Alternate Characterization Hypotheses, Why are they so different?

Hiroshi Obi's manga is a bit loose compared to the games, especially when it comes to the personalities of Goemon, Omitsu and Yae. I've came up with these observations:

1. Goemon is an audience identification character that projects the desires of the readers (and presumably Hiroshi Obi himself), explaining how quickly he loses interest in Omitsu. His nightmares about her may be a means of assuring the readers that he's not going to change his mind in light of his gameverse self taking a different direction with his love life.

2. Those who adore a character enough will go to any length to secure them in a major role, putting them in the perspective that the character's appearance alone justifies becoming further engrossed in the series. Obi is most likely a fan of Yae who used his creative power to capitalize on this with fanservice, retooling her personality into a more "harmless" one to maximize her appeal.

3. Omitsu's "quirks" may have been an attempt by Obi to make her more interesting than her game counterpart, who didn't really stand out much. He had the freedom to go off the rails with LoTMN, but the games eventually developed more in regards to plot and character interaction, thus shoehorning Omitsu into her distressed damsel role and giving her less attention overall. Her transformation into a completely unsympathetic foil became another means of bolstering Yae's appeal.

4. The presence of Omitsu fanservice in the early manga may have been a way of testing the waters, but obviously there weren't enough people interested in the concept (as evidenced by how the books before GG3 are often ignored by the fandom). Note that Yae becomes the sole source of fanservice after a certain point in the manga's run, likely leading to the annoying "only Yae should be in charge of the eroticism" line of thinking that many Japanese fans possess - to the point where a number of them criticized Konami for allowing Omitsu and Yuki a chance to share the spotlight in the pachislot game.

So, any questions? Comments? Complaints?

I asked a manga Yae fan at Pixiv why so many favored that version of her, and the answer I got could be summed up as "sex sells." Her role was supposedly to lure the male majority of readers into subscribing to Comic BonBon, and therein lies the main problem I have with her - the fact that she resembles a moeblob that's more focused on "sexy" than "cute." She's not so much a character as she is a gimmick.

Incidentally, this same person said that he disliked Yae's portrayal in the anime because she was "too cold and strict," citing the part in the first episode where she scolds Ebisumaru as proof. (My cynical side thinks it's actually because of the lack of fanservice.)

I've also asked him about the reason behind Omitsu's general unpopularity, and he confirmed my belief that it originated from her portrayal as a violent, greedy, and generally malicious person.

Makes sense...After all, he's right, sex does sell very well. The more bare skin we can see the more popular a woman will be (at least among most men). This isn't a revelation, not by a long shot. Who cares about characterization when there's sexiness?

I can see why he'd say that about anime Yae, but I also think you're at least partially right about the lack of fanservice being a major factor. To be honest, I was expecting a lot more when I first watched the anime.

As for Omitsu, that makes sense, too. After all, you know how popular the manga is, and how unfavorably portrayed she is there.

The saddest part is that even long after the manga ended, Omitsu will always be saddled with that reputation no matter what form of media she's in, and Konami themselves have probably given up on her.

In manga Yae's case, fans will always compare every new game to the manga, and complain when it doesn't meet their high expectations of BOOBIES BOOBIES BOOBIES. As for anime Yae, OH NO IT'S SOMETHING REMOTELY RESEMBLING A PERSONALITY FLAW THIS CANNOT HAPPEN BECAUSE MAI WAIFU IS PERFECT.

The person who I was speaking with said that he doesn't believe that Obi had something against Omitsu. He also says that the development of Omitsu's character was inevitable as the series progressed over time (he doesn't think that Obi's portrayal is the official one), and that it's best to simply take the manga in stride and find humor in how it differs from the source material.

This is just a thought, but for Yae fans to simply "obey without question" Obi's version of her is pretty crazy to me. Just because he portrays Omitsu as a "brat" type, it doesn't mean fans have to see it that way, too. When it comes down to it, that is really just his version of the characters and no one is obligated to follow it if they don't want to.

In other words, anyone can use their own creativity and make Yae, Omitsu, etc. a more well-rounded type to suit their imagination and preferences; this applies to the other characters as well. Unfortunately, it seems that no creativity is being used on the fans' part, as seen clearly on Pixiv's GanGoe gallery; most of what we see is Yae being portrayed as...same old same old.

To make a long story short, this is Obi's own concept of Yae, Omitsu, etc. No one has to follow the manga's portrayals; that's what creativity and "fanon" is for(if done right ).

Japan is a conformist culture - they have a saying that goes, "The nail that sticks up gets hammered down." It's likely that the fans' refusal to broaden their scope has much to do with this concept.

I had expected them to be all over some of my Yae pictures, but instead they're mostly ignored. This could be chalked up to me being an "outsider," in more ways than one. Curiously, my "Yae Discovered The Internet" picture has a disproportionately high amount of views compared to most of my other pictures (nearly 500 vs. 100) and only 3 votes. Perhaps some angry fanboy was passing the link around to his peers because I was "attacking" their clique.

Back to the manga - I noticed that Obi practically beats you over the head with GoeYae subtext in MNSG. I feel that this may tie into my first point, that it's meant to assure the readers that Goemon is not going to suddenly pick Omitsu even if his game counterpart wants her.

1. In many ways, I have trouble identifying with Goemon.

2. This is very true. Though, Yae was by far her most dangerous during her original appearance in that one NES game, so even the videogames themselves have domesticated the girl somewhat.

3. I thought Omitsu was already quite interesting in the games.

4. I'm afraid I can't agree.

2. This "domestication" is most noticeable when you consider how Yae's clothing has recently been made more revealing and feminine than her original shinobi shozoku. It's also interesting to note that the bit in her bio about how she likes to cook didn't start appearing until sometime during the N64 era.

3. She can be, but she'll never really draw attention as long as she's just a side character. Konami themselves have even made it known in her profiles that she just supports from the sidelines.

4. That was an observation, not a request for agreement.