What's the big deal about Serah and Snow?

[Artemisia]

I see a lot of criticism directed at Serah and Snow's supposedly controversial relationship. The main arguments I hear are:
A. She looks like a schoolgirl
B. Is underage
C. Is half Snow's size.

There is no basis in any of those arguments. Serah is 18, therefore the legal issue is irrelevant. Her 'schoolgirl' appearance may be due to the fact that she is still a teen and has just finished high school. Snow is 21, a 3-year age gap being a common and perfectly acceptable age gap imo. Consider Locke and Celes from VI: Locke is 25, Celes 18. Age gap argument nullified.

As for the height issue, Serah is of average height for a girl her age (5'4") while Snow is unusually tall (6"7'). Height difference between a couple is not a valid argument for their relationship being inappropriate.

Though Serah and Snow hardly have the most engaging or developed relationship in the series, I find the criticism towards them based on the supposed 'inappropriate' nature of their pairing one of a petty and uninformed opinion.

Okay, my rant's officially over, thanks for listening I just had to get it out there cos it was really starting to annoy me...

P.S. All height, age and other general info is sourced from FF Wiki.

EDIT: To the mods - sorry about the double post! I'm on the site on my cellphone and now it won't let me delete the other post! Apologies!

 

[Linnaete]

I don't think it's that controversial. Irregardless of Serah's actual age (I think we all knew she was 18), people have pointed out that how she is designed makes her look younger than she actually is, which is a little awkwardly juxtaposed with how large Snow is. If you didn't know how old they are in the game, then it's reasonable to see why one could find it slightly awkward. Still, it's not like this kind of lolibait-ish character design has never been done before from Japanese designers, and seeing characters look younger than their actual ages isn't uncommon. Height difference of course, should not be an actual issue in a relationship, but it's still worth wondering why they've uhh, exaggerated Snow's size.

Anyway, no one's actually making that much of a deal about this. It's not like reviewers have been docking a lot of points from the game because of the size difference of the couple.

 

[Rey]

I had no problem with Snow and Serah. Sure Snow looked much bigger than her.. but the age difference is almost nothing. They were not a cute couple. But yes, everyone knew what age Serah was and what age Snow was. Snow was more or less her bodyguard. Guess that is why they made him so big. He cares for nothing more than being a hero for Serah etc. I did not see what was so awkward. Some people might think they are cute.. which I find odd. They are more like hero and useless girl to me. I do not see what is wrong with Serah being short and Snow being tall. I honestly think they are fine. Serah is kinda loli. But the Japanese are like that. I would not worry about it too much.

 

[Artemisia]

I didn't really encounter the criticisms in these forums, I may have worded myself wrong there.

Perhaps the height difference is to visually emphasise the hero-helpless damsel relationship Serah and Snow have? I hope they make her less needy in the sequel...but then again I'm not really looking forward to the sequel.

 

[Dragon Mage]

Her shortness does tend to make it look suspect, as well. I don't think anyone really cares anymore. I mean, who would be surprised with a creeper relationship in a JRPG these days? It practically defines the genre.

In all honesty, I looked forward to seeing her die. I detest helpless damsels. If they didn't want to die, they shouldn't have been so helpless.

 

[The Witch]

It lacks... the spark, in my opinion. They're just... eh, I don't know unappealing.

(P.S. Serah kinda had no choice in the dying factor )

 

[Artemisia]

Serah's loli look is really not that bad if you compare her to Garnet from IX: a 16 year old running around in a skin-tight leather ensemble for most of the game, not to mention her barely-there swim-suit thing she wore in Trace mode. I used to get distracted during battles because I was fixated on her lovingly crafted pixellated buttock.