What annoys you about guy characters in GxB?

[ririruetoo]

I was just wondering what people think about them. I got this idea after viewing the 'What women want from female characters' topic, so what annoys you about obtainable guys in visual novels? What do you love? What is the NUMBER ONE thing you can NEVER TOLERATE about them?

[Blue Lemma]

Not that I can't tolerate it, but they frequently look like girls. Why? Freud would have a field day

[HigurashiKira]

I dislike the male obtainables that seem prettier than the MC and sparkle more than Edward Cullen on a bright mid-summer morning. *stoned*

Honestly, how do people like those kind of guys? If I had a choice, I would take this over this any day

[Applegate]

There exist only three types of males:
- The perky, bouncy types who look young and have a sad past
- The troubled emo types whose dark past is more dark than a forest at midnight
- The "bad" boys with a heart of gold

Ugh.

[KomiTsuku]

1. I've said this a thousand times, but the complete lack of facial hair disturbs me. Do they all just have a complete lack of testosterone? Did they have a Nair accident as a child? Maybe they will grow up someday.
2. Following that up, this one is more of a general all RPG games. Why do we not have a main character *the playable one, not the sidekicks* who is over the age of 21? Do you suddenly hit that age and can never rise higher than being a minor character with maybe a single subplot? Disregarding immortals (who all look younger than 21 anyway), can someone name me an RPG lead character over the age of 30? Anybody? You can go back as far as you want. Hell, can you name me one over 22? Can anyone name me an otome game with a romanceable male over that age? I'm going to end up dying alone and never being the hero according to video game logic.
3. Stereotypes: There's always the jock, the computer nerd, and the shy, popular guy who does ABSOLUTELY nothing to be that way.

[Applegate]

2. Following that up, this one is more of a general all RPG games. Why do we not have a main character *the playable one, not the sidekicks* who is over the age of 21?

Target audience is usually teenagers. From the early years of videogames, they were aimed at children. In Lunar: Silver Star Story, the original story featured an 11-year-old Alex. When they re-released the game for PlayStation three years later, they made Alex 14 years old instead, arguing that the target audience would've aged by three years as well.

When I was a teenager, I never quite got drawn to games that feature older people as main characters. Why would I want to play some middle-aged (wo)man? That's not what I wanted in my RPGs!

These days, of course, I'm much less interested in kids as heroes. (Lunar has a special place in my heart, though.)

[MaiMai]

I hate male characters in GxB games that treat the main character like crap ... But the MC can forgive them anyways. I mean. What!? Of course there is always good ways to find a way to explain such behavior and even develop it to make it an interesting plot device (notice I said 'interesting' not 'good').

And artwise, artists who can draw beautiful bishies aren't usually good at drawing facial hair (but I agree facial hair can be kind of attractive). Orlando from Riddle Garden comes to mind... You just wanted to shave off that stupid chin hair instead of thinking it made him look rugged and handsome.

[KomiTsuku]

2. Following that up, this one is more of a general all RPG games. Why do we not have a main character *the playable one, not the sidekicks* who is over the age of 21?

Target audience is usually teenagers. From the early years of videogames, they were aimed at children. In Lunar: Silver Star Story, the original story featured an 11-year-old Alex. When they re-released the game for PlayStation three years later, they made Alex 14 years old instead, arguing that the target audience would've aged by three years as well.

When I was a teenager, I never quite got drawn to games that feature older people as main characters. Why would I want to play some middle-aged (wo)man? That's not what I wanted in my RPGs!

These days, of course, I'm much less interested in kids as heroes. (Lunar has a special place in my heart, though.)

But back then, it was mostly the younger generation playing the games. Nowadays, all of the old generation gamers have grown older, but the characters haven't really followed. It is still the same types of characters I've been playing for the last two decades. I just want a few exceptions. They flatout don't exist!

You just wanted to shave off that stupid chin hair instead of thinking it made him look rugged and handsome.

I said this the last time it came up, but there are more types of facial hair other than scraggly, which seems to be the only type in existence in games. >0 Where's my Burt Reynolds?!

[Applegate]

But back then, it was mostly the younger generation playing the games. Nowadays, all of the old generation gamers have grown older, but the characters haven't really followed. It is still the same types of characters I've been playing for the last two decades. I just want a few exceptions. They flatout don't exist!

Well, there's Hotel Dusk. Phoenix Wright's Apollo Justice is 21, too, and I think Phoenix is older in the games where he is the main character. Same goes with Edgeworth.

There's also a bunch of shoot 'em ups, and Dirge of Cerberus has Vincent who's over 20... Cloud's also 21, come to think of it.

[KomiTsuku]

But back then, it was mostly the younger generation playing the games. Nowadays, all of the old generation gamers have grown older, but the characters haven't really followed. It is still the same types of characters I've been playing for the last two decades. I just want a few exceptions. They flatout don't exist!

Well, there's Hotel Dusk. Phoenix Wright's Apollo Justice is 21, too, and I think Phoenix is older in the games where he is the main character. Same goes with Edgeworth.

There's also a bunch of shoot 'em ups, and Dirge of Cerberus has Vincent who's over 20... Cloud's also 21, come to think of it.

I will concede Phoenix Wright and Hotel Dusk, although I'm leery about really calling them RPGs. Shooters tend to be an exception to the RPG trend, although they are also pretty young most of the time. But there are no straight-up RPGs (Final fantasy/Tales of * esque) games with the main character being over 21. That is what annoys me the most about the portrayal of male characters in games.

[MaiMai]

There's NIER! It's the only game I can think of where the protagonist is a rough, but courageous father who will do anything to save his only daughter. He's definitely not a bishie by any means.

(But of course Japan had to make another version where the main character was the BROTHER trying to save his sick sister so they got that massive tool of a pretty boy and we got Daddy Nier thank goodness)

[Applegate]

Not true. Vagrant Story has a main character in his late 20s, and Legend of Dragoon's Dart is 23. Makai Kingdom's MC looks over 20 and he's over 100 years old.

Idly, while I never play FF games anymore, I'd be totally buying one if it had Auron as a main character.

[Sapphi]

Disclaimer: As an artist I am guilty of this to some extent because I am better at drawing girls than men, but here goes:

Men that look like women.

Now, this is kind of interesting because I'm not always put off by them. But I think I only find them attractive because in shows that aren't catering specifically to women, there is usually only one really "pretty" man, if any, so the design stands out. In GxB, it seems like the tendency is to prettify everybody, so it gets obnoxious.

Besides, I like manly men. There's something much more attractive about a not-so-pretty guy doing sensitive things than a bishie. As for facial hair, I prefer it IRL (sometimes the transition to anime is not that great). Personally, I don't like full-on beards, but at least some scruffiness is way hotter than clean-cut, 9 times out of 10. And sideburns! YEAH! Also, long hair is great, as long as it's manly! Make it look a little disheveled, not like he took a hair straightener to it.

And for goodness sake, give the guy a manlier characterization than "best player on the school basketball team" or "snarks-a-lot". That's it? That's the best we can do? What about a greasy mechanic who drinks motor oil simply because he likes the taste?! What about a hot-blooded ace fighter jet pilot?! But they don't have to be strong to be manly. How about a wise history teacher who collects antique weapons? Or a super-smart basement programmer/hacker who isn't a 13 year old prodigy with a softer face than a girl? Or a really drill-happy dentist? (Drilling are manly!)

Well, I'm being a little silly, but here's the thing... as a girl, I get crushes on people I admire. I admire people who I want to be like. So give me somebody cool and awesome and hot-blooded! (This is a "little sister" mentality vs. a "mother" mentality... )

But mostly, I just want a good story. (A-And shiny glasses.)

EDIT: I realized OP was asking for what we can never tolerate about male characters. In that case it would probably just be plain badly-written characters... *bad general answer*

[KomiTsuku]

Not true. Vagrant Story has a main character in his late 20s, and Legend of Dragoon's Dart is 23. Makai Kingdom's MC looks over 20 and he's over 100 years old.

Idly, while I never play FF games anymore, I'd be totally buying one if it had Auron as a main character.

I can't believe nobody has ever suggested Dart out of all the times I asked! I completely forgot that he does fall over the age limit. Now I just need to find a female main who also meets these requirements.

[papillon]

I've heard that in FF12 Basch was originally meant to be the main hero, but they were worried because a previous game with an older hero had sold badly, so they shoehorned teenager Vaan in instead.

Pity. Basch is hot. I do like pretty androgynous boys - including in real life, which tends to make me a little defensive towards people who are too mean about bishies, because real-life pretty boys getting beaten up is not cool - but I can appreciate a wide range of deliciousness.

Having so much as a tame little goatee (Bastian in Fatal Hearts) will get some complaints from fangirls that facial hair is "gross" but enh, one character out of the lot, they can deal.

Can anyone name me an otome game with a romanceable male over that age?

Plenty of otome games with teacher characters. Even a few with old-man romanceable characters, although the fangirls tend to freak out and complain.

http://sandeian.wordpress.com/2011/07/2 ... a-no-shou/ - 'Ouba Teo' is 48.
http://sandeian.wordpress.com/2010/09/2 ... o-chigiri/ - One's 38, one's 50s or so?