Are there any plans to fix the 'Haurchefant' localization?

[Canadane]

Why do you want him to be a sex pest that squicks out a ton of players? Do seriously think that is okay?

I think it is okay for these types of characters in a story to exist.

[VeyaAkemi]

How did this thread turn to "Actually I know exactly how people would react completely ignoring their claim that it would bother them and I am considering myself as knowing better than themselves"?

[Reimar]

I think it is okay for these types of characters in a story to exist.

I actually do too, as seen in several of my posts. I don't think it's okay for people to act like universal moral authorities in forcing it on other people.

In a perfect world, you could hit a toggle for Sex Pest Horsefoot or Mellowly Flirty Housefart.

How did this thread turn to "Actually I know exactly how people would react completely ignoring their claim that it would bother them and I am considering myself as knowing better than themselves"?

[RyuDragnier]

There's a reason why I put the "low quality bait" on the first page people. It was obvious from the first post that this was a troll topic.

[hydralus]

They should've translated it so it made him even more perverted.

[Iyrnthota]

???

How is ANY of what you just replied to a troll post?? Do you not understand how this subject falls in-line with that subject matter or are you genuinely so against the position of recognizing the issue as an actual issue that you would rather just write it off as a troll post so you can walk away from the discussion?

What you just replied to is perhaps the most concise and well-reasoned rebuttal to any of the gripes I've gotten in this thread. Within the western anime community, there exists people with colonial mentalities who genuinely believe that such tropes, plots, characters, etc. constitute some degree of harm and base this harm on the discomfort they feel when exposed to it, but lack the self-awareness and introspection skills to recognize whether that discomfort constitutes 'harm'.

I don't see how being made to feel uncomfortable by Haurchefant's 'advances' should be taken any more seriously than someone disturbed by anything else in this game.

It does notably change the response to his character though.

He's clearly painted as an ally, a sympathetic character who we grow close to.
For those that would find his JP attitude annoying or disturbing, that grates against the characterisation that the game is trying to portray.

It's like introducing a hero character that you're supposed to like, but every time you meet him he kicks you in the balls. Doesn't exactly endear you to the character.

[Telkira]

How did this thread turn to "Actually I know exactly how people would react completely ignoring their claim that it would bother them and I am considering myself as knowing better than themselves"?

Ultimately what's the harm in it? It's not like it would have stopped you or any other players like you from playing the game. SE preemptively pandering to, and bending the knee, to people who applaud these types of demands runs the risk of 'policing' the Japanese product, and I don't want that. You shouldn't go into this product expecting them to localize the content directly to your culture's tastes and mores, that encompasses a dilemma that has existed throughout the concept of marketing foreign media.

SE's decision to take this approach can ultimately be conceived as a business decision, rather than an artistic one.
They even said so themselves, because if they can have that natural-feeling appeal it means they can cast a wider net, but the issue with that approach is that it's pointless, because in the end it's an inherently foreign and Japanese product. It will always contain aspects, tropes, etc. that will be perceived as problematic to the West, and by attempting to pander to them for the sake of getting their money, they diminish the integrity of their vision by virtue alone, which has an effect on how the product is received even within these foreign markets.

(For the sake of argument...)
It would be like trying to localize "Saints Row 3" in a country like Australia whose film boards take issue with the rampant sexualization, graphic violence, and crude humor, but instead of a non-elected panel of literal censors, it's a perceived portion of that target market who the publisher doesn't want to risk offending. 2K even released a revised/censored version of the game to distribute within that region because they still wanted to have it be sold.
I'm not saying that FFXIV is anything like Saints Row, but the overarching analog, taken within this context still makes sense.

It's generally difficult to surmise that SE would lose out on fans by simply just translating the game in English (like they do with FR and GER) rather than throwing in all of this flavor text and other garbage. It is this type of approach that allowed the deviation to even occur, which I find worthy of criticism against SE's approach, as well as against the Western fans who expect to have these problematic aspects moderated/censored just because they don't want to feel uncomfortable.
I say let them feel uncomfortable, and learn to treat it the way those who are not offended by it do - as a joke in a video game.

[Telkira]

It does notably change the response to his character though.

He's clearly painted as an ally, a sympathetic character who we grow close to.
For those that would find his JP attitude annoying or disturbing, that grates against the characterisation that the game is trying to portray.

It's like introducing a hero character that you're supposed to like, but every time you meet him he kicks you in the balls. Doesn't exactly endear you to the character.

Well-reasoned critique, but I disagree.

I think his characterization in EN is one is actually more disturbing because we don't actually see where this 'friendliness' comes from. It feels very, very impersonal and artificial, and it felt like he still wanted to 'get with' me but at the same time not? Which contrasted against the other characters, without much of the growth we would normally expect to have. Even Alisaie doesn't hide the fact that she's lusting over the WoL, and that type of characterization is not only comical (and tropish, given her age) but is at least based on having gone thru and seen thru so much as characters.

With this guy, though, it's...so out of left field, and having him be an outspoken debauchee who openly lusts after the WoL, within the context of those who dislike it, are annoyed by it, or disturbed by that, I feel like a real opportunity was missed to have those qualities transcend that for them, because those facets, though integral to his characterization, are only surface-level, and it can still be surmised that he has good intentions.

Watering him down to be a 'bro' from that is exactly what it is, watered down, and completely messes up the atmosphere of the setting and ruins, if not outright dispenses entirely with, other interactions with other characters (like innuendo going over Alphinaud's head because he's a virgin).

[Iyrnthota]

Well-reasoned critique, but I disagree.

I think his characterization in EN is one is actually more disturbing because we don't actually see where this 'friendliness' comes from. It feels very, very impersonal and artificial, and it felt like he still wanted to 'get with' me but at the same time not? Which contrasted against the other characters, without much of the growth we would normally expect to have. Even Alisaie doesn't hide the fact that she's lusting over the WoL, and that type of characterization is not only comical (and tropish, given her age) but is at least based on having gone thru and seen thru so much as characters.

With this guy, though, it's...so out of left field, and having him be an outspoken debauchee who openly lusts after the WoL, within the context of those who dislike it, are annoyed by it, or disturbed by that, I feel like a real opportunity was missed to have those qualities transcend that for them, because those facets, though integral to his characterization, are only surface-level, and it can still be surmised that he has good intentions.

Watering him down to be a 'bro' from that is exactly what it is, watered down, and completely messes up the atmosphere of the setting and ruins, if not outright dispenses entirely with, other interactions with other characters (like innuendo going over Alphinaud's head because he's a virgin).

Think I'm just gonna have to disagree. That he is friendly without it having to "come from" somewhere is what makes him so immediately endearing. He's just a good man, and a good friend.

If he kept the "pervy" tropes then, to me, his amicable attitude would have been immediately suspect.
Rather than kindness being extended for kindness' sake, it would have instead come across like he's just trying to get something from me.

Almost transactional in a way. "I'm only being nice cause I think I'll be able to fuck you".

Not pleasant in the least, and even more suspect given that at the point in the story where he "takes us in" we are in a particularly vulnerable state. Our friends are missing, presumed dead, our base of operations is gone, we are on the run from the authorities, and have no where to turn to.
That he would extend the offer of shelter with all of the above in mind would feel like he is taking advantage.

I genuinely believe that if the JP version were more directly translated I would have had a significantly worse HW experience. Rather than mourning the loss of a friend I believe I would instead be celebrating the death of a predator.

[Telkira]

Think I'm just gonna have to disagree. That he is friendly without it having to "come from" somewhere is what makes him so immediately endearing. He's just a good man, and a good friend.

If he kept the "pervy" tropes then, to me, his amicable attitude would have been immediately suspect.
Rather than kindness being extended for kindness' sake, it would have instead come across like he's just trying to get something from me.

Almost transactional in a way. "I'm only being nice cause I think I'll be able to fuck you".

Not pleasant in the least, and even more suspect given that at the point in the story where he "takes us in" we are in a particularly vulnerable state. Our friends are missing, presumed dead, our base of operations is gone, we are on the run from the authorities, and have no where to turn to.
That he would extend the offer of shelter with all of the above in mind would feel like he is taking advantage.

I genuinely believe that if the JP version were more directly translated I would have had a significantly worse HW experience. Rather than mourning the loss of a friend I believe I would instead be celebrating the death of a predator.

I don't perceive it as a predator, I recognize that it's a common trope in Japanese media and much of his advances are done for the sake of comedy, as he's a comic relief character which contrasts, and compliments the cold, political, drab, and dreary atmosphere of HW's setting and storyline.

I also wouldn't have perceived it as 'transactional', he seemed like he genuinely wanted to help, and likely would have done so irrespective of his sexual preferences or motivated actions. In a serious or non-comedic context, he's designed to be caring and helpful, as well as funny, and he makes his sexual preferences known and are merely a part of his character, not defined by it. The trope he embodies isn't intended to be perceived as 'serious' or 'sincere' within these contexts.

That being said, I heavily disagree with your take that he would have 'taken advantage' of the WoL. All of such advances would have been perceived as comedic, and were depicted in a comedic context.