Do not misinterpret this statement. I love this series very much but there are some things that have been on my mind regarding it. Junepurr works super hard to make these episodes and I’m quite thankful for the entertainment and passion she’s put in for these eight years.
But Something that bothers me about subzero’s recent art style is how snatched everyone looks. Like I know the creator has a certain style but why do the older characters aged 40 to 60 look like they’re in their twenties?
Where’s the wrinkles, the body fat, stretch marks and gray hair? In earlier episodes they kinda looked their age but now they just don’t seem old at all. Especially Empress Kirra. (She had three children, she should look it)
And speaking of the snatched art style… why is everyone’s jaw so sharp and long? Everybody got the same face structure. The world of subzero clearly uses East Asian influences. The clothes, the style, the handwriting, the music that plays on special episodes, the instruments the characters play, literally almost everything looks like it could be from ancient china. I just wish the characters kinda matched that setting.
The characters in subzero look white and their names don’t sound like they’re derived from Asia except a few.
Mai, main character’s maid. Fei, fake maid assassin. Yun, the little servant boy. Saya, main characters dead mom.
Then there’s what I think is a blend of American names and Asian names.
Kyro, Kharis, Kirra, Raizo, Rohan. I think these names fit just enough, they blur the line between the fantasy and real world influences.
And then theres the ones that sound very different from the ones in the beginning.
Kayen, Reina, Aaron, Nouren, Arkos, Argent and Clove. (I don’t hate their names just pointing it out)
Like yknow from ATLA it’s a fictional world but you can tell these characters ethnicity have real world counterparts and are inspired from those places and I’ve seen some artists lean into those cultures in their art. And it looks so cool. Why do so many Asian characters not look Asian?
Avatar, the alien blue people one. Those tribes? The metkayina and the omaticaya and the mangwan are heavily inspired by real world indigenous cultures from around the world. Asia, Africa and South America.
Like I know this is all fantasy, but the tribes, the clans, and the characters are not real but the cultures that are referenced in these stories are. And I think it’s important to acknowledge those references and lean into with the characters design.
Please don’t take this the wrong way. I’m not trying to hate. Like… maybe I’m digging too deep but idk I just think about that sometimes.
