Character Profile Series #01: Pearl Moira

Welcome to the first character profile entry! Let's start with the basics, shall we? After working on well over a dozen retail anime releases at a former employer, we have become pretty accustomed to seeing a lot of arbitrary information and “stats” for each character in a show or game. We have recreated that experience here with Pearl’s basic stats! Let’s take a look and then examine why they are what they are!

Basic Stats
Blood type: O+
Height: 5’6” (~168cm)
Weight: 49kg

First question! Why did we use feet/inches for height and kilograms for weight?! Because we’re kind of trolls like that, believe it or not! Normally, we catch such inconsistencies during proofreading stages, but we wanted to throw them out like this in our announcement trailer. We’re very happy some people caught on! Proofreading really DOES matter, huh?

Why O+? Pearl was given the O+ blood type because it’s typically referred to as the most common. The childhood friend archetype is also the most common in Japanese media (and quite a few US shows), so it seemed appropriate. If you dig into the Japanese concept of assigning personality traits to blood types, those relating to O+ and Pearl would be “optimistic,” “self-centered,” and “doubtful.” Do two of those sound contradictory? Thus is life.

Why 5’6”? This is an inch higher than the average height of adult women in the US. Since Pearl and another character—Jordan—are cousins, we wanted them to sit on the two sides of this average to help differentiate them. Pearl’s personality and height go together pretty well, while Jordan’s shorter stature compliments her own personality.

What about 49kg? It’s roughly 108 pounds, which is pretty damn light for a 5’6” adult female. Assuming this weight is due to her being one of the undead, she’s about 12 pounds under the US average. Water weight sure is important for the living!

Character Relationships
Jordan: “We’re siblings and close buddies!”
Summer: “Geez, I wish I could be that confident.”
Kairi: “I feel dumb around her, but we get along.”
Cici: “She’s hard to understand and I feel like I need to babysit her…”
Emily: “She’s so weird! I don’t wanna be alone with her…”

We made a basic character relationship chart for everyone in the game, written as the character, so that we could best assign roles in event scenes. Who would say what, who would chime in or be critical of the speaker, et cetera. Such a small effort yields characters who don’t feel forced when they voice their motivations or feelings; rather, they come out organically based on the conversation’s topics.

Fun Factoids

• Pearl had taken on the role of family cook for the Happenstahnce family after Reggie’s mother passed away. She’s a good cook, but for as long as Reggie has known her, she has been clumsy with her hands and tends to julienne herself as often as the food. Perhaps there is a reason for this beyond “because character trope checklists.”
• She can act clingy and possessive—not just of people, but of things. This has led to Reggie and Jordan often teasing her for her hoarding tendencies. Sometimes she’ll even steal people’s stuff because she wants to keep the memory attached to that item close at hand!
• She is the most soft-spoken and submissive of the crew. This often makes her the one teased or set up to be in awkward or uncomfortable situations. That said, she is not shy about her intentions—keeping the others away from Reggie. Surely there is a reason why she makes her feelings for him so obvious, so why doesn’t he react to them?
• Pearl is descended from a local Native American tribe. However, the bloodline has become so diluted that even her grandparents would make light of that claim.
• Her family life has been less than ideal, so Reggie will have to tread lightly when the subjects of her childhood or her parents come up.

Undead Scars
Based on her bandages, it can be assumed that Pearl was first exposed to the virus via her arms. Whether she was bitten, scratched, or something more horrific is something that Reggie will need to learn. It may even share meaning with more deep-rooted scarring…

Gameplay with Pearl
In terms of the game and using Pearl as an active party member, she is a prime example of the well-rounded fighter. She can equip basic weapons thanks to her culinary prowess, and her ability to use Skills is average. On her own or in an imbalanced party, her usefulness will be difficult to glean; placed in a party where she is the middle between two extremes, however, she will be one of the best support characters for linking skills and making up for others’ weaknesses.

Her growth and role in battle reflects her personality and motivations, so she is a good choice for players to keep in the party during their first playthrough. Several sub-events—particularly early on in the game—hinge on her being present in the active battle party.

Thanks for reading up on Pearl, everyone! Next week we will cover Pearl’s cousin and another of Reggie’s long-time friends, Jordan Hollandaise. B-But it’s not like she’s looking forward to you reading about her or anything!!