History Main / UnfortunateCharacterDesign

* Janet from Brawl Stars wears a pair of blue shorts as part of her stuntswoman outfit. However, a handful of fans pointed out that it looked like a giant blue diaper instead.

* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capirote Capirotes]] (the page's picture), hoods which are worn by UsefulNotes/{{C|hristianity}}atholic penitents during Holy Week (Easter) processions in several cities of UsefulNotes/{{Spain}}, are pointy, occasionally white, and completely cover the face apart from eye holes. They have nothing to do with the UsefulNotes/KuKluxKlan and in fact predate it by hundreds of years. This has led to a rather unfortunate recurring example of this trope in anime and manga; TheKlan obviously isn't a thing in UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}, so the capirote has not been [[GuiltByAssociation stained by association with them]] like in the US, but it ''has'' become commonly used as [[HighlyConspicuousUniform cliche bad guy attire]] thanks to the RuleOfCool, leading to all sorts of potential awkwardness during localization. For instance, Neo-Atlantis from ''Anime/NadiaTheSecretOfBlueWater'', who all dress up in a manner reminiscent of Klan-members despite having absolutely nothing in common with the RealLife organization.

* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capirote Capirotes]], hoods which are worn by penitents during Holy Week processions in Spain, are pointy, occasionally white, and completely cover the face apart from eye holes. They have nothing to do with the UsefulNotes/KuKluxKlan and in fact predate it by hundreds of years. This has led to a rather unfortunate recurring example of this trope in AnimeAndManga; the Klan obviously isn't a thing in Japan, so the capirote has not been [[GuiltByAssociation stained by association with them]] like in the US, but it ''has'' become commonly used as [[HighlyConspicuousUniform cliche bad guy attire]] thanks to the RuleOfCool, leading to all sorts of potential awkwardness during localization. For instance, Neo-Atlantis from ''Anime/NadiaTheSecretOfBlueWater'', who all dress up in a manner reminiscent of Klan-members despite having absolutely nothing in common with the RealLife organization.

* ''Film/Dune2021'' depicts the [[SandWorm Shai-Hulud]] as lacking the [[FlowerMouth petal-like pedipalps]] they are usually depicted with, having [[LampreyMouth round mouths ringed with baleen-like teeth]] instead. Director Denis Villeneuve claimed the change was intended to make the Shai-Huluds' mouths look like an 'eye of God'. Many fans were quick to point out that it also made them look like anuses ''with teeth''.

* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' has had a few design misfires in the past as well. The most notable one in recent memory is the design of the Dreadknight, which has its pilot mounted on the chest wearing a harness. Fans have derided the design as looking more like a baby carrier...or a [[WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory certain dodgeball robot.]]

* Barricade from ''VideoGame/TransformersUniverse'', [[https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Barricade_(WFC) according to TFWiki]], has a crotch shaped like [[Film/{{Transformers}} Bonecrusher's]] face.

* [[BigBad Von Bolt]] from ''[[VideoGame/AdvanceWars Advance Wars: Dual Strike]]'', for the most part, has a [[https://imgur.com/a/HWQBg3e pretty good design]] for a DarkLordOnLifeSupport, but what ruins it are the hoses in his mouth that look like he's sticking out a big doofy tongue: along with his beady eyes, it makes him basically look like a [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} pickled Lickitung.]].

* In the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cP3ciD4Efr0 Theatre of the Eye]] commercials, the Cones resemble Klansmen with their white outfits and pointy hats.

* The UsefulNotes/AtariJaguar's CD add-on looks like a black toilet lid. [[https://imgur.com/7nMJiKQ Take a squint]]. The ''WebVideo/AngryVideoGameNerd'', wastes no time noticing and sums it up:

* ''VideoGame/DayDreaminDavey'' on the UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem has the outlaws fought in the Wild West levels who have rather unfortunately-drawn noses. The way their noses are drawn could easily be mistaken for penises.

* A fan once recounted bringing fanart of [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Discord]] to a ''Star Trek'' convention for Creator/JohnDeLancie to sign. Unfortunately, he didn't realize that a part of Discord's wing looked like something else until he was near the front of the autograph line. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHbfr3TrNLg And then John De Lancie noticed right as he was about to sign it,]] was greatly amused by it, flagged down another ''Star Trek'' actor and the con staff, telling them it [[RefugeInAudacity was the only part of Discord they modeled on him]] and signed right on top of it.

* In ''Series/ResshaSentaiToQger'', [=ToQ-Oh=] is built in a way that the Red Ressha can unfold and extend a large red cylinder from the mecha's crotch. Which would be bad enough if it were just something people could do with their toys at home, but it was actually used once in the show.

Let's face it, some characters look odd. Something about their design makes them look ugly, or freaky, or... phallic. Or worse yet, maybe they resemble {{Blackface}} or the UsefulNotes/KuKluxKlan.

* [[https://i.imgur.com/ck5rbfe.png This]] ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4'' promotional statue. Snake's outfit is not unfortunate unless you're allergic to [[MrFanservice shameless female-aimed fanservice]], but the placement of that lamp seems to be trying a bit too hard.

** None of these have anything on [[FinalBoss Smithy's]] "Magic Head" form from the remake of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'', which sports a pronounced Wario-like nose. It was hard to notice on the pixelated SNES version, but between the nose's placement and the clear high-res graphics of the Nintendo Switch make that thing look like the ''hardest'' part of the battle. [[https://i.ibb.co/wdv87JR/Untitled-1.jpg Your mind doesn't have to be in the gutter to see genitalia]].

* There's absolutely nothing weird about Claude C Kenny's character design in ''VideoGame/StarOceanTheSecondStory'' when viewing his artwork, and it's pretty easy to tell he's wearing a beige jacket in the original game's sprites. However, in the 2023 remake, which brightens the sprites colors a bit, [[NudeColoredClothes the coloration of his jacket on his sprite is so close to his skin color]] that if you're playing on a small screen, his sprite sort of looks like he's wearing a virgin killer sweater with white tights and white bandages on his arms, especially from the back.