#theres also something to say about desuhiko

[alfiely-art]

Raincode is an interesting commentary on masculinity. Yakou, Number One, Makoto, and Yomi all refuse to get help, upholding the "men are not allowed to be helped and have to deal with everything on their own" ideal. A lot of the games tragedy comes from these guys being too scared to reach out and get help and God forbid they get too emotional or take a step back and say they can't do this. Yuma is forced into accepting others help and expressing his emotions because he has amnesia and is just so confused and in so much danger he literally can't operate otherwise. The solution to everything is teamwork and communication instead of trying to take everything on yourself and worrying about being seen as weak or unmanly or whatever. That you really don't have to do it alone and it's better if you don't. If Yomi hadn't become so self-rightous and allowed others in, to have equals, he probably wouldn't have become so power-hungry and. Well. Yomi. If Makoto had someone, anyone to talk to, he could've found a better solution for the homunculi's diets. As soon as he opens up about what's going on, a better solution is almost immediately made. If Yakou had opened up to the NDA about his wife and the letters, they definitely wouldve helped him out. Investigating, finding the truth, maybe even getting Huesca arrested. If Number One had EVER accepted help, he wouldnt have needed to give himself amnesia to solve one of his own mysteries- because Makoto most definitely retained that trait of his. If any of them had asked for help, things would have been better. Asking for jelp is good and healthy, and something that many guys struggle to learn and accept and get used to.

Idk. This game definitely sucks when it comes to how it treats women but. This is. A very nice take on expectations of guys. That no, that stuff is stupid actually.

There are very few male protagonists that are allowed to be emotional or empathetic or unsure of themselves. The only ones that really come to mind rn outside of Kodaka's works are. Steven Universe. Shinji Ikari. Uhhhhh............... yeah that's all I can think of rn. And those two characters are shit on and called weak and that they're not real men. And Yuma also gets shit on by Some People for those same reasons. (Obviously there's other reasons to dislike him and the other two, but I'm talking about these specific reasons)

And idk. It's just.... really nice to see a game go out and make its ENTIRE message about how you don't have to do it alone. It's a universal message of course but it's also really important for a lot of guys. I know I sure resonated with it. My family is very gung-ho on being the perfect example of masculinity. So it's just. So rare to see a piece of media challenge these ideas. Thank you Raincode you mean a lot to me. Even though you're stinky. Ily