A new anime-inspired, dating simulation game has released in Japan, and it is anything but average. The game, titled わたしは保険に入らない！(Unofficial English title, I Am Not Insured!) released at the end of June. The game was published by Japanese insurance company One to Ten Co., a member of MS&AD Insurance Group and Mitsui Sumitomo Aioi Life Insurance Company.
If you think it is odd that a dating simulation game was made by a life insurance company, it only gets stranger from here. In the game, the player's goal is to NOT purchase life insurance, despite the main character trying to convince them to buy it. The character in the game are called an "insurance idol," and is a beautiful anime-style boy like other mainstream dating simulators aimed at women.
The player in I Am Not Insured! Takes on the role of a young person who does not feel that they need to buy life insurance. The point of the game is to try to clear it without falling for the insurance idol and buying insurance, and be able to answer all the questions that he asks regarding insurance during the "insurance attack" sequences. While he tries to convince the player to buy life insurance, he does so by teaching them all about different kinds of insurance, and what they can do for the player to try to change their mind.
As a reward for successfully completing the "insurance attack" sequences and understanding and answering all the questions right about life insurance, the player is rewarded with a special bonus video upon advancing to the final chapter and clearing the game. To make the whole thing more appealing, the insurance idol is voiced by Tomikazu Sugita, who voices characters like Gintoki Sakata (Gintama), and Gyoumei Himejima (Demon Slayer), just to name a few. Sugita is famous for having a sexy voice in Japan.
Dating simulation games have been popular in Japan for many years, and are made for those interested in both men and women. They typically follow the same format of using still anime-style images of the characters, who talk to the player character from first-person perspective, and the player must win them over through dialogue choices, gifts, and more. They are not all happy, either - it depends on the game! They have grown in popularity abroad as well, with some famous Japanese dating simulators translated into English (like Hakuoki), and others made by Western studios (like HuniePop).
I Am Not Insured! Is certainly not a typical dating simulator, though, but it is not the first dating simulator to have a strange twist. In 2011, the game Hatoful Boyfriend caused waves in Japan and beyond as a dating simulator where all the boys were pigeons - and there was a shocking twist just when you thought it was over. Western game Doki Doki Literature Club, released in 2017, gained fame for its unexpected storytelling and twists as well.
While I Am Not Insured! Was released more as a way to teach young people about life insurance and help them to buy it in the future, more than as a normal dating simulator, it is a really fun concept. It takes something that younger generations may have a hard time understanding, or not think is important, and makes it accessible, fun, and easier to understand. Sadly, the game is not available in English at the moment, but hopefully it will be popular enough in Japan that an international version can be released in the future!
I Am Not Insured! Is available for Windos, Mac OS, Android, and iPhone via LINE here (Japanese only).
Source: PR Times