The whole Eastern direction of FE if

[NekoKnight]

I think she is saying that "weaboos" like certain things and attaching that title to things they like makes sense. She is looking at it from this side. On the other side is otaku, which is a sub-culture. The idea is Japanese Culture-Awesome! The Otaku sub-culture that also created weaboo sub-culture...eh not so much. This has influences of AnimeOtaku/Weaboo culture, and that can be frustrating, also some people defend some of these elements as "Japanese culture" when that can be a bit of a misnomer?

I've never heard "weaboo" used as anything other than a derogatory term. The problem is, this title is being bestowed upon people simply for liking Japanese culture and only them. Why? If I like French food and music, am I a "Francaboo"? Why should interest in other cultures be looked down upon? By attaching derogatory words to works because they might interest people with obsessive and superficial interests, you are just enabling pointless stigmas. It's suggesting that all people who like it are cut from the same cloth.

As far as stuff like Hoshido not representing "real Japanese culture", let me rephrase it as "inspired by certain aspects of Japanese culture". You'd have to be a fool to think Japan is all about ninja and samurai, but you'd also be a fool to deny they are a part of Japanese history/culture.

[Espinosa]

This is a game made by Japanese people, for Japanese people, with western fans being secondary. Unless you are suggesting Japanese people can be weeaboos (I'm going to give a pass on Japanese people obsessively using Japanese words), the work itself has no inherit weeaboo properties. If it were made by westerners, for westerners, and fetishized/misrepresented Japan, then you would have a point. Hate the player, not the game.

Are western games pandering to "westerboos"?

"by Japanese people", "for Japanese people"... these are all extreme generalisations; it's the release of a product to a specific target audience that is united by a shared liking of aesthetics and thematics of a specific kind. Awakening's triumphant commercial breakthrough had something to do with the increased exposure among this subculture. It really doesn't matter who is fetishising what, and what lands either side hails from, as the aesthetic element is... shall we say, far from intricate or even positively meek.

And plenty of terms exist to describe vehemently patriotic inhabitants of "the West" (which is scarcely a monolith); the problematic has a far superior topicality since it affects the lives and well-being of an entire demographic very directly, and not just the displeasure of separate video game nerds. I'm sure we don't need to release any games to help raise awareness of the woes of Western nationalism(-s).

Remember when you bombarded the forum with your crappy Arena threads?

Yeah, good times. Hopefully we'll have a couple more of these crappy threads up soon, this time dedicated to Awakening meta(-s), so look forward to those; really glad these have sustained your interest!

Remember when you weren't a passive aggressive teletubby though? Yeah me neither.

I've never heard "weaboo" used as anything other than a derogatory term. The problem is, this title is being bestowed upon people simply for liking Japanese culture and only them. Why? If I like French food and music, am I a "Francaboo"? Why should interest in other cultures be looked down upon? By attaching derogatory words to works because they might interest people with obsessive and superficial interests, you are just enabling pointless stigmas. It's suggesting that all people who like it are cut from the same cloth.

As far as stuff like Hoshido not representing "real Japanese culture", let me rephrase it as "inspired by certain aspects of Japanese culture". You'd have to be a fool to think Japan is all about ninja and samurai, but you'd also be a fool to deny they are a part of Japanese history/culture.

Pretty sure the word you're looking for is 'francophile' and sure enough, it can have both positive and negative connotations (and anything in-between) depending on whom you ask. The social justice aura your post is breathing in is a little unsettling; at the very least I do hope you don't for a second think that our friends weeaboos/otakus/"people into anime tropes" (the difference is after all merely stylistic, and I went for the one that better matches my own personality - informal behaviour of a rascal) are an endangered and unfairly disadvantaged social group.

Whether something is an accurate depiction of, say, Japanese culture isn't so much of the essence to me. Akira Kurosawa is said to have gone against what the Japanese used to think was moral/quality material/aesthetically correct approach, and has earned a highest accolade for his work.

I certainly don't mind an Eastern direction in itself, but how is it executed? That's the one question I am posing here. Will it make you cringe? Even if not necessarily done in high taste, will it have a valid life of its own that can be probed seriously? The topic is about whether FE if will deliver quality stuff or 'cheese', so to say.

And don't try to back down to that whole equation of the otaku stuff with Japan as such; nobody in their right mind there would defend all that pantsu stuff, and I don't see how that's even a question.

[3Comrades]

I've never heard "weaboo" used as anything other than a derogatory term. The problem is, this title is being bestowed upon people simply for liking Japanese culture and only them. Why? If I like French food and music, am I a "Francaboo"? Why should interest in other cultures be looked down upon? By attaching derogatory words to works because they might interest people with obsessive and superficial interests, you are just enabling pointless stigmas. It's suggesting that all people who like it are cut from the same cloth.

As far as stuff like Hoshido not representing "real Japanese culture", let me rephrase it as "inspired by certain aspects of Japanese culture". You'd have to be a fool to think Japan is all about ninja and samurai, but you'd also be a fool to deny they are a part of Japanese history/culture.

No, the thing is fetishizing one side of a culture, especially parts that many in mainstream don't, to the point of obsession. That is a Weeaboo, and why a Francophile is not nearly as derogatory. You can enjoy foreign music and food and aspects of a culture, of course, nearly everyone does. But in many cases, weaboos who visit Japan are considered weird while the expats that visit for every other reason are considered more respectful of Japanese culture because they don't try to simplify it or view it as one thing. No one I know has attached Weaboo to any aspect of being a fan. Weaboo is almost entirely attached to the obsessive behavior. My father loved sushi and Cowboy Beebop, no one ever called him a weaboo, and he would have no idea what it was. I know a DnD player who loves Japanese architecture and tries to put it in his games but also never even would know what it means.

http://i3.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/480/219/42f.png (An example of someone who fetishizes an ideal instead of a culture)

http://i.imgur.com/MQikq4i.png(And the opposite which points out the ridiculousness of it)

I believe the ninjas/kitsune/samurai are awesome, that sort of stuff isn't at all what I am talking about.

I mean more the sexualized little girls, sexualized siblings, and the whole cute is sexy phenomena. I liked Me Castle. (I even don't mind the petting, although become uncomfortable to some of the characters reactions to petting). But some of these things are much more allowed in some genres than others. That to me is the Weaboo/Japanese Otaku stuff I have a problem with. Not Samurais, and kitsune, or other mythological/historical aspects of Japanese culture. No one should have an issue with these things in a JRPG.

[BlueLore]

Overall I like the eastern style of the Hoshido,it is something new that we didn't really get in any previous games(Sure we had Say'ri in awakening,but her country was deafeated offscreen and thus we didn't really see anything from it) and most importantly adds more variety to the nations and units(after all we are also getting a lot of characters from the side of the Nohr).

[NekoKnight]

Pretty sure the word you're looking for is 'francophile' and sure enough, it can have both positive and negative connotations (and anything in-between) depending on whom you ask. The social justice aura your post is breathing in is a little unsettling; at the very least I do hope you don't for a second think that our friends weeaboos/otakus/"people into anime tropes" (the difference is after all merely stylistic, and I went for the one that better matches my own personality - informal behaviour of a rascal) are an endangered and unfairly disadvantaged social group.

Oh spare me. You misappropriated the term weeaboo and I called you out on it. I'm not even going to bother addressing your other strawmen.

No, the thing is fetishizing one side of a culture, especially parts that many in mainstream don't, to the point of obsession. That is a Weeaboo, and why a Francophile is not nearly as derogatory. You can enjoy foreign music and food and aspects of a culture, of course, nearly everyone does. But in many cases, weaboos who visit Japan are considered weird while the expats that visit for every other reason are considered more respectful of Japanese culture because they don't try to simplify it or view it as one thing. No one I know has attached Weaboo to any aspect of being a fan. Weaboo is almost entirely attached to the obsessive behavior. My father loved sushi and Cowboy Beebop, no one ever called him a weaboo, and he would have no idea what it was. I know a DnD player who loves Japanese architecture and tries to put it in his games but also never even would know what it means.

I mean more the sexualized little girls, sexualized siblings, and the whole cute is sexy phenomena. I liked Me Castle. (I even don't mind the petting, although become uncomfortable to some of the characters reactions to petting). But some of these things are much more allowed in some genres than others. That to me is the Weaboo/Japanese Otaku stuff I have a problem with. Not Samurais, and kitsune, or other mythological/historical aspects of Japanese culture. No one should have an issue with these things in a JRPG.

Then we are in agreement that one can like certain parts of Japanese culture without obsessing over it. Fire Emblem isn't a "weaboo game" any more than pizza is a "food for gluttons".

[Shuuda]

I think the Japanese motifs are an interesting change of pace from the usual medieval Europe settings of previous games, and contrasting the two has some potential, though I'm not raising my expectations too high. It also helps that I generally prefer the Hoshido designs over the Nohr, where are a lot of the armour's come across as over designed. I think the lighter colour scheme also makes the characters easier on the eye. I do hope they can restrain themselves from throwing in too many "anime" cliches.

[shadowofchaos]

Miyazaki really put it well on some of my feelings toward anime and Japanese games.

I knew someone was going to reference this.

Fe:if and their attempt to appeal with these Silly Features... yes, that's all I feel they are... is not even close to being "Weeaboo Otaku catering shit". You are not Miyazaki criticizing the Otaku dominated anime industry. Hoho, we are not even close to that point yet.

Miyazaki felt this way because it was an industry he loved being absolutely destroyed. It's dominated by people who hate "observing other people".

The lack of empathy and investment to make memorable and believable characters. Ones that have a semblance of being a real person.

Anime tropes to appeal to the "otakus" will be there, but it *DOES NOT* dominate Fire Emblem's design.

FE by nature has "forgettable" characters because of the entire permadeath premise. If they die, the story forgets them entirely.

All of their development relies on support conversations.

They actually put thought into the "trope" appeal.

They put the reasons the characters act that way in backstories you only get to discover if you invest in that character.

And how do you get a player to do that? By exaggerating the HELL out of an attribute they might like... whether or not you think it's pandering to a fetish or whatever.

I am not trying to start a fight or anything, but it *IRKS* me when people reference Miyazaki's contempt for the anime industry and likening it to their own dislike for something.

An attempt to justify their negative view as rightfully so, despite the fact that they are playing up the actual gravity of their own situation.

It's disappointing to see how much steam the Awakening hate train got via the "one-dimensional" characters with people throwing crap at the tropes when they don't even know half the stuff the characters say in support conversations.

Or their reasons for being the way they are. They were judging the book for its cover.

Believe it or not, but actually reading an entire character's backstory via support conversations despite the anime tropes HAS that feeling of believability Miyazaki criticized the anime industry for lacking.

So, IMHO, your analogy is invalid.

Edited June 2, 2015 by shadowofchaos

[goodperson707]

^ avoiding the cultural stuff. that is kinda where i am on the trope thing i am glad someone else gets the reasoning behind it. And obviously you know being japanese it will have some more japanese/anime tropes

[Sentacotus]

I think the Hoshido version will be fine the reason I want to play the Nohr version first is I just like the look and "vibe" their units give off. The only thing that puts me off about Hoshido is how they seem to be nothing but the good guys playing the victim of western style aggression with nothing seemingly bad about them. I want to at least try the Hoshido side because I'm willing to bet there's something not on the surface that they did that was morally questionable or wrong. Similarly I think Nohr probably has some sort of other alterior motives as well that make them not seem as bad as they initially seem.

[Icy Toast]

cause no other countries media favours their own country in any way? (Including morally) Geez have you seen some of the stuff in american media for example. Granted some of that is inspired by older media (cold war era world war II ect) but it is still there and not all cultures follow the same paths or at the same rate.

I don't think it's fair to compare biased portrayals of countries and historical events to fictional stories about fictional wars between fictional nations. I'm not criticizing FE If's writers for trying to tell us that Japanese culture is better than Western culture, because I don't think that's what they're doing - it's all way too obvious for that. It's just that I'm somewhat bothered as well as amused by the fact that they seem to be entirely oblivious to the (mildly cringeworthy) caricatures they've created. (But let me add that that's in no way going to stop me from enjoying the game. And I can't really judge the story without playing the game first anyway! Maybe Nohr actually has good reasons for invading.) Edited June 2, 2015 by Icy Toast

[goodperson707]

Well yeah it is fictional but hoshido is taking aspects from japanese historic culture. It is like those media that romanticize knights, or vikings, the wild west, some fictional acounts of long ago wars. The stories are not real but the basis is.

[BlueL]

I mean more the sexualized little girls, sexualized siblings, and the whole cute is sexy phenomena. I liked Me Castle. (I even don't mind the petting, although become uncomfortable to some of the characters reactions to petting). But some of these things are much more allowed in some genres than others. That to me is the Weaboo/Japanese Otaku stuff I have a problem with. Not Samurais, and kitsune, or other mythological/historical aspects of Japanese culture. No one should have an issue with these things in a JRPG.

While I agree with your overall point, FE if hasn't shown any sexualized little girls yet (granted, we don't now the ages of any characters but I think it's safe to assume Rinka, Camilla and Charlotte are not minors), we have no signs of incest between Kamui and either of his siblings (yet), and I don't know what you mean by cute is sexy phenomena. So I'm not sure what in FEif is "Weaboo/Japanese Otaku" stuff that people keep complaining about.

I knew someone was going to reference this.

Miyazaki felt this way because it was an industry he loved being absolutely destroyed. It's dominated by people who hate "observing other people".

The lack of empathy and investment to make memorable and believable characters. Ones that have a semblance of being a real person.

Anime tropes to appeal to the "otakus" will be there, but it *DOES NOT* dominate Fire Emblem's design.

FE by nature has "forgettable" characters because of the entire permadeath premise. If they die, the story forgets them entirely.

All of their development relies on support conversations.

They actually put thought into the "trope" appeal.

They put the reasons the characters act that way in backstories you only get to discover if you invest in that character.

And how do you get a player to do that? By exaggerating the HELL out of an attribute they might like... whether or not you think it's pandering to a fetish or whatever.

I am not trying to start a fight or anything, but it *IRKS* me when people reference Miyazaki's contempt for the anime industry and likening it to their own dislike for something.

An attempt to justify their negative view as rightfully so, despite the fact that they are playing up the actual gravity of their own situation.

It's disappointing to see how much steam the Awakening hate train got via the "one-dimensional" characters with people throwing crap at the tropes when they don't even know half the stuff the characters say in support conversations.

Or their reasons for being the way they are. They were judging the book for its cover.

Believe it or not, but actually reading an entire character's backstory via support conversations despite the anime tropes HAS that feeling of believability Miyazaki criticized the anime industry for lacking.

So, IMHO, your analogy is invalid.

I agree with this especially the bolded, so much. I saw someone say Sumia's all about Pies, senpai and pegasi, when the first 2 only show up in her supports with Chrom. It just shows the ignored all of her other supports.

(As for the last one, talking about pegasi with your future daughter who is the same class as you and Sully, who also rides a mount, makes sense. I think they also came up when talking to Henry, but I believe he initiated the conversation because he likes animals and wanted to ride one)

Edited June 3, 2015 by BlueL

[Neoleo21]

While I agree with your overall point, FE if hasn't shown any sexualized little girls yet (granted, we don't now the ages of any characters but I think it's safe to assume Rinka, Camilla and Charlotte are not minors), we have no signs of incest between Kamui and either of his siblings (yet), and I don't know what you mean by cute is sexy phenomena. So I'm not sure what in FEif is "Weaboo/Japanese Otaku" stuff that people keep complaining about.

I agree with this especially the bolded, so much. I saw someone say Sumia's all about Pies, senpai and pegasi, when the first 2 only show up in her supports with Chrom. It just shows the ignored all of her other supports.

(As for the last one, talking about pegasi with your future daughter who is the same class as you and Sully, who also rides a mount, makes sense. I think they also came up when talking to Henry, but I believe he initiated the conversation because he likes animals and wanted to ride one)

It's a real shame, because that attitude passes over Sumia's support with Robin, which to me was one of her really interesting ones and one most realistic supports I've seen in an FE game.

[Irysa]

*snip*

I'm sorry but your argument doesn't really hold water when those characters are worshipping the PC insert. This isn't an Awakening or If critique specifically, New Mystery is what started it, but the approach to characterisation now is "what can the player get out of observing/interacting with them?" as opposed to "what kind of person is this character?". That is essentially the crux of the issue of "pandering", elements like face rubbing and subservient "It is an honor to be touched by you" dialogue are just part of a larger problem. When you make the primary design concern of characters into a focus on aspects that appeal to people, you're dehumanising them. People complain about "tropiness" because they want to come to respect and admire characters within a game because of their personalities and actions, their outlook and thoughts coming together in a human way. But apparently, that takes too much effort, or at least, people just want easily identifiable and easily consumable media that lets them surround themselves with finely tuned comfortable situations.

I won't claim that universally, FE ever really managed to pull off "human" characters on a wide scale, but there was undoubtedly a very different outlook to what the purpose of a character within the game was earlier in the series. Most existed for themselves, they didn't exist to please you. The fact they pleased people was a side factor, something that occurs within any fictional work. And IS has consistently shown they are willing to throw everything under the bus for the sake of the player character insert's importance, because that is what's central to the game now.

Edited June 3, 2015 by Irysa

[Thor Odinson]

Just because some dumbshit assholes glorify and fetishize the shit out of a country they know jack squat about doesn't mean that eastern aesthetic itself is bad. As a Chinese person, while I do hate it when people lump us and all the other east asian countries together ('cuz lbr historically we all hated each other for the longest time), Japanese culture and clothing do share a striking visual similarity in many areas even though the fundamentals are still quite different. And because of that cultural connection to my own culture I tend to prefer it. No shit on western designs; I do really enjoy the aesthetic as well, but I mean, if Japan wants to make settings taking liberties from their own culture, then they damn right have the right to do that and if you don't like Japanese people making stuff with their own culture, don't consume Japanese media.

The problem with FE13 characters isn't necessarily absolutely no depth ever, my Sully bias aside I'm also quite fond of what came up for Maribelle and Virion, but rather they push the gimmicks TOO front and center and it became really irritating and repetitive as hell. It's not a bad thing to have a couple gimmick or two, but when it's such a focus, then it really detracts from what the supports are trying to portray. It's very forced in such a sense. I don't hate the characters, but I think they can really dial back on the one main feature a bit and weave in more variety of talks and different sides of characters into supports. For most characters, it felt that most of their supports were piling on the gimmick with like, one or two that are really about their backstory or depths or whatnot when there should be a better balance. I like the humor in individual supports. One by one, they are not individually terrible (for the most part), it's when they're put together and most of them are about roughly the same thing bar 1-2 per character that annoyed me. I did the Chinese-to-English translations back when feA came out in Japan, and initially I loved the supports, but the overall repetitiveness of content and overly pushing gimmicks is what killed my motivation to continue despite the few ones that did differ.

Edited June 3, 2015 by Thor Odinson

[Neoleo21]

I'm sorry but your argument doesn't really hold water when those characters are worshipping the PC insert. This isn't an Awakening or If critique specifically, New Mystery is what started it, but the approach to characterisation now is "what can the player get out of observing/interacting with them?" as opposed to "what kind of person is this character?". That is essentially the crux of the issue of "pandering", elements like face rubbing and subservient "It is an honor to be touched by you" dialogue are just part of a larger problem. When you make the primary design concern of characters into a focus on aspects that appeal to people, you're dehumanising them. People complain about "tropiness" because they want to come to respect and admire characters within a game because of their personalities and actions, their outlook and thoughts coming together in a human way. But apparently, that takes too much effort, or at least, people just want easily identifiable and easily consumable media that lets them surround themselves with finely tuned comfortable situations.

I won't claim that universally, FE ever really managed to pull off "human" characters on a wide scale, but there was undoubtedly a very different outlook to what the purpose of a character within the game was earlier in the series. Most existed for themselves, they didn't exist to please you. The fact they pleased people was a side factor, something that occurs within any fictional work. And IS has consistently shown they are willing to throw everything under the bus for the sake of the player character insert's importance, because that is what's central to the game now.

You might as well tear apart all the modern Bioware Titles with that line of thought. FE: IF is probably nowhere near the pandering it gets with those games and that's usually where I draw my line.

[Irysa]

I dislike those games too fyi.

Also I'm sorry, it is actually pretty damn close to that right now. But it would be more accurate to say that media in general suffers from this and I find it extremely annoying.

I mean, I'm not going to claim that like, FFXIV (something I've been playing lately) has really well writen, human characters who don't fit into archetypes at all, but at the very least the individuals within that game don't feel like they exist for the player, despite the praise the Warrior of Light gets for all their actions. That's one of the thing that surprises me about that game, the PC is so central and hyped and made important and praised a lot but they still don't steal the show entirely, and you get the impression that you're part of something bigger, instead of being being catered to.

Edited June 3, 2015 by Irysa

[Sunwoo]

I don't have a problem with people who like or don't like anime tropes. I'm not a big fan of the hot springs and the face rubbing thing, but whatever it doesn't ruin the game.

I don't even have a problem with people who aren't into the Japanese aesthetic. Different strokes for different folks.

What I do have a problem with are people who say that the only people who would pick Hoshido are weeabos. I mean, seriously. Are people like me, who are not Japanese but closer to Japanese culture than Western culture, weeabos for preferring something more familiar? Or are people not allowed to like or have a strong interest in something not of their own culture? Can't people want to use the Fire Emblem Amie thing because they find it hilarious or are morbidly curious, not creepy? It's ridiculous to make rude assumptions about people you don't even know.

And I have seen this whole "Hoshido is for weebs" and "only weebs pick Hoshido" attitude on FE:if-related places (not necessarily SF), and this rush to make judgments about people we don't know anything about is the only thing that really bugs me about this.

[Jedi]

I don't have a problem with people who like or don't like anime tropes. I'm not a big fan of the hot springs and the face rubbing thing, but whatever it doesn't ruin the game.

I don't even have a problem with people who aren't into the Japanese aesthetic. Different strokes for different folks.

What I do have a problem with are people who say that the only people who would pick Hoshido are weeabos. I mean, seriously. Are people like me, who are not Japanese but closer to Japanese culture than Western culture, weeabos for preferring something more familiar? Or are people not allowed to like or have a strong interest in something not of their own culture? Can't people want to use the Fire Emblem Amie thing because they find it hilarious or are morbidly curious, not creepy? It's ridiculous to make rude assumptions about people you don't even know.

And I have seen this whole "Hoshido is for weebs" and "only weebs pick Hoshido" attitude on FE:if-related places (not necessarily SF), and this rush to make judgments about people we don't know anything about is the only thing that really bugs me about this.

I agree 100%, and this is coming from someone who is way more western. I LOVE Asian culture and respect it, but if I say that to the wrong folks I get made fun of for it.

[Junk]

something tells me those people don't actually know what a weeaboo is then...

I don't mind it. It could be interesting although I am probably picking Nohr first since the story interests me more.

[Loki Laufeyson]

Weeaboo... people keep using that word. I don't think it means what they think it does.

This is a game set in pseudo!Japan, made by Japanese people. Weaboos are gonna be weaboos, but that's not the fault of Japanese people depicting their own (fantasy) culture.

Yeah. Its like calling Okami "weeboo trash". Its more than a little offensive tbh.

I like Japanese culture quite a bit and I'm tired of the word weaboo being thrown around. Like can't people enjoy Japanese fantasy just like medieval fantasy without getting an insulting label?

Its quite sickening really. That I like both, but since I prefer Hoshido I get labeled with some negativity because its Japanese. News flash its made by the Japanese. Deal with it.

I agree. While im going with Nohr, i am interested in Hoshido and want to play it. Ive got a lot of plans for it. I have no problem with the aesthetics. I find it exciting and interesting and i love the nods to feudal Nippon and mythology references. Japanese history and mythology has always been interesting to me.

I don't have a problem with people who like or don't like anime tropes. I'm not a big fan of the hot springs and the face rubbing thing, but whatever it doesn't ruin the game.

I don't even have a problem with people who aren't into the Japanese aesthetic. Different strokes for different folks.

What I do have a problem with are people who say that the only people who would pick Hoshido are weeabos. I mean, seriously. Are people like me, who are not Japanese but closer to Japanese culture than Western culture, weeabos for preferring something more familiar? Or are people not allowed to like or have a strong interest in something not of their own culture? Can't people want to use the Fire Emblem Amie thing because they find it hilarious or are morbidly curious, not creepy? It's ridiculous to make rude assumptions about people you don't even know.

And I have seen this whole "Hoshido is for weebs" and "only weebs pick Hoshido" attitude on FE:if-related places (not necessarily SF), and this rush to make judgments about people we don't know anything about is the only thing that really bugs me about this.

Thats yeah...i agree with this completely. Nohr is more my aesthetic style, but i really love how the Hoshido characters look. And i have this idea of how the soundtrack to Hoshido might sound. With a bunch of really traditional instruments/song structure...remember Okami's OST? *melts*

I have no issue with the Eastern direction. I like it, actually. Its interesting, adds new feel to the series, and looks like fun.

[Soapbar]

You might as well tear apart all the modern Bioware Titles with that line of thought. FE: IF is probably nowhere near the pandering it gets with those games and that's usually where I draw my line.

From what I know, That only happened in ME where Shepard was practically the reincarnation of Jesus if you were to believe the NPC's in that game. From what I've played of DA:O (And I didn't play far mind you) most NPC's didn't think too highly of the Grey Warden and told him/her to fuck off and eat a bag of shit waffles on a regular basis

I digress though. I don't really have anything more to contribute because I'm not to familiar with Eastern culture and don't like throwing names around. I'll just say that I'm not particularly a fan of Kamui being everyone's favorite Messiah to be though. I mean he is royalty but still.

[Lynsanity]

I work at a game store in an urban area, and there are true "weeaboos" who shop there. I'm talking white guys who walk into public every day with a different anime, manga or Bushiroad property character on their clothes, who collect figmas and (poorly) draw busty anime girls on their stuff. However, I still don't call them weebs without heavy irony, because they're still human adults who believe it or not, have lives and concerns outside of consuming Japanese media.

The lesson here I think is 1) if you think Fire Emblem and it's new features are weeby, you haven't even seen the tip of the weeb iceberg, and 2) don't throw the word weeaboo around unironically. Exist in adult spaces and the nerd-service industry and you'll find it's not actually a useful word to describe anything, except as a joke.

[lysander]

ITT people seem to think that weaboo isn't a title reserved for extreme, blind fanatics who confuse anime with actual Japanese culture. Like, as stated above, it's not even a term you'd use for somebody who happens to just like anime stuff--it's for people who like the stuff and ignorantly think that it is the whole of Japanese culture and all Japanese people like it too.

I don't really care what cultural direction any FE goes as long as the world is interesting. And this one should be, given they have an actual writer.

Edited June 3, 2015 by lysander

[lovely_pan]

I like that they are adding a more Eastern flare in the games. I would be even more thrilled if other cultures were represented in Fire Emblem as well. I think it would be so cool to have African, Alaskan, and Indian(this would be my absolute favorite because their traditional clothes can be so colorful and pretty) cultures represented in FE games. However, the chances of this happening in the immediate future don't seem very likely but I hold out hope.

I think that some characters in the game will be written better than others but that is true in most things. With the giant cast of characters in Fire Emblem games there are always some that are pulled off really well and others that can't break free from their stereotype. I think that FE14 will be no different.