpai/Kouhai relationship as part of
romance can deal with the fundamental issues brought about by the
imbalance in power between the relationship’s participants. They
can only paste over the cracks and try to move away from it as
smoothly as possible.
Confident, Teasing and Energetic
Having
such a specific social relationship with protagonist has resulted in
the Senpai/Kouhai character developing a number of personality
archetypes and traits to meet the audience’s expectations. These
work as a shorthand for the normal elements of this dynamic and aim
to shape it into a desirable trait for the players to become attached
to as they interact with the character. It also creates a common design language of their
place within the player’s understanding of the
archetype in a new visual novel. Let us go through a few of the most
common traits or combinations to see this influence in action. In
Shigure Asa, from Shuffle!, can be seen the outgoing and mischievous
Senpai archetype where her maturity gives her the wisdom to outplay
the protagonist in social situations while being generally liked by
all and gets involved in their problems. There is a strong emphasis
in her maternal personality through the care she gives others and the mixture of
domestic skills from her participation on the cook club with the
confidence she outwardly presents to others. What makes this
appealing is the way Asa ends up revealing her vulnerability
alongside her strengths and her teasing ends up being played on her
instead for an entertaining swapping of roles and a humanising which
differs from her self-presentation. The maturity of the Senpai is
important to their traits and Ciel, from Tsukihime, showcases how that
wisdom can be played up to make for a loveable character. She is a
gentle and knowledgable person as befits her status as the
protagonist’s Senpai and is always there to be a rock they can rely
on in the face of chaotic events. This stability gives her a kind of
soft power through the wisdom she can offer and how she presents it
to the protagonist while being able to gently and powerfully suggest
he does not do anything reckless. Even if the protagonist might not
follow her guidance she is still willing to step in to help and, even
has her less altruistic motives come to light, she cannot help but do
what is right due to her sense of responsibility demanding it.
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| She is everything the protagonist is not |
Unlike
the Senpai, a Kouhai can have a larger range of their initially
presented personalities since their youth or inexperience allow them
to openly have a weakness on display. The twins Himeyuri Sango and
Ruri, from ToHeart2, are good examples of the breadth of traits
present within the archetype. Sango is naive and has quite a child
like attitude towards the world around her and the people she
interacts with. It a curiosity and lack of world experience which
would be expected from someone young so it triggers the player’s
desire to protect her from mistakes she might make. Yet
this does not exclude her from being able to display intelligence in
matters of being an older sister and her work maid gynoids since it
does not directly contradict the worldly wisdom she lacks. In
contrast to her is Ruri who is the younger of the twins and prone to
outbursts of emotion and possessiveness especially when it concerns
Sango. This lack of control over her emotions is due to having not
developed proper self control yet and communicates clearly the state
of her development into an adult. Just like Sango’s naivety, this
speaks to a time in our lives where we were the same while invoking
the idea of this time in her life as being precious and worth turning
the other check when she lashes out. As the extremes of the Kouhai
spectrum they make for perfect twins since the player gets to enjoy
the complete Kouhai experience. The Kouhai’s wide-eyed and naive
beliefs in the good of the world can also function as a counterpoint
to the protagonist’s cynicism such as with Claris Zeinburg, from
Meteor World Actor. She is a fresh faced rookie and still possesses
faith in the good their work is doing and acts on this conviction
even if her inexperience does cause her to slip up regularly. A
relationship forms with the protagonist being the unwilling Senpai to
a Kouhai who wants him to sort his act out. This is a mutually
beneficial kind use of the Kouhai archetype since it endears the
player to both parties where their banging of heads humanises them.
Only visual novels containing strongly defined protagonists tend to
use this type of Kouhai given a self insert would not provide enough
material to create a believable dynamic.
Conclusion
Age
and seniority are the defining elements of the Senpai/Kouhai
character where their relative position to the protagonist often
defines their personalities and place within the world. This means a
Senpai/Kouhai has to occupy a place within a social hierarchy like a
school and assume the roles associated with their status such student
council president or a new club member. It also results in the
formation of certain archetypes to meet the player’s exceptions from
the gentle and mature Senpai to the impulsive and emotional Kouhai.
When they end up in a romantic relationship with the protagonist
their role as a Senpai/Kouhai has to awkwardly fade into the
background so the pair can be on equal ground and avoid any
unfortunate abuses of power. Overall, the Senpai/Kouhai is born from
the rigid and structured nature of Japanese society and it makes
little sense to use it outside of this context so it is best avoided
if you are not deliberately trying to emulate this style.
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