lenticular Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 This is inspired by the Camilla thread. It's no surprise to anyone who's spent more than 3 seconds around the fandom that Camilla is a divisive character. She is undeniably popular, but she is also undeniably widely hated. So I was thinking, which other Fire Emblem characters fit that same pattern? Who else do you fear to even mention in case it derails the conversation and turns into a flame war? I'm thinking that Edelgard and Rhea fall into the same category, as do all avatar characters. I'm sure I'm missing some, though. Who else is there? Who's the most polarising character from each game? (Note: this is not the thread for talking about why these characters are the best/the worst, and is definitely not the thread for talking about how the people who hate them/love them are objectively terrible people. This is the thread for acknowledging that some characters are simultaneously both popular and unpopular and it's right and good that different people are able to have different opinions. Be respectful!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Armchair General Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 With Engage, it's Alear's character design, but that died out. As for the rest, hardly anyone comes close to Rhea, Edelgard, and probably Tharja; since everyone else more or less fits neatly into their roles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imuabicus der Fertige Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 I seem to remember some discussion regarding the many iterations of Tiki that got quite heated on this forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punished Dayni Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 I feel like Micaiah's character might have been in the past as well (), but I wouldn't have been there in RD's heyday. I've seen a fair few dislike RD!Ike's prominence in said game but don't know for sure if that's sufficient to be counted here. I'd also second the other avatars as well, moreso Corrin and Byleth considering their popularity in the fandom while others take issue with them (It's me, I'm one of those) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scaramuccia Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 Engage is a bit too early to judge as the game itself is very polarizing, but I think Hortenzia and Goldmary have big polarizing potential. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eltosian Kadath Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 Kris comes to mind, although the two pole tend to be hatred and ambivalence with Kris. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Etrurian emperor Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 I don't think Corrin themselves would count as divisive. I'm sure they have their fans in regards to whether or not they like the character, but I think its mostly common agreement that they're not a well written main character. Edelgard, Dimitri and Rhea are good picks for divisive characters given the rather heated discussions about them. Edelgard in particular. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fabulously Olivier Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 4 hours ago, Armchair General said: With Engage, it's Alear's character design, but that died out. Nah. It's still the worst part of an otherwise phenomenal game. Anyway liking or disliking Rhea, Edelgard, Dimitri and (which version of) Claude is basically a political alignment test. Hilda, Bernadetta, and Sylvain are also pretty divisive. For other games, Corrin and Shinon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lenticular Posted February 23, 2023 Author Share Posted February 23, 2023 3 hours ago, Punished Dayni said: I feel like Micaiah's character might have been in the past as well (), but I wouldn't have been there in RD's heyday. Oh, good call. I think she's probably still pretty divisive, but Radiant Dawn is sufficiently old and established that it's not likely to inspire hot takes and active flame wars any more. 3 hours ago, Scaramuccia said: Engage is a bit too early to judge as the game itself is very polarizing, but I think Hortenzia and Goldmary have big polarizing potential. I could easily see that being the case, yeah. Especially with Hortensia. I'm not a fan myself, but I can see why she might appeal to others. She's very turned up to 11. 1 hour ago, Etrurian emperor said: I don't think Corrin themselves would count as divisive. I'm sure they have their fans in regards to whether or not they like the character, but I think its mostly common agreement that they're not a well written main character. I mean, female Corrin did just win CYL recently, so she obviously has a pretty sizable fanbase. 19 minutes ago, Fabulously Olivier said: For other games, Corrin and Shinon. Really? Huh. Interesting. I don't think I've seen much in the way of disagreement about Shinon. The consensus that I normally tend to see is that he's a scumbag but that he's well written in that role. Are there other prevailing views on him? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Etrurian emperor Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 23 minutes ago, Fabulously Olivier said: Anyway liking or disliking Rhea, Edelgard, Dimitri and (which version of) Claude is basically a political alignment test. To most of those that's indeed the case but I think Edelgard's politics are a bit too divisive to be a trustworthy political alignment test. Rhea is very easily picked as a conservative, just as easily as Claude is an open border liberal. But opinions towards Edelgard's politics range from everything from her being far left, or a fascist. Lots of people support Edelgard for being progressive while others despise her for being a ''fascist''. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fabulously Olivier Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 13 minutes ago, Etrurian emperor said: To most of those that's indeed the case but I think Edelgard's politics are a bit too divisive to be a trustworthy political alignment test. Rhea is very easily picked as a conservative, just as easily as Claude is an open border liberal. But opinions towards Edelgard's politics range from everything from her being far left, or a fascist. Lots of people support Edelgard for being progressive while others despise her for being a ''fascist''. Edelgard, Claude, Dimitri, and Rhea fall pretty cleanly into Authoritarian Left, Libertarian Left, Libertarian Right, and Authoritarian Right, and I'm not about to slam Edelgard for being fascist when Rhea is a theocratic fascist with a light dollop of Izuka. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yexin Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 (edited) is Makalov even popular enough to count? otherwise yeah, i don't think there are many "camillla-tier" divisive FE characters aside from Edelgard, Rhea and a few more i've seen being mentioned Edited February 23, 2023 by Yexin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zapp Branniglenn Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 Basically, story-prominent female characters is the throughline here. But I think the #1 has gotta be Edelgard. One Edelgard fan came after me because I said Hubert was bad in a tier list discussion. It's that big a minefield. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shanty Pete's 1st Mate Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 I would say Rhea, Edelgard, Camilla, and Tharja top the list. For the former two, it's moreso due to the "dual role" each plays - sometimes a hero, other times a villain. For Tharja, it's a combination of design and personality. And for Camilla, both are true. I do wonder if female characters are more likely to be controversial - or to be seen as controversial - than their male counterparts. Ideally, this wouldn't be the case, but I could see any number of factors potentially playing into this. 5 hours ago, Fabulously Olivier said: Anyway liking or disliking Rhea, Edelgard, Dimitri and (which version of) Claude is basically a political alignment test. Hilda, Bernadetta, and Sylvain are also pretty divisive. Hilda is? I've not heard that one before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fabulously Olivier Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 4 minutes ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said: Hilda is? I've not heard that one before. Yes, she is. Underneath the cute pink haired girl exterior, she's still an unintentionally racist character from a slave owning family, who doesn't really even develop into seeing how screwed up the latter is. She's basically a modern Claire (who was unintentionally and humerously classist). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Etrurian emperor Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 49 minutes ago, Yexin said: is Makalov even popular enough to count? I mean....isn't he more universally despised rather than polarizing? Seems everyone is pretty much in agreement about him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Armchair General Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 5 minutes ago, Fabulously Olivier said: she's still an unintentionally racist character Well, that's new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yexin Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 Just now, Etrurian emperor said: I mean....isn't he more universally despised rather than polarizing? Seems everyone is pretty much in agreement about him. i mean yeah, he kinda is for a moment i forgot the topic was "divisive" characters and just thought about controversial ones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fabulously Olivier Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 2 minutes ago, Armchair General said: Well, that's new. Her support conversations with Cyril are like 3 years old now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Etrurian emperor Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 I think Ike ought to be perhaps a little more divisive than he is. Not hugely so but at least a little bit. Ike's known as a pretty open minded guy which isn't entirely the case. Ike's definitely not a racist. But he's certainly a classist. A classist against the upper class rather than the lower, but a classist all the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fabulously Olivier Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 2 minutes ago, Etrurian emperor said: I think Ike ought to be perhaps a little more divisive than he is. Not hugely so but at least a little bit. Ike's known as a pretty open minded guy which isn't entirely the case. Ike's definitely not a racist. But he's certainly a classist. A classist against the upper class rather than the lower, but a classist all the same. Given what Tellius' upper class is like, can you even blame him? Anyway, Ike is divisive specifically because a bunch of people weirdly think Nintendo wrote a homosexual protagonist all the way back in 2005, in the same game series that was still using gay stereotypes for humor. And then people get really angry on both sides of that non-issue for no good reason. I think we all know that if PoR/RD got a remake, Ike would officially join the franchise's growing list of bi characters, and people would briefly be toxic about it, before it eventually gets largely accepted as good for the franchise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troykv Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 5 minutes ago, Fabulously Olivier said: Given what Tellius' upper class is like, can you even blame him? Anyway, Ike is divisive specifically because a bunch of people weirdly think Nintendo wrote a homosexual protagonist all the way back in 2005, in the same game series that was still using gay stereotypes for humor. And then people get really angry on both sides of that non-issue for no good reason. I think we all know that if PoR/RD got a remake, Ike would officially join the franchise's growing list of bi characters, and people would briefly be toxic about it, before it eventually gets largely accepted as good for the franchise. Engage is already preparing us for that possibility; I didn't think I could see discussions about Ike's sexuality becoming something again in 2023. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lenticular Posted February 23, 2023 Author Share Posted February 23, 2023 Trying to think of specifically male divisive characters, and while @Fabulously Olivier has mentioned Sylvain already, I'll add that most characters who fit into the general "womaniser/flirt/philanderer/lady's man" character archetype tend to be at least somewhat divisive. So Gatrie, Virion, etc. Not anywhere near the level of some of the other names in this thread, but it's there. I'll also add joke characters as another broader category. Oliver is the one that's really coming to mind for me, but there are probably others too. With joke characters, the big bone of contention is always going to be whether the joke lands for you or not. If you find Oliver's schtick funny, then he's a fun comic relief character. If you don't find it funny then he's just an objectively terrible person who's getting the world's least earned redemption arc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Etrurian emperor Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 17 minutes ago, Fabulously Olivier said: Given what Tellius' upper class is like, can you even blame him? I dunno. There's hardly much wrong with Bastian, Sigrun, Lucia, or Goffrey. Even the snobby Sanaki's much better than she appears to be. There's a scene midway through where they theorize the Begnion Senate is the true embodiment of nobility and that Elincia and Kurth are different only because she was raised in secret and he's a Laguz, but after meeting Sigrun and Elincia's retainers that line of thinking loses a lot of its ground, yet when RD rolls around Ike and co pretend as if they never met all those decent nobles. In Crimea its even a plot point that the upper class are vastly more open minded towards Laguz than the lower classes. The upper classes makes alliance with the laguz, the lower classes try to lynch them for the lulz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrimpica Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 (edited) 6 hours ago, Fabulously Olivier said: Anyway liking or disliking Rhea, Edelgard, Dimitri and (which version of) Claude is basically a political alignment test. Don't judge people on what characters/fiction they like, that's pure idiocy. Fiction is fiction and reality is reality. Not to mention context of the story matters alot as well, and how people view characters is different. Edited February 23, 2023 by Shrimpy -Limited Edition- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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