So, Hestiacos has been doing more analysis videos of late, and as she's liked to do cosplay regarding this game of ours, it was perhaps inevitable that she would turn an analytical
(third?) eye to the material.
First, a discussion of the anime and VN tropes -- although arguably one could argue that DDLC has become something of a new trope codifier. As I mentioned in the KS thread, North American gaming audiences may now be a bit jaded, and expect
fourth wall breaks or bloody-rampaging waifu as a matter of course if they see any anime-styled romance. Then again,
Purist Mod and
Blue Skies exist. But while the fact that they are mods to DDLC (making it play out as a straight-up dating simulator) does show that there remains a market for wholesome (and some fans do want happy endings for the characters), I stand by my earlier assertion that the game would likely not have done nearly as well if
Blue Skies had been the base version.