Agreed. And the "slowly they start to tolerate the presence of the lesser ones around him especially if they're hot" thing in a lot of anime is horrid. :pathetic:
In a way the seemingly eternal focus on high schools and waifus in high schools is a sort of temporal isekai for aging otaku and weebs. :kombucha-disgust:
I think it's because working life for the average Japanese person fucking sucks so bad that for a worrying number of Japanese folks high school was the last time they really felt happy and free and unalienated from their fellow man.
Of course this isn't Japan-specific anymore. From my times visiting family in Korea, I've started picking up the same shit over there from among my family and strangers I've talked to.
Which also explains why quite a few Korean manwha is also tends to be escapist power-fantasies as well.
Returning to that tiny sliver of a human lifetime in "what if" fantasy scenarios over and over again seems like a maladaptive coping mechanism, but a profitable one.
It's part of why I couldn't get into the Persona series: at one point it's a direct synthesis of high school escapist power fantasy and isekai power fantasy where your character can have all of the sex from all of the sex trophies and rule the school in every class and win at basically everything with sufficient sigma grindset. :so-true: :brainworms: :pathetic:
Well in p5 you roflstomp a sexual predator, a celebrity plagiarizer, a gangster extortionist, the CEO of Japanese McDonald's, the president, and the demiurge. And I think that's pretty neat.
Also I really enjoy playing tycoon in p5r. Really fun and quick cardgame. Oh yeah and you get to be friends with Japanese Bernie Sanders.
It's not about happiness vs unhappiness or euphoric power fantasy vs misery porn to me. It's a false dichotomy. Both happy and unhappy stories can be less pandering and lazy.
To be fair I kind of enjoyed Digital Devil Saga for at least trying to be something different.
don't get me wrong. persona 2 is definitely not misery porn. its just that, well, without spoiling too much you don't get to sigma grindset your way out of a world where the history channel exists.
I might actually check that out. I only heard about the series first from some weeby bazinga that told me how epic Persona was because you can have all of the sex if you play perfectly. :cringe:
well, what do i know i think the social link thing started with persona 3. which i also didn't play :edgeworth-shrug:
i won't judge people for indulging themselves with 'east asian isekai/time travel success at life porn' since i'd be lying if i pretended to be above that sort of thing. but my impression is that persona 2 is old enough where the people you play as just have the informed trait of being cool. its not a game built from its foundations as a way of saying, look at this person, he's you, he's so cool and here's all the things you can do / people you can be friends with if only you were cool and stuff. the latter is more depressing when you think about it.
Agreed. And the "slowly they start to tolerate the presence of the lesser ones around him especially if they're hot" thing in a lot of anime is horrid. :pathetic:
And somehow the the hot popular girl falls for him despite him having almost 0 charisma during his first impression
He's the winningest winner at (meta)gaming the game world of the isekai game! :so-true:
Oh it’s not even isekai. They have that guy in normal school dramas. Which make sense because every high schooler thinks he’s too smart for everything
In a way the seemingly eternal focus on high schools and waifus in high schools is a sort of temporal isekai for aging otaku and weebs. :kombucha-disgust:
I think it's because working life for the average Japanese person fucking sucks so bad that for a worrying number of Japanese folks high school was the last time they really felt happy and free and unalienated from their fellow man.
Of course this isn't Japan-specific anymore. From my times visiting family in Korea, I've started picking up the same shit over there from among my family and strangers I've talked to.
Which also explains why quite a few Korean manwha is also tends to be escapist power-fantasies as well.
Returning to that tiny sliver of a human lifetime in "what if" fantasy scenarios over and over again seems like a maladaptive coping mechanism, but a profitable one.
It's part of why I couldn't get into the Persona series: at one point it's a direct synthesis of high school escapist power fantasy and isekai power fantasy where your character can have all of the sex from all of the sex trophies and rule the school in every class and win at basically everything with sufficient sigma grindset. :so-true: :brainworms: :pathetic:
Well in p5 you roflstomp a sexual predator, a celebrity plagiarizer, a gangster extortionist, the CEO of Japanese McDonald's, the president, and the demiurge. And I think that's pretty neat.
Also I really enjoy playing tycoon in p5r. Really fun and quick cardgame. Oh yeah and you get to be friends with Japanese Bernie Sanders.
you should try persona 2. nobody is happy in those games. clearly the superior persona.
It's not about happiness vs unhappiness or euphoric power fantasy vs misery porn to me. It's a false dichotomy. Both happy and unhappy stories can be less pandering and lazy.
To be fair I kind of enjoyed Digital Devil Saga for at least trying to be something different.
don't get me wrong. persona 2 is definitely not misery porn. its just that, well, without spoiling too much you don't get to sigma grindset your way out of a world where the history channel exists.
I might actually check that out. I only heard about the series first from some weeby bazinga that told me how epic Persona was because you can have all of the sex if you play perfectly. :cringe:
well, what do i know i think the social link thing started with persona 3. which i also didn't play :edgeworth-shrug:
i won't judge people for indulging themselves with 'east asian isekai/time travel success at life porn' since i'd be lying if i pretended to be above that sort of thing. but my impression is that persona 2 is old enough where the people you play as just have the informed trait of being cool. its not a game built from its foundations as a way of saying, look at this person, he's you, he's so cool and here's all the things you can do / people you can be friends with if only you were cool and stuff. the latter is more depressing when you think about it.