How Modern Western Media Ruins Strong Female Characters ( Video Essay )

Why do people hate female characters? Let's talk about it.
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Music: "Astral Roar" by Lama House

[@EndymionTv]

Hello everyone, thanks for watching. Let me know what you think & I hope people watch in full before they form an opinion. But we'll see. Subscribe for more, check out my other content in this spicy series & don't worry. I will still cover souls games, I just want to infuse social commentary too if I can. Thank you.

[@Darkcide-tl7kl]

I think you are a normie trying to tackle a subject you are not crazy enough to handle it lol. Silent Hill 3 is my favorite because of Heather's struggle. She has this horrible situation thrust upon her and learns the truth and still stand up to Claudia/ the order.

[@EndymionTv]

@@Darkcide-tl7kl If you mean I’m not an incel & won’t lash out, then yes you’re right 100%. I don’t think we have a female hero problem...but we have a very specific KIND of female character trope problem. And it’s exclusive to western media. Thanks for watching

[@TheGameianDark]

@@Darkcide-tl7kl How U came to a conclusion that he is a normie trying to tackle a subject! I very much disagree with his thought about Abby standpoint yet I agree with him on the rest of the video.. He is very much talking about both good and bad about existing female characters, how is it not handling it well?

[@Darkcide-tl7kl]

@@TheGameianDark calm down fella. It is called banter. You don't see me flipping out bc he said incel. If anything I am annoyed Heather Mason was left out over the last of us mascot. I am just sticking up for imo one of the better female characters.

[@TheGameianDark]

@@Darkcide-tl7kl U are triggered bc he left out ur favorite character yet U are asking me to calm down.. Also, he didn't call u an incel.. He simply said he's not an incel.. Two different things.. Way to self-victimizing yourself there, bud.. GG!

[@DavideDurbano]

We didn’t hate Leia, Ripley, Sarah Connor simply because they were properly written. Making a character strong by making the counterpart dumb is lazy writing.

[@Nathan_Coley]

Exactly, we love characters regardless what gender they are IF they are properly written.

[@EndymionTv]

This is part of my argument too although I tried to not use Ripley etc as examples since those have been done to death already

[@EndymionTv]

True

[@WiseOwl_1408]

@@EndymionTv she is a great example as the original script called for a dude but they found the perfect actor and went with it.

[@DavideDurbano]

@@EndymionTv at this point I’m even wondering if there might be an agenda to destroy manhood generally. Soy men don’t fight, don’t stand up and are happy to eat bugs and receive all kinds of handouts as long as they keep quiet while having their ego stroke by how progressive they are.

[@benjaminthibieroz4155]

to clarify: there's nothing wrong with stoïcism. Controlling your emotions is a mandatory things when it comes to facing danger. But controlling your emotions and having none are two whole different things, just like courage and absence of fear. Any character needs strong emotional moments. Stoïcism is even more impressive when we knows why a character struggles with such determination. Without atachment, that's just a machine.

[@EndymionTv]

Case in point: Aloy from Horizon. First game she’s human, second game? Terminator

[@MrKing-qd7gi]

Yah that's why the comparison to Kratos is pretty good I think. He is very Stoic and a hard ass yet, very broken and clearly has emotional baggage and weakness (and he's a littetal war God! One of the strongest characters both physically and emotionally in a game). Even in the older games he was like this but the 2018 game did so good focusing on it. Look at eastern games and there is plenty of Stoic characters that are loved. One that was mentioned here was 2B. I'm sick of a writers vision of a story just being their political views.

[@DesOttsel]

That’s disappointing, the first third of zero dawn and the dlc were fantastic.

[@Excelsior1937]

I agree with you about the value of being in control of your emotions as opposed to them being in control of you, but I'd like to make a point that suppression of emotions and control aren't necessarily the same thing. Emotions, at their best, motivate action, and they can drive us to do things we wouldn't otherwise be able to do if we accept them and direct them rather than trying to make an enemy out of ourselves. For an example from fiction since we're talking about stories, think of Bruce Wayne managing to climb out of the pit in The Dark Knight Rises. Almost everyone else who tried failed, and the story reveals that the mistake they all made was trying to quiet their nerves and be fearless, while Bruce gets out because he accepts that he's afraid and let's that fear course through his whole body as he makes the biggest jump of the climb. One of the other characters even had a line like "How could you expect to make it out without the most primal motivator of all?" It's something that is true to life and, as that example was meant to demonstrate, makes good fiction too.

[@yousseftarek9015]

the rdr protagonist are stoic, but still show emotion. That's why it's my favourite series

[@bryanmercado5337]

I feel like Clementine from Telltale's twd isn't mentioned enough in these discussions. I think she's a well written character

[@konradfoyle]

From a scared little girl who seemingly lost everything at the start of the outbreak, to a hardened survivor who is capable of making life-or-death decisions to protect her loved ones, which may include taking life to protect another.... And we all saw that happen, and it's the only character in the Telltale's universe where it deserves plot armor

[@rhysmyatt5136]

1 fault with her... She should have died in the final episode of telltale, but that's not a criticism of her but more the writers.

[@Fxrrxt2x]

​​@@konradfoyle Also, in the last season, she is stoic and very much survival focused, but then she has that dream about Lee at the end of the game that just shows her breakdown and vulnerable talking about the weight on her shoulders and her worry for AJ and her friends. She was strengthened as a character and as a human being for it, not made weaker.

[@GarryTale]

YESSSS YESSS Y E S

[@optimize0]

This. I love Clementine. Excellent application and agency of a character.

[@billbombshiggy9254]

As a woman, I hate that there are no characters I can relate to. Every woman now is so perfect at everything already, they have no struggles-- they're boring and I hate female characters. They're all the same "omg strong WHAMENS" cut out. I totally agree with you

[@sup3414]

Queen mindset

[@liberatingzephyr7024]

There are quite a few that are likeable though, such as Samus Aran from Metroid, the Lara Croft from the original series, was pretty bad*ss as well. Sarah Connor from Terminator was cool, although I think they screwed around with her character in the newer ones not sure.

[@Swarmah]

@@liberatingzephyr7024 i kinda like new Lara more, shes actually more relatable, shes not Rich already experienced tomb raider, your start the game, as early 20s scared woman, who tries to survive. She gets captured, shes frightened, shes injured ( tho she has superhuman survivability, surviving impalement thry upper body, but its game, so, that can be forgiven ). Lara was bad in new trilogy a bit on worse side in 3rd game.

[@liberatingzephyr7024]

@@Swarmah Mhm. I think both of them are good in different ways: original Lara is more badass, but the newer Lara is more 'human' and relatable.

[@zorothe9th]

Bill is a woman's name?

[@RedDeath-qi4ci]

I love how literally everybody (except Twitter) is exposing this problem and yet Hollywood still refuses to listen, it's like if they're doing it on purpose.

[@EndymionTv]

That’s why it’s up to us to keep up the good fight but do it in a positive non destructive way

[@thecommunity1102]

They are doing it on purpose.

[@Jetblast01]

It's an echo chamber there with people out of touch with reality.

[@The1337nut]

Gotta program the kids somehow…

[@tarnishedpose]

They're doing it on purpose. Look at She-Hulk. They are aware of the issue, but they choose to double down on it by doing this meta self-awareness crap where they get ahead of potential criticism, not to prevent it by doing better, but to dismiss it by doing worse on purpose, only so they get to come out with a sense of entitlement and self righteousness because in their mind they *owned the haters* If anything, the real *haters* feel more entitled than ever to stand their ground against this wave of whatever the fuck it is.

[@kenwahldhlamini8102]

Katara and Toph from avatar the last Airbender are also solid examples of writing good female characters.

[@rationalcynic8416]

ATLA seems like one of the last tv show of this century that had strong female characters without being cringey af. They didn't have an agenda, just great characters and a great story.

[@User-jp1sj]

@@rationalcynic8416 Probably the most disingenuous analysis of Avatar you could possibly make. There's two episodes in Season one that literally have sexism as a plot point. Stop looking at your childhood through rose colored glasses for one second please

[@User-jp1sj]

Toph talks down to people all the time.

[@lucylu184]

@@User-jp1sj so? it's not because she's a woman, it's part of who she is.

[@User-jp1sj]

@@lucylu184 She does it in a much harsher, more overt way then Rey ever did so I really don't get how you could possibly say that her doing it isn't woke but Rey doing it is

[@renatafnedab3003]

Other characters that are female are Tigress and snake from Kungfu Panda. They both have their things and strengths they bring to the story and they show that the can be strong and a part of the heroic team without having to take over. Tigress even has a backstory showing why she is the way she starts off. She grows to not be weak but become more open to having family amd being at peace with others in her life.❤️💯

[@artorhen]

And her past of stoicism actually comes from the same place of being hardened by Shifu who treated feline characters different just like Tai Lung. In some ways, she overcomes what Tai Lung couldn't get over, which makes her a super badass character, but shows more about what stoicism is actually about.

[@IPlayKindred]

watching her at a young age is why I like strong women, and I hope there are more characters written as well as her

[@myanoel0]

A good example I would even mention is Jinx as well. Jinx has lots of trauma and does commit crimes, but you can empathize and relate because she has weaknesses and deep flaws.

[@drfabulous2804]

And she has a likeable but insane personality. In other words she is charismatic

[@vanillyswirl]

stop fetishizing psychotic female characters how about that? Jinx is emotionally and physically weak and coping with it by being insane and controlling

[@vanillyswirl]

@@drfabulous2804 u mean an obnoxious victim complex that u like cuz it's associated with silco

[@proxi315]

Exactly. Schnee's video on "how Arcane writes women" ties into this perfectly and goes on to prove how Arcane properly wrote strong female characters; how it made a lot of them powerful but not at the cost of entirely losing their femininity or humanity

[@gannielukks1811]

I don't relate

[@natoriousthehopeful2786]

I personally don't hate female characters are strong, I hate how they get to be portrayed as strong: I finally believe that if riders in Hollywood are willing to exert the actual effort, we could have both strong male and female characters

[@EndymionTv]

Eastern media understands this, the west is slowly starting to adapt IMO

[@natoriousthehopeful2786]

@@EndymionTv yeah, just give the am decade and a half and we'll be good😹

[@digthathole5521]

The only difference between now, and back then, is that thanks to certain youtubers that make bank off of whipping their fans into a frenzy by claiming every strong woman character is part of some left wing, feminazi, woke agenda. They lie to make money. What if Terminator just came out? The trolls would be attacking the "woke" female lead because she was the strong one. Mind you this came out in 1984.

[@nhlcbj]

Like Indiana Jones and Marion in Raider of the Lost Ark, they work off each other and call each other out on their bs. Also on that note, you can have that chemistry and not have it result in a romance either.

[@anti-sjwandsjwannoysme6603]

What? You dont have a problem with strong female characters but hate when they are strong female characters? THE HELL BRO? dont contradict yourself.

[@hezekiahduckworthy8867]

Both Wall-E and Eve expressed more human emotions than Rey, Captain Marvel, She-Hulk Attorney at Law, Galadriel from Rings of Power, and Mike Burnham.

[@EndymionTv]

I love Wall-E no joke it’s the movie I’ve seen the most times in theaters for some weird reason 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@SaulOhio]

Eve actually starts out like the poorly written female characters we criticize. But she grows and learns. She gets better. Her perfection, power and especially lack of emotion are seen as flaws.

[@SaulOhio]

@@hypnodance I keep hearing news of a sequel. Look forward to it.

[@rac1equalsbestgame853]

The P3 PS2 chracter models with textures for eyes and mouth express more emotion in their chracter models than these women

[@xoxoheartz]

The fact that a robot couple is better than people

[@edrosa3485]

Ripley's femininity and sense of motherhood gave her the strength to face the Alien queen to rescue Newt. THAT's good writing.

[@Lena-mt3ck]

And the love for cat. Do not forget the cat.

[@scorcher64]

Agree. Though, my current gripe is that we keep going back to the same handful of properly-developed female characters as examples when we should be churning more Ripleys out regularly (and doing so without the need to make them look/act androgynous).

[@lowtiersupport5530]

@@scorcher64 The fact you pointed that out gets me bummed and I hate that I agree 100%.

[@attilahapak]

No, the writing was bad, Sigourney is a good actress and she worked a lot to feminines her character

[@woodwalker6025]

I really liked Aloy. She was curious and naive, lost and frustrated and yes stoic. She was raised by one man as an outcast. Being emotional would be hardened out of her.

[@sethbrundle6506]

Yes. I think her character fit the narrative of the story and the world they built quite well. She could have been a lot angrier, at least had the right to be on those circumstances... Then she was given an 'edge' in the form of lost technology that was both her guide to success and escape from a world that rejected her. So relateable. And also makes sense. Unlike the other Mary-Sue's, who are just in god mode without any explanation or proper buildup. Only played the first game though...

[@Thentavius]

@@sethbrundle6506 The fact she was used as an example in this video and put side by side with *Rey* of all characters really rubbed me the wrong way.

[@GraveUypo]

she has the personality of a bar of soap. i think she ruined the game... well, every moment where someone speaks ruined it, but eh. what a bland delivery of a great concept :|

[@kiplingwasafurry1108]

One of the biggest examples of this is like Mulan remake. Like a lot of young girls I grew up with Disney movies and I was introduced to Mulan, looking back now I realized she was the quintessential strong female protagonist. She had flaws but trained her hardest, used her intelligence and problem solving skills in combat, and respected her male counterparts even when they turned her away. In the remake they make her into the basic “strong female character”: give her powers so she’s immediately better than everyone, is robotic and emotionless, and replace Shang - her love interest whose a strong war general - with some wimpy guy. I feel for all the young girls out there who are told that to be strong you need to constantly belittle men, have no character flaws, and you don’t need to work to overcome weaker aspects of yourself. Our daughters and sons deserve better stories and role models.

[@Blindpoet1988]

I think Mayuri Kurostuchi from Bleach said it best: Perfection is a dead end, a condition of hopelessness. Always strive to become better than anything else that came before you but not perfect.

[@dredgendorchadas6770]

Something I liked about the old film was that it showed that to be one of the team, you must serve the team. At what point does she stop getting bullied by the boys? When she puts down her gloves and works ALL NIGHT to achieve something, at that point her companions choose to acknowledge her as an equal. Keep in mind none of this was "sexism" as NONE of them knew she was a girl, she was an outsider though. And when they couldn't find a solution her voice was heard not for plot, but for the trust she earned.

[@dredgendorchadas6770]

Something I liked about the old film was that it showed that to be one of the team, you must serve the team. At what point does she stop getting bullied by the boys? When she puts down her gloves and works ALL NIGHT to achieve something, at that point her companions choose to acknowledge her as an equal. Keep in mind none of this was "sexism" as NONE of them knew she was a girl, she was an outsider though. And when they couldn't find a solution her voice was heard not for plot, but for the trust she earned.

[@usonohoshi6165]

Someone also made a great point on how the original cartoon showed the toxic sides of both men and women. Which made Mulan feel like a perfect balance because she never acted as either. She was neither acted as the ideal woman. Nor pretended to be the ideal man. Mulan is Mulan. And it was embracing who she, despite what society wanted her to be both as Mulan or Ping, is what made her such a GREAT character.

[@brok56]

@@dredgendorchadas6770 Key Word, She EARNED The respect. She didnt just get respect because She is a woman. She proved herself and earned it.

[@Z-Mikes00]

I think it comes from the fact studios are more focused on empowerment than writing good characters. They're too afraid to give them weaknesses and meaningful arcs it seems unless it involves breaking the chains of a male oppression

[@EndymionTv]

This is true

[@saula8948]

Hit the nail on the head .

[@anti-sjwandsjwannoysme6603]

Whats wrong with empowerment. If studios in the past empowered boys. Whats wrong with empowering girls and boys at the same time? So when they empowered boys in the past its normal but when you empowered both at the same time its problematic. Also. . . The Fck is Male oppression?

[@saula8948]

@@anti-sjwandsjwannoysme6603 The issue is that those female characters feel lame , they have no to barely any issues and are just great in everything for the sake of it . Its terrible writing and nobody likes a Mary Sue . There is nothing wrong with being powerful and strong but you have to have some flaws as well , some personality . That is why most modern female characters suck because they are too perfect and boring because of it . Male oppression ? Well look at the laws in the west , men are oppressed at every corner in favor of the woman . If you are that ignorant not to realize that then that is a you problem , this guy was just talking about social oppression of men which exists but the laws are where I really have a problem with . If you want me to write just how privileged females are compared to men I will gladly do so .

[@Z-Mikes00]

@@anti-sjwandsjwannoysme6603 bait

[@V8Supercar1]

Personally for me. In video games I don't want characters that I can relate to, I want interesting fantasy characters. I also want them to keep the real world and real-world issues out of video games.

[@TheOneEyedMac]

yeah, unless I'm playing a choose your own adventure game or an RPG where you could customize your character, I would rather pick interesting characters, even robotic ones as long as the character is actually good, over a character that I resonate with.

[@destroyallfurries]

Bingo

[@graveraider1029]

This is why video games characters are so boring is because devs are trying to make them relatable, which is very subjective!

[@KIKI-ok5nc]

As a female, I AM SOOO HAPPY SOMEONE FINALLY SAID THIS. The way you put things and gave examples was amazing and really explains in a great way why people don’t like most new, toxic female characters. Great video over all. I hope that more female characters in media can have actual emotions as you said because even women like me who are strong, aren’t emotionless people with god complexes. So characters with flaws and representation that reflects us are characters we relate to and love.

[@snsnshhhs663]

In what way are you strong?

[@trevorstrickland364]

@@snsnshhhs663 This question seems pointless. Sure, she did not give reasons for why she is strong, we don't know her. However, it is because we don't know her that we have no real reason to assume otherwise either.

[@snsnshhhs663]

@@trevorstrickland364 so we’re just supposed to take her word for it?

[@trevorstrickland364]

@@snsnshhhs663 Whether she is actually strong is irrelevant. She was correct to say that we need more strong characters that aren't emotionless robots with god complexes.

[@allthatjazz5445]

@@snsnshhhs663 are you a male? If you are, try giving birth to a child.

[@kasumi5772]

2B is the perfect example too. Imagine that, a character who is literally not a human, acts more human than most western written female leads nowadays

[@EndymionTv]

Plus 2B is badass as hell too

[@js100serch]

Hey I'm also a Bang Dream fan 😁😁

[@TheVintress]

if 2B didn't wear a skirt with lingerie underneath and looked like Abby no one would like her, weeb

[@phant0mdummy]

Plus that luscious buttox.

[@KDB349]

2B is amazing. You knew she cared she just acted like she didn't. Honestly I prefer characters who are up front with their emotions but I appreciated how 2B was. A great character.

[@mono8476]

as a girl growing up i admired characters like misaki (maid sama) tohru (fruits basket) & kyoko (skip beat). these ladies r "strong" without being one dimensional or annoying. writers also need to realize that "strong" doesnt mean devoid of femininity. barbie or the winx club girls r a perfect example of that

[@leedlefly]

Yooo kaichou wa maid sama was the shit. It’s a shojo anime (geared towards female audiences) yet as a boy I enjoyed every aspect of it!

[@aud1ophil3]

Many women aren’t feminine society needs to get over it

[@meemaw2200]

its almost as if femininity isnt stereotype of women but actually what women are!! being a skinny female twink isn't normal in some of these stories consideing they would've died years ago.

[@momomai7761]

Tohru is the best

[@proxi315]

Exactly. Schnee's video on "how Arcane writes women" perfectly touches on the topic you mentioned and goes on to confirm that Arcane does have extremely well-written strong female characters who's writers not only didn't sacrifice their femininity and humanity to make them strong, but even made their femininity their strong point or a key characteristic that still empowered them or was at the very least considered a neutral trait instead of a drawback. No misogyny, but no borderline delusional women empowerment gimmicks either. Loved that show so much

[@kalebthehistorian5928]

You know, come to think of it, Azula from ATLA is where I feel these writers draw inspiration from. Everyone praises her; she is the best at everything she does and is relatively emotionless. However, these writers also seem to forget that she sucked socially and got beaten because she had a breakdown in the end. Not to mention everyone was either so afraid or angry with her that when she pushed everyone away, none remained with her.

[@user-kp5jy1jr1v]

They also forget that she was a villain and a well written one at that.

[@kalebthehistorian5928]

@@user-kp5jy1jr1v indeed

[@semplar2007]

damn, Azula was cool! she was crazy chick, being stuck in superiority, so she were dealing with feelings by releasing hatred on others and controlling them, constantly establishing her dominance, just because she knew no other way. it's well shown in episodes where she talks to her mother, also their ember island vacation. the better example of such emotionless woman imo was the poet with which Sokka had haiku battle, she was angry at Sokka just for him being there, trying to squash him with her words she was mastering for years.

[@kawaiiqueee3489]

Vi from LOL Arcane is such a well written character. You see her struggles and inner conflict with Jinx, wanting to love her sister but constantly having a barrier pushed against their sibling love. She held on to hope and managed to make a friend in a world out to get everybody. I really like the character arcs in Arcane

[@julio5071]

Well said

[@yunkimin8104]

Arcane is a gem of a show. The characters are so diverse but no one notices because the story is given more focus ❤

[@nike-ee3ir]

nah

[@bluedragonstudios9004]

I don’t hate female leads, I just don’t like how they are being used and portrayed

[@EndymionTv]

This is my argument too yes

[@Blindpoet1988]

Ditto.

[@valorie444]

yup

[@Kamina.D.Fierce]

Because: 1- they're usually VERY poorly written (Mary sues, self-inserts, and no character development or genuine arcs to speak of) 2- they're usually portrayed by very lackluster actresses who make it seem like they have zero emotions or expressions 3- the men around them tend to be portrayed as cartoonishly masagonistic, extremely incompetent, and about as masculine as a speck of dirt... but are written INTENTIONALLY like this to make the female character look "better" 4- their creators use "sexism", "racism", and "homo- or trans-phobic" as blatant shields to any and all criticism no matter how reasonable it is These days if you want to see well written, "strong", and worthwhile female characters... Look to either modern anime or older shows, movies, comics, anime, and books.

[@digthathole5521]

You're completely over analyzing or perhaps......looking for a reason to hate. There is no difference between the old strong female characters and the new. And you do realize that for any, any lead character to prevail, no matter the gender, those around them must fail for the hero to stand out. So there goes your strong woman = weak male side characters argument.

[@Pablojunior2006]

Yeah bro modern anime does females a ton of justice. I really love female character #1000 with boobs bigger than her head and is there for the male audiences sexual fantasies

[@mattd5240]

Modern writers don't right any characters in good faith, they just write propaganda and hate.

[@thecommunity1102]

Anime is the worst when it comes to writing women. Despite over a decade of watching the stuff and even reading some Manga I can count on half of 1 hand the number of shows that actually do some justice to their female characters. Practically all Anime is just male sex and power fantasies... I say all that to say, what are you watching? Any reccomendations?

[@theillustriouscosmowitch617]

@@thecommunity1102 My Hero Academia Fire Force Demon Slayer Attack on Titan My Dress-up Darling Avatar: The Last Airbender (not an anime but everyone treats it like one) One Piece Fate Night/Stay Spy X Family Those are just the ones I could think of from the top of my head. Point is, finding a well-written female character in an Anime is piss easy lol

[@sultana2024]

I’m a female and character designer, my dream is to make stories, movies, shows, and games and most of my characters are female, and it helps to understand what other women think of female characters, but it helps even more to understand what men think of female characters, and adapting my characters accordingly. As i was listening i was comparing what was being said in the video about the examples compared to my characters to make sure that they’re well written

[@Gambit2483]

As far as looks go...Most guys don't want "intentionally ugly" women characters. There are a lot of average to above average looking women so it baffles me when designers go out of their way to make a fairly attractive real life model less attractive in-game, intentionally. This is the same as women (and men) not wanting intentionally ugly looking male characters either.

[@Tia-Louisa]

@@Gambit2483 Why not just have normal characters lol. Games aren't about being attracted to a character it's about the storyline and relationships, even shoot em up games.

[@sultana2024]

@@Gambit2483 an attractive main character is simply marketing; if someone doesnt like the show/game/movie for the story, its for the characters, but yes i agree and i make my characters average to good looking for that reason

[@sultana2024]

@@Tia-Louisa when a game has only one main character, they’re usually designed to be good looking cuz for marketing purposes, but when the main characters are a group its different i think

[@Gambit2483]

@Vicksons gone coastal Okay but what's "normal"? Is beautiful "normal"? Is ugly "normal"? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, yes... but most beauty is objective.

[@vector3802]

Agreed man i mean look at tifa , she's strong , caring , and kind, that's how you made a strong likeable female character without making em look edgy , stoic , cussing a lot , or whatever western media like to put inside em

[@synestia4005]

I wouldn't dismiss stoicism as inherently bad. A good writer can make it happen without it feeling weird.

[@vector3802]

@@synestia4005 agreed stoic can be good if the character had a reason , or tragic story so we audience and player can feel sympathy towards them , if he/she act without having those 2 points , its a no for me

[@synestia4005]

@@vector3802 Well said!

[@Jaromeo1287]

I think one of the most fascinating examples is Ahsoka Tano. People HATED her for the complete opposite reason that you spoke about in the first half of the video. She was insanely flawed, bratty, disrespectful, ignored direct orders to the detriment of entire clone squads and exhibited all the classic attributes of an annoying teenager. She was still a youngling when Anakin took her on though. The personal growth that she experienced throughout the Clone Wars was nothing short of miraculous and impressive and yet very relatable. She's now one of the most beloved characters in the franchise. The love for her was probably spurred on by the hatred of Rey. People saw both extremes within the same franchise and decided that one was definitely more digestible and palatable than the other. Ahsoka through her personal growth became very mature, faced off against Greivous 1v1 as a young padawan and survived (he killed TONS of jedi throughout the war, especially padawans), took on leadership roles with ease in the latter half of the clone wars, successfully cleared her name with the help of Anakin in an impossible situation, did a fantastic job leading the clones on Mandalore all on her own, faced off against Maul and bested him (Qui-Gon couldn't do that and they share the same lightsaber style, Ataru although her's is augmented with a second blade making it Jarcai), developed wonderful friendships with the clones and earned their respect, was one of the few force users that through sheer talent and skill survived Order 66, faced off against her former master Darth Vader who is the greatest villain of all time and arguably won the skirmish while not killing him and went on to mentor other force users. Ahsoka's meteoric personal growth is one of the greatest examples of good character development of all time. If you haven't watched The Clone Wars series, all the accomplishments of Ahsoka I listed except for the 1v1 battle with Greivous happened AFTER the 4 seasons of personal growth, mistakes made and trials and tribulations. When it comes to Lara Croft, I agree. I love her! When it comes to Aloy I kind of disagree. I enjoy her dry wit. If there is merit to what you said about Aloy (and I guess there is since it fits your evidence) I believe that she's definitely the best of all the problematic characters you featured in this video.

[@josuepatino8179]

I guess those people hated edgy characters

[@peytonpupstar7931]

I think aloy in the first game was more relatable. In the second she just pissed me off so much. She was so arrogant..."oh only I can do this, I don't need your help"....until I do. And I loved both horizon games

[@TheStraightestWhitest]

Her beating Maul was pure woke bullshit though.

[@def3ndr887]

@@TheStraightestWhitest she was trained by the chosen one

[@forsagebone]

@@TheStraightestWhitest She literally trained under Anakin. And she said herself that if he were fighting Maul instead of Ahsoka he'd wipe the floor with him quickly. She knows Anakin's stronger.

[@christaylor7079]

In an ironic twist, Western media decided the ideal female character is an amalgamation of all the things they hate about toxic men. They’re rude, dismissive, hostile, and demanding all while demeaning the men around them. Although I will add that Rey is a terrible Mary Sue but Daisy Ridley is so charming of a person that she almost manages to come off as likable regardless. Not that it’s entirely relevant, it just amuses me

[@EndymionTv]

These toxic female characters really are just every bad male trope in one, damn

[@SSgtJ0hns0n]

That's the thing about Daisy Ridley, she's a damn competent actress, having seen her role in the latest Murder on the Orient Express. It's just that Rey in the last 2 Star Wars prequels is such a Mary Sue that the movies are now so damn unwatchable for me.

[@christaylor7079]

@@SSgtJ0hns0n agreed. She’s way better of an actress than the sequels deserved

[@notoriuscaitsithvii9608]

Is it weird that I find Rei in the lego game a better character than in the movie?

[@christaylor7079]

@@notoriuscaitsithvii9608 the Lego games tend to be made with an intense love for the genre that shines through in the characters

[@semekiizuio]

I think the bigger issue here is accepting there are all kinds of people in this world. Those that lean more on one side then the other masculinity/femininity regadless of their gender. Its just unfortunate media has a made up version of it instead of finding people who fit the bill. Edit: Near the end of the Video you showed Nico! Perfect example of someone who does not have normal feminine hobbies nor does she dress necessarily feminine but she definitely acts like a women and behaves like a women. These types of characters as women exist! Give us more of that, female characters who have interesting backgrounds hobbies cultures ideas outside the normal social structire of what a female character should be! There are a variety of men in media, there should also be there for women

[@Psnowdog7]

What I liked about Aloy was that there was a pretty decent arc in the second game about accepting that she can't do everything alone. While they never explicitly state it, I imagine it was hard to accept that growing up as an outcast

[@Feanor1988bis]

You nailed it really, it's not hating women, it's hating perfect, infallible, entitled characters with the emotional depth of a plank of wood. Jessica Jones was fucking amazing. Game of thrones gave us plenty of powerful women done right. Eowyn is a badass. Tifa and Aeris, Garnet, Yuna... Jinx, Vi and Caitlyn in Arcane.

[@EndymionTv]

I’m particularly fond of Celes in FFVI, Violet Crowe in Tales of Berseria & Amicia in the Plague Tale games myself

[@Feanor1988bis]

@@EndymionTv yeah, tales of berseria was another good game, though my personal favourite in the franchise is abyss, and most of the tales of have a very good cast of characters, females included. Same with wild arms, I'm sad they stopped making games, 3 was my favourite, it had a really nice western movie feel. I think the ps2 era might be my favourite, with psx being a very close second. Lots of great stories and characters. Man I miss those times...

[@socialmoth4974]

@@EndymionTv I'm playing A Plague Tale 2 right now. I love her character, too.

[@theredheadwiththread1275]

A plank of wood? Good sir, that's too much depth. These characters have the emotional depth of a teaspoon.

[@Excelsior1937]

Garnet is a great example. I love how Garnet exemplifies both the masculine ideal of physical strength and the feminine understanding of emotions, especially in how the show basically treats her as the de facto source of knowledge what love is WHILE ALSO giving her insecurities and weaknesses. It goes to show that while we can categorize some forms of strength as masculine or feminine, anyone regardless of gender can still pursue those types of strength because at the end of the day they are (or are at least meant to be) positive ideals of humanity, and it doesn't matter if a guy is pursuing the feminine ideal of strength or the other way around because that person is still pursuing an ideal of strength and will be made a stronger better person for doing so.

[@gimmeyourrights8292]

This was one of the reasons why so many people including myself enjoyed Arcane. There were a variety of women who were strong not just because they are but because there was somethingbeach of the women were good and bad at the same time. Jinx is highly intelligent, but she is mentally unstable and Vi is physically strong but emotionally weak. They also play off their male counterparts really well, I feel like this is the approach that modern Hollywood should take. Give your characters obvious strengths but also give them noticeable weaknesses.

[@EndymionTv]

Arcane was great. It had strong women like Vi but it also had strong men too like Jace. It felt respectful and honest, an anomaly in today’s entertainment. And that’s why so many loved it, me included

[@odinson2273]

Arcane caught everyone by surprise honestly, it's such a good show especially coming from something like L.O.L. People need to take notes on adaptions that don't follow the source from it.

[@euroovca25]

boy, arcane was so gooooood, cant believe how good it was!

[@TheStraightestWhitest]

Mel is one of the best characters. Shame on you for forgetting her.

[@gimmeyourrights8292]

@@TheStraightestWhitest I'm gonna be honest. I didn't care for Mel that much because she had the 'Marcus' effect, where he was presented as dubious and cruel until he wasn't, Mel was presented as a conniving schemer until she wasn't. Big difference between the two was that Mel was better written but it still felt like the show tried to walk back on her cruelty and imply that it was because of her mother.

[@MuzcleJinx.]

The Boys series has done an amazing job making superheroes feel human and relatable. They behave in an exaggerate way but we can still relate to them like homelander dealing with depression and just wanting to be loved to queen maeve becoming a hero again after refuse to let her fear of homelander bring her down. Female characters are not the problem, the writers are.

[@JohnSmith-px5nf]

It’s gone woke.

[@TheJacquelinia]

@@JohnSmith-px5nf its always been like that though. including the comics. that's like complaining that sandman is woke

[@JohnSmith-px5nf]

@@TheJacquelinia nope, not always.

[@YourBuddyTom01]

The boys has fumbled a few characters but yes

[@MuzcleJinx.]

@Tom I think they "fumble" characters on purpose. No one in the real world is perfect, and in the show, they exaggerate it but somehow, relatable.

[@Andy_from_de]

You should definitely met Amicia from the two Plague Tale games. She is everything you could ever want from a female character in a game.

[@klaudiabogusiewicz9172]

So docile? that's why I got from her, yes she's very feminine but she lacks something that Ellie/abby have. They are not meek and aren't afraid to be badass. that doesn't mean they are less as women. just because you can't handle strong women doesn't mean others can't

[@Andy_from_de]

@@klaudiabogusiewicz9172 just lol.

[@Jungbeck]

@@klaudiabogusiewicz9172 oh… no

[@vector3802]

@@klaudiabogusiewicz9172 sigh , god damnit

[@uRBruna]

@@klaudiabogusiewicz9172 docile??? Did you even play the game? She's a 15 year old girl that regularly murders entire camps of enemies with a fucking sling. Something odd there if you think being feminine is the same as being weak.

[@Hk-ox4bb]

The problem with TLOU2 isn’t bad characters but bad story pacing If we had Abby’s story start as the one of a mysterious girl looking for her father’s killer and then, after spending lots of time with her, we learn that said killer is Joel, we probably would hate her far less Just by doing that we can learn to love a character before said character kills the favorite character of the series

[@frankielankythethird3154]

ya i agree, I dont think it abby’s character on paper is bad but the way they executed was

[@Hk-ox4bb]

@@frankielankythethird3154 exactly, a person who lost their family and is now looking for revenge isn’t bad per se, just look at how much people like the Punisher or, talking about videogames, Scorpion from mortal Kombat or Kratos (in the og titles); the revenge route is a fairly common videogame trope that can easily e successful But we don’t see these character kill other ones we care about because that’s a tough sell so making it the first action the character does makes them irredimibile to our eyes and once said character is spared makes much less sense too as Ellie thinks of Joel but Joel would have killed Abby in that situation so a confused redemption arc/forgiveness arc so far into the story makes people angry Imagine if by the end of God of War, Kratos looks at Ares, lowers his weapons and walks away after all the hype is killing this character we grew to hate

[@maxpotapenko4632]

Honestly I was kinda ok with playing as her once I calmed down and made peace with Joel's death, but I'm really used to changing the way I view characters, so I get why a lot of people hate Abby so much. Naughty Dog really should have let us spend more time with Abby at the beginning of the game, to understand her motivation and everything, but instead of that they just shoved her in as a new nobody and made her kill our favorite character for no reason and then, only after hours of gameplay they explained her reasons. That's just not how you write the story, if you want to make a character worthy of compassion. The whole idea of TLOU2 isn't bad, the "revenge is a fool's game" theme was heavily integrated into RDR2 and it worked perfectly, it's the realization of the idea that was fd up.

[@benschmelzer7748]

Yeah, it would certainly be less stylish and more linear, but it also would clearly explain the story of how this world is void of innocence instead of Joel and Ellie against everyone else. The editing getting cleaned up in that aspect would certainly heighten the replay ability factor…

[@miezekatze2945]

but the point isn’t and never was to love or to learn to love abby

[@Spartan8676]

Clementine from TWD is the perfect example of how to write a female character, she's very vulnerable, but also can kill people when she needs to and even has remorse for it, She can take charge but isn't snarky about it,

[@daeith1233]

No hatr but you need a female character to be vulnerabld but still know how to fight for her to be good?

[@Spartan8676]

@@daeith1233 of course not there's many ways to write a good female character, she's just one of them

[@lamparo7028]

You really caught me off guard when you mentioned Alloy but when I thought about it, I can't tell you much about her personality or struggles I can tell you everything about Atreus tho

[@runeg8590]

Naughty Dog is extremely good at writing characters imo. I agree with your opinion about Abby and Ellie in TLOU 2. I feel like more people would see Abby differently if we got more time to see her story before we knew she would kill Joel. Still prefered to play as Ellie though. She’ll always be my number 1!

[@littlejon2683]

@adsaa so true dude

[@godzillazfriction]

​@adsaa most of the OG employees that were developing TLOU2 left... Bruce Straley and others kept Neil Cuckmans brain at check

[@godzillazfriction]

plus i wonder if ENDYMION realises that ada from Origins is a badly written character who was supposed to be the protagonist of origins originally.... if you want context then i heavily recommend watching 'what assassin's creed origins failed to understand'

[@MogManDog]

@adsaa More like they were forced to jump of the building. Druckmann wanted the TLoU2 plot to be in TLoU1 but got vetoed unanimously by the others. So he fucking purged them and surrounded himself with yesmen.

[@ProgenitorGod]

It was okay, but it lacked what the first game had. It just felt like they put it put just to do it. Plus, I just didn't want to see unskippable sex scenes. I don't care who you are I don't wanna see you smash another person😭😭

[@Enigmatism415]

The first female protagonist I played as was Jill Valentine from the original Resident Evil 3 in 1999. I had no problem identifying with her. She was kick-ass because of her actions more than her words. She had no agenda other than to survive long enough to hold Umbrella accountable. She was no-nonsense, confident, and got shit done. Huge respect. There is a scene where Jill slaps Carlos across the face. The brilliance was that this slap was not in response to Carlos making a half-joking pass at her when they first met (she brushed it off tactfully and he respected it), but rather it was in response to his defeatist whining upon hearing of the impending nuclear strike. She slapped him to encourage him to have the will to survive with her, not because she got offended at his toxic masculinity. Jill doesn't make a big show of herself to prove anything to anyone. She just does what's needed. Confidence sans arrogance. If this were made in modern times, she'd probably try to make it all about her and her "growth" or "journey" or "struggle". Real Jill knows that the story isn't about her-she was just thrust into it.

[@AegisKHAOS]

Let me throw a few comic book names here. Wanda Maximoff, both in comics and the MCU, was portrayed as one of the most powerful women in Marvel. The MCU removed the old costume in place of a more conservative look and changed her powers, yet even before Wandavision, you saw how destructive she could be, especially in Endgame where she nearly killed Thanos. The comics version, no question, look no further than House of M and how she warped reality to an even greater extent than in Wandavision. Of course, Wandavision and Wandavision season 2, aka. Doctor Strange and the Multiversevof Madness, that one is an entirely different topic. Going even further back, Jean Grey started off in the X Men as a damsel in distress. Once Chris Claremont got his hands on the X-Men, she became the most powerful member of the team even without the Phoenix Force. That massive upgrade in power along with many changes made to the X-Men made her MORE popular. In other words, making a super powerful woman that can rival or even beat a man isn't the issue. The issue is the character itself. If all you got going is she suffers no consequence to the point where even the universe she lives in justifies her dumb actions, sooner or later people will hate her. This is especially true if creators also talk down to fans and use every insult in the book. Random thought: Nico Goldstein is so awesome, and that van is the most powerful weapon in all of DMC.

[@EndymionTv]

Agreed the character can be stupid levels of strong as long as said character is also very interesting too. And yes Nico is bae. I love her

[@grymmoire]

I’d love to see an in-depth comparison video between recent male and female protagonists to see what the differences are in emotional engagement, expression, and skills.

[@cgiraffs]

It’s kinda funny cos Lara Croft is such a sexualised video game character, but she is written so well and really empowering to a lot of people, not just women. I really looked up to her even as a young girl ❤

[@sup3414]

They made her ugly. Classic Lara Croft is still bae.

[@hetalianotaku7103]

SAME!!! Besides, if characters like James Bond are allowed to be sexy, then so should characters like Lara Croft.

[@graveraider1029]

She wasn't even THAT sexualized I mean she wore a bikini as an unlockable outfit in tomb raider legend, but that's was so fun to have so many cute outfits styles!!

[@cgiraffs]

@@graveraider1029 oh i think like by the fandom in general, tho she has sexy moments in the games (which i won’t complain cos i love it).

[@graveraider1029]

@@cgiraffs oh yeah well with fan mods and their sexy outfits they will make for sure, I noticed their was more sexy outfit mods made for the reboot series which she is basically fully covered in those games ironically haha

[@tankbuster1777]

Casca from Berserk is a great example of a realistic well written female character. Why is it so hard for western media to get it right?

[@ourlastresort4270]

It’s cause they care more about catering to certain audiences than actually creating a proper character. There’s a reason why people don’t go to theaters much now.

[@titang6173]

because of the Eclipse, that's why. that's all they think about when someone mentions Casca. any woman put in a helpless position for any reason at all is forever weak in their eyes.

[@jerrym1218]

Casca is a great character who genuinely feel so bad for, she feels like a real person the way she is written. Mikasa from Attack on Titan is a bad ass character.

[@abitsourrrrsorry4885]

@@titang6173 obviously Casca is a great character. But "woman in refrigerator" trope is nasty. It's a fair criticism from women to male writers

[@abitsourrrrsorry4885]

@@jerrym1218 she's by far the worst female character in AoT actually lol

[@AG26498]

The most recent example of a strong female character done right would be Amicia from A plague tale. She is strong but not super human level strong, she is still a child. She has flaws like a bad temper. She shows emotions. And she is determined and headstrong. After Requiem she is easily right next to Arthur Morgan and Commander Shepard as best protagonists for me. Who was Aloy again?

[@EndymionTv]

I am playing it right now and I love Amicia

[@mrdee2454]

Wow I felt the same especially the new game she is perfection a badass who risks everything for her loves ones

[@aaronjones5742]

Keep up the consistency man, you have all of the skills to blow up. It’s just a matter of time👍

[@LCB_Instituto]

Just watched your video about male characters and I do agree with you. Especially with the part that “characters should be relatable”. It’s like these new content creators don’t know the “hero’s journey” and how to create emotional depth in order to make them credible to the real person.

[@95DOIDO]

senua is my favorite female character, she is flawed, emotive and lost, but also VERY determined, brave and focused, she fights against things that are much bigger and stronger than herself, men, monsters, gods... she bleeds, she cries, she gets deep into despair but never gives up, amazing character for a amazing game.

[@andrewwillcockson8120]

Can i get the name of the game please?

[@95DOIDO]

@@andrewwillcockson8120 Hellblade - Senua's sacrifice. amazing game, very dark though.

[@andrewwillcockson8120]

@@95DOIDO thanks man

[@carnevalli.9329]

I really love the new arcane show, from riot, almost every single character is amazingly writen, from vi, caitlyn and jinx, to Viktor, silco and vander, everyone has great character development, and the show is full of badass characters, women and Man alike.

[@EndymionTv]

Yeah that show was so refreshing

[@josuepatino8179]

@@EndymionTv Yep they treated every character as equals but with different personalities, problems, origins and developments

[@qsr1776]

"It's not about badass women, it's about badass characters, and it can be a woman" - Laura Bailey

[@zevac]

This video helped solidify my thoughts on this topic 👍

[@angelise3188]

I have a friend who thinks that being rude is how to be a great woman. It’s so annoying. Some women are just so hurt and psychotic. Every woman needs love just like men do.

[@mk_wizard]

I agree! Another good example of a woman who is badass yet still is relatable is Ellen Ripley from the Alien series. She was not super girly, but she had feelings, she acted natural, she acted realistically and was even motherly.

[@EndymionTv]

True yes but I didn’t want to use her as an example because so many people use her already. 😇

[@anti-sjwandsjwannoysme6603]

LOL. Anti-Sjw Anti-Woke and Right wingers always use these old characters as escape goats and Alibis to hide their Misogyny. "I dont hate strong women in movies, Buuuutttt....... Strong women today are WOKE but im not sexist. Here look at me, I like Leia Ripley Sarah connor but the new Strong women are WOke Trash but im not sexist i like old strong women" LOL. And I have seen this a countless of times when they use these 3 characters to prove that they arent sexist.

[@mk_wizard]

@@anti-sjwandsjwannoysme6603 ... I AM a woman. And if you must know, I, along with others, use those women as the example of a proper strong female character because they set the standard kind of like how Superman set the standard on writing a great heroic character. That doesn't make me a hypocrite. It means I have standards. Plus, here is a list of modern female characters who are well written: Garnet (Steven Universe), Jill Valentine (Resident Evil), Celes (Final Fantasy 6), Danielle (Ever After) all of the women of Final Fantasy 5, Mulan, Elastigirl (The Incredibles), Merida (Brave), Heather (Silent Hill 3) and Eowyn (Lord of the Rings). There are lots of amazing new female characters! Acknowledging the bad ones doesn't make anyone sexist. Next time, think before you put your foot in your mouth.

[@anti-sjwandsjwannoysme6603]

@@mk_wizard thats the sad part. Some women like you fell down on this Anti-Sjw Anti-Woke rabbit hole. That you see having strong women in movies and games as an attack to females. Youre just letting these misogynists win.

[@mk_wizard]

@@anti-sjwandsjwannoysme6603 And I think it's clear you're just a troll. Grow up and find something useful to do with the free time you clearly have too much of.

[@C_0_N]

So I was pissy as a guy who wrote a few essays while writing a woman character and story boarding... But something like She Hulk was getting 25 mill per episode with a team. It made me a bit mad. But I stopped being mad, when I shared my story with a woman. She loved it and had a roller-coaster of emotions as my character got through her conflict. Now I'm doing my second part and showing more emotion, flaws and vulnerability.

[@EndymionTv]

Keep at it!

[@C_0_N]

@@EndymionTv Oh I will, I most definitely will. Part two is gonna be fun to write after these other essays are done Thanks for the good vibes

[@EndymionTv]

@@C_0_N thanks for watching!

[@facundomontivero2299]

What's the story about?

[@uraverageperson9585]

U know there are acc stoic and logically orientated women as well, like myself. When male characters are written like that no one complains.

[@SILVERONIN]

Because it's a masculine trait

[@trevorstrickland364]

@@SILVERONIN indeed it is, but that doesn't mean it needs to be exclusive to men.

[@flickoftheforce]

Literally

[@uraverageperson9585]

@@SILVERONIN more so socially constructed

[@myman8336]

no, they just are masculine traits And nobody complains but you and the people who made a movie without their audience in mind.. It's nobody's fault girlboss is cringe.. Even girls hate it.. 😂

[@EscargoBay]

One character I'm amazed hasn't been mentioned is Selene from Returnal. She's this bland looking middle-aged astronaut with a Karen haircut, and yet I ended up feeling incredibly connected to her and her story. Selene starts out as this confident explorer who is all business, but slowly starts to show signs of breaking down from desperation and grief. What happens to her mid-game is absolutely insane and haunting. Such a well written character played by an insanely talented voice actor.

[@nhlcbj]

A great modern example of a female lead is Michelle Yeoh’s character in Everything Everywhere All at Once

[@EndymionTv]

I still need to watch that

[@nhlcbj]

@@EndymionTv it’s a trip, I can rave about it for hours but you gotta see it to believe it. It’s between that and The Northman for my movie of the year so far

[@PrincessMavenKittyDarkholme]

Master Chow

[@PrincessMavenKittyDarkholme]

@@EndymionTv from minions 2

[@NinjaFlibble]

One thing to remember with Aloy is that she was raised by a single father (no problem there, certainly) with little interaction with anyone else due to her being an exile, so she likely learned to deal with her emotions the same way a man does (I'm not a man, but I believe the public perception is that men should be stoic and not show emotion in public). She's also spent 10+ years dedicating her life to winning the Proving to answer the simple question of why she was outcast at birth. Do I think Aloy is the epitome of female characters and should be held to as high a regard as people hold her? No. But I think there are some dots you missed from her childhood to connect and explain her behavior in her adulthood.

[@gabygibson4708]

Yeah. Aloy is a female stoic done right.

[@DEGRUCTable]

This is the comment I was looking for-- her being raised as an outcast and isolated from anyone her age for most of her life would certainly lead to her having some emotional and social issues. However, I see the point being made about her characterization; there's a lot of room for improvement. She is depicted (especially in Forbidden West) as having essentially no flaws. Ashly Burch is a brilliant voice actress, but it falls to the writing to make Aloy relatable. Her stoicism could probably be a little more deftly integrated into the character. She would also be a lot more realistic if she was more socially awkward -- after her lifetime of being an outcast, she perfectly integrated into society and rarely ever seems uncomfortable. In fact, she's oftentimes the queen of cynical wit and biting sarcasm, joking around with every character like she's been properly socialized her whole life. The "savior complex" concept does also feel a little forced in the sequel. It doesn't just make Aloy feel a little one-note, but all of the citizens that interact with her as well. This is a problem I think common of games of this scale, made even worse when the "dialogue" pillar of gameplay needs to simulate realistic human interaction across thousands of pages of script to pad out countless side quests. It's unfair to compare Horizon characters to more focused narratives like LoU or GoW. I don't think Aloy is emotionless, but her stoic nature could definitely be portrayed better. The moments of vulnerability she does have with the closer members of the crew in Forbidden West feel very much to me like she's Commander Shepard from Mass Effect. There are opportunities for emotional depth to be displayed, but they don't get to dive deep in the same way that smaller stories can.

[@celfhelp]

the main hangup i have with this is how compassionate, understanding, and tender Rost could be; she is nothing like him most of the time, despite crediting her entire being to him i did enjoy her paying respect to him in Forbidden West, but frankly i think she's an insufferable asshole to strangers and friends alike far too often, in a spoiled brat sort of way. which doesn't make sense because she's far from spoiled, even though she's literally Horizon's Jesus but to be fair, i think alot of that has to do with how the performance itself is written and directed, not so much the character. the tone of her voice and her word choice are both horribly miswritten imo, and i think that's what most people base their criticisms of Aloy as a character on

[@JL-XrtaMayoNoCheese]

The epitome of a female character is the female characters of Greek comedy and tragedy. Stories are not well made anymore

[@Dylanpowellspace]

Thank you

[@jahredcr916]

I’m currently writing a story with a female male character and I would say it is a challenge since I wasn’t born a female along with western media failing to show me deep female character stories, berserk really inspired me a ton and since I’ve been really working on adding depth to my character before writing the middle meat of the story, I know how it starts and how it ends, and maybe I’m delusional but it gets me excited on how good it looks in my head.

[@Jack-fq4jd]

Best advice I can give you in writing female characters is: write a human first. Like at the end of the day that's the point. Women aren't aliens, we aren't that much different from men. We all have the same fears, desires, weaknesses and joys.

[@sneakylilguy]

Like the person before me, write a character first, then make that character a woman. That's it actually. Guaranteed, if you write any characters with that mindset, it'll turn out great.

[@ther3dkidd]

I'm in a the same boat, and I found a way to make characters is combination of other characters like their quirks, powers, how they deal with anger or sadness. I gather different media characters take and remove somethings and put it all together.

[@greenghoul157]

​@@Jack-fq4jdI agree that is the biggest rule of writing women, there are some experiences that are more personal to women that might make her react more strongly than a man but at the end of the day a good female protagonist is written like a male protagonist, too many male writers forget women are not sexual objects and forget to write an actual person that isn't interchangeable with furnature

[@graveraider1029]

I think the biggest issue in gaming these days is the pushing the concept of "relating to the character" and realism rather than "inspiring people to want to be that character bevause they are so powerful and unobtainable" The reason I say this is because "relating to a character identity" is so subjective and all over the place, but everyone can relate to wanting to be like a certain character because you look up to them as a power fantasy figure, and I think this is why Japan does so well because they are not focusing in realism and people relating to a character, which these 2 things would put immense limtations on video game characters development and storyline.

[@Taohe_Netrus]

You've done a great job with this vid, bro ;)

[@SawaPsy]

In defence of Aloy, I noticed all the things you did as well, but I always assumed that all of that was because the was basically a clone that was created genetically modified to complete a certen task by an AI. I mean it's kinda obvious for the moment that door said she is 99.7% identical to her original. Plus the fact that she was raised in isolation and never properly socialised.

[@NoirNameless]

Sarah Connor, Ellen Ripley, Beatrix Kiddo. Diversity in fiction has always been a thing. The only thing I notice different now is that it’s the It thing to pretend it never was. Characters who are different have always existed in fiction that people love. it’s funny how people who defend characters like Captain Marvel, Rey, etc forget everything before 2016 exists. And it’s even crazier that plenty of people love other female characters in Star Wars(Ahsoka, Mara jade) they may not even know about, yet they stand on “you guys just hate women”. I’m so glad I grew up in a time where characters were characters that felt real, were relatable, and that I could root for no matter what they looked like. I miss it so much.

[@EndymionTv]

I miss it too but it does feel as if it’s coming back...somewhat. Not entirely yet but it’s progress

[@NWAP1337]

110%

[@benjaminthibieroz4155]

Well, they dismiss countless amazing female characters on the silly motives they're not modern enough, sexualized, siding with men or what have you... it's not about promoting diversity, it's about dragging down others to feel good about themselves

[@Blindpoet1988]

@@benjaminthibieroz4155 Why do they do that?

[@cosmicprison9819]

Yeah, yeah, it’s always Sarah Connor and Ellen Ripley first. There have been other well-written female characters in between these two and Black Widow & Wonder Woman. Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games gets too little credit in these debates, as do Kahlan Amnell and Cara Mason from Legend of the Seeker (The Sword of Truth). The closest thing to a Mary Sue we got in that time period was film Hermione Granger - but that’s just because the movie authors favoured her, and she was Rowling’s self-insert. Book Hermione is much more of a nerd, and doesn’t overpower Ron every other scene.

[@MrChadLedford]

You're doing great work.

[@SetsunaCreats]

Your take is very interesting I love these kind of videos ! While I absolutely agree with you I’ll add a few mentions on Aloy, I played both Horizon and as a woman myself I struggled to relate to her, she indeed had that prestige savior side very hard to crack. However, in Forbidden West she redeems herself alot actually ! Begins to understand that she cannot be alone and save the world alone anymore, even her « god like » access to her world’s secrets through her genetics is erased as they introduce Beta, a clone of doctors Sobek just like her. She is no longer the unique person able to comprehend the ancient technologies and goes through an entire identity crisis because of that, making her really relatable and endearing as she opens herself to human flaws and emotions at last.

[@hivemind2556]

As a Feminist and gamer since my childhood I can say this: THANK YOU SO MUCH! ♥️♥️♥️ When I was a kid, I was often frustrated that there were just few strong female characters to play. It made me sad that mostly women got to be the damsel in distress, or just a sexual object. When things started to Change i was Happy, but now I am getting frustrated about all These unfriendly, entitled female characters that basically behave the same way as male villains. I dont like them, because as you perfectly said, they are unrelatable and unlikeable. Also I feel like those writers actually still dislike traits that are considered feminine and thus take those traits away from their female characters. Men and Women are different to some extent and thats fine. Nature build us to complete each other and I would love to see that represented in media. I want to see equally human and interesting female and Male characters. I want the balance.

[@EndymionTv]

Thank you for watching 🤘🏻🔥

[@gilgamesh310]

For someone called Hive Mind, you don’t tend to follow the feminist hivemind much, lol.

[@hivemind2556]

@@gilgamesh310 Haha actually I used to. Then I started to read actual Feminist theory and understood that most of the things nowadays that are called feminism have almost nothing to do with actual feminism anymore and even at times destroys the things feminists in the 80s fought for. I broke out of my Echo Chamber and even lost Friends in the process.

[@Sienisota]

You put it perfectly. Amen. Real feminism is being overrun by this weird "feminazism". Those men hating assh*les need to create their own name to call themselves. Feminism is supposed to be about equality for *both* sexes. Not about putting down male sex. It's frustrating as hell, as a long time Feminist, to watch the meaning of the word, and the movement, be twisted this way.

[@MrSiloterio]

I salute you for having this kind of thinking. Kinda rare nowadays to have that kind of common sense.

[@waynenicholson9228]

The og Lara croft is a good representation of a strong well written female character.

[@EndymionTv]

OG Lara is larger than life, she’s like the 80’s action hero which is still cool. I like new Lara as well. But she becomes less interesting as that new trilogy goes on imo

[@yukiutaware1064]

Yisssss. I loved Jessica Jones so much. Very human. Complex, simple, strong, weak, all as she needs to be to be relatable and realistic. And her struggles with PTSD are super important for people who know what that's like to feel seen and have someone to look to in their escapism

[@peaceandloveusa6656]

Jessica Jones was amazing. It is one of the few superhero shows I bothered watching for the main character. She's such a deep character and I love that they made her superpower often times irrelevant to how she has to overcome a situation, because she cannot simply punch her way through it. It's like how superhero shows were in their prime: Testing them in new and interesting ways that make their superpowers not nearly as useful for. That's where you get the juicy character development that makes stories so interesting.

[@yukiutaware1064]

@@peaceandloveusa6656 Absolutely

[@alicenull807]

As a female. I think the biggest issue is... they aren't writing women as women... they are writing them as men more or less. I don't mind a power fantasy now and then but I'm tired of every female character being a 90 pound half head shaven mary sue Rambo with no flaws. Like... even the most op men in media have flaws so... why not the women? Also bring back actuality being attractive. I get it no one is running around in heels during combat but come on... everyone prefers a good looking character.

[@vonbrendt01]

Damn it feels good to hear someone say what EVERYONE is thinking.

[@EndymionTv]

I’m glad you enjoyed the video 🤘🏻🔥

[@jellyjellywowie]

Everyone? Mm no

[@EndymionTv]

@@jellyjellywowie It’s okay if you disagree that’s totally fine we’re all allowed to have differing opinions, in fact I encourage it

[@vonbrendt01]

@@jellyjellywowie you are lying to yourself.

[@jellyjellywowie]

@@vonbrendt01 how?

[@lucasbroome1048]

One example of a greatly written female protagonist/character who also happens to be strong is Atom Eve. She is unbelievably well written and if you know, you know

[@thecommunity1102]

Invisible assassinated the character of the black girl in order to make her look good and they also assassinated the character of the brown dude in order to make the protagonist look good. Invisible is lazy as fuck in its writing. But the action scenes are A1 👌. Still can't get into though.

[@lucasbroome1048]

@@thecommunity1102 I was referencing the comic. The character's skin tones change a lot, like Amber and Rex Splode. If you know the entire Invincible story, you'd notice it is not lazy at all. Not everyone may like it, but lazy is definitely not one complaint. It seems all of your knowledge is only based on the first 13 issues out of a 144-issue story and that's okay. But there's so much you don't know yet. Basically, you're kinda wrong

[@OverLorD768]

@@thecommunity1102 they assassineted Amber by turning her from sweet, caring and understanding girl into hypocritical black feminist to begin with, so bad example.

[@dontbothertoreply9755]

@@thecommunity1102 oh the cringey fat black selfish prick thanks God that character dissapeared, you know what you are complaining about? That they fixed what did not work, you are complaining about good decisions.

[@kamenrider55]

I'm surprised you never included Bayonetta. She's another good example of strong female lead.

[@alexgg-5079]

W woman as well as Aran Samus

[@lowtiersupport5530]

To this day, one of THE most badass scenes (at least to me) that has and will always be in my mind is Sarah Conner played by Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2, pumping that shotgun one handed as she fends of the T1000. Ellen Ripley played by Sigourney Weaver in the Alien franchise is another one of the all time greats. You want to write a strong female lead? Make her a badass with flaws and DON'T focus on the fact that she's a woman. She's a flawed badass, who happens to be a woman.

[@t-smoke1132]

I’m a man. And I feel like Aloy was wonderfully written. She still has her struggles but is extremely smart, and uses her IQ. And still needs help from her friends to save the world, and her mentor was infact a man.

[@thebatmanofneo-gotham5667]

Yeah, I agree with you on all of that. I agree with most of what Endymion has said here about female characters except when he brought up Aloy as an example for his argument. That's where I have to strongly disagree with him.

[@crazybabuskaman3923]

Horizon Forbidden West was still such an amazing game, I can’t wait for the DLC. I get so much nostalgia by thinking of the first game, and how everything still lives rent free in my head.

[@NinjaFlibble]

I think he missed a few dots from her childhood. She was raised with really only one other person for socialization. That's going to affect how she processes emotions.

[@emtpmpknhed]

@@NinjaFlibble Exactly. I noticed a lot of her emotional reactions in Forbidden West were more physical, and as such more subtle, but they were definitely there. Maybe Aloy falls into this category of blandly strong women on the surface, but she has canonical reasons for her behavior.

[@NinjaFlibble]

@@emtpmpknhed Which is more than most female characters written in the last decade have 😆

[@benjaminthibieroz4155]

I love badass female characters. I made one of the protagonist from my novel. On the exterior, she has many characteristics of the modern trope and looks unstoppable...except that makes her miserable and stuck in an useless loop of despair. In reality she's deeply broken inside, longing for love, peace and atachment while at the same time struggling with sadness and anger that drive her toward death. She eventually lead several people she cared about to a tragic end and feel devastated because of it. Being conscious of her futility, she actually admire people fighting for sincere beliefs and loved ones, especially men, even though past experience should give her every reasons to hate them. And that's precisely men that eventually healed her and incited her to overcome her trauma and seek to repair her mistakes. My guideline in short: you're never stronger that the suffering you have to overcome and the atachment that drives you forward.

[@EndymionTv]

Interesting idea! I hope it goes well for you

[@tashaneumann42]

This video put all my thoughts into one place. Thank you

[@juker92]

Thanks for the video, you gave some valuable insight for writing strong characters, male or female. A while ago i started writing a story and thought of a female character that was a champion of their people, with badass fighting skills that fights against the main character at some point and then become buddies. But after reading the draft multiple times, i noticed that she was too perfect, she had no flaws and it was boring. So i turned her into a very troubled character, with high social anxiety and difficulty expressing her emotions, product of being isolated from a very young age by her king in order to turn her into a living weapon. I feel that modern writers think that flaws are like Superman's kryptonite weakness, while in reality, flaws are much more complex, related to depression, sadness, anxiety, rage, loneliness or any pyschological behaviour product of a past or recent trauma. I think Cowboy Bebop are excellent characters, full of both flaws and strenghts, Faye Valentine is one of the best female characters in any media in my opinion.

[@LuciferHunter-kt7pm]

Aloy needs a Jonah to tell her that she’s not the only one who can save the world. It worked on Laura Croft.

[@EndymionTv]

Jonah was a good character, honestly surprised he was there for the entire trilogy

[@SilasSeiler]

The lead character from Control was really interesting and a strong female character, I thought she did a good job slowly getting more and more used to all the weird shit she came across and found out.

[@tovbyte]

Yeah she was rly cool actually. I loved how she came across as a bit of a weirdo herself and then just kind of starts to roll with the oldest house

[@LionelKnight]

I found Jesse Faden to be really boring to be honest. I like Emily Pope though, Control is an incredible game, I think I will replay it actually

[@charmingpeasant9834]

I didnt, i found Jesse a bit too on the bland side, plus the forced swearing was rather cringe.

[@josuepatino8179]

@@charmingpeasant9834 At least she wasn't a Mary Sue complaining about the patriarchy every single time

[@infamousshorts]

exactly how I feel, put everything I feel into a video. :) THANK U!

[@Idiotwriter711]

Never apologize for taking a rest ..you do a great job but it's important to takecare of yourself because you do good for subscribers with what you do..but glad you rested up. I love the videos

[@Asua22]

I want to see stoic woman character that doesn't feel like robot, give her heart breaking back story or give her character development, make her human while still being cool like refrigerator

[@sultana2024]

michonne, maggie, carol, clementine

[@Nikkiow0]

Riza from fullmetal alchemist

[@benthemenace8393]

I really liked the video! I agree with Aloys character, I played the first one when I was a young teenage girl, 15-16 and loved the game. It's was the first AAA title I got a platinum trophy in but I really didn't connect with her at all. I cared more about the characters she interacted with. Often times when she would talk to them I would change her responses in my head so I could connect more lol. I really liked the opening part though with her father figure but I felt like that was the only time she had some kind of genuine emotion

[@EndymionTv]

Thank you for watching, I agree Zero Dawn made Aloy good. Forbidden West however didn’t imo

[@josevalle7133]

Your analysis is spot on!

[@CookieMangler]

Amazing video, Brother.

[@robchuk4136]

The Aloy thing is so tricky, because I do think she exhibits a lot of traits that make her admirable. She's smart, brave, cares about helping people, her friends, etc. But having the entire game world worship her is awkward because there's something about the way she talks to people that feels like she's better than everyone (really weird for someone raised as an outcast). Personally, I like her, and I do think she's a Playstation icon (She's on covers! Hear that Assassin's Creed? (great point, btw) ) but I understand those that find her unlikable. It's okay for characters to be unlikable (Jessica Jones basically has no friends, but we root for her), and Horizon should have leaned into it instead of being oblivious about it. Good essay. This has definitely been noticeable in media these days, and while I agree with most of this (Black Widow, Lara Croft, Jill and Claire from RE, and how Japanese devs handle female characters compared to western devs) there is one point I want to push back on a little: the Abby thing. It's fine that you liked her, but I just want to remind you that most of what you criticized about bad female characters, (devoid of femininity, terminator-like, a giant middle-finger to fans), can describe Abby! 😉 Anyway, some of my favorite female game characters are from the Life is Strange series. And my Femshep from Mass Effect.

[@LangkeeLongkee]

That's a cannonical flaw she has though. She acted cocky and superior BECAUSE she was an outcast. Because her tribe was very set in their ways and straight up bigots literally, she learned to care about no one but herself (and Rost) which will naturally lead to her thinking she's better than them. "You said I wouldn't need the tribe" "I didn't say they wouldn't need you." That comment directly addresses the fact that she felt superior, she didn't care about helping Erend at first because his problems felt little compared to hers but it's something she learns. Naturally it doesn't all go away she's still cocky but she's allowed to have flaws yes? But she also doesn't like being worshipped though, she directly tells people not to do that, they just don't listen.

[@luiza2823]

There is nothing wrong with a female character being devoid of femininity and physically strong and that's not really what he was talking about in the video

[@lagopusvulpuz1571]

Aloy was literally made perfect because she is a modify clone to serve a purpose. She wasn't born from a human. There's something no human about her & that's why she was outcast when she was born. The last game also added fascial hair, which is a feature that is not necessary & that women hate to have. The girl she is based on was prettier & more sweet looking.

[@lagopusvulpuz1571]

@@luiza2823 Women are not men. You can still be a tomboy & that doesn't change your anatomy. Our bone structure is different. So muscle looks different in women, you still have your waist, hips & chest. A natural muscular woman still looks like a woman. Then are the ones who take drugs to get bigger which causes them to develop male features & different weight distribution. It bothers me that they draw muscular women like men with long hair which is offensive & ridiculous.

[@Cyladis]

​@@lagopusvulpuz1571 This is still consistently the funniest complaint levied at Aloy by far. The presence of peach fuzz, on her face. Y'all make it sound like the lady's got a goatee. Have you ever seen a woman's face up close??

[@jerrym1218]

Samus Aran, Ellen Ripley, The Bride Beatrix Kiddo (Kill Bill), Terra Bradford (FF 6), Lady Yuna (FF X), Lighting (FF XIII), Trinity (Matrix), Laurie Strode (Halloween), The Boss (Metal Gear Solid 3), Sypha Belnades (Castlevania), Chun-Li (Street Fighter), Mileena (Mortal Kombat), Sarah Connor (The Terminator), Carol and Maggie (the Walking Dead show), Buffy Summers (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and….…… need I go on???? Was there any Female representation before “Gamergate” and Anita Sarlacc?? They don’t think so, and some of those female characters I mentioned are some of my favorite characters in all of movies/video games/TV shows within entertainment media.

[@rodrigoleon-alvarez587]

Best video I’ve seen on this topic hands down. Ellen Ripley is also a phenomenal example of an amazing female character: Not necessarily physically strong but instead uses her wit and courage to save the day. She also isn’t afraid to show emotions or be sensitive as seen when caring for Newt in Aliens.

[@777jimbo777]

It feels like in recent media to make a "strong woman" they give them negative stereotypical characteristics of past male characters

[@corvaey]

I am very biased but I really love Aloy. I am autistic and the way she doesn't show her emotions until they explode is something I have struggled with a lot so I relate to her. She does have flaws, they are just unconventional ones and aren't shown as much as they maybe should be but I do believe at least from my perspective as an autistic woman, that she isn't written badly

[@Malorieeee5]

I completely agree! There was a moment of playing the second Horizon game where I realized “oh, Aloy must be autistic” and I was completely cool with that. Everything she did after that realization made more sense

[@luiza2823]

Def agree, considering she was raised as an outcast it seems very logical to me that she would be more instrospective and closed off, she still shows emotion/passion when it makes sense and i find the ending of the first game particularly very emotional

[@gabygibson4708]

I agree. I feel like they did a good job of showing she had emotions going on underneath. This is the only character I disagree with this video about.

[@po72644]

It doesn't even have to be autism. Anyone whose gone through what Alloy has would have experienced some form of attachment trauma, which would have significantly impacted her relationships and how she shows her emotions. Alloy was constantly invalidated as a child and taught her feelings didn't matter. Even her father figure Rost frequently told her to cast her emotions aside for the benefit of the tribe. Of course we see a hyper independent and somewhat awkward character in both games. It makes total sense and I think it works great

[@lonestar6709]

The problem with Aloy, is that Lara Croft exists. There's only 'one' girl, with a bow and arrow. Aloy was doomed from the start. She's discount Lara Croft all day long.

[@Geckey53]

The way women seem to be written recently is how we used to write villains. But even villains have more emotion now because that’s what people want, deep emotional characters.

[@loonykitty]

What an interesting take. Never looked at it like that. But I loved it. !

[@theknoxcrew1040]

If writers wanna know how to properly do strong female characters. Just look at Avatar the last airbender with Toph and Katara, both being some of the most well written female characters in any media

[@crowsan2871]

I hv a female character in my story (protag’s love interest obv) that doesn’t want to be in the front lines as a soldier even though she is trained to be by her family (she in heavily interested in magic instead), but I also want her to be the kind of character to step up for the challenge, even though it means that she has to go physical.

[@lovelove-55s]

I completely understand your take on Aloy, I really wish she showed more emotion as a character. Although I do understand from her past as to why she doesn’t, Aloy has been an outcast her entire life with no one to really show her genuine love or care which is why its so awkward for her to express herself. That being said I wish sony explored that part of her more; that we could relate to the crushing feelings of her being the ‘savior’ more.

[@daeith1233]

But can't it be allowed for female characters to not show emotions? Like from my pov Aloy has always been an easy going character, she has struggles but accept them and fight them, we don't need to see her crying or showing some sadness to understand that, what I'm wondering is if we would have said the same thing if Aloy was a man, bc it's kinda ok for them

[@lovelove-55s]

@@daeith1233 No, I a 100% see where you're coming from. I think we both know Aloy genuinely does have problems expressing her emotions.I was just trying to expand on the videos topic, because realistically there would be some feelings behind her stoic-ness. We as the audience would connect with her more if we knew how it affect's her in her day to day life.

[@LangkeeLongkee]

@@lovelove-55s we do see her feelings though? I haven't seen Forbidden West yet though I want to but she does show sympathy to people, she does get sad, she does get angry, she does find humour in things (she even makes herself laugh in random voice lines while you're exploring). She's not completely emotionless??? Is it just that I'm autistic and see the emotion behind a seemingly lack of them and reading into it or something? I genuinely don't understand how people think she's emotionless.... I recognize she's not extroverted but emotionless? No.

[@riptide3340]

@@daeith1233 the issue imho seems to be that she doesn’t seem to behave very naturally, not that she’s not allowed to be emotionless. I know a few “emotionless” people in my personal life, but they usually either have very mild expressions of emotion (ex: body language) or they just vent their emotions to people they are super close to. Full disclosure, I haven’t played either games, but from the game clips and critiques I’ve seen, she seems to do neither very often. I think it boils down to this: you can write an “emotionless” character without them being robotic, regardless of if they’re a guy or girl.

[@daeith1233]

@@riptide3340 it's videogames bro since when did a man played God of War and thought Kratos was acting naturally? Plus you knowing some expressionless person doesn't mean you know how all of expressionless people behave, that's just impossible. If you haven't played the game then sorry but she definitely isn't robotic, she's fulled by hate, just like Ellie bc both of them suffured from a huge loss in their life that influenced their behave, I always assumed that tlou2 was abt that and don't understand why people are complaining abt them, like ofc they're not relatable you didn't saw your adoptive father getting killed by a golf club nor by a crazy dude who wanted to save a girl. Plus Abby was being super nice with Lev and hate the end of the day, being angry= being emotional, crazy how people believe anger isn't an emotion like being sad or happy

[@Frimbertrips]

I think the problem I have with female characters in media (for me) is they're primarily written as overly defensive perfection. There's nothing wrong with any of those by themselves, but when it gets crammed into a singular person it just comes off as a narcissistic attention seeking power trip from the character. I've only read one story so far that managed to put all those things into one character and have it go the other way and that was because they- (a gender was never specified for them, nor a description, it was left entirely in the reader's hands and made me think a lot about gender roles and how they shape what I expect)- had a really really deeply rooted confidence issue. They knew they were good at things, but they also had ZERO grasp on social norms, nor were they ever trying to be the best at something. They simply wanted to understand the world, failed, got confused and tried again. A lot. On a side note in The Last of Us 2 I liked Abby more than Ellie. Though it's not exactly fair because Abby is older and has more life experience and Ellie is doing the exact same thing Abby spent her whole life doing and is arguably (depending on how you chose to end the game) the better person for not going through with it in the end. (Or just the same if she did). Both of them are incredible examples of good writing to me and both of them are entirely hateable adding meaning to the phrase "I can understand without having to agree"

[@bolg892]

Sarah Kerrigan from the Starcraft franchise is another great example of an extremely well written and complex character. Her journey is one I won't forget. Along with other characters like Jim Raynor, Zeratul, Artanis, Nova, etc. That whole franchise is incredible overall.

[@7Edgard]

I must disagree with your take on Aloy. She's been excluded from her village, she was insecure, she felt she had no place in the world and that's what moved her forward. She had to overcome obstacles and found wonders of the old world, her curiosity is her most defining trait and to me that makes her human indeed. I really like hear character and the fact that she's not emotionally available for a romantic relationship, because I'm more interested in the world she's discovering, but that doesn't make her devoid of ALL emotions, as we see her cry, laugh and be amazed. I only played the first game and she's been on my top game characters list ever since.

[@semekiizuio]

You are missing the point yes on paper she has personality she has hardship struggles emotions but all of this is in the first game, come2nd shes a big shot, a god and what happens when writer make OP charcters? They lack struggles failures imperfections to make them human again.

[@Fxrrxt2x]

I liked her in the first game, but she kinda has the issue that reboot Lara Croft has after her first game.

[@guardian7106]

I’m actually doing a martial arts Fantasy story that has a lot of female protagonists (and the villains are female as well) but not only do the protagonists treat men well, they also have flaws (especially when it comes to their backstory) and aren’t invincible either

[@EndymionTv]

Good that’s a good way to do it

[@swehumorofficial]

As a professional writer of some acclaim when it comes to creating strong female characters, my advice to you is this: - First, write a strong character. Figure out the full extent of their personality, their dialogue, their relationships, their strengths and weaknesses, and the plot surrounding them. - Second, write the story featuring that character to a point where you are satisfied, and also believe it to maintain an objective quality that will satisfy your readers. - Third, make up that character's gender and add the applicable pronouns last of all to an otherwise finished text. - Finally, publish your story and know that you have made a strong character who may or may not end up being female.

[@gamingmoth4542]

Now… I know I’m gonna sound misogynistic when I say this, but I feel like it’s odd that some games like to make sure their female characters have a very mediocre appearance. An example I can give off the top of my head is Iden Versio (which is odd since her voice actor Janina Zione Gavankar is honestly quite a good looking individual). I understand that people are gonna say “beauty is subjective”, but I do find it kinda odd that video game companies will go out of their way to make sure female characters look “Meh” while some male characters in the same games can look like supermodels in comparison. For instance, in Modern Warfare 2019 two characters that can be seen talking to one another in many different scenes are Alex Keller and Farah Karim. While Alex’s character model makes him look like a literal Chad, Farah appears as just some mediocre woman who could just be a background character with how unremarkable her appearance is. Now Activision made Farah’s character model a little more pleasing to look at in the newest Modern Warfare, but she only made an appearance for one mission in that game so it’s kinda hard to enjoy the change. Now, studios don't need to make sure all the female characters in their video games look like supermodels (it would be fine if they were just like a 7 or 8 out of 10), but it definitely wouldn't hurt to make sure the characters they bring to the table are pleasing to the eyes. It does make the gameplay a bit more enjoyable when you get to play as (or play alongside) a pretty looking character.

[@krugerofcause9048]

Honestly, Abby from TLoU2 isn’t a bad character in writing. She’s a bad character in the meta aspect. She gets clear preferential treatment from Niel Druckmann, which completely destroys his already shallow and done to dead “revenge bad” story. If you put Abby in almost ANY other story except TLoU2, she would be universally praised as a solid character. However, because they decided to make one of the most beloved male characters of the previous console-generation a complete idiot, and have her kill him, and then get away basically Scott-free at the end, that is why I think she’s a bad character.

[@titang6173]

if TLoU was an anthology story with Abby having no connection with Joel and Ellie at all, it would've been fine. she would have been another stoic, robotic "strong woman" archetype but she wouldn't have been as decisive as she is now.

[@devildolphin2102]

Also they made the Blake Doctor who sucks at Medicine into a White Super doctor who can heal anything to make Joel look worse. Real progressive.

[@djncrbjbghjfbjfvh6555]

Plus she has unrealistically large muscles

[@devildolphin2102]

@@djncrbjbghjfbjfvh6555 True. Love how in a Post-Apocalypse where everything is super scarce and ALL the woman look normal Debby comes in looking like Mini-Armstrong with 7 course meal and Steroids.

[@yeahyeahwowman8099]

Honestly Abbys father being murdered would make anyone try to find them. The problem with media now a days is they think slapping a child on a violent character just completely erases their horrible past and we are now supposed to root for them. For Joel, he's murdered tons of people, he's done horrible shit, Neil actually making a character have to pay for that is something you don't really see in games.

[@NWAP1337]

It's not about the characters being female. It's about the politics and the marketing that shoves a very specific message down your throat and then calls you a bigot or racist if you don't eat it up and ask for seconds. Good characters are good characters no matter what their sex or race is and long established characters shouldn't be gender, race, or orientation swapped to meet a quota of representation or to subvert expectations. The real problem is that entertainment has been infiltrated by talentless activists that are working to destroy western media and the American dream.

[@sherlyndelacruz6563]

I think alot of Korra from The Legend of Korra in this video because although she's the avatar she has flaws and struggles with her own issues and her mental health in season 4 and its really comforting to see this strong female lead have problems of her own but works through it with the people by her side