Character Portrayal

I know this is sort of a weird topic, but I've been thinking about this recently... This is a fun game, but the characters in it bother me a little bit. With the arrival of the swimming season event and the Bather Girls, and the fact that I just got a quest for Chan the Florist, I can't help but think about the female characters in the game. It seems like they all just have giant boobs hanging out all over the place, which to me just seems unnecessary. And for what COULD be a kids game, it seems inappropriate.

It's not only the women either--I've always thought the portrayal of the Gypsies and "Africans" was less than PC. I think there are a lot of stereotypes and derogatory undertones to these aspects of the game.

Maybe I'm being too sensitive? Does anybody else feel this way, or should I just attribute it to cultural differences between consumers and the programmers?

Sadly, as a woman, I'm used to overly-sexualized portrayals of women in video games (not saying it is ok to "get used to it," but I pick my battles when it comes to sexism, and video games aren't high on my list of sexism concerns). I agree about the Gypsy and African portrayals in the game though, but perhaps I'm a hypocrite because I'll still keep playing.

Ultimately, I think it is good that you are aware enough to recognize these issues in the game - it is always good to think critically about the things we do and their larger impact.

Actually, I thought the same, meeting Chan the florist the first time.
For me it started with the Gypsies - I didn't mind the pictures so much as the "Beware! Gypsies are not known for trading fairly" wich really is kind of characterizing in a bad way, I think. (could also have been "Beware, you never know what bargains you get from a Gypsie"?)

Strangely enough I didn't mind the pictures of the Bather girls so much , as those for me sort of "fit the profile" , but I didn't see the necessity for a female gardener that in the end is a "more decolletè"-version from the sakura-room character. I really like Mangas, but I just didn't think it fitting here.

Well, it's a game, and it's not perfect in other ways, so it's not there either. What is? We like it anyway.

I also want to add that Game Insight is a Russian company. Some parts of the world don't see things as this being a big deal, so all political correctness goes out the door. In my opinion, North America and Europe tries to be the most politically correct.

I was born overseas, and didn't even take notice to these things.