So I just watched a trailer for 13 Sentinels after seeing it on so many GOTY lists

[TCG276]

I'm not familiar with this game at all, so I figured I would check it out to see what it's about since it's on so many people's GOTY lists. One of the first things I noticed is what's up with all the girls (young looking I might add) wearing short mini skirts? I'm no prude but it felt very sexualized and fucking creepy to be honest. I realize I am judging a very small portion of the game from a trailer with no context, so I'm all ears if someone would like to explain to me what this game is about and why it appears that all the girls are sexualized?

Edit: As many have pointed out, the game takes place in and around school so the characters wearing school uniforms makes sense. I still questing the intent with some of the female character designs, but at least having that context helps. That being said, if "lifting their skirt to summon their Sentinel" is a thing in the game, that sounds to me like there are at least some characters being sexualized in the game for no logical reason?

 

[wideface]

Google "school uniforms in Japan".

 

[Deleted member 19533]

Why are Japanese school girls wearing Japanese school girl uniforms? Is that a serious question?

 

[Joltik]

They are wearing school uniforms because they are in high school.

 

[LavaBadger]

There isn't a good excuse for it. All I can say is as someone who definitely has not been a fan of Vanillaware due to oversexualizing their characters, I took the plunge on this game anyway due to all the praise. I will say that sort of objectionable content is pretty rare, and while I cringed the 2-3 times there's was an upskirt, these were stains on an otherwise very good 40+ hour game.

It doesn't excuse it, but if you're worried it's going to be something that you're constantly having to deal with, it thankfully is not (Unlike other Vanillaware games).

Edit: Hard eye role at the people in this thread characterizing this as "just Japanese school uniforms.'

 

[LazyLain]

Aside from typical Japanese school uniforms being the way they are, I wouldn't personally characterize the schoolgirls' designs as being sexualized... with the exception of the one who's stuck in her gym clothes.

 

[Multiverse Moo]

Sorry OP, but yes you're being a prude.

I hope you don't side with the teachers who try to send girls home or to detention because they wear skirts or shirts without long sleeves.

What you've described is not "sexualizing" the student characters. The game does seem to have a couple of issues, but this is not it.

 

[ADS]

What year is it? I thought we got over moral panic about school dress code in the 90s.

 

[TissueBox]

I love Vanillaware, but I mean, they did make Dragon's Crown. (Also a gem.)

 

[Deleted member 19533]

There isn't a good excuse for it. All I can say is as someone who definitely has not been a fan of Vanillaware due to oversexualizing their characters, I took the plunge on this game anyway due to all the praise. I will say that sort of objectionable content is pretty rare, and while I cringed the 2-3 times there's was an upskirt, these were stains on an otherwise very good 40+ hour game.

It doesn't excuse it, but if you're worried it's going to be something that you're constantly having to deal with, it thankfully is not (Unlike other Vanillaware games).

Edit: Hard eye role at the people in this thread characterizing this as "just Japanese school uniforms.'

Click to shrink...

Hard eye roll back. That's what he's talking about. There's a few minor things outside of the uniforms, but there's nothing wrong with the uniforms. You know, the topic of the thread.

Also, no one used that phrase but you. Terrible straw man.

 

[Admiral Woofington]

Look Vanillaware has always had this issue and it keeps being a valid criticism, but it doesn't read like you're particularly interested in being convinced as to why the game is great despite of this because it's the only thing you're focusing on for what is now hours of content and reviews of a game that is out now.

 

[Multiverse Moo]

Edit: Hard eye role at the people in this thread characterizing this as "just Japanese school uniforms.'

Click to shrink...

Oh please, the OP literally talks about the skirts being an issue when it is LITERALLY what most traditional school uniforms are in Japan. It's not "very sexualized" and the other instances you mention are all the game really seems to have.

Explaining the character stuck in gym clothes, or the story-related elements that result in certain imagery would have been better to bring up. Throwing shade at people for explaining why the girls are in skirts is just lame.

That said, there IS a movement to scrap the gender code for school uniforms in Japan (as there has been in other places in the world) but yeah. No need stick your nose up at people being factual.

 

[Yasumi]

Calling above-the-knee skirts "very sexualized and fucking creepy" is definitely the biggest prude take I've seen in a while.

 

[LazyLain]

Edit: Hard eye role at the people in this thread characterizing this as "just Japanese school uniforms.'

Click to shrink...

To be clear, if we're strictly talking about whether the designs are sexualized... it kind of is a case of "just Japanese school uniforms", with the one exception being the student who's conveniently stuck wearing her gym clothes.

That's not to excuse the game entirely though, since there certainly are moments where they're sexualized... lifting their skirt to summon their Sentinel, multiple panty shots, etc. But those aren't issues with the character designs, those are issues with the scenarios.

 

[Fjordson]

It's their school uniform.

They wear them for a lot of the game, so I would skip the game if it bothers you.

 

[TCG276]

Google "school uniforms in Japan".

Click to shrink...

I did and none of the Japanese school girl uniforms I saw were as short as the ones I saw in the trailer. Do any of the girls in the game were anything but school uniforms? If the answer is no, is there a purpose for them to always be wearing school girl uniforms in the game?

 

[JoDa]

If you like non linear time travel and conspiracy related stories (of course with giant robots) and also like tactics games you'll enjoy the game, the weakest part of the game are probably the visuals in the combat scenarios, they aren't bad but for a game advertising giant robots it definitely could have looked a lot flashier, the actual gameplay is very solid tho.

Also about the skirts...... C'mon man, it's just their uniform, if it makes you feel better one of the characters has a different uniform with a longer skirt..... But yeah you're overreacting.

 

[Ladomania]

I did and none of the Japanese school girl uniforms I saw were as short as the ones I saw in the trailer. Do any of the girls in the game were anything but school uniforms? If the answer is no, is there a purpose for them to always be wearing school girl uniforms in the game?

Click to shrink...

They're in school

 

[TCG276]

That's not to excuse the game entirely though, since there certainly are moments where they're sexualized... lifting their skirt to summon their Sentinel, multiple panty shots, etc. But those aren't issues with the character designs, those are issues with the scenarios.

Click to shrink...

If there is stuff like this in the game it's definitely a hard pass for me. Thanks for the info.

 

[wideface]

I did and none of the Japanese school girl uniforms I saw were as short as the ones I saw in the trailer. Do any of the girls in the game were anything but school uniforms? If the answer is no, is there a purpose for them to always be wearing school girl uniforms in the game?

Click to shrink...

I don't even know what to say to you at this point.

 

[JoDa]

I did and none of the Japanese school girl uniforms I saw were as short as the ones I saw in the trailer. Do any of the girls in the game were anything but school uniforms? If the answer is no, is there a purpose for them to always be wearing school girl uniforms in the game?

Click to shrink...

The scenes happen at school or right after or before school hours so yeah, they gonna be wearing their uniform lol

 

[Shining Star]

Honestly I feel like this reaction is way overboard.

 

[LavaBadger]

Oh please, the OP literally talks about the skirts being an issue when it is LITERALLY what most traditional school uniforms are in Japan. It's not "very sexualized" and the other instances you mention are all the game really seems to have.

Explaining the character stuck in gym clothes, or the story-related elements that result in certain imagery would have been better to bring up. Throwing shade at people for explaining why the girls are in skirts is just lame.

That said, there IS a movement to scrap the gender code for school uniforms in Japan (as there has been in other places in the world) but yeah. No need stick your nose up at people being factual.

Click to shrink...

If people responded about dress code with the genuine feeling that school dress code was the only thing the OP needed to know about the game, then fine. If the OP is unaware of Japanese school outfits, then the information has been shared.

But we can hand waive the skirts while also acknowledging there are in fact real issues with sexualizing minors in the game (Which happen to take advantage of the skirts for that purpose). These are fair criticisms the OP should also be aware of of they're thinking about the game.

To be clear, if we're strictly talking about whether the designs are sexualized... it kind of is a case of "just Japanese school uniforms", with the one exception being the student who's conveniently stuck wearing her gym clothes.

That's not to excuse the game entirely though, since there certainly are moments where they're sexualized... lifting their skirt to summon their Sentinel, multiple panty shots, etc. But those aren't issues with the character designs, those are issues with the scenarios.

Click to shrink...

That's fair. And I don't think the characters generally are oversexualized (One thankfully adult character being an exception), which makes it all the more jarring when stuff like you describe is thrown in.

As I said, the moments where I think they cross a line are pretty few and far between. I very much enjoyed the game. It's just a shame they do it at all.

 

[Admiral Woofington]

I did and none of the Japanese school girl uniforms I saw were as short as the ones I saw in the trailer. Do any of the girls in the game were anything but school uniforms? If the answer is no, is there a purpose for them to always be wearing school girl uniforms in the game?

Click to shrink...

the purpose is that the game takes place in high school and most of the events take place during the time frame they are going to/from school. This includes the boys which make up a sizable group of the playable characters. It's really as simple as that. If you're interested in the game, the draw is in its visuals as most vanilla ware titles, and the plot for the game is the best they've done yet with a very very solid sci fi story.

 

[TCG276]

the purpose is that the game takes place in high school and most of the events take place during the time frame they are going to/from school. This includes the boys which make up a sizable group of the playable characters. It's really as simple as that. If you're interested in the game, the draw is in its visuals as most vanilla ware titles, and the plot for the game is the best they've done yet with a very very solid sci fi story.

Click to shrink...

Ah well that makes more sense. Thanks for the info.

 

[JoDa]

To be clear, if we're strictly talking about whether the designs are sexualized... it kind of is a case of "just Japanese school uniforms", with the one exception being the student who's conveniently stuck wearing her gym clothes.

That's not to excuse the game entirely though, since there certainly are moments where they're sexualized... lifting their skirt to summon their Sentinel, multiple panty shots, etc. But those aren't issues with the character designs, those are issues with the scenarios.

Click to shrink...

There's exactly 2 panty shots, and they happen really fast and barely even acknowledge(40 hour game Btw), the only one with a somewhat compromising activation switch location is iori and again is not even a recurring thing, hell it makes more sense to complain about natsuno conveniently being stuck with gym clothes on almost every situation than to complain about the skirts.

 

[Kyry]

Maybe i'm just desensitized to this stuff, but I found the game to handle itself more tastefully than the typical anime beach episode.

 

[chairhome]

This isn't an excuse, but this game is a lot less sexually charged than their previous games. As other posters have said, it does show some typical Japanese School Girls, but they aren't usually in compromising positions or revealing outfits (anymore so than the uniforms). That being said, there are a few portraits of the main cast obviously naked (during combat missions as they pilot the mechs), but positioned in a way that you can't see anything (no cleavage or butt shots).

I am not saying you are a prude, and I'd say you are okay to be cautious about it, but it isn't as bad as you might think

 

[LazyLain]

If there is stuff like this in the game it's definitely a hard pass for me. Thanks for the info.

Click to shrink...

For what it's worth, the stuff I've described is fairly sparse... I'm a bit over 10 hours in, and I can count the number of these instances on one hand. In that time, they were mostly frontloaded too which leads me to believe that kind of stuff probably won't crop up much (if at all) in the next 20-30 hours it takes me to finish the game.

But if you've got a zero tolerance policy for this kind of stuff, then yeah you'll want to avoid it. And if the skirts bother you, then I assume that the fact that they pilot their Sentinels nude will too... though I'd personally argue that the "nude" dialog portraits are fairly tasteful in their execution and not sexualized.

But I am strictly addressing the minor characters, if your aversion is to sexualization in general... welp. This just isn't the game for you.

 

[TCG276]

There's exactly 2 panty shots, and they happen really fast and barely even acknowledge(40 hour game Btw), the only one with a somewhat compromising activation switch location is iori and again is not even a recurring thing, hell it makes more sense to complain about natsuno conveniently being stuck with gym clothes on almost every situation than to complain about the skirts.

Click to shrink...

I did notice the character stuck in gym close which seemed odd.

 

[TCG276]

This isn't an excuse, but this game is a lot less sexually charged than their previous games. As other posters have said, it does show some typical Japanese School Girls, but they aren't usually in compromising positions or revealing outfits (anymore so than the uniforms). That being said, there are a few portraits of the main cast obviously naked (during combat missions as they pilot the mechs), but positioned in a way that you can't see anything (no cleavage or butt shots).

I am not saying you are a prude, and I'd say you are okay to be cautious about it, but it isn't as bad as you might think

Click to shrink...

Thanks for the info. The game looks interesting.

 

[halcali]

I didn't notice they were being sexualized, other than the nurse at the beginning.

 

[TCG276]

For what it's worth, the stuff I've described is fairly sparse... I'm a bit over 10 hours in, and I can count the number of these instances on one hand. In that time, they were mostly frontloaded too which leads me to believe that kind of stuff probably won't crop up much (if at all) in the next 20-30 hours it takes me to finish the game.

But if you've got a zero tolerance policy for this kind of stuff, then yeah you'll want to avoid it. And if the skirts bother you, then I assume that the fact that they pilot their Sentinels nude will too... though I'd personally argue that the "nude" dialog portraits are fairly tasteful in their execution and not sexualized.

But I am strictly addressing the minor characters, if your intolerance for sexualization also extends to adult characters... welp. This just isn't the game for you.

Click to shrink...

Thanks again for the info. I don't have any issues with sexuality or nudity in games as long as there is a point to it. You mentioned that they are nude when piloting the Sentinels. Are both the men and women nude when piloting, or just the women? Is there a reason for them to be nude when piloting?

 

[Ovvv]

There's other parts of the game that definitely teeter on the edge but girls wearing skirts isn't one of them lol. Go outside and look around maybe? Even beyond school uniforms, those are pretty typical skirt lengths lol

 

[LazyLain]

Thanks again for the info. I don't have any issues with sexuality or nudity in games as long as there is a point to it. You mentioned that they are nude when piloting the Sentinels. Are both the men and women nude when piloting, or just the women? If there a reason for them to be nude when piloting?

Click to shrink...

There are male and female pilots, and they all pilot nude.

I haven't yet gotten to an explanation as to why they pilot nude, but I've heard there is one.

 

[wideface]

There isn't a good excuse for it. All I can say is as someone who definitely has not been a fan of Vanillaware due to oversexualizing their characters, I took the plunge on this game anyway due to all the praise. I will say that sort of objectionable content is pretty rare, and while I cringed the 2-3 times there's was an upskirt, these were stains on an otherwise very good 40+ hour game.

It doesn't excuse it, but if you're worried it's going to be something that you're constantly having to deal with, it thankfully is not (Unlike other Vanillaware games).

Edit: Hard eye role at the people in this thread characterizing this as "just Japanese school uniforms.'

Click to shrink...

To be clear, sexualization of minors is a real problem and something to be concerned about. Like you said, Vanillaware is known for its oversexualized designs, but I don't think it really applies to this game. The thing I found weird was having that one girl trapped in her gym clothes for some reason. I get it if OP wants to pass on the game because the art style is not for them, but to say it's sexualized to the point of it being "fucking creepy" is a bit too much, I think. 13 Sentinels is a legitimately good game, and if the sexualization was as bad as OP thinks it is (at least at the time of writing his first post in this thread), we wouldn't even be talking about the game on this forum, and rightfully so.

 

[ADS]

There's other parts of the game that definitely teeter on the edge but girls wearing skirts isn't one of them lol. Go outside and look around maybe? Even beyond school uniforms, those are pretty typical skirt lengths lol

Click to shrink...

Better be careful, if OP does that they may see an ankle or two! Frightening times we live in...

 

[Shining Star]

Better be careful, if OP does that they may see an ankle or two! Frightening times we live in...

Click to shrink...

it's funny that there's a character in the game who comes from a long time in the past and his reaction is basically OPs. His excuse it that it was the 40s.

 

[DanteAlighieri]

Sir, are you from the 1800s?

 

[TCG276]

So some have pointed out that the developer of this game has a history of sexualizing characters in previous games? Where the characters in the previous games that were being sexualized adult characters or teens?

 

[Lord Azrael]

This might literally the saddest most surface level criticism I've ever seen of a game

 

[Deleted member 36578]

There are male and female pilots, and they all pilot nude.

I haven't yet gotten to an explanation as to why they pilot nude, but I've heard there is one.

Click to shrink...

I've beaten the game and while there is an explanation, it's complete and utter horse shit because there are facets about it that directly contradict the reason.

 

[DitaParlo]

Google "school uniforms in Japan".

Click to shrink...

WOW THE SAME THING

 

[wideface]

WOW THE SAME THING

Click to shrink...

You sure showed me.

 

[lvl 99 Pixel]

is this like Evangelion all over again?

 

[Mauricio_Magus]

Yeah, you're overreacting.

I was worried when I started the game but the game is 99% fine and I was expecting way worse.

 

[Yesterday]

Oh no not legs

 

[Dmax3901]

There's exactly 2 panty shots, and they happen really fast and barely even acknowledge(40 hour game Btw), the only one with a somewhat compromising activation switch location is iori and again is not even a recurring thing, hell it makes more sense to complain about natsuno conveniently being stuck with gym clothes on almost every situation than to complain about the skirts.

Click to shrink...

Surely... any panty shot is terrible when we're talking about school children? Weird thing to minimise.

 

[Captain of Outer Space]

I'm not familiar with this game at all, so I figured I would check it out to see what it's about since it's on so many people's GOTY lists. One of the first things I noticed is what's up with all the girls (young looking I might add) wearing short mini skirts? I'm no prude but it felt very sexualized and fucking creepy to be honest. I realize I am judging a very small portion of the game from a trailer with no context, so I'm all ears if someone would like to explain to me what this game is about and why it appears that all the girls are sexualized?

Edit: As many have pointed out, the game takes place in and around school so the characters wearing school uniforms makes sense. I still questing the intent with some of the female character designs, but at least having that context helps. That being said, if "lifting their skirt to summon their Sentinel" is a thing in the game, that sounds to me like there are at least some characters being sexualized in the game for no logical reason?

Click to shrink...

I'm surprised you didn't see that all of the teens are naked when they get into their mechs, so George Kamitani has small bits of them starting to take off their clothes while not showing anything.

 

[Akainu]

I sorry have you never seen any type of school uniform in your life?