More love for the pink damsel
This is a rant, the first and the only, that I wrote a while ago and which I posted previously on DeviantArt and reposted on the Mario Amino, few days after the release of Super Mario Odyssey, after a new wave of hatred towards Princess Peach…
Considering that, nevertheless, the princess’ relationship with most fans has always been ambiguous, what may have seemed to be tolerable, now is no longer acceptable speaking from the prospective of Peach’s admirer, and hoping to be a spokesman for who, like me, genuinely appreciates her.
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But before starting with the proper rant, why do I post this writing, even if they passed almost two years when I did write it? A YouTube video made by the quite famous personality of RelaxAlax which I Iink below.
Quite shallow, huh?
But this will NOT be an hate speech towards Alax, the rest of his videos are actually enjoyable and sometimes funny, but despite what he says in the video is nothing more and nothing less than what most Peach’s haters actually say, I’m fearing that even due to this video, people are convinced to hate the pink princess without even knowing the truth behind her character.
But I must’ve taken you a lot of time, let’s begin this speech, which was inspired by an older one (now deleted) posted by a friend of mine on Deviantart.
Let’s get started from the most recurring insults about the personality
“Peach is weak!!!”
While it’s true that for most of the games the Princess is kidnapped by Bowser or any enemy, it’s also the case that several times she has proved to be not so helpless, and even trying to escape to her kidnapper more than once indicates that Peach is not just staying there to patiently wait her hero; indeed, she was the only one along with Rosalina and Toadette who was been able to defend herself.
Some proofs? Super Princess Peach, Super Mario Bros 2, Super Paper Mario, Super Mario 3D World, Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, Super Smash Bros series…
“So why is she always kidnapped?!”
Nintendo logic. Just joking, I think that the reason is due to the fact that Peach, like anyone else, is an human being, with her fears and anxieties, and so what can she do if suddenly there is a monster bigger at least the triple of her accompanied by an huge army? Not everyone is badass, and she obviously is not always, but is it a good reason to hate her? I don’t think so.
Also remember that even two stronger characters like Mario and Luigi often struggle during the battles with Bowser, how could a delicate princess
So, in a more general view, how much it’s wrong to blame the victims and not the kidnappers? Why does everyone hate Peach for this and not BOWSER?
And so there are Daisy, Pauline and Zelda, who were kidnapped as well, but still worshiped as goddesses…
“Peach is stupid!!1!”
If the Princess was actually that stupid,she wouldn’t be on a throne ruling a whole kingdom peacefully nor even to try a time machine or even called to try to find a cure to a plague that affected the Mushroom Kingdom. She may not have an IQ of 300 like Dr Eggman,but that doesn’t mean she’s stupid.
Characters who are REALLY “stupid” on purpose, like Wario and Waluigi, loved because they are. Now, people, don’t tell me you aren’t uncoherent.
“Peach has no personality!1!”
So, a sweet and kind personality shouldn’t be a good character trait? Great, so we wasted years and years of characterization in a video game character.
Even a little development is always putted in while creating a characte and, as we are seeing, Miyamoto and Nintendo are generally developing the character of the princess, in the best, demonstrating that even the princess is not a fossilized archetype in Mario’s existence for thirty years. She’s so sweet and kind, but also has values, friends and a dignity that defends strenuously.
Guys, Peach is human, so he has defects, and that’s right, but saying that she doesn’t have personality is an insult to both her and Nintendo in general.
However compare Peach and Rei Ayanami from Evangelion, and see who is not supposed to have personality. (although Rei also has a very strong, still not obvious, characterization that develops in the course of the series.)
“Peach is a Mary Sue!!!1!”
A Mary Sue would theoretically is a character with too unnatural characteristics for their universe or species, overly powerful and often accompanied by a tragic backstory; in short, it’s misleading in their context. By applying this description to Peach, how should she be a Mary Sue?
As explained in the previous paragraphs, the Princess, as the other characters are most human, has a magical power that is always inferior to those of other characters, such as Rosalina; and comparing it with the Star Guardian, couldn’t be her be more similar in the description of a Sue? Consistency, this unknown concept…
I see you already with the forks in your hands, but let me clarify one thing, even a character like Rosalina is not a Mary Sue, she still has her flaws, and we love her as she is, but if Peach is one, Rosalina fits the definition WAY more.
Let’s talk about the character design
“Peach always wears pink!!1!”
Come on, guys, hating a character for a color is a such superficial thing that, would do kindergarten children the most.
Pink is a color like all the others, in the spectrum of colors, so anyone can wear it, even males.
(Trivia: up to a few decades ago, pink was more of a masculine color, given to boys since it’s a lighter version of red, a color considered manly)
Peach is looking good with pink and no one in Mario games seems to complain too much about that, and so, so why do we fans do?
“Peach is girly!!!!1!”
And so? A female character to be worthy of this name must be a tomboy or a badass with two thousand guns on her hands? You have great prospects in mind, my dear ones, just like that.
Seriously, why does a character who like to cure herself, should be banned?
However, almost all the girls in the Mario games are, even Daisy, at the last, despite being described as a tomboy, so it doesn’t seem a good excuse for hating a character.
"Peach is blonde!!!1!”
Guys, it’s not fashionable anymore that stereotype that everyone who is blonde must be stupid. Open your minds! Go, go!
Even Rosalina and most of the Zeldas encountered in the games are blondes, but no one seems to care.
“Peach has an annoying voice!!1!”
All the characters in the Mario games have their voices emphasized, guys, and Peach isn’t an exception.
There are characters with way more annoying voices, trust me, like Daisy, Toad or Rosalina’s new dubbing, but for certain reasons, only Peach should be demonized for that by fans.
“Peach is a prostitute!!1!”
This is one of the most recurring insults that are ever placed against our hated Princess, and that’s what I’m wondering where most haters have been losing their credibility.
Did Peach ever wear provocative clothes? NO. (unless you have a fetishism towards the biker suits and similar outfits)
Has she ever tried to seduce anyone who saw? NEVER (what you see on Rule34 and other similar sites is not canon, I’m sorry)
Let’s be clear: Peach is just the opposite of the stereotype of the prostitute, as being a sweet, gentle, and that kind of girl who rarely makes sloppy thoughts; And yet Mario is not the kind of game that is suitable to show sensual girls often.
Another point: how do people define as that Peach and not Pauline or Valentina from Super Mario RPG, who are wearing much revealing clothes (and not even worthy to be called with those sick names)? Mystery of the Faith.
PS. Giving a prostitute to someone is not fashionable anymore :3
Now, let’s analyse that kind of insults that relate with Peach’s relationships with other characters
“Peach isn’t grateful to Mario!!!!1!”
Ever since Peach has never been grateful to Mario? WHEN? She kisses him, and fills him with cakes. What should the Princess do more with him? having sex is not a good answer, and it doesn’t even marrying him.
Mario is still a sweet and family friendly series, if you want NSFW art, go to rule34 or look good at deviantart, but don’t expect explicit scenes in similar games.
“Peach is a tyrant who abuses Toads!!!1!”
But since that is so, seriously, did I miss some details? And no, The Game Theorists, aren’t worth as a source of inspiration since theirs is only a mere SPECULATION (also badly made imho).
To me Peach has always seemed like the OPPOSITE of a tyrant! She’s a good sovereign who’s caring for her subjects, and most of the Toads are happy with her.
I guess you are thinking of the Toad used from the princess during Super Smash Bros: If we analyse well what our beloved mushroom does during the frames in which we can see him, we can notice that doesn’t acts as a shield for the princess, but is determined more than ever to attack with his spores, so for me this isn’t a point to demonise Peach at all.
Then do you think that in Smash bros Rosalina does something way more serious?! She fights with a Luma, one of her CHILDREN all the time. But since she is our beloved star waifu, Peach is not worth to be compared lmao.
Again this time implore the sacred goddess of the consistency for forgiving their vain words…
“Peach betrays Daisy!!!1!”
Peach and Daisy have proven themselves to be best friends since the first time they appeared together, and even now their idyllic relationship hasn’t stopped being shown in the games and even in that LINE stickers that came out a while ago!
How Peach Should betray Daisy? For Rosalina, for Pauline? I think all the girls in the world of Mario are friendly to each other, so I don’t see any reasons in a betray, since at worst they are in a friendly rivalry.
“Peach is much less sexy than Rosalina / Pauline!!!1!”
If I can understand why Pauline can be considered sensual, how should Rosalina be? She’s wearing just a turquoise dress, which does not reveals much, and which can only be sexualized in the most indecent fanarts drawn by FANS indeed, but we all know the new religion that places the guardian of the Lumas to a brand new god.
However, all of Mario girls have been designed to be beautiful, not sex objects, not even Pauline, and none of them will agree to be your beautiful waifus condescending to all your fantasies, deal with it!
“Peach is not tomboy like Daisy is!!!1!”
And this is what connects to the previous point where the Princess was insulted to be girly. Assuming that even Daisy, in her own way, is girly (if she was totally a tomboy, she wouldn’t certainly wear those long dresses, it nor would have her notorious passion for flowers), it’s not nice to have a bit of variety in the characters personalities? Go on, Peach is a gentle and sweet girl, Daisy is exuberant and sporty, Rosalina, calm and majestic, Wendy spoiled and powerful, Toadette cheerful and curious, and finally Pauline concrete and passionate. Everyone compensates their gaps with the others, and this balance between the girls is fine, so please do not compare all the girls, Peach first, to Daisy.
“Peach appears too much in the games, so she’s overrated!!!1!”
Guys, our princess is one of the protagonists of Mario’s videogames, along with the plumber, his brother, Bowser and Toad, so it’s natural that she often appears in the games. After all, Peach (after Pauline, who belonged for long time to another series) is the first of the princesses to appear, so it’s logical that Nintendo would value that in this way.
And another little thing: the word overrated does NOT mean popular in its own universe, it means overly popular among its FANS.
And Peach has relatively few fans compared to the other main characters.
And, as the final cherry on the cake, let’s talk about Odyssey, who can have reassume prevous points, but what is equally needed, because of the following reasons
“PEACH IS A BITCH WHO HASN’T ACCEPTED MARIO’S PROPOSAL, STUPID AND UNGRATEFUL!!!1! THAT’S OBVIOUS THAT MARIO CHOOSES PAULINE!!!1!”
And here we come to the juice of the speech, and at this point I would like to ask: but have you seen the final cutscene of the game, or are you just knocking on your keyboards to don’t make feel the keys alone and misunderstood?
Let’s assume that after a long, tiring journey along the WHOLE world, with a monster bigger at least the triple of you who is doing everything to organize a NOT-wanted marriage with you; and immediately soon after being rescued, at the end of an extravagant battle, you have not one, but TWO contenders for your hand, what are you doing? The doll who gives all of herself to her hero just because she saved you? But in which period are we, in the nineteenth century?
Guys, let’s talk seriously, would you immediately answer to a such serious question, which can change the rest of your life, on the moon under such conditions? I really don’t think so.
So Peach did, showing her intelligence, and why not, joking over it. It wasn’t the place nor the time for Mario and Bowser to move such proposals, and I honestly think that Peach done right to refuse both of them, I believe, momentarily.
And so centuries of feminist struggles went cancelled because of a video game character…
“PEACH HAS LEFT MARIO AND BOWSER ON THE MOON!!1!”
Yeah, okay, Odyssey’s final was what it was, but you can’t hate a character because she’s not a puppet in Mario or Bowser’s hand. Tell me, you first complained that Peach had no character and now that she has explicated it, in good, you hate her the same? Consistency, this unknown concept…
However, for this detail, have you noticed that Peach eventually called Mario on the Odyssey, even though it had already started to fly? Mario had all the time he needed to get on board with the Princess and her friends.
Also think about Peach’s dialogues in the post-game: she completely forgave Mario’s misbehaving and she’s still happy to see him to the point to give him all the moons she gets! So she’s not that ungrateful…
And that’s what I needed to say. Guys, please stop hating Peach, she didn’t do anything, and certainly she doesn’t deserve your insults.
In these times, the princess is among the main characters the most hated, even much more than Daisy, who has her great slice of fans, who would do anything for her and even considering her “better” in Smash Bros.
I’m sorry to have written this rant but I’m sure this time is really needed…
Fandoms, Mario included, can be beautiful places where you can meet fantastic people but at the same time you can witness this free hate episodes even from famous personalities…
Thank you for reading, and see you soon.
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P.S. Below I show you the main places where the princess is hated for the above reasons.
Gamefaqs, TheTopTens.com, Marioboards, DeviantArt and Youtube
P.P.S. Please, do not go to the video I’ve mentioned only to insult the youtuber: despite that entry is far from being well-crafted, he made enjoyable content as well. He deserves respect as well and if you really want to discuss in the comment section about the subject, please be polite
P.P.P.S. If you hate Peach and you feel to comment here, please write maturely, well-structured comments. If we can have a mature dialogue, it’s best for both of us.
Coming out of retirement to reblog this
