Famitsu Character Poll Results

[Dandy Druid]

I'm surprised Edel wasn't #1 for females, as she definitely has the most fanart of any character from this game (since she was revealed first, she had that advantage). I'm also surprised to see Hilda that high because I thought she had a small (but very vocal) group of fans, including me! I'm glad to see her as #3 for ladies and #6 overall. I thought Petra and Dorothea would be more popular, especially since Dorothea has been Top 3 for most things in this game.

On 10/18/2019 at 4:59 PM, Arachnofiend said:

I blame the voice actor for Seteth, in both directions. His English VA is so much better than the Japanese it's really no surprise he's a more popular character over here.

His Japanese VA is very popular, and probably contributed to a lot of Seteth's popularity in Japan. Although he is an older man you get about halfway through, so his availability and age probably holds him back from players connecting with him.

[Troykv]

13 hours ago, Dandy Druid said:

I'm surprised Edel wasn't #1 for females, as she definitely has the most fanart of any character from this game (since she was revealed first, she had that advantage). I'm also surprised to see Hilda that high because I thought she had a small (but very vocal) group of fans, including me! I'm glad to see her as #3 for ladies and #6 overall. I thought Petra and Dorothea would be more popular, especially since Dorothea has been Top 3 for most things in this game.

His Japanese VA is very popular, and probably contributed to a lot of Seteth's popularity in Japan. Although he is an older man you get about halfway through, so his availability and age probably holds him back from players connecting with him.

I personally believe many of the Edelgard's fans (mostly the male ones) don't usually comment in Famitsu stuff and probably will only appear to give their takes when CYL4 happens (an official Nintendo contest what will actually affect Edelgard's future).

But yeah, unlike previous Fire Emblem, Edelgard isn't clearly seen as the most popular character everywhere, thought it gives incentive to many of her more active fans to do tons of stuff.

____________

Never underestimate Takehito Koyasu, his voice can turn anything into a meme if gets popular enough.

Edited October 22, 2019 by Troykv

[Wuzzy]

13 hours ago, Dandy Druid said:

I'm surprised Edel wasn't #1 for females, as she definitely has the most fanart of any character from this game (since she was revealed first, she had that advantage). I'm also surprised to see Hilda that high because I thought she had a small (but very vocal) group of fans, including me! I'm glad to see her as #3 for ladies and #6 overall. I thought Petra and Dorothea would be more popular, especially since Dorothea has been Top 3 for most things in this game.

His Japanese VA is very popular, and probably contributed to a lot of Seteth's popularity in Japan. Although he is an older man you get about halfway through, so his availability and age probably holds him back from players connecting with him.

Japan idolizes the virgin, younger-looking (or just younger in general) female (which is probably why like Bernie/Lysithea are on top, though Lysithea is also a top tier unit so that could also be factored in). Dorothea is clearly not a virgin, and her surface level supports show her as a person looking for someone to sleep with. She's definitely more popular in the west than in Japan. Japan also isn't the most culturally diverse/accepting country imo, which explains why Dedue/Petra didn't make top 20, both of them are definitely more popular in the west as well.

[Dandy Druid]

1 hour ago, Lunarly said:

Japan idolizes the virgin, younger-looking (or just younger in general) female (which is probably why like Bernie/Lysithea are on top, though Lysithea is also a top tier unit so that could also be factored in). Dorothea is clearly not a virgin, and her surface level supports show her as a person looking for someone to sleep with. She's definitely more popular in the west than in Japan. Japan also isn't the most culturally diverse/accepting country imo, which explains why Dedue/Petra didn't make top 20, both of them are definitely more popular in the west as well.

That is interesting. I also wonder if the VA also played a part in how well received the characters were. Faye Mata did an awesome job as Petra so I wonder how fans received the Japanese one.

I also wonder if Hilda is also meme'd. Does the Japanese version have her chant Hilda! Hilda! like we do?

Also, love how Hilda broke the Top 3 when she's not a virgin/pure acting character like Bernie if her A support with Caspar is any indication. Love that for her. 

[Jingle Jangle]

Speaking of polls, Nintendo Dream did another one.

Quote

Gee Dimitri! How come You get to be number 1 in all the polls? 

Also http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2019/10/random_japans_favourite_nintendo_character_devours_the_competition_once_more

Quote

 Kirby – 189pt
2. Mario – 111pt
3. Link – 96pt
4. Pikachu
5. Luigi
6 Isabelle
7. Zelda
8. Dimitri
9. Yoshi
10. Peach

 

Edited October 23, 2019 by Jingle Jangle

[Sentinel07]

6 hours ago, Lunarly said:

Dorothea is clearly not a virgin, and her surface level supports show her as a person looking for someone to sleep with. She's definitely more popular in the west than in Japan.

I can't help but feel like Dorothea's often rude behavior towards most nobles might have also been a factor, since Japan is high on the whole "respecting those above you" thing and she makes it quite obvious she detests most nobles.

I mean, her C-support with Ferdinand would be a very bad first impression for anyone who got that first, as Ferdinand is nothing but respectful and she shoos him away.

Edited October 23, 2019 by Sentinel07

[Ertrick36]

44 minutes ago, Sentinel07 said:

I can't help but feel like Dorothea's often rude behavior towards most nobles might have also been a factor, since Japan is high on the whole "respecting those above you" thing and she makes it quite obvious she detests most nobles.

Felix constantly throws shade at his own dad, calls the future king of his country a boar, and spits on the ideals of the nobility, yet he's managed to rate very highly in most character popularity polls in Japan.

I could understand if there's some double-standard going on, but the disrespecting of those in higher places on its own is very evidently not what may make a character unpopular when that's Felix's whole shtick and he gets lauded as the next best boy after Dimitri and Claude.

[Timlugia]

21 hours ago, Dandy Druid said:

I'm surprised Edel wasn't #1 for females, as she definitely has the most fanart of any character from this game (since she was revealed first, she had that advantage).

Correct me if I was wrong, but wasn't that Edelgard never being #1 on any major post release polls so far? She was in a few pre-release  polls.

Most likely due to her position and ideology in the game.

[Ottservia]

1 hour ago, Sentinel07 said:

I can't help but feel like Dorothea's often rude behavior towards most nobles might have also been a factor, since Japan is high on the whole "respecting those above you" thing and she makes it quite obvious she detests most nobles.

I mean, her C-support with Ferdinand would be a very bad first impression for anyone who got that first, as Ferdinand is nothing but respectful and she shoos him away.

I can shoot down this entire argument with one word. “Tsundere” so I don’t think general rudeness and abrasiveness is the problem here. If that were the case then why the hell is tsundere one of the most overused and recognizable tropes in all of anime. It just don’t add up. Personally, I think it’s more a cultural difference if anything cause Dorothea just seems like the kind of character that would appeal more to western fans than japanese ones. I don’t fully understand why that’s the case quite yet but it’s something to consider.

[Arachnofiend]

13 minutes ago, Timlugia said:

Correct me if I was wrong, but wasn't that Edelgard never being #1 on any major post release polls so far? She was in a few pre-release  polls.

Most likely due to her position and ideology in the game.

Her struggle in polls is very strange to me, given that she's the only lord that shows up on Most Deployed lists even post-timeskip (indicating an overwhelming number of players play Crimson Flower). I can only assume she's most popular with casual players? Shrug.

[Timlugia]

1 hour ago, Arachnofiend said:

Her struggle in polls is very strange to me, given that she's the only lord that shows up on Most Deployed lists even post-timeskip (indicating an overwhelming number of players play Crimson Flower). I can only assume she's most popular with casual players? Shrug.

Since you brought this up, do we know how it was calculated?

Is it by actual real month? by in game month? Do they actually make route/skip specific?

[Arachnofiend]

2 minutes ago, Timlugia said:

Since you brought this up, do we know how it was calculated?

Is it by actual real month? by in game month? Do they actually make route/skip specific?

In-game month, not route specific as far as I can tell. If it was route specific then I wouldn't be seeing Edelgard on non BE runs.

[Sentinel07]

1 hour ago, Ertrick36 said:

Felix constantly throws shade at his own dad, calls the future king of his country a boar, and spits on the ideals of the nobility, yet he's managed to rate very highly in most character popularity polls in Japan.

I could understand if there's some double-standard going on, but the disrespecting of those in higher places on its own is very evidently not what may make a character unpopular when that's Felix's whole shtick and he gets lauded as the next best boy after Dimitri and Claude.

Admittedly, I completely forgot about Felix.

And I wasn't arguing those points as if I really believed they were the case. It was just something that came to mind as I was reading around.

[Dandy Druid]

4 hours ago, Timlugia said:

Correct me if I was wrong, but wasn't that Edelgard never being #1 on any major post release polls so far? She was in a few pre-release  polls.

Most likely due to her position and ideology in the game.

She was #1 on a Reddit poll that was taken about a week after release. Of course, this may not have given people enough time to interact with her character and let her "soak in" and Reddit is only one pocket of a large fandom.

[Thane]

4 hours ago, Ertrick36 said:

Felix constantly throws shade at his own dad, calls the future king of his country a boar, and spits on the ideals of the nobility, yet he's managed to rate very highly in most character popularity polls in Japan.

I could understand if there's some double-standard going on, but the disrespecting of those in higher places on its own is very evidently not what may make a character unpopular when that's Felix's whole shtick and he gets lauded as the next best boy after Dimitri and Claude.

Right. While the two are rather different, I also believe Charlotte was a lot less popular in Japan than in the West, but don't quote me on that.

[Ottservia]

On 10/21/2019 at 3:47 PM, DefyingFates said:

This is true. I think playing the comedy music over so many of her C Supports hurts though; it makes it feel like she's just being played for laughs until you get to her B and A Supports with everyone. I think removing that music would lessen that impression quite a bit.

My thing with the comedy music is what other music would they play there? Like I said the scenario itself is inherently funny to an outsider looking in without the proper context. Absurdity is one of the main hallmarks of humor and Bernie's supports have that in spades. I like to think about it in terms of Owain's chuunibiyo antics. The reason his supports are funny is because he's having very outlandish reactions and mannerisms for basic scenarios and tasks. Bernie's supports are similar in that way. She's having absurd reactions to very basic questions and without the proper context it's just gonna come off as absurd and kind of weird.

[Dark Holy Elf]

Agreed there. Bernadetta's supports are funny. It's not that the player is laughing at Bernadetta (I'd give anyone who was the ol' side-eye), but the gap between the conclusions she jumps to and the reality lends itself to absurd situations.

[MrPerson0]

On 10/22/2019 at 11:47 PM, Arachnofiend said:

Her struggle in polls is very strange to me, given that she's the only lord that shows up on Most Deployed lists even post-timeskip (indicating an overwhelming number of players play Crimson Flower). I can only assume she's most popular with casual players? Shrug.

I'm pretty sure Most Deployed lists don't differentiate between pre-timeskip and post-timeskip. This indicates that a majority of players picking Black Eagles, but not Crimson Flower, especially with Edelgard constantly dropping in the ranks.

[Troykv]

4 hours ago, MrPerson0 said:

I'm pretty sure Most Deployed lists don't differentiate between pre-timeskip and post-timeskip. This indicates that a majority of players picking Black Eagles, but not Crimson Flower, especially with Edelgard constantly dropping in the ranks.

That is true, that is probably the reason why Dorothea had maintain her Top 1 position despite the fact her popularity is a bit... questionable (Easy recruit, basically a easy consideration for dancer, appears in two different routes) 

But to be fair one would expect Edelgard to drop harder if that was the case more often that not, in theory Dimitri should appear here too because his route is apparently more popular and definitely has more chapters.

Edited October 25, 2019 by Troykv

[Arachnofiend]

10 hours ago, MrPerson0 said:

I'm pretty sure Most Deployed lists don't differentiate between pre-timeskip and post-timeskip. This indicates that a majority of players picking Black Eagles, but not Crimson Flower, especially with Edelgard constantly dropping in the ranks.

If the Most Deployed list is a summation of deployments in every chapter then that's even more of an argument that most people are picking Crimson Flower - if it was remotely close to even then Edelgard would have zero chance at showing up on that list, given that an even distribution of choices would mean that a third of players pick Black Eagles and then only half of those players pick Crimson Flower.

Certainly if Dimitri was the uncontested most popular character in the game as these polls indicate he'd have an easier time showing up than Edelgard, given that you can't decide halfway through the game that you never want to field Dimitri again.

[MrPerson0]

17 hours ago, Troykv said:

But to be fair one would expect Edelgard to drop harder if that was the case more often that not, in theory Dimitri should appear here too because his route is apparently more popular and definitely has more chapters.

Not really, seeing that most people still picked Black Eagles, all of their units were initially in the top 8, do Dimitri and Claude didn't even have a chance to break through.

12 hours ago, Arachnofiend said:

If the Most Deployed list is a summation of deployments in every chapter then that's even more of an argument that most people are picking Crimson Flower  - if it was remotely close to even then Edelgard would have zero chance at showing up on that list

I disagree with that. The fact that all Black Eagles students were on top initially means that a majority of players picked Black Eagles first. This doesn't indicate that they went Crimson Flower or Silver Snow. Many players likely branched off into Silver Snow (due to them not knowing the requirements for Crimson Flower), which would go along with Edelgard slowly dropping in usage (since they obviously couldn't pick her).

[Moltz23]

2 hours ago, MrPerson0 said:

The fact that all Black Eagles students were on top initially means that a majority of players picked Black Eagles first. This doesn't indicate that they went Crimson Flower or Silver Snow. Many players likely branched off into Silver Snow (due to them not knowing the requirements for Crimson Flower), which would go along with Edelgard slowly dropping in usage (since they obviously couldn't pick her). 

The thing about that is Edelgard is just now dropping from the list,  almost 3 months after the game's release. It's likely most people with NSO are finally trying other routes instead (that, and the fact she's the 2nd most S ranked character in Famitsu's poll gives me the feeling very little people actually went with Silver Snow at first).

Edited October 26, 2019 by Moltz23

[Arachnofiend]

Crimson Flower's actually kinda hard to miss if you're playing the game the way you're supposed to. "Read the support conversations as they unlock" and "talk to the students in your own house every month" are things I'd expect most people to do on their blind run.

[Etrurian emperor]

On 10/23/2019 at 5:46 AM, Ottservia said:

I can shoot down this entire argument with one word. “Tsundere” so I don’t think general rudeness and abrasiveness is the problem here. If that were the case then why the hell is tsundere one of the most overused and recognizable tropes in all of anime. It just don’t add up. Personally, I think it’s more a cultural difference if anything cause Dorothea just seems like the kind of character that would appeal more to western fans than japanese ones. I don’t fully understand why that’s the case quite yet but it’s something to consider.

Dorothea is another type of rude than the classical tsundere so that might explain why it doesn't seem to work for her in Japan. A typical tsundere is usually rude and hostile to hide their feelings, snapping comes easier to them than being honest with their emotions.  Dorothea isn't like that, she's not hiding a crush on Ferdie or hides a softer opinion behind her harshness. She's completely honest when she says she hates him and nobles she presumed Ferdinant takes after. She's bitterly honest in her words to Ferdie and there's no soft side that can be seen when looking past that. 

[Ottservia]

2 hours ago, Etrurian emperor said:

Dorothea is another type of rude than the classical tsundere so that might explain why it doesn't seem to work for her in Japan. A typical tsundere is usually rude and hostile to hide their feelings, snapping comes easier to them than being honest with their emotions.  Dorothea isn't like that, she's not hiding a crush on Ferdie or hides a softer opinion behind her harshness. She's completely honest when she says she hates him and nobles she presumed Ferdinant takes after. She's bitterly honest in her words to Ferdie and there's no soft side that can be seen when looking past that. 

Oh I definitely agree with all of this 100%. Dorothea ain’t no tsundere after all that much is obvious. My main point in regards to my initial reply was that general abrasiveness and rudeness probably has little to do with Japan’s distaste for Dorothea. It’s more to do probably with the type of rudeness as you said. I apologize I should’ve made that a bit more clear. If I had to guess it could actually be because she’s so honest and passive aggressive because in Japan it’s actually considered very rude to be passive aggressive like that to others and more socially acceptable to keep those things bottled up(which is one of the main reasons tsunderes are so popular. It’s relatable in that sense) where as in the west being aggressive and open like Dorothea is far more socially acceptable. Like I said I think it’s a simple cultural difference.