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Why I always play games with nonhuman heroines first.


Clephas

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My name is Clephas, and I am a pervert.

lol, just kidding... or not.  Considering how long I've been playing eroge, I'm definitely a pervert.  However, that isn't really what this post is about.

When I look at the VNs for a month, the first thing I look for are chuunige, then fantasy/sci-fi, and then non-human heroines (though the last two are interchangeable depending on my mood).  The distant fourth is an interesting protagonist, the fifth is an interesting heroine (if I don't find any of the heroines interesting in setting or character description after eliminating the factors above, I generally have trouble picking the game up). 

Why do I love nonhumans...?  It is pretty much the only 'romantic' part left in my body. 

To be frank, I don't believe in or trust romance.  I firmly believe that romance is a lie we tell ourselves so we can ignore the fact that we are being driven by our body's desire for children and the resulting psychological hunger for a close partner.  That might seem like a cynical way to think of things, and I don't think about things like that while I'm playing.  However, when it is over or before I start?  Always.

I like the strange, the weird, the warped, the unusual... what is the point of telling a story if it is about the girl next door?  If I want to know about the girl next door, I'll walk over and say hello.  I love power trips, I like heroines with different instincts and outlooks, and I like heroines who simply don't share mine or the protagonist's culture. 

I love heroines who have lived hundreds of years.  I like heroines that used to be animals.  I am deeply fond of vampire heroines.  I could go on forever about this.

The fact is, we are shaped by our experiences, and a heroine that has had some seriously unusual experiences is generally far more interesting than a heroine who grew up next door and comes to visit every morning. 

This is actually the main reason why I find it difficult to comprehend racism on a gut level... though I can comprehend it on the anthropological and sociological studies level. 

This is also why I hate 'nerfed' nonhuman heroines.  Need to have a vampire heroine attend school?  Make her a unique 'daywalker' or have vampires not worry about the sun in the first place.  Need to have a succubus be safe around men?  Make it so she only needs regular food and the seduction thing is just an ability (these are both actual examples, incidentally).  You have an immortal heroine?  Make sure she gives up that immortality in her route so that the protagonist doesn't have to worry about being outlived by his wife (ugh, I mean, ugh.  Sometimes that works, but most of the time it is a let down).

Thanks for reading this random ramble, lol.

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That sounds about right to me.
Doesn't the " nonhumans " part on it's own equal romance though? Look, I don't mean romance as in the feelings of love or desire, but more in the sense of feeling separated from the current "mundane" world.
Aside from that, I personally get too immersed in things I read or watch generally. So reading something with nonhumans for example would always give me the feelings of a "Shakesperean tragedy", since I know for sure that I'll never ever ever experience something similar and that once the story ends, it's probably over for good. I guess that's one of my personal reasons why I (sometimes) feel betrayed with the happy (human) ever after ending.
Oh well... Thank you for your reflections, they're pretty interesting.

PS: why are there so many nonhumans becoming humans in stories instead of the other way around (if it's possible) ? I'd like to see a human abandoning his heritage for once, haha.

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32 minutes ago, Guest Cron said:



PS: why are there so many nonhumans becoming humans in stories instead of the other way around (if it's possible) ? I'd like to see a human abandoning his heritage for once, haha.

Japanese culture doesn't really approve of humans willingly becoming nonhumans.  However, there are some VNs where something like that happens.

Tayutama

Akeiro Kaikitan

Trouble@Vampire

Draculius

Hatsuru Koto Naki Mirai (Dragon girl's ending)

Kanojo wa Tenshi de Imouto de

Tiny Dungeon Bless of Dragon (second game)

Ayakashibito (translated, one of Suzu's endings)

Bloody Rondo (Luna's ending)

That's about all the ones I've come across that are any good that have the protagonist either becoming immortal or becoming nonhuman, at least in one of the paths.

 

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romance is a lie huh?  in my opinion, it's the same as you denied feeling. Romance is love, love is a feeling, if you say it's a lie, then  everything about life is empty. Feeling is something complex different than reason or logic, like in a story where either the protagonist with non human heroine who can live hundred or thousand years or even immortal, they chose to be together knowing that separation is inevitable and it will probaly hurt one of them in the end because of one loss. In reason, why go out with someone that different than you? Right. But precisely because we love her/him, that we ignore logic/reason. The point is, romance is not lie, it is an attachment toward something/someone that is driven not because of our body desire.

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8 hours ago, Guest Cron said:

PS: why are there so many nonhumans becoming humans in stories instead of the other way around (if it's possible) ? I'd like to see a human abandoning his heritage for once, haha.

On a non-VN scope, there's stuff like Sengoku Youko, where one of the main characters' goal in life is to become a youkai so he can marry his youko "sister".

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Romance is something you need to experience in order to appreciate. I've only experienced it once in my life and that was years ago.

Personally, I also have a fondness for nonhuman heroines not just in VNs, but in other works such as Touhou. It's fun to learn about their perspectives, priorities, lifestyles, etc. because they give the impression of having transcended human values. That's probably why I like Kagari from Rewrite so much even though she has the least screentime and lines.

Edited by Hiashi
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