I always adored G'raha right from the start in the crystal tower raids and squee'd about how perfect he and my character looked together. Loved him even more in Shadowbringers and 100% would have gone for him if romance was an option in the game. But HOOBOY. When he stepped up and gave such an inspiring speech to combat the despair abominations, oh... THAT is when the tables turned and it was ME who became the fangirl for HIM. Like YES Darling, inspire those people to mend the despair in their hearts and give them hope. Attractiveness levels gone sky high for him right there
I feel like you explained everything I liked about G'raha perfectly! His compassion, his leadership, his dorkiness...all of it, made me love him so much. He easily became my favorite character! The thing that I love the most about him though, is the fact that despite being your local "fanboy", he treats the wol like a real person. I remember it would always catch me off guard when you speak to the other Scions, and they talk about things to come, what just happened, offer up some lore, say how awesome you are, but G'raha...he would check in on you. Always making sure you're okay. He did this even as the Exarch. Making sure you're comfortable in the suites, ensure you had friends in the Crystarium, checking to make sure you were alright, he was right outside your door when you collapsed, even the scene you showed with Emet-Selch, he talked about how the wol is not a weapon because he recognizes them as a person...That scene behind the rock before Mt. Gulg, I felt a real connection, like my character was actually seen. He asks what you want to do and even though you can't really say anything, it felt like a real conversation. Of course, some characters will express concern every once in awhile. Most notably Alisaie, Y'shtola, and Ryne would also check in on you, but not as often as G'raha would. I remember after the situation in Garlemald before you go into the Tower of Babil, everyone says the same old stuff. Even Alisaie says something like, "I was worried about you, but you recovered so quickly!" But then you get to G'raha, and he says, "Are you sure you're alright?" That whole situation was probably the first time I had ever felt real fear for my character, and him asking me that almost brought a tear to my eye. I could see my wol staring up at him wanting to say, "No, I'm not okay...but we have to do this." Ahh...it hurts my heart. Even more so, knowing everything he went through, yet when the world is crashing down around them, the bright future he fought so hard for once again out of reach, he still does things to make sure the wol is okay. To my wol, he is their hero. He's such an amazing character, and I'm so glad he gets to continue his journey with the Scions. I'm also hopeful we get to explore more of his past. If they wrote a book about his time in the First, I would buy it in a heartbeat! I just love him so much! And I appreciate this breakdown for him, it was really well done!
Each of the Scions all have an impact the further the story goes, but G'raha Tia really just takes the cake for me. I'd kinda suspected he might be the Crystal Exarch, but wasn't sure of it. So the cutscene of his reveal was just such an overwhelming moment for me because it was all the emotional tragedy wrapped up in the validation of sensing the pieces. Genuinely sobbed during that scene just cause of how emotional he was as his facade of 'stalwart leader of the Crystarium' fully cracked. His passion and remorse, so glad that he is about to succeed at saving his friend, after 3 centuries of the efforts of those who lived through the Eighth Umbral Era, and his continuation of all they aspired to accomplish. It's why I agree with you 100% about G'raha tia living to see the futture he shed sweat tears and blood to achieve, the hopes and dreams riding on his unwavering dedication to undoing the eighth umbral calamity, is just such a wonderful payoff. In spite of everything, in spite of every force conspiring to deny this, he has the chance to see what he only dared dream of. The only thing i'm mad about is that we did not get to see the joining of G'raha's present and future selves as one. I would have really loved to see him bewildered why and how the WoL was there, and what purpose it could serve until he learned of a future he averted, and being given the chance to rejoin one life with the other. It wasn't necessary to tell the story but...I think it would have been a cherry on top for his Journey in shadowbringers.
Thank you for gushing about the reveal scene! It's deffo one of the best in ShB. That's also a solid observation, it's a shame we didn't get a brief moment seeing them merge, not just to see more concrete-ly how that process works, but also as you say, it could have enhanced his character ever-so-slightly. Though I also understand why it's not there. Without a way to compare the two, it's hard to say, but I feel the 5.3 ending flows better by skipping that bit.
If Dissidia ever returns, I hope G'raha gets picked to represent XIV along Y'shtola. Either him or Ardbert. Great video, looking forward to the next one. :3
Very well made, I agree that g'raha has one of the more fascinating back stories, one that I hope we explore in the later expansions as we might go to his birthplace, if I'm not mistaken. My favourite scene is where he talks about adventuring with us in Kholusia bc jfc that made me cry like a 5 yr old, legit was sobbing in my hands on the NG+ knowing what was going to happen hahaha
I too hope that Corvos will play at least a minor role in the next expansion so we can visit. Yes, that scene shortly before Mt Gulg is so tragic, I was super emotional too! I appreciate the comments btw. It was always my hope with these videos to spark discussion surrounding the game, I'm loving it
@@imacuttlefish6832 Honestly, none of my friends are into the ffxiv lore as much I am so it is a joy to be able to discuss my opinions and debate the questions with someone like minded. I have a lot more to say in regards to each video but I don't want to spam the comments so I say what I feel would be most relevant xD Love your videos man, keep going.
@@stars-and-clouds Aye, I can relate since a lot of my friends are raiders who don't care much for the story. I can deffo appreciate it being difficult to leave thoughts on a video that talks about so many different things, I think your way of doing it makes a lot of sense. Oh and thanks for the compliment, means a lot!
I do recall the scene at rahaztan.. when graha stomped the cane on the floor and he went full exarch mode... I ws amazed how powerful leader he was... and then when giving order to the wol suddenly transforming it to: well if you could ... please help.. fan boy returned 😅
When I first saw Crystal Exarch Me: This is the cat boy from crystal tower right? Let me ask Exarch: Nope never heard of him. Me: Are you sure? Reveal Scene Me: I KNEW IT
THANK YOU. sincerely, you’ve worded EVERY thing i felt so strongly about him. i could never have worded it as well as you did, so instead i will just direct people to watch this instead. truly got me to emotional, thank you!! gonna go binge all your other videos now ❤
An interesting change, I suspect it was during the initial ARR restructure where they redid dungeons and created new solo instances, there is now a point in post ARR where you are stopped in your tracks on the MSQ and have to do the whole Crystal Tower series before you can continue.
Hey, thanks, I really appreciate it! Aye, had to take a bit of a break last year from YT. Thankfully, this year is looking to be a lot more stable. Gonna use that opportunity to talk about more characters for sure!
Ooohh, that there's an interesting thought. I think the game definitely supports that idea, because you can clearly see it being a kind of an off/on switch, like it's become muscle memory to him at this point.
Very nice video ^^ EW SPOILER When you have an option to choose who will go with you on an adventure, I never hesitate to pick Raha. His fanboying is sometimes too much, but he has done so much for the WoL, that he deserves his wish to be fulfilled.
Ikr!! I love how, well after he has deserved it, he's still hesitant about asking the WoL if he can join their next journey in 5.3. Mans just way too humble hahaha
Awesome video One side point, on my opinion, G'raha doesnt have an additional rejoining, the Exarch had I think their mind and memories travel on his spirit vessel but no his soul
We use a spirit vessel that transfers someone's memories and their soul. Thinking about it from that angle, if we are transferring the soul of an x8 rejoined G'raha, what then happens to that soul when he merges with his Source self? To me personally, it's logical to assume that the x8 rejoined soul overrides the x7 rejoined soul, rather than vice versa. I think the only time the game even remotely entertained this question, was when they threw this piece of dialogue, with Urianger, before you go to Anamnesis Anyder in 5.3: "For one, the Exarch hath been subjected to an additional Rejoining, an experience which will have wrought a *change in his aetherial composition.*" Though note that the dialogue still doesn't imply whether he ended up being a x7 rejoined or a x8 rejoined person upon awakening. It's simply saying that him being x8 rejoined right now makes it a technical circumstance. Though to me, it's like, why bring that up if it isn't relevant? I see it as the writers saying: we acknowledge this but we wont tell you what happened. Fine, keep your mysteries then!! In other words, this is one of those typical FFXIV lore thingies where the game never confirms it, nor does it deny it. Wish I could give a more clear answer but that's just how it is hahah Though I will say that regardless if he's more aetherically dense than everyone else or not, it still doesn't take away from the point in the video that the guy is crazy strong. He's still got more fighting experience than basically any mortal could realistically have (besides the WoL), and he's still greatly enhanced thanks to his infusion with the Crystal Tower, giving him powerful magicks and (presumably) an increase in just overall combat performance.
I never really got over the ruthlessness he showed by pulling the other Scions to the First. What did he do when he found out he got the wrong one and couldn't send Thancred back? He tried again, and again and again, causing considerable pain and pushing the Source to war. Maybe he really wanted to see the WoL again, but that doesn't make it right. I suppose his motto was: "The end justifies the means." G'raha, you have done great things for the First and may do good things for the Source, but this WoL does not consider you a friend as I do the Scions. 🤔
It's a valid point, and something the devs took into account at the beginning of ShB, when you had those dialogue options of being rather upset and skeptical towards him. But obv since XIV is a very linear story, they had to eventually have the WoL grow to like G'raha Tia in order for the story to work.
I felt the fanboying was unnecessary. Patch content for shadowbringers gave me huge whiplash. Where was this hardened leader, tempered by countless years of hardship and labor with the weight of the world on his shoulders? I’m not saying that he shouldn’t have had moments of levity after he laid down his mantle as exarch, but the way they did it was just so jarring and too “anime”, and not in a good way. As much as I will champion this game and it’s story, it always tends to do this thing for me where stretches of brilliance are mired by a monkey’s paw. Certain design decisions, goofy voice acting at times and hammy lines, the occasional loose plot threads and writing that was made up as they went along (even though I do not slight the writers for that, it’s just the nature of MMOs), and so on. Of course if these things aren’t issues for you then good on you, but they are issues for me that *slightly* dampen the experience.
Naa, your point has good merits. I loved those moments of G'raha being badass, courageous and/or a strong leader, but you can see, especially in Endwalker, they sort of trickle feed these moments, and for every moment like that, they give 10+ moments of him being a goofy fanboy. It's pretty obvious they do it because they know that that aspect of his character appeals to most of the fans. Like if you go look at G'raha fan art, it's mostly him being cute, silly or whatnot. It's a lot harder to find ones of him being a leader, a warrior, a grandfather (I adore seeing G'raha and Lyna drawn!). And this sort of creates a feedback loop. People create art of him being "anime" as you said, which strengthens the community's perception of G'raha being solely that kind of a character, which reinforces the writers'/devs decision to write more of those scenes. The reason I didn't bring it up is because it doesn't really bother me to that extent... yet. I see it as an important part of his character, to have those moments of him being badass be more rare, cos it's precisely that contrast that I love about him. BUT I do think that there is still room for them to mess him up and go overboard with it, to the point that him being a cute fanboy becomes the only aspect of his character. This tends to happen a lot in stories, especially ones that continue for as long as FFXIV has, where complex characters over time get dumbed down and become simple caricatures. This is why I think your comment is a fair critique, as the danger of that happening is quite realistic. Soz for the wall, I think it's an interesting discussion so decided to write a longer one :)
@@imacuttlefish6832 no need to apologize, i enjoyed reading your comment and pretty much agree. i also forgot to say: great video! more long-form content on ffxiv is surprisingly tricky to find (at least for me), so stumbling upon your channel was a pleasant surprise
Although I’m not the biggest fan of the over-emphasized anime version of him either (when they do it too often), I agree with the fact that they still try to balance both sides of him. That and honestly, I don’t blame him for going all out. After everything he’s been through and for hiding his true self for that long, he FINALLY feels comfortable enough to be goofy, to allow himself to indulge in silly mistakes and shenanigans. May not be everyone’s taste, and moderation is definitely important, but hell, the guy more than deserves to be goofy in the end 😂
I was decidedly okay with it because I view the awakening of Graha Tia in the source as a merging of the First's Graha and the one he is when he was woken up. I think it's probably likely his personality regressed ( not in a bad way ) to accommodate being merged with a youthful, probably even more idealistic version of himself, and it likely made him feel really young again. That's my take on it tho, I think some parts were a little overplayed as well but I look past it for the rest :>
I rather liked the fusion of his char and seeing those two distinct personalities on display at once. But it's a shame how rarely the Exarch side of him actually comes out. Definitely could've been executed a lot better.
![[ASMR] An Evening with the Crystal Exarch!](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/zi4KRil_M78/mqdefault.jpg)
I always adored G'raha right from the start in the crystal tower raids and squee'd about how perfect he and my character looked together. Loved him even more in Shadowbringers and 100% would have gone for him if romance was an option in the game. But HOOBOY. When he stepped up and gave such an inspiring speech to combat the despair abominations, oh... THAT is when the tables turned and it was ME who became the fangirl for HIM. Like YES Darling, inspire those people to mend the despair in their hearts and give them hope. Attractiveness levels gone sky high for him right there
Deffo one of the best scenes in Endwalker!
I feel like you explained everything I liked about G'raha perfectly! His compassion, his leadership, his dorkiness...all of it, made me love him so much. He easily became my favorite character!
The thing that I love the most about him though, is the fact that despite being your local "fanboy", he treats the wol like a real person. I remember it would always catch me off guard when you speak to the other Scions, and they talk about things to come, what just happened, offer up some lore, say how awesome you are, but G'raha...he would check in on you. Always making sure you're okay. He did this even as the Exarch. Making sure you're comfortable in the suites, ensure you had friends in the Crystarium, checking to make sure you were alright, he was right outside your door when you collapsed, even the scene you showed with Emet-Selch, he talked about how the wol is not a weapon because he recognizes them as a person...That scene behind the rock before Mt. Gulg, I felt a real connection, like my character was actually seen. He asks what you want to do and even though you can't really say anything, it felt like a real conversation.
Of course, some characters will express concern every once in awhile. Most notably Alisaie, Y'shtola, and Ryne would also check in on you, but not as often as G'raha would. I remember after the situation in Garlemald before you go into the Tower of Babil, everyone says the same old stuff. Even Alisaie says something like, "I was worried about you, but you recovered so quickly!" But then you get to G'raha, and he says, "Are you sure you're alright?" That whole situation was probably the first time I had ever felt real fear for my character, and him asking me that almost brought a tear to my eye. I could see my wol staring up at him wanting to say, "No, I'm not okay...but we have to do this." Ahh...it hurts my heart. Even more so, knowing everything he went through, yet when the world is crashing down around them, the bright future he fought so hard for once again out of reach, he still does things to make sure the wol is okay. To my wol, he is their hero.
He's such an amazing character, and I'm so glad he gets to continue his journey with the Scions. I'm also hopeful we get to explore more of his past. If they wrote a book about his time in the First, I would buy it in a heartbeat! I just love him so much! And I appreciate this breakdown for him, it was really well done!
I liked G'raha Tia in ARR, totally forgot about him until I was brought to The First. The, I completely came to love him. He's like my best friend.
Best friend... or perhaps something more? heheh
@@imacuttlefish6832 Ew, he's a cat boi. I'm Elezen, we don't date or mate out.
Each of the Scions all have an impact the further the story goes, but G'raha Tia really just takes the cake for me. I'd kinda suspected he might be the Crystal Exarch, but wasn't sure of it. So the cutscene of his reveal was just such an overwhelming moment for me because it was all the emotional tragedy wrapped up in the validation of sensing the pieces. Genuinely sobbed during that scene just cause of how emotional he was as his facade of 'stalwart leader of the Crystarium' fully cracked. His passion and remorse, so glad that he is about to succeed at saving his friend, after 3 centuries of the efforts of those who lived through the Eighth Umbral Era, and his continuation of all they aspired to accomplish. It's why I agree with you 100% about G'raha tia living to see the futture he shed sweat tears and blood to achieve, the hopes and dreams riding on his unwavering dedication to undoing the eighth umbral calamity, is just such a wonderful payoff. In spite of everything, in spite of every force conspiring to deny this, he has the chance to see what he only dared dream of.
The only thing i'm mad about is that we did not get to see the joining of G'raha's present and future selves as one. I would have really loved to see him bewildered why and how the WoL was there, and what purpose it could serve until he learned of a future he averted, and being given the chance to rejoin one life with the other. It wasn't necessary to tell the story but...I think it would have been a cherry on top for his Journey in shadowbringers.
Thank you for gushing about the reveal scene! It's deffo one of the best in ShB.
That's also a solid observation, it's a shame we didn't get a brief moment seeing them merge, not just to see more concrete-ly how that process works, but also as you say, it could have enhanced his character ever-so-slightly.
Though I also understand why it's not there. Without a way to compare the two, it's hard to say, but I feel the 5.3 ending flows better by skipping that bit.
If Dissidia ever returns, I hope G'raha gets picked to represent XIV along Y'shtola. Either him or Ardbert.
Great video, looking forward to the next one. :3
Daamn, G'raha would make such a lit fighter in Dissidia!!
Thank you, it should be worth the wait!
Very well made, I agree that g'raha has one of the more fascinating back stories, one that I hope we explore in the later expansions as we might go to his birthplace, if I'm not mistaken.
My favourite scene is where he talks about adventuring with us in Kholusia bc jfc that made me cry like a 5 yr old, legit was sobbing in my hands on the NG+ knowing what was going to happen hahaha
I too hope that Corvos will play at least a minor role in the next expansion so we can visit.
Yes, that scene shortly before Mt Gulg is so tragic, I was super emotional too!
I appreciate the comments btw. It was always my hope with these videos to spark discussion surrounding the game, I'm loving it
@@imacuttlefish6832 Honestly, none of my friends are into the ffxiv lore as much I am so it is a joy to be able to discuss my opinions and debate the questions with someone like minded.
I have a lot more to say in regards to each video but I don't want to spam the comments so I say what I feel would be most relevant xD
Love your videos man, keep going.
@@stars-and-clouds Aye, I can relate since a lot of my friends are raiders who don't care much for the story.
I can deffo appreciate it being difficult to leave thoughts on a video that talks about so many different things, I think your way of doing it makes a lot of sense.
Oh and thanks for the compliment, means a lot!
One of my most favorite moments in FF14 is when G'raha went TOTAL fanboy on Estinien!! I laughed until I cried lol.
OMG yaaassss, can't wait to finish it. Also love that you put the character's quotes at the beginning
I wanted to do it as a lil nod to FFIX, even if they aren't quite as in-depth
I do recall the scene at rahaztan.. when graha stomped the cane on the floor and he went full exarch mode... I ws amazed how powerful leader he was... and then when giving order to the wol suddenly transforming it to: well if you could ... please help.. fan boy returned 😅
Right on!
When I first saw Crystal Exarch
Me: This is the cat boy from crystal tower right? Let me ask
Exarch: Nope never heard of him.
Me: Are you sure?
Reveal Scene
Me: I KNEW IT
THANK YOU. sincerely, you’ve worded EVERY thing i felt so strongly about him. i could never have worded it as well as you did, so instead i will just direct people to watch this instead. truly got me to emotional, thank you!! gonna go binge all your other videos now ❤
Aw thanks, that really means a lot! And hope the other vids were/are to your liking haha
@@imacuttlefish6832 they got me thru my 9 hour office job shift, fastest shift i’ve ever had 😂💕
An interesting change, I suspect it was during the initial ARR restructure where they redid dungeons and created new solo instances, there is now a point in post ARR where you are stopped in your tracks on the MSQ and have to do the whole Crystal Tower series before you can continue.
Raha is my WoL’s little adopted brother. And we going out on adventures like two dorky kids
Though, I wonder: at a couple centuries old, would he still be a little brother? hahah
@@imacuttlefish6832 you can never be too old to be an older or younger sibling at heart :D it's all about the relationship dynamis ;)
I ship him with my WoL
str8 to the point, I love it
Great job on the video! I love looong discussions like this!
Glad you enjoyed!
Also my favourite scene watching the crystal tower become alive too, the final blast of light into the night sky is still my desktop background hehe
That sounds like a banger wallpaper. And yeah, my mans just really badass in that scene!!
I really love these perspectives into the main cast's personalities and growth, I hope you return to doing these someday ^^
Hey, thanks, I really appreciate it!
Aye, had to take a bit of a break last year from YT. Thankfully, this year is looking to be a lot more stable. Gonna use that opportunity to talk about more characters for sure!
@@imacuttlefish6832 Oh I didn't expect a reply, esp so soon haha. I'm glad things are looking up for you! :D
Such excellent videos! I am really mad you’re not more popular ❤️
I just wanna hug him sometimes. And then maybe shake him when he acts like he hasnt earned a hug lol.
He’s the best character ever. I just adore him.
27:05
How many times, do you think, did he have to do the same to protect the people of the Crystarium?
Ooohh, that there's an interesting thought. I think the game definitely supports that idea, because you can clearly see it being a kind of an off/on switch, like it's become muscle memory to him at this point.
Very nice video ^^
EW SPOILER
When you have an option to choose who will go with you on an adventure, I never hesitate to pick Raha. His fanboying is sometimes too much, but he has done so much for the WoL, that he deserves his wish to be fulfilled.
Ikr!!
I love how, well after he has deserved it, he's still hesitant about asking the WoL if he can join their next journey in 5.3. Mans just way too humble hahaha
Awesome video
One side point, on my opinion, G'raha doesnt have an additional rejoining, the Exarch had
I think their mind and memories travel on his spirit vessel but no his soul
We use a spirit vessel that transfers someone's memories and their soul. Thinking about it from that angle, if we are transferring the soul of an x8 rejoined G'raha, what then happens to that soul when he merges with his Source self? To me personally, it's logical to assume that the x8 rejoined soul overrides the x7 rejoined soul, rather than vice versa.
I think the only time the game even remotely entertained this question, was when they threw this piece of dialogue, with Urianger, before you go to Anamnesis Anyder in 5.3:
"For one, the Exarch hath been subjected to an additional Rejoining, an experience which will have wrought a *change in his aetherial composition.*"
Though note that the dialogue still doesn't imply whether he ended up being a x7 rejoined or a x8 rejoined person upon awakening. It's simply saying that him being x8 rejoined right now makes it a technical circumstance. Though to me, it's like, why bring that up if it isn't relevant? I see it as the writers saying: we acknowledge this but we wont tell you what happened. Fine, keep your mysteries then!!
In other words, this is one of those typical FFXIV lore thingies where the game never confirms it, nor does it deny it. Wish I could give a more clear answer but that's just how it is hahah
Though I will say that regardless if he's more aetherically dense than everyone else or not, it still doesn't take away from the point in the video that the guy is crazy strong. He's still got more fighting experience than basically any mortal could realistically have (besides the WoL), and he's still greatly enhanced thanks to his infusion with the Crystal Tower, giving him powerful magicks and (presumably) an increase in just overall combat performance.
I never really got over the ruthlessness he showed by pulling the other Scions to the First. What did he do when he found out he got the wrong one and couldn't send Thancred back? He tried again, and again and again, causing considerable pain and pushing the Source to war. Maybe he really wanted to see the WoL again, but that doesn't make it right. I suppose his motto was: "The end justifies the means." G'raha, you have done great things for the First and may do good things for the Source, but this WoL does not consider you a friend as I do the Scions. 🤔
It's a valid point, and something the devs took into account at the beginning of ShB, when you had those dialogue options of being rather upset and skeptical towards him.
But obv since XIV is a very linear story, they had to eventually have the WoL grow to like G'raha Tia in order for the story to work.
I felt the fanboying was unnecessary. Patch content for shadowbringers gave me huge whiplash. Where was this hardened leader, tempered by countless years of hardship and labor with the weight of the world on his shoulders? I’m not saying that he shouldn’t have had moments of levity after he laid down his mantle as exarch, but the way they did it was just so jarring and too “anime”, and not in a good way.
As much as I will champion this game and it’s story, it always tends to do this thing for me where stretches of brilliance are mired by a monkey’s paw. Certain design decisions, goofy voice acting at times and hammy lines, the occasional loose plot threads and writing that was made up as they went along (even though I do not slight the writers for that, it’s just the nature of MMOs), and so on. Of course if these things aren’t issues for you then good on you, but they are issues for me that *slightly* dampen the experience.
Naa, your point has good merits. I loved those moments of G'raha being badass, courageous and/or a strong leader, but you can see, especially in Endwalker, they sort of trickle feed these moments, and for every moment like that, they give 10+ moments of him being a goofy fanboy. It's pretty obvious they do it because they know that that aspect of his character appeals to most of the fans.
Like if you go look at G'raha fan art, it's mostly him being cute, silly or whatnot. It's a lot harder to find ones of him being a leader, a warrior, a grandfather (I adore seeing G'raha and Lyna drawn!). And this sort of creates a feedback loop. People create art of him being "anime" as you said, which strengthens the community's perception of G'raha being solely that kind of a character, which reinforces the writers'/devs decision to write more of those scenes.
The reason I didn't bring it up is because it doesn't really bother me to that extent... yet. I see it as an important part of his character, to have those moments of him being badass be more rare, cos it's precisely that contrast that I love about him.
BUT I do think that there is still room for them to mess him up and go overboard with it, to the point that him being a cute fanboy becomes the only aspect of his character. This tends to happen a lot in stories, especially ones that continue for as long as FFXIV has, where complex characters over time get dumbed down and become simple caricatures. This is why I think your comment is a fair critique, as the danger of that happening is quite realistic.
Soz for the wall, I think it's an interesting discussion so decided to write a longer one :)
@@imacuttlefish6832 no need to apologize, i enjoyed reading your comment and pretty much agree. i also forgot to say: great video! more long-form content on ffxiv is surprisingly tricky to find (at least for me), so stumbling upon your channel was a pleasant surprise
@@ArtificialVik Thanks, I really appreciate it!
Although I’m not the biggest fan of the over-emphasized anime version of him either (when they do it too often), I agree with the fact that they still try to balance both sides of him. That and honestly, I don’t blame him for going all out. After everything he’s been through and for hiding his true self for that long, he FINALLY feels comfortable enough to be goofy, to allow himself to indulge in silly mistakes and shenanigans. May not be everyone’s taste, and moderation is definitely important, but hell, the guy more than deserves to be goofy in the end 😂
I was decidedly okay with it because I view the awakening of Graha Tia in the source as a merging of the First's Graha and the one he is when he was woken up. I think it's probably likely his personality regressed ( not in a bad way ) to accommodate being merged with a youthful, probably even more idealistic version of himself, and it likely made him feel really young again. That's my take on it tho, I think some parts were a little overplayed as well but I look past it for the rest :>
He was better as the Exarch and should've died as the Exarch. Now he's just an annoying fanboy.
2nd worse character assassination right after Arenvald
I rather liked the fusion of his char and seeing those two distinct personalities on display at once. But it's a shame how rarely the Exarch side of him actually comes out. Definitely could've been executed a lot better.