I’m going to go out on a limb and assume that you haven’t heard of Memo, an EVN by artist Doomfest. I normally don’t review EVNs for the obvious reason – to put it bluntly, the vast majority of them aren’t worth reviewing – but this one stands out as a solid attempt and a prelude of what’s to come.
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You’ve probably heard of Megatokyo – the American 4-panel webcomic that evolved into a published manga series both in the English-speaking world and in Japan. I wasn’t around for its birth and rise to fame so I can’t comment specifically on the history, but Fred Gallagher already said that the story was never expected or intended to turn into what it is today (not unlike the history of 4chan). Despite the fact that Megatokyo‘s decade-long history comes with its fair share of awkward pacing and different visual styles, it’s more or less a mandatory read for OEL manga fans and people who enjoy meta anime like Genshiken.
The interesting thing about Megatokyo is that its plot can hardly stand on its own: without any cultural awareness on the reader’s part, the story is flat-out illogical. Luckily, this also means that it provides a surprisingly engrossing experience for readers who can relate to the protagonists and their bizarre journey through the zombie hordes and love triangles of Tokyo. There’s a reason why I like Megatokyo as much as I do, a reason why it trumps all of Japan’s anime-about-anime-fans in my eyes – its secret lies in the fact that the meta concepts are woven into nearly every aspect of the plot.
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[raemz]
I could call myself a fan of OEL visual novels. True, I have never played one that genuinely impressed me outside of the comedy/satire genre, and I’m naturally biased toward the medium considering my own endeavour in it, but it’s safe to say that there are a few pleasant creations out there. Ren’Py has been around since 2004, and a lot of amateur writers and artists have tried their hand at the tedious but ultimately rewarding task of creating a visual novel.
Considering that the community has an ever-growing archive of Ren’Py-created games, it would seem as though everything is in order. As a consumer, however, this might not be the case. As much as I hate to say this, some developers might be trying to step into the professional world a bit too soon.
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This isn’t quite a serious response to a recent Sankaku Complex article (NSFW). Their jab at Western “dating sims” was obviously not intended for any kind of serious contemplation, despite the fact that they overlooked something crucial.
The punchline, however, felt disturbingly familiar. It isn’t all too uncommon in anime fandom to criticize Western media, much moreso when a person is creating something that “resembles” Japanese media like anime and manga. It’s the typical “stop trying to be Asian” argument, which appears to be worse for the YouTube stars (although that may only be because they have to deal with YouTube commenters).
Anyway, media is the issue here, not culture. Put simply, some fans have a bad habit of underestimating Japanese-style media that wasn’t made in Japan, and that can be as unhealthy for the community as it is harmful for your own media intake.
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