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Character Redesigns: Yay or Nay?

Do you prefer the new redesigns?

  • I love them!

    Votes: 61 29.3%
  • I like the old ones better.

    Votes: 24 11.5%
  • I like some of them, but like some of the old ones as well.

    Votes: 89 42.8%
  • I'm really indifferent to this all.

    Votes: 10 4.8%
  • They just should have updated the old art rather than do redesigns.

    Votes: 24 11.5%

  • Total voters
    208
I dunno about moe Phoebe but I'll take what I can get. Sidney looks amazing, now he looks like a proper dark type user. I love ths leaders as well, along with their not so subtle type hints.
-Roxanne still looks like a teacher, but also has a nice pattern on her dress which look like the concrete awnings on some buildings.
-Brawly is channeling some surfer vibes still, but looks like he can throw a couple of punches too.
-That shirt, it works. I dunno how, but it does. Watson is rocking that laid back feel so hard. I love the screws on his sandals as well.
-Flannery is still smoking hot, no denying it. I like how she's now wearing a bikini with a skimpy shirt, her gym must be hot.
-Norman is perfect, looking as stern as he should be.
 
So, my opinions on the redesigns so far:

Archie: Disliked at first, due to the design being extremely different from his "classy" original one, but now I love it. Firstly, his tanned skin is gorgeous. Secondly, as far as classy evil team leaders are concerned, one can't simply top Giovanni (in terms of design, of course). Thirdly, he looks far more like a pirate now. The beard is a plus also.

Shelly: Now this is a design I hate. From her hair, to the awful pants, from the weird lipstick, to the even weirder pose she is doing in her artwork.

Matt: I like this design. It is not exactly my cup of tea, but it still is a a big improvement over his awful original design.

Aqua Grunts: Both look really nice, mainly the female Grunt. She is adorable. Also yay tan <3

Maxie: Vastly inferior to his original design. The pants, the socks, the shoes, the glasses. Ugh XD

Courtney: She looks perfect, enough said.

Tabitha: Another redesign I kinda like. He doesn't look extremely generic anymore. Unfortunately he also wears the damn weird socks.

Magma Grunts: They look okay.
Roxanne: Roxanne is my favorite Hoenn Gym Leader in terms of design and new outfit looks even more pleasing than the older one, so yay.

Brawly: Probably the best redesign among the Gym Leaders. His tan is gorgeous and he actually looks like a Fighting-type master now.

Wattson: Uh... yeah, he looks okay. Not better than before, but not worse either.

Flannery: Ms. Fanservice is even more fanservice-y now. Her face looks a bit weird, but overall her design isn't bad.

Norman: This is one is my least favorite. I don't like his new outfit nor his pose in the artwork (I love his pose in his old artwork)

Sidney: He looks like a thug, which is very fitting for a Dark-type Gym Leader. I approve of this redesign.

Phoebe: Essentially the same, just a bit younger and "loli-er". Not really a fan. The lack of any major changes in her design is kinda lazy.

Uh... yeah, I think this is it. Steven's design is essentially the same and I probably commented already on the main characters' redesign (and I really don't care much about their designs, since I am expecting character customization to be in ORAS... or else I am not sure if I will even buy the games).
 
I'm liking all the new designs. Roxanne's new outfit is cute as. Brawly's is different to what I was expecting, but I like how he actually wears gloves now.

Apart from that, they all seem to be much in spirit with their original appearances, which is a nice thing. Not that new designs would have been a bad thing.

Sydney looks more a like a real punk now, which is brilliant. Phoebe's outfit stayting the same could be seen as lazy, but given that Hoenn is supposedly tropical, Phoebe in a swimsuit and sarong is somewhat fitting.
 
Skin tight shirt and surf shorts are pretty surfer.
 
@Bolt the Cat;
Not that Brawly's original design was much of a surfer. The thing that makes him more like a fighter* is his pose--otherwise the only noticeable difference in his clothing is his tight shirt. If anything, that tight shirt may be the same thing as Nate's wet suit, and Brawly simply wears shorts over the bottom (much like how HgSs Misty wears a jacket over her swimsuit).

*I remember a lot of people who complained about Brawly being a surfer but a fighting type specialist--hopefully GF isn't pandering to that crowd, but that's what it seems like with that design.
 
Ugh, what have they done to Sidney's face? I used to love him, but now he looks like a serial killer imho. Phoebe is so pretty though. Flannery slays as well and Prof. Birch is still chubby, but at least he's adorable now. :3
 
For a moment, I thought the red on Flannery's shirt's side was really grown-out armpit hair. :x

Aside from Brawly's, I definitely like the Gym Leaders' older designs, but they're not really bad. (Except maybe Wattson's look.)
 
Am I the only one who doesn't like Brawly's redesign? He looks less like a surfer now.

To be honest, he never really looked that much like a surfer before. If I hadn't watched the Anime, the only way I could even tell that Brawly was a surfer was because he said it. Nothing about his old design really screams "Surfer" to me. If anything, Brawly is tanner now, which should make him seem more like a surfer.
 
Am I the only one who doesn't like Brawly's redesign? He looks less like a surfer now.

To be honest, he never really looked that much like a surfer before. If I hadn't watched the Anime, the only way I could even tell that Brawly was a surfer was because he said it. Nothing about his old design really screams "Surfer" to me. If anything, Brawly is tanner now, which should make him seem more like a surfer.

I agree with TG. If they really wanted to make him look like a surfer, then he should have had the following:

~Flip Flops
~Shirtless Torso (A sleeveless tank if thats too much or an unbuttoned flowered shirt)
~Swim shorts or wetgear (akin to Nate's) that stops at the waist
~Goggles (optional)
~Tan (optional)
~Surfboard (in art)
~Cheesy beach boy dialect (brah, surfs up, hang ten, etc)

As stereotypical as that may be, it is explicit. Otherwise, he bears no surfing aspect besides his slightly corny name. (Gnarly dudes!)
 
@Bolt the Cat;
Not that Brawly's original design was much of a surfer. The thing that makes him more like a fighter* is his pose--otherwise the only noticeable difference in his clothing is his tight shirt. If anything, that tight shirt may be the same thing as Nate's wet suit, and Brawly simply wears shorts over the bottom (much like how HgSs Misty wears a jacket over her swimsuit).

*I remember a lot of people who complained about Brawly being a surfer but a fighting type specialist--hopefully GF isn't pandering to that crowd, but that's what it seems like with that design.

Srsly, Elesa is a model, Lenora manages a museum, Roxie has her own band and Viola is a professional photographer. Oh and Crasher Wake is a professional wrestler. They have all these duties besides their position as a Gym Leader, and none of them have a relation to their preferred type (granted, a connection can easily be made between the bug type and photography if you talk about nature photography and the poison type does fit Roxie's image, but the same would have gone for the dark type) And Crasher Wake is the exact opposite of Brawly, a wrestler specialising in water types (even though you'd expect him to be a fighting type expert)

Anyway, back to the new designs. I rather like them. Most of them stayed very close to the originals, which is pretty ok. Phoebe hasn't changed at all, even. On the one hand, a bit of a pity, cause some changes could have been cool, but I've always been a fan of her design, so no real complaints. I really like Wattson's design, it fits him better than the old one I think, as he's supposedly an inventor. Norman, Roxanne, Flannery and Sidney look all cool. Especially Sidney looks a lot better, more fitting his specialisation (though of course he doesn't have to be what his type preference is, but I think his old design was just a bit meh) And last but not least, Brawly. I really like his new design. It aligns with his type specialisation, though I don't extremely get a surfer vibe from him (the shorts and the glasses do kinda work for that though, but a little) On the other hand, his old design didn't give me a surfer vibe either, and was rather generic, so I absolutely think it's an improvement

Just realised I forgot Birch, but the only significant change seems to be that he gained a few pounds, which actually barely makes a difference
 
Overall I really like the recently-released redesigns. Birch looks like a big ol' teddy bear that I just wanna hug! x3 Roxanne has more of a schoolgirl look to her, which is fitting considering her connection to the Trainer's School. I like that Wattson still has an army-esque feel to him while also having an outfit that seems to match his laid-back attitude better. (The camouflage jacket is a little too Surge-y for me, though.) Flannery hasn't changed too much, but for whatever reason I really like this new mega-belt thing she has going on. Not exactly sure why Norman has his mean-muggin' face on, but I think he shows a Hoenn-is-hotter-than-Johto feel much more with his open coat & rolled-up sleeves. he also looks hotter now mmm

I really dislike Sidney's smirk--it looks so weird and goofy--but I like how his reds and yellows are "switched" in his ORAS design, it was a really nice change (that I didn't even realize I wanted until now haha). Also his pose matches his personality as a Dark-type trainer much more now. And I didn't realize Phoebe was supposed to be that young(-looking)? I like her redesign (if you can even call it that, she pretty much looks the same, foot bangle and all), but I just never thought she was that young(-looking). Though it's a welcome change considering the Hoenn E4 seems like such an Old Guard fest, it's a nice way to show that the younger trainers can compete/battle hard just as well.

But Imma have to agree with @Bolt the Cat on this one and say that I don't like Brawly's redesign. What I especially liked about his RSE design was that Brawly seemed like a surfing Fighting-type enthusiast without forcing it. I can't say why exactly, but his original outfit had a fighter-like style to me without needing to go all Blackbelt or Chuck on us. And though his outward appearance didn't look like a surfer, his pose and facial expression seemed much more relaxed & laid back, which fit the stereotypical surfer personality. Now, however, he looks like he's trying to prove that he's a fighter when it's like, chiiiill you're a Gym Leader why are you trying to prove something, and who are you even trying to prove something to? And as a result of him being more "fighter", he seems to lose the surfer personality that I thought he had before. Also, maybe I just have to see a clearer picture, I'm not actually getting a rashguard/swim tee feel from Brawly's new top wear? It just seems like a simple tight shirt/jacket thing in my opinion, à la new Ethan/Brendan. I just really hate this hate this fighting stance of his, he looks like he's trying to start fights with people for no reason.
 
Overall I really like the recently-released redesigns. Birch looks like a big ol' teddy bear that I just wanna hug! x3 Roxanne has more of a schoolgirl look to her, which is fitting considering her connection to the Trainer's School. I like that Wattson still has an army-esque feel to him while also having an outfit that seems to match his laid-back attitude better. (The camouflage jacket is a little too Surge-y for me, though.) Flannery hasn't changed too much, but for whatever reason I really like this new mega-belt thing she has going on. Not exactly sure why Norman has his mean-muggin' face on, but I think he shows a Hoenn-is-hotter-than-Johto feel much more with his open coat & rolled-up sleeves. he also looks hotter now mmm

I really dislike Sidney's smirk--it looks so weird and goofy--but I like how his reds and yellows are "switched" in his ORAS design, it was a really nice change (that I didn't even realize I wanted until now haha). Also his pose matches his personality as a Dark-type trainer much more now. And I didn't realize Phoebe was supposed to be that young(-looking)? I like her redesign (if you can even call it that, she pretty much looks the same, foot bangle and all), but I just never thought she was that young(-looking). Though it's a welcome change considering the Hoenn E4 seems like such an Old Guard fest, it's a nice way to show that the younger trainers can compete/battle hard just as well.

But Imma have to agree with @Bolt the Cat on this one and say that I don't like Brawly's redesign. What I especially liked about his RSE design was that Brawly seemed like a surfing Fighting-type enthusiast without forcing it. I can't say why exactly, but his original outfit had a fighter-like style to me without needing to go all Blackbelt or Chuck on us. And though his outward appearance didn't look like a surfer, his pose and facial expression seemed much more relaxed & laid back, which fit the stereotypical surfer personality. Now, however, he looks like he's trying to prove that he's a fighter when it's like, chiiiill you're a Gym Leader why are you trying to prove something, and who are you even trying to prove something to? And as a result of him being more "fighter", he seems to lose the surfer personality that I thought he had before. Also, maybe I just have to see a clearer picture, I'm not actually getting a rashguard/swim tee feel from Brawly's new top wear? It just seems like a simple tight shirt/jacket thing in my opinion, à la new Ethan/Brendan. I just really hate this hate this fighting stance of his, he looks like he's trying to start fights with people for no reason.

180px-Phoebe_Adventures.png


No she looks around 20 in the manga

anyway All their new looks look nice to me
 
People who say the original Brawly looked like a surfer--can you tell me how? His clothes are nearly the exact same as the redesign, except the redesign has gloves, sun glasses, and a tighter shirt.

Would I say the new Brawly looks more like a fighter? Yes, definitely. His pose is what communicates that. Would I say the original Brawly looks more like a surfer? Not really. Generic clothes, generic pose.
 
Roxanne: I like how she looks more a student. Her new outfit is cute.

Norman: Daddy ♥ I can't wait to see him in 3D. He's got this 'coach' feel, which is great.

Flannery: Looks similar. Like her expression

Brawly: super hot ;) I love his new design and his tan. Plus, his pose looks cool.

Sidney: looks more badass than before. Cool :)
 
Roxanne is super adorable. I enjoy Brawly a whole bunch because his tight shirt makes for more of a surfer but I don't agree that either design makes him look any more archetypal "surfer dude." Wattson looks like he came straight out of an elderly couple's vacation to Hawaii, which is adorable, haha. I love the rest of their redesigns, except Sidney's face and hair which make him look a slight deranged, which is unsettling...
 
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