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I feel like his face is too short and round, and it looks almost infantile in a way that's eerie and somewhat off-putting.  I actually really liked him when he was an otter, but he did feel a bit bland, and I thought the redesign helped. The art style was good, and it gave him more character. When the sprites were all slightly redone/completed in 2021, he looked a bit more cartoony, but I still think he looked okay. I figured things would stay as they were. Once everyone started getting heavily redesigned a few months ago, it seemed as though you'd settled on a more realistic design for him, which was new, but I honestly really liked it, and honestly I still think it's better. He looked bigger, yes, he wasn't extremely lithe anymore, but he looked like what I think a teenager/young adult would look like, and I didn't mind that at all personally. His mature appearance helped the darker, more serious parts of the story feel more real.  With this new sprite, it lacks all of that. He looks way too young, and when I look at him, I feel like I'm staring at a toddler, and I don't think I can take him seriously anymore. I know getting a perfect balance is hard, you really can't please everyone, and maybe there's been some mixed creative direction, but I think the last sprite was a closer compromise. He still looked lithe, just not in an unrealistic, cartoony way anymore. He looked like a small adult and it perfectly matched the painting of the scene on the hill, as well as the snowball photo, both of which are beautifully done, I will add.  I think going with a non-forward facing sprite would really help his face feel less flat, and I think that's another thing the earlier redesign has over this one. I don't mean to come off as rude or harsh, so I apologize if I have, or if my earlier post was offensive. Mikko is my favorite character, and he has been since I began reading Dawn Chorus, and so I really hope that my feedback is able to offer something of use to you and your team.