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Yuna, Ashe, and "Lightning", the females of FFX, XII, and XIII, respectively. There was a thread a while back on the FFXIII board on GameFAQs (can you tell I'm fairly active there, huh? xd ), in which someone claimed that the three, facially, looked too much alike, and met with general agreement. I, of course, proceeded to try to refute that. Being moronic as I was, I failed to note that Yoshida himself said that he intentionally made Ashe look vaguely French...

They then progressed into a debate over why Asian game manufacturers would choose European appearances for the main characters, which I commented on.

Due to a response I received for this little piece, PLEASE do not think that I ascribe to any racist ideology, such as Nordicism. Personally, while I acknowledge that there is probably some genetic truth to the identification of "European races" (or rather, that Europe was genetically diverse), I don't espouse any actions or classifications based on this, and consider race mapping only scientifically, and not racially, interesting. Nor do I think that facial structure should be used as the only determinant of a person's phylogeny. I merely thought it would be interesting to refute them with concrete evidence while tying in what I know from dabbling in forensics.

Also, I'm well aware that much of it is bunk. In fact, the whole division of Nordic, Mediterranean, and Alpine is pretty dubious by now, but it was a whole lot easier to use than to go through the details of the current phylogeny involving mixing several branches together in certain ways...

Be glad I spared you that mess, even if it did clean up in the end. "Lightning" is part Sami/Lapp! xd



How in the world do you people figure they look the same?

Let me preface my analysis by saying that I've an AVERSION to Nomura's character designs - they seem too generic to me, too "pop"-ish, especially in comparison to Amano's (though I will admit that Amano's sometimes outlandish designs would not work in the worlds of the post-VII Final Fantasies). I don't like the homogeneity I do see, but I take issue at this constantly being a question when its simply untrue. If you want to criticize his all-too oft done designs, criticize them on reasonable grounds. These three characters simply don't look alike.

Also, one can't attribute it solely to Nomura, anyway - Yoshida handled FFXII's character designs, so it's not simply that.

After scrutinizingly comparing the facial structures of these young video game ladies, I'd say they would only pass for one another in the distance, on a dimly lit street at night under the cover of light fog.

Let's start with Yuna. She has noticeably fuller, rounder cheeks, partially because most of the time, her cheekbones seem to be set low in comparison. Her jawline is softer as well, giving her face an overall plusher look, generally attributed to Asians. Her eyes are largely level with her face, and their shape is such that the curve is largely even, and downward so that the bottom is straighter, giving that "almond" (why do you Caucasians call it that, hmm? Almonds are not so regularly curved) style and contributing to the Asian nature of her face. Her nose is straight and fairly narrow (atypical of Asians, but hey, that's not what we're arguing). Her mouth is smaller and her lips seem a bit more plush, in addition to being set lower on her face. Her brow is also fairly level with her face. Overall, she strikes me as more Asian in appearance, and somewhat older, whether intentional or not.

Then, there's Ashe. Straight off the bat I notice the difference in their eyes - Ashe's eyes are set further in, slightly sunken in comparison to Yuna's, and their shape is such that the curve is greater towards the nose, giving it a peaked look, generally seen in Caucasians. Her nose is rounder, has a very slight bump in the middle, and is more pronounced than Yuna's, owing this fact to the depression around her eyes and slightly less full cheeks, and slightly higher cheekbones. In general, her face seems slightly rounder than Yuna's, contributing to her youthful look. Her mouth is slighter wider, her lips slighty (very slightly) less plush, and set higher than Yuna's, giving her a more youthful look. She, too, has a soft jawline. Overall, she is quite Caucasian looking - indeed, I'm sure Nomura was going for the Mixed Alpine Caucasian facial structure, since she matches it almost perfectly (barring eye color), and seems quite young.

Now, there's "Lightning" (hope that's not the name). Her eyes are less sunken than Ashe's, more so than Yuna's. Her cheekbones are set around where Yuna's are, but her cheeks are a good deal less full - less than Ashe's. Her nose is quite pronounced, and not, like Ashe's, merely due to her cheeks and eyes. Her jawline is "stronger"/"harder" than either Yuna's or Ashe's, and her eyes, though proportionally smaller than Yuna's, seem European due to their shape - a more level curve than Ashe's, but less than Yuna, with a greater curve on the bottom than the top. Her lips are full, but not peaked the way Yuna's are - the dip in the middle is not nearly as pronounced - and her mouth is narrow like Yuna's, and set as low, if not slightly lower. Her face is long and narrow, unlike both Yuna's Oriental, and Ashe's Alpine Caucasian. Overall, she is also quite Caucasian looking, but of the Nordic Caucasian facial structure - long and strong - as opposed to Ashe's Alpine; the way her face is set makes her seem older than Ashe, though comparable to Yuna (leaning towards older), both in their respective groups (her plush lips and comparatively soft lines).

Don't take my word for it - go look yourself. If that doesn't convince you, then... Suit yourself.

I'm Asian, BTW, and yes, there is some infatuation with the Western culture, and we do speak of the Caucasian appearance - especially Nordic - as the most beautiful of humanity; there is even a sort of caste, really - Caucasians have natural beauty, Asians have natural intelligence, and Africans have natural physical strength. These perceptions are deteriorating as globalization and nationalism increase, though, and ideals Asian beauty are becoming more prevalent.

I think the reasons behind the Caucasian look is the still-rooted idea of white beauty, precedent, and the fact that they do have to weigh on their Western market, along with personal perceptions - if Nomura or Yoshida prefers the "white look", who's going to oppose him? If these factors subside, you may see a more Asian look to the characters, but as for other ethnicities in the mainstream, I wouldn't hold my breath - there is a good deal of discrimination against Africans and Hispanics in Asian nations - don't ask me why, I'm a good little "I treat everyone equally" American (LOL, but seriously), which will have to be overcome first. That, and you do have to cater to the majority, and I don't see Africa becoming a huge market any time soon.

End diatribe.



I find it interesting that I managed to pin down Ashe without even being aware that she was based off of the French (and thus Alpine) look. When I discovered that it was indeed the case, I was simultaneously pleased at the result of my fairly strenuous analysis, and quite unnerved. eek

Not too shabby for a girl, eh? mrgreen

Very perceptive and descriptive, Byuu. It's like Sio said--you can tell the differences by looking at them (or you SHOULD be able to, unless you're stupid, which a lot of people apparently are), but it's damn hard to properly understand and describe them. You do a bang-up job of it.



.......Take off your clothes!

Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged Series joke quotes aside, it's not too shabby for you regardless of your gender. Adding in this last sentence kinda makes you sound like you're worried that you won't be taken as seriously because you're a girl, or something. It really doesn't matter to us, I promise. Of course, I realize my comments in the other thread might have unnerved you--if so, I apologize, just (mostly) joking around. I can even promise not to mostly-jokingly hit on you in the future if it bothers you.