It’s no secret that eroge is popular in Japan. In fact, these “porn games,” also referred to under the much larger category of visual novels if I may take the liberty of oversimplifying the medium, are often the object of many otaku’s interests. An entire genre of game that revolves around the inclusion of pornographic content seems, at first glance, to be the source of great division among fans. Thus, it may come as a surprise to many that we, as a Christian site, also like a number of visual novels, some of which are wholesome. This medium can often be rather controversial, especially in the West, where pornographic content seems to be viewed a bit more strictly, so what are people on each side of the argument for its existence to do?
Before digging into the meat of this issue, as the editor-in-chief here at Beneath the Tangles, I must make the explicitly Christian view (or at least the view we represent) entirely clear. Our underlying assumption is that pornography, in the popular sense, is morally wrong (Matt 5:28), and this is a point against which I assume few Christians will argue. Jesus contended that a man even looking at a woman lustfully was the equivalent of adultery, emphasizing this point to the degree that the Catholic tradition even considers lust one of the seven deadly sins. Yet, despite this obviously controversial issue, we, as a Christian entity, advocate for the reading of numerous visual novels, some of which are even created by studios that specialize in eroge.
If you check out our visual novel recommendations, we make it clear that we recommend many of these because of their uniquely deep, and sometimes even spiritual themes. However, we also are clear on the content within these, basing our recommendations on the concept of the “weaker brother” (I Corinthians 8:13), meaning that we take into account those Christians who are most negatively affected by content that others might find unobjectionable. If a visual novel with erotic content has truly redeemable value, can a Christian still read it and simply skip over those scenes? I would contend that it is possible in the same way that a Christian can watch Game of Thrones in a mature way. However, I must also qualify that by saying that it is extremely difficult to do so, and I know that I’m not strong enough to myself.
Regardless, this is beyond the scope of the discussion for today. More importantly, for someone who disagrees with the inclusion of erotic or pornographic content in a visual novel/video game, namely a Christian who adheres to Christianity’s tenets in the way that we do at Beneath the Tangles, is it okay to support the industry and its studios? Someone in this situation, asking this question, is given three options with different moral implications (with the exception of simply avoiding them altogether):
- Buy and play eroge regardless of content, simply consuming them mindfully.
- Wait for localization effort to remove adult content before purchasing.
- Buy and play only visual novels produced by studios that do not produce eroge at all.
We’ve already briefly discussed the personal moral implications of the first option, but this option also has broader implications. Namely, your dollars are supporting the sales of a game being broadly purchased by fans who consume it either because of or in spite of its pornographic material.
The second option is void of the personal implications previously discussed, but does not lack the general implications. While you may be purchasing a version without the content you are avoiding, your money is still going back to the studio that produced said original content.
Based purely on the logic provided above, the third option is the only one that still involves purchasing visual novels without supporting the production of eroge… unless you count supporting the industry. For example, some studios flip back and forth between producing visual novels that are clean (Clannad by VisualArt’s/Key) and those that are not (Tomoyo After by the same studio). As much as some may not like to believe it, money spent on Clannad does indeed help to fund the production of other visual novels like Tomoyo After.
So what is a Christian, aspiring visual novel connoisseur to do? Give up and cry in the corner?
Personally, I easily fall into option two of the aforementioned three. I’ve purchased the console versions of Little Busters EX and Utawarerumono, which have the adult content of their original counterparts removed, purchased Rewrite and Utawarerumono: Itsuwari no Kamen (and many, many others), which don’t have adult content at all, but are produced by studios that make eroge, and also purchased unrelated visual novels like Narcissu. But, as someone mindful of my convictions and personal beliefs, what made my decision to enter and remain in this camp? Indeed, there is a point that I have not raised.
Does purchasing clean visual novels reward developers for forsaking porn?
Here’s a simple fact in the visual novel industry: Eroge developers rely on porn to sell. There are countless visual novels that have incredible stories, impressive enough to receive numerous adaptations into more accessible mediums (to varying degrees of success). While, recently, a number of these have been successful without sexual content, the history of visual novels has shown that incredible stories incorporated sex purely to sell copies (the epitome of fan service). Tsukihime, Kanon, Air, Utawarerumono, Fate/Stay Night, and hundreds or thousands more titles have stories that completely stand on their own, but still included gratuitous sex. The fact is, sex sells.
As a Christian myself, I ask, is it possible that the recent trend toward Western localization and the removal of adult content could change the industry? Many of the hundreds or thousands of titles with stories not dependent upon sexual content have seen “all ages” versions because there is demand. So, what if we drive that demand even further? Right now we’re getting “versions,” but what if the ultimate result was not the adult content being removed, but it never being created at all?
There are many differing opinions regarding this issue, and I don’t claim to be the answer (more than likely, supporting clean visual novels won’t make a lasting impression on the industry, anyway). However, for those who hate the industry, those who love it, and those who perhaps didn’t even know what it was before reading this article, I hope and pray that you consider not only what media you consume, not only why you consume it, but how your consumption affects both you and the world.
Oh, and go read Rewrite. It’s amazing.