Why Japanese Games Tell You Characters Blood Types

[Jason Tandro]

Fascinating quick video I watched earlier today on one of my latest gaming Youtube channel haunts outside xbox. I always wondered about this and here is the reason why (features lots of FF characters).

 

[Lex]

That was interesting. And this is childish but Playstation Access is so much better and I can't believe how many PS exclusive games she had to go through on that list XD

 

[Jason Tandro]

That was interesting. And this is childish but Playstation Access is so much better and I can't believe how many PS exclusive games she had to go through on that list XD

The way you feel about my southern accent and everybody feels about Carlies accent is how I feel about all of their accents.

 

[Hisako]

I can't believe how many PS exclusive games she had to go through on that list XD

Not... a lot?

Only ones that come to mind are FFVII and VIII lol

 

[Blade]

You know what pisses me off?

I keep asking my Doctor for my blood type, and they CAN'T TELL YOU (unless you donate).

Geez....

 

[Jason Tandro]

That's weird... well if anybody is curious I'm AB+. I donate regularly but my folks knew that when I was a baby so not sure how they found out.

 

[trash panda]

We used to have a truck come by my old job every few months for a blood drive. I tried donating before but they wouldn't let me because I was "too small"...and also probably because I fainted when they pricked my finger during medical checkups prior to donation.

I am curious to know if there's an easier way to find your blood type.

 

[Joe]

I haven't donated blood since the start of the year (they won't let you for like 6 months after you get a tattoo) but I'm O- and have special antibodies or some such. I'm not sure of the exact details but apparently my blood is perfect for newborn babies in hospital.

Yay I'm helping.

 

[trash panda]

DERPDERPDERP You guise Amazon.com has a little kit that tests your blood type for a few dollars. Now we all have to do it and find out what types of RPG characters we'd be.

 

[Cthulhu]

I keep asking my Doctor for my blood type, and they CAN'T TELL YOU (unless you donate).

Well that's stupid, why would they keep that from you? What if you're in Vietnam, lost both legs, are bleeding out and a medic asks you WHAT BLOOD TYPE ARE YOU?

Alright, so how big is the blood donor / supplier industry, and how much monies would they lose if they told you your blood type?

also my dad is a blood donor and has been for aeons, supposedly he's got a rare blood type of sorts. He got a pin for it and everything, . I've never bothered, I don't thing I'm special enough.

 

[Starling]

I think they test your blood type when you're born, so if the doctors won't tell you your mom probably knows. You can also figure it out by asking your parents and close relatives for their blood types and then calculating genotypes. Of course, my aunt seemed to have been mistaken about either hers or my cousin's when I last tried it since my results didn't quite match up for her.

 

[Strangelove]

i know mine and i've never donated

but my mum did work for the blood transfusion service and she told me my detailed blood type

but i always forget what it was

 

[Jason Tandro]

I haven't donated blood since the start of the year (they won't let you for like 6 months after you get a tattoo) but I'm O- and have special antibodies or some such. I'm not sure of the exact details but apparently my blood is perfect for newborn babies in hospital.

Yay I'm helping.

O- is the "universal donor" blood. Really it's ideal for anybody. AB+ is the "universal recipient", I can take in anybody's blood.

Quick breakdown:

Blood either produces two types of antibodies (A and B) and it either has one, both or neither. If it has neither it's Type O. Not 100% sure what the positive / negative means.

What I do know is that O- blood contains no antibodies that could be rejected or create complications which is why they are ideal catch-alls for blood transfusions. IF you give a person with A type blood some B type blood, bad things happen.

Similarly because I have AB+ blood, giving me blood with A antibodies or B antibodies is okay because my body already naturally produces both. Hence, "universal recipient."

 

[Starling]

Positive is another one, with negative being its absence. When I learned about blood types, details about that were skimmed over to focus on A, B, AB and O. You can get away with incompatible blood the first time as it takes prior exposure before a reaction will occur. It's important to know in case of emergencies where that may be the only way to save someone. When there's a reaction, clotting occurs. In biology class, we got samples of synthetic blood and this crime scene scenario where we had to test the blood samples to identify who they belonged to, with a reference chart showing what positive and negative results are supposed to look like. Using

Spoiler: these examples,

you can figure out the blood types for

Spoiler: these

samples.

If you look at the blood types of other species, things get more complicated as the number of types vary and some don't even have universal donors or receivers.

 

[Blade]

That's very informative and all, but what does it have to do with an RPG character's personality type and affinities?

 

[Starling]

The use of blood types for that is like using the constellations present on your date of birth for horoscopes. There's not actual scientific reason those should have any impact on your personality, so they should be used for fun rather than assigning traits to a broad group of people. Of course, knowing the blood types of characters can help you if you want to write something where it's relevant, such as someone needing a blood transfusion or to rule out potential relatives.

 

[Strangelove]

personality types/fortune telling based on blood type is a common thing is east asia, even though there's no scientific basis to it. so just like the zodiac you can probably find something in the descriptions of your blood type that you think 'yeah, that's me' just like you could from a zodiac description

i'm type a-, which apparantly means i'm cautious and meticulous, caring, like neatness, studious, have staying power, and am a safe driver (and so on). but i'm also prone to being bad at letting things go, quick to anger, 'don't see the forest for the trees', dwell on lost loves, harsh on others and myself. some of which fit, some of which don't.

some ff characters who share the same blood type include:
- banon, cyan (ffvi)
- yuffie, vincent (ffvii)
- quistis, irvine, ward (ffviii)

 

[Jason Tandro]

Okay well let's go into mine then, since this is all fun and what not:

People with blood type AB are hard to categorize. They can have characteristics on both ends of the spectrum at the same time. For instance, they are both shy and outgoing. They easily switch from one opposite to another. AB people are trustworthy and responsible, but can't handle it when too much is asked of them. They don't mind doing favors or helping out, as long as its on their own conditions. People with this blood type are interested in art and metaphysics.
AB is considered the worst blood type. In predictability-loving Japan, they're loose cannons. They also like to set their own conditions and reserve the right to drop out when things don't meet their expectations. They're known to be sensitive and considerate—at times—but it just isn't enough to balance out the flaws in this blood type. For a while, some companies tried dividing their employees into work groups based on blood type, and no one wanted to work with the AB group. Anime villains are likely to be type AB.
Uchiha Sasuke, Hongo Yui, Tomo, Trowa Barton, Kenshin

Well sharing bloodtype with I'm assuming (hoping) they mean Kenshin Himura of Ruruoni Kenshi is pretty freaking sweet.



What FF characters have AB blood?



Setzer Gabbiani, Squall Leonhart and Cloud Strife.



I am okay with this.

 

[Starling]

AB sounds like the best so far. I find putting too much importance in this kind of thing can be a bit restrictive though. Stick to the same formula too often and your characters start getting repetitive and predictable. How did the blood type horoscope thing even start anyway?

 

[Kai Schulen]

I didn't even watch the video and I already know that the reason why JRPGs/VGs include blood type is because it's the Asian equivalent of astrology signs.

AB sounds like the best so far. I find putting too much importance in this kind of thing can be a bit restrictive though. Stick to the same formula too often and your characters start getting repetitive and predictable. How did the blood type horoscope thing even start anyway?

Well, the ABO blood typing was around since 1900s, so I just kinda assume that Japan got a hold of it and went nuts with it, in usual Japan style, until it spread out to other Asian cultures?

That being said, I'm really amused that in Korea, men with B type are considered to be bad husband material...but the same doesn't apply to women.