Character Discussion & Speculation Thread

[Trainer Yusuf]

I think this is from a Pokemon fan magazine.

It is from Nintendo Dream, aka Japanese Nintendo Power.

 

[Mega Altaria]

Lillie and Gladion being first and second is no surprise, but I find it odd that female playable character is ranked so much higher than male playable character. I would assume the amount of females and males playing this game are going to be roughly the same, and odds are you'll pick the character you play as in a poll like this, so the two should be ranked about the same. This gives me the sense that there must have been a population bias in polled group. Either that, or a whole lot of guys voted for the girl for some reason. Not that it matters at all, just an observation.

I personally find the female player character more appealing because she uses more vibrant colours in which I find the male character somewhat bland. Maybe also because of her cuteness was also a factor why she is much more popular than the male character but there will definitely be other reasons, including the possible bias too as a result of the majority of the voters being female.

I don't find the top 8 placements of Nanu, Acerola and Guzma surprising though.

 

[Sceptile Leaf Blade]

I'm surprised to see how Lana ranked that high considering that she isn't as outgoing as Mallow, which I probably think that's why.

Lana also has cooler moments in the anime, she's more gutsy at times. She's the one who tamed the wildest Stoutland, she's the one who hooked a Totem Wishiwashi and managed to actually battle it on her own, she's the one who never gives up when teaching Popplio the Z-Move. Lana really has that 'beware the nice ones' trope down to a tee, which makes her more interesting as she can surprise you by coming out from her shy corner and do cool things. Mallow just doesn't get that as much, she's often on the forefront in dialogue scenes but she can't carry a story, she is the character everyone else bounces off on because she doesn't have as much interesting herself. Lana also has the cooler pokémon, Popplio is just much more popular than Steenee and Bounsweet are. That said, I wouldn't have guessed her to tie with Kahili, Kahili is such a non-character in the games and she doesn't even exist yet in the anime.

 

[Orphalesion]

Lillie and Gladion being first and second is no surprise, but I find it odd that female playable character is ranked so much higher than male playable character. I would assume the amount of females and males playing this game are going to be roughly the same, and odds are you'll pick the character you play as in a poll like this, so the two should be ranked about the same. This gives me the sense that there must have been a population bias in polled group. Either that, or a whole lot of guys voted for the girl for some reason. Not that it matters at all, just an observation.

"Cute" is a huge factor in Japanese culture (think of all the little girl protagonists in Anime) and all 4 female characters that rank in the top 8 are some variation of a moe character (truth be told they could star in their own Magical Girl anime) it's also why that little, irritating girl from USUM (forgot the name) was so popular the moment she was unveiled.
Japanese pop culture loves cute things and that translates over into the fanbases in other places.

And personally I've seen a lot of let's plays where a male player chooses the female player character.

I'm more confused that either of the PCs rank that high, or at all, considering they aren't even characters so much as player avatars.

 

[Bguy7]

"Cute" is a huge factor in Japanese culture (think of all the little girl protagonists in Anime) and all 4 female characters that rank in the top 8 are some variation of a moe character (truth be told they could star in their own Magical Girl anime) it's also why that little, irritating girl from USUM (forgot the name) was so popular the moment she was unveiled.
Japanese pop culture loves cute things and that translates over into the fanbases in other places.

I guess that could be a reason. Makes me wonder if the results would even out if a world-wide audience was polled, or if the bias would still be there.

Also, since you mentioned forgetting the name, I don't believe that Game Freak or the Pokémon Company has given us official names for the playable characters of Alola yet. It's a little annoying. Bulbapedia calls them Sun and Moon, but that's fan terminology as far as I can tell.

And personally I've seen a lot of let's plays where a male player chooses the female player character.

I would assume that that's a fairly minimal and inconsequential group in the grand scheme of the playerbase, and likely balanced by an equal sized group of female players choosing the male character.

I'm more confused that either of the PCs rank that high, or at all, considering they aren't even characters so much as player avatars.

Yeah, I can agree there. I wouldn't even include the playable characters in a poll like this in the first place, let alone vote for them.

 

[AuraChannelerChris]

It's unknown if the anime had anything to do with the voting, however. And if they did, the voting would be quite strange as the characters aren't just the same in both types of media.

 

[Leonhart]

Ilima's low ranking in the popularity poll surprises me since I would've thought that his bishounen status would've elevated him higher. Lilie coming in first place was expected, however. She's a classic loli character, after all.

 

[Bguy7]

It's unknown if the anime had anything to do with the voting, however. And if they did, the voting would be quite strange as the characters aren't just the same in both types of media.

I would normally assume that the anime would have a major impact, seeing as people are going to have trouble separating the two in their minds and just end up voting for their favorite anime character, seeing as the anime gives much more personality to these characters and will probably be known as the definitive versions, but seeing as there's a fairly equal distribution of anime and non-anime characters, it would seem that it maybe wasn't such a major influence after all.

 

[Orphalesion]

Also, since you mentioned forgetting the name, I don't believe that Game Freak or the Pokémon Company has given us official names for the playable characters of Alola yet. It's a little annoying. Bulbapedia calls them Sun and Moon, but that's fan terminology as far as I can tell.

Oh I wasn't talking about the female PC, she's not irritating, she's a character-less player avatar. I meant that girl from the Ultra Beast Squad. The moment she was unveiled (when nothing else was known about her yet) people fell over for her, acting like USUM was worth to buy just for her and that she should get her own story/game.

It's unknown if the anime had anything to do with the voting, however. And if they did, the voting would be quite strange as the characters aren't just the same in both types of media.

It's not just in anime though, it's in most areas of Japanese pop-culture; anime, games, toys, music, even their lunch has to be "kawaii" etc. And no matter anime or games, Lillie, Acerola, Lana dnt eh PC are designed to be moe/cute.

 

[AuraChannelerChris]

I would normally assume that the anime would have a major impact, seeing as people are going to have trouble separating the two in their minds and just end up voting for their favorite anime character, seeing as the anime gives much more personality to these characters and will probably be known as the definitive versions.

"Definitive versions" is a stretch. The anime is known for altering or outright changing established backgrounds and personalities. Like seriously, Sophocles is the entire opposite in the anime than the games, for example. I find myself liking his "real" representation more because it deals with shyness issues that he has, which the anime overwrites completely with...basically being a much smarter, pompous Ash.

It's not just in anime though, it's in most areas of Japanese pop-culture; anime, games, toys, music, even their lunch has to be "kawaii" etc. And no matter anime or games, Lillie, Acerola, Lana dnt eh PC are designed to be moe/cute.

So you're saying it is the generic looks that ultimately influence the voting?

 

[Bguy7]

Oh I wasn't talking about the female PC, she's not irritating, she's a character-less player avatar. I meant that girl from the Ultra Beast Squad. The moment she was unveiled (when nothing else was known about her yet) people fell over for her, acting like USUM was worth to buy just for her and that she should get her own story/game.

Got you. Yeah, that was annoying. Name is Zossie, by the way.

"Definitive versions" is a stretch. The anime is known for altering or outright changing established backgrounds and personalities. Like seriously, Sophocles is the entire opposite in the anime than the games, for example. I find myself liking his "real" representation more because it deals with shyness issues that he has, which the anime overwrites completely with...basically being a much smarter, pompous Ash.

We see so much more of the anime versions of the characters, plus the fact that they actually speak and show emotion well. Maybe it's just me, but because of that the anime versions always become the default for me. You're right that they can be completely different, but with how limited those versions are by the constraints of the game, I find it hard to accept them as the "real" version. I would flat out wonder why they acted so strange in Ultra Sun and Moon, thinking of the anime versions, not the other way around.

 

[AuraChannelerChris]

We see so much more of the anime versions of the characters, plus the fact that they actually speak and show emotion well. Maybe it's just me, but because of that the anime versions always become the default for me. You're right that they can be completely different, but with how limited those versions are by the constraints of the game, I find it hard to accept them as the "real" version. I would flat out wonder why they acted so strange in Ultra Sun and Moon, thinking of the anime versions, not the other way around.

The point is the anime versions are completely different versions of the characters, just as how things are just as different in manga portrayals. It's only right to think of the game versions as the "right" versions since they are the real basis for all of the other versions to exist, but liking another medium over the bases is pretty much liking a "fan fic" representation.

 

[Bguy7]

The point is the anime versions are completely different versions of the characters, just as how things are just as different in manga portrayals. It's only right to think of the game versions as the "right" versions since they are the real basis for all of the other versions to exist, but liking another medium over the bases is pretty much liking a "fan fic" representation.

I know, that wasn't my point though. I'm talking on a subconscious level. Of course consciously you can separate the two and know that the games are the "true" version, but subconsciously, one might feel differently, especially seeing how much more time we spend watching the characters on TV than we do in the games.