JRPG dudes look feminine because asian dudes look (somewhat) feminine

[otterbeans]

Perhaps the issue at hand is that JRPG heroes tend to be boys, not men? It's certainly true that JRPG characters, as a rule, tend towards youth.

Yeah, I think that's probably one of the biggest reasons for the effeminate males that take place in JRPGs. JRPGs do occasionally have a very masculine male, they just tend to get relegated to the sidelines while the main character tends to be unusually young. The effeminate men tend to show up as the villians.

I wish more male characters would be designed like the ones in Final Fantasy XII (excluding Vaan). Characters like Basch and Balthier. Neither of them were Gears of War-esque masculine, but they had enough masculinity about them that you could plainly see that they were in fact men.

Mmm, Balthier.

And we were always sure of Basch's name, the way he loved repeating it so much. Also, you do realize he was wearing a frilly... thing. I can't call it a skirt, maybe more of a pants ruffle?

 

[DeadlyYellow]

Especially Disgusting, repulsive chest hair. Notice how Kratos has none?
...
Sorry if I insulted you, but I have a thing agianst hairy.

You know, that is one of the little irks I have about games, not ENOUGH body hair. You rarely see game that have grizzled hairy manly men that extends to more than just the face. The only character that really springs to mind as one is Black Whirlwind from Jade Empire.

 

[darkmetalfox]

It doesn't really bother me much. Only thing is that every once in awhile,I find a stupid person saying"That chick is hot!!" and I would then say "Dude,that's a guy" And normally that would follow with said person screaming in embarrassment and myself laughing malevolently.

That, my friend, is called a "trap"

But I never even set the trap to begin with. it just happens. and it's victims tend to be people who: A.have never seen anime or B.too dense to figure it out before hand.

No no no. The boy is a trap. It's the actual term for boys in anime and games that look like girls, and/or are set up as girls only until they are revealed as guys later on.

4chan, or something. The original trap is, I think his name is Tsukasa, from DotHack.

Ah,yes! I do remember Tsukasa. and I whole-heartedly admit that I was confused about that character's gender.

However,that was during my ascent into the anime world. I was about 12 years old then.

 

[Metalix Knightmare]

I don't have anything against girly men. It's more how they dress really. The main reason I have yet to play FF12 is due to the fact that one of the characters would be considered fruty looking by 1600 AD dress standards, and another would have been kicked out of the village people for looking too flamboyant.

Not even the 10% dressed Bunnygirl with realistic bounce physics could really save that for me.

 

[Jamash]

Especially Disgusting, repulsive chest hair. Notice how Kratos has none?
...
Sorry if I insulted you, but I have a thing agianst hairy.

You know, that is one of the little irks I have about games, not ENOUGH body hair. You rarely see game that have grizzled hairy manly men that extends to more than just the face. The only character that really springs to mind as one is Black Whirlwind from Jade Empire.

Yeah like Meng Huo from Dynasty Warriors, a big bearded jungle guy who apparently shaves his body, or maybe Zhu Rong shaves him when he's asleep.

 

[darkmetalfox]

Characters in Japanese games look effeminate, but don't criticize them for that, it's like saying the girls in american games have boobs that are too big.
(to those saying it's racist, the term is ethnocentric)

actually,I often see in some animes that women are super-endowed.

 

[tobyornottoby]

Characters in Japanese games look effeminate, but don't criticize them for that, it's like saying the girls in american games have boobs that are too big.
(to those saying it's racist, the term is ethnocentric)

aah thanks for the official term ^^;

 

[BallPtPenTheif]

No. Japanese men are not more feminine. The ideal of male beauty in Japan is more feminine.

only in some circles.

burly cauliflower eared mixed martial arts fighters get tons of tail. there are many, many different subcultures to Japanese society. do you think Yakuza walk around with a FFX haircut? Tokyo is not Japan.

 

[Susan Arendt]

Oh, shI...I have actually met LOTS of girls that are UNIbrow. My mom, for example is a UNIbrow. That's not that uncommon in the ladies. They're just much more fanatical about plucking the damn middle thing out.

I wasn't talking about unibrows, which Susan Arendt misunderstood, I was talking about the actual browbone.

I didn't misunderstand at all, just attempted to inject a bit of levity.

 

[theklng]

i wouldn't mind it if actually fit the theme of the specific j-rp...

wait, what am i saying. i don't play jrpgs anyway.

 

[The Wooster]

No. Japanese men are not more feminine. The ideal of male beauty in Japan is more feminine.

only in some circles.

burly cauliflower eared mixed martial arts fighters get tons of tail. there are many, many different subcultures to Japanese society. do you think Yakuza walk around with a FFX haircut? Tokyo is not Japan.

I was refering to the pop media perception. Same as our opinion on beauty here in the west is largely influenced by the popular media.

What annoys me most about JRPG characters is not that they're overly feminine, I can accept that as part of what a JRPG is, but that the character designs never really mesh with what they're supposed to do or be. Sephiroth is probably the best example ever. He's supposed to be a super badass mega soldier but his physique says underwear model not soldier. Likewise hi hair and mode of dress, they just make no fucking sense in terms of the role he's playing. This issue, I think, stems from the fact character designers try to make characters visually appealing rather than just appealing. When you get past the 7 foot sword and trenchcoat, Sephiroth isn't actually all that interesting.

 

[HSIAMetalKing]

Why is nobody bashing the fact that in japanese anime, or british animation or whatever, the steers are on the right side of the car? Makes no sense right? Except for that's just how it is over there.

Then why is everybody always so bent on bashing JRPGs girly guys? Google some J-pop bands for fun. There's a lot of guys there that look just like girls too. Although I have to admit that looking at cosplay compilations on youtube, female crossplayers have it pretty easy Anyways, studies show that asian dudes have less testosterone in their blood than western guys, so it's all just... the way it is

You're just jealous because Japanese men are, in a whole, more attractive.
Testosterone does not euqal attractive.
Especially Disgusting, repulsive chest hair. Notice how Kratos has none?
...
Sorry if I insulted you, but I have a thing agianst hairy.

... that hurt.

*shuffles away to comb his chest hair*

 

[The Wooster]

Anyone else get buttcrack hair? I could shave that shit off and make a wig out of it.

 

[Mistah Kurtz]

Is it really too much to ask for the guy to look like a guy?

When it's comming from America, no. When it's comming from Japan, where the men have a tendency to actually look like that without trying, then no as well. Because guess what... THEY LOOK LIKE MEN. Take a look at Western games. Even the foreigners look more white then ever, including Africans. (Alyx Vance anyone?)
If men look different in a videogame, and that game came from a country where men look like that, it is indeed racist to demand a change. If you don't like the way they look, don't play the game. That his how men look in Japan, (until they're like 30 and have fully matured and gotten real jorbs) that is their depiction of beauty, that is their idea of manliness, and as such, their game will contain that. You don't like it: Don't play the damned game, and certainly don't be a racist about it. (Note: I'm not calling you out as a racist, I'm saying the point of view is racist.)

So you agree with him that japanese men look more feminine and yet he's racist for pointing it out? (by the way, it wouldn't be racist, it would be ethnocentric if anything)

 

[Nechti_Visara]

Just wanted to say one thing: One of the points that a few people made (and that may have already been addressed -- I didn't read pages 2 and 3) is the point that armor doesn't cover enough of the person's body.

Now, not only is that true in the occasional western game (though I suppose I wouldn't know, seeing as how I don't play them), but also, a lot of the time they're not actually wearing armor -- it's just clothing. You can equip the armor, but most of the time the only thing that changes is the weapon, or, if it's equipment, the shield. Admittedly, normal clothing is not the thing to wear in battle, but on the other hand since no one ever draws blood anyway, it doesn't seem to really have to make sense.

(For the record, I was playing FF:Crystal Chronicles the other day with my best friend, and I kept pointing out flaws. His response to each and every one of them was "Yeah, but... It's Final Fantasy.")

 

[The Wooster]

Wanting games that realistically depict men is no more 'racist' than wanting games that don't show women as huge titted monstrosities. Just because it's a different culture's 'idealized' form doesn't make it any less ridiculous.

 

[Jark212]

Maby it's because Japanese chicks are into girly men/boys

 

[The Wooster]

Maby it's because Japanese chicks are into girly men/boys

Maybe it's because japanese chicks are girly men boys.

 

[Aerach]

The protagonists in JRPGs are hot, everyone is just jealous.