Fire Emblem fans want hentai artist's work removed from game

Fire Emblem Heroes has been one of the few Nintendo mobile releases that has managed to stay relevant, thanks to its large player base and the multiple events and connections it has with characters from across the franchise.

(Picture: Nintendo)

One of the most prominent has been Lucina, coming from the 2012 title Fire Emblem Awakening, and who has earned a special place among the most popular Nintendo characters, appearing in multiple games including Super Smash Bros.

This is why Lucina's introduction to the Resplendent Heroes section was something expected, where the most iconic characters in Fire Emblem receive an exclusive redesign available through the Feh Pass, a monthly subscription for the most hardcore fans of the mobile game.

The next Resplendent Hero, Lucina: Future Witness, is scheduled to become available Nov. 24, 11 PM PT. Check the link below to see more of this upcoming Resplendent Hero! #FEHeroeshttps://t.co/DgqnI02wgzpic.twitter.com/CEiwBDdRuH

— Fire Emblem Heroes (@FE_Heroes_EN) November 10, 2020

However, the announcement has brought controversy with it, as the reveal of Lucina's resplendent art has been clouded by the work history of its designer, Himukai Yuji.

Himukai Yuji had previously worked with the Japanese company, creating the designs and concept art for some characters in the game, as well as collaborating on the art of Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth, and for his extensive work within the Atlus saga, Etrian Odyssey.

Yuji contributed to the art of dungeon crawler Etrian Odyssey. (Picture: Atlus)

Despite this, as soon as the announcement was made, the fans of the game and the franchise didn’t take long to react, since it is well known that the illustrator has participated in the design of multiple games and doujin mangas, aimed at an adult audience, and where he has come to illustrate explicit situations with childlike characters.

The disgust and lack of acceptance towards the person in charge of creating the redesign has been noted, through the multiple comments and reactions made in the announcement tweet:

WHY ARE YOU STILL WORKING WITH THIS ARTIST??? THIS ARTIST DRAWS CHILD PHOTOGRAPHY. YOU ARE PART OF NINTENDO. DISGUSTING!

— Radiant Dawn Soren when (@kabrikitty) November 10, 2020

Why are you working with that artist? Why does she look like a toddler?
It's really unnerving to see characters that are clearly not children being drawn like they are.

— Edensol (@EdensolFE) November 10, 2020

I understand the artist draws their characters this way usually, and with all due respect their work is very nice, but this was a pretty poor call from the team... and out of the artist's comfort zone, even.
I don't think anyone views Lucina as a child, this makes no sense.

— Lissa ♥ CLDVN on the Brain ♥ (@pillver) November 10, 2020

Please stop hiring this artist, PLEASE

— Basty (@Beloved_Basty) November 10, 2020

So far the developers of the game haven’t commented on the matter, however it isn’t expected any action will be taken against him, given the collaborations that he has done previously in the game and his good reputation in the industry.