I feel that the little girl with the razor is a story that I will have told to me. The little boy beggar is a story I get to tell with him. For me this is because the levels of information communicated to me by the visuals leads me to consider the first picture a portrait, it is a static pose meant to illustrate the character, while the second pic could be considered an in-action pose, in the process of doing, and the style of art leaves more room for interpretation and impression. Neither of these characters are any 'better' than the other, and I would consider a game that featured either style... pending said game's quality or genre, of course.
On a personal note, I don't like playing female protagonists, so I'd pick the boy, I guess, but again, pending the game's genre, narrative and quality.