Ask John: What is Sentimental Graffiti?

Question:
I heard of a PC game called Sentimental Graffiti, but I don’t have a clue where to find it. Could you help me out?

Answer:
Actually, this is an absolutely gigantic sub-genre all to itself. The “life-sim,” as it’s known in Japan, genre started in the late 1980s with PC and Super Famicom games. The Sentimental Graffiti series is closely related to the Graduation and Tokimeki Memorial game series. All of these video game series involve you, as a player, meeting, talking with, dating, and/or coaching Japanese teenage girls through their high-school years. Because of the segregated teen social structure in Japan, many Japanese young people, especially teen-age boys, find these games a wonderful substitute for awkward social interaction in real-life. More well-adjusted teens find these games enjoyable because they are interactive anime. These games have spawned numerous anime OAV series, as well as the recently concluded Sentimental Journey and Kakyusei TV series. The Graduation PC game was translated and released in the US by Mixx Entertainment. Episodes 3 and 4 of the Graduation OAV series, the giant-robot super-hero team parody Sailor Victory, are due to be released in the US by Media Blasters very soon. Anime Nation carries several Sentimental Graffiti, Tokimeki Memorial and Graduation illustration books and soundtrack CDs, along with import VHS copies of the Do-kyu-sei 2 (Classmates 2) OAV series. To find the actual import Japanese PC games, although we at Anime Nation can special-order them from Japan, you may also want to try contacting video-game retailers that specialize in import titles.

Specifically, Sentimental Graffiti: First Window premiered on the Sega Saturn on April 11, 1997. It was followed by Sentimental Graffiti 2 for the Dreamcast released on July 27, 2000 and then the Sentimental Graffiti Yakusoku Playstation game released on March 29, 2001.

Article updated on October 30, 2002 with additional information provided by “Cat Clan.”