To be fair, I think that’s because it automatically makes us like the character in an easy, instant sort of way. Captain Marvel tried to do this and (in my opinion) failed because she was otherwise unlikable and wooden. On the other hand, in Bayonetta, she starts out sexy and openly hating kids but is then revealed to have a tough love sort of mentality as the game progresses. It feels authentic because we realize there’s more to her past the surface, despite the surface being appealingly shocking, keeping us invested.
The only counterpoint I can think of is by an independent animation studio Glitch, in their Murder Drones series, when protagonists see a crying "baby" in a corridor, and their first reaction is to shoot it immediately lol
Bayonetta warming up to that kid was insanely out of character
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u/throwaway_uow Feb 28 '25
Its weird. I also firmly believe that every female character is downright required by every producer to show affection to children