Ai: Nirvana Initiative - Blog Posts
theyre just the same person....
I love Amame aitsf but I feel like literally only her and Mizuki (& Aiba) were the only returning characters in AINI that were written remotely well.
major spoilers on AINI that are mentioned in a kind of vague way but also are still very major things. like I don't flat out say "x is the killer" but I mention their parents. ok so it is kind of major spoilers. don't read ahead if you haven't played the game:
Boss was "ok." Some of the routes she was written so bad. I don't understand why. She did not have that much screentime in comparison to the first game, nor was she that important, but the game never really explained why she acted so weird in... that specific route.
Date was abysmal. I don't understand how his relationship with Mizuki was a core aspect of the first game and then just thrown away in the second. And then even afterwards they barely have any screentime together. It makes absolutely no sense. I understand the context and circumstances, I just do not understand why it was written to be so in the first place where it was just unnecessary. I get it. But why? Why throw away something so important? And the stupid spoiler mode or whatever... his whole character was washed down. He was bad, plain and simple.
Mizuki Date. Yes I just said she was good. I think she WAS good, but literally everything with her backstory was bad. It literally just destroyed everything about her character in the first game. Ok major spoiler now. I simply do not understand why she was... a clone? Actual stupidest thing I have ever heard of before in my life. I understand the superstrength, yeah, sure. But a clone of Bibi? If anything I would have preferred Bibi to be a clone of her who aged faster, to mirror Shoma.
Mizuki Kuranushi. Bibi. Yes she is not in the first game. That's the problem. There is absolutely no reference to a character that is literally the adopted daughter of a major character. The lack of reference to her is still in-character for Boss, but it is stupid. Like I said before I think she should have been a clone of Mizuki and not the other way around. Mizuki being the biological daughter of Renju and Shoko was literally a MAJOR aspect of her character. The thought of Shoko taking Mizuki to a shady doctor to "make her normal" and her ending up with superstrength and then Chikara making Bibi from her DNA makes more sense. Literally makes more sense for both Mizuki and Bibi. And I of course would have wanted more bonding scenes with Bibi and her mama Boss, they clearly love each other very much and yet it is BARELY seen. Mizuki's clone having a better relationship with her mother (Boss) would have been even more devastating for Mizuki's character, yet had she and Date been close in AINI I think it would have balanced each other beautifully. Bibi's inclusion also makes the Annihilation route in the first game more devastating. (Also Ota ending too)
Pewter. They dgaf about him in the second game and to be honest I forgot about him too. They killed his boyfriend and killed his character.
Moma. Again, they dgaf about him in the second and to be honest I forgot about him too. They made him an Iris simp and that's it. Boring character.
Ota. They should have just let him die or something. I know there are good aspects of his character but he literally shows absolutely no growth in the canon ending of the first game and no arc in the second game. All he is really is an Iris simp. His heroic moments are not even canon nor are they... good. I lose braincells seeing him on screen, at least make him INTERESTING. Make him learn something. I don't care that his diner is doing well, good for him I guess, that is literally all I got from him in the second game.
Speaking of losing brain cells. IRIS SAGAN. SHE WAS WRITTEN. SO POORLY. AND I KNOW SHE WILL BE BAD IN THE NEW GAME. Yes the autistic daughter with a special interest in the occult and mythology was written poorly. It's not the special interest that was bad, it was the fact that she was basically reduced to it. A lot of her illogical behavior is explained in the first game as her having a tumor. Her illogical fears, the way she connects information, how she acts... and then... the second game happens... and its like nothing at all? Naix is actually real and she is not part of the arc whatsoever? She acts airheaded all the time, and yet she is still described as sneaky and calculating... but she does nothing? In making the thing she was scared of in the first game actually real and then completely making her irrelevant to that thing it REALLY damages her character. "Oh Iris is acting irrational because she has a brain tumor. No, actually the thing she was scared of was real. No, instead of having her confront the thing she was scared of let us write her to look like a fool." Stupid. All she does is make pop culture references, get simped for (and stupidly does not notice anything despite being a grown adult), and then written for her bestie to prioritize her over her father. And then... there is no on-screen reconciliation between her and Amame after? Actually, there is barely any (I don't actually remember anything aside from the school ones) interactions between the two? How are they gonna throw away her character, barely show her interact with Date, her mother, her sister (Mizuki), her bio dad, and even her friend? And just have her... kind of just hanging out with Ota? And not even in a way that improves either character, just a convenient "oh these two unnecessary side characters are in the same spot how convenient for the player."
Speaking of her family. Hitomi. She is irrelevant to the second game despite literally being Mizuki's adoptive mother. Is this canon? Who fucking knows! The writers sure don't! As far as I recall, we don't even have a damn clue where Mizuki lives! Probably in Date's apartment, but the information is just so... USELESS. The only vague importance it has is in differentiating between her and Bibi (Bibi mentions her "house" when Mizuki mentions her "apartment.") Why wouldn't Hitomi, her adoptive mother through Date, have her move in with her and Iris? Mizuki and Iris have always had a sibling relationship and it is just not touched upon. She and Hitomi have always had a mother-daughter relationship and it is just... not expanded upon. Hell, I think Hitomi and Bibi have a better on-screen relationship than them. Was Hitomi Bibi's teacher? Was Bibi Iris's, Amame's, and Kizuna's classmate? I don't know! Bibi's whole thing was wrapped up so quickly that it makes no sense. Hitomi caring for her when she got injured was sweet, but I feel like she should have had more interactions with Bibi, y'know, the one who is IDENTICAL TO HER ADOPTIVE DAUGHTER MIZUKI!?
So Sejima. He does one (1) good thing and that is ATTEMPT to be nice to Iris. He TRIES to own-up to his fuck up. And you know what? I actually really did enjoy that. Hate his guts. But somehow me loving Osiris (So as Iris) did make me like So more in general. Put the cat ears on old man! But yeah. He should have done more. And why is his sperm evil. How does he have multiple murderous children. That was a legitimately stupid writing choice. Like why So Sejima the bus driver all of the sudden.
Saito Sejima. I simply do not understand why they left Date with his appearance. I do not care that Saito's face was the more popular one and is more "iconic" for the character. It diminishes Date's growth and makes him shallow if the way they explain it in-game is that it was more popular with the ladies. Who cares. I at least would have wanted So to mention him, or for Uru to be compared to him. But no, he is basically irrelevant.
Mayumi. Irrelevant. And I am sadly glad that she was not in the game because she would have been written poorly. Love the fact that she becomes a mermaid. Rest in peace to her English VA.
Mama. Queen! Enough said.
Amame. Again, I just said I liked her. I really do. I truly do really like Amame. I just hate how EVERY FUCKING CHARACTER INTERACTS WITH HER. Gen? Was wholesome. Then it became absolutely stupid and destroyed my opinion of Gen's character. Kizuna? Basically irrelevant after Lien's introduction. Iris? The writers didn't give a shit about those two! Amame's arc was interesting and the twist with her was amazing. But the end was... wrapped up so illogically quickly and robotically that it just became "problem solved. the end." What, so she is just miserable now? I am glad that we will see her again in NSFKD (Horrible acronym. I am referring to No Sleep for Kaname Date) but her inclusion will probably just be useless info. Speaking of NSFKD. They're making aliens real, presumably reptilians. Just to... ridicule Iris some more? Again, they make the thing she was irrationally scared of in the first game real and now that she is the focus of the arc she is... in a bunny suit? Again she and Amame will likely barely interact and all it will be is fanservice galore. Show me Amame and Iris's personality and how they interact with one another. Hell, I want playable Iris. I really really so truly do. I want to see how she interacts with others and her internal dialogue. If she fakes her personality around Ota and if her airheadedness is a front. I would actually love playable Amame for the third game. Have us play through HER perspective as she gets out of jail. Have us read her internal monologue as she interacts with other characters. Is she angry about how they treated her? Is she happy to see them again? I just want the game to give me MORE about the characters they have established rather than making new characters whose purpose is to just die or help the protagonist in a task. The world feels dry, there is basically no interaction between characters only the protagonist and them.
In other words...
I dislike basically every portrayal in AINI. I am not saying that it was a bad game, I am just saying that in making the cast so much larger it diminishes basically every character. The twist of the game broke my immersion so badly that it genuinely upset me, but the mystery leading up to that point was interesting. But like I said before, the characters feel hollow. Bonds in the first game were broken in the second, and basically it feels as if things were stagnant during the six year time skip. There is... barely any growth in the characters behind the scenes. Serious issues are not taken seriously. Nice relationships turn romantic or fanservicey. It just... Aside from the mystery... there is no "story." There are barely "characters." In other words, my expectations for NSFKD are basically on the floor. They are non existent. I am not really that excited for the game.
aitsf spoilers regarding my love for B-set. huge rant!
Unpopular opinion perhaps but I find B-set significantly more unsettling than "Boss" and "So." I wish we got more time with her because it so suddenly shifts from her being a HUGE suspect for both murders (and tied to the previous) to her suddenly being dead. With "So" it was uncomfortable but not at all unpredictable, most people figured he was hiding something so Saito's behavior in the Mizuki end route was not at all jarring. With "Boss" the build up was absolutely fantastic, but depending on the order in which you play the routes it seems impossible for her to be the actual killer. Assuming that is not the first route you do, highly unfortunate if so, then Boss's actions in Annihilation are highly out of character and therefore suspicious, making Saito's reveal highly satisfying but not at all out-of-nowhere. Her (his?) somnium is unsettling but not scary in the was B-set's was, and the answers to the chain murders are basically solved before the interrogation itself. In other words, "Boss" is a fantastic end-point, or Boss lol, to Saito's murder trail, but I do not find her genuinely unsettling or scary, just pure cold calculation. If I were to liken it to Danganronpa, it would be like a satisfying Mastermind reveal that makes perfect sense when all the pieces fall into place.
Now, continuing with the Danganronpa analogy, I would liken B-set to the Danganronpa 2 plot-twist, mainly with the chapter 3 killer. To keep it vague since this isn't a Danganronpa post, the reasoning and buildup for the death in that chapter becomes darker after the completion of the game since it provides more context; this is how I feel about B-set. Yes, Iris suddenly becoming a MAJOR suspect literally a day or two after hinting that she may be Date's adoptive daughter is extremely jarring, but it propels the story forward significantly and is very attention-grabbing. Her being a suspect (and, well, the killer) shows the fuckery of the game itself, yet I wish the game cooked with B-set a bit more before chopping her up. Yes, I know that we get all those Youtube videos on her channel and that there are bits of her on the Ota route, so this is of course coming from personal bias since I love her, but god I wanted her to be disturbing. Realizing after the completion of the annihilation route that Iris was dead since practically the beginning, that "she" was the cold uncaring killer all along, that was one of the most disgusting parts of the game to me. Because, that easily could have gone in a significantly different direction had Saito confronted Date at the end of Annihilation in Iris's body rather than Boss's. Imagine. Saito can imitate Iris pretty well. Imagine how disturbing it could have been had it led up to Iris being the overall killer, had her mind-fuckery of a somnium been the last one with the screaming, children's pictures, and blood? Had the face that stared at Date's been his daughter, of whom his memories were just starting to return, had Saito called him "Uncle"... that would have scared me to hell and back if I am going to be so honest. The juxtaposition of the two siblings staring at one another knowing that their previous lives and identities are dead, that could have been some powerful imagery.
In this AU-of-sorts, I would imagine that the plot builds up to Boss being the overall killer with Saito acting suspiciously as her, but ultimately Iris killing her on livestream (her personal stream and not in that stupid polar bear costume). Of course, disturbingly, I would imagine that Hitomi would not end up alive in this AU, but I love her too much to imagine what cruel things B-set could do to her. That, coupled with the fact that Saito killed her biological mother too, damn that boy would be going for 2/2 on the mother murders.
There are too many loose-ends to really solidify this as an AU fic that I'd write, but it most definitely is something that I would be interested in outlining and potentially working on in the future. I can just imagine the following:
"Oh why am I doing this? I want to see you suffer, Kaname Date. Awwww, Mr. Date, why can't you understand! Or, should I call you UNCLE? How about Big Brother? hahHAHhhahHAhh, you REALLY didn't know?! You don't even know who you are and now you want to know more about who I AM?! I'm the brand new star of the net world, A-set Tesa Iris the cyclops killer, of course!"
I could go on and on, how she'd talk with punctuated cutesy gestures, mocking the actual Iris, how she'd reference all the previous flashbacks that Date has had, how she'd speak in a (practically) flawless impression of Iris. To play the entire game and to realize at the very end that the person you needed to save is already dead, and in her place is a vicious murderer in a body that you swore to protect, that would've been something alright. If the body swap happened then Date would've been absolutely fucked as Iris afterwards since the livestream would've revealed her as the killer, and he would likely die in his daughter's body in the same prison that had his true body, unable or unwilling to bodyswap with him and "return home" himself.
That route is the absolute worst of the game, and yet sometimes I wish it was even more disgusting.