>>56837024I remember a while back when Wolke was trying to design that long faced dude with the sleeveless shirt he was trying to figure out whether or not shorts would look good with it and it was generally agreed that shorts on men go out of style around the age that they hit puberty. I agree, and I think the comments that the staff made are actually pretty interesting. I think there's an argument to be made that, within the realm of anime, it's actually gayer to wear shorts than a crop top.
>Aether from Genshin Impact>Ayerscarpe from Arknights>Wallace from Pokemon>Sai from NarutoThey all show their waists but they DON'T show their legs, which is quite interesting, and there are a few more examples out there. Independently of that, is it just me, or is there a lot of sexualization of thighs in anime? Even fully covered, we're all aware of the trope of characters being sexualized with thick legs (which is why I take effort to describe Alex's legs and ass as skinny and flat). Notice how staff didn't actually comment on midriff or arm exposure at all. As a result, this might be why it's less gay to show your midriff than your legs as an anime guy, as well as the fact that when sexualized, thighs are often paired with ass, both of which are accented by shorts. Using pants, aside from just being better looking, is a mechanism to stop the outfit from being too gay.
As for the actual outfit itself, it's kinda ass, and it doesn't fully commit to being "tribal" or just "referencing" Kommo-o. Either you go full scales with the crop top or just ditch the scales on it, but the scales hanging in the middle against the plain design of the shirt looks weird.
When I was designing the fantasy outfit for Alex I was a bit on the fence on the Aether style waist exposure but nobody seemed to call me out on it. I would never make a design like that for standard Pokemon, but since it's anime fantasy I guess it's okay. I dont know why I spent so much time writing this
