So Squenix, when are we going to see 'curvy' heroines?

[Tokimadoushi]

A friend of mine reckons that Final Fantasy heroines are always 'skinny and pretty' and therefore cannot be taken seriously. I replied that there have been some "curvy" heroines in the series, namely Maria, Aerith, Rinoa, Yuna (in X) and Lulu. I also pointed out that:

a.) they are modelled after Japanese people, who are a small and generally "skinny" people.
b.) most of them are teens or young adults, and therefore would have smaller builds - though I admit that's not a very valid argument.
c.) the characters are either warriors (e.g. Lightning) or are engaged in a quest that requires a lot of travelling, normally by foot. If any of them did have some extra weight, it would quickly be shed. Until you acquire an airship, that is

However upon looking up some height and weight statistics in FF Wiki, I found that yes, these girls are freakin' tiny! If I remember correctly, to state an example: Rosa is 5'4" and weighs 48kgs. That is the same height as me, and if I was 48kg I'd be borderline anorexic. Celes's stats also listed her as around 5'5" and weighing about 50kg. Terra was even less. So yes, it does seem that the majority of FF heroines are in the "painfully skinny" bracket. Any thoughts on this? Do you feel it affects the character at all or your experience of the games? Would you like to see more "curvy" heroines in the future games?
(FYI by curvy I do not mean fat and flabby, I mean healthy-looking, fuller figured girls, not waifs.)

[Miriel]

I would never define Maria, Aerith, Rinoa, or Yuna as "curvy".

Lulu, Beatrix, and Tifa were kinda curvy, but mostly they just had really big knockers and tiny tiny waists. Not really curvy in the same way as Chung Li is curvy. You don't really see Chung Li sized thighs on female characters these days.

To be honest, this isn't really something I've noticed or thought all that much about so it hasn't really impacted how I view or experience the games. And yeah, Asian countries lean on the skinny sized. I don't remember seeing one obese or fat person while I was visiting S. Korea. Chubby, occasionally, but mostly just lots of skinny people.

Besides, it's not like there are a lot of curvy male characters running around. Most of the guys are skinny too and all of them have six packs.

[kotora]

I thought "curvy" was another PC word for "fat and flabby". The examples you've named just have big boobs and small waists. I wouldn't mind more of that.

and yeah it's probably because those are normal weight and height stats for azns.

[blackmage_nuke]

Quina

[Loony BoB]

I thought "curvy" was another PC word for "fat and flabby". The examples you've named just have big boobs and small waists. I wouldn't mind more of that.

Nah, for me curvy means "has boobs and hips that work in an hourglass figure style". Good examples of girls who are considered to be curvy by many people are Beyoncé, Angelina Jolie, Scarlett Johansson and most Page 3 glamour models in the UK. I think curvy girls are far more common in the UK than America, mind you. Non-curvy girls include the likes of Victoria Beckham, Kiera Knightly and most American models. Fat and flabby is more known as chubby, fat, flabby, obese or if we're being PC, it's something like "BBW" or something, I think?

and yeah it's probably because those are normal weight and height stats for azns.

This is my first thought, too.

[VeloZer0]

Even most of the male body weights given are incredibly light. I'm fairly involved in sport and I can tell you that they are extremely light as measured against the standards of high performance athletes (which I would assume all the protagonists would be).

[Vyk]

If you consider the old Final Fantasies based off representations of Amano's anorexic art, they'd have to be light as a feather. They're barely more than bones and skin. Especially the females. Maybe for some odd reason they based their weight stats on that

And yeah. I think different people have different definitions of "curvy". I've known quite a few people use it in the context of meaning at least a little chubby. I really don't think it should be used as any kind of descriptor considering its general ambiguity these days

[kotora]

Amano's characters are hardly 'anorexic'. They're not any thinner than most characters in fiction. It's the real life people that are too fat, not the other way around.

[Tokimadoushi]

I have made the observation that Amano's character designs tend to be very tiny, whereas Nomura's are more of an 'athletic' body type.

I would never define Maria, Aerith, Rinoa, or Yuna as "curvy"

To me they just looked a little more voluptous than the average FF heroine. Maybe my eyesight is failing me.

Even most of the male body weights given are incredibly light. I'm fairly involved in sport and I can tell you that they are extremely light as measured against the standards of high performance athletes (which I would assume all the protagonists would be).

A very well-made point, the males tend to be just as tiny, or very large (e.g. Ward from VIII or Snow from XIII)!

But then again, it is a fantasy game; the characters, no matter how realistically portrayed, are still not real people and never will be, so how big or small they are shouldn't really be an issue.

[Marshall Banana]

At 5'3", I weigh a little less than the examples you gave, yet I'm not starving.

[Jessweeee♪]

You can be curvy at 5'5" and 110lbs! It's quite common for girls my age

[Miriel]

You can be curvy at 5'5" and 110lbs! It's quite common for girls my age

Honestly, I'm not sure how this could be physically possible. Unless your meaning of "curvy" is completely different than mine... which it probably is!

When I think curvy, I think of women like Mariah Carey, Beyonce, Kim Kardashian, Christina Hendricks.

There are people who have curves but who I wouldn't classify as curvy. Jessica Alba has a great body, but I'd still classify her as slender, borderline skinny. Jessica Alba actually has a pretty typical video game chick body. Thin with boobs, basically.

You really don't see body types like Christina Hendricks all that much in video games or just mainstream media in general.

[kotora]

You also don't see them a lot because running around all day and doing action stuff usually makes people thinner and it would be weird seeing a lot of big boobs and big asses jumping into battle. One Ms. Fanservice per cast is enough, just like how we never get more than 1 token black dude.

[Jessweeee♪]

You can be curvy at 5'5" and 110lbs! It's quite common for girls my age

Honestly, I'm not sure how this could be physically possible. Unless your meaning of "curvy" is completely different than mine... which it probably is!

When I think curvy, I think of women like Mariah Carey, Beyonce, Kim Kardashian, Christina Hendricks.

There are people who have curves but who I wouldn't classify as curvy. Jessica Alba has a great body, but I'd still classify her as slender, borderline skinny. Jessica Alba actually has a pretty typical video game chick body. Thin with boobs, basically.

You really don't see body types like Christina Hendricks all that much in video games or just mainstream media in general.

Not "a little extra" curvy, like literally curvy shaped curvy. Boobs and hips! You can be skinny without being shaped like a rail!

[Vyk]

I know Christina Hendricks has filled out just a tad over the years. But I fell in love with her when first seeing her on Firefly, she was gorgeous. And my opinion of her hasn't changed. She's still gorgeous. She's not scrawny, but she's definitely not the type of curvy that means chubby. She's still sexy, she's that kinda curvy