What Are The Worst Character Designs You Have Ever Seen?

[BroccoliBrain]

View attachment 3227259
Lydie from Atelier Lydie and Suelle
One of the most overdesigned characters I've seen in a while. Take note that her shirt is one weird panel over her front that is held by two cords to a similar panel on the back. If only the shirt was normal and the blue crystals on her head removed, it'd be a lot better.

The way it is reminds me of AI generated designs, my eye goes all over the place from detail to detail and there's bits everywhere like bad artefacting, ew. And in the middle of the mess is one generic anime girl.

 

[Lapis Lazuli]

The way it is reminds me of AI generated designs, my eye goes all over the place from detail to detail and there's bits everywhere like bad artefacting, ew. And in the middle of the mess is one generic anime girl.

At this point I wouldn't be surprised if people are getting character designs from AI generated images.

 

[Santa Fe Swag]

May i present to you operation Flashpoint asian guy

 

[Battlecruiser3000ad]

There was lot of funny results from OFP's very easy way to put any image as the player character's face,
as whatever face you replaced this with would just get plastered on the low polygon head.

 

[Flaming Insignias]

I think some gacha games manage to have unique character designs or at least stand out from other titles like Cookie Run and Genshin Impact, but for the most part it boils down to artstyle and even those titles have some cluttered designs.

I think the opposite end of the spectrum would be western gachas, as they tend to have incredibly generic, cookie cutter character designs. What remies both issues would probably be basing the gacha off of an existing IP so the most they can do is give a character a bikini costume to buy in the shop.

Yeah, Feh is probably higher on the Gacha spectrum when it comes to character design, simply because it is mostly compliant to the actual character designs of prior Fire Emblem Games.

 

[Psyduck]

Yeah, Feh is probably higher on the Gacha spectrum when it comes to character design, simply because it is mostly compliant to the actual character designs of prior Fire Emblem Games.

Maybe for the og designs, but when its time to do the seasonal outfits a lot of them tend to be very overdone

 

[Belvedere]

May i present to you operation Flashpoint asian guy
View attachment 3242509

That's literally Filthy Frank.

 

[Biology Book]

View attachment 2276022
CalArts goes CG.

For me this style reminds me of one TomTord artist GoddessoftheWorld and I can't stop laughing

Spoiler: yep she made a family au and camboy au

+ turning red looks wayy worse
just look at this

 

[Ruin]

Truly the reddit powermod's dream girl.

Spoiler: Degeneracy

View attachment 3179583
I picked the worst example but if you look at the rest of her cards it's undeniable they're trying to appeal to lolicons with this character.

The worst part is this thing is like 18 and it's anime so eventually we'll see it naked.

 

[From The Uncanny Valley]

The worst part is this thing is like 18 and it's anime so eventually we'll see it naked.

Nah Idolmaster is actually relatively sfw.

 

[do you like my hat]

I've gotta say, gathering fruit for the thread was a fun trip down memory lane. Listing these in order from "just kind of meh" to "burn it and salt the earth."

Also apologies if the image sizing is weird. I'm on mobile again.

Spoiler: Resident Evil.

Jill doesn't look bad here, but I always thought this design looked more like an NPC than a main character. It's also not practical for zombie killing. Ordinarily that's fine, RE isn't exactly the pinnacle of realism, but since they went for an understated look it just feels odd.

Spoiler: Magia Record.

The original anime is nostalgic for me so this entry hurts.

I know gacha is an easy target, but Magia Record's designs usually aren't bad. These two, however, are ridiculous. Why is the orange girl wearing two entirely different outfits at once? Why panties over a full body suit? Why does she have twintails and a ponytail? It looks like it can't decide whether it wants to be streamlimed or frilly. Also, her backstory is that she wished for her divorced parents to get back together, which backfired, and she copes with it via a hiking hobby. Absolutely none of that is reflected in her visuals.

As for girl 2: sexualised clown pants. Sexualised. Clown. Pants. Plus her important life-giving Soul Gem is on her crotch. What a waste of a good colour palette.

Spoiler: Mirai Nikki

Nobody else in the anime or manga is drawn like this. What part of "motherly figure who cares for orphans" means "give this character a big bobblehead"? She's also involved in serious, gritty scenes, which even as a kid was hilarious to watch.

And finally, this creepy little bastard.

Spoiler: Zelda: Spirit Tracks

UGH.

What the actual fuck is going on with this man?! That gimp mask is some serial killer shit, and the worst part is that it doesn't stop there. Everyone mentions how creepy Tingle was, but the real villain was here all along. Literally - this guy runs a rabbit sanctuary and has some questionable dialogue to say the least. Those poor bunnies probably long for the day a fox breaks in to put them out of their misery.

 

[Friendly Primarina]

I've gotta say, gathering fruit for the thread was a fun trip down memory lane. Listing these in order from "just kind of meh" to "burn it and salt the earth."

Also apologies if the image sizing is weird. I'm on mobile again.

Spoiler: Resident Evil.

View attachment 3250580
Jill doesn't look bad here, but I always thought this design looked more like an NPC than a main character. It's also not practical for zombie killing. Ordinarily that's fine, RE isn't exactly the pinnacle of realism, but since they went for an understated look it just feels odd.

Some RE protagonists wear ridiculous clothes because they were not expecting to be caught in a zombie apocalypse. Jill Valentine is not one of those characters. Not only was she fully aware of the impending terror, she waited until her apartment was literally being bombed before escaping.

One of the opening slides shows her calmly preparing for her escape, meaning she chose this outfit for her escape over, you know, her S.T.A.R.S. attire.

 

[Lapis Lazuli]

I've gotta say, gathering fruit for the thread was a fun trip down memory lane. Listing these in order from "just kind of meh" to "burn it and salt the earth."

Also apologies if the image sizing is weird. I'm on mobile again.

Spoiler: Resident Evil.

View attachment 3250580
Jill doesn't look bad here, but I always thought this design looked more like an NPC than a main character. It's also not practical for zombie killing. Ordinarily that's fine, RE isn't exactly the pinnacle of realism, but since they went for an understated look it just feels odd.

Spoiler: Magia Record.

The original anime is nostalgic for me so this entry hurts.
View attachment 3250612
View attachment 3250617
I know gacha is an easy target, but Magia Record's designs are usually not bad. These two, however, are ridiculous. Why is the orange girl wearing two entirely different outfits at once? Why panties over a full body suit? Why does she have twintails and a ponytail? It looks like it can't decide whether it wants to be streamlimed or frilly, so they just meshed together to create a clusterfuck. Also, her backstory is that she wished for her divorced parents to get back together, which backfired, and she copes with it via a hiking hobby. Absolutely none of that is reflected in her visuals.

As for girl 2: sexualised clown pants. Sexualised. Clown. Pants. What a waste of a good colour palette.

Spoiler: Mirai Nikki

View attachment 3250664
Nobody else in the anime or manga is drawn like this. What part of "motherly figure who cares for orphans" means "give this character a big fuckoff bobblehead"? She's also involved in serious, gritty scenes, which even as a kid was hilarious to watch.

And finally, this creepy little bastard.

Spoiler: Zelda: Spirit Tracks (the worst)

View attachment 3250641
View attachment 3250642
What the actual fuck is going on with this man?! That gimp mask is some serial killer shit, and the worst part is that it doesn't stop there. Everyone mentions how creepy Tingle was, but the real villain was here all along. Literally - this guy runs a rabbit sanctuary and has some questionable dialogue to say the least. Those poor bunnies probably long for the day a fox breaks in to put them out of their misery.

In the case of Madoka Magica, I feel like the majority of the Magia Record girls never managed to live up to the original cast. It could just be the fact that I have fond feelings for Madoka, but something about Magia Record feels like you could just put almost any character into another random magical girl anime and nobody would tell that said character originated from Madoka Magia at first.

 

[From The Uncanny Valley]

In the case of Madoka Magica, I feel like the majority of the Magia Record girls never managed to live up to the original cast. It could just be the fact that I have fond feelings for Madoka, but something about Magia Record feels like you could just put almost any character into another random magical girl anime and nobody would tell that said character originated from Madoka Magia at first.

I'm kinda glad I never got to play the game before it shut down in NA

 

[Lapis Lazuli]

I'm kinda glad I never got to play the game before it shut down in NA

I actually downloaded it before it was shut down. It was pretty slow for a gacha, honestly. And while the gacha animations are nice, it takes way too long to save up just for one pull. At least other gachas would give you a lot of beginner gems or currency to pull a few times.
On the topic of this thread, here's two Magia Record designs I honestly dislike the most.


Like, who looked at these characters and thought that they could coexist in the same universe as Madoka and co.?
I think one of the few new characters that I like is Kaede, the maid girl, and maybe the scissors girl because she looks like the magical girl version of that rose bush witch, Gertrud. I think the problem is that the designs are too saturated and I think desaturating the color palletes just a teeny bit would make them fit in more.

 

[Doctor of Autism]

Spoiler: Mirai Nikki

View attachment 3250664
Nobody else in the anime or manga is drawn like this. What part of "motherly figure who cares for orphans" means "give this character a big fuckoff bobblehead"? She's also involved in serious, gritty scenes, which even as a kid was hilarious to watch.

Yeah the design feels weird, feels like a bit of a gag design, but man I'm reminded of how she was like one of the few likeable characters from that trashfire lmao and they tried to make the beta MC look badass by massacring orphans.

 

[do you like my hat]

Some RE protagonists wear ridiculous clothes because they were not expecting to be caught in a zombie apocalypse. Jill Valentine is not one of those characters. Not only was she fully aware of the impending terror, she waited until her apartment was literally being bombed before escaping.

One of the opening slides shows her calmly preparing for her escape, meaning she chose this outfit for her escape over, you know, her S.T.A.R.S. attire.

Oh, that's right! I wasn't sure if that was from the same game. Yep, that makes it even more nonsensical because they had the opportunity to dress her in some cool shit, but this added context makes it harder to take the situation seriously.

In the case of Madoka Magica, I feel like the majority of the Magia Record girls never managed to live up to the original cast. It could just be the fact that I have fond feelings for Madoka, but something about Magia Record feels like you could just put almost any character into another random magical girl anime and nobody would tell that said character originated from Madoka Magia at first.

Agreed there. The original 5 girls had very solid designs which suited their personalities and powers. Some of the new characters look good in their own right, but just don't hold a candle to the original anime's aesthetic. Those two emo magical girls you listed are a great example. On first glance they look more like Soul Eater characters. Edit: plus MagiReco does this thing where a bunch of characters are drawn in different art styles for some reason which really doesn't help.

Apparently a lot of people didn't like Iroha's design in particular because of fanservice, but personally I don't think it's that bad? It feels weird to single that one out. Imo she just looks like a MadoHomu fanchild.

Yeah the design feels weird, feels like a bit of a gag design, but man I'm reminded of how she was like one of the few likeable characters from that trashfire lmao and they tried to make the beta MC look badass by massacring orphans.

Yes, I remember that. I did feel sad when she died for that specific reason. People rag on Shinji but he's got balls of titanium compared to Yuki, jesus christ.

 

[Jared Car]

Actually, who the fuck is that "Green Lantern," and why is she associated with the Justice League at all? Couldn't they pick Hal or John, who are the two GLs that most people know?

Late but it's suppose to be Jessica Cruz which looks nothing like how she looks in the comics

They've been trying to push her for a few years now
They don't have to play favorites they could have put both hal and John in the movie

 

[From The Uncanny Valley]

Late but it's suppose to be Jessica Cruz which looks nothing like how she looks in the comics
View attachment 3252290
They've been trying to push her for a few years now
They don't have to play favorites they could have put both hal and John in the movie

She's the obnoxious vegan with 2 moms in that Super Hero Girls show

 

[Flaming Insignias]

Late but it's suppose to be Jessica Cruz which looks nothing like how she looks in the comics
View attachment 3252290
They've been trying to push her for a few years now
They don't have to play favorites they could have put both hal and John in the movie

Weird thing is that EVS was one of the writers who created Cruz, so she wasn't entirely a diversity quota GL. Of course, the fact that a lot of media makes her obnoxious and a lot less attractive than her original design is probably in response to that and shame in creating a Latina bombshell in the modern era.