It’s already July, practically the start of the second half of the year now. I’m anticipating sequels of two games I’ve been waiting for since forever. At the same time, I’m also making a budget schedule of my cosplays so I don’t go broke midway and abandon. (Not to mention I also want to accommodate buying copies of Blazblue: Continuum Shift and Sengoku Basara 3 XD I am a gamer after all! I MUST PLAY!) It soon came to my attention during the scheduling how most of the ladies on my to-do list fall under the Lolita character category. (With no relation to the novel of Vladimir Nobokov of the same title!) Further reflection made me soon realize just how many lolitas there are in the world of video games, such that it’s become a stock character in itself. Other than being a stock character, it’s also used a means of alternative fashion for the female characters. These mentioned purposes of Lolita in video games are no different than what it serves to do in anime and manga. Despite having been around for quite some time, not a lot of people are quite familiar with it for what it is (Hence you find people wrongfully labelling maid cosplays/outfit as Lolita for example). In an effort to fix that, this article shall seek to discuss this popular fashion statement and its impact on the world of video games.

WHAT IS LOLITA?

Lolita is a subculture, much like your punk and emo, complete with rules, etiquette, manner of behaviour and fashion; the latter being the most obvious and attractive of the elements of this particular subculture. In a nutshell, it is a revival of the beauty of the Victorian era with a nod to Rococo. It emphasizes on character, virtues and yes, fashionable clothing most especially. Given the historical inspiration, all things Lolita are exquisite and beautiful to behold.

Not a lot of people know this but there are actually many types of Lolita. Since its beginnings in the later 1980s/early 1990s, this subculture has evolved in all aspects, most especially fashion-wise. It has become vast and broad, inculcating more and more styles to allow diversity for every well meaning Lolita. So it’s very wrong to categorize all Lolita type clothing as simply ‘Gothic Lolita’ when it could very well be something else.

Here are some visual examples of other popular Lolita styles. Notice the diversity in styles. These are just a few of them.

More than just cosplay and fetish outfits, Lolita fashion is a name on its own. However owing to its links to anime and other mainstream media, the intricacies of the craft are forgotten or vastly modified.

One of the assassins in No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle, who I find to be well designed, is Margaret Moonlight. Despite her lack of a solid background story (which we just know from the possibility of a link between herself and 2nd rank Alice Twilight), her character design is rich in symbolism and detail which makes up for the lack of a background story. (Though I’d still love a background story anyway?) Through Sylvia’s narration, we find out that this particular assassin had been given the nickname of ‘Goddess of Death’. She is aptly ranked 4th which is an unlucky number according to Japanese numerology owing to it being a homonym to the word Death. (Four in Japanese is pronounced the same way as Death ‘shi’). Her theme song ‘Philistine’ goes on about her role as a ‘Reaper’ that has come for Travis owing to the sins he has committed. Her choice of weapons are a pair of dual purpose anti material rifles which have crescent moon implements with are akin to a scythes called the ‘Le croissant du ange’ (French for The Crescent of Angels). Let’s not forget her Gothic Lolita mixed Ero Lolita style too which ties in with the God of Death theme with her generous use of black and white colours.

Through dressing in Lolita, I believe Margaret is able to embody what she stands for and that is very important as a character. You have to walk your talk baby.

CONCLUSION

As they say, as long as there is a demand, supply will continue to be produced to provide to the masses. And not that I’m making up statistics, but I definitely can see that there is a demand. Considering the time it’s been since Lolita entered the popular culture/mainstream, there will be more to follow after these well dressed ladies. Already there’s a sizeable number of them up and about (Look at the entire cast of the Touhou Project, people… Practically EVERYONE is a nod to Lolita fashion!). The examples I’ve put here either explicitly or simply in photos are just some of the more popular examples who have risen to certain fame amongst fans. Based on their success, there will be more to come, no doubt about it, while some of these I’ve mentioned will definitely be here to stay.