(Image credit: Koei Tecmo Games)

Atelier, a Japanese RPG series, is—as you might expect—filled with conventionally attractive anime people. An upcoming entrant in the series, Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land, is no exception—and it has big shoes to fill. See, the game’s past protagonist, Ryza, made waves among its fanbase due to having body fat on her legs. How daring!

Speaking about these incredible past achievements in anime girl technology (my tongue is wedged in my cheek), producer Junzo Hosoi tells 4Gamer (translated via Automaton) that Ryza took off with fans because of the economy. No, really.

“This is just my perception,” he says, “but I think that the economy has an influence on what kind of designs become popular. There are certain types of characters that are needed in times of recession, and there are types of characters that are embraced only when the economy is booming.” He then goes on to note that “trends like a plump figure” are more common during a recession.

While this sounds bonkers, after doing some googling, it’s not entirely without a basis in reality: Some studies have found that hungrier men prefer more filled-out, mature figures—even when the difference is literally just ‘am I entering this dining hall to eat, or exiting it with a full stomach’. It was also a drum banged by the fashion industry circa 2005, which is to be taken with a pinch of salt, but taken nonetheless.

It’s not really beyond the pale to design a character based on market trends—a little cynical, sure, but it happens all the time. Yet, to hear that a game protagonist’s legs were designed with a chemical precision to match the finances of the moment is utterly wild. Still, despite this nugget of industry wisdom, the protagonist of Atelia Yumia likely won’t be following this proven trend.

“They say Japan will be in recession for a long time,” Hosoi adds, “but I thought that attempting to match the times again would lead to Yumia looking too similar to Ryza.” Instead, she’s designed to be “cutting-edge”—allegedly going through over 30 revisions before they landed on the forbidden knowledge that, yeah, tight clothes will probably work.

I’m being a little glib about the arduous process of character design, but it really is interesting to have a look into the R&D behind popular characters from anime games—whatever their genders may be. As I’ve observed, other games that hinge on this sort of appeal (Genshin Impact, for example) are springing for hunks as well as hotties. I don’t know if equal-opportunity thirst traps are better, but hey—you gotta give the people what they want.