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Culture Clash: JRPGS and Female Characters?



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TrueTroper

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You know, I've noticed something during my time playing JRPGs (Japanese Role Playing Games), among others, and it's that, well...

The girls are almost always "cute" (shoved in skirts), childlike, devoted, diligent to their schoolwork/learning, obedient, kind, and wanting to help everyone as well as overly sensitive (crying a lot). The women, meanwhile, are almost always self-sacrificing, are focused on being (or proving they will be) hardworking housewives, patient, loving mothers, etc... Not to mention if they are a daughter or sister, they're devoted to their father or brother(s), or even both depending on the family dynamic. Basically, stereotypical female behavior that wouldn't be out of place for women/girls in the 1800s. Even the flaws of these female characters are similar: they're almost always clumsy (in a "cute" way), naïve, and/or insecure about their self-worth or abilities, and that's it.

But in Western culture, women and girls are being encouraged to be BADASS. Female characters in video games are also starting to reflect this change, becoming more awesome: Aloy in Horizon Zero Dawn, Selene in Returnal, Ellie in The Last Of Us, Laura Croft in Tomb Raider, Yuna in The Ghost of Tsushima.

And I wonder if that's why I have a problem with JRPGs: all of the female characters are still so stereotypically feminine that they aren't CHARACTERS so much as a Hive Mind that thinks alike, acts alike, and moves alike. They have no agency, they aren't really realistic, and they are considered incapable of having any importance to the plots because they're "ill-suited" for brutal combat like the male characters... And overall, since these female characters just go along with whatever their love interest does, even if they do end up in a battle, they're more likely to be fridged. Basically, they're just filler.

Does anyone else feel the same way? Or am I just oversimplifying things?
 

Soldier

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Different culture=different attitudes, that's life 101

Western cultures are more likely to break the traditional mold as it were, and tread new ground with having female protagonists that can actually fight as well as men. Eastern cultures such as Japan RARELY venture out into uncharted territory, because their society is vastly different to western society. While things have certainly changed for Japan, there is still an underlying "superiority" for men in the workplace. It is not too uncommon for a female worker to be paid less than her male counterpart and that subservience bleeds into other facets of the culture such as video games and manga.

Asking for these things to change is wishful thinking. Demanding for this change to happen requires a lot of work.
 
D

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@TrueTroper there's some truth but its also an oversimplification. I've only played KH/Persona/FF so I'm probably the wrong person to ask. I do think Persona and FF are better at writing female characters than KH.

Japan is probably behind the curve but they are making progress. The West is ahead but not by far. For example, consider the career of Naughty Dog. They are famous for Uncharted and Last of Us but they cut their storytelling teeth on Jak and Daxter. Compared to the Last of Us, the female characters are lacking as people. The main love interest Keira is Kairi level bad but atleast she has more spunk.

If you are worried about it, I suggest being more selective in what you play or read. I have a love/hate relationship with shonen anime so I'm selective in what i read/enjoy.

maybe seek out stories with by female authors? those tend to have a better grasp on interpersonal relationships and female characters. There are exceptions but most do it better, i find.
 
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Elysium

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I agree with most of this, but the part that made me respond is where you said even when it comes to combat, women are put in a different lane. It's so true. I so wish there were more female characters who used a sword and/or was a tank character with high offense / defense (I don't know why the image I have in my mind is Erza from Fairy Tail right now, lol), than merely being relegated to high magic / agility / far range attackers.

I think FF is better than KH in this regard overall, at least when it comes to being well-written or strong in gameplay (although you could say that series still lags as far as presenting varied personality types for the female characters).
 
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