NM

Lock and Key

6 days ago

Unverified

A user of ambiguous repute.

@notthatMysterious[NM]

... I can... Perhaps do a smaller version of my rant. I suppose warning for #toxicrelationships, #unreality and #dub-con #dubcon (tagging both ways to be safe) and therefore technically #nsfwe even though I won't be discussing anything of a sexual nature, purely romantic. Essentially, "Reincarnated into an otome game" type stories are, at their core, bastardisations of the concept of romance. Each and every one of them says to the viewer: Here is a Person, a "Real Person", who has entered into a Fictional World where there are a percentage of the cast Specifically Designed To Love The Player. This is the core conceit of the subgenre, and the point behind it all. An otome game is a type of dating-sim. You, the viewer, are watching a "Real Person" either romancing or being romanced by "Fictional People", or people who were once fictional. The "Real Person" has an edge on the others. The "Real Person" has completely outside knowledge, and there are very few ways of holding an ethical romantic relationship with someone who is either a: programmed to love you or b: programmed to love someone else, but you somehow slipped into the role, and they act as if you are their programmed love interest. There are no variations on this formula which are not... Creepy, in a way. Some overtly, some subtly, but there is a certain level of power imbalance that damages the entire concept of the romance. You were reincarnated as the main lead? They are programmed to adore you, and cannot resist if you want them. You were reincarnated as the villainess? You know their futures, and how to bend or break them to your own whims. You were reincarnated as an npc? Same, but you do have a little less power over them. Still, the case remains: The main character in all of these shows holds significant power over the main cast of the game they are reborn into, and this is very, VERY rarely actually addressed. Here's the thing. It would make for excellent angst if done right. It would create a perfect base for tragedy. Horror. Something to run from. Something to fear. "Why does she know what I'm going to do before I do it?" They never say this. "How can I escape someone who knows things about me even I didn't know?" is also never spoken. Because those lines both would come from the "Fictional people" in this scenario. Therefore, they are irrelevant. This subgenre presents the power fantasy that is this dubious consent, a world in which things will always end with the main character getting their Chosen Love Interest, regardless of that person's feelings... Or rather, because that person cannot feel any other way. Now, there are some which do actually change this, address this, create buildup which lifts up the people of the otome game world from flat dating-sim characters to the same level of "real" as the main character. It's rare, but it does happen. Often, they will do this by having their main character be eccentric in a way that breaks the rules whilst preventing them from using any power they would have had over other characters, or it focusses on things from the viewpoint of a different character who is not the "Real Person" in the show. Or perhaps it introduces more people who have reincarnated, slimming the numbers of characters who are "Not Real". Still, the problem is the same; the main conceit of the entire subgenre means that in order for a romance that is not horrifically one-sided or dangerously imbalanced to occur, the only, and I mean ONLY way to achieve it... Is to subvert the genre. Which is to say, that in a romance subgenre, in which the "fantasy" of it is for the main character to live happily ever after, the only way to create a healthy romance... Is to fight the subgenre. That isn't good. This is a snake that eats its own tail. Still, I find a whole lot of entertainment in it, but I can never really stop thinking about the undertones, and it can make a lot of watches/reads somewhat difficult. There are many upsides to the genre as well, but the downsides are pretty sharp. I am not saying that "healthy" romance is always "good" romance. Especially not for the sake of pure entertainment! But it is a little concerning when the underlying feeling beneath so much of the genre is "how much free will do these characters have here?". Technically no characters ever have free will in things like this, they are all just writing on a page, turned into an animation on a screen, but in the majority of other media, they tell you "These characters are real to each other", and this one does not. It is intriguing. It is a little eerie. It is almost never addressed. I'll finish there. There's my thoughts. This is the condensed version, if you'd believe it. I will not be writing a full essay, hah. But I could. If I wanted to. #lockanime