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

[Boblawblah]

I've sad it before on this forum, but I've always wondered how impactful Haurchefant's death would've been on Western audiences if he remained overtly sexual.

I wish I could ask someone who experienced the story with his original characterization.

If he had been a tropy anime character that made sex jokes constantly? None for me, it would be a complete 180. I love him now, but it would go to a 'oh, that creepy guy is dead. oh well'.

[ronibosch]

If he had been a tropy anime character that made sex jokes constantly? None for me, it would be a complete 180. I love him now, but it would go to a 'oh, that creepy guy is dead. oh well'.

See, that's how I would react, too.

Like, did Haurchefant the perv have enough redeeming qualities to make his death heartbreaking to the JP audience? I'm super curious.

(Also, just realized after you replied that I put "sad" instead of "said". Jiminy Christmas, my phone hates me.)

[Kazhar]

I've said it before on this forum, but I've always wondered how impactful Haurchefant's death would've been on Western audiences if he remained overtly sexual.

Just ask any French or German player. Did everyone here forget that the Western world isn't just the US?
(Despite what many claim about a version of a character they never experienced themselves, he's still well-liked in those communities. EDIT: It's just anecdotal evidence on my part, sure, but I'd say it's more valuable than complete hypothesis out of nothing like many are doing in this thread.)

[ronibosch]

Just ask any French or German player.
(Despite what many claim about a version of a character they never experienced themselves, he's still well-liked in those communities.)

Oh, so he's a likeable character still, for the most part? I'll need to find more clips of him outside of the scenes posted of him being pervy.

The running joke of him being overtly sexual doesn't offend me, but I've never found that humor funny. Just "meh".

EDIT: It's just anecdotal evidence on my part, sure, but I'd say it's more valuable than complete hypothesis out of nothing like many are doing in this thread.)

That's fine by me. I want anecdotal evidence! Please, send me your stories, French, German, and Japanese players.

[Kazhar]

Oh, so he's a likeable character still, for the most part? I'll need to find more clips of him outside of the scenes posted of him being pervy.

The running joke of him being overtly sexual doesn't offend me, but I've never found that humor funny. Just "meh".

People only post what's different between the two version of the character, which gives the impression that being a creepy weirdo is his entire personality in non-NA localization. It's not, he's still one of the few characters who supports the WoL when they're at their lowest and treated as a friend. He's also not making advances each time he speaks.

For friends (of all gender I may add) who were following the story, Haurchefant's sudden death was still a shock and not treated at all like it was a good riddance. The fact that he was more of a comic relief than NA added to the gravity, I think.

From my perspective, who only learned about NA Haurchefant long after the fact, he just seems boring and generic. I understand why people dislike his original gimmick, but it made him stand above the rest of the characters in an era of the story that was quite dull.

[ronibosch]

People only post what's different between the two version of the character, which gives the impression that being a creepy weirdo is his entire personality in non-NA localization. It's not, he's still one of the few characters who supports the WoL when they're at their lowest and treated as a friend. He's also not making advances each time he speaks.

For friends (of all gender I may add) who were following the story, Haurchefant's sudden death was still a shock and not treated at all like it was a good riddance. The fact that he was more of a comic relief than NA added to the gravity, I think.

From my perspective, who only learned about NA Haurchefant long after the fact, he just seems boring and generic. I understand why people dislike his original gimmick, but it made him stand above the rest of the characters in an era of the story that was quite dull.

Now I wish I understood Japanese better so I could experience the original Haurchefant in full, just to make a fair comparison. Too bad the English subtitles don't reflect the chosen language if you set the audio to Japanese (or another, non-English option).

[SenseiMaria]

I've said it before on this forum, but I've always wondered how impactful Haurchefant's death would've been on Western audiences if he remained overtly sexual.

I wish I could ask someone who experienced the story with his original characterization.

I would echo others in this topic and say that I would have felt nothing / little for his death if the JP script was in EN.

I already dislike Alisae's & G'raha's more subtle...enthusiasm about our character, JP Haurchefant would leave me despising his character with all my being. I play games to have fun, not having my proxy insert for myself get hit on or commented with any sort of sexual tone - such things should be left entirely to the player to activate & pursue on their end, not forced on them. His localization was 100% the correct move in my own view. They only apologized after the fact because you had a small minority complaining too loud, and a simple apology is effortless to give to placate them, instead of the alternative route of introducing an utter creep of a caricature and pray that the NA fanbase likes him.

Characters that even remotely act like JP haurchefant in media get labeled as creeps & perverts in EN media, for good reason.

[Telkira]

I would echo others in this topic and say that I would have felt nothing / little for his death if the JP script was in EN.

I already dislike Alisae's & G'raha's more subtle...enthusiasm about our character, JP Haurchefant would leave me despising his character with all my being. I play games to have fun, not having my proxy insert for myself get hit on or commented with any sort of sexual tone - such things should be left entirely to the player to activate & pursue on their end, not forced on them. His localization was 100% the correct move in my own view. They only apologized after the fact because you had a small minority complaining too loud, and a simple apology is effortless to give to placate them, instead of the alternative route of introducing an utter creep of a caricature and pray that the NA fanbase likes him.

Characters that even remotely act like JP haurchefant in media get labeled as creeps & perverts in EN media, for good reason.

I disagree with it being 'forced' on you, and I also don't get this "proxy" analogy you're making. Your character isn't supposed to be an avatar of yourself or a virtualized projection of yourself in a digital world. It can be, but ultimately it's not, especially within these narrative contexts.
The fact that your character reacts with discomfort to it all makes it very apparent that it's a comedic trope, and not to be taken seriously.
I'm genuinely beginning to suspect that people recoil like terrified vipers at this because they believe it's fashionable to feel this way, and not just take it for what it is.

In any case, I see so many posts in this thread claiming that the JP characterization was bad or worse than the localization, or that it would have killed the character for them when he inevitably dies. I'm sorry, but if this is genuinely how you feel, then that says more about you than it does about the character that SE created. It says you're uncomfortable. It says you're distraught. Fine. But your discomfort isn't worth sacrificing the integrity of the product, or if it is, then that respect should be shared across all versions of the game, including the Japanese translation.

Also, they apologized because they agreed that it was genuinely the wrong move for them to take, going so far as to acknowledge that they deprived the audience of a memorable character. It was a departure from their own processes, in addition to a change they would not have made, had they had the foresight to see how this would go down.

I also don't know where you get this delusion that it's a 'vocal minority' of players who voiced their concerns over this, because they're not a vocal minority. It was an uproar, with many fans posting about it in the forums from EN, GER, and FR languages because their experience was deliberately censored. They wouldn't have apologized for this if a mistake hadn't been made, and no amount of assumptions will change that fact. It was viewed as an abuse of discretion by the translators, and rightfully so.

I'm a strong proponent of translation over localization when it comes to the adaptation of foreign media, since the very concept of localization opens the door to censorship and revisionism. At that point, it's no longer the vision of the creators, but that of someone else who decided on your behalf what was appropriate for you and others like you to experience, rather than letting you see a translation of it and decide this for yourself.

Localization, in my view, is a fool's errand unless you plan on an all-out reconstruction of the content in question, not unlike the American pilot for Sailor Moon, which served as a proof-of-concept of how localization and adaptation of foreign media could be done. Why? Because ultimately, no matter how much you try to adapt it, it's still going to be foreign to Western audiences by virtue of its inception. It's distinctly Japanese and carries with it all the nuances and artistic/literary intricacies which surround it, which goes hand-in-hand as to why it's largely unnecessary. You and others like you would have overlooked the Haurchefant issues, or wouldn't have been phased or bothered by it had it released translated, and not censored. You would have consumed it and shrugged it off. It's not like he was a dealbreaker between you being able to enjoy the game and its story.

Localization of the type this forum post was about isn't something that should be celebrated or cheered on. This type of approach went beyond mere adaptation of media to appeal to a foreign market, it was a deliberate act of censorship and represented an egregious and nauseating departure from the initial vision. As consumers of and appreciators of art, we shouldn't want that. We shouldn't want to support this.
We should accept that Japanese media may be 'problematic' in these ways and enjoy it for what it is just like they do, because to them, it's not problematic. It's comedy. It's entertainment. I've said it before, but localization of this type really does erode a real chance at cultural understanding. The fact that people are even debating this with me shows that they're more concerned about their own preferences rather than retaining artistic and literary integrity, which matters far more than they'd care to ever realize.

[Alltair]

"censorship good if it's something I dislike"

[fulminating]

>art
It’s a video game, and an mmo at that. The localisation is done in house so it’s not even as if they’re sending it out to a third party.
Also why is discomfort not the reaction you’d expect from it not being a comedic device? It’s not enough to warrant death is it?