A Discussion of sexualised design of male/female characters

Juihau

Well-Known Member
From my experience the horniest (we have a fitting word in German: "notgeil" which means horny all the time and this from the smallest of things) straight males are also some of the most easily repelled and intolerant when it comes to being subjected to their own sexualized gender.
...Now I'm trying to think of what an equivalent word in English would be... Horndog, possibly? Though that's usually more of a teasing thing...
 

Hayabusiness

Well-Known Member
But is the male sexualization something to reel people in or a bone thrown at the fans? I'm glad DOA is doing it, and in that aspect I think they are better than other fighting games, but is it something that can net them money? I do feel there is untapped potential here.

Also I personally don't want bulge jiggle either, lol. Would rather much have proper muscle movement...
 

KasumiLover

xX_APO_Prince_Xx
Premium Donor
I personally wouldn't care, there's always the classic saying don't like don't buy principle, plus the gay fan base which is pretty sizable is already subjected to the female sexualization....although I don't think they'd mind since they also want their characters they play as to look as attractive and sexy as anyone else. SC does it and that doesn't affect anything, and Tekken does it in spades since they go out of their way to make all the guys these big muscled hulks. But because TN listens to the Japanese fanbase and know that it mainly consists of perverted young Japanese men, they place more emphasis on that sales wise and don't really listen to western demands like they tried to in Vanilla DOA5.
 

Tyaren

Well-Known Member
Standard Donor
...Now I'm trying to think of what an equivalent word in English would be... Horndog, possibly? Though that's usually more of a teasing thing...

Lol, why did you quote me so quickly? XD I edited that part out because I thought that would be just too much and actually generalizing. XD

German is a wonderful language for all kinds of complex concepts given one name. Like "Schadenfreude" or "Zeitgeist". Something that should be adopted into English too is "Fremdschämen". It is the feeling of being absolutely embarrassed by the actions of someone else, even a complete stranger, feeling their shame and discomfort instead.
Have you ever watched shows like American Idol and had to cringe and even change the channel because someone embarrased himself? Yeah, that's "Fremdschämen". ;)
 
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Argentus

Well-Known Member
It depends on the game. If I'm not mistaken, the protagonists of the main games from gen 1 to 4 were all around 10 years old. In gens 5 and 6, they upped them to being around their mid-teens.

That's what I thought.



Also on Rig. I never understood how he's considered hot. I mean I'm not into guys but he seems more sleazy than anything
 

Jadeinchains

Well-Known Member
Lol, why did you quote it so quickly? XD I edited it out because I thought that would be just too much and actually generalizing. XD

German is a wonderful language for all kinds of complex concepts given one name. Like "Schadenfreude" or "Zeitgeist". Something that should be adopted into English too is "Fremdschämen". It is the feeling of being absolutely embarrassed by the actions of someone else, even a complete stranger, feeling their shame instead.
Have you ever watched shows like American Idol and had to cringe and even change the channel because someone embarrased himself? Yeah, that's "Fremdschämen". ;)

"secondhand embarrassment" is a phrase I hear people say for situations like that.

That's what I thought.



Also on Rig. I never understood how he's considered hot. I mean I'm not into guys but he seems more sleazy than anything

Speaking personally I think Bass and Bayman are hotter though Rig is too, The sleaziness can play into that kind of thing.

Also personally again on what Kasumi said about the gay fanbase I like the female characters to be fierce and gorgeous so yeah I don't have a problem with them being sexual.
 

Xhominid The Demon Within

Well-Known Member
I always wonder how much more would DOA interest other demographics if they also amped up the male sexualization. I'm not saying it should look comical, of course. Like, maybe it could be something more on par with Rig's got; more handsome male characters, more relevance to them, more care put towards them, more outfits... Etc.
Would other people care, would it attract more players like the female characters did, or would it only alienate the current fanbase?

I lean more on the latter because I already got told off by a guy in the DOAX3 thread for saying I wanted the dudes in the game...
Especially in Japan, I can see people making a tantrum. When Idol M@ster got male idol DLC, fans wanted to boycott Jupiter (the all male idol trio) and IM@S in general.

Another thought regarding this is, if they got the same attention as the girls, guys would now be subject to lazy, ugly, OOC copypaste DLC...

Maybe there is not much to talk about what I said, but it always crosses my mind when I see the Devil Ein DLC and other outfits (like Rig's catalogue, and more recently Ryu and Hayate's. 2016 Halloween DLC).

Then they have to cater to Male Sexuality...which is very obvious since it's the DOA males already have sculpted physiques. They just need to be shirtless/wear shorts more often.
 

Hayabusiness

Well-Known Member
Vagrant Story is a game I only really started, which is a shame because it seems to be very interesting like many games from Yasumi Matsuno.
I think the character designs for the main villain and Ashley are both very... erotic.
ipUNu7X.jpg

VNDON0c.jpg

VBAvE7y.jpg


Maybe they're a bit trashy, but I like this aesthetic from the QUEST games very nice.
Ashley looks especially sexy. It's very probable that my attraction to him will go away as soon as I get further into the game one day, but... hmm.
The outfit is really weird, especially the assless chaps, but the way it leaves the back naked is so delicate and strong. I guess I could say that I would like to see more of this kind of sexy outfit in beautiful JRPGs.
Too bad I don't like Yoshida's newer designs...

Another bizarre sexual design (this one definitely more bizarre than the ones before) from the same team, is the Dalmascan armor from FFXII...
llMfcHe.jpg

It's literally a sexy female armor for guys! And in the opening cutscene, you see TONS of men in this armor, fighting in a war, too.

I find these design very interesting oddities. It's probably just part of the aesthetic and not the desire to get more money through the Assley, but they still left me surprised when I saw them, especially the leg focus in Ashley and the Dalmascan armor.
 

Russian-chiropractic19

Well-Known Member
Standard Donor
considering this is their official art for Vaan that doesn't really surprise me

latest


note that his vest is actually left purposely undone so it will expose more of his breast. this feels like a bigger grab attempt at the female audience than Raiden was.

yeah he has this one pose but he didn't take off any clothes to do it and thats pretty close to to his sword stance in the game. as opposed to Vaan who im pretty sure NEVER does that and looks like a pin up model.

Raiden00000.jpg
 

Hayabusiness

Well-Known Member
Oh yeah, Vaan is sexualized no doubt, especially in that ridiculous render. Weird that I forgot to mention him :confused:I guess that shows how relevant he is.
Interestingly enough, originally, he was not the protagonist of FFXII. I'm not sure what happened during development, but sources say that it was Basch who was supposed to be the male lead (and Ashe the female one), which would have been very interesting imo (any JRPG with an older protagonist sounds interesting to begin with). It's a bit of a bittersweet development story.

Curiously, Basch does have a little sensual detail to his design too, on a side note... Part of his chest is uncovered. Maybe it's just me that finds that detail attractive :p he is a very cute man.
 

Russian-chiropractic19

Well-Known Member
Standard Donor
go poking around and you find that is a constant struggle for Japanese game developers. FF12,

the infamous 2 protagonist of Neir
gestalt_replicant.jpg

ive even heard that you were supposed to play as an adult in SMT4: Apocalypse but it was changed to Nanashi, your typical young protagonist.
220
 

Hayabusiness

Well-Known Member
Curiously enough, the Nier that was born first was Brother Nier.
It was actually American Square who wanted there to be an older version, and change the brother/sister story to a father/daughter one.
I'd say that in the end, it was not such a bad idea, since people liked Papa Nier so much, everybody thought he was the one born first...! Lol.
Plus it IS true that a brother/sister dynamic wouldn't have the same impact as a father/daughter one in the West.
Still, Brother Nier gets all the new information in side content and the time skip does make more sense with him.

Anyway...
I found a very curious artwork from the game infamous for its exaggerated caricature Frank Frazzetta inspired artwork, Dragon's Crown...
ouQ175Q.jpg

Uh... interesting if you know how much Dragon's Crown loves T&A...:confused:
 

Juihau

Well-Known Member
So, here's a weird question. Is it me, or is Pokemon getting sexier?

Let me explain real quick. The most recent episode of Pokemon Generations focused on Team Aqua, and I couldn't help but think Shelly looked...really sexualized. Like, her breasts are huge, her outfit is skin tight and bares a lot of midriff, she noticeably has that typical 'sexy lady' anime face. Then I thought about it some more, and really, all of the Team Aqua/Magma redesigns are like that.

1d7e834956.png


In general, where the outfits looked fairly loose before, they're pretty much all skin-tight now. The two that really caught my attention, though, are Archie and Courtney. Archie went from a dude with a beard in a suit to a man with a magnificent beard in a skin-tight wetsuit. Courtney was originally almost indistinguishable from the typical Magma grunts, but now she's wearing heels and has a unique outfit that shows off her surprisingly large bust (especially noticeable in the anime), and her official artwork has her hips thrust out in a way that emphasizes her curves.
 

Russian-chiropractic19

Well-Known Member
Standard Donor
The anime has always been sexualised to degree it wouldn't surprise me at all if it's become more so.

In that same line of thought people have been pointing out we seem to be getting more humanoid Pokémon each generation. I can't help but wonder if game freak is purposely targeting the furry market.
 

Tyaren

Well-Known Member
Standard Donor
So, here's a weird question. Is it me, or is Pokemon getting sexier?

Definitely! The developers addressed it themselves in a E3 stream that I watched, when one of the presenters gushed about the new professor Kukui. Human characters are not just getting sexier but more attractive/appealing as a whole for any kind of taste.

Pokemon Go designs:

Pokemon-Go-Team-Leader.jpg


Pokemon Sun/Moon designs:

tumblr_ob9uxtSDLI1rfk0zpo1_500.png


pokemon_aether_new-1200x675.jpg


tumblr_obr8jyuzhO1uz6qoeo1_1280.jpg


olivia.png



Pokemon fans have long grown up and they are actually the biggest market for the games. There are more 20-30 year olds that play the games than teenagers or children.
Each time a new Pokemon character is revealed Twitter, Tumblr and Deviantart just flow over with overly sexualized fanarts of them. Fans are really desperate. XD
 
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Hayabusiness

Well-Known Member
Pokèmon always had sexy designs, imo.
At least, some games did it more than others: I don't remember her name, but the Ice Elite Four in Gen I whose name I don't remember is basically a stereotypical sexy teacher.
Then in Gen V there was Skyla who looked like a typical sexy cute character, the female trainer in Black had super short shorts...

But clearly now they are taking the bajillion of older fans in mind, and are doing it more and more explicitly. Sun & Moon is in the same situation as ORAS: more moe and sexy designs, more shirtless bara dudes. Check all the videos on the Pokèmon channel where they present new female characters, especially the sexy lab chicks and the rock gym leader, then read the comments section: I'm sure they are trying to cater to those people.

Some Pokèmon fans are perverts and furries; not all of them (there are many after all), but a good chunk loves their Gardevoir a bit too much. So it wouldn't even surprise me if the latest humanoid Pokèmon were made with them in mind. Some marketing strategies try to cater to niches as well, after all.

Also keep in mind Ken Sugimori is a huge otaku and I saw on his twitter that he bought hentai doujinshi and art books from a famous artist who draws a lot of moe lolicon (forgot his names, but he drew a game that was heavily advertised on 4chan called little witch romanesque), and keeps a shrine of Princess Peach merchandise.
All of this should speak for itself.

Edit @Tyaren
The dude with the water pokèmon in the first pic is not from Sun & Moon, so the point is getting even stronger.
 
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Russian-chiropractic19

Well-Known Member
Standard Donor
Definitely! The developers addressed it themselves in a E3 stream that I watched, when one of the presenters gushed about the new professor Kukui. Human characters are not just getting sexier but more attractive/appealing as a whole for any kind of taste.

Pokemon Go designs:

Pokemon-Go-Team-Leader.jpg


Pokemon Sun/Moon designs:

tumblr_ob9uxtSDLI1rfk0zpo1_500.png


pokemon_aether_new-1200x675.jpg


tumblr_obr8jyuzhO1uz6qoeo1_1280.jpg


olivia.png



Pokemon fans have long grown up and they are actually the biggest market for the games. There are more 20-30 year olds that play the games than teenagers or children.
Each time a new Pokemon character is revealed Twitter, Tumblr and Deviantart just flow over with overly sexualized fanarts of them. Fans are really desperate. XD

Interestingly enough the fan base decided that Spark is actually wearing a sleeveless orange hoodie despite looking like a normal one. Even the cosplayers all use it.

Im curious how much that happens. Where fans will go by what they want to see rather than what's implied.
 

Tyaren

Well-Known Member
Standard Donor
Interestingly enough the fan base decided that Spark is actually wearing a sleeveless orange hoodie despite looking like a normal one. Even the cosplayers all use it.

Im curious how much that happens. Where fans will go by what they want to see rather than what's implied.

Yep, a quick Deviantart search shows that XD

pokemon_go_leader_spark_final___copy_by_neoartcore-dagrszs.jpg


pokemon_go___spark_by_splgum-dajtuow.jpg


spark___leader_of_instinct_by_ringoandou-dadtvmo.png


spark_by_justsyl-dabp110.png


And this Spark lost the hoodie altogether:

mr__spark_by_suyohara-daevwnh.jpg


What I find interesting, that attractive male video game characters and the fans celebrating them with sexy fanarts have become so standard by now. Just as much if not even more by now than with female characters. 15 years ago that looked very different but video games were in general much shyer to cater to a female and gay audience. By now that audience is thought to be at least 50% of the video game market. They would be crazy to ignore them.
 
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