Tag Archives: No Thank You!

Demo Impressions: No, Thank You!!! (MangaGamer)

Back in July, MangaGamer announced that they would be releasing two very exciting titles in English – the boys’ love game No, Thank You!!! and otome game OZMAFIA!!. While neither has a firm release date yet (though it looks like they’re aiming for sometime in 2015), No, Thank You!!! now has a rather beefy (pun intended) demo to help gather buzz and allow fans to try before they buy.

The trial edition can be downloaded from the MangaGamer website (the product listing page is very NSFW, so beware before you click) or this blog post if you have trouble creating an account on their site. While the game is for PCs, the game’s translator Haro has posted a tutorial on how to run the game on a Mac (which I myself have done). The demo covers the game’s opening scenario as well as one sex scene for each of the main characters, and will probably take about an hour or so to complete depending on how fast you click through it.

In No, Thank You!!!, you play as the amnesiac protagonist Haru, who takes up a job at an upper-class bar after saving the bar’s owner from being hit by a car (which, subsequently, is how he lost his memories). During his first night on the job, you’re introduced to the five main characters and get a glimpse of the game’s overarching narrative before the game offers you the choice to of whose butt you wish to grab, which then leads into a sex scene with that character taken from later in the game.

The main reason I wanted to check out this demo was to see how the localization fared, and I’m happy to report that I wasn’t disappointed! Haru’s internal monologues are often quite humorous and all of the text flowed really well.

Another pleasant surprise was the fact that text you’ve already read appears in blue – a simple addition, but one that’s really helpful in visual novels when completing multiple character paths. I’m surprised not all companies do this!

Of course, one of No, Thank You!!!‘s big claims to fame is the option to toggle the men’s hair on and off at any time in the game. I’ve never seen a BL game do this before, but it’s great that they’re able to cater to different tastes! I hope more games follow suit in the future.

This doesn’t really sound like sexy fun times to me…

In the interest of being honest, I think it’s important that I also mention a few issues I have with the game so far. Haru is an extremely outgoing protagonist that takes control in all of the sexual encounters in the demo, making him a traditional seme, and nearly all of the sex scenes have some element that makes them not completely consensual. This continues the trend seen in the bar scenes where Haru constantly invades the other characters’ personal space. He often proclaims that he’s engaging in “sexual harassment,” which is a term often used jokingly in Japanese media (and is similarly used for humorous effect here), but personally, I don’t really find a character that is constantly “harassing” everyone to be all that appealing.

Similarly, I would much prefer to see sex scenes where both parties are really enjoying the encounter, rather than the one-sided slant all but Hiroyuki’s takes in the demo. I’m sure the full game sees Haru’s relationship with each character develop to the point where everyone is clearly having fun when they do have sex, but I didn’t really like the way pleasure was depicted as repressed/resentful in the scenes in the demo.

Regardless, I very much want to support the release of more BL games in English, so I will happily pay $39.95 for the game when it does come out. If my impressions have you on the fence, I highly recommend you check out the demo yourself! I would love to hear everyone else’s thoughts.

Manga Gamer acquires OZMAFIA!! and No, Thank You!!!, making it my new favorite company

I don’t always feel the need to do news posts here on Chic Pixel, but with announcements as big and exciting as these, I just couldn’t pass them up! Manga Gamer, the bishojo game publisher, revealed their new game lineup at Anime Expo today, which included not one, but two titles aimed squarely at the otome and fujoshi demographic (aka me), OZMAFIA!! and No, Thank You!!!. I like to imagine those excessive exclamation marks were included in the titles because the developers knew how happy fans would be to have them localized…

The fact that OZMAFIA!! will be coming out in English isn’t exactly new, as the developer, Poni-Patchet, announced as much at the game’s one year anniversary event a week ago, but this is the first world we’ve gotten of who’s actually helping them bring over the PC-only title. According to Manga Gamer’s Anime Expo panel, they will be looking to bring the title to Steam, as well.

OZMAFIA!! is pretty much exactly what you’d imagine it to be from the title: it’s an otome game (romance visual novel for girls) that features a mafia… based on Wizard of Oz characters. While some of the romantic interests are loosely styled around memorable characters such as the Scarecrow and Tin Man, other rival mafias get their inspiration from Grimm fairy tales, among other classics. For those familiar with otome games, the artist behind all of the illustrations is none other than the woman who worked on Diabolik Lovers, one of the most popular otome game series in Japan at the moment.

No, Thank You!!!, on the other, hand, came completely out of left field. Otome games have been typically hard sell for western publishers, but BL games have been even harder (Is that a pun? Don’t ask). Well, Manga Gamer is ready to take on the challenge with what will be the first English release of a BL game since Enzai: Falsely Accused came out way back in 2006! No, Thank You!!! is, in my opinion, extra special as it really starts to blur the lines of bara (a general term referring to pornographic material aimed at gay men) and BL (generally for a female audience). Not only do the men have much more varied character designs than the usual BL fare, but they’re a wide range of ages, and players even have the option to toggle their body hair on and off at any time during the game! Now that’s something!

I’ve previously expressed my disappointment with western publishers passing over games aimed at a female audience in favor of more of the same, so it’s time to make some noise and really celebrate this news! While OZMAFIA!! probably wouldn’t have been a game I’d have specifically sought out myself, No, Thank you!!! has been on my radar since before it was released in Japan (in fact, I’ve written about it twice). If you’re at all interested in more varied games getting localized, please let Manga Gamer know how thrilled you are that they’re releasing these titles, and consider picking them up on release!

March 2013 Cool-B No, Thank You!!! Scans + Wallpapers

I don’t know why, but I haven’t seen a single piece in English on the upcoming BL game No, Thank You!!! since I first wrote about it back in February. Now, I’ll readily admit that its title makes it rather difficult to search for information that actually pertains to the game, but I’m inclined to think that this game may be going under the radar of BL fans in general.

As I wrote in my last post, the game is a PC-only 18+ BL (boys’ love) visual novel that has an interesting twist – it appears to be attempting to tap into the bara, or gay male, audience, as well. My thesis research is actually centered around BL manga that shake up traditional notions of what constitues “BL,” so naturally the idea of mixing BL and bara piqued my interest. When I heard the March 2013 issue of Cool-B, a Japanese magazine for BL games, would feature some new information and illustrations from No, Thank You!!!, I jumped on the chance to learn more!

Please forgive the separate images! The above pictures are of a two-page spread, but I couldn’t bring myself to tear apart the magazine so I could get scans that matched up to make one seamless image. The first half at least looks pretty okay on its own, though, don’t you think?

The second page features some text that describes a little narrative surrounding this Valentine’s Day-inspired scene.

Next is a two-page spread later on in the magazine that details the game further, including a message from developer parade asking fans to be patient and that the game will come out sometime in 2013 (they’ve been advertising No, Thank You!!! since 2011 at least, which is quite a long time for a BL game, I think).

My favorite part of this page has to be the new CG in the bottom-right corner. Seems like there’s quite a food theme going in this game! I can definitely get behind that.

This issue also features the opening scenario of the game, which is that big wall of text you see above. If anyone desperately wants it (or any other pages I have scanned) translated, do let me know! I’d be happy to do so, but I’d much rather know that people want to read it than go to all the trouble to translate it only to find out that no one really cares!

Anyway, the basic premise of the game is that 22-year-old Haru saves a man from being hit by a car, but wakes up with no memories of who he is or what happened. The man, Kouichi Inui (the dark brown-haired older man pictured with Haru in the aforementioned CG), takes Haru back to the bar he owns and offers him a job. Of course, romance ensues! Well, that’s what I imagine, but Haru’s defining feature is that he wants to have sex with any man or woman he finds attractive… I guess amnesia doesn’t effect one’s libido?

No, Thank You!!!’s cheeky amnesiac protagonist Haru

Finally, the magazine also comes with DVD featuring a number of exclusive items such as wallpapers and videos, including some for No, Thank You!!!. I double-checked the No, Thank You!!! website and they haven’t released these wallpapers yet, so I thought I’d share them with everyone. Follow this link for wallpapers of each main character, available in three sizes each. Hope you like them!