Yeah, that's what I'm wondering as well. At some point they pivoted hard on the RE series. A shame that it doesn't seem like it impacted any of their other franchises though. Monster Hunter World... just... ugh. Even beyond the objectification and sexualization, the armor designs for women are just so, goddamn, ugly. It's one of those moments where you realize they're shoehorning it in, HARD, because it makes no fucking sense.
My guess is they just wanted a huge change after RE6, which sold well but wasn't critically received well. VII feels almost like a soft reboot.
The RE games had all actually gotten increasingly action-oriented starting with 2. Code Veronica is actually where things started to get a bit "anime." 4 was a fairly major turning point away from horror more toward terror and more action-oriented plots. 5 and 6 went further in that direction with bigger and bigger storylines. Rev 1 is by far the most "anime" game in the series in terms of both writing and character designs and I think even Rev 2 tried to step it back a bit from that -- if I remember right the Rev games are the only ones that were written and recorded in Japanese first.
VII is pretty much the first RE game to steer all the way back to almost pure horror since RE1. They got an American writer for it, went back to a small-scale setting with a more realistic visual style, etc.
I don't know if some of you are watching The Boys on Amazon, but the part with Starlight and Stormfront in the second episode of the newly released season 2 about their silly costumes not having pockets made me extremely happy.
"You want to talk about girl power? Let's talk about getting some pockets."
I don't know if some of you are watching The Boys on Amazon, but the part with Starlight and Stormfront in the second episode of the newly released season 2 about their silly costumes not having pockets made me extremely happy.
"You want to talk about girl power? Let's talk about getting some pockets."
There's something i want to ask advice for but before that i want to ask: Can i?
Is about writing good female characters for a story/fanfic i used to write and i got back to a few weeks ago. I have a lenghty post prepared, but wanted to ask first
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Casual clothing centered around black and purple as main colors to exude a bit of elegance while still maintaining a calm feel. A favorite among women in the workplace, this outfit is Ptilopsis's first choice when going out.
There's something i want to ask advice for but before that i want to ask: Can i?
Is about writing good female characters for a story/fanfic i used to write and i got back to a few weeks ago. I have a lenghty post prepared, but wanted to ask first
I accidentally posted a thread i had wirtten as a backup in the Etc forum. I'll request closure and move the text here
Thanks in advance
Okay here i go:
----------------------------------------
Well this is going to need some kind of introduction before going into the question itself. I'm a computer repairman, but for a long while i have been writing short novels and fanfics as a hobby, i'm not a good writer by any means and i'm usually heavily inspired by sources like shonen manga, lovecraft/poe stories and the likes.
There's this fanfic i started to write long long time ago, and stopped developing because of a huge creative block i've been suffering until just last week (Don't ask me wtf happened, i don't know, i'd kill to get an answer on why my brain has been refusing to even write a line of this story for a full 10 years) during the period i've been inactive though, i kept developing the story and i have a general idea of how the plot is going to run and even end, but there's two elements in the story that are bothering me inmensily: The two main female characters
First of all, the source material for the fanfic is the Castlevania series, as a fan i've always been aware of it being particularly sexist, using female characters as plot devices to be fridged or just using them as store clerks - with some exceptions of course.
That said, the story takes place in our current era, and all main characters are OCs, save for the antagonist cast and some classic characters that just fit in nicely. Just to give some context, this is the main quintet
Simon Belmont (16) The last descendent of the legendary vampire hunter clan. He's a cheerful boy that isn't really suited for battle despite his huge talent. Gets depressed or frustrated easily but ultimately never gives up. A cookie cutter shonen manga protagonist. His theme in the story is personal growth
Erik Belmont (18) Simon's older brother. He's powerful, intelligent, strong and serious, a bit cold, but a good person nonetheless. Has a strong justice sense. Since he has spent almost his whole life being trained in both body and mind he hasn't developed any personal relationships aside of family and business. His theme is sentimental growth
Luis Fernández (21) Member of a branch of the Belnades family of mages, elder step-brother for the Belmont brothers and brotherly figure for both of them. A very familiar dude who can be very loving with anyone close to him. Gives huge leader vibes. His theme is leadership and protection
Alicia Fernández (16) Luis' younger sister. As i said before, the Fernandez are step-siblings for the Belmont, but they entered the family late enough for not having developed family bonds, but personal ones. Alicia is Simon's GF and the damsel in distress, having been taken away by a misterious vampire the night of their first date (Yeah, cliché af, i'm sorry for this). She's a highly intelligent and smart individual, and not one who would quietly wait to be rescued. Her theme is self-discovery
Claire Simons (17) Member of an assassin clan that fell in disgrace after having almost all its members completely annihilated. Claire is sweet, caring and cheerful, but was framed for the murder of some members of the church and has been in the run ever since, while looking for the vampire who annihilated her clan. The framing has made a number on her mind, making her distrustful and hurtful to anyone that approaches her. Her theme is self-confidence and sentimental growth.
I have to ask for your forgiveness with some details like ages and the like, when i designed all of this i was insanely influenced by shonen manga and, after getting back to it, i decided to stick with them, for better or worse.
However after getting back to it and re-reading past chapters to get a hang of the actual plot development i got bothered by how i used to treat both Alicia and Claire. At the point i am, i still can improve the characters and make them more respectful or, at least, less sexist. This is their situation as of now
Alicia: First of all, i'm developing Alicia's story in special chapters between arcs. She carries a cross with her that helps her to communicate telepathically with Simon (Who carries another cross from the same jewelry set) but can't control it yet, so they cross their thoughs randomly. Alicia is trapped in the castle along with a servant girl that takes care of her, and the master of the castle has her under strong vigilance. She has caught wind of the castle library's content, and plans to use it to learn magic and either escape or join Simon, Erik and Luis whenever they reach her location. In the castle there's not only the master, but also diverse vampires who she interacts with, they're fearsome beings, but she isn't really scared of them.
Claire: This is the one that bothers me the most. At the start of the journey, Erik receives the mission of hunting her down, but after their first encounter he rebels and joins sides with her. They have opened to each other, are starting to fall in love and, since they're warriors of equal might, they join forces when fighting their foes, but the roles are... questionable. When i realised, i had make Erik to protect her more and more and she had gotten way too fragile. I tried to rationalise this by giving her a weakened physique after about a year of constant traveling and not getting proper nourishment and exercising (aside of desesperately fighting for survival), and i'm setting an arc to get her back in shape while deepening her relationship with her love interest, but i can't shake the feeling of doing something wrong with her.
About the reason why this bothers me and i'm looking for advice, well... Back in the day, when i released this to the spanish Castlevania community, it was well received and had lots of readers, and now that i decided to get back to it and stated my intentions in my fb wall turns out there was a user (A woman who i became close friends with back then) who has been waiting all this time for me to continue. I was already worried by how some characters were turning out, but it made me particularly conscious of the female main cast and their developments.
And as a man, no matter how observant i am and no matter what my environment is or has been, i'm not really sure what women seek in certain characters and i have some biases that get imprinted in my writing. I'm not happy with writing a sexist story and neither i am with this person (or my readers in general) reading a sexist story coming from my fingers.
I have given this a lot of though, and this is the best idea i can come with, so i beg for your counseling
I got to the part with Poseidon's...er, princess in my god of war 3 playthrough.
From my memories, when I first played it, it didn't affect me much. I never liked Kratos, but it seemed to me to just be a more polished iteration of "and here is where we make Kratos do something totally fucked up in order to progress". The first game you burned an athenian soldier alive in a cage, in GoW2 you killed the translators. In GoW3, you actually do the burn alive thing again at the very start of the game, but that guy is slightly villainized in how he talks in derogatory terms to Kratos.
Playing it now tho...ugh. In case you haven't played or don't remember, (I'll spoiler it because it's pretty heavy in violence against a sexualized young woman) Kratos needs to push giant wheel up in order to open a gate. If he lets, the wheel rolls back and the gate closes and there is no way to make it through in time before it closes. So, Kratos looks around and finds Poseidon's princess, where she's clearly an abuse victim and it's unclear whether she's simply a woman he's taken a liking to or if she's his daughter, as the princess connotation implies. In either case, she's barely wearing anything and her breasts are exposed as she's chained up. To solve the puzzle, you have to drag her through the halls of enemies, get her to hold up the giant wheel, and when you walk away, she's crushed under the weight of it, and the blocks the gear wheel from turning and your allowed to pass. You go back, you see her twisted body in the pool of blood under the wheel.
So, it's the fact that they basically invented a woman sex slave character, didn't give her a name or any significant design identifies that aren't about emphasizing her sexualized body, have her alternatively be too scared of you to ask for help and then beg for help when she has no other choice, and then have her murdered by severe mutilation. And GoW is a series that's mean and it's sold on it's meanness. People bought god of war specifically so they could play an absolute asshole. But still, there's throwing the boat captain into the hydra belly when you don't have to, and this. Because, if they wanted to do this, she didn't need to be sexually objectified like this. She could have just been a regular servant girl or whatever, which may have still held the connotation of violence against women, but she wouldn't have been sexualized. The sexualization only makes sense if we consider one possibility...I think the purpose of the sexualization is to dangle the possibility that Kratos would ahve sex with her...which would have been rape though I doubt the developers would admit that that's the fantasy they were dangling in front of players...Which would be more in line with the original achievement for it, "I didn't do it but I wish I did"...
this is disgusting. But also, one thing I distinctly remember during either marketing or after game behind the scenes is how Kratos spares Hera. They specifically go to mention that Kratos is a bit chivalrous towards women, so he's willing to go easy on them unless they're outright enemies. And to the extent that he's talking about the scene with Hera, that's somewhat true. He is willing to let Hera go, up until she calls Pandora a whore. At which point, he kills her, but it's far more restrained than his usual kills, it being a simple neck snap, compared to the over the top gory violence we've had in other scenes. But that's out of tune with what he did to the poseidon princess, which may not be the most graphic violence in the game, but...she was just a scared girl begging for not to be killed, and Kratos didn't even blink at having her mutilated in order to hold open a door. But Hera and Pandora, both conservatively dressed, are given mercy up until Hera calls Pandora a whore, at which point that (which isn't even a meaningful threat of violence) is when Kratos decides Hera needs to die. Hera dies for (falsely) accusing Pandora of sexual promiscuity, of all things.
I'm....getting...a vibe here that maybe the developers had some fucked up ideas about female sexuality. Which isn't even getting into Aphrodite...
Yeah, that was one of the most disturbing scenes I've ever seen. However, the thing about GoW 3 is that you're supposed to witness what Kratos does in the game with increasing unease and disapproval. He's doing terrible shit and, for the first time in the franchise, the game portrays it like a unstoppable trainwreck that's horrible and you can't look away from.
While character designs for women are better in this new God Of War there are still some regressive ideas as holdovers from the previous trilogy on the roles and actions of women.
In a game very much about fathers and sons, the role of a mother is to be invisible or toxic.
www.vice.com
(SPOILERS)
A remnant of the regressive ideas that permeate the early God of War games―ideas that this offering claims to grow out of, it's a duality of motherhood through a misogynistic lens. The benevolent nurturer who knows when and how to wean (and depart her child's life entirely) , and the possessive monster who can't let go.
Freya is not only alive, but the embodiment of overprotective motherhood, one that is desperate, manipulative, weak, and secretive.
That was a pleasure to read and it makes a whole lot of sense. I'd argue, though, that what Freya is a goddess and gods are 99% assholes in this universe. Extremely lacking characters whose flaws have been inflated by their long lives and superhuman powers. Similarly, Baldur is also an evil character who likely would be rotten without Freya's spell anyway. That said, Baldur is still the worse by far. Freya is actually all right by gods's standards, just turning into a dick where her son is concerned.
I forgot that was an option. That is also really weird right? Pick between your longtime girlfriend and woman you just met. I don't remember that part of the game very well though, how the choice is framed. You say you did it accidentally?
That felt off, yeah. Guess for the player (not Ethan) it can go either way, as we barely know Mia and Zoe is helpful through your stay in the house. it's a weird moment where the game asks the player, not Ethan.
That felt off, yeah. Guess for the player (not Ethan) it can go either way, as we barely know Mia and Zoe is helpful through your stay in the house. it's a weird moment where the game asks the player, not Ethan.
Yea, it was really weird to have an entire story based game with no player choices at all have a major choice to make near the end based on their own emotions and not the character, that drastically changes the ending.
I accidentally posted a thread i had wirtten as a backup in the Etc forum. I'll request closure and move the text here
Thanks in advance
Okay here i go:
----------------------------------------
Well this is going to need some kind of introduction before going into the question itself. I'm a computer repairman, but for a long while i have been writing short novels and fanfics as a hobby, i'm not a good writer by any means and i'm usually heavily inspired by sources like shonen manga, lovecraft/poe stories and the likes.
There's this fanfic i started to write long long time ago, and stopped developing because of a huge creative block i've been suffering until just last week (Don't ask me wtf happened, i don't know, i'd kill to get an answer on why my brain has been refusing to even write a line of this story for a full 10 years) during the period i've been inactive though, i kept developing the story and i have a general idea of how the plot is going to run and even end, but there's two elements in the story that are bothering me inmensily: The two main female characters
First of all, the source material for the fanfic is the Castlevania series, as a fan i've always been aware of it being particularly sexist, using female characters as plot devices to be fridged or just using them as store clerks - with some exceptions of course.
That said, the story takes place in our current era, and all main characters are OCs, save for the antagonist cast and some classic characters that just fit in nicely. Just to give some context, this is the main quintet
Simon Belmont (16) The last descendent of the legendary vampire hunter clan. He's a cheerful boy that isn't really suited for battle despite his huge talent. Gets depressed or frustrated easily but ultimately never gives up. A cookie cutter shonen manga protagonist. His theme in the story is personal growth
Erik Belmont (18) Simon's older brother. He's powerful, intelligent, strong and serious, a bit cold, but a good person nonetheless. Has a strong justice sense. Since he has spent almost his whole life being trained in both body and mind he hasn't developed any personal relationships aside of family and business. His theme is sentimental growth
Luis Fernández (21) Member of a branch of the Belnades family of mages, elder step-brother for the Belmont brothers and brotherly figure for both of them. A very familiar dude who can be very loving with anyone close to him. Gives huge leader vibes. His theme is leadership and protection
Alicia Fernández (16) Luis' younger sister. As i said before, the Fernandez are step-siblings for the Belmont, but they entered the family late enough for not having developed family bonds, but personal ones. Alicia is Simon's GF and the damsel in distress, having been taken away by a misterious vampire the night of their first date (Yeah, cliché af, i'm sorry for this). She's a highly intelligent and smart individual, and not one who would quietly wait to be rescued. Her theme is self-discovery
Claire Simons (17) Member of an assassin clan that fell in disgrace after having almost all its members completely annihilated. Claire is sweet, caring and cheerful, but was framed for the murder of some members of the church and has been in the run ever since, while looking for the vampire who annihilated her clan. The framing has made a number on her mind, making her distrustful and hurtful to anyone that approaches her. Her theme is self-confidence and sentimental growth.
I have to ask for your forgiveness with some details like ages and the like, when i designed all of this i was insanely influenced by shonen manga and, after getting back to it, i decided to stick with them, for better or worse.
However after getting back to it and re-reading past chapters to get a hang of the actual plot development i got bothered by how i used to treat both Alicia and Claire. At the point i am, i still can improve the characters and make them more respectful or, at least, less sexist. This is their situation as of now
Alicia: First of all, i'm developing Alicia's story in special chapters between arcs. She carries a cross with her that helps her to communicate telepathically with Simon (Who carries another cross from the same jewelry set) but can't control it yet, so they cross their thoughs randomly. Alicia is trapped in the castle along with a servant girl that takes care of her, and the master of the castle has her under strong vigilance. She has caught wind of the castle library's content, and plans to use it to learn magic and either escape or join Simon, Erik and Luis whenever they reach her location. In the castle there's not only the master, but also diverse vampires who she interacts with, they're fearsome beings, but she isn't really scared of them.
Claire: This is the one that bothers me the most. At the start of the journey, Erik receives the mission of hunting her down, but after their first encounter he rebels and joins sides with her. They have opened to each other, are starting to fall in love and, since they're warriors of equal might, they join forces when fighting their foes, but the roles are... questionable. When i realised, i had make Erik to protect her more and more and she had gotten way too fragile. I tried to rationalise this by giving her a weakened physique after about a year of constant traveling and not getting proper nourishment and exercising (aside of desesperately fighting for survival), and i'm setting an arc to get her back in shape while deepening her relationship with her love interest, but i can't shake the feeling of doing something wrong with her.
About the reason why this bothers me and i'm looking for advice, well... Back in the day, when i released this to the spanish Castlevania community, it was well received and had lots of readers, and now that i decided to get back to it and stated my intentions in my fb wall turns out there was a user (A woman who i became close friends with back then) who has been waiting all this time for me to continue. I was already worried by how some characters were turning out, but it made me particularly conscious of the female main cast and their developments.
And as a man, no matter how observant i am and no matter what my environment is or has been, i'm not really sure what women seek in certain characters and i have some biases that get imprinted in my writing. I'm not happy with writing a sexist story and neither i am with this person (or my readers in general) reading a sexist story coming from my fingers.
I have given this a lot of though, and this is the best idea i can come with, so i beg for your counseling
I am not particularly familiar with Castlevania, so I'm sure others will be able to chime in about this aspect, but I can offer some comments:
I'll comment by asking a few questions:
- All the protagonists are all awfully young! But the girls are the youngest. They aren't even 18. Why is that? You said you were influenced by some specific type of fiction, and it clearly seems to bother you. Whey didn't you change it?
- Both female characters – and particularly Alicia – have been designed around their male character counterparts, and seem to be highly dependent on them. Opposite to that, all male characters were designed as strong, independent, and powerful. Why are the characters designed like that?
- Are the women mainly in there just to satisfy the male characters' arcs?
- There are some very blatant sexist tropes in there. You even correctly identified the "damsel in distress" one. Why did you use these tropes?
Again, I'm not really familiar with Castlevania. But you identified it as generally being "particularly sexist". I just want to say that you are in no way required to perpetuate this sexism. I'm 100% convinced that it's not required for this fictional world to function properly and to be fun.
I am not particularly familiar with Castlevania, so I'm sure others will be able to chime in about this aspect, but I can offer some comments:
I'll comment by asking a few questions:
- All the protagonists are all awfully young! But the girls are the youngest. They aren't even 18. Why is that? You said you were influenced by some specific type of fiction, and it clearly seems to bother you. Whey didn't you change it?
- Both female characters – and particularly Alicia – have been designed around their male character counterparts, and seem to be highly dependent on them. Opposite to that, all male characters were designed as strong, independent, and powerful. Why are the characters designed like that?
- Are the women mainly in there just to satisfy the male characters' arcs?
- There are some very blatant sexist tropes in there. You even correctly identified the "damsel in distress" one. Why did you use these tropes?
Again, I'm not really familiar with Castlevania. But you identified it as generally being "particularly sexist". I just want to say that you are in no way required to perpetuate this sexism. I'm 100% convinced that it's not required for this fictional world to function properly and to be fun.
- Young characters are a common trope in shonen manga and, when i developed this story back then, i was terribly influenced by that, when 10 years later i finally wnet back to keep writing, i found myself written to a corner since time is a very specific factor in the story (The two Belmont siblings' parents went missing in the year 2000, leaving them at ages when they were highly vulnerable, so they were pseudo-adopted into the Fernandez family. The story takes place 10 years later so it can tie into another event in the series that leads to Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow) As of now i have moved some birth dates, so i can age them a bit earlier than i originally planned
- Yeah, the male characters were developed first, Alicia later around Simon, and then Claire as a rival for Erik. To be fair both female characters are powerful too, Alicia from a Lore standpoint and she's supposed to grow overtime, and Claire stands toe to toe with Erik, but when i went back to the story i found out that i hadn't written Claire as i intended and made her a dependent character instead of a strong one. Honestly, some situations i wrote back then made me genuinely cringe when i re-read the chapters.
- No, not really. Strictly speaking about the main cast, while Alicia is the damsel in distress the idea from the start was to make her stand by herself, Claire has her own agenda - Avenging her clan - and gets tangled in Luis, Erik and Simon's business
- To be honest, i don't know, it wasn't intentional at least and i have just noticed in my comeback while being, i guess, a little bit wiser than 10 years ago. Some of those tropes are common in shonen manga so i guess they creeped in while i was developing the whole thing. Kinda embarrassing in retrospect.
And... no, i didn't intend to keep the series' traditions, in fact i have always despised some aspects of them and the fanfic was my answer back then, even regarding female characters and well... now i get back to the ship and i find out that younger me had put it in route to a fucking iceberg, i'm trying to steer it back to safety.
I though about rewriting everything, but i left it at 102 episodes and somehow i feel like i can fix it (Or at least i hope so)
There's a part of me that's like, "Awesome, there's a 3rd OT for this discussion!" and then on the other hand it's like, "Fuck, we need a 3rd OT for this discussion. sigh"
It bums me out that even now, we still need to highlight why the sexualization of women in gaming is a problem and needs to be addressed from top to bottom. And even worse that there are still people trying to justify said sexualization.
Also "'but her ass IS part of her character!' 'dummy thicc' isn't a myers-briggs type'"... *chefs kiss* so good. I'm looking forward to catching up on this thread and taking notes. As an artist, black man, and game designer, I'm always trying to be cognizant of how I choose to portray characters, and why I'm choosing to portray them that way. Threads like this are absolutely an amazing and enlightening resource, and I personally really appreciate the effort and energy you all put into it, and hope that these conversations push our industry to do better, and be better. Gaming is for everyone and no one should feel unwelcome, or underrepresented, or misrepresented. That's my longwinded way of saying thank you for putting so much work and passion with this topic, as frustrating as I'm sure it is sometimes. I can definitely relate. XD
I really tried to give One Piece a shot many moons ago, but to be honest, I just can't stand the artstyle. I just find it too aesthetically unpleasing to look at. I just don't think it's a visually interesting show, and I have a high appreciation for stylized and exaggerated character designs (something I wish I was better at myself, as I tend to lean more towards more "realistic" proportions in my art, so I've been doing a lot of studying of various artists and their approach to stylization, and that's been a lot of fun!). Looking at some of the pages of the manga, it looks better (maybe because I'm a sucker for black and white art), but it still isn't my cup of tea aesthetically.
That early episode Nami is a pretty solid design. I don't know what the fuck they were thinking in those latter episodes, but it's garbage. Ok, I know exactly what they were thinking, and, yeah, still garbage. I'm sure they try to justify and rationalize why she now looks that way, but it's no doubt bullshit.
I really tried to give One Piece a shot many moons ago, but to be honest, I just can't stand the artstyle. I just find it too aesthetically unpleasing to look at. I just don't think it's a visually interesting show, and I have a high appreciation for stylized and exaggerated character designs (something I wish I was better at myself, as I tend to lean more towards more "realistic" proportions in my art, so I've been doing a lot of studying of various artists and their approach to stylization, and that's been a lot of fun!). Looking at some of the pages of the manga, it looks better (maybe because I'm a sucker for black and white art), but it still isn't my cup of tea aesthetically.
That early episode Nami is a pretty solid design. I don't know what the fuck they were thinking in those latter episodes, but it's garbage. Ok, I know exactly what they were thinking, and, yeah, still garbage. I'm sure they try to justify and rationalize why she now looks that way, but it's no doubt bullshit.
One Piece the anime is generally garbage (except it has some AMAZING openings), because it's just paced so fucking poorly, and the animation is bog-standard outside of a blowout piece every like 20 episodes.
The manga is just really well regarded because Oda introduces, teases, and pays off elements of the story very well. Something introduced in chapter like say 100 might come back again like 200 chapters later and you're like "oh shit."
As for Nami, well, it's a manga for teen boys, and Oda has stated in interviews his design process for most of his characters is "will a 13 year old boy like this", so he uses that mindset. Not excusing it, mind you. As some of his shit is garbage trash for the dumpster.
It's a fun, well told story, but you gotta put up with some bullshit. And considering it's now inching closer to 1000 chapters, it's hard as fuck to get into and unless you're dedicated or have a lot of free time, it's kind of an easy pass in 2020.
Watch the openings tho, they're fun and generally have great songs and they look good.
As for me, I haven't really paid attention to the series since near the end of Dressrosa, which at this point is years ago.
For how bad Falcom is with Trails of Cold Steel.... and really its recent Ys entries. I actually dig on the Ys IX Monstrum Nox cast and it's in pretty good taste.
Angelina Jolie of leg slits for fancy magic limbs (I also think this is a great example of edgy and actually kinda cool xD).
Spine not twisted!! PANTS! +10 points for fancy pose.
An obligatory "sexy one" but... I'm loving the bull motif (and I'm a sucker for pink hair), and this coulda been way worse (most of her is covered!).
I absolutely hate what Oda has done to the female character designs over time. That he said point blank that he knows female fans don't like it and doesn't give a shit only rubs salt in the wound.
Story wise...the series has gone on for too long. The only real dead weight arc in the first half was Skypiea, and even that had plenty of great moments. With Part 2 I've enjoyed every other major story arc on average, and even the good ones are overstretched. We're nowhere NEAR the nadir of Naruto or Bleach (gag) but the wall-to-wall hype of the Paramount War feels like a lifetime ago.
As for Nami, well, it's a manga for teen boys, and Oda has stated in interviews his design process for most of his characters is "will a 13 year old boy like this", so he uses that mindset. Not excusing it, mind you. As some of his shit is garbage trash for the dumpster.
For how bad Falcom is with Trails of Cold Steel.... and really its recent Ys entries. I actually dig on the Ys IX Monstrum Nox cast and it's in pretty good taste.
Angelina Jolie of leg slits for fancy magic limbs (I also think this is a great example of edgy and actually kinda cool xD).
Spine not twisted!! PANTS! +10 points for fancy pose.
An obligatory "sexy one" but... I'm loving the bull motif (and I'm a sucker for pink hair), and this coulda been way worse (most of her is covered!).
For how bad Falcom is with Trails of Cold Steel.... and really its recent Ys entries. I actually dig on the Ys IX Monstrum Nox cast and it's in pretty good taste.
Angelina Jolie of leg slits for fancy magic limbs (I also think this is a great example of edgy and actually kinda cool xD).
Spine not twisted!! PANTS! +10 points for fancy pose.
An obligatory "sexy one" but... I'm loving the bull motif (and I'm a sucker for pink hair), and this coulda been way worse (most of her is covered!).
They are in the same continuity, and some games have references to past games and/or characters. Adol is the protagonist of all the games, and Dogi appears in all games. They are the same person across each game, unlike Link.
However, the games are episodic with self-contained plots. You will miss a reference here and there, but overall there is no issue starting with any game.
Very much not. But this topic can go over to the anime/manga feminism thread.
Anyway, on another topic, I caved and got Avengers, and this game does so much right by Kamala. She's earnest, endearing, funny, and willing to endanger herself for what she thinks is right. And her design is very good (she even remarks that she uses a burkini in her hero costume)
I expect the next week to be a lot of pissing and moaning on the more shittier parts of the internet about being forced to play as a female Muslim of Pakistani heritage. I already peeked at gamefaqs and saw the usual bullshit.
I think those are her heels. Ys IX has these people called Monstrum. This one is named Doll, and I think she is supposed to be a doll. Hence she has built-in wheels as her heels, balls as her knee joint, obviously segmented fingers, etc.
Anyway, on another topic, I caved and got Avengers, and this game does so much right by Kamala. She's earnest, endearing, funny, and willing to endanger herself for what she thinks is right. And her design is very good (she even remarks that she uses a burkini in her hero costume)
I expect the next week to be a lot of pissing and moaning on the more shittier parts of the internet about being forced to play as a female Muslim of Pakistani heritage. I already peeked at gamefaqs and saw the usual bullshit.
So I tend not to post in this thread in part because I'm far more interested in highlighting positive examples than complaining about how shit the world is (and still is, frankly).
So here's me in RDR2 fully exploiting the game's freedom to cross-dress with all my might.
Honestly, if it weren't for the fashion and the "athletic" body type being decently androgynous I wouldn't have dumped as much time into this game as I have. Good shit, if you ask me.
I don't typically say this about anime drawings, but this is honestly really cute. moe even.
I want a fucking snow own owl.
I want a fucking cute dog-sized mech.
I want a fucking robotic wand.
I want a fucking bag of seven baguettes, because fuck you, I'm fucking hungry and I want to put all kinds of shit on them!
And you know what? I bet I could pull off a dress, too.
I think those are her heels. Ys IX has these people called Monstrum. This one is named Doll, and I think she is supposed to be a doll. Hence she has built-in wheels as her heels, balls as her knee joint, obviously segmented fingers, etc.
For how bad Falcom is with Trails of Cold Steel.... and really its recent Ys entries. I actually dig on the Ys IX Monstrum Nox cast and it's in pretty good taste.
Angelina Jolie of leg slits for fancy magic limbs (I also think this is a great example of edgy and actually kinda cool xD).
Spine not twisted!! PANTS! +10 points for fancy pose.
An obligatory "sexy one" but... I'm loving the bull motif (and I'm a sucker for pink hair), and this coulda been way worse (most of her is covered!).
I'm not sure what gets me more out of that or the need to design a stiletto robotic heel on their clunky robotic leg to match their other single shoe, rather than just, er, have a more stable leg for everyday use and not have to wear the remaining stiletto all the bloody time. Also attaching a piece of plate to her thigh that is held up by a belt attachment to her half-t-shirt thing.
The triangle really is something. Like they sat back and looked at what they had drawn and thought "This isn't quite right yet, aha!" and then drew that triangle into her bra as the final touch.
Yep. Yoko Taro really needs a character designer to tell him no and not enable him. I also wish for the days when Akihiko Yoshida wasn't constantly horny on main.
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