Vanillaware Month: Top 5 Character Designs

In celebration of the upcoming release of Dragon's Crown, I'm going to write several Vanillaware-related posts; mainly "Top 5" lists of several topics involving the Vanillaware games.

First up is a big one: character designs. Now, after making my choices for this list, I've realized that I have only one main hero(ine) on the list. I believe this is because the main characters in Vanillaware games tend to have a more simply design (well, simple by Vanillaware standards), while antagonists or side characters tend to have more intricate designs. The reasons for this is because antagonists have to be imposing, and thus need more detailed or exaggerated character designs; furthermore, these detailed designs don't need to be animated as much as the main playable characters, thus they can have such detailed designs.

Also, it goes without saying that choosing a "Top 5" for anything involving Vanillaware is pretty hard, and most are almost certainly going to disagree with my lists, heh.

And with that said, let's begin with #5 ...

5) Chartreuse Grande

Chartreuse's design shows how George Kamitani can really think outside of the box both in terms of design and story. Chartreuse's design just oozes "magic and mystery" and really sets the tone and setting well within Grimgrimoire. In a game full of amazing character designs, Chartreuse really stands out.

4) Necro Samantha (no official art available)

Necro Samantha is a tough character design to describe if you haven't played Princess Crown, so I won't go into it too much. I will say that Kamitani added a surprising amount of detail to her character design and sprite despite the fact that she only makes three appearances in the game. She is basically a zombie ninja. She darts around the screen and throws knives, and breaks into pieces only to form back together after getting hit. All of these crazy actions combined with her black, white, and red color scheme works very well visually. Necro Samantha also has a very strong presence, mainly due to her tall height and large breasts. In fact, Necro Samantha is, as far as I know, George Kamitani's first busty female character; and, imo, she remains one of his best. 

3) Elpharia

Nature is a big theme in nearly every Vanillaware game, and that theme is reflected in many character designs, but I find the Fairy Queen Elpharia's design to be the quintessence of Kamitani's nature-themed character designs. The shrubs located on her head and shoulders, her long, golden hair, her long, flowing dress, and, of course, her large and beautiful butterfly wings. Despite only using a few distinct colors, Elpharia's design really stands out with a strong presence. And, like with Necro Samantha, Elpharia's tall height and large breasts help give her a very strong presence. 

2) Odin

Here's a big one. Odin's character design is all about presence. His stature is extremely large, with his torso being much large than this legs, thus shifting focus to his upper body where the eyes are drown to his enormous arms and flowing cape. The wings on his shoulders and helmet, as well as his crown give off the presence of a king. And when Odin brandishes his psypher, the Balor, his presence and intimidation factor is doubled. Overall, a superbly executed character design that cannot be denied attention. 

1) Odette

Creative and striking, that is Odette. What I love the most about her design is how she visualizes her role in the story perfectly; she is the queen of the underworld in both title and in design. Her headdress is large and beautifully detailed, which accents her beautiful face. Going further, she has a very large bust and an extravagant, flowing dress. All of this being a ruse to take focus away from her arms, back, and neck, which are nothing but skeleton. This all makes for a creative mix of beauty and monstrous. And it is executed beautifully. Her lamp and moon just complete her picturesque design. 

When I think of Vanillaware, Odette is always one of the first things that pop into my head, for she is, imo, the most striking design from George Kamitani and the quintessence of his style. 

My Problems with Sex in Shonen and Seinen Manga/Anime

NOTE: Don't take this post too seriously. Though it isn't a joke.

I really don't like sex to be in shonen and seinin manga. Heck, I don't like it in pretty much all media that has a story to it, but for this post I'm going to focus on shonen and seinen manga. Also, since this is a pretty touchy subject, I'm going to try to keep this pretty concise.

So, here's my problem: I hate the way sex in used in shonen and seinen manga. And here are the reasons why:

My main problem comes from the fact that sex is always used to simply make a male character look more manly. Now, often this doesn't involve the main protagonist, but that doesn't change the fact that I hate when its done, as it is still a weak and stupid way to portray a man's "manliness". Sex determining "maniliess" is for the animal kingdom, not humans who have the ability to see the "cheapness" of the way sex is portrayed. One of the first examples of this I came across was in Eyeshield 21 with the character of Agon being introduced before the game between the Devil Bats and the Nagas; he's introduced on a bed getting dressed while a girl in a towel is cleaning up int he bathroom. Agon is also constantly portrayed flirting with many, many women throughout the series; all of them falling for him without a second thought. This leads to my second problem ....

Sex in shonen and seinen manga demeans women a great deal. Almost 100% of the time, we don't know who the woman/women are, and they are present simply for the male character to have sex with and nothing else; usually just getting tossed away right afterwards. It shows that the male character(s), as well as the mangaka, simple see the women as sex objects and nothing more. It comes across as childish and just a really weak way of telling a story; even if the tone of the story is dark. Even when a manga/anime's tone isn't dark, this type of action where women are basically seen as objects so a man can look more manly can be found in acts that aren't sex; most often, it's seen through the sexual harassment of female characters, often main female characters; this can be seen a lot in the manga/anime Fairy Tail and Rave Master.

On the subject of the women, this leads to the next point: sex in shonen and seinen manga/anime is never consensual. The woman is either being used by the man for sex, being raped, being forced into the act due to being a servant, or simply being a slut. All of these situations don't create any type of situation I would find necessary for a story or being good for character development. It's just smut, and smut's only place is in porn.

Now let's flip the coin, where we have extremely promiscuous women. The most recent that come to mind are Panty from "Panty & Stocking" and Zero from the soon-to-be-released "Drakenguard 3". These types of characters do nothing for story or character development; they are simply sluts. Why have such a character? To prove a point? With Zero, I can see the developers try to create a dark and depressing story for the character of Zero, but it will still feel unnecessary to me. And the reason for that is ...

Sex in shonen and seinen is unnecessary. Sex never brings about character development, even when dealing with adult characters or dark tones; it's always done simply to portray a male character as "manly" or a female character as "slutty", or create a dark tone or atmosphere. Such things can be done in much better ways through actual story telling and use of dialogue and actions, as shown by the many great manga which have no such elements of sex. As a result, I can only see the existence of sex in shonen and seinen manga to be for the factor of fanservice and smut; that's what it ultimately be viewed as, either that or simply to create a terrible feeling of dread in the reader/watcher, and if that was the case, there are far better ways of doing that.

And, I suppose that's where I end this. I realize this may sound hypocritical since I enjoy several fanservice series. But fanservice does not equal sex. To me, sex is a level that is reserved only for porn; it has no place in good story telling. Though, I will say that several series come close to crossing the line between fanservice and sex, such as the aforementioned Fairy Tail. Now, I realize this is a rather fickle subject to talk about, as I avoid series that have such sexual content, and there are far more series that don't have sexual content than one's that do. Perhaps that's why I get so worked up when I see such series, especially when they gain such popularity. Though I can see where the smut factor comes into place there.

::sigh::, I know, I know; this was a stupid post, but I've just been seeing too much smut lately. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm rewatching Nichijou.

Should "fun" be a requirement for videogames?

As I watch playthroughs of The Walking Dead and The Last of Us, the same thought keeps popping up in my head: why would I ever want to play this?

I thought about why I think this, and I believe it's because I don't see a shred of fun in either game. And this got me to thinking: should "fun" be a requirement for videogames?

Now, of course, there are videogames that have less-than-stellar game design that result in them no being very fun, but at least the developers intention was to have the game be fun. But, with the games: The Walking Dead and The Last of Us, they look, imo, to be made intentionally not to be fun. Now, this lack of fun is to drive home the horror experience and help deliver the heavy themes of the story home better; I understand this execution, and I also respect it, as both games deliver very impactful experiences. However, was it "wrong" for the developers to do so with a videogame? Well, according to every professional videogame critic on the internet: no, but here's my interpretation ...

Videogames are an artform, but they are a specific type of artform, just as movies, paintings, music, etc. are a specific type of artform. Each of them has specific factors that they must contain to be part of their artform; for example, paintings need a canvas, music needs sound, and movies need film (I know there are exceptions to this rule, like that silent orchestra thing, but bear with me). And videogames, at their core, are games that need to be played. Perhaps I am too narrow minded, but I feel that the concept of "play" directly coincides with "fun"; and thus, videogames should require some sort of fun factor. A factor I just don't see in The Walking Dead and The Last of Us. The reason being that both games directly go out of their way to make sure you understand how heavy the themes of the story are and that your actions should be taken seriously; whether it be seeing the consequences of your actions play out in often gruesome fashion in The Walking Dead, or Ellie's consistent disgusted reactions to Joel's killing of people; there is no "fun" element to be found.

Other videogames that go for the "visual experience" execution of gaming have similar ideas; such as how Yorda shrieks in fear when Ico gets hurt, or how Snake will throw up if he's killed a lot of soldiers in MGS4. But the difference between these games and The Walking Dead/The Last of Us, is that games like Ico, the MGS series, Odin Sphere, Journey, Shadow of the Colossus, and Killer7, is that, despite having an execution that drives home various heavy themes, they are still all very much videogames; as they have elements such as puzzles, combat mechanics, collecting, etc. Things that make them feel very much like videogames; things that give them a "fun factor". And while The Last of Us does have elements such as combat and collecting, they aren't present to neccessarily reward skill, but rather push the player to kill in a different manner; simply a means to an end to drive home the tone of the story.

So what does this all mean? Well, both The Walking Dead and The Last of Us have been not only universally praised, but hailed as new steps in gaming. And if I were to ask myself why these games were being praised as such, I'd think it was because of they'er lack in fun. Because, without that "fun factor" both games have achieved something else, something beyond simple gaming. I suppose I'd say they may have transcended the videogame artform and become something else. A fusion of videogame and film perhaps? A videogame that can actually criticize and judge on its own merits perhaps?

Whatever these two games accomplished, its impressive. However, was it worth it? Is it worth losing the factor of fun, the core essence of videogames, to become something greater?

This laid-back guy says "No!". I know I'm just a simple guy, so my opinion means close to nothing, but I'd just thought I'd put it out there. Videogames can be amazing experiences, but, at their core, there should always be some fun to be had. If not, then I feel that the videogame loses what makes videogames so unique.  An experience that brings us joy and entertainment through means that no other artform can provide: fun and immediate interaction.

My Favorite Character Designs - Round 3

Oki (Okami)

Okami is full of amazing character designs accented by the superb art style. Oki is one of the more striking character designs in the game thanks to his color scheme, tall stature, and silver sword. His appearance just gives off the aura of a strong warrior, and that's why I love it.

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Makoto (Street Fighter III: Third Strike)

Makoto is one of my favorite character designs from the Street Fighter series for two reasons: first, she is a perfect example of a striking yet simple design, as she wears a simple karate gi accented by her trademark yellow choker, and two, she actually looks like a real fighter. That's not to say other characters in the SF roster don't look like real fighters, by Makoto stands out as one of the few female characters in the series who isn't wearing bright colors or use sex appeal; she's just hear to fight, and her character design really speaks that.

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Scratchmen Apoo (One Piece)

Man, I fell in love with this character design the second I saw this guy. He's got a chinese martial artist look to his clothing combined with a musical theme to his face, all on top of being a member of the long-armed tribe. All-in-all, Apoo is one of the most prominent examples of Eiichiro Oda's great skill at making unique characters. Just so much creativity in one character; I love it.

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Baiken (Guilty Gear)

Baiken's character design has always stood out to me, even among the creatively designed cast of Guilty Gear. Like Sol Badguy, she just gives off an aura of "cool". Her pink color scheme also works to her advantage, as it contrasts with her violent attacks. However, in Japan, the color pink can be seen as the color of death, so that works out too.

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Fran/Vieras (Final Fantasy XII/Ivalice Alliance)

I really like the Viera race in the Ivalice Alliance games of the Final Fantasy series, but for the sake of focus, I'll choose Fran. The rabbit ears, long hair, and tall, slender bodies give the Viera race an aura of beauty and grace. They are the resident amazon tribe of the Ivalice world, and that gives them a sense of mystery and the exotic. Speaking specifically of Fran, I love the design of her armor, as it looks like lingerie turned to armor, which has a cool sexy style to it.

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Valentine (Skullgirls)

By all accounts, Valentine's character design shouldn't work. After all, she's just a busty ninja nurse with spiky anime hair. And yet, she's one of the coolest characters in the SG cast. Surprisingly, the fusion of ninja and nurse works very well together. Her surgical mask works like a ninja mask, the bone saw is her ninja sword, and her surgical outfit exposes the same amount of arm and leg that a kunoichi's outfit would (well, at least in other material with the same tone as SG). Also, both ninja and nurses are around blood and death in their professions, which leads to Valentine's blood theme. It all comes together superbly; I love it.

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Hero/Heroine (Dragon Quest IV)

I love a lot of Toriyama's designs from the Dragon Quest series, and one of the ones that stands out the most to me is the Hero/Heroine design from DQIV. First off, green is my favorite color, so with green being the main color scheme of these characters really helps. I also love how big and detailed their hair is. And, finally, I love how battle-clad they are while still not looking like the typical knights seen throughout the DQ series.

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Xianfei (The King of Fighters series)

An uncommon choice, especially from a series with such amazing character designs, but I've always liked something about Xianfei's character design. She has the chinese female fighter look to her, but she's also just so ... bright. Xianfei is always smiling, eating, or just showing enthusiasm, and that what I love about her. In fact, most of the female characters in the KOF series are always smiling, and that's what really gives them an approachable look and personality, and Xianfei's smile is the biggest in the series.

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Aino Heart (Arcana Heart series)

It's the love theme. That's why I love Heart's character design. Her pink hair with one piece that forms into a heart has become a symbol of the series, and her coolest design piece: the red ribbon wrapped around her hand, which accents the fact that she mainly punches and puts a lot of passion into her punches. Her design is simple, but it works superbly because she is a rather simple character: a fighter for love.

The After-Effects of Watching the Gurren Laggan Movie

So, I watched the first Gurren Laggan movie, and I didn't like it, at all. Previous to me wathcing this movie, I had a generally positive opinion of Gurren Laggan. I had watched around 10 episodes of the anime, and seen some of the latter action in spurts, and my opinion then was: I may not like the characters, but the action is amazing, and this may be the best looking anime out there. However, after watching the first GL movie, I've come to realize some things about the series and the animation studio, as well as come to experience and appreciate other series.

First, I'll say what I think of GL and Gainax (specifically, director Hiroyuki Imaishi) after watching the movie. Basically, I have come to have almost zero interest in this series, and where I used to really appreciate and anticipate works from Gainax, and now Trigger, I know have much less appreciation, and, dare I say, respect for the studio. While a lot of this harsh criticism comes from how intense the fanboyism of this series is (including my own brother), most comes from the series content. First of all, and most importantly, the characters of GL are terrible, just terrible. Simon is boring and his story couldn't feel more by-the-books, Kamina is an unlikable idiot who may talk big, but rarely ever backs up his grand words with actions. Yoko might as well be named "Girl", as she does nothing but what a child would expect a girl to do in a manly story like GL, stand around, be sexy, and become the hero's girlfriend. Nia is only present to be a plot device as well as be a girlfriend for Simon. And the supporting cast is forgettable, however, I'd say a few of them are more likable than the main cast.

Now, the reason I bring up the characters is because they are the main reason for me not liking what everyone loves about GL: the over-the-top action. I've realized something after watching the GL movie, and that is that action, no matter how intense or "big", completely lacks impact if the characters behind those actions are terrible. And, I've come to realize that this is a big reason why I don't like any of Gainax's works, because I simply don't like the characters. And, well, that's that. There are other reasons I really didn't like GL, such as the poorly executed setting, poorly developed villains, and the over-excessiveness of "manly" visuals (I hate that Dai-Gurren's bow is basically a giant penis). But, honestly, its the poor characters that always stick out the most to me.

And, after I realized that, I'd come to another realization: the only reason I wanted to like GL so much, even after disliking it before, was because of all the hype around the anime, and the fact that it was in a genre I really liked and the animation style was unique. It was this pressure that made me feel like I had to like anime. And that's why I watched the GL movie. However, after watching the movie I came to many realizations:

1) Gurren Laggan is basically trying to be Getter Robo (the 90s OVAs to be specific), and failing hard at it. Getter Robo has much better characters, a much better realized setting, and the visual style has much more "oomph" thanks to the strong manga-like animation. The action in Getter Robo is also much better thanks to the great characters backing up that action. Still, I think it's a shame things turned out the way they did in GL, as Imaishi is a fan of Getter Robo, and GL was to be his homage to the series.

2) Gainax's animation isn't nearly as impressive as it once was; mainly due to the Getter Robo OVAs looking much better, and they were made long before GL. I will admit that the first 5-minute sequence of the GL movie was beautiful, and I wish the whole movie looked like that, but alas it didn't. And, that's another thing, I've noticed that GL really only looks good at certain parts, specifically, the action scenes, but other anime like Shin Getter Robo Armageddon, Nichijou, Madoka Magica, and Katanagatari look great throughout their entire lengths rather than at certain scenes. The bottom-line is that I gave Gainax far too much credit before. Their work can still be impressive at times, but its really not that impressive.

3) Gurren Laggan is a poor coming-of-age story. It even pales in comparison to FLCL, which was a decent coming-of-age story, even if it has far too much innuendo. However, I've experienced far, far superior coming-of-age stories before, specifically the manga Eyeshield 21, which I've been re-reading lately. After reading Eyehshield 21 again, I've come to realize how poor GL's writing is, and that if Gainax would stop trying to be so over-the-top and immature about their stories, they could actually tell some good ones.

All-in-all, watching the GL movie has come to make me appreciate what I had before, and that I really don't need to like Gurren Laggan despite what my friends, family, and the internet have to say. Because, I simply don't like it, for many reasons, and I have much, much better alternatives to GL, such as Getter Robo, Astro Boy, Eyeshield 21, and One Piece. Gainax used to hold a special place in my heart when it came to anime, despite me not really liking any of their series; it stood upon a pedestal that it could not be moved from, but no longer. And I'm happy about that, as it's allowed me to place other manga and anime upon that pedestal position it once held, and thus allowed me appreciate the strengths of other anime and manga, specifically, Shin Getter Robo Armageddon, which is a series that I really didn't appreciate enough.

Favorite Character Designs - Special Round: Men, Just Men.

So, after my previous post, this blog could use a little testosterone. So, here are some of my favorite male character designs:

Oswald (Odin Sphere)

"The Black Knight" is very romantic symbol in many stories. As far as I know, the concept of a "dark version" of a hero originated with the "Black Knight". However, sometimes the "Black Knight" is misunderstood, as most simply look at him at face value and fear him sue to his appearance, but rarely get to know about who the "Black Knight" actually is. Oswald is that "Black Knight", one who is both a monster and human, and his character design actually speaks that point very well.

Also, if there were ever a character I had a man-crush on, it's Oswald. Just listen to this line he spoke to Gwendolyn:

"I want… to see my reflection in your eyes. I want to hear… those soft lips speak my name. And if, for a moment… a smile lights your face, I will truly live. No one controls me now. From now on, I act on my own… for you."

*swoon*

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Franky (One Piece)

In a series full of awesome character designs, its hard to pick just one, but when it came to raw impact, no other character design in One Piece made me smile like Franky's. He's just such an original character with a lot of crazy stuff going on, and yet, he can be pretty freakin' cool when he wants to. I just love every little detail about Franky's design.

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Nofix (B. Ichi)

OK, it's actually hard to find a good pic of this guy without going into scans, and its also hard to describe how awesome this guy's design is for anyone who hasn't read B. Ichi, but, take my word for it, this guy's design is awesome and unique. His entire theme is spinning. This eyes are swirls, his necklace has a swirl, he's constantly moving his head in a twisting motion, and his special power revolves around spinning things really fast. In the end, Nofix's character design is so focused on one thing yet shown in so many ways that I just fell in love with his design.

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Cars (Jojo's Bizarre Adventure)

Cars is perhaps the ultimate example of the male form in an artistic sense. His muscles, his poses, his posture, his hair; all of it just comes together so well, and it makes me feel like Joseph is fighting a Greek god whenever I see him.

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Josuke Higashikata and Crazy Diamond (Jojo's Bizarre Adventure)

(image source: http://josuke-higashikata.tumblr.com/)

Like with One Piece, it's hard to pick a favorite design out of so many great ones, but, in the case of Jojo, it isn't that hard for me, as Josuke and Crazy Diamond always stand out to me. I love the peace and love motif, as well as the elements of "power" seen in both of them, such as Josuke's trademark pompadour and Crazy Diamond's helmet and tubes. I can't wait to main these two in the upcoming Jojo's All-Star Battle game.

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Date Masamune (Sengoku Basara)

There are a ton of great character designs in the Sengoku Basara series thanks to the great Makoto Tsuchibayashi. And Date Masamune is definitely one of my favorites. Why? Well, simple, he's really cool. The crescent moon helmet, the eye-patch, the six swords, and the blue color scheme. He's just ... cool.

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K' (King of Fighters)

Same as Date Masamune.

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Advocat (Grimgrimoire)

Demonic and yet composed. I'm a fan of villains who have a sense of style, composure, and are gentlemen. Advocat is such a villain, and yet he isn't a villain. He is simply evil by nature, and goes about life as he wishes. Advocat's design speaks volume about him, like many of George Kamitani's designs, and I love that about his design.

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Emperor Palamecia (Dissidia: Final Fantasy)

Same as Advocat.

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Thanatos (Persona 3 and P4A)

I'm actually not a big fan of the persona designs from throughout the Persona and Shin Megami Tensei series, but Thanatos is a huge exception. I love this design. His jacket, his belt, the tombs which are used instead of a cape, and his awesome mask. I especially feel his design works to great effect in P4A where he is paired with Elizabeth; seeing him animated is a thing of beauty.

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Nightmare (Soulcalibur II)

Honestly, I love all of Nightmare's designs from throughout the Soulcalibur serires, but SCII's stands out the most to me. Why? Well, going back to the "Black Knight" motif from before, Nightmare is basically the "Black Knight" who is every bit as evil as his appearance makes him look. The Soul Edge also just gives him an even more nightmarish (heh) appearance. It all comes together quite nicely in a truly imposing and legendary character design.

My Favorite Character Designs - Special Round: Boobs are Cool

So, this post is going to be weird. Weird even for me. I mean it. I'm gonna say "boobs" a lot, and its gona be weird for both of us. Though I will say that this post will still be "safe for work"; well, except for all the art of busty characters. Anyway ... in light of the recent attacks against the character designs of Dragon's Crown, I got to thinking why I like so many character designs of women that have large breasts. And, well, the answer was simple: because big boobs can be pretty cool, and I'll explain why while showing some of my favorite large breasted characters.

Now, I'll address the big "note" to attach to this post: when I say "boobs are cool", I'm speaking about art, specifically drawings, animation, and all stuff encompassing fantasy,sci-fi, or simply fake stuff. I'm not speaking about real life, where this topic would be highly inappropriate, heh. So, c'mon, I'm a nice guy, and I wouldn't want to insult anyone. Actually, I find that if most critics would first think to themselves: "This isn't real. This is a drawing; a fantasy."; they'd be a lot more understanding of this whole subject matter.

So, why make this post in the first place? Well, because, in past posts and, most likely, in future posts (especially in my "Favorite Character Design" series), I'm going to bring up more large-breasted characters, and I'd like to explain a little bit why I like such character designs. And I'm gonna try to do that here, even though it still probably won't be clear and this may all end up just being pretty weird, heh.

I'll also say this right away: I'm completely aware that "sex appeal" is an element put into all of these character designs, even if I don't mention it. But the reason I like the following designs is because they go beyond the simple and boring execution of just putting large breasts on a character and actually make the designs "cooler" by having large breasts by executing the design in various ways, as I'll explain below.

Also, if you take one look at this article and just say "Nope. They're just big boobs; there's nothing stylish about it." That's fine. Maybe I'm seeing something that's just not there. Regardless, this is why I like these designs; if you have a different opinion, that's fine.

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Sorceress (Dragon's Crown)

So, I'm just gonna address the two big ones first, as they are hot topics at the moment, and happen to be my two favorite designs in the forthcoming Dragon's Crown. The Sorceress has one of my favorite design styles for buxom characters: the stylish silhouette. By stylish silhouette, I mean that she consists of only a few colors and details; as a result, her hourglass figure is a lot more pronounced and noticeable. It's a simple, yet effective style for these types of characters, as the viewer doesn't have to look for very long to see the character design's appeal. Perhaps the most famous use of this stylish silhouette is the infamous Jessica Rabbit, whose bright red dress accented her figure perfectly. The only thing going against the Sorceress' stylish silhouette style is her exposed cleavage, which draws a bit too much attention to her top half; still, an amazing and effective design.

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Amazon (Dragon's Crown)

The Amazon represents what is probably my favorite design execution of busty character designs, which I'll dub simple as: "powerful boobs". This style is often associate with strong female characters who are often muscular and tall (there will be several more on this list); and it works in a stylish way where the woman's breasts act similar to large pectorals on muscular male designs, as it accentuates the chest of the character thus giving the character design a strong presence. This design works well, imo, because it is the better executed version of what many artists use to try and convey a "powerful female character". What this commonly entails, is a designer simply taking a strong male character and just switching the gender; this often results in characters who are just soulless, and feel like they were created simply because the designers were too scared to make a character like the Amazon. Woman can be muscular, women can be strong; that's what the amazon myth was all about. Anyway, what's great about the Amazon's character design is her lack of clothing, as it really accentuates her muscular body, as none of it is hidden. It's a fearless design, and I love that. Her beauty is also not lost, as she has a gentle face, beautiful golden hair, and a pretty feather in her hair. A powerful yet beautiful design. One of my all-time favorites. 

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Tifa (Final Fantasy VII)

Here's a unique design. In the original FFVII game, Tifa fell under the style of "powerful boobs", as her strength was accented through gameplay, and her large breasts felt like a way of showing she had muscle, considering they couldn't exactly show she had muscles on her character model back then. But, in the Advent Children movie, Tifa's breasts, though less accentuated than in the game, executed a different type of style for busty character designs, a style I'll call: "fighting boobs". I call it that because, it's a design style often found with busty character designs who fight. See, during fight scenes a lot of parts of the characters catch our eye: hands, arms, legs, eyes, and, if its long enough, hair. But, sometimes, breasts get added to that list, adding yet another layer to a characters movement during a fight; they're never as noticeable as the arms or legs, but its still a playable element. Tifa may not be the best example, but she has it. 

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Angel (King of Fighters)

Angel is a great example of the "fighting boobs" design style. Her moveset is all about movement; from her long punches and kicks to her powerful running and grabbing game; Angel's moves are very accentuated by her body, thus why her design has rather long legs and short hair. So, how does Angel fit into the "fighting boobs" style? Well, because Angel moves around so much, her torso moves a lot as well, and we see her body turn and flow; her large breasts accentuate this "flow" of her body from one move to another. Other KOF ladies have large breasts as well, such as Vanessa and Shermie, but they lack the "fighting boobs" style, as their fighting movements lack a strong "flow". Granted, Angel's breasts aren't very noticeable when fighting, but I can't imagine her attacks looking the same without them.

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Haruka Gracia (Basquash!!)

Haruka Gracia is one of my all-time favorite character designs. Her long hair, her stylish glasses, her stylish dress, and, most obvious, her large bust. Haruka is a different take on the design of "powerful boobs", as she is not a fighter, yet, thanks to her large bust, she has a powerful presence. This is the design style I believe many designers want to incorporate into their designs, but fail to execute it right because they believe that any female character with a large bust will gain this strong presence, which is definitely not the case. So what makes Haruka have such a presence, well, it's mainly due to the combination of her eyes and her breasts. Similar to Jessica Rabbit and Bayonetta, Haruka's eyes and composure just scream confidence, which allows her to "puff out her chest" both figuratively and literally, thus creating a supreme presence to the character's design from her eyes to her "powerful boobs".

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At this point, I believe I've gone over all of the different ways I find boobs to be cool. I understand boobs are mostly always done for fanservice, but it's characters like those I've listed in this post that make large breasts so much more than just fanservice. Boobs can be stylish and cool, just like clothes, weapons, and colors can. It's just all about the execution. And I love me some well-executed boobs.

Now, for some more of my favorite busty character designs, just in a more concise fashion:

Yuugi Hoshiguma

Like a Amazon, a great example of "powerful boobs".

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B. Jenet (Garou: Mark of the Wolves)

One of the best examples of both "powerful boobs" and "fighting boobs". Her animations are still amazing to see to this day; and its thanks to those stylish animations that B. Jenet may be the sexiest girl in gaming.

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Daidouji (Senran Kagura)

Perhaps the most defining example of "powerful boobs".

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Hilde (Soulcalibur)

Hilde is a rather unorthodox but great example of the "stylish silhouette" execution. While most examples of the "stylish silhouette" are done in a dress of some kind, Hilde pulls it off with armor. As we are most use to seeing men in the usual form of armor, it is oddly alluring to see Hilde in armor that fits her feminine form. Regardless, it's works very well, and has made Hilde one of the more alluring characters in the Soulcalibur roster.

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Arsene (Tantei Opera Milky Holmes)

Arsene is a great example of both "powerful boobs" and "fighting boobs" alongside a bit of humor as well. Her design is one of my all-time favorites as its very stylish, but also humourous, as she is the only busty character in the show, which is constantly played for laughs.

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Honorable Mention: Rushuna Tendo (Grenadier)

Rushuna Tendo is a strange beast. On one hand, she is the most fanservice-focused character on this list, but on the other hand, she has perhaps the most stylish use for her large bust on the list. So, to just get it out of the way, Rushuna's signature move is her ability to hold bullets within her cleavage, force the bullets out by shaking her breasts slightly, reloading her gun using said bullets, and then shoot her enemies all within one fluid motion. It's a really stylish and cool idea, and I have to give it praise for its originality. Rushuna also shows elements of "fighting boobs", as her fighting style is very acrobatic, and accentuated by her large bust. However, when reading/watching Grenadier, its obvious that her large breasts were also largely for fanservice, as she is not very confident and doesn't have a strong presence. So, while she may not be one of my favorite character designs, I think at least deserves mention.

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Now, don't get me wrong. There are some busty character designs out there I don't like. For example, the manga/anime Fairy Tail is full of busty characters, and I don't like any of their designs except for Erza, and that's only because of her armor ability that constantly keeps the execution of her boobs stylish. Then there's every harem series ever made; don't like any of them. And, you know, I could just go on about this. I've explained my stance on fanservice before, so I won't dwell on it know. I just wish there were more stylish executions of busty characters more.