Ramblings About the Ring of Heroes Portal Masters Part 5: Oscar

(This is a cleaned-up repost of a series of essays I wrote in 2022)

For this section, I will be talking about Oscar, Gentleman from the Ocean and the third original portal master introduced in the revamp, as well as the first one to be revealed post-revamp (Ryeo was the first to be released, but she was revealed alongside the initial trio in the original developer’s notices pre-revamp). A timid but kind boy whose quiet demeanor scared off most and left him lonesome, but became his biggest boon when it manifested in Skylands not only as a personal whale companion who speaks out his thoughts and desires when he himself cannot, but something that bestowed upon him the power of healing. Now, let’s dive deep into the design theory of the oceanic gentleman and his little whale!

Oscar’s big character motif seems to be nautical motifs as a whole. His portal, which is much larger and strapped right to his chest as opposed to being a smaller amulet kept on a clothing peripheral, brings to mind the larger, heavier chest weights commonly worn in standard diving dress (which some of you may know as those old-timey diving suits that occasionally crop up in underseas scenes). The colors of his outfit, in addition to the shades of blue associated with the ocean and water in general, appear to be influenced by maritime sailor uniforms with the prominence of white, black and gold—all colors used in sailor uniforms alongside Oscar’s signature blue. Heck, the sleeker and smaller design of his shoes, compared to the tall and somewhat chunky boots worn by the other portal masters, matches up with water shoes worn for aquatic sports!

But, perhaps the biggest tip-off is his whale motif—not only does he have a whale as his animal companion, but his backpack is pretty clearly based on a whale as well! In fact, the whale symbolism also works well with his background and personality. Whales are typically stereotyped as wise, gentle giants, but that wasn’t always the case. Back in ye olden times, whales were viewed as ferocious monsters of the deep that, like a raging storm, would tear through everything in their path. However, as knowledge of them grew and whale conservationists put in a ton of elbow grease to preserve their species, the stereotype changed to that of the benevolent giants we see them as today. Oscar, according to his biography, was constantly misunderstood by those around him because he struggled to communicate with others, and despite his kindhearted demeanor he was avoided by most. However, as he came to Skylands and gained Ms Whale as his voice, he gradually gained an important role among his allies and friendship in those around him now that he could be properly understood. A fitting parallel to the history of the whale and its perception among humankind, don’t you think?

Another interesting thing about Oscar stems from how his design compares to that of his fellow portal masters—and specifically, how radically different it is from theirs!

While Oscar follows the basic rules of portal master character design as outlined above—the fingerless gloves over hands, short hair for boys, portal amulets and subtle design motifs—his design deviates a lot from the conventions set for the mid-teenaged portal masters! His clothes aren’t nearly as loose or flowing, being at most slightly baggy or oversized, and he lacks the fancy armor and battle-ready accessories that they hold. He doesn’t wear a belt or boots, and just wears a plain pair of pants without any fancy cloths or accessories—the only accessories he has are normal things like a backpack and glasses. Really, all things considered, his design is kind of simple compared to theirs and lacking in the fantasy-esque aesthetics, and if you removed the portal amulet and maybe the pointy bits from his shoes, the pumped-up collar and his gloves, he’d look like any other kid you’d see on the street. And that’s the exact point! It’s evident that Oscar is a good bit younger than the other portal masters going by his shorter height, and him deviating so much from the design conventions they share is a more subtle way of emphasizing his youth compared to them. Not only does he have a simpler outfit a bit more befitting of a younger kid, but his design greatly sticks out compared to theirs, a subtle way of showing he’s not quite in the same age range that they are and further emphasizing his place as the kid of the group. But, there is one portal master he does share a few more design similarities with…

Compared to the others, Oscar and Adriana do share a few more similarities than the rest. They both wear pants of some kind instead of Adriana having a kind of cloth over her leggings like the other mid-teenaged portal masters, their portal amulets are more or less directly attached to their tops instead of being kept on a peripheral accessory like a plaque or a sash, the lack of fantasy-esque accessories in favor of more realistic ones like bags, scarfs or even just ordinary suspenders over capes, armor and excessive decoration, and they have some kind of straps on their bodies’ upper regions (Oscar’s portal amulet/backpack straps and Adriana’s suspenders). As these two were likely designed around the same time, due to them being the first two portal masters to be added post-revamp, it makes sense that they’d be somewhat similar in design.

Previous Installments in this series:

(Portal Master Designs as a whole) (Eugenie & George) (Bruno) (Ryeo)