arakura Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Before Katawa Shoujo I had never read a VN. Nor did I really know too much about them, but I had never associated them with porn or anything. I believe the first I had heard of them was my brother bashing some ps3 pseudo-vn for being called a 'game' when it wasn't really about the gameplay (he gets bothered over the silliest things sometimes). All the time I'll be reading a thread such as the MG and SP 2014 bestsellers thread and people will often say things like this: For an outsider, the standard Nukige isn't different from something like planetarian for example. (This is just one example among many, I don't mean to call anyone out.) I'm not actually convinced of this. I don't get why people often talk about how unmarketed and niche VNs are (in the west) and then jump straight to assuming that of course everyone sees vns as porn. All of my exposure to vns happened through things like word of mouth, which told me of the really good stuff out there. My friends do not come to me and tell me what their favorite nukige is. My personal experiences with VNs as well as my brother's and friends' don't to align with this mystical concept of 'outsiders' that I hear of all the time. But I'm interested. What did you think of VNs at first? Considering you're a member here that may be biased, so maybe you could ask your friends or family members what they think of VNs and report it here? I will, at least. I think it'd be valuable to get a more concrete image of what VNs are to outsiders without all the supposition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nosebleed Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 I first thought they were like anime but with porn. I tried it out and found out I was right. 10/10 would VN again. astro and Zenophilious 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinovaA Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Well I asked two of my friends what they thought of VNs, and here is what they had to say: As someone who has played maybe ten minutes of them, I would say there are some very good ones out there. Hell many anime that I have greatly enjoyed were VN adaptations. Though I find some are just wish fufillment to the extreme (which is not exactly bad, I just personally dislike them)I prefer a story with an interesting protagonist over a mary sue that never has any flaws and always gets every female horny by walking by them. 'Visual Novel' makes one think of, say, a comic strip or Manga book The second is from a friend who had never even really heard of a VN before meeting me. When he first heard the words visual novel, and what they were; that is the response he gave. For myself, I got into Visual Novels because I was like... man... porn with a story. Count me in!!! Little did I know the epic stories that I would soon be presented with. I'll have to ask more people when I get the chance, but I must say that I believe that most people associate every visual novel to your typical nukige. I know I did before I got into it. I'll have to get back to you on that later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eclipsed Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 An outsider outsider (absolutely ZERO knowledge) will probably have innocent thoughts upon hearing 'visual novel' and think of a book with pictures or something - me An outsider who has seen a visual novel that has H-scenes will probably associate all visual novels as having H-scenes/being pr0n games - a couple of my friends when I revealed the 'dark truth' about my being into VNs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwd2 Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 in general, weeaboo shit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashadow700 Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Actually I think most people don't think anything about visual novels, becuase the medium is so underground chances are pretty high they don't even know what a VN is to begin with. Dragoon and AceAttorney 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darklord Rooke Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Actually I think most people don't think _anything_ about visual novels, becuase the medium is so underground chances are pretty high they don't even know what a VN is to begin with. If Fuwa is able to tie VNs to mediums that are well-known and don't have many negative stigmas, then we may be able to get to people before their views are tainted and positively influence people's first experience with the medium (while also opening OELVN developers up to new ideas which exist outside the medium...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Three-years-ago-self didn't know anything about them before a friend who had read two-three of them explained him what they were. He mentioned at some point that there were sex scenes, which neither I nor him really cared about (not like you don't encounter the occasional sex scene in a book), so I spent a fair bit of time not even realizing that both the medium and the community were so focused on porn. Blissful days of innocence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurisu-Chan Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 I was an outsider not long time ago, when i had zero to very few contacts with japanese stuff. And then, a friend of mine brainwashed me in order to watch and read steins;gate. Shit happened and now i'm a Visual Novel Reader. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funyarinpa Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 My cousin was staying over for a few days (he left just half an hour ago) and I showed him some nukige. He has no idea what "visual novel" means (he doesn't know English very well to be honest) but if asked, he'd probably say "weird Japanese porn". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Life Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 My first VN was a short one I found on google chrome so I didn't even start getting into them thinking it was japanese related or anything. I just thought it was a unique yet very interesting way of telling a story with the inclusion of pictures and music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zalor Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Most of my friends and acquaintances are familiar with Otaku sub-culture but are not as involved with it as I am. So when early on I mentioned I read VNs, they labeled me as a pervert. It took a while to convince some of them otherwise. The people who are most likely to hold misunderstood concepts of VNs are generally geeks who vaguely heard of them and just made wrong assumptions. Some people are just really stubborn and unwilling to try different things. For instance, I managed to convince one of my friends that Swan Song was an interesting story, but the conversation ended by him saying something along the lines of "Sounds cool and all, but even if its just a few scenes, I'm not reading something with 2D sex." -.- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoom909 Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 For instance, I managed to convince one of my friends that Swan Song was an interesting story, but the conversation ended by him saying something along the lines of "Sounds cool and all, but even if its just a few scenes, I'm not reading something with 2D sex." -.- So if it were 3D sex, then would he read it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deep Blue Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 I'm really into anime and love Japanese culture but never heard of the visual novels before, my first vn was Katawa shoujo (that's when my love for this genre begin and i think it's something that will never go away, like my love for computers, electronic things or even video games) For me vns are not something related to sex or eroge at all, they can have it, yes, but that doesn't defines the genre itself, it's like saying that because of moving have a sex scene is a porn movie...that's just doesn't make sense. I like to think that vns are something in between games, books and anime or a mix between all of them. And none of my friends knows about vns or what they even are, sadly this is something not really common or well known out there, KS is still one of my fav novels of all times even if today comparing it with other novels doesn't hold up, it's one a the few novels that introduces many new people into this awesome genre every day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zalor Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 So if it were 3D sex, then would he read it? Considering that he reads/watches Game of Thrones, I would say yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurisu-Chan Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 If it's that, there's no way you can get him to read VNs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoom909 Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 If it's that, there's no way you can get him to read VNs. What if you blank out all the graphics and just leave the text? Since he dislikes 2D so much... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosakyun Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 I first discovered visual novels when I was on the hunt for more Fate/Stay Night things. The inner fanboy had taken over me. And so, google linked me to stuff. Then comes descriptions, descriptions, and descriptions. That was me when I was 13 to 14 years old. So I couldn't understand most of what they were saying. But hey, all it took was a little asking. So I asked a friend what an eroge was, and they told me it was a story with porn. Being a teenager, I was, of course, interested. So they recommended G-Senjou no Maou. Of course, I had already installed Fate/Stay Night beforehand too. So I went and played G-Senjou no Maou, hoping for sex scenes. And holy shit. I did not expect to be hyped for whatever's happening in the VN. I got so pulled into it that I totally forgot about the H-scenes until I landed in Tsubaki's route. That was the start of my perverted evolution (do take note that I was already a pervert beforehand) and the start of my torrenting days. That's basically me, an outsider who was already into anime that got sucked in deeper because sex in games. I got the term 'eroges' before 'visual novels'. For outsiders, almost all my friends know that I play these 'visual novels'. I even make references to these novels whenever I provide advice for something. Of course, advice can't always be biased, so I make it sure that I provide multiple viewpoints for them to evaluate. I try to tell them how good these things are, and they seem genuinely excited. Yeah. Until I reach the part about sex being in the story. Until I reach the part where I say that, "Sex scenes take up a tiny part of the time you'll be using up when reading visual novels. Overall, it's not really a major part of the game. Of course, there are exceptions, but most of them have sex scenes that don't really take up a large part of the game." This does no good though, since 'aaaay sex no thanks'. What the fuck. That's the point where I stop explaining to them what it is, since I can't really convince them otherwise until I can provide sufficient evidence to back up my claims. Though I think I am providing sufficient evidence... Anyway, I haven't managed to pull anyone into the world of visual novels. People I know discovered visual novels by themselves. I just help them get what they want. So in short, people here are so biased about sex that I just what the fuck. They read 50 Shades of Grey but they won't read visual novels because 'hurrdurr sex'? What. I understand that sex is a vital part of the story in young adult novels like that, but what. They would even try and tell me about how inferior these scenes can be in visual novels, and shit like that. I don't know man. These novels might be more descriptive, but I cringe everytime I read, "Hey baby, suck me harder." I just can't. Do take note that I'm not bashing the novels that produce this kind of content. I'm just bashing those who wouldn't give visual novels a try because 'hurrdurr sex with pictures'. TL;DR: People are really biased against sex with pictures because they view it as another form of pornography, especially those with an anime-style. That's a given since fanservice. That's why they won't give these games a try. That's something true in my case though. It needs not be true for others' cases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoom909 Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 TL;DR: People are really biased against sex with pictures because they view it as another form of pornography, especially those with an anime-style. That's a given since fanservice. That's why they won't give these games a try. That's something true in my case though. It needs not be true for others' cases. Even if it has no porn at all, seems like if I show "the outsiders" any game that's anime style and romance-themed, then it just won't fly. There must be some difference in people's brains which makes them be able to relate to 2D images or not1 Or maybe they're afraid that they're going to go off the deep end and marry a hug pillow or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosakyun Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 Even if it has no porn at all, seems like if I show "the outsiders" any game that's anime style and romance-themed, then it just won't fly. There must be some difference in people's brains which makes them be able to relate to 2D images or not1 Or maybe they're afraid that they're going to go off the deep end and marry a hug pillow or something. I'm more or less leaning over to the second reason. They're so afraid of getting into it so much that they refuse to give it a try. Also, do take note that people here have some ridiculous reactions. Whenever I mention anime to them, they go, "Aren't those the shows that feature big-boobed girls? That's lewd!", or something like that. Haaaah. I guess this is what Japan gets for endorsing their girls in fanservice-centered things. Not that I have a problem with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyrillej1 Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 What did you think of VNs at first? I actually started with hentai VNs first, so I thought they were all like that at first.. mostly centering on pursuing or ending up with some girl(s). It was only later I found out more story-based ones, and even ones without hentai content... so I don't think that anymore. xD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astro Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 I actually started with hentai VNs first, so I thought they were all like that at first.. mostly centering on pursuing or ending up with some girl(s). It was only later I found out more story-based ones, and even ones without hentai content... so I don't think that anymore. xD What's wrong with hentai, you uncultured pleb? Nukige banzai Bakabutt 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyrillej1 Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 What's wrong with hentai, you uncultured pleb? Nukige banzai I never said anything was wrong with it xD.. just what I thought it was first, but changed my mind after more experience with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astro Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 I never said anything was wrong with it xD.. just what I thought it was first, but changed my mind after more experience with it. Ew, guys, Cyrille watches hentai Bakabutt 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zenophilious Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 I mentioned the fact that I didn't get a lot of sleep because I was up setting up my preferred bittorrent client to torrent VNs (didn't name any specific ones) to a person at school right after I joined Fuwa...their reaction was along the lines of "Eww". This person was a fan of anime and manga, so they didn't dislike it because it was "weeaboo shit". They obviously thought all VNs were porn. That was when I realized that would most likely be the common reaction I'd get, and I promised myself that I'd never mention the fact that I read VNs again, at least to people that I wasn't sure already liked them. Not gonna lie, the porn was what got me interested (teenagers are interested in porn, who knew), but once I finished a few VNs, I was like, "Holy hell, the story is pretty damn good," and I've never really looked back. I've yet to play and actually enjoy a nukige (only one I ever played was Monster Girl Quest, which I hated and dropped), so, honestly, for me it's not about porn anymore, it's about the story. Hell, if I was still only interested in VNs for porn, then I would never have bought planetarian with my own money. I've said this before and I'll say it again: I think the reason some people that actually know about VN, but don't hate them because they're Japanese, hate or dislike them because they don't hold them in high esteem as a medium, and generally think that they're all 18+ masturbatory aides jam-packed with weird Japanese fetishes. I feel it's partly because of the cultural differences, but mostly because VNs aren't thought of similarly to books, even though they're both (usually) plot-focused and feature character development. Eclipsed 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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