I ADORE the men's dress shirt detail for Tohru. I love that even though Tohru is a very feminine character, she does have little touches of masculinity - her mother was a hardworking tomboy and while Tohru is a girly girl she isn't afraid to deal with dirty or gross things. She gets her formal speech from her father. She has a masculine first name. Having her wear a cheap men's dress shirt, like the ones her father may have bought while trying to support his young family on a single salary...my heart.
@@catlovingperson8143 I think I do understand what you're trying to say, and you're absolutely right, but gender expression and gender roles are one of Furuba's many themes/topics. Tohru is absolutely a hard worker yes, but historically different types and settings of work (e.g. Inside and outside the home) have been gendered, and Tohru is very specifically written to have a very stereotypically feminine gender expression and to fill stereotypically gender roles, so it's worth noting her actions and character traits that do not adhere to that from a purely media appreciation standpoint. All that aside, I was also referring more to her acceptance of dirty/gross things as stereotypically masculine, not being a hard worker. Referring to Kyoko as such was more of a statement about the values parents instill in their children.
Honestly, pigtails actually suits tohrus personality so much more than completely straight long brown hair. It sort of gives off the "trying to hold it together" vibes because plaits can either look very clean and put together or can be very disheveled.
yeah I agree that there's an unwillingness in media to show characters, especially female characters, as being dishevelled, ugly, weird, etc, beyond the superficial level or informed attributes, for fear of losing audience appeal usually it's unsympathetic, villainous or comedic characters who are shown that way instead of protagonists because in an attempt to appeal to everyone or not alienate anyone, characters can end up not being unique in their design
For live action, there's also the issue of continuity. Basically, scenes are not shot in the final cut order. So let's say a character starts growing hairs on their leg (like they would in Lost) cause of lack of grooming, then you would need to plan out shooting in a way where the gradual change would seem seamless while not bothering the actors too much. It's even harder when some actors could work on multiple project close to one another. Losing audience appeal is 100% a factor, but there's also some practical reasoning. This doesn't apply to animation though, nor for characters who are supposed to stay "ugly" the whole show in live action, only for gradual changes (like in the Lost exemple))
@@theoriginalgummy Not to mention pickup shots. If they have to do a pickup shot of a character where they have longer leg hairs clearly visible but the actress normally shaves her legs, that means they'd either have to do makeup/prosthetics or CGI the hair in. That's how you get Superman's stiff upper lip as they had to CGI his moustache away.
Thank you. I used to love Vampire Knight. Getting older, I realized how much Yuuki lacked personality. And I wondered why two guys were fighting over her. 😐
Same lol. My mom actually recommended the anime to me, but she still thinks Yuuki is well written and a good protagonist (which confuses the hell out of me).
For a main character, Yuki does lack a little bit of a personality. I think she’s the martyr type which is kinda boring tbh. But Kaname and Zero didn’t “fight” over her. 😂 Zero grew to fall in love with her and I’m not sure what Kaname’s deal was. He was a bit obsessive. And if I remember correctly, I’m pretty sure Kaname wasn’t actually her brother either but I never finished the manga so I’m not entirely certain.
Side note. I appreciate that Hailey is showing us that she sometimes traces when she draws. Which many artists do. And she really only traces the pose, and everything else is original. Which isn't bad since it isn't a straight-up copy and paste. Thank you Hailey ❤
Same, I tend to trace poses too, sadly, I try to do them myself at first but I always get so demotivated to continue when it isn't working out, so as a way to not lose the fun I tend to trace the pose, her showing she traces poses too fr makes me hate myself a bit less
I appreciate this too. I sometimes trace, sometimes to just get the pose down, or usually if I'm struggling with a body part like eyes, hands, or feet. tracing isn't always bad.
the whole rotoscoping animation technique is essentially tracing! tracing is totally fine, as long as you learn something and improve your skills from the experience
Tohru's design I feel is intentionally "boring" and unassuming. They want her to look like the most normal and basic girl you'd see every single day to contrast her depth as an incredibly tough and kind person. I think it's intentionally trying to give you tonal whiplash as you are judging Tohru based on her looks and then getting under those surface layers, you learn how incredible and complex she is. It fits the narrative of the series really well. All that to say, I think you did a really good job maintaining that in your redesign! She still looks like a girl you'd see everyday but the slight imperfections like messy hair and eye bags hint towards her actual situation. (I love fruits basket can u tell lol)
Ngl, I feel like Lavender's re-design still is "boring" and "unassuming", but doing it better than the og. (if that makes sense) The original just *_actually_* looks like a boring anime girl design, while Lavender's is still trying to maintain that unassuming look it actually hints at tohru's situation, with the cheap oversized t-shirt, messy hair and etc. Personally, I think it characterizes her more/better. _(And is more interesting)_
@@ascrinkleyfellow Personally, I don't think "boring" and "unassuming" are good descriptors for the original, not really. She's supposed to look *fine* first and foremost. Not as in hot, as in "everything is okay and I'm *not* actually living in a tent, alone, with no one to care for me". Tohru *keeps* herself groomed and dressed and generically-schoolgirly at all times because she's hiding her experiences from others and trying not to draw any attention at all, which is a big part of the plot, her characterisation, and the show's themes on trauma.
@@mateuszjokiel2813 Tohru regularly cleans herself at work and washes her uniform at school so nobody can tell there's anything wrong with her. She's very careful about this, even around her friends. Although I do feel like the new anime made her design more bland somehow
One point fruits basket makes is that the Zodiac animals are characters with strange hair colors that don’t really fit in the Japanese society while Tohru is more “normal”, yet she is as complex and developed as them
The problem with making haruhi more visually unexeptable is the fact that she is not suppose to know she is a god and there are several entities in place to keep her in the dark. So if she was the only one not getting in trouble for wearing different clothes then she would figure it out. Best example is Saiki from another anime who knows he can warp reality and everyone has super abnormal hair styles and clothing because he has a weird hair color and he knowingly fit the world to his design thus he doesn't stand out. If the universe were to match Haruhi then she wouldn't get what she truly wants which is to stand out and feel like an individual. Which is one of the reasons her finding out about being a god could destroy the world.
Yeaaa I don’t think she’d figure it out, especially given how much is in place to KEEP her from figuring it out. At most she’d probably assume she gets some sort of weird special privilege (like how rich kids in private schools sometimes get unspoken special privileges), *if* she questioned it much at all. I highly *highly* doubt her first instinct would be ‘I’m a god”
This video gave me a new head canon where Haruhi's appearance in the anime is like an alternate form or cosplay she takes on to be more "normal" for school, and LavenderTowne's design is her "real" appearance.
Yeah Haruhi just straight up sexually assaults the others throughout the show and it’s legitimately disturbing how they attempt to play it off as comedic
How did I not noticed that the first time watching the anime? Thinking about it again, I do remember her constantly doing that with Mikuru being her main victim. And she's, spoiler for those who haven't watch the anime, like years younger than the main cast since she's from the future.
I mean to be fair, Haruhi was a deconstruction of shows and books like that and there was an attempt to commentate on how fucked up it was by having Kyon almost beat Haruhi up for doing that. It still does the anime thing and plays it up for laughs, mainly in the show which is bad and gross, but I can respect the book for trying to address what was just seen as a given in the mid 2000s. Even if it didn't do it effectively and those moments do sour an otherwise pretty fun show.
@@nateroo1486 I think the manga did most things better in general, but when most people talk about Haruhi they mean the manga EDIT: SHOW I MEANT SHOW CRAP
The only criticism I'd have is about Yuki Cross's new design is that it's not supposed to be obvious that she's a vampire at first. I think that the colour scheme gives it away when a big part of the story is finding out that she's a vampire, but anyone can look at this new design and tell that she is one. Other than that though I love the redesigns
Yeah but if you are savvy with gothic literature anyway you would probably guess she's a vampire anyway just cus female vampires usually had brown black or blond hair plus she is the female character in a 2000s era shojo she's going to have at least one thing that makes her unique and different so vampire princess is just par the course it would have been weirder if she really was a plain normal human who stayed that way and come on baby abounded in a snowstorm in front of vampire school/principles house you just know she's going to be a chosen one
@@jennybrown7834 Girl, stop lying. 🙄 when Vampire Knight was popular literally NO ONE guessed that Yuki was a vampire princess we all thought that she was human... and she did too. 🤣
@Firespawn the books name is vampire knight even if she had pink or blue hair instead chances are still ludicrously high just based on the time period the book was written and released on alone that she would either become a vampire or was one all along the only popular works at that time who bucked that trend where the Snookie steakhouse mysterys and buffy the vampire slayer plus mystery baby on doorstep of school full of vampires that screams choosen one who is super important right out loud and even if she wasn't a vampire princess by blood (pardon the pun) she was still a metaphorical princess because her adopted dad was the principal of a school where vampires were part of the student body and she had 2 guys after her one who was a Literal vampire noble and another who serves her like a knight would
I really like Lavendertowne's design because I do like how she including some elements of yuki's royalty to hint at the fact that she is a vampire princess. I also like her curly hair because it looks more like her mom's (Juri). However, a part that wasn't considered in the design is the fact that Yuki is a tomboy, and jumps around like a monkey most of the show. Going full princess would also hinder her ability to do her duties as the disciplinary committee. It might've been cool to give her a more combat based design or a more tomboyish design. I also agree that it's a little too obvious that she's a vampire (although I really like her eye color in Lavendertowne's design, her old one did make sense since it was a more muted red, almost brown).
@@sugareimon also why is it mainly black characters? (Princess and the Frog, Spy in Disguise, Soul). Not calling out anyone but it’s so weird how the poc characters get turned into animals while the lighter ones remain the same for most movies
@@devilheartcandy Yeah, it is. I'm pretty sure you could redesign the characters to be transformed, but still look black? Like.. more hybridized instead of PURELY FROG or spectral blob or pigeon or whatever..
About the armbands. While I do understand your issue, it is part of japanese culture. These armbands are worn in many contexts, be it schools by students with roles, traffic officers, reporters and other roles that would need to be easily identifiable at a glance. Which is why it appears in Haruhi Suzumiya. That aspect of japanese culture could feel unconfortable for some foreigners, thinking about its WWII context, but it feels unfair to label it as problematic knowing that context.
@@BleachBasket108 Oh! I was unaware of that. I suppose that makes sense, but at the same time red armbands seem relatively innocent/unproblematic to me.
@@thealliedpowers Hell, *in* World War II, armbands were often worn by anti-N@zi guerillas and insurrectionists. So it's not as black and white as it's tried to be presented.
I completely understand the awful connotations of a red band outside of Japan but I’m pretty sure it’s just to show someone being a club leader in Japanese schools? These designs are so cute though, and for Haruhi, maybe the omission of the red band comes with her ability to be a god and be above societal norms
@@NoiseDay not arguing against that at all but it was just a reminder that it's used for schools too Edit: not saying that the negative connotations will immediately go away after realising this fact, but i'm just saying that it exists outside those connotations too
Hell, I'm from Poland (you know, one of the countries that should per the American mindset despise armbands the most) and I actually find this detail really neat. It's a culture thing. It's still present. Besides, if we want to get particular, only the top-most N@zi officials wore armbands more than a couple of times in their lives, whereas all Polish inurrectionists in Warsaw, 1944, wore them for identification. So if it really bugs you this much, just try to recognise it's not all black and white even within the WW2 context.
As a person with brown hair and brown eyes I'm kinda sick of the rhetoric that "brown hair + brown eyes protagonist = boring, basic character design" especially since I struggled with liking my hair color and eye color growing up; it was that exact rhetoric argued by many that made me hate my eye color especially; that if I had brown eyes and brown hair I was dull and basic. Sometimes simple works best and I believe that especially for Tohru and Haruhi; Haruhi in particular is in the shadows about her position as a god and sees herself as plain after thinking she was special her whole childhood, and it's hinted at that she deals with thoughts of self hatred and that's why she pursues interesting people. I did like the plaits for Tohru, though. Suited her and they're very cute without going overboard.
I dye my naturally brown hair copper, but I agree. There's even a "saying" that goes like "blondes have more fun, redheads are going through shit, brunettes are boring but stable (can't remember the black hair one)" and it feels like the whole media scene is just so hell-bent on keeping that definition alive by making most MCs blonde to show they're not boring. Let's not forget majority of real-life people have naturally brown/dark hair, even more in East Asian countries that seem to be really conservative in terms of artificial body changes (re: real school rules about hair, nails, makeup and clothing in Japan), so us Westerners changing it with western standards in mind is just kinda off the base.
Same. It might sound stupid but seeing people with the same characteristics as you being portrait as plain/boring and just generally a lesser version of some other character (usually the attractive blonde main character or love interest) over and over again really messes with our self esteem...
Brown hair and brown eyes aren't necessarily boring, it just depends on how it's done but ofc it will seem boring if the entire design looks plain and boring.
I also have brown hair and brown eyes and it isn't about the coloring it's about the overall look. If they are just a character with flat blonde hair, classic huge, moe blue eyes, and a school uniform, that's still boring. There need to be more personality to their look somehow, whether that means their hairstyle, personal touches to their outfit, or how they do their makeup, the design should say something about the character
I personally am blonde with blue eyes and dyed my hair brown because I thought that according to society if you’re blond you’re dumb and a spoiled brat. It’s both interesting and ridiculous how media treats these things we were born with as stereotypes which good or bad are still stereotypes and not treating us as individual human beings.
I always thought that having a main character as kind and self-sacrificing as Tohru was actually really unique. fruits basket is very cathartic in that way tbh. It's nice to watch good people do their best to do right by each other, and Tohrus main motivation is really just to be kind and make her mum proud
I loved tohru’s character so much for that (until the end where she forgave Akito) but I do think her design couldn’t reflected her difficult situation a bit more
I love Tohru’s personality and I do agree with the redesign but I also think that her looking unassuming kinda checks out because she very much screams tryhard and kind hearted.
@@adeleaslan8182 Didn't she literally do everything she could just to *hide* her emotions and difficulties? I mean, that's a really big part of her personality and various character arcs, it's one of the major issues she's faced with. Disregarding that in a redesign is a deal breaker really.
@@mateuszjokiel2813 she still looks very normal and unassuming, just a little less put together, which would make sense since the redesign had a specific scene in mind where she is living in a tent with no running water, and presumably out of range from her schoolmates, and thus not in any danger of being seen
honestly I really like disheveled characters. I realize it's probably to make it easier to animate them, but I think there's a lot of charm in characters when they've got a bit of a ragged feel in some areas. Like a well-loved stuffed animal.
I've noticed this trend where if a character is "nice" to others all of the sudden their "bland and boring" I don't think Tohru is boring or bland what so ever.
She literally said several times it was about their design, not the personality. The only personality she even slightly took issue with was Yuki’s. Hell, she even *explicitly* said that she loved Tohru and didn’t get why people didn’t like her, because she didn’t really consider her bland 🙄
@@bluebay1031 But the original design served as an integral part of Tohru's character and this redesign kinda ruins it. I don't wanna spoil the show for you so I recommend watching it, but the whole point of the original design is to illustrate how Tohru isn't what she seems to be.
@@Amanecer458 I gotta agree. Her main plot/conflict is about pretending everything's absolutely fine to a point her best friends and people she lives with can't tell it's not (until she says something). Looking visibly messy also plays a role in that, since if she looks like she's fine and dandy, she must be. It's like when someone is depressed but noone knows because they hide it so good (aka people please so much they hurt themselves even more) and don't "look" depressed.
As a lover of Haruhi I was immediately defensive upon seeing her in the thumbnail, since her design is iconic… but it’s only really iconic because she, Haruhi the character, is iconic.
It's also iconic because everyone else ripped her (and Tohru, realistically, both HS and FB are old) off. It's the newer designs that feel boring, and the older ones have only been made boring retroactively - and only in the heads of non-OGs
I feel like it doesn't work for Haruhi's character. If I remember it right, there is basically a plot point that she's surprisingly grounded in reality and that's why despite her power there aren't time travellers/aliens/espers running around everywhere.
Yeah it says so even in the title of one of the books i think. Haruhi wishes these things to exist but she doesn't know and deep down probably doesn't believe they exist either which only deepens her depression.
@@ArtisticTaco1 that was the seven deadly sins not the seven virtues. the seven virtues are totally different and best of all arent simply the polar opposite of the seven deadly sins. prudence, justice, temperance, fortitude, faith, hope, and charity.
Haruhi is a troublesome case. She is still a model-pupil for the most part. An extreme design would take away from the fact that her views on the world are pretty grounded and as much as she is obsessed with the extraordinary, she is not aware of it's existence or her power. Meaning for the most part, she is living a normal life and thus a normal design fits that.
I think it’s just her design, I don’t know the character but she looks pretty generic, like every other copy-paste anime girl protag The only thing that makes her different, visual wise, is her yellow ribbon
I agree with you because Harley. He has a mischievous, looking face and most of her promotion art unless it’s trying to portray her as romantic or cute but otherwise she usually looks very mischievous or pouty.
To me, these characters all seem like they did have pretty decent designs compared to the previous male examples. Like yes, they all had brown hair and uniforms, but none of them look like each other despite having many similar elements, and I think that is a sign of good character design, also the fact that they are quite memorable, and easily distinguished from other brown haired uniform characters. The shape language does give insight into their personalities as well and fit with the story. For me, I think some examples of bad lookalike designs for female shoujo characters would be Hikari from Special A and Misaki from Kaichou what maid sama who almost look identical, but you can't really tell what they are like from just their design.
Mmm Haruhi and Yuki look extremely similar, and as much as I love Fruits Basket and Haruhi Suzumiya, I’m like 99% sure most of their iconic status comes less from their designs and more from their personalities/storylines. That association is what makes them memorable, not the designs themselves. If they didn’t have those 2 things, they’d be entirely forgettable
@@bluebay1031 perhaps, though to me a good design is something that I visually can remember and is simple. It's not always about the accessories or hair color, sometimes it's just the shape design or silhouette. While Haruhi wears uniform, there isn't really any other anime that shapes the skirt quite the same way, her hair, while it seems like a regular short hair, there is thought in the way it always moves and the silhouette it gives her. The headband feels like just the right amount of accessory that is relevant to her character specifically as it is also used for showing the many ways she does her hair, using the same hairband thingy. For a setting like a Japanese school, and one that needs to be realistic for the story, something as simple as a shoe choice or a hairclip can define the personality of a character, because japanese schools irl don't allow forms of expression in clothing, in some ways, the way Haruhi expresses herself, is quite daring and could realistically put her in trouble with the school, which is why there seems almost like the things she does are extreme even though she doesn't do very weird things and is simply more individualistic. Tohru has an even more pronounced shape language where she is very long and rectangle like, which fits with her personality, you can already see that even though they are two brown haired girls with uniforms, the design is very different and already gives a different vibe. Yuki, while not applying to the more classical tests of checking good design in characters, her design is very clever considering that the story requires her to be unassuming looking despite being a vampire princess and the fact that you meet her relative from the begining without knowing. So you need two people to look the same, while the audience wouldn't think that they are related, and what is the most unassuming and common color? Brown. As boring as it sounds, it's the best disguise, if she had blue eyes for example, so would Kaname have to, and people would assume way faster that they are related because hues of blue can immediately be recognized. (Idk if you've seen in my here academia, where shouto and his dad have a specific color of teal eyes, and they are easily recognized in one of the villains which gave away that they are related pretty fast). And the fact that the eyes are only slightly red, are a form of foreshadowing so that it is not obvious that they are both vampires from looks alone. The uniform is also very interesting in design and has gothic elements, and while everyone is wearing it, it makes Yuki distinct in the story because of its significance. I would recommend keep your hands off eizouken to watch, as it has really good character design, where each of the main cast, while wearing the exact same thing, and having dark colored hair and eyes, are all clearly very distinct from one another.
@@artorhen Its not real life though, its anime. Its been widely established and accepted that fictional schools set in Japan rarely have the main cast adhere to the rigid strictness of irl Japanese high schools. Some do, but its rare. What she has now isnt *bad* (at least I dont think it is) but it is *bland* . The silhouette is nice, but thats about all its got going for it. Unassuming within the realm of the story doesnt automatically equal visually uninteresting. Yes contextual intent is important, but at so is remembering that at the end of the day you are still telling a *story* . Its important to be able to balance that in-world context with the fact that your primary characters should be visually appealing and visually distinct. A lot of peoppe view distinction as interchangeable with ostentation, which isnt the case, and there are ways to make your main cast stand out *as* the main cast, without them being too showy within the realm of the story. Personally, Lavender did a good job of that, especially with Yuki and Torou. The only thing thats sort of overkill in my opinion is making Yuki's eyes vibrant red as opposed to like a reddish brown (think Makoto Nijima from Persona 5) and the visor on Haruhi, but everything else hits the mark of making her visually distinct to the audience without being overly showy within the story. She looks like she's unconsciously utilized her abilities to be allowed to take *some* liberties with her uniform, but not enough that she's very openly a fish out of water. Balance is important, and I dont think the original designs have that.
@@bluebay1031 perhaps this is down to taste and cultural difference. But ultimately for me the it felt like Haruhi specifically was a little too charged with too many elements in Lavander's design. And while some anime depicts school life with characters that have different colored hair, most designs don't stand out despite the fact that they have colored hair and uniforms, I also wouldn't think that it would suit the story of Haruhi Suzumiya. A main character still needs to be relatable and easy to distinguish to it's audience, which is Japanese school girls in this situation, and unlike with the male design examples, I do believe that all of these examples have a lot more thought put into them. Design is also fundamentally about shape and recognizability, regardless of the elements used. You can put a character like Samurai Jack, Dexter or Dee Dee next to other samurais, scientists and ballerina dancers, and despite them having the most generic elements that show what they are, they are actually really good designs. I do think that in Tohru's case, Lavander's design had a very nice touch to it, and she does have very nice designs of the characters as well. But what I ultimately wanted to point out, is that these characters did have a lot of thought put into them even if they seem like they have generic elements. Sometimes generic elements are what makes a character easy to distinguish and know what type of story they are part of. Again, Keep your hands off Eizouken is a show I recommend for great character design.
“I changed the armband…I just thought it was giving Axis Powers…” …but…I’m 95% that’s just what Japanese students wear when they’re the leader of a certain group…? (Like the president of the student council of the leader of club, stuff like that) I could be wrong on this but if I am right I get that you could get the wrong vibes from it, heck even I did when I first saw them, but it just feels weird to me that you didn’t at least look up what Japanese school armbands were used for and went to assumptions on it and then changed it…idk maybe I’m just being dramatic. :/
Eh, not really. It’s more of an anime thing than a real life thing. It absolutely has basis in real life, but many Japanese schools seem to have phased it out for exactly the reason Hailey described
Haruhi isn’t visually boring at all. Just only using the first episode we can see that she changes her ribbon color and style to attract aliens and the like. There’s also the bit where Haruhi chops her hair to about shoulders length. Also unlike other anime characters when not at school she has distinct outfits that fit with her personality (goes for all the brigade members really). She fits the scene where ever she goes. When Haruhi was pissed at Kyon in Sigh she was about to put it up in a ponytail, but didn’t want him to see her like that. She’s just more than what meets the eye. Beyond whatever you may perceive of her. Even if you dislike her she wouldn’t even give you a passing glance. I like her for who she is and represents, but can also understand her wrongdoings. Although she has a form of common sense, she doesn’t understand how to use it sometimes. Kinda just took a detour in my writing, but she just means a lot to me
Also she’s also supposed to look normal from the outside. Characters (mainly Taniguchi) say she’s a beauty and pretty, but when you get to know her that’s when things start to get crazy. I guess like a siren in a way except she doesn’t kill you
I think getting rid of the armband on haruhi was a bit too much, actually! and the thought that it reminds you of the axis powers has the same effect of what happened to the buddhist swastika. the nazis took a perfectly fine symbol of peace and morphed it into something that fits their agenda. the armband really just means leadership and is actually worn by real school club presidents lol. nice video and art tho!!!
Haruhi and tohru's original designs fits their character and their point in the story tho imo. Haruhi is supposed to look unassuming as a disguise to her being a god. Tohru is suppose to look like an everyday japanese girl that looks like everyone else to show that her physical appearance is not aligned to her depthful personality and to look well-put together to hide her being homeless 💀 i feel like these type of "basic designs" are made to cater to normal-looking asian girls coz i remember Haruki being loved by girlsin japan back in the day bc of the same reason
@@omnean8965This. This isn't Tohru when she has her mask on. That's what was trying to be addressed with this design--she was caught in a situation where her mask would be 'off' and the official design doesn't communicate this. Hence why the cheap shirt is specifically what she wears at her tent so her uniform doesn't get messed up between laundry days.
I feel like there were plenty other anime girls that could've been redesigned because the girls that were chosen weren't really boring... Yeah, they had a "simple" design but it's iconic and memorable and I feel like the new designs lose a lot of what made those girls different from the trillions of other anime girls that could probably fit the label of "boring" better. That's just my opinion though. The redesigns aren't bad at all, but I feel like they're just completely different characters.
It does sadden me that brown hair brown eyes gets the label of boring. Makes a lot of people feel less pretty having it. I wish they'd at least utilize those qualities creatively rather than just up and change their colours. So glad you kept that for Tohru.
It’s kind of ironic to consider haruhi bland when the whole series revolves around her craziness and eccentricities. And it might just be me, but I enjoyed the look of these characters bc they had my traits: brown hair and brown eyes which isn’t often seen imo. 😭
i'd find her a lot more interesting if she actually got the focus. when i was watching, it always felt like everyone else was hogging the screen. haruhi started the shenanigans,but i never got to see how things looked from her pov, so my brain internalized her as a mcguffin rather than an actual character,safe for a few episodes... granted, it has been a WHILE since i watched haruhi, so maybe i'm missing smth. shrug
As someone who watched all the animes, I loved Tohru and Haruhi as is. Especially Haruhi which her character is that she's conventionally attractive, dated a lot and briefly, but was too weird too deal with the normies. Also, Haruhi would adhere to what's expected, because she is unaware of her powers. Liked the other two more, wish you saw the vampire night girl as a bit stuck up and rigid since she polices others. She comes off feminine but masculine in personality liking boys and girly stuff, but is a strong girl.
I absolutelly love the new Yuki design, it is so good! It hints on her actual vampiric nature in such a subtle way with the red undershirt and more "human" school uniform like clothes on top. When I saw the slits at the collar I was like I know where u are going with this, but I would have no idea if I hadn't known the plot and that is so cool!
Honestly, their original designs seem perfect- especially for somebody like Haruhi, her design kind of needs to be as it is for the message the story is telling. She’s supposed to be under the belief she herself is relatively plain and has to search for the extraordinary around her to add flavor to her life. Tohru as well, just seems pretty sweet as she is...
I never thought I'd say this but this is probably the first time where I think some of the redesigns did the characters a disservice. Especially for Haruhi...
The moment she said the whole "fear of making anime girls look ugly" thing for Tohru I felt my blood boil. Like, tell me you don't get the point of her character without telling me you don't get the point of her character
Same. Personally I think as long as the design gets the gist of the character across (and isn’t obvious when it comes to plot twists,) that simple designs can work. Like Izuku, he’s simple as it gets but he still works out. Or Luffy. Maybe.
And I thought anime characters were anything but boring, from the wild, coloured hairstyles to the goofy clothing designs that look like randomly assembled costume pieces from hot topic and party city. I really enjoy subtlety, realism, and uniform aesthetic. (An aesthetic when characters, settings, and even vocabulary all conform to a certain theme.)
Yes it does mean it's a boring character design and unexpressive, if it's generic then it's boring, but it doesn't define the entire story or make a major difference. What you said was just plain illogical and untrue
@@mari_golds-bleeding-ink simple and expressive are 2 different things. Something can be unexpressive and complex. None of these characters were expressive nor told a glimpse of the setting/general plot to be charming or interesting
Speaking of Tohru, I don't think it would be hard for her to maintain hygiene. Between onsen or sento; as long as you have a few dollars, you have access to a bath.
yuki is such a mary sue, and i always felt like the big twist with her came out of nowhere, it definitely wouldve been so much better if there was *anything at all* in her design to hint at her being special but no shes so bland looking. that was my biggest issue with her honestly
That’s what I’m saying! I’ve seen her character around a lot but never seen the anime so I just assumed it was your average romance anime. When I heard the fact that she’s meant to be a world bending god I was legitimately shocked. Straight up bad character design.
Well actually it hinted throughout the series. Why was she in the snow by herself? Why does a room without windows feel nostalgic? Why does Cain already know who she is despite not knowing herself? Why does her blood feels and taste rich an familiar (according to Hanabusa)? Etc. Mary Sue? For sure. I think I liked her more because she still kicked ass which wasn’t too common for MCs. Though looking back 🤔…I wish she fought more.
I will say that Tohru being so bland in design makes a BIT of sense. She doesn’t stand out until you really get to know her. Then she’ll change your world. I do love the disheveled look for the beginning! I especially love the hair. You didn’t change much but still added a lot! Also I will go to war for her.
I've never watched/read fruits basket but based on the description and backstory of Tohru I really want to watch/read it now. She seems like a very cool character, I like that you redesigned her to be more realistic and show her more disheveled.
LavenderTowne: No fear Japanese schools: Put students in armbands for various reasons from convenience to identification that doesn't distract from learning LavenderTowne: One Fear
My main pet peeve with Tohru is that I feel like there isn’t a anything else to her except for her being nice and the love interest. Now don’t get me wrong, I love it when people are nice and we all should be more nicer, but I wish they would’ve gave her more personality. Also, for someone who goes through so much why is it just brushed aside?
I know right I love Tohru but she was only the nice love interest, I liked her back story but we saw more personality and back story from the zodiacs Tohru, had so much potential with her back story and they just basically forgot hers :(
Even though Tohru is the protagonist, Fruits Basket is a very relationship driven story that emphasizes the rich backstories and inner lives of the entire cast and I think a lot of Tohru's character, personality, and motivations can be inferred from her upbringing and her relationships with others. It's also worth noting that she DOES subtly change and gain more confidence over the course of the series. In the manga it's even more prevalent, the art style noticeably improves over its eight year run and the characters visibly age across all three years of high school. Tohru is an exceptionally kind person yes, but she's also very determined. She's the daughter of a young widow who becomes a single mother instead of attending high school and one of Tohru's formative childhood experiences is being outright neglected as a toddler/preschooler as her mother mourns her husband. Therefore, it makes perfect sense that Tohru is kind to a fault, and self-effacing. She lost her father when she was three and she very nearly lost her mother too. She was bullied all throughout school. At the start of the story, Tohru wants nothing so much as a place to belong and she's willing to make herself as small as possible to fit into that place. At the same time, because she was raised by a single mother, she highly values hard work and self-sacrifice as well as education. She balances a part time job with her studies specifically because Kyoko wanted her daughter to graduate high school when she never did. Over the course of the story, Tohru goes from someone who cannot stand up for herself to someone who is able to stand up to Akito, the primary antagonist and her foil, and that's all because of the relationships she has with others. She would not have been able to do that if Arisa and Saki did not chase off bullies, if Yuki and Kyo did not make it clear to Tohru and her family that she deserves to live in a home where she is a valued member of her household and not a burden. I daresay Furuba's CENTRAL THEME is that sometimes we DO need other people to love and value us so we can learn to value ourselves and that that isn't a failing. We see this with Yuki, we see this with Kisa, and we see this with Tohru. Tohru's kindness goes from something she uses to make herself smaller, to an aspect of herself that takes up space because her friends defend her right to take up space. Her kindness takes up space when she deepens her relationship with Kyo by refusing to let him push her away and facing head on the parts of himself he doesn't want her to see, her kindness takes up space when she places herself between Akito and members of the Sohma family, and her kindness takes up space when she later extends it to Akito at the end of the series. Anyway sorry for the five paragraph essay, I just adore Furuba. I've read the entire manga three times in the past seven years and a lot of the themes have really grown up with me (I first read it when I was 12 and I'm 19 now) sooo yeah.
@@chi5209 beautifully said! That’s how I’ve always seen Tohru. Growing up reading this manga, I tried with all my heart to be as kind and loving as Tohru, who takes her hardships and turns it into compassion for others. I looked up to her kindness and determination as a kid and still do to this day
Honestly the Haruhi one doesn't work. She doesn't know she's a god and isn't supposed to know, that's one of the big points of the show. She's supposed to be pretty, she dated and dumped a ton of guys. Also her point is 'not to be boring' 'not to be weird'. The fact she looks boring but she isn't is kind of the point. (Also the armband is a leader thing, you know like a club leader, kind of yikes that you went to Nazi when it's a culture thing)
This is more about her visual design than her general character. Her personality isn't generic, but her design definitely is. The only this that makes her visually stand out from any other anime girl protagonist is her yellow hair ribbons, which isn't really a very prominent or memorable detail.
@@twindledooda but the visual style of the show is on the more grounded side. There's a difference between making a protagonist memorable (which is the entire point of her yellow hair ribbons) and making the protagonist look like they're from a completely different show than the other characters.
@@dawrushesin There are ways to add unique elements to characters that convey what type of person they are without completely diverging them from the rest of the characters. While the yellow hair ribbons slightly differentiate her from other basic protagonist designs, it doesn't tell me anything about who she is. When seeing her for the first time, all I think of is, "basic anime girl". I just think characters with more eccentric personalities should have more eccentric designs.
@@twindledooda 1. Sure, but that's not what lav did. Which like, I get it, clickbait TH-cam video or whatever, I just wish there was a little more thought put into it. 2. Haruhi is also supposed to look ordinary to an extent because a big part of her character is that she wants to be special really badly, but she thinks she isn't (which IS the "melancholy" of haruhi suzumiya.) Besides Kyon, she's the most mundane member of the show's cast.
@@dawrushesin I do agree that Haley kinda took the "eccentric" point and ran with it, which might not fit Haruhi specifically super well. Although, I think she was moreso trying to make a point about "weird" characters in general who don't actually look eccentric or have anything pertaining to their "weirdness". Nonetheless, while I do agree Haley went a bit overboard with the eccentricity of the design, I do think there are ways the original could be improved.
I also love Tohru, and your lovely take on her! (I mean both your opinion on the character and your visual re-imagining of her.) During the first run of the anime, my friends coined the phrase “DON’T LIVE IN A TENT” to get me to ask for help when I needed it ❤
huh, i wouldve gone a totally different direction with yuki, leaning a bit more on the "she was raised by a vampire hunter" vibe, and also one of my favourite things watching vampire knight was her extendable staff.... and most pureblood vampires give such a specific vibe that i wouldnt really go for princess but i do love the eyebags and i think making her hair wavy is really cool.. it isnt that pin straight kaname hair but her moms hair was all sorts of whack as far as i can remember, and it wouls be really cool to see some more of that come up in yuki! ah im now thinking of how Id redesign yuki to match the ending a bit more? its fascinating
After she becomes a vampire and her hair gets long, her hair does look like her moms a bit. Definitely resembles her and kanames. I really loved how the mangaka drew hair, esp juuri?? And yukis hair so it was really sad to see her straight but unruly hair gone lmao
Your design of Yuuki litterally confirms i have to go more edgy (if not just generally goth'ish) on the character designs i am working on for a vampire focused story. Like, my MC leans in the vibe of your design, since 70 % of her palette is dark and her hair is short. 👀✨️
I don't get this obsession against more muted and plain designs. Like the first girl ribbon is very common in manga and anime is also completely fantasy its a hair style that doesn't exist in modern school Japan or otherwise. So people calling those feature and hairstyles plain is super out of reality. I think people saw stuff like komi San where everyone is a caricature of their personalities and think this is the norm.
@@cinderelennyes, they do. If you need flashy colors and overexaggerated features instead of subtle detailing, there's still a toddler picture book aisle in any book store.
I find it very interesting that you associate curls with princesses. I always associated straight hair with them. Always neat to see other people's thought processes~!
I love your designs for all of the characters you really brought out their traits a lot more. I just kind of wish instead of the princess thing, you leaned more into how badass Yuki can be in the small moments she has a personality that isn’t just her liking Kaname. She can be really cool for like 5 seconds. And Tohru (I love tohru so much) already has the innocent and girly aspect to her.
Okay but- Haruhi made sense the way she was. You have to remember school uniforms are likely strict as hell and wouldn't allow all those accessories. She used to wear her hair in absurd hairstyles but then got it cut after she was questioned about it. There's a reason she's simplistic and sometimes simplicity is all you need. Her whole premise is she's this unassuming girl by looks alone but in reality there's more to her than meets the eye.
Ppls are being way too harsh to you tbh , i love these and even if i dont agree with every change its cool to see your interp. I also have brown eyes and brown hair and love rep. But I do agree that they always have the same shades and no variation
When I saw Torhu in the thumbnail I was scared "Please spare her I beg" thank you for sharing the Tohru love. I agree completely though I do think the redesign just looks like fanart but I think thats good too. ( i love the kyo clip i wasnt expecting that from the video he was talked about in )
Theyre all great i will say i would absolutely love a more gritty version of Yuuki. I think because i havent watched that anime in YEARS i conjured a personality for her that was a little bit mean? Or maybe just more self assured? So i was a little sad to see her be so soft and princessy even though the design is super cute!!
Curls work with volume so that’s why it works well for a princess since they’re portrayed In Books to have lots of volume in their hair :D hair is also said to be a woman’s crown ☺️ I’m curious about the cross and what it’s for on the last girl
The real reason why some characters, be it girls or boy in anime are boring or bland is based on whether the anime/story is trying to tell a story simply, or for people to associate with it. Therefore making a character bland helps in people seeing themselves through it. Also Ive noticed that in early 2000s anime the trope of bland girl, who has no money but meets a cool (supernatural ) guy was very popular. Kamisama Hajimemashita is also quite similar to fruit basket in that regard
Hold up, I LOVE the Vampire Knight redesign! The shadows under the eyes were the perfect touch! I totally agree that flaws and imperfections can really elevate a character design, and I wish more artists weren’t afraid to make their characters look a little “ugly” (heavy air quotes there).
I love the changes and reflection you had for each character. It really reflects well on them and their stories and makes them 10 times more interesting. I can't tell you how many mangas I've given up because the only thing differentiating the characters were a name and an anime trope... Designs like THIS makes them unique.
People complaining about Tohru feels to me like people who can’t accept some people respond to tragedy with doubling down on empathy and kindness, it’s far more common than people think
I feel like the whole point of Haruhi is that she just looks like a generic/attractive unassuming person. In the show, all the boys talk about how she is 'hot but weird' and as we get to know her we see that she is in fact not a good person. She is selfish and abuses the people around her. We see her push herself visually during the beginning when she changes her hair every day and in the yellow ribbons she settles on. Plus it's just the absurdity of god being a high school girl.
I love how Lavender makes the softer characters have a softer shading and the more unhinged characters have a darker shading (if that makes sense) but I can’t believe how much she’s improved ^^
The artist stated in one of her character profile books that Tohru typically prefers to wear "more sturdy clothing", and that kind of set her apart from the others
First two are spot on but the last one oh boy,this design would give spoilers away if it was in actual show,I would play with her uniform more and make her also less groomed,she was overworked af ,I would argue with her being reactive,she was strict and diligent in her duty so I would implement e g pants or something useful on her designe, I agree with the hair change tho
As someone who has Fruits Basket as my favourite manga ever since I was young, I've never heard anyone complain about her before! I love her a whole lot, she never gave mary sue vibes to me, she always worked so hard. I really love your redesign for the camp scene, it's really nice and I'm glad to hear you love her too!
Something I thought could've been cool to see on Tohrus design are mosquito bites since she lives in a humid tent in a forest, mosquitoes are evil and those bites never go away haha. Loved the redesigns!! ❤
i was so sad when i saw tohru on this list but i honestly think you handled her in the best way possible and your reasonings make perfect sense and i love the changes you made!
I hate it with PASSION when there’s a “I can fix them” mc/character. Like please… guys listen… unless you’re a therapist/psychiatrist or at least well educated, you cannot, I repeat, CANNOT fix trauma with just falling in love 😭😭
I dunno about Haruhi. Her character is supposed to look fairly standard but traditionally attractive with something weird about her, which started off with her hair ties and ended up being her face and arm band. Thats why Kyon talks to her to begin with, because he just doesnt know how weird she is but ends up being decently engaged with the nutty stuff shes saying. The whole point of her being weird is that youd never assume shes weird until she opens her mouth about aliens and shit lol. Also, I dont think shes supposed to be "crazy", she's more coded autistic than she is unhinged. Now you can say a lot about the "supernatural entitity ending up being confused for the neurodivergent one" trope which is unfortunately pretty common. However, to say that Haruhi isn't "weird" enough in her design is kind of the point of the design, and the fact that shes still pretty recognizable is a testament to that. Also, the excuse for her God powers not activating to give her more freedom was the rule stated in the book and in the show. She's subconsciously very grounded in reality and reality is the way it is because she diesnt know shes a God; a sort of "i dont like it but it is how it is." Her whole complex in the show was that she was made painfully aware that she was just another person and a part of her wants things like aliens to be real but she "knows" theyre not. She may want her own dress code, but she "knows" shes just a student and cant change student policy. Thats why the bunny suit thing doesnt work because she "knows" it shouldn't but she doesnt care. Thats versus when theyre making the movie and people start getting actual superpowers, because her brain is working in the canon of the movie, where she has trouble distinguishing fact from fiction and reality short circuits. Same with the fantasy/sci fi creatures being real thing, that development started when she was a kid and could easily dissociate reality and her imagination. While your Haruhi is cute in its own right, i can't personally say it fits her character all that much given how she was characterized. Shes too outwardly crazy looking and wild when her whole character is based in that she's almost too aware of whats supposed to happen and is the way she is because she doesnt like it but feels hopeless to change anything. Tohru though yeah, her being depressed and still being really put together and done up is goofy lol. And Yuki, that was a fun redo that more fittingly hits her character beats.
Also, just a side note, Kyon is not bland and generic. He's not doing a lot new but he still has a defined character with an arc that completes itself in the movie/fourth book. Considering his character trope that he was commentating on was a bunch of planks of wood, Kyon actually having those moments was and still is pretty refreshing. Even if his design is pretty blah but I think that's by design. At least his lethargic "fuck it" nature is accented by his big nose, uneven sirt, and loose tie/unbuttoned blazer. That's more than a lot of protags get so I'll say it's a win lol
Tohru keeping herself really put together and well-groomed is one of the more major parts of her personality, though. It's also not an uncommon way to deal woth trauma and depression (speaking from experience). You push others away by acting and appearing completely fine and as non-attention-grabbing as possible, for various reasons, but keep dying inside every time you do this. It's part of the arcs of several characters in Fruits Basket.
Tohru doesn’t want people to know she’s depressed and homeless. Yes, she keeps herself put together. Even the way she speaks is done to make others feel better. Everything Tohru struggles with is kept INSIDE until she explodes. If she looked disheveled, people would worry.
@@wahhbajack Well yeah, she doesn't want to have people know that, but stuff like that isn't exactly easy to hide. I have unfortunate experience with depression through family, friends, and myself, as well as my mother being homeless for a good portion of her life and my working in the psychology field. It's a bit more complicated than wanting to hide it, there's a bunch of behavioral and health signs that are out of someone's control that are pretty ripe for exaggeration in storytelling and character design. Like it's technically possible but I've never seen anyone that well groomed that is homeless with clinical depression. I do think the redesign isn't playing enough into her trying to hide it though, I just so happen to agree that she's a bit too put together vs someone like Haruhi where an interest is easier to bury than life situations or mental health.
“flavorblasting” is the best term i’ve heard for redesigning a character lol
Like they're goldfish
I’m just imagining her with a power washer type thing shooting anime characters in the face
Idkwhybuthearmeout-
'Flavourblast' kinda sounds like a magic attack in a mahou shoujo where all 5 girls combine powers or something 😂
@@lunaexe2205 "flavourblast combo.... Final attack!" *rainbow beam shines across the screen*
@@MariaGreenwoodArt villain gets badly injured and/or looses an important advantage against the girls.."I'll win next time" (teleports away)
I ADORE the men's dress shirt detail for Tohru. I love that even though Tohru is a very feminine character, she does have little touches of masculinity - her mother was a hardworking tomboy and while Tohru is a girly girl she isn't afraid to deal with dirty or gross things. She gets her formal speech from her father. She has a masculine first name. Having her wear a cheap men's dress shirt, like the ones her father may have bought while trying to support his young family on a single salary...my heart.
FRFR
FRFRFRRR
Fr ❤
Girly girl is a style, not indicator for how much one can work
@@catlovingperson8143 I think I do understand what you're trying to say, and you're absolutely right, but gender expression and gender roles are one of Furuba's many themes/topics. Tohru is absolutely a hard worker yes, but historically different types and settings of work (e.g. Inside and outside the home) have been gendered, and Tohru is very specifically written to have a very stereotypically feminine gender expression and to fill stereotypically gender roles, so it's worth noting her actions and character traits that do not adhere to that from a purely media appreciation standpoint.
All that aside, I was also referring more to her acceptance of dirty/gross things as stereotypically masculine, not being a hard worker. Referring to Kyoko as such was more of a statement about the values parents instill in their children.
Honestly, pigtails actually suits tohrus personality so much more than completely straight long brown hair. It sort of gives off the "trying to hold it together" vibes because plaits can either look very clean and put together or can be very disheveled.
She did do pigtails in the manga sometimes! Sucks they didn't do it in the anime nearly as much
To cliché
yeah I agree that there's an unwillingness in media to show characters, especially female characters, as being dishevelled, ugly, weird, etc, beyond the superficial level or informed attributes, for fear of losing audience appeal
usually it's unsympathetic, villainous or comedic characters who are shown that way instead of protagonists because in an attempt to appeal to everyone or not alienate anyone, characters can end up not being unique in their design
For live action, there's also the issue of continuity. Basically, scenes are not shot in the final cut order. So let's say a character starts growing hairs on their leg (like they would in Lost) cause of lack of grooming, then you would need to plan out shooting in a way where the gradual change would seem seamless while not bothering the actors too much. It's even harder when some actors could work on multiple project close to one another. Losing audience appeal is 100% a factor, but there's also some practical reasoning. This doesn't apply to animation though, nor for characters who are supposed to stay "ugly" the whole show in live action, only for gradual changes (like in the Lost exemple))
@@theoriginalgummy Not to mention pickup shots. If they have to do a pickup shot of a character where they have longer leg hairs clearly visible but the actress normally shaves her legs, that means they'd either have to do makeup/prosthetics or CGI the hair in. That's how you get Superman's stiff upper lip as they had to CGI his moustache away.
Not related but I love your pfp. It's called a maple moth or smt right? I've seen the pic on Google and it's adorable
That’s why I love the csm anime so far because I love how everyone is equally weird and gross 😄
@@johnsanchez8232 that definitely helped Tomoko hit painfully close to home for me😂
Thank you. I used to love Vampire Knight. Getting older, I realized how much Yuuki lacked personality. And I wondered why two guys were fighting over her. 😐
Same lol. My mom actually recommended the anime to me, but she still thinks Yuuki is well written and a good protagonist (which confuses the hell out of me).
For a main character, Yuki does lack a little bit of a personality. I think she’s the martyr type which is kinda boring tbh. But Kaname and Zero didn’t “fight” over her. 😂 Zero grew to fall in love with her and I’m not sure what Kaname’s deal was. He was a bit obsessive. And if I remember correctly, I’m pretty sure Kaname wasn’t actually her brother either but I never finished the manga so I’m not entirely certain.
@@leedlelee6124 unfortunately they are completely bio siblings and so were their parents 😢
@@MoomiLuv Isn't Kaname Yuuki's grandfather? D:
@@MoomiLuv it really did run in the family 💀
Side note. I appreciate that Hailey is showing us that she sometimes traces when she draws. Which many artists do. And she really only traces the pose, and everything else is original. Which isn't bad since it isn't a straight-up copy and paste. Thank you Hailey ❤
Fr, tracing isnt 100% bad!! Even professionals do it
Same, I tend to trace poses too, sadly, I try to do them myself at first but I always get so demotivated to continue when it isn't working out, so as a way to not lose the fun I tend to trace the pose, her showing she traces poses too fr makes me hate myself a bit less
I appreciate this too. I sometimes trace, sometimes to just get the pose down, or usually if I'm struggling with a body part like eyes, hands, or feet. tracing isn't always bad.
the whole rotoscoping animation technique is essentially tracing! tracing is totally fine, as long as you learn something and improve your skills from the experience
I trace too. Normally for parts I find hard like eyes or poses that aren’t just standing up straight.
Tohru's design I feel is intentionally "boring" and unassuming. They want her to look like the most normal and basic girl you'd see every single day to contrast her depth as an incredibly tough and kind person. I think it's intentionally trying to give you tonal whiplash as you are judging Tohru based on her looks and then getting under those surface layers, you learn how incredible and complex she is. It fits the narrative of the series really well.
All that to say, I think you did a really good job maintaining that in your redesign! She still looks like a girl you'd see everyday but the slight imperfections like messy hair and eye bags hint towards her actual situation.
(I love fruits basket can u tell lol)
Ngl, I feel like Lavender's re-design still is "boring" and "unassuming", but doing it better than the og. (if that makes sense)
The original just *_actually_* looks like a boring anime girl design, while Lavender's
is still trying to maintain that unassuming look it actually hints at tohru's situation,
with the cheap oversized t-shirt, messy hair and etc.
Personally, I think it characterizes her more/better. _(And is more interesting)_
@@ascrinkleyfellow Personally, I don't think "boring" and "unassuming" are good descriptors for the original, not really. She's supposed to look *fine* first and foremost. Not as in hot, as in "everything is okay and I'm *not* actually living in a tent, alone, with no one to care for me". Tohru *keeps* herself groomed and dressed and generically-schoolgirly at all times because she's hiding her experiences from others and trying not to draw any attention at all, which is a big part of the plot, her characterisation, and the show's themes on trauma.
@@mateuszjokiel2813 finally someone who gets this
@@mateuszjokiel2813 Tohru regularly cleans herself at work and washes her uniform at school so nobody can tell there's anything wrong with her. She's very careful about this, even around her friends. Although I do feel like the new anime made her design more bland somehow
One point fruits basket makes is that the Zodiac animals are characters with strange hair colors that don’t really fit in the Japanese society while Tohru is more “normal”, yet she is as complex and developed as them
The problem with making haruhi more visually unexeptable is the fact that she is not suppose to know she is a god and there are several entities in place to keep her in the dark. So if she was the only one not getting in trouble for wearing different clothes then she would figure it out. Best example is Saiki from another anime who knows he can warp reality and everyone has super abnormal hair styles and clothing because he has a weird hair color and he knowingly fit the world to his design thus he doesn't stand out.
If the universe were to match Haruhi then she wouldn't get what she truly wants which is to stand out and feel like an individual. Which is one of the reasons her finding out about being a god could destroy the world.
Yes, thank you! I was thinking of Saiki K. the moment that LavenderTowne said "Haruhi's a god".
I think you meant "visually _unacceptable"._ I don't think unexeptable is a word?
Yeaaa I don’t think she’d figure it out, especially given how much is in place to KEEP her from figuring it out. At most she’d probably assume she gets some sort of weird special privilege (like how rich kids in private schools sometimes get unspoken special privileges), *if* she questioned it much at all. I highly *highly* doubt her first instinct would be ‘I’m a god”
This video gave me a new head canon where Haruhi's appearance in the anime is like an alternate form or cosplay she takes on to be more "normal" for school, and LavenderTowne's design is her "real" appearance.
@@FRODOGOOFBALL Like her casual look when she's at home? :p
Yeah Haruhi just straight up sexually assaults the others throughout the show and it’s legitimately disturbing how they attempt to play it off as comedic
tbf that's what almost every anime did in the 2000's, it was the most common trope especially in ecchi
How did I not noticed that the first time watching the anime? Thinking about it again, I do remember her constantly doing that with Mikuru being her main victim. And she's, spoiler for those who haven't watch the anime, like years younger than the main cast since she's from the future.
Yuki has to be my favorite because the drawing shows that she is a princess
I mean to be fair, Haruhi was a deconstruction of shows and books like that and there was an attempt to commentate on how fucked up it was by having Kyon almost beat Haruhi up for doing that. It still does the anime thing and plays it up for laughs, mainly in the show which is bad and gross, but I can respect the book for trying to address what was just seen as a given in the mid 2000s. Even if it didn't do it effectively and those moments do sour an otherwise pretty fun show.
@@nateroo1486 I think the manga did most things better in general, but when most people talk about Haruhi they mean the manga EDIT: SHOW I MEANT SHOW CRAP
The only criticism I'd have is about Yuki Cross's new design is that it's not supposed to be obvious that she's a vampire at first. I think that the colour scheme gives it away when a big part of the story is finding out that she's a vampire, but anyone can look at this new design and tell that she is one. Other than that though I love the redesigns
Yeah but if you are savvy with gothic literature anyway you would probably guess she's a vampire anyway just cus female vampires usually had brown black or blond hair plus she is the female character in a 2000s era shojo she's going to have at least one thing that makes her unique and different so vampire princess is just par the course it would have been weirder if she really was a plain normal human who stayed that way and come on baby abounded in a snowstorm in front of vampire school/principles house you just know she's going to be a chosen one
@@jennybrown7834 Girl, stop lying. 🙄 when Vampire Knight was popular literally NO ONE guessed that Yuki was a vampire princess we all thought that she was human... and she did too. 🤣
@Firespawn the books name is vampire knight even if she had pink or blue hair instead chances are still ludicrously high just based on the time period the book was written and released on alone that she would either become a vampire or was one all along the only popular works at that time who bucked that trend where the Snookie steakhouse mysterys and buffy the vampire slayer plus mystery baby on doorstep of school full of vampires that screams choosen one who is super important right out loud and even if she wasn't a vampire princess by blood (pardon the pun) she was still a metaphorical princess because her adopted dad was the principal of a school where vampires were part of the student body and she had 2 guys after her one who was a Literal vampire noble and another who serves her like a knight would
yeah maybe make the outfit look a little more colourful but aside from that it looks amazing
I really like Lavendertowne's design because I do like how she including some elements of yuki's royalty to hint at the fact that she is a vampire princess. I also like her curly hair because it looks more like her mom's (Juri). However, a part that wasn't considered in the design is the fact that Yuki is a tomboy, and jumps around like a monkey most of the show. Going full princess would also hinder her ability to do her duties as the disciplinary committee. It might've been cool to give her a more combat based design or a more tomboyish design. I also agree that it's a little too obvious that she's a vampire (although I really like her eye color in Lavendertowne's design, her old one did make sense since it was a more muted red, almost brown).
Now we need “flavorblasting bland creatures” featuring the design pet peeve of cool characters turning simpler for 90% of the movie
Like Disney's issue with it, right?
I automatically thought of barbie movies for some reason... And I'm a guy in my thirties ::D
@@sugareimon also why is it mainly black characters? (Princess and the Frog, Spy in Disguise, Soul). Not calling out anyone but it’s so weird how the poc characters get turned into animals while the lighter ones remain the same for most movies
@@Onsvaltti the barbie animals are nightmare fuels
@@devilheartcandy Yeah, it is. I'm pretty sure you could redesign the characters to be transformed, but still look black? Like.. more hybridized instead of PURELY FROG or spectral blob or pigeon or whatever..
Seeing Tohru in the thumbnail startled me for a moment-
She’s such a good character
Same.. 😭😭
Yeah same
Yeah it scared me so much because I love her with my whole heart but I actually really enjoyed the changes
Don’t worry, Lavender said in the description that she loves Tohru
man if i didnt read the comments sooner and watched the video i wouldve created a whole article explaining why she isnt bland 💀
About the armbands. While I do understand your issue, it is part of japanese culture. These armbands are worn in many contexts, be it schools by students with roles, traffic officers, reporters and other roles that would need to be easily identifiable at a glance. Which is why it appears in Haruhi Suzumiya. That aspect of japanese culture could feel unconfortable for some foreigners, thinking about its WWII context, but it feels unfair to label it as problematic knowing that context.
what does she mean my axis powers? I don't get what arm bands have to with WWII. Looked it up but didn't get a clear answer
@@ice_pls Nazis had red armbands, that's presumably why she's uncomfortable with it as a concept.
@@BleachBasket108 Oh! I was unaware of that. I suppose that makes sense, but at the same time red armbands seem relatively innocent/unproblematic to me.
@@ice_pls And to most reasonable people it's a non-issue. Armbands have been used in plenty of different contexts throughout time.
@@thealliedpowers Hell, *in* World War II, armbands were often worn by anti-N@zi guerillas and insurrectionists. So it's not as black and white as it's tried to be presented.
haruhi looks like a randomised picrew character
YOU'RE SO RIGHT
Yep that’s the point, girlie pop is a mess
I completely understand the awful connotations of a red band outside of Japan but I’m pretty sure it’s just to show someone being a club leader in Japanese schools? These designs are so cute though, and for Haruhi, maybe the omission of the red band comes with her ability to be a god and be above societal norms
Thing is, Japan and Germany were allies in WW2. That arm band, intentionally or not, will always have negative connotations.
@@NoiseDay "I wish other countries would cater their culture-through-media to my perspective."
@@NoiseDay not arguing against that at all but it was just a reminder that it's used for schools too
Edit: not saying that the negative connotations will immediately go away after realising this fact, but i'm just saying that it exists outside those connotations too
Hell, I'm from Poland (you know, one of the countries that should per the American mindset despise armbands the most) and I actually find this detail really neat. It's a culture thing. It's still present. Besides, if we want to get particular, only the top-most N@zi officials wore armbands more than a couple of times in their lives, whereas all Polish inurrectionists in Warsaw, 1944, wore them for identification. So if it really bugs you this much, just try to recognise it's not all black and white even within the WW2 context.
Yeah like that choice was peak America-centric brainrot
As a person with brown hair and brown eyes I'm kinda sick of the rhetoric that "brown hair + brown eyes protagonist = boring, basic character design" especially since I struggled with liking my hair color and eye color growing up; it was that exact rhetoric argued by many that made me hate my eye color especially; that if I had brown eyes and brown hair I was dull and basic. Sometimes simple works best and I believe that especially for Tohru and Haruhi; Haruhi in particular is in the shadows about her position as a god and sees herself as plain after thinking she was special her whole childhood, and it's hinted at that she deals with thoughts of self hatred and that's why she pursues interesting people. I did like the plaits for Tohru, though. Suited her and they're very cute without going overboard.
I dye my naturally brown hair copper, but I agree. There's even a "saying" that goes like "blondes have more fun, redheads are going through shit, brunettes are boring but stable (can't remember the black hair one)" and it feels like the whole media scene is just so hell-bent on keeping that definition alive by making most MCs blonde to show they're not boring. Let's not forget majority of real-life people have naturally brown/dark hair, even more in East Asian countries that seem to be really conservative in terms of artificial body changes (re: real school rules about hair, nails, makeup and clothing in Japan), so us Westerners changing it with western standards in mind is just kinda off the base.
Same.
It might sound stupid but seeing people with the same characteristics as you being portrait as plain/boring and just generally a lesser version of some other character (usually the attractive blonde main character or love interest) over and over again really messes with our self esteem...
Brown hair and brown eyes aren't necessarily boring, it just depends on how it's done but ofc it will seem boring if the entire design looks plain and boring.
I also have brown hair and brown eyes and it isn't about the coloring it's about the overall look. If they are just a character with flat blonde hair, classic huge, moe blue eyes, and a school uniform, that's still boring. There need to be more personality to their look somehow, whether that means their hairstyle, personal touches to their outfit, or how they do their makeup, the design should say something about the character
I personally am blonde with blue eyes and dyed my hair brown because I thought that according to society if you’re blond you’re dumb and a spoiled brat. It’s both interesting and ridiculous how media treats these things we were born with as stereotypes which good or bad are still stereotypes and not treating us as individual human beings.
I always thought that having a main character as kind and self-sacrificing as Tohru was actually really unique. fruits basket is very cathartic in that way tbh. It's nice to watch good people do their best to do right by each other, and Tohrus main motivation is really just to be kind and make her mum proud
I loved tohru’s character so much for that (until the end where she forgave Akito) but I do think her design couldn’t reflected her difficult situation a bit more
I love Tohru’s personality and I do agree with the redesign but I also think that her looking unassuming kinda checks out because she very much screams tryhard and kind hearted.
@@adeleaslan8182 Didn't she literally do everything she could just to *hide* her emotions and difficulties? I mean, that's a really big part of her personality and various character arcs, it's one of the major issues she's faced with. Disregarding that in a redesign is a deal breaker really.
@@mateuszjokiel2813 she still looks very normal and unassuming, just a little less put together, which would make sense since the redesign had a specific scene in mind where she is living in a tent with no running water, and presumably out of range from her schoolmates, and thus not in any danger of being seen
honestly I really like disheveled characters. I realize it's probably to make it easier to animate them, but I think there's a lot of charm in characters when they've got a bit of a ragged feel in some areas. Like a well-loved stuffed animal.
I've noticed this trend where if a character is "nice" to others all of the sudden their "bland and boring"
I don't think Tohru is boring or bland what so ever.
It's not necessarily their personality that's boring it's just their design
She literally said several times it was about their design, not the personality. The only personality she even slightly took issue with was Yuki’s. Hell, she even *explicitly* said that she loved Tohru and didn’t get why people didn’t like her, because she didn’t really consider her bland 🙄
@@bluebay1031 But the original design served as an integral part of Tohru's character and this redesign kinda ruins it. I don't wanna spoil the show for you so I recommend watching it, but the whole point of the original design is to illustrate how Tohru isn't what she seems to be.
@@erraticcat3887 also she look as completly well dressed and clean shows how she hides her real problems from other people.
@@Amanecer458 I gotta agree. Her main plot/conflict is about pretending everything's absolutely fine to a point her best friends and people she lives with can't tell it's not (until she says something). Looking visibly messy also plays a role in that, since if she looks like she's fine and dandy, she must be. It's like when someone is depressed but noone knows because they hide it so good (aka people please so much they hurt themselves even more) and don't "look" depressed.
You made Tohru’s appearance match her personality so well! So looks so cute but it’s also sad 😢
As a lover of Haruhi I was immediately defensive upon seeing her in the thumbnail, since her design is iconic… but it’s only really iconic because she, Haruhi the character, is iconic.
It's also iconic because everyone else ripped her (and Tohru, realistically, both HS and FB are old) off. It's the newer designs that feel boring, and the older ones have only been made boring retroactively - and only in the heads of non-OGs
"It's giving Axis Powers" is gonna be one of the funniest quotes of all time now.
I feel like it doesn't work for Haruhi's character.
If I remember it right, there is basically a plot point that she's surprisingly grounded in reality and that's why despite her power there aren't time travellers/aliens/espers running around everywhere.
Yeah like the biggest point of the series is that she doesn't know she's god, she changes things around her without really noticing
Yeah it says so even in the title of one of the books i think. Haruhi wishes these things to exist but she doesn't know and deep down probably doesn't believe they exist either which only deepens her depression.
could you make angel girls out of the seven virtues like you made demon girls out of the seven deadly sins?
That would be really cool, honestly
Haven't she done it already I thought she did, maybe it was awhile ago? Idk
@@ArtisticTaco1 that was the seven deadly sins not the seven virtues. the seven virtues are totally different and best of all arent simply the polar opposite of the seven deadly sins.
prudence, justice, temperance, fortitude, faith, hope, and charity.
Boosting that post so she can see it
Haruhi is a troublesome case. She is still a model-pupil for the most part. An extreme design would take away from the fact that her views on the world are pretty grounded and as much as she is obsessed with the extraordinary, she is not aware of it's existence or her power. Meaning for the most part, she is living a normal life and thus a normal design fits that.
I still dont see how Haruhi fits in the "boring" category, there were hundreds more girls who fit more than her.
I think it’s just her design, I don’t know the character but she looks pretty generic, like every other copy-paste anime girl protag
The only thing that makes her different, visual wise, is her yellow ribbon
I agree with you because Harley. He has a mischievous, looking face and most of her promotion art unless it’s trying to portray her as romantic or cute but otherwise she usually looks very mischievous or pouty.
Same, but maybe I'm being a little biased because I like haruhi
shes not bland necessarily but her character/personality falls into really overdone stereotypes that are very flat as well
@@Doris_LOWHD she’s not
To me, these characters all seem like they did have pretty decent designs compared to the previous male examples. Like yes, they all had brown hair and uniforms, but none of them look like each other despite having many similar elements, and I think that is a sign of good character design, also the fact that they are quite memorable, and easily distinguished from other brown haired uniform characters. The shape language does give insight into their personalities as well and fit with the story. For me, I think some examples of bad lookalike designs for female shoujo characters would be Hikari from Special A and Misaki from Kaichou what maid sama who almost look identical, but you can't really tell what they are like from just their design.
Mmm Haruhi and Yuki look extremely similar, and as much as I love Fruits Basket and Haruhi Suzumiya, I’m like 99% sure most of their iconic status comes less from their designs and more from their personalities/storylines. That association is what makes them memorable, not the designs themselves. If they didn’t have those 2 things, they’d be entirely forgettable
@@bluebay1031 perhaps, though to me a good design is something that I visually can remember and is simple. It's not always about the accessories or hair color, sometimes it's just the shape design or silhouette. While Haruhi wears uniform, there isn't really any other anime that shapes the skirt quite the same way, her hair, while it seems like a regular short hair, there is thought in the way it always moves and the silhouette it gives her. The headband feels like just the right amount of accessory that is relevant to her character specifically as it is also used for showing the many ways she does her hair, using the same hairband thingy. For a setting like a Japanese school, and one that needs to be realistic for the story, something as simple as a shoe choice or a hairclip can define the personality of a character, because japanese schools irl don't allow forms of expression in clothing, in some ways, the way Haruhi expresses herself, is quite daring and could realistically put her in trouble with the school, which is why there seems almost like the things she does are extreme even though she doesn't do very weird things and is simply more individualistic. Tohru has an even more pronounced shape language where she is very long and rectangle like, which fits with her personality, you can already see that even though they are two brown haired girls with uniforms, the design is very different and already gives a different vibe. Yuki, while not applying to the more classical tests of checking good design in characters, her design is very clever considering that the story requires her to be unassuming looking despite being a vampire princess and the fact that you meet her relative from the begining without knowing. So you need two people to look the same, while the audience wouldn't think that they are related, and what is the most unassuming and common color? Brown. As boring as it sounds, it's the best disguise, if she had blue eyes for example, so would Kaname have to, and people would assume way faster that they are related because hues of blue can immediately be recognized. (Idk if you've seen in my here academia, where shouto and his dad have a specific color of teal eyes, and they are easily recognized in one of the villains which gave away that they are related pretty fast). And the fact that the eyes are only slightly red, are a form of foreshadowing so that it is not obvious that they are both vampires from looks alone. The uniform is also very interesting in design and has gothic elements, and while everyone is wearing it, it makes Yuki distinct in the story because of its significance. I would recommend keep your hands off eizouken to watch, as it has really good character design, where each of the main cast, while wearing the exact same thing, and having dark colored hair and eyes, are all clearly very distinct from one another.
@@artorhen Its not real life though, its anime. Its been widely established and accepted that fictional schools set in Japan rarely have the main cast adhere to the rigid strictness of irl Japanese high schools. Some do, but its rare. What she has now isnt *bad* (at least I dont think it is) but it is *bland* . The silhouette is nice, but thats about all its got going for it. Unassuming within the realm of the story doesnt automatically equal visually uninteresting. Yes contextual intent is important, but at so is remembering that at the end of the day you are still telling a *story* . Its important to be able to balance that in-world context with the fact that your primary characters should be visually appealing and visually distinct.
A lot of peoppe view distinction as interchangeable with ostentation, which isnt the case, and there are ways to make your main cast stand out *as* the main cast, without them being too showy within the realm of the story.
Personally, Lavender did a good job of that, especially with Yuki and Torou. The only thing thats sort of overkill in my opinion is making Yuki's eyes vibrant red as opposed to like a reddish brown (think Makoto Nijima from Persona 5) and the visor on Haruhi, but everything else hits the mark of making her visually distinct to the audience without being overly showy within the story. She looks like she's unconsciously utilized her abilities to be allowed to take *some* liberties with her uniform, but not enough that she's very openly a fish out of water.
Balance is important, and I dont think the original designs have that.
@@bluebay1031 perhaps this is down to taste and cultural difference. But ultimately for me the it felt like Haruhi specifically was a little too charged with too many elements in Lavander's design. And while some anime depicts school life with characters that have different colored hair, most designs don't stand out despite the fact that they have colored hair and uniforms, I also wouldn't think that it would suit the story of Haruhi Suzumiya. A main character still needs to be relatable and easy to distinguish to it's audience, which is Japanese school girls in this situation, and unlike with the male design examples, I do believe that all of these examples have a lot more thought put into them. Design is also fundamentally about shape and recognizability, regardless of the elements used. You can put a character like Samurai Jack, Dexter or Dee Dee next to other samurais, scientists and ballerina dancers, and despite them having the most generic elements that show what they are, they are actually really good designs. I do think that in Tohru's case, Lavander's design had a very nice touch to it, and she does have very nice designs of the characters as well. But what I ultimately wanted to point out, is that these characters did have a lot of thought put into them even if they seem like they have generic elements. Sometimes generic elements are what makes a character easy to distinguish and know what type of story they are part of. Again, Keep your hands off Eizouken is a show I recommend for great character design.
“It’s giving Axis Powers” is the most wild description of a character design I have ever heard
“I changed the armband…I just thought it was giving Axis Powers…”
…but…I’m 95% that’s just what Japanese students wear when they’re the leader of a certain group…? (Like the president of the student council of the leader of club, stuff like that) I could be wrong on this but if I am right I get that you could get the wrong vibes from it, heck even I did when I first saw them, but it just feels weird to me that you didn’t at least look up what Japanese school armbands were used for and went to assumptions on it and then changed it…idk maybe I’m just being dramatic. :/
yes you're correct 😭
Eh, not really. It’s more of an anime thing than a real life thing. It absolutely has basis in real life, but many Japanese schools seem to have phased it out for exactly the reason Hailey described
Also kids in Russia wear those
Haruhi isn’t visually boring at all. Just only using the first episode we can see that she changes her ribbon color and style to attract aliens and the like. There’s also the bit where Haruhi chops her hair to about shoulders length. Also unlike other anime characters when not at school she has distinct outfits that fit with her personality (goes for all the brigade members really). She fits the scene where ever she goes.
When Haruhi was pissed at Kyon in Sigh she was about to put it up in a ponytail, but didn’t want him to see her like that. She’s just more than what meets the eye. Beyond whatever you may perceive of her. Even if you dislike her she wouldn’t even give you a passing glance.
I like her for who she is and represents, but can also understand her wrongdoings. Although she has a form of common sense, she doesn’t understand how to use it sometimes.
Kinda just took a detour in my writing, but she just means a lot to me
Also she’s also supposed to look normal from the outside. Characters (mainly Taniguchi) say she’s a beauty and pretty, but when you get to know her that’s when things start to get crazy. I guess like a siren in a way except she doesn’t kill you
I think getting rid of the armband on haruhi was a bit too much, actually! and the thought that it reminds you of the axis powers has the same effect of what happened to the buddhist swastika. the nazis took a perfectly fine symbol of peace and morphed it into something that fits their agenda. the armband really just means leadership and is actually worn by real school club presidents lol. nice video and art tho!!!
YES HAILEY THANK YOU FOR THE TOHRU HONDA LOVE!!
She has beef with every anime character ever! but with a reasonable reason 😂😂
Haruhi and tohru's original designs fits their character and their point in the story tho imo. Haruhi is supposed to look unassuming as a disguise to her being a god. Tohru is suppose to look like an everyday japanese girl that looks like everyone else to show that her physical appearance is not aligned to her depthful personality and to look well-put together to hide her being homeless 💀 i feel like these type of "basic designs" are made to cater to normal-looking asian girls coz i remember Haruki being loved by girlsin japan back in the day bc of the same reason
tohru’s redisgn was meant for the specific scene where she is found in the ten tho
Well, I think personality always shows in people’s appearance…🤔 Maybe not if they are trying to actively hide it.
@@omnean8965This. This isn't Tohru when she has her mask on. That's what was trying to be addressed with this design--she was caught in a situation where her mask would be 'off' and the official design doesn't communicate this. Hence why the cheap shirt is specifically what she wears at her tent so her uniform doesn't get messed up between laundry days.
I feel like there were plenty other anime girls that could've been redesigned because the girls that were chosen weren't really boring... Yeah, they had a "simple" design but it's iconic and memorable and I feel like the new designs lose a lot of what made those girls different from the trillions of other anime girls that could probably fit the label of "boring" better. That's just my opinion though. The redesigns aren't bad at all, but I feel like they're just completely different characters.
Your Yuki redesign is amazing! I love the princess elements it really adds to her character sm and it makes sense
As a curly haired girl, hearing you say that you associate curls with royalty made my day
It does sadden me that brown hair brown eyes gets the label of boring. Makes a lot of people feel less pretty having it. I wish they'd at least utilize those qualities creatively rather than just up and change their colours. So glad you kept that for Tohru.
I didn't know people hated Tohru and that makes me so sad! She's a sweet and kind and tough person! How can you hate that???
Sometimes characters don’t need super complex designs to be recognizable, and brown hair doesn’t mean a character is boring
this
Haruhi design is iconic af
The redesign just feels like its trying way too hard to look quirk lol
It’s kind of ironic to consider haruhi bland when the whole series revolves around her craziness and eccentricities. And it might just be me, but I enjoyed the look of these characters bc they had my traits: brown hair and brown eyes which isn’t often seen imo. 😭
Please same 😭 the way I tried to do haruhi's hair in school back 😭 then I hear someone calling it boring damn..
i'd find her a lot more interesting if she actually got the focus. when i was watching, it always felt like everyone else was hogging the screen. haruhi started the shenanigans,but i never got to see how things looked from her pov, so my brain internalized her as a mcguffin rather than an actual character,safe for a few episodes...
granted, it has been a WHILE since i watched haruhi, so maybe i'm missing smth. shrug
As someone who watched all the animes, I loved Tohru and Haruhi as is. Especially Haruhi which her character is that she's conventionally attractive, dated a lot and briefly, but was too weird too deal with the normies. Also, Haruhi would adhere to what's expected, because she is unaware of her powers. Liked the other two more, wish you saw the vampire night girl as a bit stuck up and rigid since she polices others. She comes off feminine but masculine in personality liking boys and girly stuff, but is a strong girl.
I absolutelly love the new Yuki design, it is so good! It hints on her actual vampiric nature in such a subtle way with the red undershirt and more "human" school uniform like clothes on top. When I saw the slits at the collar I was like I know where u are going with this, but I would have no idea if I hadn't known the plot and that is so cool!
Honestly, their original designs seem perfect- especially for somebody like Haruhi, her design kind of needs to be as it is for the message the story is telling. She’s supposed to be under the belief she herself is relatively plain and has to search for the extraordinary around her to add flavor to her life. Tohru as well, just seems pretty sweet as she is...
I never thought I'd say this but this is probably the first time where I think some of the redesigns did the characters a disservice. Especially for Haruhi...
Agreed
The moment she said the whole "fear of making anime girls look ugly" thing for Tohru I felt my blood boil. Like, tell me you don't get the point of her character without telling me you don't get the point of her character
Agreed 😱
Right
@@izachi-chan2432literally
sometimes i think people forget that just because a characters design is simple doesn't mean it's boring character design lmfao
Same. Personally I think as long as the design gets the gist of the character across (and isn’t obvious when it comes to plot twists,) that simple designs can work. Like Izuku, he’s simple as it gets but he still works out. Or Luffy. Maybe.
@@mari_golds-bleeding-ink yep
And I thought anime characters were anything but boring, from the wild, coloured hairstyles to the goofy clothing designs that look like randomly assembled costume pieces from hot topic and party city. I really enjoy subtlety, realism, and uniform aesthetic. (An aesthetic when characters, settings, and even vocabulary all conform to a certain theme.)
Yes it does mean it's a boring character design and unexpressive, if it's generic then it's boring, but it doesn't define the entire story or make a major difference. What you said was just plain illogical and untrue
@@mari_golds-bleeding-ink simple and expressive are 2 different things. Something can be unexpressive and complex. None of these characters were expressive nor told a glimpse of the setting/general plot to be charming or interesting
Speaking of Tohru, I don't think it would be hard for her to maintain hygiene. Between onsen or sento; as long as you have a few dollars, you have access to a bath.
She doesn't know those because she's thinking thru a western pov
@@aimlesswitch yea because you and your 5 viewers are totally japanese, youre a joke bro
she also has a few jobs. i think she would be able to afford a public bathroom, considering that they are relatively cheap there
yuki is such a mary sue, and i always felt like the big twist with her came out of nowhere, it definitely wouldve been so much better if there was *anything at all* in her design to hint at her being special but no shes so bland looking. that was my biggest issue with her honestly
That’s what I’m saying! I’ve seen her character around a lot but never seen the anime so I just assumed it was your average romance anime. When I heard the fact that she’s meant to be a world bending god I was legitimately shocked. Straight up bad character design.
Not to mention how dense she is. Her eyes take up room that her brain was supposed to be in
@@milkshake5569 thats the entire point tho.... she's supposed to blend in. it fits just fine
Well actually it hinted throughout the series. Why was she in the snow by herself? Why does a room without windows feel nostalgic? Why does Cain already know who she is despite not knowing herself? Why does her blood feels and taste rich an familiar (according to Hanabusa)? Etc.
Mary Sue? For sure. I think I liked her more because she still kicked ass which wasn’t too common for MCs. Though looking back 🤔…I wish she fought more.
I just realized this is another Yuki
I will say that Tohru being so bland in design makes a BIT of sense. She doesn’t stand out until you really get to know her. Then she’ll change your world. I do love the disheveled look for the beginning! I especially love the hair. You didn’t change much but still added a lot!
Also I will go to war for her.
I've never watched/read fruits basket but based on the description and backstory of Tohru I really want to watch/read it now. She seems like a very cool character, I like that you redesigned her to be more realistic and show her more disheveled.
she was actively trying to not look that way in the show, so i dont think it fits
@@Pluelul Thank you!
haruhi suzumiya is peak 2000s anime design though
I just wanted to say I love the difference in colouring between the 3 designs, it’s a great reminder that they’re from different anime!
LavenderTowne: No fear
Japanese schools: Put students in armbands for various reasons from convenience to identification that doesn't distract from learning
LavenderTowne: One Fear
My main pet peeve with Tohru is that I feel like there isn’t a anything else to her except for her being nice and the love interest. Now don’t get me wrong, I love it when people are nice and we all should be more nicer, but I wish they would’ve gave her more personality.
Also, for someone who goes through so much why is it just brushed aside?
I know right I love Tohru but she was only the nice love interest, I liked her back story but we saw more personality and back story from the zodiacs Tohru, had so much potential with her back story and they just basically forgot hers :(
Even though Tohru is the protagonist, Fruits Basket is a very relationship driven story that emphasizes the rich backstories and inner lives of the entire cast and I think a lot of Tohru's character, personality, and motivations can be inferred from her upbringing and her relationships with others. It's also worth noting that she DOES subtly change and gain more confidence over the course of the series. In the manga it's even more prevalent, the art style noticeably improves over its eight year run and the characters visibly age across all three years of high school.
Tohru is an exceptionally kind person yes, but she's also very determined. She's the daughter of a young widow who becomes a single mother instead of attending high school and one of Tohru's formative childhood experiences is being outright neglected as a toddler/preschooler as her mother mourns her husband. Therefore, it makes perfect sense that Tohru is kind to a fault, and self-effacing. She lost her father when she was three and she very nearly lost her mother too. She was bullied all throughout school. At the start of the story, Tohru wants nothing so much as a place to belong and she's willing to make herself as small as possible to fit into that place.
At the same time, because she was raised by a single mother, she highly values hard work and self-sacrifice as well as education. She balances a part time job with her studies specifically because Kyoko wanted her daughter to graduate high school when she never did.
Over the course of the story, Tohru goes from someone who cannot stand up for herself to someone who is able to stand up to Akito, the primary antagonist and her foil, and that's all because of the relationships she has with others. She would not have been able to do that if Arisa and Saki did not chase off bullies, if Yuki and Kyo did not make it clear to Tohru and her family that she deserves to live in a home where she is a valued member of her household and not a burden. I daresay Furuba's CENTRAL THEME is that sometimes we DO need other people to love and value us so we can learn to value ourselves and that that isn't a failing. We see this with Yuki, we see this with Kisa, and we see this with Tohru.
Tohru's kindness goes from something she uses to make herself smaller, to an aspect of herself that takes up space because her friends defend her right to take up space. Her kindness takes up space when she deepens her relationship with Kyo by refusing to let him push her away and facing head on the parts of himself he doesn't want her to see, her kindness takes up space when she places herself between Akito and members of the Sohma family, and her kindness takes up space when she later extends it to Akito at the end of the series.
Anyway sorry for the five paragraph essay, I just adore Furuba. I've read the entire manga three times in the past seven years and a lot of the themes have really grown up with me (I first read it when I was 12 and I'm 19 now) sooo yeah.
@@chi5209 holycrap you put more effort into this comment than I did in my keystones
Respect +
@@chi5209 Never apologize for writing a master's thesis in the comments. It's a delight to read, and I agree wholeheartedly.
@@chi5209 beautifully said! That’s how I’ve always seen Tohru. Growing up reading this manga, I tried with all my heart to be as kind and loving as Tohru, who takes her hardships and turns it into compassion for others. I looked up to her kindness and determination as a kid and still do to this day
A god, a homeless woman and a vampire. very mixed bag lmao
Love Tohru, terrible how that dog man laughed at her for being homeless.
I really love how mjch you considered every character and situation and how that would affect their appearance. I really like their revamps !
Honestly the Haruhi one doesn't work.
She doesn't know she's a god and isn't supposed to know, that's one of the big points of the show.
She's supposed to be pretty, she dated and dumped a ton of guys.
Also her point is 'not to be boring' 'not to be weird'.
The fact she looks boring but she isn't is kind of the point.
(Also the armband is a leader thing, you know like a club leader, kind of yikes that you went to Nazi when it's a culture thing)
I can't believe haruhi is in this category when she'd literally rather die than be boring
This is more about her visual design than her general character. Her personality isn't generic, but her design definitely is. The only this that makes her visually stand out from any other anime girl protagonist is her yellow hair ribbons, which isn't really a very prominent or memorable detail.
@@twindledooda but the visual style of the show is on the more grounded side. There's a difference between making a protagonist memorable (which is the entire point of her yellow hair ribbons) and making the protagonist look like they're from a completely different show than the other characters.
@@dawrushesin There are ways to add unique elements to characters that convey what type of person they are without completely diverging them from the rest of the characters. While the yellow hair ribbons slightly differentiate her from other basic protagonist designs, it doesn't tell me anything about who she is. When seeing her for the first time, all I think of is, "basic anime girl". I just think characters with more eccentric personalities should have more eccentric designs.
@@twindledooda 1. Sure, but that's not what lav did. Which like, I get it, clickbait TH-cam video or whatever, I just wish there was a little more thought put into it. 2. Haruhi is also supposed to look ordinary to an extent because a big part of her character is that she wants to be special really badly, but she thinks she isn't (which IS the "melancholy" of haruhi suzumiya.) Besides Kyon, she's the most mundane member of the show's cast.
@@dawrushesin I do agree that Haley kinda took the "eccentric" point and ran with it, which might not fit Haruhi specifically super well. Although, I think she was moreso trying to make a point about "weird" characters in general who don't actually look eccentric or have anything pertaining to their "weirdness". Nonetheless, while I do agree Haley went a bit overboard with the eccentricity of the design, I do think there are ways the original could be improved.
Ik this is off topic but ur lineart is so nice!
Ikr
I also love Tohru, and your lovely take on her! (I mean both your opinion on the character and your visual re-imagining of her.) During the first run of the anime, my friends coined the phrase “DON’T LIVE IN A TENT” to get me to ask for help when I needed it ❤
huh, i wouldve gone a totally different direction with yuki, leaning a bit more on the "she was raised by a vampire hunter" vibe, and also one of my favourite things watching vampire knight was her extendable staff.... and most pureblood vampires give such a specific vibe that i wouldnt really go for princess but i do love the eyebags and i think making her hair wavy is really cool.. it isnt that pin straight kaname hair but her moms hair was all sorts of whack as far as i can remember, and it wouls be really cool to see some more of that come up in yuki! ah im now thinking of how Id redesign yuki to match the ending a bit more? its fascinating
After she becomes a vampire and her hair gets long, her hair does look like her moms a bit. Definitely resembles her and kanames. I really loved how the mangaka drew hair, esp juuri?? And yukis hair so it was really sad to see her straight but unruly hair gone lmao
Haruhi is so unbelievably iconic that she makes the outfit look flavourful
Your design of Yuuki litterally confirms i have to go more edgy (if not just generally goth'ish) on the character designs i am working on for a vampire focused story. Like, my MC leans in the vibe of your design, since 70 % of her palette is dark and her hair is short. 👀✨️
But even so, i lowkey like the "romanticised vampires" thing in pop culture, so ig I'll have to figure out a blend of some kind, lol
I don't get this obsession against more muted and plain designs. Like the first girl ribbon is very common in manga and anime is also completely fantasy its a hair style that doesn't exist in modern school Japan or otherwise. So people calling those feature and hairstyles plain is super out of reality. I think people saw stuff like komi San where everyone is a caricature of their personalities and think this is the norm.
so you really look at their original designs and say they have personality???
@@cinderelennyes, they do. If you need flashy colors and overexaggerated features instead of subtle detailing, there's still a toddler picture book aisle in any book store.
The "bland self insert characters design" doesn't just exist in shounen, harem or isekai, many shoujo anime also do that
I loooove Yuki's redesign, as someone who loves the og Vampire Knight designs.
I had to revisit this after rewatching Vampire Knight for the past two days and oh my god I'm cackling, Zero should've been the main character 💀💀💀💀
I find it very interesting that you associate curls with princesses. I always associated straight hair with them. Always neat to see other people's thought processes~!
There's nothing inherently wrong with arm bands, and they're more common in Japan, for student council presidents or what have you.
I love your designs for all of the characters you really brought out their traits a lot more. I just kind of wish instead of the princess thing, you leaned more into how badass Yuki can be in the small moments she has a personality that isn’t just her liking Kaname. She can be really cool for like 5 seconds. And Tohru (I love tohru so much) already has the innocent and girly aspect to her.
Okay but- Haruhi made sense the way she was. You have to remember school uniforms are likely strict as hell and wouldn't allow all those accessories. She used to wear her hair in absurd hairstyles but then got it cut after she was questioned about it. There's a reason she's simplistic and sometimes simplicity is all you need.
Her whole premise is she's this unassuming girl by looks alone but in reality there's more to her than meets the eye.
Ppls are being way too harsh to you tbh , i love these and even if i dont agree with every change its cool to see your interp. I also have brown eyes and brown hair and love rep. But I do agree that they always have the same shades and no variation
When I saw Torhu in the thumbnail I was scared "Please spare her I beg" thank you for sharing the Tohru love. I agree completely though I do think the redesign just looks like fanart but I think thats good too. ( i love the kyo clip i wasnt expecting that from the video he was talked about in )
Theyre all great i will say i would absolutely love a more gritty version of Yuuki. I think because i havent watched that anime in YEARS i conjured a personality for her that was a little bit mean? Or maybe just more self assured? So i was a little sad to see her be so soft and princessy even though the design is super cute!!
Curls work with volume so that’s why it works well for a princess since they’re portrayed In Books to have lots of volume in their hair :D hair is also said to be a woman’s crown ☺️ I’m curious about the cross and what it’s for on the last girl
I love lavender and all but the redesign of haruhi looks like a randomised sims character
The real reason why some characters, be it girls or boy in anime are boring or bland is based on whether the anime/story is trying to tell a story simply, or for people to associate with it. Therefore making a character bland helps in people seeing themselves through it. Also Ive noticed that in early 2000s anime the trope of bland girl, who has no money but meets a cool (supernatural ) guy was very popular. Kamisama Hajimemashita is also quite similar to fruit basket in that regard
bruh. SO GOOOOD your flavourblasting designs are so good so edible yummy yummy om nom PERFECTION
Hold up, I LOVE the Vampire Knight redesign! The shadows under the eyes were the perfect touch! I totally agree that flaws and imperfections can really elevate a character design, and I wish more artists weren’t afraid to make their characters look a little “ugly” (heavy air quotes there).
I love the changes and reflection you had for each character. It really reflects well on them and their stories and makes them 10 times more interesting. I can't tell you how many mangas I've given up because the only thing differentiating the characters were a name and an anime trope... Designs like THIS makes them unique.
At first I was lowkey offended Tohru was even in this video(lol), but I ended up really liking your final re-design for her!
I love the way you do redesigns. Just for fun and admitting that you're changing things to your taste and not trashing on the original artist.
People complaining about Tohru feels to me like people who can’t accept some people respond to tragedy with doubling down on empathy and kindness, it’s far more common than people think
I feel like the whole point of Haruhi is that she just looks like a generic/attractive unassuming person. In the show, all the boys talk about how she is 'hot but weird' and as we get to know her we see that she is in fact not a good person. She is selfish and abuses the people around her. We see her push herself visually during the beginning when she changes her hair every day and in the yellow ribbons she settles on.
Plus it's just the absurdity of god being a high school girl.
I love how Lavender makes the softer characters have a softer shading and the more unhinged characters have a darker shading (if that makes sense) but I can’t believe how much she’s improved ^^
The artist stated in one of her character profile books that Tohru typically prefers to wear "more sturdy clothing", and that kind of set her apart from the others
First two are spot on but the last one oh boy,this design would give spoilers away if it was in actual show,I would play with her uniform more and make her also less groomed,she was overworked af ,I would argue with her being reactive,she was strict and diligent in her duty so I would implement e g pants or something useful on her designe, I agree with the hair change tho
Lavander,I love your art so much,you inspire me to continue my journey
As someone who has Fruits Basket as my favourite manga ever since I was young, I've never heard anyone complain about her before! I love her a whole lot, she never gave mary sue vibes to me, she always worked so hard. I really love your redesign for the camp scene, it's really nice and I'm glad to hear you love her too!
watamote was never afraid to make their characters look ugly
I fucking hate the term “I can fix them” it’s such a bad sign when a artist says that.
Love the lil Komi reference, and I think they did a pretty good job with the awkward and weirdness even if the characters are still gorgeous
flavor blasted with water lol
Something I thought could've been cool to see on Tohrus design are mosquito bites since she lives in a humid tent in a forest, mosquitoes are evil and those bites never go away haha. Loved the redesigns!! ❤
I love when characters have scrappy imperfections but people rarely ever draw girls like that
i was so sad when i saw tohru on this list but i honestly think you handled her in the best way possible and your reasonings make perfect sense and i love the changes you made!
I hate it with PASSION when there’s a “I can fix them” mc/character. Like please… guys listen… unless you’re a therapist/psychiatrist or at least well educated, you cannot, I repeat, CANNOT fix trauma with just falling in love 😭😭
I dunno about Haruhi. Her character is supposed to look fairly standard but traditionally attractive with something weird about her, which started off with her hair ties and ended up being her face and arm band. Thats why Kyon talks to her to begin with, because he just doesnt know how weird she is but ends up being decently engaged with the nutty stuff shes saying. The whole point of her being weird is that youd never assume shes weird until she opens her mouth about aliens and shit lol. Also, I dont think shes supposed to be "crazy", she's more coded autistic than she is unhinged. Now you can say a lot about the "supernatural entitity ending up being confused for the neurodivergent one" trope which is unfortunately pretty common. However, to say that Haruhi isn't "weird" enough in her design is kind of the point of the design, and the fact that shes still pretty recognizable is a testament to that. Also, the excuse for her God powers not activating to give her more freedom was the rule stated in the book and in the show. She's subconsciously very grounded in reality and reality is the way it is because she diesnt know shes a God; a sort of "i dont like it but it is how it is." Her whole complex in the show was that she was made painfully aware that she was just another person and a part of her wants things like aliens to be real but she "knows" theyre not. She may want her own dress code, but she "knows" shes just a student and cant change student policy. Thats why the bunny suit thing doesnt work because she "knows" it shouldn't but she doesnt care. Thats versus when theyre making the movie and people start getting actual superpowers, because her brain is working in the canon of the movie, where she has trouble distinguishing fact from fiction and reality short circuits. Same with the fantasy/sci fi creatures being real thing, that development started when she was a kid and could easily dissociate reality and her imagination. While your Haruhi is cute in its own right, i can't personally say it fits her character all that much given how she was characterized. Shes too outwardly crazy looking and wild when her whole character is based in that she's almost too aware of whats supposed to happen and is the way she is because she doesnt like it but feels hopeless to change anything.
Tohru though yeah, her being depressed and still being really put together and done up is goofy lol. And Yuki, that was a fun redo that more fittingly hits her character beats.
Also, just a side note, Kyon is not bland and generic. He's not doing a lot new but he still has a defined character with an arc that completes itself in the movie/fourth book. Considering his character trope that he was commentating on was a bunch of planks of wood, Kyon actually having those moments was and still is pretty refreshing. Even if his design is pretty blah but I think that's by design. At least his lethargic "fuck it" nature is accented by his big nose, uneven sirt, and loose tie/unbuttoned blazer. That's more than a lot of protags get so I'll say it's a win lol
Tohru keeping herself really put together and well-groomed is one of the more major parts of her personality, though. It's also not an uncommon way to deal woth trauma and depression (speaking from experience). You push others away by acting and appearing completely fine and as non-attention-grabbing as possible, for various reasons, but keep dying inside every time you do this. It's part of the arcs of several characters in Fruits Basket.
Tohru doesn’t want people to know she’s depressed and homeless. Yes, she keeps herself put together. Even the way she speaks is done to make others feel better. Everything Tohru struggles with is kept INSIDE until she explodes. If she looked disheveled, people would worry.
@@wahhbajack Well yeah, she doesn't want to have people know that, but stuff like that isn't exactly easy to hide. I have unfortunate experience with depression through family, friends, and myself, as well as my mother being homeless for a good portion of her life and my working in the psychology field. It's a bit more complicated than wanting to hide it, there's a bunch of behavioral and health signs that are out of someone's control that are pretty ripe for exaggeration in storytelling and character design. Like it's technically possible but I've never seen anyone that well groomed that is homeless with clinical depression. I do think the redesign isn't playing enough into her trying to hide it though, I just so happen to agree that she's a bit too put together vs someone like Haruhi where an interest is easier to bury than life situations or mental health.