Wisdom Can Come from the Most Unlikely of Places

I have spent some of the last several days experiencing a phenomenon known as Kana: Little Sister. It is unfortunately classified as a Japanese Hentai (Adult i.e. Porn) game. This is wrong on two counts. One I've seen other Hentai - those are frivolous games where sex is the point. Kana does have some graphic sex but it's is minimal and hardly the point. And it's not a game. It comes closest to a choose your own adventure novel, but even that there are only maybe 20 choices in a story that takes probably 15 hours to read. Basically you fire up some popcorn and watch the story scroll by until a major turning point appears. Doesn't sound fun? Well I don't know if fun's the point either here.

So why the hubub. I've played lots of games in the time I've been writing this blog. Simple this is a whole different animal. Kana is famous for making men cry. It is a story about mortality, insanely unfair and inexplicable loss, suffering, and dealing with them with dignity. There are testimonials all over the web about how it has changed lives. It is beautifully draw and written even through a very mediocre translation and moved me deeply. I wouldn't go to life changing for me but I can see how it would be if you haven't considered death or the suffering of others too often.

There are several amazing line that capture the fragility and preciousness of life. The one that struck me last night was something like.

I stopped being afraid of dying and realized it was going to happen soon so I was able to live every moment and celebrate the beauty of being alive.

This is a very loose paraphrase but is the heart of what is related. It is a short statement of profound and extraordinary beauty. One doesn't usually go to an adult game for lessons in Buddhist/Taoist world view. How much could we accomplish if we weren't spending time concerned with when it will end? For me a beautiful pebble has dropped in the ocean and the ripples are just beginning to expand.

Those of you that know me probably know that I am circumspect about about lavish praise for something. Those of you that don't will have to take my word for it.

Kana: Little Sister is beautifully drawn, superbly written, thought provoking and heart rending. The superb musical score only magnifies the emotional power of the story.

It is not perfect. It is colored by male fantasy of what the ideal fragile and dependent little sister might be like. Also in 15 hours of experience there are about 30 minutes of graphic sexual episode. That's the only sex in the game. Some fans of the game have been very angry that these exist at all, but I suspect there are cultural differences at root here. It flows naturally from the story and provided a break from the continually growing surge of despair. The game could do without it, but I don't think it ruins it.

A warning too. This game approaches issues of incest in frank and troubling ways. If this stikes a nerve please do NOT get this game. The game never goes there, but it certainly flirts with the psychological issues. If this does not touch you too closely please do not let this scare you away from the game.

So, if you can find it, get a copy of this game and settle in for a while. If you approach it openly or even with skepticism (I did, after all it's a computer "game" for God's sake), Kana will win you over, might break your heart but will certainly give you something to think about. I at several points had to pause and think. It has made me reflect on what is important to me and how I want to spend my remaining time.