Board 8 > Gay panic scenes have been removed from the Persona 5 Royal localization.

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://twitter.com/michaelphigham/status/1229429976174215175?s=19

There is something deeply depressing about knowing some people will be up in arms over this being changed.

Who cares

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Fair, next

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Huh, that's very interesting. This isn't the ideal way for this to have to happen but it's a positive change and hopefully can lead to better practices in the original JP games going forward.

Incidentally this reminds me of Catherine Full Body, there was controversy over that and the localization team implied they were going to handle it more tactfully. But I didnt check in after release. How did that actually play out?

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I dont even remember P5s gay panic scenes

I think they got hit on at a beach maybe?

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No it's in Shinjuku and 2 gay guys try to go after Ryuji, it's not super great

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There's a recurring gay couple in the game that show up trying to hit on Ryuji. They're portrayed as predatory pedos, you know, for jokes. It's just not really funny and way out of place.

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I dont remember that part, but its hard to remember 2mins of background nobodies in an 80~ hour game

Dang censorship, how dare they ruin the original vision of the game!

(No, I actually think this is a good thing.)

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Bane_Of_Despair posted...

No it's in Shinjuku and 2 gay guys try to go after Ryuji, it's not super great

They do show up at the beach too.

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Good. It wasnt funny and added nothing to the game.

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HeroDelTiempo17 posted...

There's a recurring gay couple in the game that show up trying to hit on Ryuji. They're portrayed as predatory pedos, you know, for jokes. It's just not really funny and way out of place.

Yeah, taking those scenes out makes the game way better. Literally no reason for them to be in the game in the first place.

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HeroDelTiempo17 posted...

Incidentally this reminds me of Catherine Full Body, there was controversy over that and the localization team implied they were going to handle it more tactfully. But I didnt check in after release. How did that actually play out?

The controversy was over a mistranslation by someone on Reset Era. They didn't have to change anything.
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Only downside I see to this might be less pressure put on the original developers.

Anti-homophobia shouldn't just be a localization effort or some nebulous cultural difference.

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mnkboy907 posted...

They do show up at the beach too.

oh yea fair enough, I mostly just remember their initial appearance in Shinjuku and kind of shifting uncomfortably in my seat

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Mac Arrowny posted...

The controversy was over a mistranslation by someone on Reset Era. They didn't have to change anything.

Ahh, Era...

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https://imgur.com/2S3Hbaf

LegoPork opening their third eye

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Lego pork does not sound like a big seller.

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He wishes Ryuji could ride his LegoPork and is upset he no longer get his rep.

Bane_Of_Despair posted...

https://imgur.com/2S3Hbaf

LegoPork opening their third eye

Lmfao

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I don't like that he goes by LegoPork.

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What is your alternative name suggestion? Because Shawn Legapirk has always used that online moniker.

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MegablockSausage

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TinkertoyBacon

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I dont mind them being removed since I dont even remember them, but Id be fine if they werent removed too

Peace___Frog posted...

Fair, next

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PlaymobilTaylorHam

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Peace___Frog posted...

Fair, next

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I hated those scenes in P5. Actually, Japanese games and anime in general use the" "FLAMING ****" with a lisp trope for laughs (think a side character in .hack/G.U.), and it never works.

I am all for them cutting these types of scenes if the original aim of the character's are " They like guys and they talk weird, aren't they just the funniest thing?"

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DuploBeef

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Good, that was such a cringey, offensive scene that didn't need to exist.

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It's definitely a common Japanese character archetype. I enjoy it sometimes (what's his face from Valkyria Chronicles, for example) but hitting on Ryuji and taking him away was more weird than funny tbh.

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What annoys me is that I know more stereotypical gay men in real life than ones who act like normal human beings.

(well, probably not, since the non-idiots would only share their sexuality if it was relevant to conversation, but still)

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I think there are absolutely many cases in which that character archetype in games and anime can be used to great effect and often results in some of the best characters in their respective series! Hell, look at Sylvando.

That's not what these two dudes hitting on a kid was.

Sylvando was half 'gay stereotype/half court jester," so DQ had a good enough balance.

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What exactly was wrong with this scene?

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Uh it framed gay people as predatory and a punchline for a bad joke

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ZenOfThunder posted...

Uh it framed gay people as predatory and a punchline for a bad joke

I mean are you under the impression that no gay people are predatory? Breaking news, some of them are. The scene certainly never implies that all gay people act like this

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Alright dude but theres no other gay peopld in the game and it's not like this is a missable cutscene, it's multiple bad scenes and is the equivalent of a long wet fart each time. Adds nothing to the game

I cannot believe people would defend this change in any capacity

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I cannot believe people would defend this change in any capacity

I mean, there's not that many characters with defined sexualities anyway. They do have other LGBTQ characters like Lala who are good people. There are a lot more evil straight people in the game, including predators (the whole reason the game even happens) so it's not like they're singling out gay people with that.

And no, it doesn't add much to the game. It's like a grand total of 5 minutes between two scenes in a 100 hour game. I could really care less if it gets removed, I'm not going to play it anyway and it's just smart business to cater to your audience. I'm more concerned with the implication that the developers are bad people for including it to begin with.

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isn't like, the first boss of the game literally a straight sexual predator

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MZero11 posted...

I'm more concerned with the implication that the developers are bad people for including it to begin with.

Why does this concern you? What stake do you have in Atlus's reputation?

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Aecioo posted...

isn't like, the first boss of the game literally a straight sexual predator

Yes, but it's treated seriously and not as a comedy moment

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The closest thing I can say is a close second to the "gay panic" moment would be events leading to and from the second boss. Without spoilers, the males in the party kinda...coerce a girl into something to trick another character for dungeon progression.

It is played for laughs, despite how bleh it is coming off the first case, but again, it is plot important. The gay couple is never plot relevant at all, and can easily be scrubbed out of the narrative.

And saying nothing of dating older women or Kawakami's whole story arc at all...Persona isn't morally right in MANY instances.

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DeepsPraw posted...

Why does this concern you? What stake do you have in Atlus's reputation?

I care about other people

Genoard posted...

Yes, but it's treated seriously and not as a comedy moment

This is fair, although the situations are very different. This happened in a well-lit public area surrounded by hundreds of people. Ryuji wasn't in any real danger of being assaulted. I can see the argument that it's making light of male-on-male sexual harrassment, and obviously that's not good.

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So I'm reading through that interview again, and it doesn't say that they removed the gay dudes from the scene or anything. Just that they changed the dialogue.

I've also seen reports that the original localization of the guys as predatory was a mistranslation. That's just hearsay though. I haven't seen a reputable translator back that up.

So it may be the case that this new dialogue for Royal is more accurate to the Japanese, in which case this whole controversy is totally meaningless

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MZero11 posted...

I mean are you under the impression that no gay people are predatory? Breaking news, some of them are. The scene certainly never implies that all gay people act like this

When you get more familiar with Japanese media you can start to see how gay men are routinely depicted as something to be wary of for straight men and boys.

Havent played P5 myself to see how this scene stacks up but It's probably not a harmless one off even then.

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You know how you can avoid these shenanigans entirely? Learn Japanese and play the games as the developers originally intended. Takes a few years, but it's SO worth it.

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brb dedicating years of my life to learning a language so I can read lame jokes in my jrpgs
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