So as I was saying; Lightning, you kick ass, you are amazing, but for now, Aqua has the spotlight. Why? First of all, Aqua is in a game that I would always prefer over FFXIII any day. Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep is far batter than FFXIII in the sense that absolutely none of the characters fail, that the storyline makes somewhat more sense and does not feel rushed, that you actually have to earn your weapons (upgrading weapons is a bothersome task that should be left for just the Ratchet and Clank games), that the universe is free to explore... sort of (it isn't linear, that's all that matters), that you can choose who you want to play as in the beginning of the game, and that there are actual sidequests. So, even though Lightning is still by far my favorite Square character, Aqua deserves more attention now for being in a game that completely satisfied me.
What is the first thing that drew my attention to Aqua when I first started out as her? That would probably be the same thing that is shared between most of the female characters Tetsuya Nomura came up with. I swear, if that man was God and created all humans the same way he creates his characters, every man in the world would be sexually active at the age of nine. Yes, nine specifically. Why? Well, I suck at putting these kinds of things into my own words, so I am just going to quote the great Blue Highwind on the matter of Aqua's appearance, which could be applied to many of Nomura's other characters: "She's so sexy that I can foresee quite a few preteen sexual awakenings occurring right on the PSP screen." Nomura was prety elaborate on Aqua's appearance, if that's the word I'm supposed to be using. What I find hilarious is that he had to change her clothing several different times because she was considered by him to be too "revealing." I don't remember seeing any older designs for Aqua, but I do remember watching one video where her back is so uncovered you could almost make out the top of her butt, where the tailbone is supposed to be... I think. Now her lower back is covered up, but her outfit is so damn tight in this game that it actually might just be a complete character model colored differently on some parts. In other words, the parts of her clothing that are supposed to be clothing, including her leggings and her shorts or whatever, are likely to be her actual skin colored over. It's like what they did with Jessica Alba in the movie Machete, where in the shower scene she appears naked, but in reality she was actually wearing undergarments that cover up most of those private areas. That's the way it is with Aqua, but reversed.
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| One of Aqua's original renders. Okay, I guess my statement about seeing her tailbone area was exaggerated. Besides, this isn't TOO revealing :P Dammit, Nomura. |
If you don't want to agree with me, go ahead; but I'm just saying because I can really make out what Aqua's under-regions supposedly look like due to how tight her shorts appear to be. Anyway, I remember reading somebody comment on Blue's review of Birth By Sleep that Aqua's outfit may just be the true intention for Kuja's outfit, and I couldn't have agreed more. My God, Kuja was probably one of the worst examples of awkward character design... hold on a second, I just saw an article for the next Dissidia, and I must report on it. Okay, sorry about that, it just needed to be done. As a matter of fact, I'm pretty hungry, so I'm just going to post this thing now and then I'll work on it later. Besides, Aqua's appearance makes up half the reason why she's being praised here on my blog.
Welcome back. That queer looking man you see above this paragraph is the guy who had a similar outfit to Aqua's. Unfortunately, he was around way before Aqua was even a concept, I'm afraid, so therefore whoever was the character designer for Kuja was an epic failure. The sad part is that he is actually an end boss. How it is that somebody with that bad of a fashion sense could be an evil end boss is a mystery to me. Too bad that I don't feel like playing FFIX, or else maybe I could've sympathized. This design of Aqua shows how the outfit should've been put to use. Anyway, I don't think I have a whole lot to say about Aqua anymore. So far she seems cool, she is the only one of the three characters who become an official Keyblade Master. She also really cares about both Terra and Ventus, like any good friend. I kind of think she is in love with Terra, but I suppose it is too early to decide that, even though I just finished Radiant Garden, which is supposedly the game's midpoint.
(Spoiler Alert!) I already spoiled some of the game for myself, so I already know about how Aqua goes back and makes Castle Oblivion out of The Land of Departure, and how she ends up fighting the possessed Terra at the true end of the game. Gameinformer said that her story is weak, but I beg to differ due to its significance to the whole series. Also, she finds herself having to fight both Ven and Terra since they become possessed by Vanitas and Xehanort, respectively, and I think that having to go through such a situation would be heartbreaking; although I can't imagine it happening in real life. That's what makes me like Aqua more, all the shit she goes through. Yeah, I like it when people have interesting problems. The way how they behave towards those problems are what defines their character to me. I know, it is weird, but that's just me. That's all I have to say about Aqua right now, so until next time.
Additional Note: Is it just me, or has Tetsuya Nomura suddenly developed a fetish for turtlenecks? It seems to me that that is the new thing now with his female characters. I remember when it used to be belts... boy were those days interesting.
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