Sexualized characters that were done right.

PirateRose

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OP: I don't think you understand the word sexualization. You are trying to find positive reasons for something inherently wrong, for both genders.

There's nothing wrong with viewing a person as sexy, nothing wrong with a person being sexually attractive, but to be sexualized eliminates the person and personality. To be sexualized focuses only on what is physically attractive.

Miranda is a horrible choice, even Bioware PR team goes around talking about how she's just their for tits and ass, her name to fame is having the camera linger on her butt, which wasn't a choice by the writers, it was a choice by the designing team who obviously got bored with her talking about the serious issue of her family. Notice how Miranda's story over the course of ME2 and ME3 doesn't evolve or change much beyond her daddy issues. In character, she's pretty cool, but she stays in a nice, safe bubble so male fans won't get angry or feel out shined and can come rescue her when she's in distress. While her equivalent, Jacob, moves on from daddy issues and finds a woman to accidentally impregnate and helps other ex-Cerberus escape.

Then you have Thane Krios who was technically a sexualized character, I mean, look at those thighs in those tight leather pants, but he is killed off ASAP for a romanticized heroic, warrior death. He was literally really brought in to bait female fans, then cut when Bioware decided he didn't bring in enough fans (they have said they track who is the most popular romances) & they didn't have enough time for his character. The literally shoe horned into a problem I see growing with male characters, that they are valued on the sacrifice of their life. Not for their life.


Gypsyssilver said:
erttheking said:
What's your favorite sexualized character? And how does she (Or he) make it work?
Morrigan from Dragon Age.

She spent most of the game in very little clothing.

But damn, she was a badass...
Yeah, but she was certainly dressed for herself, not to be sexual. She thought it was weird and uncomfortable to have people staring at her breasts. She didn't dress with the intention of drawing attention to herself. The game artists maybe thought differently, but it was the writers that pulled her through. It's almost as if she was raised with the idea in mind that breasts are not sex objects, despite her mother training her to some day impregnate herself. Though it actually makes sense, considering the fact she spent so little time around many people and half the stuff people do baffles her.

She probably spent most of her childhood running around the woods completely naked. She grew comfortable enough with her body and never learned to hide it in fear that people will stare or men will violently lose control of their own bodies at the sight of a boob.
 

Daniel Ferguson

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Not really sexualization, per se, but... my brother once said that he saw Rei Ayanami as some version of a sexual idea, ie demure and passive and submissive, while Asuka Langley Soryu/whatever her lastname is in the movies is the opposite, ie the sexual reality... sexuality being a BIG thing in Evangelion. I'm not sure what Misato is, but she's definitely a fetish for older women, more experienced, more real, actually less extreme than either option, although maybe an extreme on a different scale to those first two. Then there's what's-her-name, the one in the pink. I can never remember the name. But she likes pain and she pilots Unit 02.

But you also have plenty of characters were aren't, to my knowledge, sexualized or representative of sexual ideas/realities/fantasies etc.
 

Izanagi009_v1legacy

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Daniel Ferguson said:
Not really sexualization, per se, but... my brother once said that he saw Rei Ayanami as some version of a sexual idea, ie demure and passive and submissive, while Asuka Langley Soryu/whatever her lastname is in the movies is the opposite, ie the sexual reality... sexuality being a BIG thing in Evangelion. I'm not sure what Misato is, but she's definitely a fetish for older women, more experienced, more real, actually less extreme than either option, although maybe an extreme on a different scale to those first two. Then there's what's-her-name, the one in the pink. I can never remember the name. But she likes pain and she pilots Unit 02.

But you also have plenty of characters were aren't, to my knowledge, sexualized or representative of sexual ideas/realities/fantasies etc.
The odd thing about Eva's females is that they are extremes of established fetishes/tropes used for anime females, somewhat for deconstruction and somewhat for fetish. Rei is a kuudere, a person who is cold but with a nice side. Storywise, we actually see what would cause a person to become so cold and passive. Asuka however is a demonstration of the type of trauma and life that would cause a person to be so violent and push people away in the way exhibited. Misato is supposed to be the bubbly older sister but is actually very broken and her fun loving behavior may be a facade for her sadness. Mari Makinami Illustrious(the new girl) is an odd one, A theory is that she is a deconstruction of the type of person that Eva fan would want a pilot to be: crazy, gimmicky outfit, sweet but a blood knight in combat. It may be like how Anno criticized the otaku community for it's objectification of women with the hospital scene and the conversations with Asuka
 

Darth Rosenberg

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PirateRose said:
It's almost as if she was raised with the idea in mind that breasts are not sex objects, despite her mother training her to some day impregnate herself. Though it actually makes sense, considering the fact she spent so little time around many people and half the stuff people do baffles her.

She probably spent most of her childhood running around the woods completely naked. She grew comfortable enough with her body and never learned to hide it in fear that people will stare or men will violently lose control of their own bodies at the sight of a boob.
---that's a good point about Morrigan, and a side to her background I'd largely forgotten.

Izanagi009 said:
Makoto Nanaya of Blazblue
I really like BlazBlue's designs, and yeah, that extends to finding several of the female characters visually appealing (e.g. Noel, Mu-12, Makoto). I'm not sure anything really justifies their designs in relation to this thread, but the game's tone is of exaggeration; visually, thematically, and in its (often brilliantly written) dialogue. A blonde, blue-eyed living-weapon-thing wearing a thong really doesn't seem out of place in that world...
 

Coruptin

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Izanagi009 said:
And that's the sad part about it, some characters are likable but a part of me also knows "this is not realistic and may be systematic of something"

Let me put this into context, Until I saw your post, I wasn't going to post because the person I would use as a reference is very debatable



In game and supplemental side material, Makoto has been characterized as very upbeat with a deadpan streak around some people (cough, Kagura, cough), Extremely devoted to her friends, Smart enough to get into military academy on scholarship, strong enough to compete with an entire cast of insanely powerful people, and strong-willed enough to avoid losing her mind after being thrown into the void.

Issue is that I left out one thing that I think makes her somewhat popular in the fanfic community: she has been portrayed as a bisexual. Don't misunderstand, bisexuality is fine but a part of me is constantly thinking "my god, this is fetish bait" so i'm left between a rock and a hard place. One half says "this character is fun, lovable, and has a backstory that intrigues me", the other half is like "do I like this character for or despite of her kemonomini and underboob".

I really do not like this conversation because it can be so hard to justify why we like something but if we do, we may be seen as perverts
a bit off topic, but i think it's hilarious that going through the blazblue character roster is like reading off a list of geek fetishes

*puts on red striped carny suit*
step right up! step right up! we got all the girls and boys for your girls and boys needs! we got your:
hot vampire boys
vampire girls
lolis
shotas
pretty blonde boys
cat girls
big furry
small furry
petanko girls
transgendered girls
beef cake with only chest exposed always
robot girls
tentacle monsters
we even have the hulk!
yes sir, you wont find a better deal anywhere else! you dont want them! you need and we got themq! step right up to arcsys's blazblue emporium!
 

DrOswald

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Khanht Cope said:
Another one I'm thinking of is possibly Fran from FFXII, although I'm not sure if she even qualifies for 'sexualized'.



On the one hand her design is somewhat silly and almost asking to be fetishized; but on the other, her presence and the tone of the game is so innocuous about it that it's just like "I look/dress this way", and the player's like " 'kay" and it's not really a thing beyond that. (unless the player fetishizes her, I guess)
Your not sure if Fran counts as sexualized? She's a bunny girl who wears metallic lingerie. How could she not be sexualized? Just because the in game characters don't acknowledge it does not mean it does not exist.
 

Darth Rosenberg

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Coruptin said:
a bit off topic, but i think it's hilarious that going through the blazblue character roster is like reading off a list of geek fetishes
To be fair, that's arguably a Japanese thing in general... where character trope is character, and fanservice is a thing in and of itself. (BlazBlue CS is brilliantly written, btw - impenetrable plot aside)
 

Izanagi009_v1legacy

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Coruptin said:
Izanagi009 said:
And that's the sad part about it, some characters are likable but a part of me also knows "this is not realistic and may be systematic of something"

Let me put this into context, Until I saw your post, I wasn't going to post because the person I would use as a reference is very debatable



In game and supplemental side material, Makoto has been characterized as very upbeat with a deadpan streak around some people (cough, Kagura, cough), Extremely devoted to her friends, Smart enough to get into military academy on scholarship, strong enough to compete with an entire cast of insanely powerful people, and strong-willed enough to avoid losing her mind after being thrown into the void.

Issue is that I left out one thing that I think makes her somewhat popular in the fanfic community: she has been portrayed as a bisexual. Don't misunderstand, bisexuality is fine but a part of me is constantly thinking "my god, this is fetish bait" so i'm left between a rock and a hard place. One half says "this character is fun, lovable, and has a backstory that intrigues me", the other half is like "do I like this character for or despite of her kemonomini and underboob".

I really do not like this conversation because it can be so hard to justify why we like something but if we do, we may be seen as perverts
a bit off topic, but i think it's hilarious that going through the blazblue character roster is like reading off a list of geek fetishes

*puts on red striped carny suit*
step right up! step right up! we got all the girls and boys for your girls and boys needs! we got your:
hot vampire boys
vampire girls
lolis
shotas
pretty blonde boys
cat girls
big furry
small furry
petanko girls
transgendered girls
beef cake with only chest exposed always
robot girls
tentacle monsters
we even have the hulk!
yes sir, you wont find a better deal anywhere else! you dont want them! you need and we got them! step right up to arcsys's blazblue emporium!
Believe me, my friends and I make that joke as well. We have a robot guy(Tager), a good hearted idiot of a heroine (Noel), the tragic love interest (Tsubaki) the awesome but stupid pervert (Kagura), the Hikikomori catgirl scientist (Kokonoe), a living suit of armor (Hakumen) and my favorite, the world's biggest troll (Terumi)

Edit: and lets not forget one of the lastest additions: hot pants girl or as Tao calls her, Butt girl
 

Izanagi009_v1legacy

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Darth Rosenberg said:
Coruptin said:
a bit off topic, but i think it's hilarious that going through the blazblue character roster is like reading off a list of geek fetishes
To be fair, that's arguably a Japanese thing in general... where character trope is character, and fanservice is a thing in and of itself. (BlazBlue CS is brilliantly written, btw - impenetrable plot aside)
Yeah, it is a bit odd. Sometimes, this results in very memorable but simple characters (Ragna isn't exaclty orignal) and other times, it results in Senren Kagura levels of stupid
 

Erttheking

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PirateRose said:
OP: I don't think you understand the word sexualization. You are trying to find positive reasons for something inherently wrong, for both genders.

There's nothing wrong with viewing a person as sexy, nothing wrong with a person being sexually attractive, but to be sexualized eliminates the person and personality. To be sexualized focuses only on what is physically attractive.
If the sexualized character is done wrong. It's not impossible for a character to have an inherently sexy design and have it be more than mindless fetish fuel. Granted a lot of people who make sexualized characters tend to screw it up and just do it to pander.
 

Johnny Novgorod

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wulf3n said:
Vault101 said:
I mean youve got guys telling us what we should and should not have a problem with?.....is that not..well problematic?
It is, because you seem to think "Someone having an opinion" == "Someone telling you what to think"

OT: Alyx Vance.
Now why on earth do you think Alyx Vance is a sexualized character?
 

Riot3000

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Lets see not going to go in deep on the sexualized thing and to keep the list short I am with my OG of awesome kickass while looking good female characters I am going with Chun Li.

 

Scarim Coral

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I would have to go with Bayonetta too. Of all the sexualized characters, I still find her to be sexy and she has regular sized breast (yes I'm into boobies) unlike most of the DOA girls (even with their backstories it must be annoying fighting and your breast jiggle alot), Ivy from Soul Calibur, the Sorceress from Dragon Crown and etc. Also yes I know sexualize women don't have big breast all teh time.
 

Khanht Cope

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DrOswald said:
Your not sure if Fran counts as sexualized? She's a bunny girl who wears metallic lingerie. How could she not be sexualized? Just because the in game characters don't acknowledge it does not mean it does not exist.
Well all of her species dress that way.



They reside in Eruyt village in the wood, and are forbidden to leave. As such, they have more tribal dress standards, like older non-urban human tribes. Her body has exaggerated characteristics, but they're not what we more commonly identify as sexual characteristics; and her sexual characteristics are as endowed as Penello's. Her species apparently value height so they have long limbs and tall ears, and they all wear metal leg braces with stilettos that emphasize their height, and they wear veils to cover their stomachs.

Here are the scenes in Eruyt:

http://youtu.be/1nW2J5edrWk?t=3h9m12s

Continued 3:21:10

As sexualisation goes, there's nothing to go on beside how she happens to look and dress. Is a woman in a bikini on a beach sexualized; or does that require the plumped characteristics, certain poses and angles, emphasized lighting and extra detail in certain areas, excessive skimpiness of the bikini and transparent context?


Note proportions in these cases... and not a single veil.



Subjectively I did not find her remotely sexualized when I played the game, and she isn't sexualized by the game as a character; but her visual design obviously baits fetishists. So I wasn't totally sure where it should lie between official sexualisation and fan sexualisation.
 

wulf3n

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Vault101 said:
its just not all opinions are equal when it comes to certain topics (which I know no one wants to hear...)
Perhaps.

Vault101 said:
wulf3n said:
OT: Alyx Vance.
what? she's notable for NOT being sexualised
Johnny Novgorod said:
Now why on earth do you think Alyx Vance is a sexualized character?
When everyone thinks "sexualization" they immediately think revealing clothes, ridiculous proportions, etc. But not all sexualization is physical.

Think about Alyx for a second. Shes Intelligent(upgrading dog) Strong, Brave and independent(fighting off the combine) Endearing and charming (with her goofy jokes etc) and Incredibly attractive, but realistically so.

But most of all she bonds with the player, showing deep feelings for the player, despite the fact that they haven't said anything.

She "likes" the player even though the player hasn't necessarily done anything to earn that.
 

DementedSheep

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I hate how "my sisters in danger, this is the perfect time to focus of my tits and ass" Miranda always comes up in these things.
 

DrOswald

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Khanht Cope said:
DrOswald said:
Your not sure if Fran counts as sexualized? She's a bunny girl who wears metallic lingerie. How could she not be sexualized? Just because the in game characters don't acknowledge it does not mean it does not exist.
Well all of her species dress that way.



They reside in Eruyt village in the wood, and are forbidden to leave. As such, they have more tribal dress standards, like older non-urban human tribes. Her body has exaggerated characteristics, but they're not what we more commonly identify as sexual characteristics; and her sexual characteristics are as endowed as Penello's. Her species apparently value height so they have long limbs and tall ears, and they all wear metal leg braces with stilettos that emphasize their height, and they wear veils to cover their stomachs.

Here are the scenes in Eruyt:

http://youtu.be/1nW2J5edrWk?t=3h9m12s

Continued 3:21:10

As sexualisation goes, there's nothing to go on beside how she happens to look and dress. Is a woman in a bikini on a beach sexualized; or does that require the plumped characteristics, certain poses and angles, emphasized lighting and extra detail in certain areas, excessive skimpiness of the bikini and transparent context?


Note human proportions in all cases...



Subjectively I did not find her remotely sexualized when I played the game, and she isn't sexualized as a character; but her visual design obviously baits fetishists. So I wasn't totally sure where it should lie between official sexualisation and fan sexualisation.
Her race is entirely female, they all have long legs and ample breasts, once they reach ideal mating age they retain that appearance until they die, they almost exclusively wear clothing designed to mimic lingerie* (exceptionally classy lingerie, to be sure, but lingerie none the less), and they wear high heels at all times. Frankly it would be hard to create a race more sexualized than the Viera while still being able to justify it. It's very classy sexualization, with great lengths taken to justify the sexualization in universe, but definitely sexualization.
 

Khanht Cope

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Okay, I guess I did pick a bad example there.

On closer inspection, her armour is totally lingerie. (look I was younger and more sexually repressed when I played this.... and the game was in SD)
 

SUPA FRANKY

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Sensibly dressed....

No thank you.jpg, I don't want boring outfits in my video games. Most games I play most of the characters generally wear impractical clothing.
 

Easton Dark

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Riot3000 said:
Lets see not going to go in deep on the sexualized thing and to keep the list short I am with my OG of awesome kickass while looking good female characters I am going with Chun Li.
Hell yeah, Chun Li. For the most part, Street Fighter does a fine job with sexualization. Cammy is the exception.

DementedSheep said:
I hate how "my sisters in danger, this is the perfect time to focus of my tits and ass" Miranda always comes up in theses things.