What would a more shoujo oriented FE look like?

[Ottservia]

Fire Emblem has always been more of a shounen/seinen game series since it’s inception. I’d personally say it leans more towards shounen than seinen but the series has gotten rather dark at times. Anyway with the recent interview on three houses with the devs admitting to wanting to make the game a little more female oriented, I was wondering what a more shoujo or josei style Fire Emblem would look like. What do you all think?

[Integrity]

shoujou fire emblem would basically be alice in the country of srpg and i would be on fucking board for that please

 

[NobodiePichu]

if i had to guess it would i think it would probably be similar to geanology in a lot of ways, theres a reason most of its manga adaptations emulate the clamp style after all since the visual style suits its story telling so well. 

[GodSejeong97]

Pretty sure Oosuki's FE4 manga is 100% josei-oriented.

Now, if only they release an official English translation of that jewel.

[Yexin]

yep, genealogy's manga is very shoujo-oriented

[SatsumaFSoysoy]

I always thought that a lot of male characters in FE were already really shoujo... It doesn't adopt the style of shoujo media in the plot and stuff, though.

From my own consumption of it, I'd say the defining aspect of shoujo (other than romance) is a heavy focus on the inner thoughts and reactions the main character (or whoever has the PoV) to situations. Insecurities, inner turmoil and conflict, etc. etc. to help the audience relate to and thus support the character(s). A lot of shoujo content is very heavy on this, though, spelling out every thought in full sentences, and that's part of why I never liked the genre much. Granted, I'm hardly the target demographic, but that was my issue with it. Josei stuff tends to be more subtle about things, but the focus tends to still be on similar issues.

Essentially, I think shounen and seinen lean more towards the happenings of the plot, inspire values that would be considered heroic, and paint emotion in broader strokes. Shoujo and josei like to go more intricately into moment-to-moment feelings and how they inform the characters' actions, and has a stronger emphasis on making characters relatable, usually through dwelling more on flaws. Obviously FE in general does more of the former, and in Three Houses you literally almost never get the shoujo/josei style since Byleth is a silent protagonist. But like I said, I do think quite a bunch of FE characters, mostly male ones, embody tropes found in shoujo/josei males more already. Seth is probably the most archetypal one in my memory, as the loyal protector/love interest male that sticks with Eirika. More recently in Three Houses, I'd say you could apply it to... every male in Blue Lions, for one.

A combination of the two philosophies behind the styles could probably create something pretty good. But I sure hope the style of dialogue doesn't become the generic shoujo manga kind that takes forever to get through one thing.

[DragonFlames]

I'd imagine it'd just be the Blue Lions route with the female Byleth, because from what I understand, the male characters in that house fit into common shoujo tropes.

[Jingle Jangle]

I think a shoujo based FE game would be a deeper take on the likes of Eirika and Ceada. With her boyfriend/brother dead that normally would be the lead in a traditional game and she has to lead her country to victory. Drama ensues with love triangles and if she is strong enough to carry on the burden. I would like to see that.