So, that new Yuuko.

[Caesius]

I think that even if the new Yuuko looks older, she looks less mature than the old sprite because of the stereotypical geekiness that now apparently defines her.

[Snicket]

I originally wanted to say more on this subject, but i was worried that i'd get crap for my opinion.

Anyway, I agree with Caesius on what they said about the new sprite. Except for the 'greasy' hair part.

[ThreeStep]

Well, if you match Yuuko with the library background she fits in perfectly, but that's probably wrong at the first place, because she is a character, not some furniture to decorate a room. You could observe a slight but noticeable difference between Lily and Yuuko in that picture as well. If they indeed decide to use this Yuuko as the final sprite they're probably going to need at least a repaint of every character sprite we have here.

Of course, it could be argued that every character carries with their own distinguishable aura or something but in my opinion at least give a harder edge line for Yuuko because I see Yuuko = background.

That's actually kind of interesting because in a way, she is part of the background, not having a route and all. Any interaction you have with her is pretty minimal and doesn't have much effect. Having a contrast between the "main characters" and Yuuko draws attention to that. Now I'll have to take a look at the Nurse and Muto's sprites to see if they've got a similar effect going on.

This new sprite's growing on me now that I think about it.

[The Commissar]

I was divided at first, although the new sprite is definitely an improvement, it wasn't Yuuko for me, so it took getting used to.

Then she reminded me of Velma. And then everything was right in the world.

[Bara]

I'm thinking the new look does make her appear a couple of years older than the students and this look fits the storyline better. The old Yukko looked like she had to have skipped 2 or 3 grades in school to be a university student. I'm not crazy about the dress she is wearing but I guess that is a fashion in japan for women to wear baggy, saggy clothes that are tailored akin to grain bags. The new look to her hair is the single change that strikes me the most about her. I find it more realistic since not everyone has "anime hair". Some people naturally have fine and limp hair which takes a lot of effort to style or do anything with. The other more subtle changes to her eyes and such I also tend to prefer. I would say they lend to a bit more of a mature feeling to her and step Yukko away from the run of the mill anime "cute girl style".
Now variations in sprites will be a problem which I'm sure the Devs are aware of. After all, KS is a multi-year project and even the same artist will have some "drift" creep in to their work over time let alone when you are coordinating artists leaving and new ones arriving over time. "Blending" the artwork together probably would happen at one of the end stages of production.
Are we not such a fickle bunch? We demand of the Devs that we want KS NOW and it needs to be PERFECT!! I can sort of see why the Devs think fans like me are mainly idiots.

[Captain Niggawatts]

Yuuko is not supposed to be pretty.

Isn't it sad, Yuuko ;_;

[Lallafa]

I'm not a fan of the new library outfit. She may look older, but her old outfit was classy, "young" but trying to be professional. Now she's wearing a muumuu. Looks like something that would be posted on people of walmart.

Tea shop dress upgrades look great, though.

[ubergeneral]

I love the new Yukko. She looks like an Otaku closet geek. I really like it.

[G3n0c1de]

I like the old hairstyle better.

[EternalLurker]

I like the old hairstyle better.

While I agree many times over, I can perhaps imagine that the devs thought short red hair to be too close to Rin's.

It's the only plausible reason for the switch that I can see, anyway.

[Xuan]

Currently the one that needs some serious upgrade is Rin. Reading back the visual novel, I couldn't shake off the feeling that Rin is too plain, too simple.

[G3n0c1de]

I like the old hairstyle better.

While I agree many times over, I can perhaps imagine that the devs thought short red hair to be too close to Rin's.

It's the only plausible reason for the switch that I can see, anyway.

Yeah, they both have green eyes too. And looking back at the old sprite, I do agree that she needed a quality upgrade. But I enjoyed the look of her with bangs.

Also, her bust increase is a little strange. Her old sprite looked a bit more demure. Now when she reads her lines, her behavior might clash with her appearance because she looks that much more attractive. And I'm 50-50 on the freckles. They're interesting, but seem out of place.

[Csihar]

Currently the one that needs some serious upgrade is Rin. Reading back the visual novel, I couldn't shake off the feeling that Rin is too plain, too simple.

Maybe it's intentional? Rin strikes me as the type that would tend to blend into the background easily, and that you'd have to get to know a little before she'd strike you as anything special. Plus, Hisao does mention something about her not being particularly pretty apart from her eyes, which are easily the most attention-grabbing part of her sprite right now.

[Xuan]

No, what I mean is, lemme put this as an example, the other girl look detailed enough to be called human but lately the more I look the more Rin seemed to be a drawing. Like 2D to 3D. That kind of comparison. Especially with the addition of Yuuko now.

[-abscess]

[...] Rin is too plain, too simple.

Maybe it's intentional?

Yuuko is not supposed to be pretty.

Yet she looks extremely good. Forget about her hippie librarian dress and the freckles that some people just don't dig. The style and painting of the sprite looks way too good. It looks out of place. newEmi could kinda compete, but not Rin and Lilly. I'm not so sure on Shizune and Misha.
Your argument is invalid