メイドらしさのない理想的なメイド
Fascination with “meido” (maidservants) is one of the more esoteric aspects of Japanese subculture. Superficially, this trend may seem to reflect a proclivity for male dominance in a chauvinistic society. However, the reality is a bit more complicated. This game, for its part, gives the stereotype a unique twist.
In order to fulfil his dream of becoming a fashion designer, the protagonist disguises himself as a girl and becomes a maidservant of reclusive Luna, who turns out to be a very attractive, tremendously talented dominatrix. Early in the story, he repeatedly reminds himself that his ‘maidhood’ is only a pretence, and enjoying serving Luna wasn’t what he meant to do. Herein perhaps lies a clue to understanding this peculiar Japanese phenomenon: “meido” is perceived to be someone who selflessly enjoys serving a “master (shujin)” who wields dominant power over her.
This, of course, is a fantasy. When Virginia Woolf complained about “the timid spiteful servant mind,” she was, in her typical penetrating perception, revealing a truth. In this light, the mindset of the protagonist at the beginning of the story – fearful of being found out, but determined to carry through the deception no matter how high the risk is – must be closer to a true “servant mind”. Fortunately for him, the master and others around her turns out to be even quirkier than he is, and all comes to happily ever after, of course.
What is most impressive about this game is the quality of the Japanese language. From a quotation of Yukio Mishima to a tongue-in-cheek slight on a common misuse of a Japanese idiom, the author’s command of language is apparent in every scene. It culminates in Jursur (not sure how to spell her name), who speaks in an amazing array of scrambled idioms, misaligned metaphors and hilarious puns. She is supposed to be a learner of Japanese, but she is better than native: She is a James Joyce of the eroge world.
There is a lot to like about this game. Asahi (the protagonist in female disguise) is a sweetheart, and Luna is a goddess. I liked the drawing, too. What ultimately disaffected me, however, was that mean brother. He is the primary mover of the story, so he must be on the nose, but he was so repulsive that I had to skip some scenes avoid the pain of hearing him, so much so that I had lost track of the storyline. A trend in the eroge industry is to include a voice for every character including male, which is only natural; but just in this case, I wish he didn’t speak.