I can't believe we're on the third page of this thread and nobody's managed to spell "Nero" right.
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Lyse is fun. I don't hate Minfilia like a lot of people seem to, but I love Lyse and she's one of my favorites.
Neither are well developed characters. If I had to choose, Lyse comes out ahead by virtue of having far more potential going into Stormblood that was sadly squandered. Sadly, both draw dangerously close to the dreaded Mary Sue trope—Lyse especially so in the latter half of Stormblood. She is clearly built up as the focal point yet the narrative does almost nothing to justification such a position. I suspect they were going for an underdog story; Lyse never intended to be a leader. But that falls flat when characters keep shilling her on accomplishments she really has no business laying claim to. Put another way, Hien established himself a good leader in a single paragraph before you even met him than Lyse has in an entire expansion.
And the sad part is Lyse started off much better. As I said initially, there was plenty of potential for her character to grow alongside us, but it never went anywhere. Minfilia, on the other hand, didn't really have a character to begin with. Much like Lyse, we're told she is capable; she's a good leader; she organizes everything. However, we're rarely shown anything. Instead, all we see is her getting kidnapped or demanding we come to the Waking Sands for a two second conversation.
They're both terrible but Lyse annoys me more. For years Lysa/Yda has just been...there. Then Stormblood rolls around and suddenly she won't go away.
I haven't seen some of the characters being proclaimed best girl here yet, but so far I think I'd have to give Hilda my vote.
I do like Minfilia and Lyse, but I agree with those who've said that Lyse becomes a less interesting character after her big reveal.
Minfilia > Lyse
Kan-E-Senna > All