Board 8 > I rank video game characters [ranking with writeups]

(+) Yeah! (+)

Hello! Remember me? Four months ago I took nominations for a video game character ranking topic. I have, with your help, researched 76 characters and created a comprehensive and authoritative ranking of all of them. It's very shiny.

Some disclaimers:
- I have not played every game represented in this list. For a lot of the characters, I have had to rely on secondhand sources such as Wikis, gameplay/cutscene videos, and even writeups from nominators. As such, be aware that my info might be inaccurate or wrong. Please do not take it personally if I screw up an important fact about a character. This was a time-consuming project to prepare. Being 100% thorough wasn't possible.
- I will not be specifying whether I've played a game/series or not. I've written most of the writeups to read as if I have, for the sake of consistency. Again though, keep the first disclaimer in mind.
- This is all my opinion. I have things I look for and like in characters. These may not be the things you look for and like. Again, please don't yell at me if we disagree. This is all meant to be fun!
- some other fourth thing I forgot, maybe about ostriches

I will also say that part of why this took me four months to make is that the list is done. By that I mean, all writeups are prewritten and ready to be posted. That said, to not overwhelm people and to facilitate discussion, I'll be posting five per day until we reach the top.

Alphabetical list in next post!

Your 76 nominated characters, alphabetically:
Arle Nadja (Puyo Puyo)
Arthur (The Journeyman Project series)
Aya Brea (Parasite Eve)
Bayonetta (Bayonetta)
Bowser (Mario)
Brad Armstrong (LISA)
Carmen Sandiego (Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?)
Chiaki Nanami (Danganronpa 2)
Claire Redfield (Resident Evil)
Count Bleck (Super Paper Mario)
Daniella (Haunting Ground)
Dante (Devil May Cry)
Davey Wreden (The Beginner's Guide)
Dhurke Sahdmadhi (Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney Spirit of Justice)
Dolores Garcia (Renowned Explorers International Society)
Doug Rattman (Portal)
Dragonborn (Skyrim)
Estelle Bright (Trails in the Sky)
Falco Lombardi (Star Fox)
Flurrie (Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year door)
Francis York Morgan (Deadly Premonition)
Franziska von Karma (Ace Attorney)
Funky Kong (Donkey Kong)
Futaba Sakura (Persona 5)
GLaDOS (Portal)
Godot (Ace Attorney)
Goro Majima (Yakuza)
Hakuno Kishinami (Fate/Extra CCC)
Heather Mason (Silent Hill 3)
Henry (Firewatch)
Hero (Custom Robo)
Iji Kataiser (Iji)
Jorji Costava (Papers, Please)
Julianne Stingray (Vahalla)
Katrina (Quest for Glory IV: Shadows of Darkness)
Kazuma Kiryu (Yakuza series)
King Harkinian (Zelda: Wand of Gamelon/Link: The Faces of Evil)
Kirby (Kirby)
Kuja (Final Fantasy IX)
Lea (CrossCode)
Leah (Stardew Valley)
Lloyd Irving (Tales of Symphonia)
Logix "Logy" Ficsario (Atelier Escha & Logy)
Magilou (Tales of Berseria)
Mai Shiranui (King of Fighters)
Makoto Nijima (Persona 5)
Martin Walker (Spec Ops: The Line)
Miles Edgeworth (Ace Attorney series)
Monika (Doki Doki Literature Club)
Mordin Solus (Mass Effect series)
Nagito Komaeda (Danganronpa 2)
Nathan Drake (Uncharted series)
Niko (Oneshot)
Nwabudike Morgan (Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri)
Putt-Putt (Putt-Putt series)
Revolver Ocelot (Metal Gear Solid)
Richard Conway (Gunpoint)
Rucks (Bastion)
Samantha Greenbriar (Gone Home)
Senator Armstrong (Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance)
Shuckle (Pokmon)
Skull Kid (Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask)
Slak (Defender's Quest)
Solid Snake (Metal Gear Solid)
Squall Leonhart (Final Fantasy VIII)
Sunflower (Conker's Bad Fur Day)
Surtr (Tokyo Afterschool Summoners)
Susie (Deltarune)
The Boss (Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater)
The Defect (Slay the Spire)
The Nameless One (Planescape: Torment)
Travis Touchdown (No More Heroes)
Ushiromiya Kinzo (Umineko no Naku Koro ni)
Utsuho Reiuji (Touhou Project)
Vyse (Skies of Arcadia)
Wolf O'Donnell (Star Fox)

omg
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Oh man this is actually starting? Tag!
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Let's get started!

76. Mai Shiranui (King of Fighters)
Nominated by ertyu0078

One thing you will learn about me in this topic: I have strong opinions on sexist characters. Case in point, we have Mai Shiranui. In the first five paragraphs of Mais page on the SNK Wiki, her breasts and their distinctive bounce animation are mentioned in four of them. Do I really need to read anything else? Its clear thats what (all?) shes known for.

Oh, apparently she stalked a guy for a while, complete with child doll.

Yeesh. No thanks.

75. Travis Touchdown (No More Heroes)
Nominated by Great_Paul
Just sit back Sylvia...and watch the HELL I'm gonna raise!


I have never played this game I know I said I wouldnt be revealing whether or not Ive played the games on this list, but Im doing so now because I want to say that I dont think Id enjoy it very much. Everything Ive seen about Travis and the No More Heroes series screams crass, drunk frat-boy humor (or whatever the equivalent is with anime jokes). Travis himself is an otaku who lives in a hotel and watches moe anime. Which isnt inherently bad, but I just find it tough to really root for somebody whos so...tryhard, maybe? Like all the quotes on this Wiki page are so over-the-top and fake (I picked the least cringey one) and maybe people like that, I dont know. But its not really for me.

This song is great though:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cK329NBj55M" data-time="

74. Aya Brea (Parasite Eve)
Nominated by ertyu0078
People will eventually forget and go on with their lives... but I will never forget it. It was pure terror, but... it was also 6 days filled with familiar memories.


Wow the plots of these games are a mess. There is advanced mitochondria or something, and Aya Brea was given her dead sisters eye, and because her sister had advanced mitochondria, Aya developed dormant powers like setting people on fire and telepathically murdering people and a lack of physically aging, which is probably the least harmful power she has. There is a character literally named Mitochondrial Eve, who sets people (and horses) on fire and turns them to slime. Then Aya meets a clone of herself, also named Eve, who has aged to a ten-year-old and whom she raises as a daughter. Then Eve accidentally shatters Ayas soul and spreads it across space and time, and Eve becomes Aya, and there is time travel. Honestly I gave up hope after reading that Mitochondrial Eve turned people at a zoo into slime en masse. How goofy.

Personality-wise, Aya is your standard hero: self-sacrificing, caring, wracked with guilt over the lives she couldnt save. She does have a pretty kickass theme though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-rZINtPwzY" data-time="

Since Aya was seen in New York City in September 2001, she may have helped with the policework involved with 9/11, although 9/11 isn't touched upon in the series and it is unknown if it even occurred in the Parasite Eve continuity which may be considered an alternate reality, although the Twin Towers are not seen in The 3rd Birthday. thanks wiki

73. Sunflower (Conker's Bad Fur Day)
Nominated by kateee


*looks at picture*

uh

you know im just going to leave it at that and walk away

yeesh

72. Arle Nadja (Puyo Puyo)
Nominated by Prody Parrot
He-hey!


The first thing I see when I look at the Wiki page for Arle Nadja (Puyo Puyo) is that the second fact listed about her, after being a young girl with magical powers, is her birthday. That her birthday is the second most important thing about her does not bode well for the depths of her character. Other factoids about Arle: shes snarky, uses elemental magic, and wears the same clothes 365 days of the year. She feels very stereotypically anime. Maybe its the outfit.

Arles Wiki page is downright intimidating. There are three paragraphs about her appearance. Most of the page I did not read once I realized it was going to be mostly surface-level factoids like in Puyo Puyo CD she goes on a tangent about "not being ready for love", in certain versions of Puyo Puyo Tsu she starts panicking when Draco challenges her to a swimsuit contest, and in Puyo Puyo Tetris she got upset when Zed tried to force her to do "prim and proper" tasks due to her not being good with it.

She is desired by Satan, which is uhhh something

So whats interesting about her? She has a spell called Mind Blast that can induce stupidity. Thats kind of neat. Shes also apparently a climate change activist (she goes on a quest to reverse the climate changes caused by Satan). And Satan sexually harasses her, which is something. I mean, Ive never been sexually harassed by Satan.

71. Dragonborn (Skyrim)
Nominated by Mega Mana


One of the settings that least appeals to me in fiction is medieval Europe, or places based on medieval Europe. For one thing, everything is often the same drab, misty gray. For another, the fantastical stuff often falls into the same tropes of magic, swords, and dragons. I dont want to knock these tropes theyve certainly produced a respectable amount of stories, and many people are into them. But theyre not really for me.

The Last Dragonborn is the protagonist of Skyrim. He checks off all three boxes neatly: magic, swords, and dragons. The Dragonborn is a very customizable character in appearance, fighting style, and personality, so he (or she) can be sculpted to fit the players needs. There is a grand prophecy that surrounds the Last Dragonborn, and there are great Words of Power they can learn, and Skyrim is a game you can easily sink months into, but I just dont find it terribly interesting.

Its not always an issue for me to have a main character without much personality (hi a lot of Nintendo games), but when the setting and archetypes all fall into those samey categories...again, not saying these are inherently bad things, theyre just not for me.

At least his theme song is cool. That bumps him up a few places.

That's it for today! Check back tomorrow (or so) for five more.

o_O, I do not remember nominating anything, and surprised that I nominated Dragonborn. Man, has it really been four months since Skyrim?? I feel like all I've been playing are Dragon Warrior games and Spike Chunsoft games for as long as I can remember.

Fair ranking in my estimation.
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Oh nice, it started.

There is advanced mitochondria or something, and Aya Brea was given her dead sisters eye, and because her sister had advanced mitochondria, Aya developed dormant powers like setting people on fire and telepathically murdering people and a lack of physically aging, which is probably the least harmful power she has.

...Are you sure she's not a Metal Gear Solid villain?
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tag
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The Elder Scrolls surprisingly has incredible lore. Skyrim's in particular isn't nearly as good though
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Mega Mana posted...

o_O, I do not remember nominating anything, and surprised that I nominated Dragonborn. Man, has it really been four months since Skyrim?? I feel like all I've been playing are Dragon Warrior games and Spike Chunsoft games for as long as I can remember.

Fair ranking in my estimation.

You also nominated Lea and Vyse!

that description of Parasite Eve plot has me intrigued. it's a weird mess, but sounds like my brand of weird mess, if that makes any sense

rwlh posted...

One of the settings that least appeals to me in fiction is medieval Europe, or places based on medieval Europe. For one thing, everything is often the same drab, misty gray. For another, the fantastical stuff often falls into the same tropes of magic, swords, and dragons. I dont want to knock these tropes theyve certainly produced a respectable amount of stories, and many people are into them. But theyre not really for me.

I feel the same way about medieval Europe generally, but Skyrim is Norse which (at least in my experience) is a lot less represented and therefore more interesting/fresh

but Dragonborn himself is a boring cipher so I agree with the placement
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Tag. Believe I nominated Drake, Lloyd, and Edgeworth.
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I'm already doing better than I thought I would
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FL81 posted...

I'm already doing better than I thought I would

Same!
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I did a writup for my character... It didnt turn out so great, I have low expectations for Surtr.

tag
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70. Skull Kid (Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask)
Nominated by Great_Paul


Ah, the almost-tragedy of Skull Kid. Skull Kids show up in Ocarina of Time (Navi even implies theyre normal children that get lost in the Lost Woods), but the specific Skull Kid everyone knows is the one from Majoras Mask. This rambunctious scamp finds the titular mask, which starts corrupting him, making him lash out at his fairy companions and, eventually, trigger the end of Termina by pulling the moon toward the land. Its up to Link to break the spell the mask has on poor Skull Kid and restore peace to Termina.

So thats Skull Kid. Hes...fine, I guess? I mean, look, I like Zelda games. Theyre fun. Nice puzzles. Okay music. Their characters are not that interesting. What is Skull Kid? What is his purpose? He exists to get the plot moving. And thats fine, but hes not really someone who inspires strong passion in me. Sorry Skull Kid!

69. Squall Leonhart (Final Fantasy VIII)
Nominated by MoonRunes
Right and wrong are not what separate us and our enemies. It's our different standpoints, our perspectives that separate us.


Oof, this guy. Of the three PS1-era Final Fantasy protagonists (well, excluding Ramza), Squall probably has the most vocal haters. And for good reason: hes brooding, moody, taciturn, and generally a grump for most of the game. This is not a guy you want to be friends with (like Zidane). Hes more similar to Cloud, but Cloud had all his weird mental instability that made him interesting. Squall is...a teenager. And teenagers are often brooding, moody, taciturn, and generally grumps.

Does this mean Squall is a bad character? Not necessarily. I dont really connect with a lot of Square RPG characters because they just strike me as patently unrealistic. Like, nobody would act this way at this point in time. But maybe Squall has the opposite problem. Maybe hes too realistic.

Also the gunblade is terrible fight me

68. Nathan Drake (Uncharted series)
Nominated by Underleveled


Nathan Drake is a treasure hunter with plenty of wisecracks and quips to spare. Hes awkward and a little flirty. He likes to shoot things.

I have a hard time with this particuliar archetype of rough around the edges scoundrel-hero. There just isnt much I can relate to or latch onto. The Uncharted series is super popular basically everywhere, and Drakes portrayal has won acclaim, but he doesnt strike me as the type of character Id actually like. Sorry!

67. Franziska von Karma (Ace Attorney)
Nominated by kateee
Foolish fool who foolishly dreams of foolish dreams... Ten minutes. I give the defense ten minutes before it changes its plea. That's right. I'll have you running for the "justified self-defense" plea in no time.


The second major recurring prosecutor in the Ace Attorney series, Franziska von Karma is the prodigy daughter of Manfred von Karma. Her father resorted to any tactics whatsoever to win, including tampering with evidence and witnesses, and Franziska follows in her fathers footsteps. When Phoenix squares off against her, she schemes against him in insidious ways, all to maintain her perfect win record. (The Ace Attorney universe is weird.)

But she loses. Repeatedly. She has a small role in the third game, but its a nice step up for her character development: she no longer lives in her fathers looming shadow, preferring instead to find her own path.

I dont really like Franziska von Karma. I didnt think she had much of a presence in the game, certainly compared to Edgeworth or her father. I found her gimmicks, like repeatedly lashing people with the whip and constantly saying fool, tiresome. But I appreciated the interesting direction for the character in the third game. Shes my least favorite major prosecutor in the original trilogy (conveniently, all three were nominated!), but even shes got her good points.

66. Logix "Logy" Ficsario (Atelier Escha & Logy)
Nominated by banshiryuu


I honestly dont know anything about Atelier games except that I normally dont care about their music and they involve anime girls. Imagine my surprise when I learned theres a boy main character! Logix (or Logy, which is a terrible nickname to have, I mean how do you even pronounce that) likes to do alchemy, which I mean is probably the big thing in this series. Hes a perfectionist. He has a burn mark on his arm. He wears a shirt with a neckline so low its practically at his navel. Hes in charge of the DISMANTLER, which is probably less badass than it sounds.

Uh, what else. I like his bling he wears around his neck. Hes very standard-looking prettyboy JRPG character (are these games even JRPGs???). Id still rather him prosecute my trial than Franziska von Karma.

gunblades are cool :(

also Logy's shirt neckline looks pretty high to me?
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Drakeryn posted...

also Logy's shirt neckline looks pretty high to me?

I should have posted this picture instead.

Yeah, Franzy was pretty tiresome. But I'd like to see her again nowadays to see how she's developed.
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Squall might've lost early, but at least he's the best looking guy here.
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i have been told multiple times that i am logy so i guess i'm offended

also why the fuck didn't i nominate okabe rintaro what is wrong with me
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Update: due to unforeseen circumstances, I will need to be away from home for a few days. I will attempt to update the topic if I can while I'm gone, but in case I go dark, you'll know why.

NFUN posted...

also why the f*** didn't i nominate okabe rintaro what is wrong with me

I requested nobody nom anyone from Steins;Gate (assuming they're from that).

oh yeah

you're obligated to retroactively rank okabe, kurisu, suzaha and maho* after you play it imo

*sg0 only
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65. Flurrie (Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year door)
Nominated by Lolo_Guru


Madame Flurrie is a retired, accomplished actor who joins Marios party. She uses wind abilities to both attack enemies and open new passageways. She also attacks by kissing, because shes a female video game character. Shes vain and cant be seen without her necklace.

My favorite thing about Flurrie is that on her wiki page theres a comment that literally says The picture is inappropriate when its just her official art. Shes a buxom lady with a prominent chest and thats somehow inappropriate, yet I bet if she were skinny and had breasts the size of Super Mushrooms, that same commenter wouldnt find any objection. Maybe. I dont know. Writing about women in games makes me cynical.

64. Leah (Stardew Valley)
Nominated by MetalmindStats
Oh... It's for my birthday? ... Thanks.


One of Stardew Valleys eligible bachelorettes. She likes to sculpt. She likes goat cheese, poppyseed muffins, and stir fry, so I think we could have a lot in common. Leah, if this romance with the player doesnt work out, you know where to find me. But wait, she doesnt like pancakes or hash browns. Never mind. Dont call me. Go live in your non-breakfast hellscape. Who doesnt like pancakes? What kind of messed up world is this?

63. Surtr (Tokyo Afterschool Summoners)
Nominated by DragonImps
The giant of black flames Surtr has come. If it is for the sake of saving each and every person, I am humbly prepared to scorch this world to the ground.


Im not going to lie, I have no idea what this game is about, and DragonImpss description didnt help much. Apparently, Surtr, who is based off the Norse god whose flames are said to eventually cleanse the world post-Ragnarok, is caught in a time loop, then imprisoned in Tokyo...in another time loop. He has some sort of found family of fellow test subjects. Hes generally calm but can get very angry from the memory of his dead children. Thats...all I got, really. (Which, hey, is more than some characters.)

So yeah, I dont know where to place this guy. Hes this high because of this hilarious picture:


Which makes me think maybe this game, whatever it is, isnt all bad, and this character is the same.

62. Bayonetta (Bayonetta)
Nominated by banshiryuu
Lets dance, boys!


The first thing I did when I came to this nomination, before I even looked at Bayos Wiki page, was I googled women on the bayonetta staff. I was looking to see if any prominent people who worked on the games were female. What I found was a discussion among women about whether the character is sexist or problematic. My gut reaction has always been that a character created by men whose very moveset revolves around objectifying herself for the titillation of the (mostly male) demographic is inherently sexist. But some interesting points were brought up, like how just because a woman shows some level of sexuality doesnt make her problematic, and in fact healthy depictions of sexually liberated women can be a good thing. But that goes back to my original point: are these male developers designing this female character to be a liberated, confident, independent woman? Or are they designing her to be the opposite, pure objectification for male gaze?

I dont know. Im inclined to say that Bayo exists in that male gaze realm pretty thoroughly. But I also dont identify as female. I like that Bayo is confident and playful in that Dante sort of way, but I cant shake the feeling that its all meant to cater to horny males. Its disingenuous. Still, the mere existence of this debate makes her more interesting than some of the other characters on the list. I do think the fact that shes laughing at everything is a point in her favor. If she were real, she wouldnt take any of this debate seriously at all. So shes better than, say, Mai on the creepy sexism scale. A lot better.

I think its funny that shes in Smash. What a random pick. She could probably beat up literally every character in the game if were going by canon powers.

61. Richard Conway (Gunpoint)
Nominated by Glacier
For your own safety, Fritz, do not insult the hat.


Richard Conway is a freelance spy. He goes on several paid missions, uncovering conspiracies and unearthing hidden secrets. Conways personality emerges from dialogue choices. He comes off as business-like and matter-of-fact most of the time; hes just on a job, and hes out to get paid. Conways snarkiness often contrasts with the straight men and women he encounters.

Gunpoint is unique in that its focused primarily on stealth with real penalties for getting caught. Conways more than capable. But are you?

Flurrie blows. Worst party member in the game.
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pyresword posted...

Flurrie blows.

Yep she sure does
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rwlh posted...

Which makes me think maybe this game, whatever it is, isnt all bad, and this character is the same.

The game is trash. I unironically love the story, to the point where its one of my favorite games. But I couldnt recommend it, because Id be telling you to wade through the horrible cringe, and the gameplay, and the slow, awkward start. Its targeted at bara fans, so some of its low-quality/weird art would be extra gross for most people.

Bayonetta is interesting

Objectively I think she's "good rep" - strong female action hero, competent, powerful, etc. (And at least for action heroes, I think there's a lot of overlap between "male gaze" and "female gaze." Like, I want both male and female characters to be attractive and cool-looking, and I expect most people would too?)

Subjectively Bayonetta is so ugly and I hate her. the glasses. those pants. the mole on her face. ewww
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DragonImps posted...

rwlh posted...

Which makes me think maybe this game, whatever it is, isnt all bad, and this character is the same.

The game is trash. I unironically love the story, to the point where its one of my favorite games. But I couldnt recommend it, because Id be telling you to wade through the horrible cringe, and the gameplay, and the slow, awkward start. Its targeted at bara fans, so some of its low-quality/weird art would be extra gross for most people.

Bara fans need love too!
All I know is that it's a pretty popular game among gay otaku for obvious reasons.
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rwlh posted...

Also the gunblade is terrible fight me

You know, the idea of a gunblade isn't bad, but i felt Ashely Winchester (wild arms 2) pulled it off a lot better, having a regular rifle with the largest bayonet attachment the world has ever seen.

60. Bump (Board 8)
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Back. Will get back to this soon.

Oh hey, this is a thing. And none of my stuff went out in the first 20%, so that's good, I guess.

rwlh posted...

62. Bayonetta (Bayonetta)

The first thing I did when I came to this nomination, before I even looked at Bayos Wiki page, was I googled women on the bayonetta staff. I was looking to see if any prominent people who worked on the games were female. What I found was a discussion among women about whether the character is sexist or problematic. My gut reaction has always been that a character created by men whose very moveset revolves around objectifying herself for the titillation of the (mostly male) demographic is inherently sexist.

Bayonetta was designed by a woman.

https://www.platinumgames.com/official-blog/article/1278

As for whether a woman who puts her sexuality on display is inherently feminist or anti-feminist, that depends heavily on who you talk to. I won't hash that out here and derail the topic, however the deciding factor here ultimately has to be in how she carries herself, and I noticed absolutely no attention in the write-up is given to anything other than her aesthetic. She does have, like, a backstory and stuff. If the only factor one considers is her sex appeal, then of course she's going to be regarded as nothing but horny male spankbait.
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azuarc posted...

As for whether a woman who puts her sexuality on display is inherently feminist or anti-feminist, that depends heavily on who you talk to. I won't hash that out here and derail the topic, however the deciding factor here ultimately has to be in how she carries herself, and I noticed absolutely no attention in the write-up is given to anything other than her aesthetic. She does have, like, a backstory and stuff. If the only factor one considers is her sex appeal, then of course she's going to be regarded as nothing but horny male spankbait.

Fair point. I didn't focus on her backstory, but like I said in the OP, I only had a limited time to research every character, and I had plenty to say about her appearance and aesthetic. Bayo might be Lady Macbeth for all I know. I do like how she doesn't take herself seriously and would probably laugh at these debates - that brought her up a few places.