[ronriii]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ddarko

snip

I understand what you mean but I do disagree in this particular case. I feel that Yoko Taro's way of framing an issue through a fantastical lens doesn't serve as a detriment to the intended narrative and I feel it actually creates a believable and coherent fantasy that doesn't break immersion, all while still managing to relate abstract feelings that people can relate to.

Kaine's situation is still applicable to issues faced by inters[e]x and trans people, in which I've seen such fans relate to Kaine's gendered stigmatization in-universe. To simply dismiss that feels a bit presumptuous just because you don't find it convincing. Her dilemma isn't somehow diminished just because you don't find the circumstances behind it to be realistic enough, especially when the core issues she deals with can actually be applied to similar problems people have faced in terms of gender identity politics, e.g. questioning/mocking someone's affirmation of their gender identity. Just because it doesn't tackle it based on a completely realistic attribute, it doesn't mean players can't relate to the feelings and experiences of the characters in the games. This is a point that Yoko Taro has addressed when it comes to his character conception and story writing wherein his focus lies on communicating an experience that people can still relate to despite purposely choosing fantastical and inhuman concepts like replicants or androids for his stories.

You mention this attribute as an example of "[nudging] you toward feeling some sort of "complexity" in the situation" when the game doesn't even mention it in the story and only focuses on the narrative of Kaine being ostracized by her village, in which you can only find out about this attribute and the circumstances surrounding it through side materials. I think this makes it obvious that Taro's focus was characterizing Kaine's turmoil as someone whose gender identity was mocked and questioned in the past, as opposed to making a big deal about the fantastical detail of her being an unintended hermaphrodite caused by the fickleness of the Replicant system (yeah no). It doesn't make it pointless since it actually manages to enforce a narrative that people are still able to relate to.

My point in bringing up my appreciation for Yoko Taro's creative intent is because people tend to make a big deal out of it when the game actually doesn't: be it as some form of twisted fanservice (when it wasn't) or as if that puts Kaine's femininity into question, enough that it deserves making light of someone using the pronoun "she" (ironically a realistic issue when it comes to gender identity politics) even though she's still very much treated as a woman. The fact that there wasn't even any malicious intent behind this attribute makes it even weirder to draw attention to it in such a way.

I don't mean any animosity by positing an argument (I apologize if my language comes across as such and feel free to disagree of course), but it's exactly why I centered my initial post on the sincerity behind Yoko Taro's intent instead of propping it up some sort of flawless triumph in making a political statement, the latter of which wasn't my intention at all.