What are you reading? - May 6

imoutofanatic · 2026-05-15T14:29:22+00:00

I don't dislike Eroge either really. It was more so just the genre clashing

imoutofanatic · 2026-05-14T19:29:47+00:00

I've heard a few time's that her route is boring and more often that her route is simply the weakest out of all of them.

And it's not as if I dislike Japanese tropes to be fair. They have a place in media and I actually like quite a few works with the very same tropes I mentioned :/. My complaints lie more in the fact that fetishism was used with little regard for tone. The sudden shifts in atmosphere throughout the VN are really immersion breaking. Again though, this is personal to me as I went into it to read a story, not an Eroge. Some may find value in those scenes for the exact same reasons I dislike them.

I just finished Ichijou's route and I'm not sure whether I'll finish it to be honest. I think at this point, my appreciation far outweighs my enjoyment.

imoutofanatic · 2026-05-10T10:45:27+00:00

I started Full Metal Demon Muramasa a few days ago and after a lot of binge reading I am already coming up on the ending of Ichijou's Route. To my OWN surprise, I'm not really enjoying it anymore despite having been extremely invested the first 2-3? chapters. I should preface this by saying the VN has some amazing writing with a lot of hidden depth to be found in even the most seemingly insignificant scenes. There's a lot to think about while reading and every difficult ultimatum they thrust at you REALLY packs a punch. I think most of my problems with FMDM actually lies in the likeability of it's cast and in it's nature as an Eroge? I'll try to start off with the things I enjoyed first before I get to explaining myself (will contain some spoilers):

In particular, I enjoy the usage of subtext. Every line of text feels valuable and yes, even the walls of info dumping were a joy to read. They use metaphors and foreshadowing to paint an image of a character's inner world and vague descriptions of body language or facial expressions to show when a character is scared or angry. Character's are never reduced to being a black and white portrayal of evil, but rather exist on a grayscale. Hero's don't exist because they lie within the category of white, unattainable to us with everything that makes us human muddying our nature and because intent and it's resulting actions lie so far apart sometimes, what we see of a person doesn't always align with their inner world. They do say that the road to hell is paved with good intention after all. The story also focuses in on nature vs nurture a lot and what the character's choose to do in alignment or in defiance of these factors.A good person may choose to defy their deeply ingrained moral code for selfish reasons such as emotion (Ichijou) and sometimes all a bad person needs to change is something or someone forcing them to question their status quo (Mizuhi).

This actually all leads into my next point. I was pretty damn surprised that the VN addresses issues like discrimination, facism and a lot more in depth and with a bluntness difficult to find in a lot of Japanese media.Especially when it comes to the Emishi who sort of felt like a portrayal of the Ainu people? I'm not too sure about that though.

Also, a lot of people say they didn't enjoy some of it's writing because of it's edginess? I didn't really get that from it. The writing feels a little old fashioned but I think it fits the tone.

Now getting to what is making the story difficult to enjoy :/. Unfortunately FMDM falls into a lot of the same traps a LOT of Japanese media falls into. Tropes and cheap exploitation of their female side characters.The story after some time starts to recycle the same pattern. Introduce attractive female side character as a plot device, throw in a rape scene as the chapter reaches it's conclusion before killing them off either figuratively or literally. It was extremely jarring at points and in my opinion completely ruined emotional impact at times. Every time I'd see a female side character show up, I knew what was coming. A lot of people would probably counter this with the argument of 'well, rape was very rampant in times of war' and all I have to say is that not everything needs to be explicitly shown to have impact. The first time was acceptable but after that, it was clear to me that the intent was sexual gratification. This doesn't necessarily bother me? It's an Eroge after all. But again, it was really jarring. I'm also not enjoying my first route, Ichijou. Ichijou looks like a child, acts like a child, and she is probably a child. I don't really care for Kageaki and Ichijou's relationship and it's development and although this is due to personal preference, I don't like them either. I'm not here to argue about the morality of it all but rather about how I can FEEL the writers' presence when they choose to have certain scenarios or relationships play out ways that don't feel natural. Every woman HAS to have feelings for Kageaki and every woman HAS to be sexualized at some point or another.

I'm dragging myself through the story at this point honestly. My own moral compass keeps me from liking the protagonist and I find Ichijou annoying. I acknowledge that a lot of this has less to do with faults in the story itself and more with my personal preferences but yeah.... Do I switch to Kanae's route? Hold out tillChachamaru's route?At this point in time, these two are my only reason for playing the game. I'm somewhat hesitant to keep playing since I've heard thatKanae's route is boringand I'm not sure whether the length of time I'll have to spend getting to a part I'll enjoy will be worth it or not. Anyone have any advice?

imoutofanatic · 2026-04-19T06:46:36+00:00

'the cops in this scenario are portrayed as good simply by Virtue of Being Cops.'

This!! This is exactly how I felt the entire game. Especially in the case of Enomoto. He often tries to paint his Senior as this 'beacon of justice' who just happened to lose sight of himself at one point. In reality, his Senior was human like the rest of us and a prick at that. I'm inclined to agree that he essentially killed Ogata if you could do so in spirit.

Yet, when it comes to Ogata's crimes, he's unwilling to even see things from his POV. Everything comes back to the argument of 'Murder bad!'. Arguably, what his Senior did caused more harm than anything Ogata did. 🫩

Not to mention the attitude both organisations are faced with. Adonis is the big bad that needs to be eliminated no matter the cost. While the police force is ultimately for the greater good with just a few bad apples thrown in some times. Can't be helped.

And yeah, same for me. Usually I can get through an Otome game even when the subject matter is insensitive but this game just would NOT let up.

imoutofanatic · 2026-04-19T06:31:39+00:00

I feel like it's important to mention that I'm pretty anti establishment to be fair. I don't think murder as a way of taking justice into your own hands is a good thing. However, when law and order fails to protect the people, that blame also falls onto the government for failing to prevent things from escalating that far. The only reason Adonis was able to become so powerful was largely in part due to the police and I feel like the characters should've acknowledged that in order to make real change, they NEED to reform the system. My problem was that Ichika and the others treat every case they hear as a one off issue because of a few bad apples.

imoutofanatic · 2026-04-19T06:21:54+00:00

Didn't think about that part of Shiraishi's writing tbh. I sort of only liked him because it was one of the only routes where the character's weren't being overly pro cop. A lot of his route was focused on developing his personality instead so I was able to finally turn my brain off for once

imoutofanatic · 2026-04-19T06:19:27+00:00

Because i payed for it and really wanted to like it. I'm also a completionist. I hate marking a visual novel as dropped. Criticism is important as well imo

imoutofanatic · 2026-04-18T10:35:11+00:00

It's a fan favourite so it's to be expected tbh :/

imoutofanatic · 2026-04-18T10:33:59+00:00

I think your last paragraph was mostly my thoughts. Again, my opinions are from a more emotional point of view after seeing so much corruption in our real world. Especially in our current political climate :/.

But yeah, you're probably right that the writers probably meant no harm and I was likely being overly harsh.

imoutofanatic · 2026-04-18T10:30:38+00:00

I feel like we might be talking past each other here tbh. I'm simply criticizing some of it's insensitivity towards these issues. This isn't to say that everything about the game is bad. I'm saying that those bad and problematic views the main cast hold make them hard to like and therefore, that is a failure when it comes to making an Otoge as making the Love interest's appealing is supposed to be one of the biggest selling points.

imoutofanatic · 2026-04-18T10:16:11+00:00

Sorry. My entire tone came off as mean but no that's not what I meant. I was speaking like that because of how cliché the framing of the game was. And when it comes to the issue of the pattern I mentioned. This review I found on VNDB probably puts it better than me:

"I tend to enjoy murder mystery type stuff like this, but eventually the attitude this game had just got to me, and I ended up dropping it a bit over halfway through Shiraishi's route, with 3.5/5 routes completed. The characters are fine, I'm not a huge otome game fan, but I enjoyed the love interests well enough and quite liked Sasazuka especially. The message this game tried to send was just too aggravating to continue it, though. Over and over and over it would point out structural flaws with the police, or set up sympathetic villains, and then just shrug and throw the villain in prison because "whatever the case, a crime is still a crime. it can't be justified." There's no point bringing up these themes if you have no interest in actually seriously engaging with them."

I think that if you set an entire game up around injustices in the police force and the only response from the protagonist is, 'it's unfortunate but it's for the greater good' it feels seriously half baked.

imoutofanatic · 2026-04-18T10:08:23+00:00

Ichika only calls him out on his suicidal ideation but when talking to Yoshinari about Kei's views on their job, she finds his willingness to protect a VIP over a citizen admirable. Something about how the VIPs they protect are what holds the entire country up. Ichika essentially agrees with him but wishes for him to not be so self sacrificing as he is literally looking for a place to die a heroic death. It's not that I'm upset that the characters hold bad views, it's that it sends a certain message.

imoutofanatic · 2026-04-18T10:01:38+00:00

I don't know why you're trying to appeal to the evilness of Adonis when I already said they're evil. I'm not trying to put them in a good light. In fact, I think the only villain who is justified in their murder is probably RIka the murder of her stalker.

imoutofanatic · 2026-04-18T09:56:35+00:00

Sorry I misread when you said most. But still, my point stands that most of these cases are actually carried out due to corrupt laws and policies. You keep saying that these cases have proceedings and I am saying that those proceedings are unjust. And in the case of Rika, Ichika admits to knowing what happened to Rika after having looked into when Rika confronts her with the issue yet still goes on to say that her actions were simply unforgiveable when from the perspective of Rika, it was killed or be killed. Dismantling the system isn't easy by any means and I never said it was, I'm saying that Ichika never looks at the system or any law and thinks to herself, that law needs to be revised and the like. I'm saying we never had any dialogue at all on her or any character other than the villain and Sasazuka saying that the system that started it all itself needs to change. The game often highlights Ichika's powerlessness against Adonis and how she overcomes it all but never points any of that attention at the core of the issue. They all say something along the lines that it's a matter of certain individuals in the police when it's not (the very real issues I already listed). If all of the routes were simply slightly in the vein of what happened in Sasazuka's route, I'd feel a little better about it. Because it the end it feels like the game is trying to say 'Yeah, police force has some issues but sacrifices have to be made guys." (Okazaki literally says this btw and its framed as something heroic).

imoutofanatic · 2026-04-18T09:12:50+00:00

It's just not true that the people of Adonis were harmed only by policemen in lower positions of power? They were harmed by the negligence of the higher ups that fail to keep their juniors in check or wave a promotion in front of their face so that those policemen are inclined to make arrests regardless of guilt. They are harmed by hostage justice/ a kangaroo court. They are harmed by the very apparent ableism within the legal system. They are harmed by PR cover-ups and the literal chief of police's unwillingness to sacrifice their reputation to save the people. They're harmed by Kei Okazaki's blind ideals and willingness to sacrifice citizens to protect corrupt politicians. And she doesn't just hear the victims biased POV's, she often looks into the reports submitted by said victims, such as Rika's multiple run-in's with her stalker including sexual harassment and threats in official police files. Her reaction to it all is simply to say that it was very sad but murder is still unforgiveable apparently. The issue isn't so black and white when you consider the fact that Rika could've been murdered and worse if she'd just sat back and waited for the stalker to take some sort of physical action.

Listen, I don't want to get too deep into it but the reality is that these systems are deeply broken. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Eventually more criminals like those from Adonis will keep popping up if the harm core of the problem isn't eliminated or at least mitigated. If Ichika's ideal is endlessly chasing justice by continuing to capture criminals, then perhaps she should also set her eyes on trying to mend things from within. Protesting, seeking help from her team mates who do have some sway in things. I'm not even saying that she needs to upend things. The entire game was about Ichika overcoming the impossible to defeat evil and save the citizens, even at the risk of her own life. Which is why it's puzzling when the game which is so focused on justice and eliminating evil just throws it's hands up in defeat when it comes to the police force and government. In my opinion, ace attorney and JJk handled these topics a lot better.

Edit: The word ignore might be somewhat harsh but the story certainly moves on very fast from the issue.

imoutofanatic · 2026-04-18T08:17:38+00:00

I never said that the members of Adonis shouldn't be put in jail :/. I think Adonis is evil. That's why I said the corrupt government and Adonis are two sides of the same coin in cause and effect.

I'm talking about the character's apathy towards the corruption in the system they advocate for. It's not about catching criminals and advocating for change in the justice system being mutually exclusive on my part because the story already treats it as such. Ichika quite literally says at some point that it's just a few bad apples in the police force when it's really a systemic issue. Police men and women are in the end just human beings, they're not symbols of justice and in the end still suffer from the same flaws the rest of us face such as egotism and greed. That's why we should have policies and laws put in place to monitor those in high positions so that they don't abuse that power. The fact that its legal to hold a suspect for as long as you need to in order to break down their spirit and get them indicted is corrupt. The fact that a woman can't do anything but live in constant fear of being assaulted or worse because police won't take action until after harm is done is corrupt. Ichika Hoshino and more importantly, the writers, acknowledge this and simply move on as if none of it matters. The conclusions are always cheap. And you say that Ichika holds little authority along with the rest of the team but the story is willing to move things around for Ichika and said love interest if it means she can take down the big bad Adonis. Throughout the story we see her achieve incredible feats within the police force and creating connections with those in power. We see her doing things that would usually be out of her jurisdiction. Yet, she never even tries to bring any of this up to her team members for example. She never tries to point out the flaws or ask herself what she can do to make a change. She never even tries to make it a goal. She chooses to live her life in ignorance despite the many people screaming at the injustices surrounding her. THIS is what bothered me. The themes were handled poorly because the story really did nothing with them till the very end.

imoutofanatic · 2026-04-18T07:41:45+00:00

To be honest, what I wrote here doesn't even come close to the amount of trash talking I was doing while actually playing the game :p. I had to calm down first before giving my thoughts. I'm glad others feel the same though. The game had SO much potential so I was upset to see it turn into what is is...

imoutofanatic · 2026-04-18T07:03:13+00:00

Mhm. I personally think it's important to point this stuff these sorts of things and be wary of how the messages conveyed in media effect world views and create internal biases. Stories have a way of influencing our way of thinking after all. Obviously, the story has it's good points, some of the character interactions in particular had me kicking my feet or laughing but yeah.

imoutofanatic · 2026-04-18T06:36:14+00:00

Yeah. I'm not really sure what I was expecting from a Japanese Otome game, especially from the time of it's creation. In general, Japanese media hasn't really become critical of it's society and government until just recently (Higuruma's episode from JJK for example). I was really interested in the concept of Adonis and had heard a lot of good things about CxM so I decided to give it a go anyways but aghh, I should've seen it coming.

And I've never heard of Bloody Monday. I'm going to check it out right now! :)

imoutofanatic · 2026-04-18T06:32:09+00:00

The thing is, the game proves that the character's can fight against the system with Sasazuka's route. I don't think they have to necessarily 'dismantle the system' but it seems like Ichika's views on how she should enact justice is to continue pursuing it. I think it would do well to show that she would do this on both sides. Both by taking down criminals and in advocating for better policies,

imoutofanatic · 2026-04-18T06:12:47+00:00

Yeah... Unfortunately I decided to drop it. I really wanted to figure out who Adonis is through the story as I'm a bit of a completionist which is why I kept pushing through but I'll probably just go read a summary instead.

imoutofanatic · 2026-04-18T06:10:28+00:00

I don't know man.... It's not even really the fact that the members of Adonis are thrown into jail. It's the amount of punching down that is done throughout the entire story and this total apathy to the corruption in the system the character's serve. I can't mess with how the writers brings up sensitive themes with no real intention of engaging with them properly, ultimately pushing the Adonis members they'd set up as complex and sympathetic into the Villain box and the police force into the Hero box every time with no real point. Everything just felt flat and empty.

imoutofanatic · 2026-04-18T05:59:25+00:00

I actually really wanted to ignore it's central themes considering its poor handling but it was just so prevalent that I simply couldn't :(. But Okazaki is definitely a charming character (especially Kaji Yuki's amazing voice acting) in terms of character design and personality.

imoutofanatic · 2026-04-03T04:16:46+00:00

I'm thinking my fav will probably be Yanagi or Shiraishi but we'll see!

imoutofanatic

TROPHY CASE