Catherine: Full Body

This review pertains to Catherine: Full Body, but is mainly my thoughts on the character Rin. SPOILERS ahead.

I played the original Catherine as well and finished Full Body recently. Obviously the major change is the inclusion of Rin (Qatherine lol). Midway through the game when the characters mention the existence of queer people, Erica and Rin are the most accepting and like "yeah dude queer people exist." At this time, I said to my partner who was watching me play, "I would be my entire bank account that Rin is trans." I also don't remember this conversation happening in the original.

So when Rin was revealed to be trans, naturally I was a bit self satisfied. It was kind of obvious over time though. Vincent's reaction to the realization is BAD, but from the narrative's point of view his revulsion is condemned, which is GOOD. He does something cruel, and we as the audience are meant to see it as such. At this point, I felt like the weird anti-queer subtext of the original was being rectified.

Entering the next bar scene I thought "lord please don't let Vincent blab to his bros about this." He does, which sucks hard. I think when I played Catherine, I gave the narrative some leeway considering Japan has different standards for talking about queer people. I also played the game for the first time in 2016. So if I transported myself to 2011 (before same-sex marriage was federally legalized in the US), I could be a bit more forgiving. The same mental exercise was necessary tolerating Vincent's loose lips about Rin's transness. Overall, I understand that Japan has a totally unique understanding of queerness; however I'm not so much a relativist that I don't believe some of the culture's treatment of LGBTQ+ people is ethically wrong.

Things got worse when Rin left the game entirely. I understand that sometimes, not every character can be so fleshed out that they don't just serve the protagonist. But, come on, she literally stopped existing after she was known to be trans. Of course she's a token queer character, but it didn't have to be so shallow. There were so many loose ties by the end of her story, and it was incredibly dissatisfying.

Erica: On the Wiki, I found that in the original game's credits Erica is labeled "Eric." The Wiki states that this a joke about Erica being trans and is supported by the guys' revulsion over Toby's infatuation. If this is the case, the subtext is so flimsy that I don't think someone would really pick up on this. I think the more immediate interpretation is her sisterly relationship, shamelessness, and age (relative to Toby).

Given these flaws, I still adore this game. While I was very disappointed to see Rin leave, I honestly appreciate her inclusion. As a queer nerd for Japanese pop culture, I've gotten used to managing my expectations for representation.