Nintendo, the Pokémon Company and Game Freak unveiled the 9th generation of Pokémon, Zhu and Purple, on Feb. 27. In the trailer, the most striking thing is the game's two protagonists, and some fans have been discussing their character designs, especially their faces. An interesting discussion about the protagonist has been making waves around the world.
Since the announcement of Pokémon Scarlet/Violet, the keyword "protagonist's face/protagonist's face" has become popular on Twitter, with many Japanese players complaining that the protagonist's face "doesn't feel Pokémon". If you search for these keywords on Twitter, you can find several Tweets with thousands of likes and retweets.
Fans in the English-speaking region had similar complaints, and then they were turned back by Japanese players, mentioning that "even overseas fans don't like it."
In addition, some fans also pointed out that the 2D art style of "Zhu" and "Purple" has actually changed. Until now, the human characters in Pokémon have always had oval eyes, maintaining the style of the original character designer Ken Sugimori.
However, the protagonists of Zhu and Purple have round eyes in both 2D stand-up painting and 3D modeling of the game, resulting in a look of unaccustomedness. Here are some of the fan reactions.
"I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks the face of the new protagonist looks weird. It's not that the visuals are bad, it's that it doesn't feel like Pokémon. By the way, these are my favorites".
"This is the protagonist of the new Pokemon game."
"Only I think the protagonist looks like this?"
"2D standing painting looks so good, why does the 3D modeled face become like this..."
Pokémon: Juju/Purple will launch on Switch by the end of 2022 and is still in development, so it's not impossible that 3D modeling will be improved when the game is released. But Twitter isn't necessarily an accurate reflection of reality, and not all Pokémon fans are spitting on the protagonist's face.
What do you think of the new character design in Pokémon: Zhu/Purple, whether it's a 2D stand-up or a 3D model? Feel free to comment in the comments below!