#<- should i put that? so people know? i guess thats implied by leaving reblogs on but i dont know man

[ryukiki]

Autistic transmasc with frequent headaches and PTSD discovers yet ANOTHER film based on H.P. Lovecraft's works starring Jeffrey Combs and latches on to it like a koala and refuses to let go

[everything-laito]

Why Diabolik Lovers is more effective not being an H-game

I haven’t really seen anybody talk about this topic, so I’m just gonna rant about it I guess! If anyone has anything to add upon this, I’d love to hear whatever you have to say! (feel free to either just reblog your comments, dm me or just drop something in my inbox!)

So, before I begin, I’m just gonna assume people reading this have either played the game, seen lets plays, or just know a general premise of what the games include. I’m more familiar with Laito’s routes (although now that I find more translations of other routes I will play the routes I have yet to play), so that’s what I’ll be referencing for specific examples.

So, Large Rant under the cut!

First of all, if you didn’t know what an H-game is, it really means “hentai game.” Most H-games that I have seen are either mods (H-DOOM; oh god) or DLCs. Nekopara and Hunipop (I believe) both are not R18 initially, but you can get the R18 DLC or uncensored versions with some extra mola. These are the games that I can think from the top of my head. I know there are H-games that also are otome games; aka similar to Dialover’s demographic. So it’s not the gendered demographic that makes an H-game, it’s either the age (18+) or interest in sexual content.

The Dialovers demographic is a bit wonky though. Technically the first game is 15+ (which I don’t know HOW; shit’s fucked up in that game) and the rest of the games (VC and LP aside) are all 17+ last time I checked. Dialovers doesn’t have any explicit sex scenes in there, as we all know, and when stuff like that happens, it’s implied. The people of the Dialovers demographic would theoretically be 17+ who like dark and twisted stories/“romances.” Sure there’s a good handful of people who are younger than that, and hell, I started Dialovers when I was a freshman in high school (which I should not have been that young but we’re here now af;dljkf). 

Anyways, considering the demographic would be a more mature audience, there wouldn’t be much of a difference if R18 scenes were added to Dialovers.... or would there be?

Diabolik Lovers is more than just a fanservice game. Not saying that its not, but that’s not its entire purpose. Otome games have fanservice, I’m not denying that. But it’s also a game that also tells a story; like most video games do anyway. The lore of Dialovers runs deep, and man is it DEEP when you do your digging. In Laito’s case, MAN,,,,, is his character complex. If Rejet just wanted to make a simple R18 otome game with dark undertones, they could’ve made it a lot less complex than it is already. I really treat Dialovers as a mystery, and a dark “romance” (obviously). I like how the “good” endings aren’t always “good,” and the means to reach the “good” endings are by pretty dark means. 

So, what difference does it make to make it an H-game?  It would make all the difference. 

Some people I know like Dialovers for just the mysteriousness and complexity of the game, and not just for the sadomasochism etc etc. Most fans seem to be a mix of both, from what I’ve observed. If R18 content was added, it would be more fanservice based than narrative and character based. I’d say that Dialovers is a great mix of fanservice and deep narrative. There’s always that joke with ecchi anime with “yeah I only watch it for the plot,” given that most ecchi (and complete fanservice based games) just have a basic, simple plot and character development. 

We only have one canon R18 content in this series, and thats the Blood & LoveSweat, but that’s not nearly as graphic as other R18 drama cds. Even that cd has heavy implications. It just leaves it up to your imagination. I personally think that’s not only a good narrative tool, but a great game tactic too. Since everyone’s internal experience is different when it comes to the games (and cds etc), it adds to the mysteriousness aura of the game in general. For example, we never knew what kind of torture device Laito was holding in his early chapters of his Dark route (I think it was Dark 02?) until his manga came out (and now we know,,,, it’s something called an ‘oral pear’. Yikes.).

Adding R18 CGs would make Dialovers more about the fanservice and less about the characters and their development and story. That’s why I believe it’s better to leave those scenes up to the imagination (also not to mention most implied sex scenes in the games are uh,,,, nonconsensual, so that also might be a yikes to put in a canon CG? I’m not sure if there’s other games that have that or not. If so, feel free to correct me). These types of scenes would direct the focus of the narrative and beautifully paced and pretty rewarding character development (my man Laito has come a long way!). The closest to an R18 CG we’ve seen has been the end of Laito’s More Blood route, with him and Yui having consensual sex (yay!), but it’s just kind of the events afterwards. But that’s actually important to Laito’s exposition and development throughout More Blood. 

Anyways if you made it here, thanks for reading this absolute crazy rant. If you have anything to add, feel free! Ciao!

-Corn