Criticism

Who in the world watches horror movies and plays horror games during the pandemic? Isn’t real life like a horror story? Well, that is okay, I won’t judge. My life was never normal, to begin with so this is actually normal to me. I’m not fazed by the pandemic that much. Welcome to the club, world.

I want to do something a bit different for this blog post, why? No one seems to enjoy reading critical essays besides weirdos like me. So, I will talk about games casually and show off my gaming skills: I mean my average gaming skills.

I completed Onimusha: Warlords on easy mode and got a B score. Not so bad for playing the game blindly. Now I know how to beat games faster as I know what to expect. Going to attempt to beat the game in 3 hours so I can get a shiny trophy. I’m playing in normal mode without consuming any medicine or herbs. Sounds like a challenge? For me it is–that is why I didn’t mind how short the game is. Typically, I play the game twice anyway. One for the story, and two for the gameplay.

One thing that drew me into games in the first place was actually the artistic nature of the game. Onimusha:Warlords is charmingly beautiful. I feel like a little girl again sitting in my coffin-like bedroom playing games with my brother. My brother and I enjoy playing survival horror games together. Onimusha: Warlords feels like Resident Evil 2 in terms of music placement and stage layout. Instead of killing infected zombies, you kill ninja demons. Because of good game design and the correct usage of colors (lighting in the game is well balanced), I didn’t feel forced to complete a game for the sake of completing the game. Onimusha: Warlords felt smooth and it was pretty to look at. However, this doesn’t make the game perfect. There was one aspect of the game I didn’t enjoy: I had to level up my weapons to unlock certain areas to proceed in the game (I hate grinding). Luckily there are only three weapons: blue, red, and green that you can max up to 3 times. Simplicity in weapon choices and upgrades is not a bad thing in game design. In fact, it helps players like me stay focused. Players want to feel that they are progressing. This makes us want to finish the game.

When it comes to a story, there is nothing mind-blowing about it. The male lead saved the princess. The game follows in the same footstep as Resident Evil games in terms of unraveling its tale: You uncover the mystery behind the manor by reading journals left behind. In fact, I had a good laugh reading the journals. It sounds crazy. I didn’t know demons are divided into social classes just like we humans. It is a good metaphor to describe selfish evil people. The history of humanity has always fought against darkness and Japan is no exception despite its being so isolated.

Overall, I enjoyed the game, especially the cinematic scenes and well-designed characters. They were pleasing to my eyes. It’s a shame that the PS2 survival horror game style no longer exists. I am quite fond of it actually.

Sometimes I think the term feminism is just a Western product. Over the years, it has carried such a bad connotation. I think vocal feminists are confused these days. Just because I am on the quiet side, it doesn’t mean that I don’t believe in gender equality nor do I condone femininity. Do I have to throw away my femininity to demand equality? Objectification is cringy, no lie, but Romance Doll proves it otherwise.

My first initial impression when I found this show on Netflix, I thought uh oh, it’s sex dolls for lonely men because I heard that single men prefer 2d girls/dolls over real women these days. Real women can’t compete with timeless beauties. So I was expecting the film to be political. On the contrary, I was pleasantly surprised that the film is nothing about the politics of dolls and how they may affect society in a negative way. Instead, the film explores the meaning of love by objectifying women in the most respectful manner. It’s an oxymoron, I know.

Like most art graduates, it’s difficult to find a job that utilizes one’s skills. The male protagonist Tetsuo happened to graduate from an art school specializing in sculpture. A friend recommended him a job without letting him know what it is. He later found himself employed in the industry of making sex dolls. It’s not the most prestigious job, but it’s not entirely bad as it seems. In fact, he hit the jackpot! The job not only allowed him the opportunity to meet his future wife Sonoko, but it also allowed him to hone his artistic skills in creating a breathing, realistic love doll. It is his passion that ironically made Sonoko fall in love with him. He pressed his hands on her breasts to feel the texture, claiming he was creating breasts prosthetic for medical use. You might be thinking, what a sly, unethical pervert. I thought the same. But this section of the film was well executed. There is a great amount of respect for the woman’s body. It’s almost sacred-like, which explains why Tetsuo couldn’t tell Sonoko that he creates love dolls for a living.

As they say, a man falls in love with an image, and a woman falls in love through how she feels. Out of impulse, Testsuo and Sonoko agreed to marry. Sounds like a fairy-tale doesn’t it? But it’s far from a happy story. As time progresses, secrecy between the married couple unfolds and both learn about what it means to love and to trust. There is no such thing as a perfect marriage.

What I find so pleasing about this film is that I was not offended by the notion of love dolls and what they are used for because the film did such a great job at illustrating how they can help lonely men. Think about it, why do we hold certain objects more important than others? Why are diamonds valuable to women? In this case, Testuo creates his SONOKO love doll out of remembrance of his love for his wife who then helps fill the void of lonely men. The doll is far from trash. She is made with love and quality.

As for my final thoughts for this film, the irony of SONOKO love doll is that she was molded after a perfect wife (caring, patient, and obliging) but she is also “nice and horny.” Sounds like a wish come true to lonely men. I am pretty sure Sonoko’s soul feels content knowing that she is helping lonely men even after she is long gone from this world. After all, human companionship is part of human survival needs.

I’m not surprised that this film was directed by a woman: Yuki Tanada. The undertone of Romance Doll is far from trashy. It is typical of a woman to hold her female kind with high regard, especially if it involves sex and her body.