Wow, the place looks huge! It's like an entire little town. Granzella is like Irem, but even better! i'm very impressed. Just hope they will launch this space (and other granzella spaces) in EU soon!!
mixed bathing My expectations were betrayed by Granzella. The new lounge has certainly an attractive looks on video. But does they need to add mixed bathing? Some people called it is a historical fact. But mixed bathing is not so common in jp now and then. It is located in just only selected places. I think it is just attraction of commercialism. I dislike that.
huh??? Yes, common public baths are separated now a days in urban places, but rural hot spring areas still have both separate and mixed. It is reducing in numbers due to the urban people not use to the custom and changes occurring to a more modern look to get guest from outside. Mixed baths were very common during the Edo era. (Not sure if any separates existed) (around 1700s, before that they used steamed baths) Why they didn't separated them? Because of maintenance and boiling cost. Also, it seems during those time people wasn't embarrassed of showing their body like people now a days. And it is said that these places didn't have light and ventilation, so it was dark and steam made it hard to see. Did any problems occur? Yes there were, but I'm not going to write further on it. Those problems did bring restriction laws a few times, but only did minor, and mostly had no effect and went to normal quickly. (These laws was focused to stop the problem, it wasn't for banning mixed baths) Anyway, changes occurred around Perry's coming and the new government of the Meiji Era. (around mid 1800s) The foreigners was surprised at it and so the government decided to bring laws to ban them from the city. (around 1870s) It did take them till the end of the Meiji Era to have them completely eliminated from the city. (around beginning of 1900s) On the other hand the law wasn't forced outside the city, so mixed baths in rural hot spring areas was common till around 1965. After that, it is what I said in the first paragraph.
I guess Arianne just being old school and I like that. Oh well, no mixed bathing house in HOME at the Old Edo space, but hey, if avatar has a robe on covering their torso (arm pit to mid-thigh) for female or pelvis region for male then I don't see why not? I guess HOME wanna keep it PG, thus no mixed bath house allow.
Mixed bathing there would be no different to being in the same water as irem beach with no different animations to normal but without the rewards, the place dont dictate how your dressed, next we will be wanting seppuka animation because it was reality for people.
Warning for the Edo place A bug exist in the bathing area where you don't change back when you leave the area. Also, the towel costume is not supposed to be given as a reward, and will be deleted from your wardrobe after a fix is done.
Granzella is starting to do some great stuff there! It is sad we are loosing Irem but it is nice we are gaining stuff from others!
But then again Granzella has some ex-staffer from IREM, so we definitely can see some spirit live within Granzella from IREM! Wish all the best to them and a new start in JPN HOME.
Nice place, but the looping music is a disappointment. Home doesn't handle BGM well in the first place, but to have a looping minute long track that drowns out (or covers up for the lack of) any ambience guarantees this place isn't going to be a space anyone will want to hang around in for long without the volume off. (And the looping ad video plays the same music as the space, for maximum horrible noise clash.) ((AND WHAT THE HELL IS THIS *RIDICULOUS* TREND OF ADS FOR THE SPACE YOU'RE IN, IN THE SPACE YOU'RE IN. This hasn't become any less insane since the Batman apartment tried to sell you Batman inside a Batman space you got by owning Batman.))
Regardless of the historical accuracy of mixed baths, the truth is that we will have mixed baths on Home even if they are built as separate areas. It is common for a user's sex not to match their avatar's sex. Home and PSN profile information is never verified. Even if male avatars are not allowed into the female bath, there will still be male users in the female bath. (I don't think wearing towels in the bath is historically accurate, either.)
Overall the Edo Space embodies the Edo era, however there needs to be more options in "Ronin" wear (i.e. hairstyles (not all swordsman are old (referring to current hairstyles, lol accurate, but put more youthful ones in, long hair would be nice, as master swordsman, especially from movies have this type of hair style) , swords/weapons (which I've seen some users with 2) like Nodachi, Naginata etc... especially being that they plan to have users facing demons! I mean, personally my loyalties lie with the katana, however others may want other weapon types! As all Samurai/Ronin carried different weapons throughout both the Sengoku and Edo periods! I know their adding more parts to the Edo Space, but they should open a few more spots in the current setting! I noticed at least 3 places they could open up! There's also a tower like object next to the blow dart game, with a ladder, which I think they could allow access to! So that's 4 places in total! It would be really awesome, if their working on a pagoda and allowing access to it, as that's what's show when you first enter the space! in the lower right hand corner, of your TV screen! There's a lot to take into account, as they just opened this space, it's not going to be 100% perfect as of yet, give them time!
In response to your statement in parenthesis, wearing towels in the bath, is not accurate, they bathed nude!