[Discussion] Splatoon Agents. Are they real? This and more tonight at 11 on DAN News.

Big brain discussion time! Okay, so just after reading topic #18013 I was reminded of something that's been bugging me for a while in regards to how Splatoon characters are being tagged. Or, more precisely, not being tagged.

Why are Agent 3, Agent 4, and Agent 8 not being tagged? Like, deliberately so? I've tagged a few of my uploads with proper character tags only to have them removed and replaced with the "squidbeak_splatoon" tag. The problem being:

• They're three different characters.
• They're three different characters and are visually distinct from one another.
• They're three different characters, visually distinct from one another, and I'm a fake fan that doesn't follow the plot of the Splatoon games. I shouldn't have to read the wiki to educate myself on Splatoon lore to learn what the Squidbeak Splatoon is just so I can whittle down my search results down to...
• ...oh wait, the Squidbeak Splatoon consists of nine characters.
• The tag is for their uniforms, specifically, which could be worn by literally anybody, making it entirely useless for searching for those three if they're out of uniform.
• Pixiv, Gelbooru, Sankaku Complex, TBIB, Paheal, Rule34.xxx, and Ryu from Streets all use their appropriate character tags, Danbooru is the odd one out and it's not in a way that benefits anybody.

Is there any particular reason for this? It makes finding art of them such a royal pain in the neck that I genuinely thought for a good while that somehow nobody uploaded any Agent 8 artwork despite the insane popularity of the character.

If they're visually distinct they should get their own character tag.

BUR #5375 has been approved by @evazion.

remove alias agent_3 -> squidbeak_splatoon

Upon further inspection, it appears that Agent 3 is aliased to Squidbeak Splatoon! Which might be a tad problematic!

Problematic in ways completely unrelated to messing up the Splatoon tags. There are multiple agents in non-existence that are number 3! It's a very generic name! What if somebody decides to upload art of this guy from Scooby-Doo, for example?

To remedy this, I propose tagging images of Agent 3 from Splatoon... "Agent_3_(Splatoon)".

The bulk update request #5375 (forum #185067) has been approved by @evazion.

Point out a single Inkling that is "Agent 3", and I can point you out dozens of others that are also "Agent 3". Then point out a single Inkling that is "Agent 3" out of uniform, then discuss in great detail how that inkling is different from all other inklings.

The point is, you can't, hence the uselessness of tagging them by character tag, hence why we went with something to indicate those costume sets instead (squidbeak splatoon).

If more differentiation is needed, then we should make costume tags like agent_3_uniform, agent_4_uniform, etc.

This is agent 3, and this is agent 4. They're identifiable, so they need a character tag. They have a canonical appearance, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upageqTwESE for example.
Same thing goes for agent 8, the octoling in post #3198041.

post #4423672 looks nothing like the two characters in post #3198041, I don't see why they should be lumped together under the same tag. How is someone supposed to search for a specific character if we just use a general tag?

Challenge accepted I see.

• Girl agent 3:
• post #2645087, post #2653969, post #2499012, post #2362780, post #2742678
• All different eye colors, some different skin colors, all different styles and temperaments
• Boy agent 3:
• post #2785487, post #2879939, post #2878002
• Two agent 3's at once (hoo boy):
• post #2291999, post #2871103, post #3311894 and post #3311893
• Different genders even at the same time

I could really go on, but I shouldn't need to.

The point is, that there is no consistency in how artists have drawn characters with those costumes. The only thing that those posts have in common is the costume, or portions of the costume. Hence, why they should be costume tags and not character tags.

BrokenEagle98 said:

• Girl agent 3:
• post #2645087, post #2653969, post #2499012, post #2362780, post #2742678
• All different eye colors, some different skin colors, all different styles and temperaments
• Boy agent 3:
• post #2785487, post #2879939, post #2878002
• Two agent 3's at once (hoo boy):
• post #2291999, post #2871103, post #3311894 and post #3311893
• Different genders even at the same time

Those all look the same, the only difference is the color palette. Can you point to other characters that could be confused for agent 3? Otherwise having Agent 3 and Agent 4 in the same tag makes no sense.

Of all your examples none could be mistaken for Agent 4, which would be the argument for keeping them together. Note how the hairstyle is always the same, both in the male and female versions.

post #3311894 and post #3311893 are agent 3, 4 and 8, they are not two agent 3s. Look at the twitter replies, even random people there recognize them.
And with the current tagging it's impossible to find this kind of picture because we're lumping 3 and 4 together.

I don't see the point in the female/male argument given how many female/male tags we have for the protagonists of every other game: byleth_(fire_emblem)_(female)/byleth_(fire_emblem)_(male), fujimaru_ritsuka_(female)/fujimaru_ritsuka_(male), commander_shepard_(male)/commander_shepard_(female) etc. In particular, in Shepard's case the female is almost never drawn the same because it's a customizable character, and yet we don't have a generic "human_(mass_effect)" tag for it.

Even someone who's not into the game, you can still tell them apart pretty easily. Just because they have a different eye or hair color doesn't mean you shouldn't tag them as how they're called. If every other booru and the wikis are able to tell them apart, we should do the same and we should be able to do the same.
To be honest, I really don't know how you can't see the difference in how their hair is made. The more important question is, if they should get the alternate_* color tags, because of how many different variants there are.
And, I even think, for someone who only knows a bit about this series, it's harder to tell the costumes apart than the agents.

I don't see the point in the female/male argument given how many female/male tags we have for the protagonists of every other game: byleth_(fire_emblem)_(female)/byleth_(fire_emblem)_(male), fujimaru_ritsuka_(female)/fujimaru_ritsuka_(male), commander_shepard_(male)/commander_shepard_(female) etc. In particular, in Shepard's case the female is almost never drawn the same because it's a customizable character, and yet we don't have a generic "human_(mass_effect)" tag for it.

I totally agree on this.

The outfits alone are different enough, the appearance of the chars are customizable.
You can either go with two char tags or two costume tags. Both will result in the same thing but I can't imagine that people are more familiar with the terms Agent3/Agent4.

Guaro said:

Even someone who's not into the game, you can still tell them apart pretty easily.

How do you identify them as Agent 3/4/8/whatever? What's that...? By their costumes...? You don't say. Imagine that.

BrokenEagle98 said:

How do you identify them as Agent 3/4/8/whatever? What's that...? By their costumes...? You don't say. Imagine that.

Have you read further? I don't think so.

Someone should maybe write a wiki for all those *_(splatoon) tags, so that you don't have to google what they mean. Some of those weapons are pretty easy to understand tho.

Provence said:

The outfits alone are different enough, the appearance of the chars are customizable.
You can either go with two char tags or two costume tags. Both will result in the same thing but I can't imagine that people are more familiar with the terms Agent3/Agent4.

You really have to elaborate on this. I don't see how the costume tags are more helpful on this.

BrokenEagle98 said:

How do you identify them as Agent 3/4/8/whatever? What's that...? By their costumes...? You don't say. Imagine that.

For one, the hairstyle is almost always the same, because they're typically depicted as alternate colors of their canonical appearance. Male agent 3 (middle in post #3311894) has a high ponytail (or topknot?), female agent 3 has two long tentacles, and female agent 4 has four short tentacles, as seen in post #3311893.

nonamethanks said:

For one, the hairstyle is almost always the same, because they're typically depicted as alternate colors of their canonical appearance. Male agent 3 (middle in post #3311894) has a high ponytail (or topknot?), female agent 3 has two long tentacles, and female agent 4 has four short tentacles, as seen in post #3311893.

All inklings from Splatoon 1 look the same. All inklings with a bob cut from Splatoon 2 are not Agent 4. Even official artworks have depicted these "characters" with different looks and temperaments.

Find just one image... one... where the inkling is Agent 3/4/8/whatever, but without their costume, and explain why... very specifically and using only visual elements (i.e. not text)... why that inkling is an Agent, and not just an inkling. The point is, you can't.

BrokenEagle98 said:

All inklings from Splatoon 1 look the same. All inklings with a bob cut from Splatoon 2 are not Agent 4. Even official artworks have depicted these "characters" with different looks and temperaments.

Find just one image... one... where the inkling is Agent 3/4/8/whatever, but without their costume, and explain why... very specifically and using only visual elements (i.e. not text)... why that inkling is an Agent, and not just an inkling. The point is, you can't.

Your tone is incredibly unpleasant, and your arguments feel very disingenuous.

Identifying characters by their costumes is the entire basis of our (cosplay) tags. Does any other canon character in the series dress exactly the same way Agent 3 does? No one has mentioned any such character, so I'm assuming not, meaning there's no conflict. If an inkling is wearing Agent 3's clothes, then they're Agent 3.

This is like saying Hinanawi Tenshi with short hair shouldn't be tagged as such because her hairstyle is different, because we can't just assume it's her by the outfit only she wears. Not to mention all of your examples have the exact same hairstyles, not proving your points at all.

blindVigil said:

...

Leave it to you to go directly to ad hominem attacks.

BrokenEagle98 said:

Leave it to you to go directly to ad hominem attacks.

I'm not the one with an unnecessarily aggressive tone. How is anyone supposed to have a civil discussion with you replying the way you are? Your replies are unpleasant to read.

blindVigil said:

I'm not the one with an unnecessarily aggressive tone. How is anyone supposed to have a civil discussion with you replying the way you are? Your replies are unpleasant to read.

You lack the ability to self-reflect. Your whole response was dripping with negativity. And yes, I am now being intentionally negative, and am now going ad hominem myself, instead of trying to hide it underneath the guise of trying to actually have a debate.

Please refrain from petty feuding and try to be productive on the forums.

Sorry about that... really I am, but that user sets me off. I've bowed out of arguments in the past because of their unpleasantness, but not this time. I'll be hiding their comments though from now on so that I don't get agitated.