Zingor, David, and I “got into it” over Final Fantasy: XII’s inclusion of “bunny girls†to their cast of characters. I personally think bunny girls look stupid and unattractive. Zingor seems to think that all anthro-girls are weird to begin with, so why would bunnies make a big difference? David all the while, is trying to spread anthro tolerance everywhere.
For those unfamiliar with the term anthro, it’s a shortened form of the word “anthropomorphicâ€. Anthropomorphic – as it pertains to anime – is used to describe certain animal features, characteristics, and attributes crossed with humans. These hybrid animal/humans are everywhere in anime. Cat girls are by far the most widely known and recognized but there also fox girls, wolf boys, cheetah girls, dog boys, and lord knows what else.
I hadn’t seen bunny girls though, and when I did see them, I was like, “That’s so not sexy or intimidating.†Most anthros I’ve seen are crossed with predators and make a good deal more sense – to me at least – than an animal that’s basically the appetizer of the animal kingdom crossed with a woman (who’s supposed to be a warrior at that)!
I’ve made the argument why cat girls and fox girls make more sense than other anthros. I’m referring to the century’s old comparison of women to felines and vixens; when you cross the features to match the characteristics, well, duh. While we’re all entitled to our own opinions, I feel that mine is justified.
Crossing food with people doesn’t make sense, and bunnies are food, as my dad’s cat will happily attest to. But then again, some people are just food waiting to happen so maybe it does make sense on some level to some people…
Overall, are anthros good for anime? Do they fire our imaginations or gross us out? Do you care or do you want to make a fur coat outta Inuyasha and his brother?
I’ll have to agree with your friend, if you don’t care, then don’t care. Look for the strengths in the character. It’s just a marketing ploy for the people that would only buy it to see the ears.
Personally I feel kind of insulted for some reason, and I believe it’s because you said that the race is a new inclusion, but as for me, someone who isn’t interested in the game, I knew that the game was being based on a setting of a previous game that introduced the race, and the characters seemed interesting, I barely realized that they were supposed to be “bunny girls at all”.
So I guess I feel you’re taking this skin deep, you’re probably going to buy the game anyway, and does the species matter to you that much if the character is still interesting and likeable nonetheless?
Prolink, it’s not as if I’ll boycott FF:XII because I think the bunny character looks dumb, it’s just an opinion on the design. That’s all it is, an opinion. I don’t feel this great disgust or hate towards it, I personally can’t get past the ears or the overall concept of bunnies. I seriously doubt that when I’m playing the game that I’ll throw down the controller every time the character is on screen and heave into a toliet.
Bunnies to me aren’t the tougest or smartest animals out there. Maybe the animators got tired of predator based anthros and wanted to shake things up a bit. Whatever. Basically it boils down to perception and opinion.
BTW, I can’t see where I said that the Viera are a new inclusion; I stated that I personally hadn’t seen bunnies before this. I have never played the Final Fantasy Tactics games they’re originally from hence why it’s all new to me.
I agree with David.