Senran Kagura Creator Reveals Developers Once Said Ecchi Games “Weren’t Real Games”
Kenichiro Takaki, the creator of Senran Kagura, recently looked back on a time when parts of the game industry apparently treated games featuring beautiful, ecchi girls as if they couldn’t even be considered “real games.”
Kenichiro Takaki Is the Creator of Senran Kagura
For those who don’t know Kenichiro Takaki, he is a Japanese game producer, director, and designer best known for creating Senran Kagura.
Takaki worked at Marvelous for many years and, in 2017, took charge of Honey Parade Games, a studio established within the company. Besides Senran Kagura, he has also worked on projects such as Valkyrie Drive, UPPERS, and Kandagawa Jet Girls.
In other words, we’re talking about someone who spent a large part of his career working specifically on ecchi games featuring beautiful girls in revealing outfits.
And according to Takaki, this was exactly the kind of game that faced resistance from within the industry itself.
“That Isn’t Even a Real Game”
On September 21, Kenichiro Takaki posted on X about how certain games were treated by some people in the industry back when Senran Kagura and Ikkitousen were being developed.
According to him, there was an attitude within the industry, including among some more “traditional” developers, that seemed to suggest games featuring beautiful girls and ecchi elements couldn’t be considered real games.
Takaki wrote:
“Back when we were making Senran Kagura and Ikkitousen, there was an atmosphere in the industry, and even among more ‘traditional’ developers, that seemed to say, ‘Games featuring beautiful girls that sell themselves through erotic appeal aren’t even real games.’ I wonder if those people are still around, happily making games.”
Senran Kagura didn’t become known solely for its fanservice. The series also features different gameplay styles, including action games, and built a fanbase by combining its sexy characters with a very specific gameplay identity.
Takaki Had Already Spoken About Restrictions on Sexual Content in Games
This isn’t the first time Kenichiro Takaki has spoken about how sexual content is treated in games.
In 2019, after leaving Marvelous following around 13 years with the company and joining Cygames, Takaki spoke about the increasing restrictions surrounding the depiction of sexuality in games.
In an interview with Famitsu, he pointed to changes in restrictions on sexual representation as the main reason for his departure. Takaki said he understood the need for certain regulations, but expressed concern about what he saw as an increasing trend toward stricter restrictions and the possible effect this could have on the variety of games being produced by the industry.
At the time, he also remained involved with Senran Kagura projects that were already in development, even after leaving Marvelous.
So when Takaki now talks about people who didn’t consider this kind of production a “real game,” there is quite a bit of context behind his statement.
Fans Defend Senran Kagura
As you might expect, Takaki’s comment sparked plenty of reactions from fans.
Some people thanked Takaki for betting on this kind of game when it still faced resistance, while others pointed out that Senran Kagura has gameplay and storytelling that go beyond its sexual content.
Among the reactions were comments such as:
- “I can only thank you for being ahead of your time.”
- “So there really were developers who thought like that?”
- “I love anime and games where strong girls fight.”
Another user commented that, while the sexy elements are an important part of Senran Kagura’s identity, they really love the main story and the narrative surrounding the characters as shinobi.
Read more: Others directly defended the quality of the games:
- “Senran Kagura is definitely a game featuring beautiful girls that uses erotic appeal to sell itself, but it’s absolutely not a bad game. It also has that sense of fun that the [censored] series left behind somewhere, along with a good story and a great cast. As a game, its overall quality is extremely high!!”
- “Senran Kagura is a really polished action game, but because it has erotic elements, I hesitate to recommend it to other people.”
- “Senran Kagura is a wholesome game.”
Senran Kagura Still Has Fans Waiting for a New Game
One interesting point is that Senran Kagura has gone quite a long time without receiving a new mainline game, and there are still fans asking for the franchise to return.
That makes Takaki’s comment even more interesting for people who have followed the series.
The creator of Senran Kagura is still working in the game industry and is currently at Cygames. He is the director and producer of Garnet Arena: Mages of Magicary, formerly known as Project GAMM, a new action game for consoles.
And despite the project being announced several years ago, it is still in development. In July 2026, the president of Cygames confirmed that Garnet Arena: Mages of Magicary is still moving forward and that the company plans to share more information about the project in the future.
In the end, it’s pretty interesting to see the creator of Senran Kagura himself remembering that, while he was making these kinds of games, there were people in the industry who apparently didn’t even consider them real games.
And apparently, Takaki still remembers them very well.