what exactly is the aim of these posts
those people should work to educate themselves on the genre's history and how many non-eroge there are (or ero stuff that's not for male gratification)
This is the second time I'm seeing a poster imply that the ero stuff for female gratification is in any way less gross.
I mean, let's be real, we can count the EXTREMELY GOOD MASTERPIECES of the genre on two hands, maybe on four hands if we include unlocalized stuff.
A large portion (be it the majority or not) of VNs and especially dating sims (male and female!) deals with various fetishes and fantasies that will never appeal to a wide majority of people - that is on purpose. This is a niche genre.
The existence of these doesn't by association tarnish the very good efforts in the genre, like, I fvkcing hate Musicals with a passion, except Rocky Horror Picture Show, which I actually love. It's perfectly fine to have standouts in a genre you otherwise dislike or that is full of trash. You don't need to try to elevate the whole genre without caveats to argue that the really good stuff out of it is good.
There are two aspects to the criticism that I can see worth discussing:
a) Why do media outlets give parody stuff the time of day instead of some of the more serious or outstandings works of art in the genre?
- I agree, that's sad, but I know how ad money works, so I'm not sure this is something we'll find a solution for. I don't think that should escalate into: "It would be best for the game to not exist in the first place" though. I think that doesn't solve the problem one bit.
b) Is this an example of a western dev interpreting a work of art from another culture for the sole purpose of ridicule and misrepresentation?
- I would prefer we play the game before we close the lid on that can of worms. From what I have seen, I felt there was a genuine well done homage to a lot of the tropes and yes, perceived wackiness of it, that of course comes from a Westerners perspective, but doesn't automatically lead me to believe that they mean to ridicule or insult their source material. As others have mentioned, playing with and subverting Otome tropes isn't uncommon in the genre itself, with the biggest and best example being Hatoful Boyfriend (by a Japanese Doujin artist) - so the parody view is not one taken exclusively by Westerners anyway.