Moving on to some Atelier Ayesha characters that make appearances in the sequels...
Wilbell: In a sentence, not as charismatic as Marisa Kirisame.
To me, Wilbell comes off as that kid who tries to act like an adult, acting all experienced and knowledgeable while denying the kid inside them. While in some ways, she does possess actual experience (such as an early scene during which she returns Ayesha's dropped wallet), underneath she still seems a kid on an emotional level. True to that personality type, she tends to boast, loves recognition and attention, gets pouty whenever she thinks someone's treating her like a child, and is scared of the dark and doesn't want to admit it.
Wilbell does share a number of traits with Marisa, more than I thought before I started typing this up. Sure, there's the visual similarity of looking like kids playing dress-up in cute witch outfits. Both tend to be selfishly motivated, they lean towards the extrovert side of the spectrum, and supposedly work hard off-screen. This is about where the similarities end. Marisa is estranged from her family. Wilbell admires hers and seeks their approval. Wilbell's work ethic is in doubt; even Ayesha picks up on never seeing her work hard. Marisa delivers results even if her work ethic isn't shown. Marisa was born an ordinary human with no innate magical talent. Wilbell comes from a family for whom magical talent is innate (and thus she tends to slack since she didn't have to struggle for her magical abilities). Though since her magic is a gift from god (or whatever passes for one in their world) Wilbell tends to be lazy about training, which displeases her teacher.
Wilbell does have a heart and a softer side. Most of it only shows during her ending quest so one will see more of her bratty and scheming side (which is what comes to mind more readily for me). Still a fun character but not someone I'd want around in real life. 8/10 Come to think of it, I don't recall seeing her being nice to anyone other than Ayesha. Unless it's someone Ayesha introduced her to. EDIT: Oh, Wilbell does pick up on Fred's crush and doesn't give it away. Could be stretching the border of nice but eh, it counts for me. I'm biased towards cute witch designs so rating inflation is in effect here.
Linca: Reminds me of a feminized Squall due to the way she holds her sword and her hair color. When she's first introduced, she also shows about as much emotion as early game Squall.
Pragmatic Linca is an entertaining character. She'd get along well with Juris, both are similarly not picky about where their nourishment comes from. It's established quickly she doesn't care for her feminine appearance and would prefer something more practical for combat. Given free reign, she'd probably look much like a genderbent Squall, complete with short haircut and durable attire.
Her character arc is somewhat generic by jRPG standards but is handled with the charm the game possess so comes off better than it would in Final Fantasy or some other big name work. Even though her visual design and personality remind me of Squall, her character arc has more in common with Steiner. Both start out content to follow orders and fight and grow to consciously choose something to stand for.
8/10 I boosted her rating a bit because during a conversation with her, the player learns what Ayesha values in friendship.
Keithgriff: Keith got the game's allotment of conventional badass traits. He's got the longcoat (black of course), the grouchy and cynical attitude, the mustache, the cigarettes, and so on. On a surface level, he's the most like a main character and would be right at home in something gritty like Monster Hunter. Heck, if we were to show someone the opening scene and the person didn't know the game's title and what it was about, they might even assume he's the main character.
But this is an Atelier game where cute and girly-girl are the norm and in this environment, he's a freak.
I found him compelling as a character. Perhaps it's because I'm more like him than I care to admit. If Ayesha represents the kind of person I'd like to become, Keithgriff represents the kind of person I am at the present. I'm not as inclined towards gratuitous insults as he is and I don't act as some self-proclaimed judge, jury, and executioner who decides who is worthy of using alchemy. I do tend to gravitate towards a gruff manner, especially online. I don't feel obligated to answer every question people ask of me, especially if they're asking me something that they could discover by putting in a bit of effort themselves (or I feel they're being pushy or whiny about it). I also share the inclination to play off my helpful moments as self-interest.
There is a scene in the game where the player can learn he was at one time just as eager and idealistic as Ayesha. Surprise. My fan theory is that young Kieth looked like a cross between Ernie and Ernest from Star Ocean 2 (without the 3rd eye of course). A neat touch is that as his Friendship increases, he becomes less grumpy when you talk to him to recruit him (or not).
Hmm, 7/10 Compelling isn't synonomous with liking the character on a personal level. I do respect that he gives Ayesha just enough info for her to reach the next step with her own efforts. Success does feel more rewarding if one worked for it. If it wasn't for the put-downs and insults to Ayesha, I could find him respectable, maybe even likeable. But she's so likeable and endearing it just doesn't make sense to be mean to her the way he does.
