| Marianne von Edmund | |
| Image Upright: | 0.6 |
| Series: | Fire Emblem |
| First: | (2019) |
| Designer: | Chinatsu Kurahana |
| Voice: | EN |
| Affiliation: | Golden Deer |
is a character in the 2019 video game . She is a member of the Golden Deer house, led by Claude, and has self-worth issues influenced by a curse tied to her Crest. She has multiple relationships she can form in the game, including Hilda, Dimitri, and the protagonist, Byleth. She was designed by Chinatsu Kurahana. Marianne also appears in the side story as well as the crossover mobile game Fire Emblem Heroes. She was voiced by Sawako Hata in Japanese, and Xanthe Huynh in English.
She has received generally positive reception, with multiple critics finding her self-worth issues relatable.
Marianne was created by Chinatsu Kurahana for the video game .[1] Marianne has self-worth issues, owing to a curse associated with her Crest. She also has a love for animals.[2] When making her design for , character designer Toshiyuki Kusakihara discussed how he designed her and others with the idea of how they might look had they never met Byleth.[3] She is voiced by Sawako Hata in Japanese and by Xanthe Huynh in English.[4]
Marianne first appears in as a playable character. She is a student of Garreg Mach Academy, and a member of the Golden Deer house, led by Claude von Riegan. She is available by default should players choose the Golden Deer house, but she can also be recruited if they choose the Blue Lions and Black Eagles if certain conditions are met. She is able to have support conversations with various characters in the game, including Claude, Hilda Valentine Goneril, and the protagonist, Byleth. After a five-year timeskip, a war started by Edelgard von Hresvelg to unite Fodlan and check the power of the Church of Seiros is still continuing. Marianne will join Byleth's allies if Byleth is working with the Golden Deer, or she was recruited into the Blue Lions or Black Eagles; if she was not recruited, she never appears. In her personal plotline, she was adopted by the wealthy Margrave Edmund, eager to earn his House's place in a social system that values having family members bearing Crests in their blood. She and her father keep vague the true nature of her Crest, however. If her optional story is pursued, it is revealed that her Crest is feared and considered cursed, and called the "Crest of the Beast". After she is accused of secretly transforming into a beast and hunting innocent people at night, Byleth, Marianne, and their team of allies hunt down the real beast, Maurice, a distant ancestor who succumbed to the power of his Crest.
She also appears as a playable character in , an alternate story that takes place two years after the beginning of Three Houses and examines what would happen if Byleth had not become a teacher at the school. Marianne appears in Fire Emblem Heroes as a playable character.[5] In the 2021 "Choose Your Legends" contest, where players vote who to get a special outfit, Marianne was the #1 female character, beating Eirika from .[6] She was found to have been more popular among regular players, whereas Eirika was more popular with players who had taken a break.[7] She and Gatekeeper became a trending topic on Twitter due to their success.[8] The design of her new form, based on a dancer's outfit in Three Houses, was illustrated by Toshiyuki Kusakihara.[9]
Marianne ranked ninth among female characters on a Famitsu poll of Japanese readers.[10] Kotaku writer Gita Jackson discussed how they approached Marianne in order to help them open up, initially perceiving her as someone suffering from a lack of confidence. However, they recognized that there was more to her than a lack of confidence, discussing how the exploration of her trauma and how it informs her actions helped them in their own healing journey. They related to Marianne's self-loathing and shame, discussing a scene where Claude helped Marianne come to terms with the burden she shoulders by relating to her struggles with being seen as a monster.[11] GamesRadar+ writer Heather Wald noted that early on, she was drawn to Marianne due to her shy demeanor, as well as the fact that one of her dislikes was 'herself'. Wald felt was relatable, motivating her to help Marianne, including by surrounding her with others to be her friends. While she noted that all characters have their own burdens to bear, she continued to fixate on Marianne, finding her character growth especially meaningful. She praised her timeskip design, finding her unrecognizable in it, and feeling it showed a brighter Marianne. Wald discussed how Marianne's self-perception as a monster caused her to develop an understandable lack of self worth. She felt happy to see Marianne progress, noting how participating in Marianne's journey helped her own journey towards liking herself.[12]
The Mary Sue writer Madeline Carpou expressed adoration for the character, stating that she "easily wins the player's heart" and appreciating that Three Hopes gave Marianne a support conversation with Bernadetta von Varley. She felt worried that the conversation would be "needlessly uncomfortable," but loved that they practiced socializing together, questioning whether there was shipping potential between them. She also appreciated that Marianne got a support conversation with Ingrid, whom she felt ambivalent about until this scene, stating that Marianne "deserved all the love she got in this game."[13] Fanbyte writer LB hunktears enjoyed both the relationships between Marianne and Dimitri, as well as Marianne and Hilda. They thought that Marianne and Dimitri bonding over shared self-hatred with monstrous dark sides was an unhealthy basis for a relationship, but an interesting one; and that Marianne and Hilda could make an endearing couple.[14] Gayming Mag writer Aimee Hart noted that the ship between Marianne and Hilda was a popular female-female ship on fanfiction website Archive of Our Own.[15]