In a Teen Vogue interview about the dating realities of East Asian women, one subject referred to “whole internet communities of men fetishizing anime representation of girls” that reflect what they see in media, such as visual novels, into the real world. I am not the first person to talk about my experiences with fetishization, nor will I be the last. While being noticeably half-white avoided the more cruel comparisons, I eventually realized that I had experienced fetishization my entire life based on simply my ethnicity.
In fact, it’s a sadly recurring experience among young girls and women of Asian descent. It turns out that I wasn’t alone in feeling this weirdness. It always made me feel weird, but I couldn’t put words to it. When I was starting to actually understand the world, I would get comments from both classmates and adults alike that I looked like a cute anime girl. This has changed as I’ve grown up and into my features, but the slightest of characteristics apparently gave me a mystical look that always made me feel insecure. I had bad bangs, huge eyes, and cheeks the size of apples. When I was growing up, I was a quintessential Asian kid. However, it also carries a more subtle yet still impactful message that has impacted both Japanese and Western visual novels for years.īut first, a little anecdote. While the game had some detractors and even almost caused a new moral panic in the U.K., it ultimately received praise for its more realistic depiction of mental health and how it can affect anyone, even the ones you least suspect. There is a lot that can be interpreted from the events of DDLC, especially how it portrayed the effects of mental illness. RELATED: ‘Doki Doki Literature Club’ Getting New DLC and Coming to Consoles
It was this misdirection that has given the game an intense cult following, culminating in the upcoming expansion Doki Doki Literature Club Plus. What was seemingly a run-of-the-mill romance game about getting close to the girl of your choice slowly increases in intensity before its claws come out in the middle of your game. It is a comforting type of video game that doesn’t require too much effort for the player.Īlthough the idea of deconstructing the visual novel is not exactly new, the concept hit the mainstream in 2017 with Doki Doki Literature Club. They just have to click the answer that resonates with them the most. Choices matter, but the player’s avatar doesn’t have to run around, solve puzzles, or shoot up bad guys. Visual novels are oftentimes a great way for video game developers to tell a cohesive story without having to worry about different methods of gameplay and presentation.
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