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I can't read Japanese, so it is hard to verify this 100%. However, I know agencies of the current Japanese government have PR departments and that those PR departments have been proven to engage in propaganda: Japan’s government agencies used propaganda to skew public opinion in favor of nuclear energy http://stratrisks.com/geostrat/1824 If Japan's nuclear-related agencies are using "inappropriate actions" in "an attempt to influence public opinion", don't you think law enforsement agencies could be doing the same? The size of the audience doesn't matter if it is the VN authors who contact law enforment PR department asking for co-operations, which is most likely what happened with G senjou no maou. The authors of G senjou no maou required an enormous amount of background information on subjects that aren't exactly common knowledge: A superficial understanding of these topics would not be enough to write such a great VN. The authors either needed to do a mountain of reasearch or they needed access to people they could ask "What would the police do if X?", "in a kinapping what happens if X", etc. Visual novel authors aren't exactly rolling in money, so if there is a cheap way to do something (using government PR offices to gain access to detectives/intelligence officials/etc to ask questions) at a small cost (letting government PR offices review and make small modifications to the script), I have to believe they would do it. As for government PR offices, it costs them nothing to allow VN authors access to people to interview, so they would have no reason to refuse. I don't think the size of the VN audience would be an issue.

True, I did say the unrealistic police potrail was "nearly impossible to miss" and so I doubt it altered perceptions too much. On the hand, just because it is ineffective and well intergrated into the story, doesn't change the fact that there are sections of the VN that put the police in such a positive light that it is little offsetting. For example, ------ On a side note, the type of propaganda in G senjou no maou is the most common type of propaganda: Hollywood, Military Cooperation Often Mutually Beneficial http://www.defense.gov/news/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=516 Any book, movie, visual novel, etc that deals extensively with terrorism, crime, or war benefits from cooperations with government agencies that deal with those subjects. Writers/producers gets access to classified/inside information and can interview government personnel involved in counter-terrorism etc. In exchange, the agencies that co-operate with the authors are portrayed in a positive light and are given some control over the script. Well done, the result is something like G senjou no maou: a story with deep background knowledge (regarding police procedures, criminal/terrorist methodologies, etc) along with the necessary pro-police tone. ------- Thanks for the insults. Thanks also for also not making any coherant points that could add to the discussion. "I honestly don't think I could explain it without explaining the entire story/philosophy of the visual novel" Now THIS promises to be hilarious. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE... explain the entire story/philosophy of "Grisaia no Kajitsu" and how tunafish fish segment is an integral part of the visual novel. It would make my day. ------ Isn't is insulting someone without adding anything to the discussion pretty much the definition of a troll? ----- Why do you have a supply of tinfoil hats? Also, what are they for? I always wanted to ask a genuine tinfoil hat member the reasoning behind their "special" behavior. (also, sorry, I am not up for the tinfoil hats. Try Wahfuu and Muki, it is more their level.)

Here is another VN propaganda example you might be familiar with: G senjou no maou (great VN. I give it a 9/10) The game is overflowing with pro-police propaganda. It is nearly impossible to miss. [spoiler warning] Anyone who took the pro-police propaganda in G senjou no maou seriously would have a terribly warped view of the Japanese police, as the reality is far different: Japan is peaceful, safe and regimented not because of, but despite, the frequently disgraceful performance of its guardians. Individually, many Japanese police officers are honest and dedicated. But as an institution, the force they serve is arrogant, complacent and incompetent. Source: Japan's Inept Guardians - NYTimes.com http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/25/opinion/japans-inept-guardians.html?_r=0 ------- As an aside, the gap between people's perception of the police and the reality is even bigger in the US: The Real ‘CSI’: How America’s Patchwork System of Death Investigations Puts the Living at Risk http://www.propublica.org/article/the-real-csi-americas-patchwork-system-of-death-investigation CBS News Investigates Rape-Kit Backlog https://www.rainn.org/news-room/news/rape-kit-backlog Riding Along With the Cops in Murdertown, U.S.A. - NYTimes.com www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17YouRhere-t.html

Actually, you are missing something in your comparison between VNs and TV shows. That is the IMPACT of propaganda in different mediums: Source: Final report of the Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities (Internet Archive) http://www.archive.org/details/finalreportofsel01unit Finalreportofsel01unit.pdf (43.7 Mb) http://www.archive.org/download/finalreportofsel01unit/finalreportofsel01unit.pdf What the Chief of the covert action staff is saying is that a Visual Novel (which is basically an interactive book) "can significantly change the reader's attitude and action to an extent unmatched by the impact of any other single medium". So a visual novel filled with global warming propaganda like Rewrite can have more impact than a hundred TV shows. For this reason, propaganda in written mediums (books and visual novels) has always been a higher priority than other forms of propaganda.

Actually it was. Sorry, re-read his statement: "Why would they give a fuck about a niche medium aimed at people that will largely never hold any kind of relevance to the politics in the country and won't care much about it anyway?" Successful people, in politics or business, are always in a position to influence "politics in the country". So he is saying visual novel readers (the majority of which are still students or young adults begginning their carreer) will largely never achieve success (and be in a position of "relevence"). How is that not insulting? Your missing the point because his comment was about the FUTURE of VN players: "people that will largely never hold any kind of relevance" Let's you as an example. User "Down" is saying you are a member member of a group that will largely never succeed at life. That means that in ten, twenty, thirty years, will not have achieved anything that would let you "hold any kind of relevance". Is that OK with you? He is basically calling all of us on this forum losers. Sorry for going a little overboard with this, but "Down"'s comment was really insulting if you think about it... -------- Seperately, I sort of understand the point "Down" was tring to make, but I think it could have been done in a better way.

Before you say something stupid, try doing a TINY bit of research (one google search for "video games propaganda" for example). You would find articles like: Government Pushes Propaganda Through Video Games http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/2013-01-17/government-pushes-propaganda-through-video-games-0 Saying "i know there are propaganda's in tv shows... but government propaganda on a Visual Novel? that's just silly." makes about as much sense as saying "i know the mafia is involved in drug trafficking... but mafia using extortion too? that's just silly." To thinks that the government would insert propaganda on TV shows, movies, books, etc but leave video games untouch... Now THAT is just silly. ------- NO . IT . CAN . NOT! As, i said before: Finally, if you are going to try to defend tunafish man segment, Please point me to a part of the common route that you thought was worse. If you can't do this, then you are admitting the tunafish man segment is the low point of the common route (ie: SHIT). You can't point to a pile of SHIT and say "it could be easily identified as a joke". The Tunafish man segment is just sad, wrong, and completely out of place in Grisaia no Kajitsu. It would be impossible to mistake it for a joke. Read the tunafish man segment and see how bad it is before you try to defend it. Otherwise you will just embarrass yourself. -------- WTF. Do you realize that just insulted everyone on this forum? You are basically saying that all visual novel readers are jobless neets with no ability to impact the world around. So according to you no polititians or successful businessmen play or have played visual novels, only pathetic losers... Just because YOU are someone "will largely never hold any kind of relevance to the politics" DON'T AUTOMATICALLY ASSUME THAT APPLIES TO EVERYONE ELSE. It is a little insulting.

That is not correct. You missing two key points: 1) Tuna scrape is fundamentally different product from normal tuna and is highly prone to contamination. The passage below is from the other article i linked to: 2) Since the primary selling point of "tuna scrape" is its low cost, it is inherently risky because it is will manufactured and cooked as cheaply as possible, with safety being the first thing sacrificed to cut costs. Again, from the same article: Compared to normal tuna, "tuna scrape" is inheritely prone to contamination and is handled in ways that make that contamination more likely. Trying to claim there is no difference between tuna and "tuna scrape" is a flat out lie. ------- I love how you are essentially insulting me while completely ingnoring the certral point I made when starting this thread. I am not agry because there is propaganda in visual novels. I am angry because the quality of that propaganda is SHIT. Here I was enjoying reading Grisaia no Kajitsu, then suddently the quality drops to shit. I then spend fifteen minutes reading about "tunafish man" because some government scriptwriter wanted to promote "tuna scrape". The tunafish man segment had no redeeming features that would warrent its inclusion in the game: 1) There were no plot developments. The segement had absolutely nothing to tie it to the rest of the common route. 2) There was no character development. Rather the cast was horribly out of character. Yuuji doesn't make a single snide or sarcastic comment (or even thought). Makina is shown to be interested in something that is retarded even for her. Finally, the fact that tunafish man is the only thing Sachi has been shown to have an genuine interest in (besides the kitten and serving others) is even more disturbing. 3) It was badly writen. It wasn't humours. Nothing interesting happened. It was just retarded (without any of Yuuji's funny comments on the absurdity). 4) It was in poor taste. Watching tunafish man rip himself appart to hurl his organs at the enemy was gross. Compared to rest of the game (especally compared to 'the precious pouch" segment), the tunafish man segment was SHIT. I am angry that SHIT was put into my game by a government scriptwriter. SO IT REALLY DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU BELIEVE "TUNA SCRAPE" IS SAFE OR NOT! Instead talking about fearmongering and urban legends, why don't you address the central point. Do you enjoy having 15+ minutes of SHIT added to your visual novels? Even if you can convince yourself that "tuna scrape" is "healthy", did you enjoy reading about tunafish man? Finally, if you are going to try to defend tunafish man segment, Please point me to a part of the common route that you thought was worse. If you can't do this, then you are admitting the tunafish man segment is the low point of the common route (ie: SHIT).

Yes, it is killing people. Read Tuna Scrape Salmonella Outbreak Over, CDC Says, But More Sickenings Possible

How could I forget to mention Rewrite! I nearly stopped playing in disgust once I realized the entire visual novel was based on a false premise (man-made global warming is threatening to destroy the world). A pity, because rewrite's common route was pretty good.

I was reading Grisaia no Kajitsu and I felt compelled to start this thread to highlight an issue some people might not be aware of. So the purpose of this quick thread is: A) Make people about the common practice of inserting government propaganda into TV shows, movies, and other media (like visual novels.) B ) Point out a few examples of blatant propaganda in visual novels. C) Quick rant about how this propaganda seriously degrades readers’ enjoyment of visual novels (whether they are aware of it or not). -------------------------------- Part A: How government propaganda secretly inserted into TV shows Here is an example of anti-drug propaganda inserted into TV shows: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-end-of-the-above-the-influence-campaign-the-office-of-national-drug-control-policy-loses-its-media-budget-2011-12?op=1 Here is an example of global warming propaganda inserted into TV shows: http://hauntingthelibrary.wordpress.com/2011/01/28/cdc-funding-fictional-warming-propaganda-on-tv/ More reading on the subject: California Asks TV Networks to Push Obamacare In TV Shows - With Your Money http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Hollywood/2012/09/15/California-Asks-TV-Networks-to-Push-Obamacare-In-Sitcoms Propaganda Selling the NDAA though TV SHow Government Propaganda To Infest Network TV Shows http://www.prisonplanet.com/government-propaganda-to-infest-network-tv-shows.html -------------------------------- Part B: Examples of propaganda in visual novels (these are just a few off the top of my head) Grisaia no Kajitsu Here is some global warming propaganda in Grisaia no Kajitsu (which I am currently reading and prompted me to write this post) Problem is that man-made global warming is not real. The earth has warmed just 0.5 degrees over the past 50 years. (See IRREFUTABLE EVIDENCE THAT OFFICIAL PREDICTIONS OF GLOBAL CLIMATE WARMING HAVE BEEN CATASTROPHICALLY FLAWED) That section Grisaia no Kajitsu also contains propaganda promoting the safety of “tuna scrape”. “Tuna scrape” is NOT safe. (See Tuna Scrape: The Food Safety Risk Lurking in Supermarket Sushi). Governments have been allowing cheap unhealthy/dangerous food substitutes into the food distribution in order to keep down inflation. Meat that was formerly used in dog food is turned into “pink slime” and served in school lunches. Leftover tuna that was formerly used in cat food is turned into “tuna scrape” and served as suchi. To know more about the discusting things governments have been allowing into our food, try googling: “pink slime” “meat glue” “tuna scrape” “crushed cochineal beetles” + Starbucks “horse-meat scandal” “dog-meat scandal” “fish fraud” Etc… There is also a fair amount of anti-drug propaganda in Grisaia no Kajitsu when you look for it. -------------------------------- Da Capo II An unavoidable part at the beginning of the novel features some global warming propaganda: -------------------------------- Hoshizora no Memoria Huge amount of “UFO nonsense”. Whenever a character believes in government conspiracies and cover-ups in a visual novel, that character is always an idiot who “believes” in UFO. The message is simple and powerful: Someone who believes in government cover-ups = raving lunatic Unfortunately, government cover-ups/conspiracies are real, especially in Japan. Try googling: “government cover up fukushima” The purpose of all the UFO nonsense in Hoshizora no Memoria, Da capo II, and other visual novels is a direct attempt to discredit whistleblowers who warn about Fukushima, and other government cover ups. -------------------------------- Part C: The rant The worst part of this inserted government propaganda is that it is always the most unreadable part of the visual novel. Since it is government propaganda added to product (visual novel) after the script is written. These sections stand out like a soar thumb in terms of poor quality and being out of place with the plot. Did anyone enjoy that “tunafish man” part of Grisaia no Kajitsu? Did anyone enjoy that endless UFO nonsense in Hoshizora no Memoria? Knowing that these sections were added for the sole purpose of deceiving the reader only makes it worse.