Dudes in anime, and by extension all the other entertainment Japan produces, have always had long hair.

Men with long hair have been in the Tales of X series since Tales of Phantasia in 1995 with Chester Burklight.

If you don't like the protagonist then you could rearrange your party so he's not in the combat. At some point there is an option to make other characters the avatar that runs around on the maps.

Because; why not?

Also Vesperia is kinda old already, the Woke theme wasn't that much present during its release time.
Its like saying that Sephiroth was a test for the woke Community.

Yuri is on the cooler spectrum of Tales of protags

>Its like saying that Sephiroth was a test for the woke Community.

Like, way too many RPGs, Tales is certainly influenced by Sephiroth. Heck, I referred to Duke as "Sephiroth" the first time I ever saw him. He's a carbon copy.

cheap bait, 0/10

During history men had longer hairs depending on which culture you look at.
Hair is a sign of good health and attractive to women.