God, I love this woman. She is so relatable to me. The most relatable character I have ever seen and my favorite of all time as well. Shion is the character in the entirety of games and stories that I have not made that I am most comfortable with roleplaying as. And even last night, I got so into character as her that I found the words just flowing out of me effortlessly. Something that has never happened before as I struggle with character reactions for characters who aren't me.
And I just... it's nice that the main character of a series is a nerdy female scientist who is relatively unassuming in looks and has a very similar figure to me in the first game.. (Though I think she is very attractive) Even if they make her skimpier and skinnier as the series progresses, she still doesn't have completely massive boobs or anything like that, and looks relatively tame compared to many other females I've seen. Also, she has brown hair! So many characters have exotic hair colors (like green or purple) that appearance-wise makes it more difficult for me to relate to.
Also, I really love her design. Particularly in Episode 1. Her Vector uniform looks stunning on her. Even her Episode 2 and 3 designs look pretty awesome. Her original voice actress is awesome too. A very bubbleish high-pitched voice that sounds kind of bossy and commanding at times, but is also capable of kindness and it just comforts me so much to hear it.
As for personality, she just reacts a lot like how I do. Even her negative traits are similar to mine. She's passionate, kind, and generally logical, but lets her emotions get the better of her and becomes obsessed with the only person who she ever felt close to, tuning out others who care about her. I've done this SO many times in the past and... it's just surprising to find someone in any piece of media who emulates that particular trait of mine.
Shion is one of the few characters I've gotten so immersed into, and have deeply cared for. I've cried and shed tears over her predicaments in the game and have really been able to understand and feel what she feels. I've gotten frustrated about her less than stellar personality traits, sure, but it was in the same way I become frustrated with myself. I don't hate her for it. In fact, I think her flaws make her such a compelling and beautiful character, and the reason I can relate to her. A lot of people who have played the series dislike her towards the later installments because she gets really moody and mean towards the others, but that is because of her emotional turmoil. It isn't something I'm justifying though. I understand perfectly those who hate that. I hate it in myself when I become like that and get so mad.
It's just... it's just nice to see someone else who suffers in a similar way that I do, and expresses it in that sense. Someone who isn't 100% perfect and has feelings and really really bad days. It makes Shion much more approachable. Usually, I feel bad about having people who aren't me as avatars because I feel like I'm engaging in wish fulfillment. But when I have Shion as an avatar, she really just feels like an extension of myself, rather than someone that I admire and worship. And also, she is someone that I actually wish existed and that I could be friends with. That is the difference between Shion and every other character I like.
