Split-Screen :: The Game-Geek’s Daily Read

by Vijayendra Mohanty

I have long held the belief that if you intend to best the Japanese in graphic storytelling, you might as well give up.

They have an amazing range of homemade techniques to fall back on. The silence, the movement, the sword-slashing, and a mood that flits between, deathly serious to goofy to downright corny in a matter of seconds.

And yet, I find myself baffled and intrigued by many motifs present in the Japanese way of storytelling. Diehard fans of Anime will know what I am talking about.

Homo-erotica, pedophilia, and bisexuality are just a few of the concepts Japanese characters casually toss around in their everyday conversation.

Small wonder then, that the hit Nintendo DS game Doki Doki Majo Shinpan! (released in 2007) works on a premise that would horrify many.

The game’s title literally means Thump Thump Witch Judgement or more accurately Heart-Pounding Magical Investigation.

The hero of the game is Akuji, a student, recruited by an angel Lulu to hunt down a witch who has made her way into his school and is hiding among the students.

Now get this — Akuji goes about his task by primarily employing the simple method of groping girls in his school to find if they bear the mark of being a witch. Luckily for the pervert Akuji, two of the prime suspects are cheerleaders. The rest include the school nurse and other girls ranging in age between 13 to 15 years.

Response to the game in Japan was phenomenal in spite of the more conservative calling it ‘a game made for pedophiles’. Developers SNK Playmore said there were no plans to have other language versions of the game. The game however, has spawned fan websites in English, Korean, and Chinese.

As with all things Japanese, merchandising too is quite over the top. September 2007 saw the release of the Manga (comic) version of the game. Then came the official fanbook, and the soundtrack.

Makes you wonder, doesn’t it? What is it with Japan?