From 'thoughtful warrior' to 'I'll pose in a way that focuses on my arse, tits and now-exposed thighs' to 'I think we can lose a good 50% of the coverage of platemail and still call it armoured'.This is a case where the few bad apples didn't just spoil the bunch, but somehow spread seeds and are now rotten trees. And I think Miyazaki is right, that a huge problem is creators are not looking outside their medium for inspiration and creativity. They're just continually looking inward, with expectations and creations becoming ever more ridiculous as a result.
Were the situation more balanced the discussion wouldn't be as lopsided as it has become. Whether it's a major or minor franchise, rampant objectification is spilling into a ton of games.
One that makes me angrier than all the others is what happened to Valkyrie Profile.
She went from this (Valkyrie Profile 1):
To this (Valkyrie Anatomia - bottom is the "Pale Valkyrie" form):
What is it with these costumes that don't have the element covering the breasts linked in the middle? If it's a racy experimental evening dress for the red carpet, sure, there's the creative element of fashion etc, but when it's individual armoured breast cups with no shoulder straps it just looks like it's only a bit of glue holding it on. Maybe that's the point, that they look moments away from the costume falling off.
I'll never understand the armour/lingerie combo that seems really common, it just looks so profoundly uncomfortable and ridiculous to see someone pairing suspenders and a g-string with a massive boobplate (Hi Fire Emblem). I suppose that's a male fantasy/fetish that goes back a very long way.
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