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Any female VN fans in our little community?


Plk_Lesiak

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So, I've just wondered, I've seen quite a lot of woman active in the Steam VN community, do we have any ladies on the forums? I'm mostly curious, but I also like discussing different perspectives on the VN genres and commonly used themes. With yuri titles, which I'm especially interested in, I think it can sometimes lead to very interesting and enlightening conclussions. :)

I hope no one will take offence to my post, I'm the last one to mindlessly iterate gender stereotypes, but I think especially when it goes to romantic and erotic content, male and female perspective usually differ quite a lot (and simply, females have experiences I could never have myself and which are often important for the stories we read). 

Edited by Plk_Lesiak
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There may be a few female fans here but you're more likely to find them in an otome related forum/subreddit since those VNs are more catered to them.

That said I've met people IRL (at anime cons) and on /r/visualnovels that are female and like many different kinds of VNs.

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There's some female member here, and moat of then say that they want otome VN for recommendations. We also did have some female member who are quite active (ie had more than 500 posts) like @CeruleanGamer and @Novel21, although in Cerulean's case she was quite busy with her husband though. Other than those two, I don't know any active female member here.

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As a side but related question, if you don't mind, do you people know of any VN clearly addressed at a female demographic? You know, not quite an otome or date sim, but a more run-of-the-mill VN which happens to mainly have a female main character throughout the story to which females could relate and insert themselves.

And on the topic, if there are few VN's like that, it's hardly surprising that there aren't many in this community. Video games department is in and of itself a field overwhelmingly overpopulated by males, let alone VN's aimed especifically towards that gender... 

Quite a shame, considering I often feel tempted to suggest a female friend to play some VN, only to find myself discouraged by realizing there's a lot of content that for obvious reasons she most likely wouldn't enjoy.

Edited by Thyndd
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52 minutes ago, Thyndd said:

As a side but related question, if you don't mind, do you people know of any VN clearly addressed at a female demographic? You know, not quite an otome or date sim, but a more run-of-the-mill VN which happens to mainly have a female main character throughout the story to which females could relate and insert themselves.

Sharnoth: https://vndb.org/v1027

Gahkthun of the Golden Lightning -What a Radiant Brave-: https://vndb.org/v11033

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Not sure if I'm active enough but... there's me! A weird 24 years old nerd girl who loves gaming (huge fan of Shin Megami Tensei and Metal Gear) and chinese power points!

Sorry if this ends up being too long but here goes.

I know I'm pretty much in the minority here, but I really like finding and reading different things. I didn't really started with otome actually, but with battle shounen chuuniges, and I'm glad I didn't stop there. But yeah, I also like BL and otome. I'm just not into moeges, since there's not enough guys story there :lol: and recently I learned to enjoy yuri, since it's so cuuuuute! But I'm open to suggestions, you can recommend me anything, I'll at least take a look! I loved Saya no Uta and Sekien no Inganock, and they aren't exactly targeted for girls.

I'm not gonna lie, I like h-scenes just like you guys, but... I usually prefer when I see both participants on screen. I don't really read for self insertion. But this seems to be an otomege thing, since in 18+ otome games you can see the girl. So guess I'm not alone in that opinion.

Now, games target at females... Yeah, people usually think date sims first, but if you dig deeper (like I did, since some years back I disliked otomes bc I thought they're all boring date sims), you'll find some good stuff! Of course, romance and power of love are important sometimes, but some galges do the same right?

From memory, I can recommend Code:Realize, a steampunk game with an useful main character! The boys are really charming and Van Helsing is so like Archer from F/SN, god I'll die. Bocchi Musume x Produce Keikaku is funny and there's some nice ecchi CGs. And Shingakkou ~Noli me tangere~ is a super fucking incredible christian horror plotge, that's very different from your average BL game. And no, I'm not saying it's good bc "IT'S SO HOT KYAAA!", the execution of the plot is what's good, and play it just for porn, well, some of them are way too nightmarish, disgusting or symbolic, so... don't do that.

So yeah, we're different but also alike! Or maybe I'm just weird.

Edited by MaggieROBOT
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1 hour ago, Thyndd said:

As a side but related question, if you don't mind, do you people know of any VN clearly addressed at a female demographic? You know, not quite an otome or date sim, but a more run-of-the-mill VN which happens to mainly have a female main character throughout the story to which females could relate and insert themselves.

And on the topic, if there are few VN's like that, it's hardly surprising that there aren't many in this community. Video games department is in and of itself a field overwhelmingly overpopulated by males, let alone VN's aimed especifically towards that gender... 

Quite a shame, considering I often feel tempted to suggest a female friend to play some VN, only to find myself discouraged by realizing there's a lot of content that for obvious reasons she most likely wouldn't enjoy.

TBH, there are some artistically stunning, highly regarded Otome games (western ones too, ex. https://vndb.org/v19912) that I haven't played through mostly because I always have something higher on the list (as a VN newbie, pretty much years of reading waiting in that damn quote ;]). Even though I'm definitely not the target demographic, it's obvious they would be worth my time and there's still a pretty female to root for in there. :D So while most of mainstream VNs are definitely targeted towards man, there's still some pretty awesome stuff made for females or using a formula that makes it less centred on protagonist's penis and reasonably enjoyable for both sexes. ;p So I'm slightly surprised how huge the disproportion is around here, but maybe it's really about female VN fans having their own, separate spaces around the web. :)

31 minutes ago, MaggieROBOT said:

So yeah, we're different but also alike! Or maybe I'm just weird.

Aren't we all around here? And if we are, we're the best kind of weird! :D I'm actually with you on the H-scenes BTW and that might be another reason why I'm into yuri so much - it's pretty much always about both of the girls, each of them having actual personality, face etc. In general self-insertion doesn't work for me, both when it goes to sex scenes and general storytelling. Probably no VN so far immersed me more than Flowers -Le volume sur printemps-, even though the protagonist was a teenage girl (very much like me when it goes to personality, but still...).

Edited by Plk_Lesiak
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Just now, Kurisu-Chan said:

I'm a male who likes to play Otomege.

Am i an abomination or not? 

I think not, or there's two of us at least (or at least there will be two when I get to it, once more, reading priorities...). That's actually another thread I wanted to start at some point, asking whether anyone around here does that. :D

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11 hours ago, Kurisu-Chan said:

I'm a male who likes to play Otomege.

Am i an abomination or not? 

yes. time to sacrifice kurisu-chan. to what? idk, but he is an abomination. >.>

 

11 hours ago, Plk_Lesiak said:

I think not, or there's two of us at least (or at least there will be two when I get to it, once more, reading priorities...). That's actually another thread I wanted to start at some point, asking whether anyone around here does that. :D

and you as well. >.>

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17 minutes ago, Plk_Lesiak said:

reasonably enjoyable for both sexes. ;p

Actually, more games should include both guys and girls as options, regardless of the protagonist's gender. Now that's my kind of game! Yes, Atlus, I'm still salty you didn't let me date Yusuke in Persona 5!

And since I'm a yuri noob, is Flower that good? I'm planning to read Kindred Spirits first, but I like to fill my backlog. >.<

 

7 minutes ago, mitchhamilton said:

yes. time to sacrifice kurisu-chan. to what? idk, but he is an abomination. >.>

And nooo, don't kill them, they are precious and rare goods! Don't make this species goes extinct!!!!

Edited by MaggieROBOT
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44 minutes ago, Thyndd said:

As a side but related question, if you don't mind, do you people know of any VN clearly addressed at a female demographic? You know, not quite an otome or date sim, but a more run-of-the-mill VN which happens to mainly have a female main character throughout the story to which females could relate and insert themselves.

Well, considering that most non-otome VNs are basically marketed as male-oriented porn-games with (or without) stories, I doubt there going to be many VNs like that. Though honestly, I could never understand how having a female main character with a female perspective makes fiction "addressed at a female demographic" if we exclude stories mostly focused on romance or something like childbirth. I don't know, maybe it depends on how much you like to self-insert into a protagonist, but personally I love a lot of anime-style stories with female protagonists. At the same time, I don't see VNs as Fata Morgana or Umineko as clearly male-oriented either.

On a side-note, I never really understood why many people in the anime community care so much about who the story is oriented at. Take this manga for example. It clearly has some shoujoish vibes, and the MC is female, but it marketed as seinen. Well, the only reason I see why they decided to do that is because of how many many men avoid shoujo just because it's shoujo (and how many girls don't care about if it's shoujo or shounen/seinen). Well, I'm not sure how different the situation is in Japan, but I think it's more or less the same.

11 minutes ago, Kurisu-Chan said:

I'm a male who likes to play Otomege.

Am i an abomination or not?

Well, I haven't really read a single otome game, but I'm really interested in them, so no, you are normal.:D

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12 minutes ago, Dreamysyu said:

Well, considering that most non-otome VNs are basically marketed as male-oriented porn-games with (or without) stories, I doubt there going to be many VNs like that. Though honestly, I could never understand how having a female main character with a female perspective makes fiction "addressed at a female demographic" if we exclude stories mostly focused on romance or something like childbirth. I don't know, maybe it depends on how much you like to self-insert into a protagonist, but personally I love a lot of anime-style stories with female protagonists. At the same time, I don't see VNs as Fata Morgana or Umineko as clearly male-oriented either.

Yes, don't get me wrong, I do believe that many VN are not targeted at any particular gender, or in other words, can be enjoyed equally by anyone. I doubt that many people would argue that let's say Steins;Gate is addressed at males just because the MC is a male, that's not what I'm going for here. What I intended to say is that there are a whole lot of VN's with storylines that would be easily enjoyable for both genders that for some reason decided it was a good idea to include a lot of elements clearly aimed for the male population, like a harem or h-scenes thoroughly narrated through a male perspective, while I don't find that inverse to be true in general terms: I don't know of many (or any before my post, actually) VN's with storylines suited for everyone with clear elements targeted at females.

Edited by Thyndd
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20 minutes ago, MaggieROBOT said:

Actually, more games should include both guys and girls as options, regardless of the protagonist's gender. Now that's my kind of game! Yes, Atlus, I'm still salty you didn't let me date Yusuke in Persona 5!

And since I'm a yuri noob, is Flower that good? I'm planning to read Kindred Spirits first, but I like to fill my backlog. >.<

I agree, the more choice we get the better. Maybe we'll see more of that in future VNs, just as we see it in western RPGs nowadays. :)

And with Flowers, it's definitely beautiful, has wonderful aesthetic and atmosphere. The rest is maybe more up to personal taste. It's very slow and sentimental, which is fine with me, and the OBVIOUSLY BEST GIRL is not the canon ending, which is unforgivable. ;p But seriously speaking, I've loved every moment of it and I pretty much recommend it to anyone. Sadly it's hard to tell when the sequels are going to get their English releases (if ever), the second one in theory should be on its way but that's all I've heard about it so far.

Edited by Plk_Lesiak
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3 minutes ago, Thyndd said:

Yes, don't get me wrong, I do believe that many VN are not targeted at any particular gender, or in other words, can be enjoyed equally by anyone. I doubt that many people would argue that let's say Steins;Gate is addressed at males just because the MC is a male, that's not what I'm going for here. What I intended to say is that there are a whole lot of VN's with storylines that would be easily enjoyable for both genders that for some reason decided it was a good idea to include a lot of elements clearly aimed for the male population, like a harem or h-scenes thoroughly narrated through a male perspective, while I don't find that inverse to be true in general terms: I don't know of many (or any before my post, actually) VN's with storylines suited for everyone with clear elements targeted at females.

Yeah, I understood what you meant when I was writing this post, and I agree with you. I didn't intend to criticize you or anything like that, I was just giving remarks in general direction.

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1 hour ago, Nier said:

Sharnoth: https://vndb.org/v1027

Gahkthun of the Golden Lightning -What a Radiant Brave-: https://vndb.org/v11033

Sakurai's games have a distinctively feminine vibe to them, but calling them otomege or female-oriented games would be a major stretch. It just so happens Sakurai is a woman herself (a thing that doesn't happen often in the jp eroge industry) and most of her games feature females as lead characters. This obviously makes most of the stories expressed from a female POV, which in turn makes it easier for women to relate to; her games have nothing to do with classic otomege, they are 100% story-driven experiences and even though romance quite often plays a major role, it's a secondary factor in most cases that doesn't tie her stories in any way. In fact, women in her games rarely end up in relationships with other people as means to end their tales.

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12 minutes ago, Narcosis said:

Sakurai's games have a distinctively feminine vibe to them, but calling them otomege or female-oriented games would be a major stretch.

But the guy specifically asked for non-otome games but for a more "run-of-the-mill VN which happens to mainly have a female main character throughout the story to which females could relate and insert themselves.", don't these two games that I mentioned fit the bill?

 

8 minutes ago, Dreamysyu said:

By the way, does anybody have any remarks about the otome VN Nightshade? It looks really beautiful, and it's rating seems to be pretty good, but I'm not sure whether it's actually good for me.

D3 Publisher? I thought they dropped the western market around 2011 after they released Onechanbara Bikini Samurai Squad, Onechanbara Bikini Zombie Slayers and the US version of White Knight Chronicles II, which I am guessing failed to sell well because they haven't released anything since then and their latest games were all released by 3rd Party publishers like XSEED?

Edited by Nier
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28 minutes ago, Nier said:

D3 Publisher? I thought they dropped the western market around 2011 after they released Onechanbara Bikini Samurai Squad, Onechanbara Bikini Zombie Slayers and the US version of White Knight Chronicles II, which I am guessing failed to sell well because they haven't released anything since then and their latest games were all released by 3rd Party publishers like XSEED?

Huh. Doesn't sound really reliable. And, looking through the screenshots, the TL quality doesn't seem very good (though I'm definitely not the best person to judge).

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2 hours ago, MaggieROBOT said:

Bocchi Musume x Produce Keikaku is funny and there's some nice ecchi CGs. A

I read Bocchi Musume/Fashioning Lonesome and one of the things i liked was that both participants were both focused on in the scene instead of just the girl which I liked

Do you know of any VNs that feature this?

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32 minutes ago, NowItsAngeTime said:

I read Bocchi Musume/Fashioning Lonesome and one of the things i liked was that both participants were both focused on in the scene instead of just the girl which I liked

Do you know of any VNs that feature this?

If you're looking for english ones... I remember only Cute Demon Crashers, but this game have absolutely no plot and the sex is more cute than, well, sexy.

Untranslated, the best one is Yoshiwara Higanbana. Akazukin no Mayoi no Mori also fits and have kemonomimis! Tsubasa no Oka no Hime even have some group sex scenes with one female and two males (girls can be very horny too...).

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