Sunday, April 16, 2023
Forbidden Love?
If
there is one genre which thrives in the visual novel space it is
Yuri. While other mediums and types of games touch on Yuri, there are
none that put their entire focus on it in quite the all consuming way
present in visual novels. Rather than being a sideshow for another
genre to use as romantic fluff, it is front and centre in many of the
best and defining titles you can play. On top of this prominence
there is a distinct difference of approach to the genre taken by
Japanese and Western developers. One presents a romance steeped in
purity and idealism while the other focuses in on the issues of
identity and belonging that effect the characters. These divergent
paths have led to a variety of content and themes not present in many
other spaces. Over the course of this deep dive these elements will
be explored as well as a rich landscape of creators and visions of what Yuri
means. Let’s fall in love with a cute girl and find out what makes
the genre tick.
A Vision of Purity – Japanese Yuri
Pervasive
within Japanese Yuri is the idea of the romance as being akin to
a garden of flowers and the pairing as the most brilliant blooms
among them. The focus on a very specific set of emotions adds some
distinctive flavour to the love story and helps this genre stand out.
However, under the surface there is the same treatment of love as a
form of titillation to sell a product in many games which use Yuri as
a secondary element.
At
its core the link to flowers and purity found in this style of Yuri
stems from an extreme idealisation of the lesbian romance. It is
placed in opposition to a male centric romance story which is by
contrast is a tale of desire and lust with love being the ultimate
driver behind it but obscured by this layer of impurity and dirtiness
associated with men. In contrast the female is seen as the purer sex
and thus it follows that any love between two of them would be
equally pure. Even when lust does enter the conversation it treated
with a sanctity as if it were the precursor to a holy act of union.
Generally this is caked in vaguely Christian iconography and
language, such as the pair attending a Catholic school, to present
the pair’s relationship as an act before some kind of unseen divine
presence which accepts their choice of partner.
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| Sono Hanabira's world is one of brilliant colour and dazing purity |
We can see this in the Sono Hanabira series where the complete focus on a
single couple makes it stand out the most. For each game their
pairing is presented with a sort of all consuming sanctity, everything points
to the couple from the supporting cast to the everyday events, even
previous games’ couples act as conduits to insure the new couple
comes together. An entire world orientated towards an outcome is a
pretty convincing argument for its legitimacy. Theirs is a union
painted through bright colours and delicate gazes and there is an
almost otherworldly glow to their encounters to better emphasise the
feelings they are enraptured by and the purity of their intention. Sono
Hanabria is a particularly good example of these traits since it
leans into lust as part of its content and even there the colours
never let up, their acts are done in the light of day and have none
of the messiness of a male orientated union, but it is instead one
where only the cleanest intentions are realised and this is reflected
in their language and generally cleanliness of proceedings. Overall
it is a unique presentation of romance that puts this particular
coupling on an almost unattainable level.
These
distinctive traits do allow for the exploration of some emotions
often forgotten about or sidelined in a more traditional romance
story. The two points it excels at are the capturing of the feeling
of wishful longing and the power our desire for human connection has
over us. Capturing the essence of wishful longing within a romantic
context is something many stories gloss over in favour of the more
dramatic aspects of a relationship, such as the confession, and the
intense focus affords to it in Yuri helps the genre stand out.
Needing to be with someone else for your happiness is a part of love
that effects both participants in often vague ways and the pale
colour and idealises space of Yuri is a perfect place for exploring
this since it can shift its already vague imagery towards this
equally vague subject. In doing so it can present the emotions of its
characters and explore the reasons for their emotional state and the
effects it has on people. By extension the power of the human desire for
connections is expressed through the completion of the longing and
the realisation of the pair’s bond. Similarly to the longing this
is made possible by Yuri’s extreme emphasis on the emotional states
of its characters and makes the strength of their desire for each
other clear and gives a good space for exploring what exactly this
means in practice.
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| It is at moments like this writing difference from traditional romance stories become clear |
The Flowers games are an excellent manifestation
of this ability to capture these unique feelings through Yuri. Each
game presents these ideas through a different character lens,
sometimes with a timid protagonist at other times with a sassy lead,
but it keeps the common motifs and presentation of its version of
Yuri to ground each encounter in the same mental space for the player
and helps them experience and explore the same emotions as the
characters. The resulting narrative gives the feelings of longing and
the desire for human connection a means of melding with the colours
and imagery to be expressed in a purer form and mindset than would be
possible anywhere else but in Yuri.
Of
course not everyone sells this vision of purity for the right reasons,
there is no denying that the teasing of Yuri is a strong selling
point for a product and there are many visual novels which lean into
this for all the wrong reasons. These are the type of visual novels
which have Yuri as a flavour to entice in an audience without then
committing to the idea as in practice they pay it off with only vague
insinuations. They also make use of the aesthetic by signalling the
colour and composition associated with Yuri to paint the game in Yuri
to complement the main thrust of the game, but the result often feels
hollow because the juggling act between these elements is difficult
to manage while keep a consistent tone. An example of this attitude to
Yuri can be seen in The Curse of Kudan which uses it as a side
element to drive the emotional core behind its main mystery focus.
What results is a confused experience with the Yuri cues not matching
the serious and darker mystery causing a form of narrative whiplash.
Alongside this is the problem of the romances feeling undercooked and
merely in there to act as bait to keep the player hooked without the
developer considering that will have to pay this off at some point.
This type of treatment for Yuri is strangely common despite its very
mixed results from an overall game standpoint and more often than not
leaves a sour taste in the player’s mouth.
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| Mixing Yuri with other elements is a difficult act to get right |
A Vision of Reality – Western Yuri
For
Western Yuri the presentation and priorities are very different than
with Japanese Yuri to the point at which the only commonality at
times is their base subject matter. Rather than pastel idealism there
is instead a sense of the weight to the relationship. It is something
to be treasured but there are many experiences which will be
difficult or strange to those under these emotions. This shift in
approach from their Japanese peers stems from the different origins
of those creating the influential titles and the space around the
topic which has developed.
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| The setting plays a large role in how a story is presented |
Even
when the setting is fantastical Western Yuri has its sights firmly
set in the real and grounded experience that reflects the lives of
actual lesbians. These take the issues and frames them individually
within events and characters who bring it into an easy to digest form
that emphasises the emotions involved. Presentation of these themes
is not limited by an established visual language and instead plays
host to many contrasting uses of imagery from other genres with
interesting merges taking place in order to get the desired effect.
As a result there are a lot of different interpretations of the same
ideas that have arisen leading to many new ways of approaching the Yuri
design space as well as a fair amount of cross-pollinating from
popular games. One of the best examples of this culture of design can
be seen in Blackberry Honey. This visual novel, set in mid-19th
century England, takes the issues surrounding lesbians
relationships and puts them into a distinctive historical context
which allows them to standout against a world hostile to their
existence. In assuming the visual identity of the era the game gains
a presentation it can play with to better convey its ideas without
being bound to a set of prescribed iconography. On the other hand
this does mean the game has to work twice as hard to make sure it is
clear in its intent since it has nothing within the player’s
established understanding of the genre to fall back on. It is a
trading of stability for freedom and it is a common choice among many
Western Yuri games.
The
difference in approach originates for the far more indie centric
development of Yuri visual novels due to the way the market has
developed in the West. Rather than being defined by an industry in
need of profit to survive, the Western scene is defined by
individuals or small groups who act within the genre out of a love
for it and as a result the vast majority of the visual novels
produced by them are passion projects that their developers do not
expect to make large (if any) profits from. As you would expect this
leads to a diverse field both in terms of game concepts but also the
people involved due to the low barrier for entry and easy access to
simple but competent engines. Of course such a wide array of releases
leads to an unevenness in terms of quality with many being basic in
nature with a few which stand out for their distinctive originality,
but each one has the same passion and contain the experiences and
thoughts of their developers. NomnomNami is a good example of an
individual within this space. Their projects are small in scale but
tight in focus and have allowed them to develop a visual and
narrative identity of their own that reflects their passion for the
ideas they express. Rather than being made with an eye for sales
their projects are the stories they want to tell and this comes
across in every moment of these games. They also showcase of how
there is a lot of overlap in Western Yuri between the genre and other
LGBTQ+ narratives and spaces. Many of their works often touch on, if
not outright make the focus, other feelings effecting this group and
the commonality between them.
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| We all know where this is going... |
All
of this might leave you with the impression that Western Yuri is
absent of the Yuri baiting and the using of Yuri to sell a product.
However, this is obvious not true as it is just as present in the
Western space as it is in its Japanese equivalent. Perhaps the most
well known presence in the market relying on this trait is the Sakura
series which has used Yuri as a selling point for its visual novels
in many instances over the years. In these cases there is no depth to
the Yuri presented and instead it is a means of offering male centric
fan service to appeal to this audience and make their products
desirable. It also feeds into the disposability of their games as
this lack of substance and blatant pandering works for a short
experience designed to be played quickly, forgotten and then the next
title purchased. They in many ways resembles their Japanese
counterparts which is not surprising since their motivations and use
of established ideas as a backbone stems from a similar origin.
Conclusion
Regardless
of which of the two approaches you might follow in your own work or
play, there is no denying the unique power that Yuri has to inspire
the presentation of often unexplored ideas and emotions in relatable
fashions. Be it through the bright colours, pseudo religious
imaginary and idealism of Japanese Yuri or the grounded, alive and
real issue orientated Western Yuri, there is no limit to the sheer
variety of expressive tools on offer for budding developers. Each one
offers some angle on love that a more traditional romance experience
would shy away from but which Yuri makes front and centre for all to
see. The strange mixture of longing, desire, hopes, acceptance and
realisation which make the space such a sight to behold continue to
attract more people into the genre. Perhaps something here tickled
your creative juices and you want to explore this space more and
doing so would definitely be worth your time as the diversity on
display is not something any one article can possibly capture.
