Atlus Shin Megami Tensei V - It's been hurting my OCD.

[d1r]

Herald Sraosha: An archangel who comes to earth after sunset to vanquish evil. His name means "observance."* In Zoroastrianism, he acts as the ears of Ahura Mazda, listening to the cries of humans. He uses Mediarahan and Mahamabarion (severe Light damage to all enemies with a chance to instakill when hitting a weakness), while Makarakarn and Megidolaon are listed.

 

[d1r]

Dragon Xuanwu: One of the Four Holy Beasts frequently mentioned in Chinese myth and thought. It governs the direction of North, the season of Winter, and Wuxing of Water. It looks into the future and grants wisdom, and also sometimes incarnates as a human to fight evil. It uses "Hard Hit" (medium Phys damage on one enemy, power increases on a critical hit) and Bufula, while Ice Breath and Rakukaja are listed.

He is huge!

 

[d1r]

Herald Uriel: One of the four Archangels at the pinnacle of angel hierarchy. His name means "Fire of God." On the final day of judgment, he's the angel who executes resurrection and judgment, and is also responsible for carrying the stars in heaven. He uses Ragnarok (medium Fire damage for 2-5 hits on random enemies) and Maziobarion (severe Elec damage on all enemies), while Akasha Arts is listed.

 

[oddech_wymarlych_swiatow]

It's great they started to reveal high level demons.

A pity it's not SMT4 design though.

 

[Sentinel]

It's great they started to reveal high level demons.

A pity it's not SMT4 design though.

More like a relief. The angels in SMT4 had some of the worst designs in the series. The very definition of overdesigned mess.

 

[Lutte]

A pity it's not SMT4 design though.

Thank god they did not.
As a picture comparison would put it in terms of design philosophy.

Yeah, no.

 

[Thac0]

I don't dislike the overdesigned messes in isolation, but they clash way too hard with the very nice classical angel designs.
I hope they keep using the older humanoid angel designs, but reuse the better Kaneko archangels for demons. They lack clear identifying features anyway so they should be easy to repurpose, but i do not think there is precedence for that?

 

[Nathir]

It's great they started to reveal high level demons.

A pity it's not SMT4 design though.

More like a relief. The angels in SMT4 had some of the worst designs in the series. The very definition of overdesigned mess.

Yup. I hate it when people go "but they are supposed to look that way".

Sure, I'll give it bonus points for that and the creativity, I guess. Still doesn't change the fact the actual drawing is a convoluted mess that looks like shit. No use pretending otherwise.

Different does not mean better. Faithful to the source does not mean better.

 

[d1r]

Beast Orobas: One of the 72 demons of the Lesser Key of Solomon, and appears as a humanoid with the head of a horse. It can answer any question about the past, present, or future, and grants dignity and favors to sorcerers who summon it. It uses Agidyne, while Mudoon and Megido are listed.

 

[Sentinel]

A snippet of Cait Sith & negotiation OST. Digging that muted slap bass. Sounds like something out of Bully.
https://twitter.com/megaten_atlus/status/1412697901986320385

 

[Sentinel]

 

[Deflowerer]

Sickening.

 

[d1r]

Vile Girimekhala: A giant elephant monster of Sri Lankan myth. He carries Mara, the demon lord who arrived to prevent the Buddha from obtaining Moksha. He possesses an evil eye, and those who look into it are said to be met with illness and disaster. He uses Hades Blast, while Hell Thrust and Marakunda are listed.

Deity Horus: An ancient Egyptian god symbolizing the blessings and greatness of nature. At times, he was considered to be the chief god, and has properties of the sun based on that influence. He uses "Magic Donam/Dunam" (the description says a Charge that increases magic damage on one ally), Megidola, Mahamaon, and "White Dragon Strike" (medium Strength-based Light damage on one enemy, and has a chance to instakill when hitting a weakness), while Diarama and Matarukaja are listed.

 

[Maximilian]

Nothing wrong with the aesthetic, but I find the locales rather boring.

 

[oddech_wymarlych_swiatow]

The very definition of overdesigned mess.

They look like jigsaw puzzles of which Merkabah is made, great concept.

Oh, and I also like second form of Merkabah where puzzles fall apart once again.

 

[Sentinel]

The very definition of overdesigned mess.

They look like jigsaw puzzles of which Merkabah is made, great concept.

Oh, and I also like second form of Merkabah where puzzles fall apart once again.

It might be a great concept (that imo wasn't well executed, fucking hate the shading on the final designs but that's a common complaint with every post-kaneko art, everything looks robotic or plastic and inorganic), but I dislike how divorced from their conventional mythological look they are.

Their designers even said they gave 0 fucks about mythological background and just made something that they thought would look cool. At that point, why even call them by their mythological names? Just make them new oc donut steel characters instead. It's not like their writing respects biblical writings either.

 

[d1r]

Femme Rangda: A witch in myth from Bali, Indonesia. She symbolizes the aspect of evil in Balinese Hinduism. She is a female magic user, and those who hold grudges against others and follow the path of evil become Rangda themselves. She uses Nihil Claw (heavy Phys damage on one enemy for 2-3 hits) and Wind Breath, while "Steel Needle" (previously mentioned in Fafnir's video) is listed.

 

[Tigranes]

The very definition of overdesigned mess.

They look like jigsaw puzzles of which Merkabah is made, great concept.

Oh, and I also like second form of Merkabah where puzzles fall apart once again.

It might be a great concept (that imo wasn't well executed, fucking hate the shading on the final designs but that's a common complaint with every post-kaneko art, everything looks robotic or plastic and inorganic), but I dislike how divorced from their conventional mythological look they are.

Their designers even said they gave 0 fucks about mythological background and just made something that they thought would look cool. At that point, why even call them by their mythological names? Just make them new oc donut steel characters instead. It's not like their writing respects biblical writings either.

What do you mean by 'conventional mythological look', for example? Not sure what you mean.

 

[Sentinel]

The very definition of overdesigned mess.

They look like jigsaw puzzles of which Merkabah is made, great concept.

Oh, and I also like second form of Merkabah where puzzles fall apart once again.

It might be a great concept (that imo wasn't well executed, fucking hate the shading on the final designs but that's a common complaint with every post-kaneko art, everything looks robotic or plastic and inorganic), but I dislike how divorced from their conventional mythological look they are.

Their designers even said they gave 0 fucks about mythological background and just made something that they thought would look cool. At that point, why even call them by their mythological names? Just make them new oc donut steel characters instead. It's not like their writing respects biblical writings either.

What do you mean by 'conventional mythological look', for example? Not sure what you mean.

By that I mean the image that pops in anyone's head when you think of an angel: a humanoid figure with two white wings.

 

[Tigranes]

What do you mean by 'conventional mythological look', for example? Not sure what you mean.

By that I mean the image that pops in anyone's head when you think of an angel: a humanoid figure with two white wings.

And we're saying that about a series where the iconic design is bondage angel, and the entire bestiary is about taking artistic liberties on mythological figures?

And given that we have, for example, 13th century depictions of Seraphim, is it really that important to insist on 'conventional look"?

 

[Puukko]

 

[Derringer]

And given that we have, for example, 13th century depictions of Seraphim, is it really that important to insist on 'conventional look"?

The centaur is one of the first demons you fight in SMT4 and it's like level 3.

 

[Sentinel]

And we're saying that about a series where the iconic design is bondage angel, and the entire bestiary is about taking artistic liberties on mythological figures?

Bondage angel still meets the fundamental criteria for the conventional angel look: a humanoid figure with two wings. The bestiary being about taking artistic liberties is a complete lie, those artistic liberties are pretty much only taken to an extreme degree when there is very little visual information about the deities being represented.

When information about a demon's look existed Kaneko seemed to consider it in most of his designs:
Agares:

Astaroth:

SMT4 version of Astaroth for shits & giggles:

Orobas:

Stolas

Paimon:

Bael:

And the final blow:

Asmodeus, a comparison between the demon that has a drawing in the same source Kaneko got the basic designs above from - let's see what SMT4 artists came up with:

You can't seriously tell me that Kaneko and the new artists' design philosophies are the same.

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And given that we have, for example, 13th century depictions of Seraphim, is it really that important to insist on 'conventional look"?

Kaneko designed Seraph based on that though:

he just didn't call it Gabriel/Uriel/whatever like the other artists seem willing to do.

 

[d1r]

Kunitsu Arahabaki: A chief god of ancient Japanese myth. Because he was revered by Nagasunehiko, who was defeated by Emperor Jinmu's Eastern Expedition, he was considered a symbol of rebellion, and belief in him was suppressed for a long time. He uses Tetrakarn (single ally) and Megidola, while Mudoon is listed.

 

[Sentinel]

Kunitsu Arahabaki: A chief god of ancient Japanese myth. Because he was revered by Nagasunehiko, who was defeated by Emperor Jinmu's Eastern Expedition, he was considered a symbol of rebellion, and belief in him was suppressed for a long time. He uses Tetrakarn (single ally) and Megidola, while Mudoon is listed.

Who's the guy at the end? I don't recognize it.