Kojima On MGS 5's Quiet: I Meant Sexy, Not Erotic

[Fox12]

I say juvenile, but perhaps "unsophisticated" would be a more accurate term. He dresses a character in a uniform that is utterly unsuited for the role their supposed to fill, and the only reason is because he thinks it's more attractive that way. That doesn't strike me as a practical reason to make the decision, but more than that it seems... degrading. Degrading because the character is forced to dress in an upsurd outfit in an upsurd situation just so her fans can drool over her. I personally just find it kind of gross.

I agree with you, however, that I can't judge the game or the character too harshly because, well, it hasn't been released yet. Until then I can't say much more beyond speculation, so personality wise she may be the most fascinating character in history.

As for asking women to dress that way, even as a request, that does seem sort of pervy. A pervert being someone whose sexual desires or actions fall outside social norms, publicly suggesting that women dress up as bikini snipers falls out of social norms. It could all be a misunderstanding, but the way everything was presented, it really makes it sound like he designed a character he found attractive for the sole purpose of seeing women dress that way. It comes across as fetishistic and strange, though again, it may be a misunderstanding.

I've been debating this with like three different people though, so I think I'm just going to leave it here, and say we can agree to disagree. Lets all agree Anita Sarkeesian is awful, or that terrorism is bad or something so we can all get along again, eh? :,

That's fair enough. I wasn't trying to debate though, I was just trying to understand where this whole "immature" as an insult comes from.

I understand, I'm not fond of people using adult as a term of approval, so that was my error is syntax.

 

[Lovely Mixture]

Kojima has never been one to shy away from fanservice.

As for asking women to dress that way, even as a request, that does seem sort of pervy. A pervert being someone whose sexual desires or actions fall outside social norms, publicly suggesting that women dress up as bikini snipers falls out of social norms. It could all be a misunderstanding, but the way everything was presented, it really makes it sound like he designed a character he found attractive for the sole purpose of seeing women dress that way. It comes across as fetishistic and strange, though again, it may be a misunderstanding.

I've been debating this with like three different people though, so I think I'm just going to leave it here, and say we can agree to disagree. Lets all agree Anita Sarkeesian is awful, or that terrorism is bad or something so we can all get along again, eh?

You know nothing about cosplay culture and that ignorance is exactly why people don't like Anita.

 

[The_Echo]

There's a stark difference between "sexy" an "erotic." He illustrates that difference well. Kojima's no native English speaker, so things being lost in translation like this isn't all too surprising.

A lot of thought goes into everything in Metal Gear Solid, character design included. Quiet isn't in a bikini top to give us a collective boner (I mean, come on, it's not even a revealing top), in the same way The Boss wasn't given that shiny suit so she could cosplay as the Silver Surfer.

That said, I had a hard time explaining why EVA's jump suit needed to come down to her navel to my female roommate (Eventually went with "It's a parody of Bond Girls").

It was a zipper. EVA chose to pull it down that far. Considering her design in MGS4, and the fact she loves to feel the wind as she rides her bike, it seems like it was just a look she enjoyed.

 

[Nosirrah]

So the guns are sexy too? Someone call yahtzee, his flaming tits gun may finally be a reality.

 

[Cybylt]

On another note, if her power is indeed changing color that would be a pretty neat touch on that subplot that was introduced in 2 and brought out more in 4 where you had technology in the modern era replacing the mysticism and supernatural prowess of the Boss and Big Boss' generations.

 

[DrummerM]

The industry certainly is full of man babies when a well respected Japanese developer can't design a game without getting American developers hot and bothered about the latest controversy craze, sexism.

Call me crazy, but I think game designers should be free to design the games they want without complaints about character design.

 

[Ishigami]

Whatever the reason I think it is just stupid.
She is basically running around half naked and in Afghanistan none the less.
Good luck with that?

 

[Michael Legault]

Do people actually care about this stuff or are they simply seeking attention by trying to appear as politically correct as possible? Because I honestly couldn't care less. Does that make me a bad person?

I hate how people have gentrified that term to such an extent that someone can casually apply it to any discussion pertaining sexism, racism, homo/transphobia, et al. and the people who originally posed a complaint are immediately discredited as facile.

There's a very good reason to call Kojima out on his nonsense, because nobody should be exempt from criticism. And colour me skeptic as to what grand ulterior purpose Quiet's bikini top will play. Considering Ocelot was granted the benefit of a proper coat to deal with sunstroke and dehydration in the same trailer, I think the intention is rather transparent.

it's probably something like she is deaf and feels vibrations through bare skin. She's a sniper too so it could help gauge wind speed and direction?

 

[sarahvait]

What's funny is that if it's true that her skin color changes so she can hide herself, then she's actually wearing too much clothing. It'd kind of ruin the illusion if you're practically invisible except for what looks like a floating pair of pants and a black bikini top.

 

[bartholen_v1legacy]

Bllaaaaahhh, I'm really tired at this sort of thing by now. I guess I'm defeated. The only thing I have to say is

Yeah, a character who seems to go into battle in torn stockings and a bikini isn't trying to be erotic. Not at all.

 

[The_Echo]

snip

I think it was a look Kojima enjoyed more. You can enjoy the wind without being naked.

I mean, yeah, I guess. Though EVA's character sort of runs with the theme of freedom. Nudity (although really the majority of her body is still covered up) can be representative of being free, unburdened. EVA said she could only truly be herself when she's on her bike, and I think the way she chooses to dress is kind of like shedding a (false) skin.

There's also the matter of EVA very obviously using her beauty as a tool and/or weapon.

Clearly she was designed to be pretty attractive, there's no getting around that. But I think her design came after Kojima figured out what kind of character she'd be.

 

[Fox12]

Kojima has never been one to shy away from fanservice.

As for asking women to dress that way, even as a request, that does seem sort of pervy. A pervert being someone whose sexual desires or actions fall outside social norms, publicly suggesting that women dress up as bikini snipers falls out of social norms. It could all be a misunderstanding, but the way everything was presented, it really makes it sound like he designed a character he found attractive for the sole purpose of seeing women dress that way. It comes across as fetishistic and strange, though again, it may be a misunderstanding.

I've been debating this with like three different people though, so I think I'm just going to leave it here, and say we can agree to disagree. Lets all agree Anita Sarkeesian is awful, or that terrorism is bad or something so we can all get along again, eh?

You know nothing about cosplay culture and that ignorance is exactly why people don't like Anita.

You can dress it up (hah, puns) however you want, but the context behind what he did is perverted and creepy, and I think the vast majority of normal functioning adults would agree with me.

 

[MrHide-Patten]

In all honesty I'd jump any day of the week to defend something like Dragons Crown, but in this instance I find the designs just lazy and boring.

Mistral from Metal Gear Rising was a great example of sexy, it was a part if the characters personality to be sexual domineering (particularly in the way she treats the hand robots). But in this instance I'm just not seeing it.

I get it might be hot but really?

 

[Nigh Invulnerable]

I see this and just think, "So business as usual for Kojima san and MGS then? Why is this even news?"

I understand people getting weirded out by Kojima trying to encourage people to dress up like his characters, but it's really just a matter of personal taste. People will want to whether he makes his slightly pervy comments or not.

 

[Lovely Mixture]

You can dress it up (hah, puns) however you want, but the context behind what he did is perverted and creepy,

Or you could educate yourself on what cosplay is, I'm not dressing it up in any way.
Cosplay is huge in Japan, the only people who should care about what he said are 1. cosplayers 2. cosplay enthusiasts. "Creepy" to you might be normal for them.

Kojima, for all his faults in game design and writing direction, actually pays attention to what the community wants. He has shown this multiple times. Videogames are a visual medium, why shouldn't he be thinking of the way characters look and how the community will react to them?

Do you think this person is going to be upset by Metal Gear characters being made more erotic?

Spoiler

You know, Quiet actually seems to be wearing more clothing than her.

and I think the vast majority of normal functioning adults would agree with me.

And that wouldn't make them (or you) any more "correct" (argumentum ad populum).
You can stand by your opinion, but you're choosing to be ignorant.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

Simply put, despite what americans might thing, MGS is as anime as it gets. Cosplay is a big thing in anime fandom and sexy characters often get a lot of cosplayers going for them because they end up being more popular. It sure is "creepy" if you're a "normie" in some sense, an un-initiated person to the anime culture that permeates these games and their fandom.



That's looking at that culture through your own culture's lense though. It's unfair and discriminatory and places one culture at a higher place than another when actually all culture is equal. First educate yourself in the culture that the thing stems from, then opine about said thing.