As the saying goes, thighs save lives, but according to Antelier Serie A producer Junzo Hosoi, they are also popular during the recession when it comes to fan favorite character Reisalin “Ryza”.
Japan has gone through a “lost decade” in the 90s and has been ongoing recession indicators since then, and it seems like it is an ideal audience for such a character (and her own trilogy is pretty good from what I hear). Hosoi talked about his views on the matter in an interview with 4Gamer.
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“It's just my opinion, but I think the economy has an impact on which design becomes popular. In a recession, there are certain types of roles that are needed, and only when the economy is booming.” He will then continue to note a theory that people want physical types of bodies during recessions.
Now, this may be a bit strange to you, but it turns out that Google has quickly provided academic evidence on the matter! Nor is it a recent discovery, titled “Symptoms of Resource Scarcity: Food and Finance Judgment affects potential partners’ preferences” by Leif Nelson and Evan Morrison in 2005. For laymen, during tough times, one might find signs of physical that you won't skip meals to be more attractive.
Returning to Hosoi's interview, he will later talk about Atelier's next protagonist Yumia. Now, Yumia doesn't have the same body type as Ryza, but tends to the slimmer standard you see in many other games. However, her design has more flavor in mind.
Interestingly, this is also related to economics. You will find that Japan's ongoing recession and financial hardship have led various Japanese video game companies to expand their networks to attract gamers around the world. Bringing games to PC in Sony's way may not have a huge impact on domestic sales, but it is certainly important in the US and Europe.
Gust, the developer behind Atelier, has achieved great success from the Ryza trilogy, not only in Japan but overseas. Therefore, new audiences who spend money on money have been considered. Poland will surpass Japan's GDP next year in loneliness, and this is only Poland.
So we have it. Some reasoning about thicker thighs in the studio Ryza trilogy, and some insights on why the design is back to a slim look. This was the only job I had ever done that prompted me to read the Economic Report and 2005 research, just linking the points between academic insight and the anime characters.
