Review: YU-NO (Elf, 1996) (NSFW) 👎

How Lewd!

Rather than even mentioning that YU-NO is built around an incest romance, many reviewers mistake the more important issue to be the leering camera. The strong male gaze, frequently using strange angles to incorporate as much skin as possible, generates an atmosphere of pervasive sleaze. Suggestive of Takuya’s own gaze, could this convey something about his character? It could, except that Kanno has nothing to say about Takuya. The issues I describe with this material are standard for PC-98 eroge, and it is true that, by not being a procession of rape, and (arguably) making Yu-no an adult before her sex scene (the twelve-year-old form pulls down her skirt to show off her ass to her father in text only), YU-NO may be tasteful compared to many of its contemporaries. This also leaves room for it to be more literary, as it is.

In a memorial to Umemoto, Sorlie claims that the composer and Kanno “were adamant that the intimacy between characters and depiction of such had a serious place in the video game industry, as they viewed it as a natural part of life and a tool which could be written to show motivation and character development.” The implication that the sexual content in YU-NO is naturalistic and true to life is not far removed from implying the average Brazzers video is naturalistic and true to life.

In the YU-NO article, Sorlie also writes, “The topic of sex is used in moderation, and for the most part it is also used with taste and reason.” Granting that “taste and reason” is debatable, in YU-NO, nudity, sex jokes, and panty shots occur so constantly, so gratuitously, so without buildup or pretext, and sex is so central to the narrative, that this content is YU-NO. The opening ten minutes of the Prologue alone already contain bare breasts, weird incestuous stuff, a masturbation joke, a particularly graphic panty shot, Eriko’s nipples poking through her skin-tight latex fetish outfit, a conversation about panties, and dialogue options to talk about Eriko’s breasts, which are prominent in the artwork.

Sexual content smothers YU-NO like cheese sauce smothers fettuccine alfredo. On the subject of its tastefulness and realism, please recall this line from earlier in this very review: “That said, the scene in which Mitsuki and Takuya wax nostalgic about having sex in the school history lab cracks me up—ah, remember the sex crimes that should have got Mitsuki fired and arrested? Weren’t those the days? And Takuya can’t care too much about Mitsuki if, later on the same route, in the same room, he can get off to Ryuuzouji raping her.” While the dialogue in every scene is unique, the sex jokes, Takuya suggesting maybe he shouldn’t stare at his stepmom’s body, Takuya trying to get Mio to say “pussy,” and Takuya exclaiming more or less “AWOOOGA look at THOSE honkers” blur together. They continue from the opening minute through to Takuya having the same interactions with his daughter beginning when she is a baby. You have to respect this degree of moderation. Kanno really restrained himself! /s

But why would YU-NO be restrained? It’s porn. To downplay this is embarrassing. There is nothing wrong with being an eroge per se. I do not deny that I appreciate seeing and interacting with women in various states of undress, even if most of the characters in this case do not appeal to me. Part of the fun I had with the game was seeing luscious skin and, safe in a fantasy world, being able to shamelessly click on women’s crotches.

Ayumi is just about the least attractive woman I can imagine: a bore and complete doormat, and the glasses and pink top and miniskirt are hideous on her. Yet I admit, from an illustration like the one above, even for Ayumi, part of my mind goes, “Whoa. 😳😳😳 Her butt. 😳” Some CGs feature excellent artwork of rear ends, specifically Kaori in the bushes at Meiunji park, Mio bent over while pulling on a skirt in her room, Eriko stuck on the wall (despite the narrative issues I mention with that scene), Eriko sitting on Takuya’s face after the Picross minigame, and when Takuya restrains the bather Sala. To quote a great poet, I like big butts and cannot lie.