Hello, I’ll be arguing for Isadora.

I think a good character comes in three constituent parts, each of which I will cover:

• In-game use and contributions

• Personality and supports

• Design

Isadora, among the bulk of the fanbase, is a very underrated unit gameplay-wise. I think the community-voted tier list that voted her 16th out of a 42 units is a good representation of her use (and, in fact, I agree with a lot of this list, unlike the FE6 one. Props to everyone who voted). Of course, she’s trivialised by the other Paladins in the game because they’re all stupid strong, but I believe Isadora is firmly balanced in that she has identifiable strengths and flaws.

Her strengths are par for the course for her class and prepromote status – balanced bases across the board, respectable growths, and full WTC with which to take advantage. Her forte is speed, and has a higher growth than even Speedyboy McCain himself, Kent. But her speed is offset by her weaknesses – most notably, her constitution. In a funny little sidenote, she’s actually weighed down by her starting weapon. Good job, Izzy. And for a class so thick into the action, she could do with a bit more bulk. You could actually make an argument these faults have readily available remedies – a Body Ring available in Chapter 23, and an Angelic Robe on her person. Also, it’s a really minor and inconsequential thing, but she comes right in time to be a prime candidate for the Afa’s Drops. I always use them on her. So, to end this, she won’t be a dominant force of nature like Marcus or the Christmas Cavs, but she’ll certainly play her part.

Supports are where Isadora shines. If I wrote about the significance of her supports with Harken and Renault, I’d probably break some kind of character limit, so I’ll link to a pretty poorly written post I made like a month ago about it Simply put, it’s my favourite support/piece of characterisation in the series, and what made her my favourite Fire Emblem character. For her other supports, you can’t find a better place for them than the A-List series post by . The only one I’m not a fan of is the one with Sain, but that’s more a problem with Sain’s characterisation than her. Lol. Also, I got shocked when I saw her affinity was DARKNESS, until I noticed that dark-aligned GBA units are those suffering personal turmoil e.g Rutger, Astore, Rath, Orson, Knoll… the list goes on. Just a cool little observation. You can tell I didn’t put the effort into this section, lol.

Isadora’s design can be summed up in just one phrase – simple and elegant. Sexy, without being sexualised. Every colour present on her armour and clothing – whether it be silver, gold or a lovely shade of wine red – create an air of refinement and class. This is an effective look for the role as the steward, attendant and bodyguard of Lady Eleanora. Her hair, long and flowing, has a beautiful blue hue. And matching eyes. I did a little more research on other character’s eyes, and came out with some cool (yet probably coincidental -_-) results. There are more than a few ambiguities in the roster, but most of the characters with definite blue eyes (Eliwood, Lucius, Fiora, Nino) are renowned for their honesty, as well as their kind and caring nature. The circlet on her head is a nice and unique feature, and also has some symbolic significance. Those of royalty and high status would only begin to wear said headwear after the deaths of their husband, which I like to think is a nod to Harken’s supposed death and the grief and isolation she felt afterward. Lovely design, very mature and graceful.

So anyway, I’ve dragged this way further than a few paragraphs, so time for a conclusion. I’m really bad at writing an ending so I’ll just give some Fun Facts! Stolen from the trivia page of the wiki! Hooray for plagiarism!

• Fans of Archanea will know Isadora and Harken are homages to Midia and Astram. That is, a loyal blue-haired paladin in love with a blonde-haired, green-armoured Hero (this one is particularly egregious, just look at those [dudes].( http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/fireemblem/images/7/75/Harken-port.png/revision/latest?cb=20110522222239)

• A villager describes Isadora’s eyes as emerald, despite her OA and portrait clearly showing them to be blue.

• If Lowen recruits Harken in Pale Flower of Darkness, during their recruitment talk Lowen will erroneously refer to her as "Isabella".

• Isadora is the only female character able to use axes in FE7.