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Tenko's original character design character design screams her, so why did Danganronpa S take that away from her?
Tenko’s original character design embodies her as a character especially her personality. Her extra frills (which she added by herself to make them more appealing to women) and her abs (which only women are allowed to touch) socks and sandals multiple hair accessories. Kodaka literally described it as "a fashion disaster that shows off the light-heartedness of a sportsy girl mixed with the harmonious Japanese essence."
(I personally headcanon that when Tenko was at the temple she was reading those teen girl magazines and it said something like "girls love accessories and frills" and she said bet and went a bit overboard.)
Just by looking at Tenko, you can tell that she is a very passionate girl who puts her heart into things and is bubbly and eccentric and that is part of what a character design is supposed to do.
It doesn't just stop at her original design even her Tenko's 10th anniversary outfit reflects her personality. I love the suit top skirt combo, the top hat, her hair etc . I think it's very Tenko, and very pretty.
I don't, however, like Tenko's Danganronpa S swimsuit. In the game, Tenko wears a pink and plaid, two-piece that completely takes away everything I complimented about her character design. Tenko is supposed to be this eccentric character with a bad fashion sense (I guess plaid is a weird pattern for a swimsuit, but still.)
Where are the frills, the cutesy additions to make it appealing to women? It's just plain.
I guess there isn't much you can do with a swimsuit, but on the other hand, I've seen people design way better swimsuits for Tenko that really portray her well and encapsulate what I wish her original design had done. So I guess the devs wanted it to be boring.
Examples that I believe fit Tenko really well:
@chibigaia-art redesign is really Tenko and captures her essence and personality with her extra frills and abs. You can view her amazing redesign here.
https://www.tumblr.com/chibigaia-art/661063246304985088/gave-tenko-the-abs-and-frills-she-deserves?source=share
@cl4ret-10ko redesign looks like something Tenko would wear and differs from the basic two pieces all the other girls wear especially with the added additions of the inflatable armbands bands and the abs. You can view their amazing redesign here.
https://www.tumblr.com/cl4ret-10ko/657459375318941696/redesigned-tenkos-swimsuit-closeup?source=share
And then there's the other side of Tenko's design problem in Danganronpa S, the abs Where are the abs! Kodaka explicitly said she had them so where are they? None of the athletic girls except Sakura have abs, and knowing the fandom i'm pretty sure the majority would love seeing more muscular girls with scars, so I don't know why the devs were being cowards about it.
Tenko's character design was eccentric, passionate, and bold. But Danganronpa S stripped that all away, leaving her with a swimsuit design that could have literally belonged to anyone else. No frills. No chaotic choices. No abs. Just the shell of a girl that was never meant to blend in. If fan artists' swimsuit designs can capture Tenko's essence, what excuses do the devs have? They played it safe and, in doing so, gave us an okay swimsuit and erased everything that made Tenko her.
Tenko deserved so much better.
(And if either artist is uncomfortable with me doing that I will remove it. 👍)