I know I talk about how much I hate James Cloudmill’s character design a lot, but I finally found a good example of what I mean when I complain about it.
You know the toddler on Paddock Island? The girl who designs a ridiculously complex show jumping course, showing absolutely no mercy to the rider and then goes on to say “I hope it wasn’t too childish or easy”? That’s what James used to be.
This girl does not understand show jumping difficulties. She has no concept of how tall a jump should be in relation to a horse’s breed and skill because she’s a toddler. It’s endearing that she’s so concerned her hellcourse might be too easy for us, and it’s understandable why she made the course so difficult.
James used to be a child as well. He used to be a tiny little gremlin who didn’t understand what money was, just that he needed a lot of it because he never had it when he was young. He had no way of relating it to real life. He’d never saved up to buy a new car or paid rent in an apartment, he had no idea what things cost, he just knew he never had enough growing up and he was trying to get to “enough” now.
It was funny that he was a grubby little kid who, through sheer motivation and greed, rose to a prominent position in Fort Pinta. Yeah, he’s stingy and he doesn’t follow through on promises, but that’s because he used to be a child, he had no idea what he was doing.
Now, he’s unbearable. I hate him so much. He’s a greedy bastard for absolutely no reason. You might argue that he’s traumatized from his childhood, but he’s 15. He knows how much 90.000 JS is now, and he also knows that absolutely no one would fall for his scams, because he’s a teenager. The talking pony mayor would have been adorable if he was still like ten, but he tried it as a 15-year-old. This boy is almost allowed to vote and he thought a walkie talkie under a top hat would work.
I mean damn, if he was ten that’s a great reason why Fort Pinta “believes” in Mayor Peanut! It’s adorable that this child thinks he has everyone fooled! And who is he really harming, what authority does he really have? It’s just cute and it’s a great way to let a child interact with the world. But they ruined it, and that sucks.
Also don’t get me started on how James and Alex being so close in age ruins the “Alex had to be responsible for and take care of James” dynamic they’re trying to portray. She was two when he was born. If she’d been eight she might have had to take care of him from the start, cooking and cleaning for him, but since they’re close in age James would have learned to do that alongside Alex.
