Reading Kotaku this morning, I came across an article about the character design for Faith in Mirror’s Edge. Some folks, it would seem, were unsatisfied with the percieved “western interpretation of asian beauty” in Faith, and took it upon themselves to “localize” her appearance.
Original Version
Re-interpretation
Later, I was checking out a blog about the “Top 60 popular Japanese words/phrases of 2008” (Hey, shut up! I don’t bust on how you choose to spend your time off work…=) and so anyway, number 33 describes the debate surrounding the character design of the official mascot character for the Commemorative Events of the 1,300th Anniversary of the Nara-Heijokyo Capital, Sento-kun.
A Buddhist child monk with a rack of deer antlers sprouting from his head, Sento-kun is supposed to evoke the image of Nara’s rich Buddhist history and the wild deer that roam freely around town. But some citizens were angry at officials for shutting them out of the decision-making process and wasting 5 million yen (about $50,000) of taxpayer money on what they saw as an ugly mascot.
So a group of local designers got together and held a contest to create a mascot that, “more closely represents the will of the people and the true spirit of Nara.”
Deer Baby vs. Baby Deer
Anyway, I just found the whole thing pretty interesting, re: the convoluted Venn diagram intersection of “cute” and “sexy” and “western” and “Japanese” and all that.
Probably looks something like this
For additional bonus amusement, do be sure to read the comments from the Kotaku post in which the various implications of eye, boob and nipple size are hashed out in some detail (a large-ish subset of this discussion being devoted to the hypothetical practicalities of being a large-chested parkour practitioner.) And the other submissions to the Nara mascot design contest are worth a look too.
In conclusion, I now feel that if I am ever asked for my advice on creating an ass-kicking sexy female deer character for the Japanese market, I will be well-qualified to offer an informed opinion.
