Is Lazy Dungeon Master a “wholesome” title?
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It's a lot more wholesome than it should have been ┐(‘～` )┌
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What I remember nasty in the WN is about a little child beast girl that was captured or bought by bandits and raped every night with the MC commenting on her body. After the bandits where defeated he used that little beast girl as a body pillow while commenting creepy stuff about her.
To avoid problems of such material I noticed that yen press using mosaic censor on racy illustrations featuring children, an example of which is one of the illustrations in Youjo Senki. This is something I appreciate since the normalization of child exploitation is so common in Japanese media that people either stopped to care or stopped to notice. -
@renofury For the LN, there were two slaves, one of which was used as a sex slave, the other (young beast girl) as a general slave. The sex slave was killed when the bandits were killed, and the young beast girl slave was rescued. And yes, she does get used as a body pillow, a position she jealously guards.
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Can we not make the discussion into what (you think) the culture is like in another country? Some people think lolicon stuff is just drawings while others think it’s child exploitation. Fine. But it doesn’t make it a fact that Japanese normalizes actual acts of child exploitation.
As for Keima being an a-hole for caring only about his dungeon and its denizens (but mostly his sleep quality), you have to remember that he’s technically not a human anymore. So for all intents and purposes, the “human enemies” are just like goblins or orcs in a game for him. Should he feel for his enemies? He can, but he’s not obligated to do so whatsoever.
On a more meta level, whether an “a-hole” character like Keima is likable is really a matter of personal taste. I mean a lot of people think Griffith of Berserk, Dark Schneider of Bastard, and Rance of Rance series, are all total a-holes, they are also some of the most popular MCs out there. If you can’t stand an MC like him, there are many more works out there that’d be more fitting for your taste.
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@renofury
The child exploitation was tamed quite a bit then (I haven’t read the WN) Niku is never raped in the LN.I don’t know what else was tamed/ edited when preparing this series to make it suitable for publishing/ licensing.
I wouldn’t say overall that this series is “wholesome”, on the contrary, it takes a dark satirical look at what the ethical implications of the adventure game genre are.
Would bandits rape the captives? Torture them? Kill them without regard? In the game what would a DM allow? (or actually perpetuate) Where is the 'moral event horizon' for the role a dungeon/ DM has?
Someone is the DM. Someone’s job is to create situations where player/characters face danger/adventure where the stakes are their very lives. If there wasn’t danger the game wouldn’t be fun. Anyone who’s played D&D has experienced the DM being cruel or maybe sometimes a bit of an asshole (I’ve been DM and am guilty)
Niku’s character is problematic. She has to be vulnerable enough for the MC (and the readers) to empathize with her and want to protect her (hence the child-like appearance) and at the same time the author chose not to make her merely a plot device.
I get the impression (at least in later volumes) that she isn’t a child. (Her small stature not withstanding) she has agency and desires of her own that are independent of the initial role she played in the first couple of volumes. I would have preferred if the author didn’t use her character as fetish fuel (squick) . I now find myself cheering for her and hope the author finds a way to bring her to a place where her relationship with the MC isn’t squicky (maybe she’s actually an adult?)
I appreciate that the characters surrounding the MC develop and mature as the story progresses (especially evident with Rokoko) they all started as cardboard cutout/cliches and have become “more “ over time
So yea, the first one or 2 volumes have some hurdles and rough patches, but I’ve enjoyed the series overall. But, I'm 50, grew up playing D&D and immersed in RPG culture/fantasy literature and 'get' the allusions the author is making to RPGs and the fantasy literature that inspired it. This isn't wholesome, nor (I think) was it intended to be. It's not for kids
I read banned books
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@jon-mitchell Glad they edit out any mentions of Niku getting raped, thou I feel it was just a requirement for the books to be published.
How I remember it in the WN Niku was the only slave with the bandits and no other sex slaves were mentioned but it been like 3 years since I read it. At the time I was looking for something similar to Dungeon Defender and LDM had fit the bill.
I never gave the LN a chance after reading a volume worth of the WN, I am however glad to read that it improved and people are enjoying it.
@Phione "Can we not make the discussion into what (you think) the culture is like in another country?"
Sadly that's not just my opinion but something pointed out by the UN human rights panel in 2015, 16 and 19; it a real problem it is worth discussing and pointing out to increase awareness. -
@renofury I’m not going to argue further about the current state of child welfare in Japan because it’s off topic. You can find and read literatures on the subject on your own.
I just want to point out that the author’s depiction is in no way normalizing at all. It’s used pretty much the same way authors like Stephen King does in his novels. If anything, both authors want to express the view that abusers should die of a horrible death.
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agreed, IIRC MC 'punished' the bandits/rapists and rescued Niku. Weather Niku's initial infatuation w/ MC was suspension bridge effect, stockholm syndrome, or something else is up for debate. It's unclear (to me at least) if Niku is a child- (or retcon'd to make her character acceptable) regardless MC seems to be oblivious to her affections directed towards him and,even if he's turned on by her feet, hasn't done anything other than snuggling
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@renofury said in Is Lazy Dungeon Master a “wholesome” title?:
To avoid problems of such material I noticed that yen press using mosaic censor on racy illustrations featuring children, an example of which is one of the illustrations in Youjo Senki. This is something I appreciate since the normalization of child exploitation is so common in Japanese media that people either stopped to care or stopped to notice.
I certainly don't appreciate when people support censorship under the absurd pretence of "normalization of child exploitation" and am extremely disappointed when they ignorantly attack the culture of other countries. I believe it would be in the best interest of everyone involved for them to rethink their values, cultural imperialism is a much bigger problem than defending the rights of pictures for a country with possibly the lowest in the world crime rate for the crimes that involve children.
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@unsynchedcheese said in Is Lazy Dungeon Master a “wholesome” title?:
@galactuskahn24 said in Is Lazy Dungeon Master a “wholesome” title?:
Or that the main character doesn't give a shit about random humans.
That's pretty much the exact reason I dropped LDM after the first few parts and am not interested in it. Not caring about people, even with the tribalistic exception of "except for my people", is more or less the definition of being an arsehole.
Also as for Death March, I was giving it a chance at first, but then I noped out entirely after Arisa's introduction.
After that first night where she (not the MC) tries to do something, the MC just shrugs her off and tells her not to harass him. Nothing ever happens, and it's just a minor bit of comic relief.
You're missing out on a lot of good slice of life including family adventures, cooking, crafting, occasional saving of the day, and generally being a tourist because of Arisa's infatuation.
