Sankaku Complex Forums » General

1. 

   Travis
   

   I found my old Game Boy advance SP the other day, buried in the depths of my closet. I turned it on and Fire Emblem was inside, can you believe that whole era is almost a decade old now? Anyway I was flipping through some of the character support conversations and one of them revealed the ages of two characters.

   One was fifteen, the other fourteen, and here they are in a battle against bloodthirsty psychopaths to save the world, surrounded by other people their age and a handful of adults who sit on the sidelines while children lead them. Not to mention, those two characters had the most...enlightening conversation. Basically went 'Hi! I'm so and so and I think we should be friends!' 'omg cool we're almost the same age lets hang out!' Right. Top of the line stuff.

   Perhaps it never bothered me back when I was that age, but now it just doesn't sit right. And its hardly limited to Fire Emblem. Japanese games in general seem to be filled with children/teenagers saving the world for some reason or another. Granted their are exceptions, but I cant think of anything to prominent. Maybe that 'Nier' thing?

   But then I look at something like Dragon Age, or Fallout (perhaps not the best examples but eh) where its fairly clear all your characters are fully grown adults whose balls have dropped, voices have changed, and could realistically be expected to actually know how to fight, its kind of...strange.

   I'm not interested in arguing which one is better (if anything Dragon Age II shows Western RPGs are heading down the path of barely being RPGs, as Bioware claimed of JRPGs). I'm just curious, what causes this? Because lets be honest, the 'children saving the world' trope is all over the place in anime/manga too, and is for the most part completely ridiculous. The argument about Western beefcakes and Asian prettyboys might blend with this, but I don't really care about that.

   Pics also bring up interesting points, though the second isn't exactly limited to Japanese games.

   

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   Posted 5 years ago # Quote
2. 

   robobob
   

   Oh, so you noticed that now? /sarcasm off

   Well, that´s why I am a bit more attracted to western games, FPS´s and RPG´s, because you will usually get the chance to play badass adult characters. Portraying Duke Nukem or Gordon Freeman as shonen would be blasphemy, If you know what I mean. Maybe Japanese can´t accept adults as heros like we do, idk.

   Posted 5 years ago # Quote
3. 

   Deus_mechanicus
   

   Well, ive always thought western games featured those insanely bulky alpha males types to appeal to most young mens latent homoerotic tendencies ...

   Posted 5 years ago # Quote
4. 

   robobob
   

   ^ Screw you, but you might have a point there. But I´d say that the heros in western games are only a continuation to the super hero stereotype introduced by Marvel and DC. And it´s quite common that the main cast in action movies consists of body builders etc. Different culture, different image of how a hero should look like.

   Aaand I mentioned Freeman, who does not fit this stereotype. He´s your average skinny lab guy with a beard and glasses and a little psycho attitude. So for western standards a bit of an anti-hero.

   Posted 5 years ago # Quote
5. 

   Wertyxious
   

   Tentacles. <- That's what I learned after reading all that text.

   Posted 5 years ago # Quote
6. 

   renstalon
   

   Generally, youth is considered very precious in Japanese culture and the most beautiful time in one's life.

   This could said to date back to Japan's first novelist, Murasaki Shikibu's "Tale of Genji," in which the main character starts out as a boy and has a great deal of adventures in court. He is said to be the start of the "bishounen" archetype.

   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishounen

   Life is often attributed to the cherry blossoms that bloom only for a short time in spring.

   The best and most beautiful time in your life will pass away quickly, like the falling and dancing flowers of spring. So, if you are going to take a chance, take it when you are young, as it will never come again.

   I think this is at least partially why Japanese tales tend to revolve around the young.

   Posted 5 years ago # Quote
7. 

   silentcomet
   

   werty101 said:
   Tentacles. <- That's what I learned after reading all that text.

   same, although the comics made me lol so bad....

   especially the last one...

   Female Heroines = less armor = more protection!

   Posted 5 years ago # Quote
8. 

   Sorrior
   

   renstalon said:
   Generally, youth is considered very precious in Japanese culture and the most beautiful time in one's life.

   This is what i was thinking and no not from myself but from someone sayiung this when i saw this topic before.

   But in my case i feel i should point something out. Dire emblem is set in medieval times no? Well then how many grizzled old guys would you find then and yet how many 14-15 year olds who had been brought up to be soldiers from pretty much birth would you see. Alot of the kids and few of the grizzled old guys. So in that way i makes sense.

   Oh and I once talked to my dad about this and he doesn;t mind the japanese way of doing things. He actually kinda likes it. His way of thinking if i recall right(and as i pointed out) is that among other things the youth would be more flexible and possibly stronger while even being more adaptable and they always do have the old guys for advice.

   Though my favorite reasoning. WHO THE FUCK ELSE BUT A BUNCH OF TEENS WOULD BE INSANE ENOUGH TO FIGHT AND ENTIRE EVIL EMPIRE RUN BY A SOCIOPATH. I mean really that either takes balls stupidity or being completely insane and i'd say teens tend to fit all three. I mean it's like they have the psychological profile to do this kinda suicidal work just by being teens.

   anyways those are my takes on it. Hope you enjoyed my rant.

   Posted 5 years ago # Quote
9. 

   Nefly
   

   There's something wonderful about youth. I envy the idiotic optimism of the protagonists in those games, the eagerness to learn and explore and make mistakes, and the possibilities that unfold as a result. People grow older, lose their dreams, lose faith in themselves... I'm noticing it happening within myself, and it makes me sad.

   Posted 5 years ago # Quote
10. 

    Deus_mechanicus
    

    If its something you notice, its something you can change.

    There is no reason to ever "grow up", unless you resign yourself to your fate.

    Posted 5 years ago # Quote
11. 

    Lilith
    

    deus0mnis said:
    Well, ive always thought western games featured those insanely bulky alpha males types to appeal to most young mens latent homoerotic tendencies ...

    Brainwashed by Artefact's silly attempts? Weakling.

    I usually lie to myself, whenever I see a 15 year old in anime I pretend he is 20 and whenever I see a 10 year old I pretend he is 15, so Ash Ketchum would be 15 and most high schooler-aged heroes would be 20.

    Unless of course there is a good explanation, like, Evangelion, otherwise I think it's silly.

    Everyone says 20-23 is the pinnacle of a men's life, appearance wise/strength wise, I also think it's really the time when you get depressed when you realize you're already an adult but you are nothing like you pictured you would be when you were younger. If I had to pick an age for a male protagonist to be I'd pick 21ish.

    Also, I usually enjoy older anime protagonists a lot more, I love Mushishi, Welcome to the NHK, etc. Really liked Eden of the East and the whole "getting out of college" instead of "high school" setting. Anyways, it's easier to hide flaws in storytelling when your character is young, you can blame it on his naivety and not on your poor designs.

    Posted 5 years ago # Quote
12. 

    robobob
    

    Lilith said:
    Everyone says 20-23 is the pinnacle of a men's life, appearance wise/strength wise, I also think it's really the time when you get depressed when you realize you're already an adult but you are nothing like you pictured you would be when you were younger. If I had to pick an age for a male protagonist to be I'd pick 21ish.

    I´d say the pinnacle for men is 25, but it might be earlier if you focus on high-performance sport and athletics which tend to wear out your body. But that´s only me.

    Anyways I am not really satisfied with the fact that most seinen manga/anime do NOT focus on the fact that their protagonists are at the pinnacle of their life but focus on psychological shit which admittedly becomes more important during adulthood.

    Posted 5 years ago # Quote
13. 

    Antiveli
    

    This "grow up" shit is garbage. "Grow up" is something the BFE people do when they get too lazy keep up their appearance so they have kids, get fat, and slowly rot away in some obscure suburb.

    Posted 5 years ago # Quote
14. 

    Sorrior
    

    The Antiweeaboo said:
    This "grow up" shit is garbage. "Grow up" is something the BFE people do when they get too lazy keep up their appearance so they have kids, get fat, and slowly rot away in some obscure suburb.

    All this constant use of the term BFE you do these days interests me. Is it newly squired term that you can;t help but use or something? But seriously it's getting annoying i don't care how cool or hip it makes you feel the constant spamming of it if anything makes you seem rather stupid. Oh and i looked it up and you're certainly not using it right.

    Posted 5 years ago # Quote
15. 

    Deus_mechanicus
    

    Lilith said:

    Brainwashed by Artefact's silly attempts? Weakling.

    What?

    Posted 5 years ago # Quote
16. 

    Kudi
    

    Sorrior said:

    All this constant use of the term BFE you do these days interests me. Is it newly squired term that you can;t help but use or something? But seriously it's getting annoying i don't care how cool or hip it makes you feel the constant spamming of it if anything makes you seem rather stupid. Oh and i looked it up and you're certainly not using it right.

    Only someone from BFE would say that.

    Posted 5 years ago # Quote
17. 

    Antiveli
    

    Sorrior said:

    All this constant use of the term BFE you do these days interests me. Is it newly squired term that you can;t help but use or something? But seriously it's getting annoying i don't care how cool or hip it makes you feel the constant spamming of it if anything makes you seem rather stupid. Oh and i looked it up and you're certainly not using it right.

    Ive used before but Ive started using more often because I like how it pisses off BFE boys like yourself. Arguing that Alaska isnt BFE is like trying to argue that Azns will like you because you like anime.

    Posted 5 years ago # Quote
18. 

    Deus_mechanicus
    

    So where do you live then antiweaboo?

    I live in D.C , so you are most likely a BFE boy to me ...

    Posted 5 years ago # Quote
19. 

    Sorrior
    

    kudichan said:

    Only someone from BFE would say that.

    More like i just don't like him. Also from what i read the term itself refers to someone not from a city. However by all definitions that matter i live in a city.

    Posted 5 years ago # Quote
20. 

    Sorrior
    

    The Antiweeaboo said:

    Ive used before but Ive started using more often because I like how it pisses off BFE boys like yourself. Arguing that Alaska isnt BFE is like trying to argue that Azns will like you because you like anime.

    Umm yeah i live in one of the two cities in alsaka nice try though.

    deus0mnis said:
    So where do you live then antiweaboo?

    I live in D.C , so you are most likely a BFE boy to me ...

    The asshole of america southern california. He also won;t let you forget it. He's always going on about how it;s the best place in the country and they have all these "azns" so on and so forth. You ask me he;s overcompensating for something.

    Posted 5 years ago # Quote

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