I'm playing Subarashiki Hibi (Wonderful Everyday) and I was happy with the novel until I came across the most awful and unforgivable thing I saw in a visual novel. Ignorance and propaganda! Mamiya Takuji said some unforgivable things about the thing that saved my life many times and the thing I love the most - Cars.
I'm sorry, I might come as crazy after that post, but I have huge need to write what I'm about to write. After all, this thread is about what we're playing now so I think that it must be alright to share what we like and what we don't like about the visual novels that we read.
Even if this is the best VN in the world, I'm seriously thinking about dropping it because some uneducated, ignorant writer decided that his character should just randomly rant about cars.
Because my statement may seem bold, I'll point out everything wrong he said about cars.
"Cars are just nuisances. No other mode of transportation does as much damage to the environment." It's been proven time and time again that cars cause less pollution than trains and planes (even per passenger). And don't even start me about ships. I have the data of many studies considering the subject, if someone is interested you can easily find information on the internet, if you can't, you can PM me and I'll show you some.
"There's almost always just one or two people in a single car. And they put out so much exhaust." I don't understand what is wrong with just one or two people in a single car? By exhaust, does he mean exhaust gasses? Cars put out exhaust gasses but again : Plains, trains, ships and even cows put out more CO2 than cars.
"A train doesn't put out any exhaust at all... Cars are just annoyances." I don't know about Japan but here, most trains are diesel-electric, and they aren't nearly as "clean" as diesel cars, because all cars (especially diesels) are very harshly regulated to produce levels of pollution which the car engineers before 15 years thought were impossible. Even electric trains are more polluting than cars if we consider things like : the making of the infrastructure for trains, production of batteries and that more than 65% of all the electricity comes from fossil fuels and almost 40% is from coal. And on top of that trains are very inconvenient and hugely expensive.
"The number of people smoking has been declining lately. I wish the same thing would start to happen with cars." That will never happen, there will always be people who are passionate about cars.
"Car exhaust is just as bothersome as cigarette smoke" I don't go around, shoving my car exhaust gasses in people's faces, but some smokers don't care where they exhale their smoke.
"And what's even more annoying than that... Girls like guys who can drive." What's wrong with that? There are some men who drive cars just to impress women but they are less than 20% of all drivers.
"Are you stupid? Don't use a car. Just ride the train..." I have gone to the trouble of working countless hours, and have invested huge quantities of blood, sweat and tears (literally) for my car, and some random kid tells me to ride the train? That is never going to happen.
"Everyone talks about going green and how we should save the planet, so why do they drive cars?" Because cars are "greener" than anything other from walking and scooters. I know that almost nobody believes in that one, because of the media, which is screaming in our faces everyday (for more than 40 years now) that cars are dirty and cause a billion deaths a year and the oil is ending in 10 years time, according to the media we’re also supposed to have hit the next ice age, and apparently the world is going to ignite and turn to ash like a cartoon character if we don’t immediately stop using anything that the government doesn't profit on and return to the stone age.
"Well, I guess that's just how it is... They're just being manipulated by the media. Because the media has to answer to the big corporations." Are car manufacturers bigger corporations than the ministry of transportation?
"Yeah, it bugs me... Those fools should just die." I hope he dies many times in the novel if that is possible.
"Pretty much all the guys who are into cars are lowlifes... Well, either that or gearheads. And pretty much only idiots like cars." What basis does he have to say that? That's like me saying "only idiots like skiing" or something like that. That is just ignorant.
