Fran and Balthier?

[scooby]

Originally Posted by Savannah
Bad comparison. An elf is essentially a human with slimmer body frame and slightly longer ears. A person with the traits of an animal is a different story. Elves have traits exclusive to their own species. Fran is human + rabbit.

I know Fran is at least on level with a human in intellect capacity, but it still. . . really doesn't appeal to me. Furry/anthro stuff just isn't my thing. Maybe it's just that she's so sexualized; Freya, Kimahri and Red XIII didn't bother me.

No - it's a great comparison (and one that has been made by many). Viera are the elves of Ivalice. They are very tall and very wise, with long, lissom bodies that make them well-suited to being rangers and archers - like elves. They are woodland folk - living in tight-knit clans in the forests - like elves. They have great longevity - like elves, and completely unlike rabbits - living for up to three times as long as Humes - on average: about 200 years. They have highly developed senses - superb eyesight and hearing - like rabbits, but also like elves. And, most like elves of all, they lost their ancient homelands centuries ago and have begun to mingle with Humes, though the "pure-blooded" Viera remain deep within the forests. Sounds like a passage from Tolkien, doesn't it?

Viera have far more in common with elves than with rabbits, whom they only share a couple of physical features with - namely: ears and claws.
They are a race with their own history and their own - elf-like - traits.

And I would say that Fran is probably the most intelligent of the group, actually. She is a wonderful character - beyond her physical appearance - which is all you seem to be focusing on.