If there's one thing you can be sure of with your typical fantasy JRPG, it's that an alluring female character will be thrown into the mix somewhere along the line. You know the kind: wide-eyed, bubbly, large-chested and with a penchant for skimpy combat gear; that kind of thing.
This kind of character is commonplace in most Japanese role-playing releases, so you'd expect the people making these titles to be keenly aware of the effect their creations have on hot-headed players, but according to Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout producer Junzo Hosoi, sexiness is actually the furthest thing from his mind when it came to his latest venture.
Speaking to Nintendo Everything, Hosoi admits that he and his team have been 'surprised' by the reaction to the game's protagonist, Ryza:
In this case, the setting is that she’s a farmer’s daughter, but then we thought, “Well a skirt and farming – that doesn’t go well together.” We don’t really want their underwear showing as well. So we decided to go with the short-shorts. The other aspect is that because it’s summer – that’s the theme – so that’s how we came up with the design.
So surprisingly a lot of people are paying attention to her thighs. We didn’t create her with the intention of her thighs being the key point, but a lot of people seem to be really… (Laughs)
Our approach was to make a cute character without any sexual innuendo whatsoever. Everyone sort of looks at her as sort of being sexy, and that’s completely not how we look at her, so that really caught us by surprise. (Laughs)
On the topic of Switch, Hosoi spoke about how the Atelier series is finding more fans with each subsequent release on Nintendo's console – and he also thanks the players that have supported the franchise so far:
The first title that we released on Switch was Atelier Lydie, and after that Nelke and also Lulua. We’ve been finding that with each successive title it’s been increasing, so we do find that this is a good platform for us to have expanded onto. And the fact that you get to just lay around and play is great.
We think that with Atelier Ryza on the Switch, we’ve really improved the graphics and we were able to create a brand new game experience that everyone will enjoy. So Switch users can rest assured that this is a high-quality effort. We think it’s a great game. And we also want to thank the Switch users for their continuous support of the Atelier series.
[source nintendoeverything.com]
Comments 99
There is, SO MUCH, fan art of her. Ranging from hyper lewd to tactfully sexy. But yes, clearly people really like her.
Because she is real cute!
People are going to feel however they feel about a character, what can you do? There's no right or wrong about it.
Those thick thighs have resulted in Atelier Ryza being the best selling entry in the series. I can't wait for the limited edition to arrive on my doorstep.
I bet the actual artist knew exactly what (s)he was doing.
I remember watching a manga artist on YouTube, and he was specifically saying that making the thighs barely fit shorts and adding shine is like a textbook method of making a girl look sexy in manga/anime.
So yeah... I'm not sure I believe them.
Well it's an artificial creation playing into our lizard-brain to find her cute and attractive. I certainly can find a "cartoon character" cute and appreciate a bubbly character, but sexy? Only to some extent. But I see the magic at work here.
@yoshinatsu sure there's not much crawlspace left in those shorts. Also it accentuates the famles forms. All of them. So...
Also I can literally hear hundreds of young women whisper in their head "but she's fat... " Oh body images - what joy have they become in our blissful world...
@Scollurio
Awesome GIF!
It's... hypnotic 👀
"We gave her super short shorts that draw attention to her thighs because it's summer" Uh huh. Sure. Is there any cultural or other reason why they can't say they designed a female main character to look cute and appealing? And in a world where you can find erotic fanart of your kitchen appliances if you look hard enough, do you really need to act surprised people think a female character is sexy?
@Scollurio she literally is in no way fat... the 'literally hundreds of young women whispering in your head' need to evaluate whether they are women or projections of your own internal biases
Her whole body is stick thin apart from her thighs which are normal sized but pulled in tightly by her clothing because recently straight men have decided that they want skinny women with big butts and thighs. Her design is made to appeal to current female body expectations.
These boys out here are horny horny! Like what even makes her "sexy"? She just looks kinda bland to me.
Best Atelier main character so far IMO.
As plausible as hogs flying.
Welcome to the internet Hosoi. People find a lot of characters sexy.
Yeah, right. She’s really cute, not sexy. That was the developer’s intention. I’d say the same.
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
@nin10dobot thanks, that was my intention!
@Peterjr1 I didn't say with a word she's fat. But I know lot's of young women who'd say she has fat thighs. Regardless of my own imagination. That's all I said. The harshest critics of female bodies are other females, not men. Like you just said. Women with tiny chests - there are men who like them, but other women likely will mock them, big butts might be awesome for men, other women might call her a fatass.
@Dakotastomp I do agree she's cute, like a bazillion other non-real drawn/rendered characters. Fine. But sexy? I don't know. Maybe she appears too young to me to actually think she's sexy.
I'm pretty sure devs look at her like she's their daughter, so of course they didn't make her with the intent to be sexually appealing. It's just not that kind of game and young girls wear short shorts all the time. However, as someone above mentioned, all kinds of people will look at the character and interpret her in whatever ways they want, so this couldn't really be avoided - regardless of how she was dressed.
@Scollurio Nope, it’s not the turn of the millennium anymore, girls aren’t being pressured to be stick thin, it’s the whole ‘thicc’ ideal that’s being pushed. In a way it’s even more unrealistic since it requires you to be skinny except your boobs thighs and bum. This is why so many girls get fillers now.
@nessisonett Might be a regional difference but here (central europe) I see plenty of young women investing into the "thin as a stick" craze. The twerk-culture hasn't fully arrived yet. Unfortunately because... I like big butts ... sings along
Thick Thighs Save Lives.
If there's one thing you can be sure of with your typical fantasy JRPG, it's that an alluring female character will be thrown into the mix somewhere along the line. You know the kind: wide-eyed, bubbly, large-chested and with a penchant for skimpy combat gear; that kind of thing.
When I try to think of a JRPG with conservative female character designs, Golden Sun comes straight to mind. Everyone wears combat-appropriate attire. I honestly don't understand why more JRPG's don't design characters like this, unless it's like an EarthBound scenario where the party have to save a normally peaceful world where armor isn't readily available.
This is the first one I've been interested in. I didn't find the more child-like character designs appealing in the previous entries, but I do like the way the characters look in this game. I definitely plan on picking it up later this year after Pokemon.
@KayFiOS It's obviously just about the bottom line. Sexy, cute and girly heroines might just sell better than the ones dressed appropiately.
Thin blouse with cleavage and exposed belly button? [CHECK]
Bulging thighs in leather boots, with inwards-turned knees? [CHECK]
Innocent girly attitude, friendly to everybody? [CHECK]
Young, slim, body in shorts so tight, her lady parts cast a shadow on her inner thigh? [DOUBLE-CHECK]
Gee, I dunno who'd be able to find THAT sexy. Must be some weirdos, these people.
Considering I’ve seen a video of someone spinning the camera around her in some menu to play with the jiggle physics, I’m going to say at least one person knew what they were doing.
She looks like my ex... My first ex. When I was like 16... Weird.
@KayFiOS that is pandering to patriarchal and reductive visions of what straight men are "supposed" to like, while neglecting the fact that other genders like RPGs too. 🤷🏽♀️
@CharlieGirl And other sexual orientations too. As it stands, the gaming industry largely caters to a minority (straight males) but the people who aren't that minority are the ones always called the 'vocal minority' by fans of the status quo.
@Peterjr1 welcome to the patriarchal heat death of my sanity 🙃
@CharlieGirl @CharlieGirl Wait, I'm tired and confused. Is what I said "pandering to patriarchal and reductive visions of what men are "supposed" to like," or do you mean that's what most JRPG's do?
@Peterjr1 straight males are a minority in the gaming industry? That's a typo, right? You can't possibly believe that.
@CharlieGirl Do you mean men don't like bubbly, big-eyed girls with large chests? I don't think "patriarchy" makes men like these girls...it's biology.
@Logan-Japan Minority in terms of the world. The gaming industry has historically, and continues to, pander directly to that minority, yes.
@Galenmereth Your comment makes no sense, why so offensive?
@TechaNinja figs? Everyone already knows that that is a thinly veiled excuse to claim you aren't using the homphobic slur you're absolutely trying to use.
Just say 'f*gs* and announce your homophobia with your gut.
Good character design is good. It's working for me as this is going to be the first Atelier game I have ever played when I purchase it. The main character design is part of the reason, and game play videos got my attention as well.
@Scollurio Yikes. You really are out of touch with pretty much everything.
Atleast people like the character design
I'm looking forward to the game, the other Atelier games I have played have been cute and fun.
@Peterjr1 what group is a majority globally and where did you get that data?
@KayFiOS that's what most JRPGs do
You know I hadn't watched a trailer for this, I think I had this completely confused with the series where you have to draw your maps for dungeons which I wasn't that interested in, but this looks more like an action rpg and i'm a little bit more interested in this now. However it will probably have to wait for a price reduction before I grab it.
Its possible I just misunterpreted some users attitude, but friendly reminder devs are free to pander to straight guys if they wish to do so. Just as they are free to pander to other groups if they want.
@Peterjr1 Care to elaborate?
Welp, looks like this comment section is rapidly devolving into a dumpster fire...
And in other news... anything is sexy if there's enough T on it.
@dougphisig Etrian Odyssey?
that is creepy if you find fictional animal characters "sexy" you are weird
Lots of interesting insight from the nintendoeverything interview.
Makes me wonder why the Nintendolife article had to lead with the 'sexy character' angle.
Am i the only atelier fan who does not like her design. Well still looking forward to it. Atelier Lulua was great.
Removed - discussing moderation
@edhe Clickbait. It attracts more attention.
@Tirza You hate U.S. cuz you ain’t U.S.
@Scollurio >Too young
Son, you'd be surprised how many people would think she looks "just right" despite her age.
Her thighs aren't so much "thick" as they are being squeezed by those awful shorts. Can you imagine farming or adventuring while wearing those? They'd give you the worst rash and cut off circulation.
@Scollurio Yep I was confusing it with that series!
It’s either the thigh gap or they’re a bunch of pedos
I imagine they are so used to seeing this style of character that they are becoming desensitised to the less extreme ones.
@Galenmereth thx for clarification, I'm no native english speaker and I'm basing my statement off of personal experience, where more often than not women call other women fat out of jealousy. And I am talking 20-30+ here unfortunately. This might differ from your life experience, but you know, we're not all living in the same place with the same people. Also I want to clarify that I personally strive for a healthy body image, that would mean not too overweight not too skinny.
@Diogmites Sexiness was clearly on his mind, but Japanese developers no longer feel safe speaking candidly to Western game journalists. I was talking with a friend who works in game dev for a small studio and he said they may not even release their next game in other countries because of crazy SJWs.
@Strictlystyles that word doesn't mean what you think it means.
The internet corrupts everything. This girl I kinda get (the thighs), but I'm sure the internet has taken it a bit too far.
Things like Sonic, Undertale, and Animal Crossing fans have taken things WAAAAAAAAY too far.
Who would have thought people would look at the character, in her low cut top, exposed midriff, and booty shorts THAT way?! Weird.
Every Atelier game has flown under my radar until Ryza. The art style, naturist map design and character design all scream "cozy" to me, which I'm currently obsessed with. The alchemy slant also sounds pretty fun. However--and I do not judge others who enjoy these kind of games--the pervy details like the conspicuous camera angles and the overtly perky boobs make me feel, how do I say it, embarrassed.
@Peterjr1 but its actually not.
Me and my friends use fig in place of bunch of words not limited to moron/idiot/dumdum etc
@TechaNinja it's a waste of breath talking to him. He actually believes that straight male gamers are a minority globally. When pressed for data, he disappears. Just drop a link and move on. I'll do it for you.
http://onlineslangdictionary.com/meaning-definition-of/fig
SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURE...
Don't mind me, just reading the comments while enjoying some popcorn
@King-X
Haha, nah, that there is just "cute" and "relatable", right.
On the topic of whether the characters look caucasian, I think the whole thing is just about art tradition. They're likely not meant to look non-Japanese, as they say.
The same way French comic characters like Asterix and Obelix are so wildly stylized they don't look particularly western European, outside of the skin color.
@King-X
Oh sure, I just mean that the enormous noses, ears, and eyes are slightly atypical for Europeans, as well as most other human races.
When the Japanese draw characters that look more caucasian to us, it's really because of a comics art tradition that grew out of American cartoons from the 50s and 60s, which was afterwards influenced heavily by, again, American movies from the 70s and 80s.
It's not that they don't consider the characters they draw to be japanese, they just draw them they way they do because that's how they draw.
I wonder if it takes all of the women in the party to help get her in those shorts. I just don't know how women can do this. Maybe it's magic or just plain old grease.
I wonder if anime designers even know how to make a female protagonist appear modest anymore. It's been drilled into them.
WO WO WO clam down sir lower that s stuff down
Don't get the "shiny light" thing on parts of the skin in JP artwork. Ryza's legs look like they are infected with a huge pimple. I noticed her shorts show skin and straps on the sides too.
She looks like she's probably constricting her blood flow with those shorts... in a good way?
@Trajan Yes, they are. If you look at the global population and assume a 50/50 split of male and female (although in reality the majority gender is usually female) and then factor in that not all men are straight, it is evident that when counting gay men, bisexual men, women and other sexualities of women; straight men are a minority when compared to all other types of people on this planet
@Logan-Japan I literally said straight males in terms of global numbers. Not gamers. My point was that straight males are the majority in gaming and the majority of entertainment because that's the minority that has always been targeted due to systematic sexism and homophobia.
@Peterjr1 that's not how statistics work. If we have a pie and I have a slice that is 40% of the pie and the other 60% is divided into 4 pieces with no piece being greater than 40%, that doesn't make my piece of pie a minority of the whole. I wish I could have used your math when I cut the cake a my parties. "Come on, guys! My piece is a minority!!!" (Walking away with nearly half the pie in my plate)
@Logan-Japan Except it is. If the majority is bigger than the rest, the rest is the minority. That is exactly how it works. You can do that with your cake but you'd be an idiot
@Peterjr1 that's not how statistics work. Homosexuals are what, 1% of the population? Also we are talking about video games where the majority of players are straight males.
@Trajan While I would think when one talk about vocal miniorites on game related matters you are correct, he is speaking of everyone, not just gamers. See post #39.
@Trajan Theyre significantly more than 1% of the population lmao.
And no we aren't talking about players of video games. I've already stated that over and over here.
@Peterjr1 Googled it. 4% including transgendered.
Also why even talk of non-gamers. Non-gamers are irrelevant when discussiong what appeals to RPG players.
@Trajan Yep and the percentage increases year on year as it becomes more accepted around the world so that 4% is also likely low.
I already stated why in my initial comment. If you aren't willing to read and accept the context as it exists then why bother replying to me?
@Peterjr1 The statistic was 10% post-war. Regardless, homosexuality will also be a minority for obvious reasons.
Your point makes no sense. When a company makes a product they chase their customers, not the world population. If your point was true, the majority of games would target straight females. The female gamers I know don't devolve into silly identity politics when they play games however. One even plays competitive CS:GO.
@Peterjr1 I'm curious why you are so concerned about those minorities. Do you feel like they aren't represented fairly? There is a niche sector for nearly everything in gaming. Whenever developers pander to minorities, they don't get enough support from those minorities to justify effort and cost of development. But you won't win any allies by attacking the things that we straight male gamers like. That's where SJWs went wrong.
@Heavyarms55 Well, your comment kicked it off.
I find all this ridiculous. You're all so obsessed with everyone else and what they like/do/think. This is what pandering for the sake of pandering causes.
Fictional haracters in games, with chunky thighs, now cause this much sh*t and discourse? Wow...
Chun Li has big thighs now. Where's the uproar? 🙄
Consume the media you enjoy, and quit obsessing over what others like/dislike.
Woah comments went way off topic fast.
It's just a game. I like her thighs. They have nothing to do with any issue bigger than being nicely drawn in my view.
The rest of you need your heads read, you've got introverted egos and think everything is about YOU.
The main heroine looks fine, she's just wearing shorts. Look up the Japanese presentation where women were playing the game - nobody made a single joke about Ryza being "too sexy" or "fat / thick". That's because she looks like a normal girl.
The Internet is a perfect place for perverted people (no law, no weird looks) which is why it looks like everyone's crazy about "Ryza being sexy". Same with all the "Pokemon Sword and Shield sucks!!" even though the game looks like the perfect evolution of the series. In reality, this is a very small percentage of gamers.
Anyway, Ryza (that's her name?) looks fine but there's that other character and she does not look fine. See the video at the end of my message... I'm rather surprised there's articles about Ryza and not this (!) abomination. And yes, I say "abomination" because her design is awful. She makes the whole thing seem laughable. It's ok to make sexy characters as long as they're not underage (both physics-wise and age-wise), but when they make characters that look laughably perverted, it's just...
https://youtu.be/PQ_XywJsCzQ?t=2346
Apparently, that character is a "soldier". Yeah.
@CharlieGirl I feel like you're doing this on purpose - talking to people who don't plan on changing their views. I agree with most of the things you said but I've seen your comments and, well, it seems like you're here just to find some "demons" to slay. Which is fine, do what you want with your time but there's a lot of inconsistencies in your behavior, wouldn't you say?
My apologies if it seemed rude.
@Scollurio "too young" really? look at the size of her Bookhonagahoogs. That aint no kid.
@King-X 100% not intended to bring attention to glorious sideboob and thicc juicy thigh meat. Lol the character designer is so full of crap haha
@Patters How could I miss them? Still she looks no older than 15 to me. Considering, that I am almost triple that age, that's YOUNG to me!
@Shonenmon "there's a lot of inconsistencies in your behavior, wouldn't you say?"
no. I wouldn't.
@CharlieGirl oh boy...
Not intended: Yeah, right!
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