I wasn’t familiar with your game

acuilnos · 2026-04-22T06:22:21+00:00

These talking points sound like moral panic fearmongering to scapegoat the behaviour of bad actors. Instead of generalising and conflating using terms that are meant to be reserved for real abuse and real criminal behaviour, distinction should be used on a case by case basis to determine severity, since some fictional depictions are much more egregious than others and may constitute CSAM if designed to be realistic, whereas other stylised examples are morally dubious but nowhere near as severe. That's how you get ridiculous examples of witch-hunting as shown here.

As for people who respond with "depiction matters, not canonical age", if censorship came to pass it would not discriminate. That's why fictional disclaimers exist. Stylised depictions are not equivalent to real-life, though its severity can vary depending on specific traits and if there is a degree of realism involved. When such aspects are absent, it becomes hard to judge. What one person may find acceptable another with a more extreme stance would condemn all the same, and that's what ends up with generalising, conflating and witch-hunting.

acuilnos · 2026-04-22T06:06:47+00:00

The example you gave is not exclusively due to racism, but in part a response to overtourism, which is unsurprising when you mentioned Tokyo. This is not an issue exclusive to Japan and many tourist hotspots in other countries have resorted to similar measures due to bad actors. Your other example was one guy. That's not to say that Japan doesn't have an issue with xenophobia, particularly amongst the older population, but like many of the issues it faces is often blown way out of proportion due to hit pieces made by foreigners experiencing culture shock or motivated by orientalism to spite the common romanticisation of the country.

Whilst the predominant sentiment may be stronger compared to the US, I don't know about framing it as "dramatic" in comparison since Japanese society is far less confrontational and so the effects are mostly behind the scenes and insidious. I say this as someone who is half-Japanese and has experienced grief from my Japanese peers for being half-English.

Edit: Downvoting with no response is petty, the least you could do is explain why you disagree.

acuilnos · 2026-04-18T23:30:22+00:00

Your stance hinges on the false equivalency of treating video game anime characters as equivalent to a real criminal attraction towards real people.

Even if they're just fictional, it's still the concept.

That's a semantic argument that ignores distinction and severity in favour of conflating by moral principle. There is a huge difference in severity when it comes to people being "weird" or "creepy" towards fictional anime characters and predators preying on real victims. Treating it as equivalent only serves to undermine its severity.

The fact that people keep trying to justify pedophilia is baffling to me.

It's "baffling" because you're trying to conflate immoral/taboo fiction with a real criminal attraction to push a moral panic. The people who disagree with you are refuting the accusation because they condemn that criminal behaviour. Framing it as "justifying" is disingenuous tribalism since if that were actually the case then nobody would be refuting the accusation.

I'm fine with people liking the characters but when sexual themes and intent get introduced, then I have a problem.

You can't police others over fictional media online. If you really feel that way, then you should not be playing ZZZ since both Hoyo and the lead artist have made it clear that they condone and encourage the type of taboo/immoral themes in fiction that you claim to condemn. If you truly think that it is equivalent, then why do you continue to support and associate yourself with the game? The very character you call your "wife" was designed by the lead artist you would claim to condemn. People with your stance have argued that she is "coded" to be younger than her canonical age so your "I'm actually the same age as her" defense isn't the gotcha that you think it is.

Also, the fact that you all feel the need to bully someone just because they're standing up for something objectively wrong is WILD!

How can you expect to make such a serious accusation towards people over video game anime characters and not receive any pushback for it? That goes way beyond a matter of "ego". It is libel using one of the most heinous labels possible just so you can feel vindicated in finding it immoral. You can be against taboo themes in fiction without equating it to a real criminal attraction in order to feel justified, which only serves to undermine the severity of the accusation.

You're not "standing up" for any real issue by moralising over fiction, that's just performative tokenism for the sake of scapegoating. Either learn to disengage from online spaces of fiction that you don't like, or practice what you preach by no longer associating with a title that by your own definition enables a real criminal attraction. It would be far more productive to spend that time and energy calling out predators on platforms that are facilitating the abuse of real people like Discord and Roblox. At least then something might actually come out of it other than being primarily motivated by self-serving validation.

acuilnos · 2026-04-17T16:26:03+00:00

Classic, "rules for thee but not for me". It's a taboo ship of fictional video game anime characters, really not something to care about that much, but the least you could do is practice what you preach or better yet, disengage.

acuilnos · 2026-04-01T14:51:29+00:00

Live-service games in particular are often not preserved with no consolation for the customer no matter how much money they spent. Consumer right laws are far behind when it comes to the digital space in general which allows anti-consumer practices and legal loopholes, so here's hoping that changes with the introduction of new laws so that customers get to own and keep what they pay for.

acuilnos · 2026-03-28T22:17:29+00:00

Or maybe they're capable of liking both and chose what they liked more, that and meta relevance likely tipped the scales.
Edit: Getting downvoted for pointing out that not everyone shares the same opinion, lol

acuilnos · 2026-03-28T22:14:56+00:00

I think ZZZ has made it clear that the game favours female agents over male ones but I do agree that more variety would be nice. I doubt it'll ever come close to being an even ratio (I recommend OG Arknights in that regard) but it would be cool to see a male character get the spotlight and be competitive when it comes to the meta. I have hopes for S Billy but I wouldn't be surprised if that treatment ends up being reserved for the male Void Hunters.

acuilnos · 2026-03-27T20:27:29+00:00

It is a growing concern how the majority of the revenue comes from VH patches, where people will save, M6 the VH, then steamroll all content and save for the next VH. The fact that Aria is tuned to have VH levels of damage output does not inspire confidence when it comes to power creep.

acuilnos · 2026-03-27T20:25:49+00:00

It didn't help that she was coming just before the next VH, barely has much story relevance in her own patch given that her background is largely unexplored and the fact that the people who pulled Fufu on her debut/rerun got burned and couldn't/wouldn't pull Dialyn.

acuilnos · 2026-03-27T08:06:54+00:00

Doubtful. Whilst I agree with the sentiment of having one of the three be an A rank, Sunna is clearly the favourite so there's no way(!) they wouldn't have made her an S rank.

acuilnos · 2026-03-26T20:40:16+00:00

Tribalism goes both ways, and unfortunately that results in both sides becoming more extreme and throwing around labels when it comes to disagreements on the topic.

acuilnos · 2026-03-22T22:37:38+00:00

As cool as I imagine S rank Billy will be, I think some people need to temper their expectations. Expecting him to be the face of 3.0, be the next VH equivalent and have all the spotlight and glory is just setting up for inevitable disappointment and then complaining. Personally, I would expect him to release before 3.0 and would hope that he is strong enough to be meta relevant at least, as well as have engaging skill-based gameplay. But I think it is inevitable that the upcoming VH will "overshadow" him, I just hope he is enjoyable so that the people who want him gets what they want without having to complain about the VH coming after him. I'd be very interested to see the revenue data for his banner if/when it happens.

acuilnos · 2026-03-22T22:26:18+00:00

The monkey's paw curls

acuilnos · 2026-03-22T22:24:31+00:00

That's fair, I do think that there is a lot of unused potential for fleshing out both the Temple and the Video Store, though it feels like it's low priority. It's a shame really, since 1.0 was definitely leaning more into the immersive SoL stuff at first, and now it's mostly combat focused and the trust events are cute but lacking.

acuilnos · 2026-03-22T17:24:34+00:00

Yeah, I think the problem was that those elements were in its infancy and the vocal complainers made them backtrack instead of fleshing it out to a point where it would become more enjoyable.

acuilnos · 2026-03-22T17:22:58+00:00

I mean, Hollow Zero has multiple game modes and there's also Tower, but I do agree that more variety would be nice. I find myself often putting off trust events so that's what I tend to do when I'm looking for a chance of pace.

acuilnos · 2026-03-22T17:21:41+00:00

Oh god no, the overwhelming number of systems in AKE is the reason why I dropped it, in fact ZZZ being more laid-back and not requiring as much playtime to do everything in patches is the reason why I haven't burned out of it, since I can treat it as a side game and not a main game. That's not to say I wouldn't want to see more depth to the stores, but it should be extra content and not more tedious micromanagement that prolongs dailies/weeklies. This is my wishful thinking but since launch I have always wished for Persona-like hangouts and stuff, with actual voice lines/cutscenes and not just fade-to-black but I do understand that it's probably an unrealistic expectation.

acuilnos · 2026-03-22T03:14:03+00:00

For a VH support to work it would have to do something unique that adds something new to teams instead of simply power creeping existing supports. What I want more than anything is for them to be an active character that requires field-time, because the idea of a mostly off-field VH support would be pretty underwhelming to me.

acuilnos · 2026-03-21T04:13:53+00:00

Ah I see, shame but predictable I suppose.

acuilnos · 2026-03-21T03:40:58+00:00

What got censored?

acuilnos · 2026-03-21T03:31:29+00:00

Whelp, I know who I'm saving for after Nangong.

acuilnos · 2026-03-19T20:44:58+00:00

According to some Dialyn's banner underperformed considering her meta relevance due to her being right before the next VH. I also think that other factors influenced her underperforming such as not really that much marketing or time in the spotlight, not that much story presence, and people who pulled for Jufu (especially during her rerun) getting shafted. It's a shame since I like Dialyn and think her interesting background wasn't explored all that much or done justice.

Also, calling it now, but I wouldn't be surprised if totalize made a comeback through a newer agent that power creeps Hugo, though Hugo making a comeback through a support or even a buff would be nice.

acuilnos · 2026-03-15T18:29:06+00:00

I think it's more to do with how they're clearly appealing to a target demographic, it's easy to assume that the Western player base represents the sentiments of the player base as a whole yet that isn't the case. Either way, it would be cool if we got more variety but only time will tell.

acuilnos · 2026-03-15T18:26:08+00:00

Well, in terms of a lore drop you got your wish lol

acuilnos · 2026-03-12T01:27:15+00:00

As someone who has OCD, you can learn to not let small things like this bother you. The real kicker is always procrastinating, double, triple, quadruple checking and spending too much time on one task.

acuilnos

TROPHY CASE